Rated M

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Lucky woman.

This story takes place years after the wedding. No honeymoon pregnancy. Bella x Jake pairing

I have had this in the works for a bit but I haven't posted it because I already have too many stories in progress that I haven't finished. It is a pet peeve of mine to get into a story and then have it get dropped. But honestly, my personal life has prevented me from "going there" mentally. I've decided to post this anyhow and if I can, I'll come back to it.

"You know, Paul, I can say that you have personally been a pain in my neck for years. But I'm happy for you and Rachel. Congratulations, man," Jake said, as he patted Paul roughly on the back. He chuckled as Paul glared at him. Jerk.

Jake walked out of the waiting room and headed out of the hospital. He was officially an uncle now. It was a good feeling. When Paul imprinted on Rachel, Jake was pretty sure that he would never like the guy. But over the years, Rachel had softened that hard exterior and make him less of an asshole.

As Jake passed by the gift shop, he stopped and decided to see what they had. Maybe he'd get something for his sister and his niece. A little "welcome to the world" gift. The room wasn't that big and it was jam-packed with knickknacks and trinkets. He maneuvered carefully through the shelves looking around at all of the tacky gifts. Finally, he found an area with baby stuff. There was a t-shirt that said, "If you think I'm cute, you should see my uncle." He started laughing loudly. Behind him glass shattered on the floor. He turned and saw a woman frantically trying to scrape together the pieces of a vase and the ruined arrangement.

"Sorry if I startled you," Jake said as he walked closer to the woman. She didn't look up, which he thought was strange. In fact, she tucked her chin further on her chest and hid behind her short hair. It was a dark brown streaked with blonde highlights. So he squatted down and began helping with the cleanup. He reeled as the delicate hand reached out with the bracelet on it.

"Bella?" he asked. The woman peered up at him. Jake would know those brown eyes anywhere. "What—what are you doing here?"

Jake straightened up and looked down at the frail woman on the floor. She'd changed but she was still her. Still human. He breathed in deeply and detected a faint hint of vamp stench lingering around her. At least she wasn't coated in it like a bad perfume.

"My friend, Angela? She had a baby today. I came to see them. Was going to bring them some flowers," she shrugged as she looked at the mess on the floor. "Guess I'll have to pick something else out."

Jake held the tiny pink shirt in his hand. When he'd walked over to help, he had folded it in half. The words were covered from Bella's view.

"So, a girl, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah, she's the cutest little thing," Jake smiled widely, thinking of his cute little niece and how she gripped his finger when he held her.

"Congratulations. Listen, I really need to go," Bella stood and made a beeline for the door.

"Miss! Miss!" the attendant called out. "You aren't going to leave without paying for that are you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Of course not," she turned a bright shade of red as she turned back and went to the counter to pay for the broken vase. Jake stood closely behind her as she handed over the cash. He tried in vain to peer over her shoulder and catch a glimpse of anything in her wallet. She didn't reveal anything to him and tried to make her way around him as quickly as possible.

"What's the rush?" he asked.

"My friend's expecting me and I'm already late. Sorry, but I'll see you later," she said as she brushed him off.

"Will you? See me later?" he asked following her as she headed to the door.

"Oh, I'm not sure that's such a good idea," she admitted, glancing toward the gift he was buying. "I'm sure that there's a little one waiting on you to come back to her."

"She can wait I'm sure. There's plenty of people here to see her," he countered.

"I'm sure that's true. But there's no one as important as her daddy. You should be there," Bella whipped around and walked away briskly.

Jacob stood staring after her. It took him a couple of replays before he realized the mistake Bella had made. Quickly, he paid for the shirt and raced back up the stairs to the maternity ward. He groaned as soon as he saw where Bella was about to go. It seemed her friend was roommates with his sister. What are the chances? He wondered. Bella entered the room, but Jake wasn't far behind her. She actually froze when she entered the doorway. Jake walked up behind her to assess the situation.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Paul said through his clenched teeth. Bella started to back up but instead she crashed into Jake.

"I'm sorry, I thought this was Angela Cheney's room," she answered, her voice quivering at Paul's unwelcome greeting.

"Bella?" a female voice called out from the other side of the curtain.

"Ang?" Bella sighed with relief and kept walking. "Hey! How are you? I'm sorry. I didn't realize you would be in a room with someone else."

