A/N: So I took a little break from writing after Breaking Dawn My Way and this is my new story. Basically, Bella didn't jump off the cliff, and so this story is how things might have played out after that. Enjoy, and please review!!

Disclaimer: Not Stephenie Meyer, don't own Twilight, New Moon, etc, or any of it's characters.

Chapter One

I stood rocking back and forth on the balls of my feet, staring at the crashing waves below. I felt the salty spray of the freezing ocean whip against my face. I closed my eyes and leaned forward, preparing to fling myself from the edge of the cliff into the icy water below. I stepped back, preparing myself for a bit of a running start, and began to count to myself.

"One… two…" I opened my eyes and…

…chickened out. Who was I kidding? I could not jump off a cliff! Definitely not without Jacob here for support. I stood watching the water pound against the rocks and sighed. I was all for being stupid and daring lately, but not even stupid, reckless Bella was going to jump off a cliff into mind-numbingly cold water.

"Bella!" I heard Jacob's panicked voice call from behind me. "Don't jump from this height, that'll kill you!"

"Don't worry," I promised him as he ran to my side. "I chickened out."

"Miss 'I crash my motorcycle into trees for a living' chickened out?" he asked, his voice full of shock. I narrowed my eyes at him and he quickly added, "But that's smart! One less trip to the emergency room for us."

I chuckled. "I'm sorry; my stupidity must be costing a fortune in gas."

"That's okay," he replied with a smirk. "We always end up taking your truck anyway."

I laughed, but my mind was already flying in a new direction; choosing not to jump had been a huge step for me. Did this mean I was finally letting – I gasped, trying so hard just to think his name – Edward go? I was no longer so desperate to cause my hallucinatory Edward to appear that I was able to stop myself from jumping off the cliff?

Jacob wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. He set his head on top of mine and sighed. "Don't scare me like that, Bells. I can't take anymore stress today."

"Sorry," I said guiltily. "Wait, 'anymore'? Did you find Victoria?" Suddenly, all the fears I had been suppressing came flooding back. "Is there something else wrong?"

"Um, well, no, we didn't find her," he began tentatively. He lifted his head off of mine and looked down at me.

"What is it? Something else is wrong," I said. It was a statement, not a question.

"Yeah, it's Harry Clearwater," Jacob admitted. "He had a heart attack. He doesn't look too good right now; our dads are at the hospital visiting him now, with Leah, Seth, Sam, and Sue."

"Oh no," I moaned. With Victoria and Harry, I didn't need to be stressing him out even more. What if I had jumped? What if I had died? What would that have done to Charlie, Jake, and everyone else? "I'm so sorry," I sighed, leaning my head back against his chest and relishing in his warmth.

"Yeah, it sucks," he admitted, gently twirling a strand of my hair. This simple action brought a million new thoughts rushing to my brain, all competing for my attention.

After my big step today in letting him go, maybe now could I be with Jake? Was I willing to give up that part of me again? To let Jake try and fix me? Just because he wasn't Edward, that didn't mean that he couldn't be just as perfect for me, right?

"Let's go down to the beach," I suggested. Jake released me, but grabbed my hand, and led me back to my truck. He walked me around to the passenger side and held the door open for me, then proceeded to slide into the driver's seat. He drove my truck back to his house, and from there we walked down to the beach.

We walked along the edge of the water in silence for a while until we came upon our little spot. I sat down on the log and motioned for him to join me. He sat, leaving what seemed to me to be a sizeable space between us. Great, now that I was trying to let him in, he was keeping his distance like I had asked him to.

Once he was settled, I slid myself closer to him, and gently grabbed his hand.

"Jake, I –" I began, but that was as far as I got.

His eyes grew wide with comprehension as to what I was trying to do, and he grinned, wrapped his arms around me, and kissed me. It was gentler than I would've expected from him, but it was also warm, and comforting.

"You were implying that we are… that we could… right?" he asked.

I laughed. "Yes. But in the future, it might be good to confirm that fact before you kiss the girl," I grinned at him.

"I don't intend to need that fact for future reference," he said, smiling. "What made you change your mind?"

This question wasn't so easy to answer. Could I do it without divulging just how insane I really was? "Well, I mean… obviously, I like you too," I began.

"I should hope so."

"Yeah and … I guess I've been holding onto something that's not there. He," I began, unable to bring myself to use Edward's name with Jake, "left his mark, of course. I thought for so long he'd taken pieces of me, and that I'd never be whole, but I'm not so sure that's true anymore. I think, no, I know I can let him go. I want to give you a chance. You deserve a chance," I finished confidently.

