"Bella," a rough voice whispered in my ear, "it's time to get up." I was awake, but unwilling to open my eyes. I felt his huge hands grab my waist starting to tickle me.

"Jacob Black! You stop that right now!" I squealed, trying to hold back the peals of laughter that were threatening to escape my throat. I rolled over, attempting to escape his grasp. "Jacob, stop!" I finally gave in and my giggling filled the room.

"Better be quiet Bella, it's your turn to get up with Em." I quickly sealed my lips; the triumphant grin that spread across his face was maddening. Emma was six months, but she still didn't sleep through the night. We tried to let her sleep whenever she could. I would not be the one to wake her up.

"I'm up, I'm up, Jake, just let me go!"

"Sure, sure," he said with that grin still on his face, but he did let go. I scooted over to the edge of bed and threw the sheet back. "Looks like you through the comforter off again, Bells, am I too hot for you?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Duh, who wouldn't be too hot when they run a toasty 108 degrees." I leaned over the foot of the bed and pulled the green comforter back onto the bed. "What's for breakfast, Jake?"

"Hmmm... Scrambled eggs?"

"Sounds good to me!" I walked into the adjoining bathroom and pulled my hair up into a bun. My too long brown hair fell to my shoulder blades and could be quite a nuisance at times. I stared at the reflection in the mirror. My eyes looked more alive than they had in a long time, Emma probably had something to do with that, but I could still see the lifelessness that had once been there and sometimes still crept over me. I was so lost in thought that I didn't hear Jake walk back into the room.

"Bells?" He reached out and touched my shoulder. I saw him in the mirror behind me, but I still jumped.

"Sorry, even though Emma slept all night, I guess I still need more sleep." I forced a small smile on my face. I knew that he would see right through my attempt at happiness, but I also knew he would give me space and not push the subject. "I'll be in there in a few. Just gonna take a shower; that should wake me up."

"Sure, honey." Jake leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead. He made eye contact with me one more time before walking back to the kitchen of our small home.

I pulled off the pajamas that I had on and started the water to the shower. Seeing my eyes had reminded me that I had had the nightmare again. I'm sure I had probably woken Jake up with my tossing and turning, but he hadn't said anything. That day when he left me still played back in my head. It haunted my thoughts sometimes, and other times, it crept into my dreams. I could never forget the disgust that was on his face when he said that he didn't want me to come with his family. I climbed into the shower and let the scalding water pound into my back. The steam began to wake me up and pull me out of my thoughts. I did this a lot less than I used to. With time, the nightmares, the reliving of it, the thoughts, had gradually slowed down. The what-ifs hadn't though. I still wondered what would have happened if I had done one thing differently. Would he still be with me? But I always pushed those thoughts away because if I was with him then I wouldn't have Emma Alice Black. She was now my life. Jacob, of course, eased the pain to a tolerable-livable level, but Emma... Emma was the reason I had begun to push away the what-ifs. I had made the conscious decision to move on, for her.

I finished up my shower and wrapped myself in a towel. I could hear Jake talking to the now awake Emma. He was cooing and doing what I called his baby talk. I threw on some clothes, sweats and a t shirt; I wasn't planning on going anywhere, and headed to the kitchen.

Emma was sitting happily in her high chair reaching for me. I quickly obliged and she snuggled her face into the crook of my neck. I patted he back and walked over toward Jake. He eyed me suspiciously, making sure that my spell from earlier had passed. I rolled my eyes and walked over to kiss him. He wrapped his arms around me and Emma, holding us tightly to him.

"Smells good!" I told him when he pulled away.

"Thanks! They are almost done," he informed me while continuing to mix the eggs in the pan. I walked over to the cabinets and pulled down two plates and carried them to the table. Emma was still drooling on my shoulder and I was glad that I had on just a t-shirt. I walked to the frige and pulled out Emma's bottle that needed to be heated and one of the baby food jars. We were starting to let her have a little of the vile smelling baby food. The smell alone made Jake and I gag, but she seemed to like it. Placing, Emma back into her chair, I looked up at Jake who was bring the pan of eggs to the table. "So, what's on tap for today?"

"Hmmm, maybe we should go see Charlie. He hasn't seen Em and almost a week!"

"That would probably be good. I can't believe he hasn't called and demanded that we bring her over yet." I was genuinely surprised that Charlie hadn't called. We drove back to Forks nearly once a week so that Charlie and Billy could see their granddaughter. Charlie was usually on the phone with me the day after we returned asking for another visit. I think Jake realized this too and we were both silent for a while.

"It's prolly nothing, Bella. Maybe he's been fishing this week, the weather has been super nice." I could tell that he was trying to not let me worry, but I knew that something wasn't right.

"Okay, Forks it is then! You ready to go see Papa, Em?" I fed her another bite of the awful smelling goo that was supposedly peaches. She cooed in response.