Jake froze as he listened to the hushed conversation so close to him. He stared at the hideous green curtain that separated him from Bella. There were so many questions racing through his mind that he wanted to ask her.

"Yeah, I guess there was a bit of a baby boom here today. The nurse told me they don't usually double up mothers, but there wasn't any more room. So, here we are! You want to hold him?" he heard Angela ask.

"Oh he's beautiful. I'd love to hold him." Jake slid into the room and listened as her chair squeaked across the floor.

Paul came up to him and got close to his face, his voice much too low to be heard by human ears. "What is she doing here? How is she human?"

"All questions I have, and more, Paul. I don't know. I ran into her in the gift shop just now. By the way," Jake said as he held up the tiny shirt.

Paul recoiled when he saw the shirt, "what? I don't think so, Stud!"

"Come on, dude. It's cute, just like her," Jake answered, looking at the tiny baby in the bassinet beside Rachel's bed.

"You think pretty highly of yourself," Paul responded taking the shirt and holding it up to Rachel, who gushed over it.

She smiled tiredly at Jake and thanked him for the gift. Her eyes drooped and Jake remembered why he was leaving earlier. Rachel needed rest. His eyes shifted over to the other half of the room. He really wanted to talk to Bella. If he left the room, she might find a way to sneak out and not talk to him. As much as it pained him to admit, he knew exactly how long it had been since he saw her last. It was that damn wedding when he was carried away forcefully. The Cullen's left, abruptly moved away, and he hadn't heard a peep from Bella since.

Instead of leaving, Jacob walked out into the hall and found an empty chair. He carried it over by the door and sat down. That way when Bella left, he'd see her.

Several hours later, Jake was leaned down in the chair, his head back against the wall. His mouth was open and he was snoring loud enough for people walking by to hear him. The nurses chuckled every time they went past him. Bella walked out of the room and stopped to stare at Jacob.

Lucky for Jake, she decided to let him off the hook and wake him up. He had waited for her all of that time, she may as well have the very long overdue discussion on her life. She leaned down and whispered in his ear.

"There's a vampire in the hospital, Jacob," then she leaned back as quickly as she could-a huge grin on her face.

Jacob jumped to his feet looking around and smelling the air. He glared at Bella when he saw her there, arms crossed, looking smug.

"So funny," he said, bitterly.

"We need to talk, Jake," she said, resigned. Her eyes shifted down to the floor, afraid to look into his inquiring eyes. She knew that she left him with endless unanswered questions. "Want to get out of here?"

"For sure," he answered. He held his arm out, indicating she should go first. As she stepped in front of him, his eyes traveled down her body enjoying the view. He wanted to whistle lasciviously, but instead he bit his bottom lip.

"Stop staring at my ass, Jacob," Bella called over her shoulder as she pressed the button for the elevator. Then she turned around to face Jacob, who acted like he wasn't doing what she knew he was. "Whatever. Like I can't feel your eyes boring a hole in my back. You can act like you weren't looking all you want. But I know you were." Then the elevator bell dinged and she walked into the doors as they slid open. Jacob followed her inside, impressed with her sassiness.

They remained silent as they walked out the main doors of the hospital. Bella glanced around and turned to Jake. "Do you want to drive together or separate? Do you live by yourself?"

"Let's take my car. I'm a grown man, what do you think?" He smiled and walked over to his car. Hesitantly, Bella walked over to the passenger side. She stopped and wondered if she should follow him in her rental car, but in the end she decided to go with him. If she had to call Charlie to come pick her up from wherever Jake lived, she would.

Music began blaring as soon as Jake turned the key. Quickly, he turned it down and started the engine. While he started maneuvering around the parking lot, Bella gave the car a looksee. She noticed it was a pretty nice car, even though she didn't know much about cars aside from the truck she drove in high school and the Mercedes Edward bought her. Leaning back in the seat, Bella enjoyed the fresh air as it blew in the slightly open windows. The roar of the engine reminded her of the days when she drove her beloved truck and there was no mistaking the sound of her vehicle.

The little red house appeared around the corner and Bella asked if he still lived at home when Jake started slowing down. He only grinned as he pulled up and parked in front of the house. Bella noted the changes in the home. It looked like it had been painted and fixed up a bit. Otherwise, it was still the place she associated with memories of growing up.

