"Falling"

You're Safe Here

Standing in the middle of her room, a letter clutched in her hand, Bella can hardly believe what she had just read. She knew this would happen, even if she prayed every night for it not to, and now it is here. Bella just wasn't expecting it to happen so soon.

There's a knock on her door and she tells her visitor to enter. As soon as her eyes locked with Jensen's, she knew he already knew. Bella drops the letter on the ground and runs to him, his arms already open and waiting for her.

-"It's going to be okay." - He whispers into her hair, holding her close.

-"My father sent me a letter ordering me to return home."

-"Josh received a declaration of war from your father earlier and he demanded the same from him."

-"Will he? Send me back, I mean." - She pulls back, worried she might have to leave.

-"Josh already told me that, unless you want to go back, he won't force you to."

-"I don't want to. I want to stay here." - She shakes her head.

-"Then, that's where you'll stay. We will protect you, Bella." - He kisses the top of her head. -"I have to go and get the men ready, but my mother and Mackenzie will be coming by soon to talk to you."

Jensen kisses her forehead and walks away, Bella watching him as he leaves. She doesn't know why would Donna and Mackenzie want to talk to her, but brushes it off to maybe wanting to make sure she is okay and what their next steps will be.

Bella walks over to the window and looks out to the lake, thinking that everything is about to change and that the next few months will determine all of their futures. All she can hope is that, by the time the war finally ends, everything will be alright.