There aren't any Bella/Jacob stories (that I know of) where Jacob is a cop so I figured I'd write my own. As you can tell by my other Twilight stories, I'm Team Jacob and I wish Bella ended up with Jake and not Edward, though Team Edward fans would disagree with me.

Any mistakes that you see are my own.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Twilight Saga. Stephenie Meyer owns The Twilight Saga.

I'm running around the apartment like a chicken with its head cut off. Once again, I've slept through my alarm, which means the twins are late for school. Again. Thankfully, their teacher is very understanding—because she happens to be my stepsister—but this doesn't mean the twins can be late for school whenever they choose.

"Charlotte! Susannah!" I call from the kitchen where I'm putting the girls' lunches in their backpacks. "Time to go!"

"But Mommy, we haven't had breakfast yet," Charlotte whines as the girls emerge from their shared bedroom, both dressed in the outfits I laid out for them.

I go to the pantry and grab two granola bars. "Here," I say, handing each one to them. "You can eat these in the car." I put my shoes on first then I help Charlotte and Susannah with theirs. Once we're all ready, we head out to my car.

The twins' school is fifteen minutes away. As much as I would like to disobey traffic laws, I can't. There are children in the car, after all. Once I'm there, I park in front of the building and hurry to get the girls out of their car seats. This morning when I got out of bed, I didn't bother to get dressed or wash my face or do anything to make myself look presentable. So, it's no surprise when I show up to Charlotte and Susannah's classroom, hair all disheveled, face dirty, wearing a Mickey Mouse pajama T-shirt and matching pants.

"Charlotte, Susannah," Emily says from the front of the room. "So nice of you to join us."

"Sorry we're late, Miss Emily," the girls say in unison as they both make their way to their desks on opposite sides of the room.

"It's okay," Emily says before turning her attention to me, still standing in the doorway, hearing giggles from the students. "Nice PJs," she gestures to my attire, trying to not to giggle herself. "Will you be picking them up later?"

"I can't," I tell her. "I work at three today."

"No problem, then," Emily says. "I'll take them home with me."

We say our goodbyes and I head back to my car. Emily—along with her sister, Leah, and brother, Seth—has always been there for me, even when I became a single mother at sixteen. I get along great with Leah and Seth, but it was Emily whom I became close to. We were (still are) best friends. There were times when I couldn't pick up the twins from school or take them to their after-school activities and pick them up afterwards because I was working. Emily would do that and she would bring them home with her. She'd look after them until I was done with work, even if it was late at night.

I'm tired when I get home and decide to go back to sleep, setting my alarm to eleven and placing my phone inches away from my face, hoping I'll wake up this time.

Surprisingly, the diner wasn't very busy. But then again, it's a weekday. I'm sweeping the floors when I hear the bell, signaling that a customer had just walked through the door.

"Sorry, we're closed!" I call out, not bothering to look up.

"I understand," a male voice says. "But could I please just get a cup of coffee? I'm working the night shift so I have to be on high alert."

When I look up, a man who looks to be in his late twenties is standing in the doorway, wearing a police uniform. He's holding his police hat to his chest and grinning at me. His skin is a russet color, his eyes are brown, and his hair is short and black. He's also really buff, for a cop. He must work out a lot. I'm suddenly smitten with him but I can never date him. I'm not interested in dating anyone. My main focus are my children and providing for them. Also, seeing him in his police uniform brings back memories of my father, the Chief of Police.

Fighting back the tears that are threatening to well up in my eyes, I purse my lips before going behind the counter to make a fresh pot of coffee. "Okay, but only because you're a cop and if I were to refuse, you'd probably arrest me."

The man laughs. "It's not really a crime to say no to a cop when he asks you to make a cup of coffee for him. If anything, I'd just keep begging until you said yes."

Now it's my turn to laugh. Once the pot is filled, I'm about to grab a mug when the young man's voice stops me. "Oh, it's okay. I brought my own cup." He hands me a thermos with the lid off and I take it, placing it down on the counter and pouring the coffee into it. I pass the thermos back to the man, along with two single-serve cups of creamer, two packets of sweetener, and a coffee stirrer. He takes one of each and pours them in his coffee, using the stirrer to mix them in.