She followed Jacob into the house and looked around for Billy. Inside, the house had clearly been fixed up and it no longer had the look of a deserted bachelor pad. In fact, it looked more feminine than she expected Jake's house to be.

"I, uh, I didn't think to ask. Are you, I mean, do you…Are you involved with someone? I mean, is your wife or your girlfriend going to storm out here any moment?" Bella asked searching for clues.

Chuckling, Jake told her, "Just me, Bells." He paused before offering her a glass of water. She accepted, if only to stall a few more minutes. They sat down at the kitchen table, which Bella realized was the same table, only refinished.

"Table looks good," she said.

"Thanks," Jake answered simply. "But, that's not why you're here. Honestly, I don't know where to start. I have a million questions for you. The only one that I think I want the answer to right now is why haven't I heard from you all this time?"

Bella sighed loudly and turned the glass on the table. She had played this moment in her mind over and over, changing little things every time. She predicted which questions he would ask and how she would answer them. Now in the moment, all of her rehearsed speeches seemed inadequate.

"The reason I left and the reason I haven't contacted you are because I am a coward." She picked up the glass and took a sip. Jacob didn't move a muscle. He sat waiting on her to explain. He'd imagined this day as well.

"You know, it's not easy to admit you're wrong and that your best friend is right. Edward and I returned home early from our honeymoon. While we were there, things changed. This woman and her husband, they were hired as caretakers by the Cullens. Well, they kept coming to check on me. When I asked Edward why, he chuckled and said they knew what he was.

"I didn't really understand why that was funny. I mean humans aren't supposed to know of their kind. So why was it okay that they did? Anyhow, Edward said that their tribe believed in all kinds of supernatural things and that most educated people thought they were primitive types that hung on to their old world traditions too hard." She coughed lightly.

"Yet, they were persistent. During the third week, Edward became agitated with them. They'd always show up right when we were getting…intimate." She burned a bright red. Jake squirmed in his seat. He did not want to hear about her sexing it up with that bloodsucker. "We never got that far because they would literally show up every time. So the last time around, Edward got mad. He's wondering how they know and he reads nothing in their mind about it."

"The thing is…I watched his eyes as he stared furiously at them, arguing with them in a language I didn't understand. Edward told them in English to leave and not come back. He fired them. He came at me so quickly, it freaked me out. I backed away a little. Then he started getting mad that they made me scared of him. He couldn't understand that it was his actions that scared me."

"The couple didn't come back. We were on a remote island and it was their job to bring food and supplies. We were running out of food and Edward started talking about changing me instead of going into town to get food. He said there were plenty of hunting opportunities close-by. I was horrified. I told him no. That I wanted more time. We had already agreed that we were going to go to college together and I wanted to stay human longer."

She held her arm out and showed Jake her new scar. On her hand, on the fleshy part of her thumb, between her thumb and forefinger, were two new perfect crescents.

"What? How? How are you still human?" he breathed out.

Bella shrugged. "Alice."

"Now you've created another million questions," he smirked.

Jacob and Bella talked for hours on end. When they finally exhausted every question Jacob could think of, he noted it was 3:30 in the morning. He really didn't want Bella driving anywhere at that time, especially since it would take 20 minutes to get back to Forks. More than anything else, he didn't want her to leave. He was terrified that that if she left, it meant that it was over. He might not see her again.

"You want to see the rest of the house?" Jake offered, standing from the chair and stretching his body. Bella stood and did the same. She followed Jacob toward the living room, where he started the tour.

"This is the living room. The room where I watch TV, eat most of my meals and hang out with my family and friends, if they come over. As you can see, I bought a couch that doesn't have broken springs and the TV doesn't need an antenna anymore. Down the hallway is an updated bathroom." She followed him and peered into the bathroom. Her eyes stopped on a white box on the wall.

"That is the world's greatest invention! Instant hot water. Perfect for a guy like me that loves long showers," he grinned and patted the box affectionately. Bella laughed and backed out of the bathroom. "You know this used to be my bedroom, but now it's my office." He flipped the light switch on, and ran his hand over the desk like he was one of the models from The Price is Right.

They moved on to his sisters' old bedroom, which was now a guest room. It had a queen sized bed, a dresser and a night stand but was otherwise pretty generic. Bella was surprised that they hadn't come across anything that seemed to be Billy's space yet. But she followed him down the last hall that led to Billy's old room. She was surprised when he stopped in the doorway but didn't go in the dark room or move to turn the light on.

"The thing is Bella, I had no idea that you were alive. I didn't know that you were coming here tonight. So I hope you understand," Jake said. He turned around and looked at her face. The face that haunted his dreams at night. The one he had imagined with red, and then golden, eyes. Yet, here she was still human and surprisingly rid of the vampires. Somehow after all that catching up, he couldn't bring himself to be mad at her for not calling him. He wanted to be pissed, but he was so happy she was there in his house at almost 4 in the morning, he didn't care.

He flipped the light on and let her in the room. Her eyes moved around the room. She could hardly believe this used to be Billy's bedroom. On the far wall was Jake's bed. The walls were painted a dark gray and on the long wall the only things were rows of large framed black and white photographs. It was beautiful. She walked closer and looked them over. Her breath caught at the gorgeous pictures of Jacob's sisters, his sister and Paul, Billy smiling and looking healthy. There was a picture of Billy and Charlie fishing, huge grins on their faces. It didn't look like they knew the picture was even taken. She walked up to that picture and ran her fingers over her father's face. She'd missed him tremendously.

Finally, the last pictures caught her eye. She gasped. They were heart-wrenching but touching as well. They were of her. One of them was a picture that was taken before one of the bonfires. It was before Edward came back. Her face was pensive as she stared off into the distance, her hair blowing back over her head. She didn't even know that picture was taken. The one that stopped her and she stood in front of was one of her and Jacob dancing together at her wedding. She studied it and noticed that her eyes were locked with his. Had a stranger looked at the photograph, they would have assumed they were the ones who got married. Her eyes took in more details. The perspective of the photographer. It was coming from the house, the forest in the background. Who could have taken this picture? She turned and looked at Jake.

She noticed he was standing in the middle of the room, looking unsure, more than she had ever seen him. "Who took this?" she whispered knowing full well he could hear her.

"Seth," he answered her. She turned back to the photos to reexamine them, knowing that Seth was the photographer. There was one more of her that she noticed. Leaning forward, she looked at the last one even closer. She wondered how Seth could have taken that photograph. It didn't make sense.

Jacob had stepped closer to her. He stood right behind her, so close that one deep breath and they would be touching. That picture was his favorite. She was so beautiful in it. It had been a small picture at first, but he'd blown it up to the 11x14 inch portrait. He stared with her, not speaking. He was going to let her figure this one out on her own.

"I didn't know anyone was there with me. Was that Seth? Why would he have a camera in the woods like that? I don't understand."

"Seth didn't take that one. I did."

"What? You did?" Her face covered with confusion.

The photograph was of Bella lying on the hood of her truck. She was leaning against the windshield, earbuds in her ears, listening to a playlist Jake made for her. It was essentially the funeral for her truck. The engine had died and Edward bought her the new car. It had stayed in Charlie's front yard until a tow trunk finally came and hauled it to a junk yard. That day, she was incredibly sad. She felt like she was saying good-bye to more than her truck. She was saying good-bye to an era. One that she would always think back on with fondness.

"But, you were gone. You were gone until the day I got married. I don't understand. How did you take that picture?"

"Bells, I came back before your wedding. I tried to call you every day. Your cell phone would go straight to voicemail, I left messages on your dad's machine and I even tried calling the Cullen's house. They always said you were busy and couldn't come to the phone."

Bella sank to the bed. Jake had been back before the wedding? She had been so worried about him. Edward knew and Alice knew. They all knew how worried she was about Jacob!

She was saddened that things could have changed then. The last 10 years of their lives might have been very different if she had known he was there all along. Damn Edward! Every disappointment she'd had seemed to lead right back to him each time.

Instead of dissolving into tears, which she wanted to do, she stood up. She walked over to Jake and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I can't believe you haven't forgotten about me after all of this time," she said.

He hugged her back. Even though he wished that things were different, he had to wonder if they would be who they were at that moment if they'd gotten together during that turmoil.