"I'm Jacob by the way," the man sticks out his hand. "Officer Jacob Black. But you can call me Jake."

"Isabella Swan," I shake his hand before pulling away. "But everyone calls me Bella."

The man called Jacob's eyes widen in surprise. "Swan? You don't happen to be related to Charlie Swan? The late Chief of Police?"

"He's my father," I say, sadly.

"He was a good man," Jake tells me. "He died too soon." He notices my discomfort. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. It's just that, your father was well-loved by everyone. I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for him."

"Really? Why is that?" I ask, curiously.

Jake hesitates, like he doesn't want to upset me further. "Would you mind if we sit so I can tell you all about it?" He gestures to one of the booths by the window.

I nod and follow him, sitting down across from him.

Jake starts, "I wanted to become a cop like Charlie for as long as I could remember. I wanted to catch criminals and get them off the street. I wanted to save lives. My high school was having a job fair. Charlie was there with one of his colleagues. When I approached their booth and told him I wanted to become a cop, he told me I could do it. He asked if I wanted to shadow him for a day. I of course said yes and that day, I got to see what it was like being a cop. I got to ride in a police car, watch Charlie give out citations to drivers who were disobeying traffic laws. All the things a cop does when he's in the field.

"The next day, I filled out the application for the Police Academy instead of a college application. Charlie even put in a good word with someone he knew from there. He saw I had potential. When I got the acceptance letter in the mail, I wanted him to be the first to know. I didn't get a chance to tell him I had gotten into the Academy."

Jake gives me a sad look and takes my hand in his, a gesture that makes me uncomfortable since I just met him. I don't pull away, though. "I know what it's like to lose your parents. Mine died in a car accident when I was twelve years old. By that point, my sisters were eighteen years old, but it was my oldest sister, Rebecca, who became my legal guardian until I turned eighteen."

"I'm sorry," I say, meaning it.

Jake just gives me a small smile before releasing my hand to grab his phone attached to his belt. He turns it on and glances down at the time.

"I have to go," he says, standing up. "Night shift. Thanks for the coffee, Bella. I hope to see you again soon."

I say bye to him, giving him a small wave as he walks out of the diner.

"Who was that?" I jump at Leah's voice from behind the counter. Not only is she my stepsister, but she is also my co-worker.

I get up from the booth and go to lock the door. "That was Jacob. Jacob Black. He's a cop. He just came in to grab a cup of coffee."

"He's hot," Leah says, winking at me. "You gonna go for that?"

I shake my head. "You know I can't."

"Bella, when's the last time you went on a date?" she asks me.

I think about it before answering. "When I was sixteen. But look where that led to."

"If you don't want to make the same mistake again, then don't have sex with the guy on the first date," Leah says. "Or at least go on the pill if you do plan to have sex with him." She laughs before walking to the back of the diner to grab her stuff from the lockers, me following behind.

"I don't know, Leah," I tell her, putting on my coat before grabbing my shoulder bag from my locker. "I'm just not interested in dating anyone at the moment. Right now, I need to focus on my children."

"Your children will always be your number one priority," Leah says as she turns off all the lights. "Going on a date with the hot cop won't change that." Once we're outside, I lock up and we just stand there in the cold night air.

"You know, Dad was also a cop," I point out to her.

"And?"

"Seeing Jake in his police uniform brought up memories of him, including that night."

Leah sighs, giving me a sad look, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Look at me." I do, and she continues, "It's not your fault." I nod. "Dad gave you an order and you took it because there was no disobeying the Chief of Police."

"I wish I had, though," I say. "Then he and Mom would still be alive."

"Then you'd be dead," Leah tells me. "We'd all be dead. Someone needed to protect the children, even if it meant sacrificing themselves. Mom and Dad knew what they were doing was dangerous, but they did it anyway. They did it to save us." She puts a hand on my shoulder, gazing into my eyes. "So don't think for one second that what happened eight years ago was your fault because it's not. It's those bad guys' fault. They made a choice and paid the price for it."

I smile and Leah wraps an arm around my shoulder as we head to our separate cars. We hug and say bye to one another and I get in my car. I turn on the engine and pull out of the parking lot and onto the road, making my way back to my babies.