"I could never forget about you, Bells. Ever. Even when I thought you were dead, you were still in my heart." He looked down at her as she looked up at him. Their eyes were locked onto each other's, neither of them wanting to break the trance they seemed to be under. Bella leaned up on her toes but Jake stepped back.

"I haven't finished the tour," he grinned. "Follow me, Miss." He went out the back door and led her down a paved path toward the garage. Here, she noticed, were big changes. The sheds were gone and it was replaced with a real building.

"My dad has his own place out here now. We put all accessible stuff in for him so he can be independent and not rely on me for everything. But I'm close by in case he needs me, too." Jake pointed toward a door but kept walking. "This is where I work."

He flipped the lights on and a working studio appeared before her. It seemed that Jacob had taken up photography over the years. She'd thought he would have done something with cars but he had a keen eye for taking pictures. There were more pictures hanging in the room and a professional-looking desk area.

With a big smile, he started explaining how he photographed all over the state. Mostly he did people, but not sitting portraits. He went out and captured their real lives on film. He took out a few albums and let her flip through them as she oohed and ahhed over his work. She looked through the photographs and was moved by how breathtaking they were.

"This is amazing, Jake. I could spend all day looking at this," she mused and then yawned.

"As much as I enjoy sitting here with you, I'd rather do something else. Are you in a rush to get going? I could make us some coffee and breakfast?" he offered.

Bella glanced at her watch. It was almost 5:00 in the morning. She was feeling pretty tired, despite the happiness she felt to see Jake.

"I don't know, Jake. I'm pretty tired," she responded with another yawn.

Jake stepped forward to close the distance between them. He reached out and grabbed the hand with his bracelet on it. To say he was surprised that she still had it was a major understatement. His fingers traced over it and gently spun it over her skin. Memories poured to the forefront of his mind. Tears started to make their way down his face as he thought about all of the times they had spent together so long ago, the time he spent worrying about her, and all of the horrible things he had imagined happening to her. Only in his most desperate dreams was she still human and alive.

"Okay," Jake nodded, not letting go of her hand at first. Then he lifted it to his mouth and placed the lightest of kisses on the back of her hand before letting it go. He headed back into the house, making sure to stay on the path so Bella wouldn't stumble. When she reached the back door, he held it open for her. After she went into the house, Jacob stood at the back door, his heart breaking all over again. He didn't want her to go, but aside from begging her, he didn't know how to keep her there. Fiddling around for a moment, he reluctantly grabbed his car keys and walked toward the living room.

"What are you doing?" He asked as he looked at Bella by the couch.

"Oh, I can go if you want. I'm sorry, I figured this would be okay. I shouldn't have presumed." She quickly started folding up the blanket she'd laid on the couch and tossed the throw pillow back onto the recliner. Her face burned with embarrassment.

"Bells, of course, I want you to stay. I don't want you to leave."

She froze and glanced up at him. He closed in on her and grabbed the blanket, tossing it on the back of the couch. Then he grabbed her hand and tugged her lightly. She followed him down the hall to his room. Her heart beat sped up as she realized what was happening.

"I can't let you sleep on that lumpy old couch," he said.

"But you said you bought a new couch," she responded.

He chuckled. "I guess I did." However, he didn't stop advancing toward his room. She stood frozen as he turned down the bed. Then he walked over to the dresser and pulled out a t-shirt. He handed it to Bella before stepping out and closing the door. Bella turned and watched over her shoulder as the door closed. She waited a few minutes before finally pulling off her sweater and jeans, and pulling the shirt over her head. Then she climbed into his bed. She wasn't sure if Jacob was coming back in, so she pulled the quilt up and over her and stayed on one side of the bed. She couldn't help pressing her nose into the pillow to draw in his scent. The one she had missed for so long. It wasn't long at all before she was sound asleep.

Jacob tossed and turned in the guest room. He could hear Bella's slow and deep breathes, knowing she was now asleep. He was also tired, having spent the night awake with Bella. Eventually, he gave up and walked to his bedroom door. Leaning against the doorjamb, he watched her sleep peacefully. Her face so relaxed in her sleep. He couldn't stand there and stare at her, so he walked in the room and got under the covers with her.

She scooched over and curled up against his warm body. Inhaling deeply, he closed his eyes and relaxed, falling into a deep sleep.

Are you ready to choke me for starting something new? Chapter 2 isn't as long but it's done.