"I'm glad you finally think so," he smiled at me again.

We sat in silence for a while, watching the waves rolling in and out. I don't know how long we sat there, when suddenly we heard a rough voice call to us from down the beach, in the direction of Jake's house.

"Jacob, Bella," Sam called, "He's gone. Charlie and Billy are helping Sue make the arrangements."

The tears began to flow freely down my face, and Jake pulled me close. "We'll all get through this," he assured me, though his voice was pinched, as I could tell he was fighting back tears, too.

Charlie was a zombie over the following days, barely conscious of what he was doing or where he was going. I was so grateful that I hadn't jumped; if something had happened to me, too, I didn't think Charlie would've been able to handle it. I did everything I could for him, but it still was never enough to really fix him. I could finally appreciate how he felt, and the position I had put him in, when Edward left. I did everything I could to comfort him without reminding him of Harry.

At the funeral, I sat between Charlie, and Jacob, holding each of their hands. Jake was warm and comforting to me, and I think my being there was comforting to Charlie. At one point, I looked up at him, and his eyes were fixed on my hand and Jacob's, intertwined. He smiled, and then his eyes returned to the front of the church. Okay, so that would be an awkward conversation for us to have, but if it would cheer him up, make him a little less broken, of course I'd take it.

After the funeral, Jake came back with Charlie and I to the house. I decided to make Charlie some comfort food, hoping it would help, and he and Jake watched some sort of sporting even on TV while I cooked. When it was finished, they came in and sat at the table, where I had placed all the dishes off food.

"Smells amazing Bella," Jake said with a smile, leaning over to kiss me on the cheek. I flushed crimson. I still hadn't talked to Charlie yet.

"So, are you two kind of an item now?" Charlie asked, tactful as always.

"Uh, well," I stammered, not exactly sure how to answer.

"Yeah, finally," Jake said grinning at Charlie, and grabbing a hold of my hand.

"Well it's about time," Charlie said, smiling for the first time in days. "You two are great together."

Jake grinned at me again, and then let go of my hand and dug into the food in front of him. He and Charlie inhaled their food as if it were going to disappear any moment, not even pausing to talk. I picked at mine, thinking over the past few days. This relationship with Jake had to be a good thing. It made Jake happy, it made Charlie happy, I'm sure it would make Billy happy, it made me happy… how could something that pleased so many people be bad?

After dinner, Jake decided it was time to head home. I drove him back to La Push, having driven him back to my house after the funeral, and we held hands in the truck. He could've just run home, but Charlie would've questioned why I sent him to walk home to La Push by himself in the rain. On the drive, I realized how much I really did enjoy being with Jake. I knew it from the moment I met him, before I even started dating Edward, but I hadn't allowed myself to realize just how wonderful it could be when Edward was there.

Now, just being here with Jake, no strings attached, no complications, it really was wonderful.

He seemed to be reading my mind. "I missed you," he said quietly, rubbing my hand. "You've been around, but never really here. You're actually here mentally now, too, and it's wonderful."

"I'm glad," I said, and really meant it.

He leaned in and kissed me softly. "I'll meet you outside of school tomorrow," he said with a smile. "We can go do something fun after."

"Sounds great," I agreed.

The next couple weeks with Jake were wonderful. It wasn't anything like being with Edward, but it was just as good. In his own way, he was absolutely perfect for me, and now that I was finally completely myself with him, I couldn't believe I'd waited so long to do so.

We did a lot of hanging out down at the beach, or in my living room, but a sudden thought occurred to me one day lounging on our small little love seat.

"We've never gone on a date," I said thoughtfully, studying the pattern of the ceiling.

"Wow, you're right Bells, how did we go this long without one?" he asked.

"Well, there wasn't really anything conventional about the way our relationship began," I admitted.

"We're going to change that," he said resolutely. "Friday night. You, me, dinner and a movie."

"Sounds like a plan," I smiled.

Friday arrived entirely too slowly for my taste, but finally it was here, and I was suddenly nervous. I tried on everything in my closet twice before deciding on a green sweater and the only skirt I owned. I almost wore my favorite blue sweater, but I wasn't ready for that yet; that color still belonged to him in my mind.

He picked me up in his car and we went to Port Angeles. We had dinner at a cute little Italian restaurant, and it was nice to have a date with someone who didn't just watch me eat. After dinner, we saw a chick flick, and it was actually quite adorable to watch Jake try to lay cheesy date moves on me. He did the whole yawning-wrapping-his-arms-around-me thing, grinning sheepishly all the while. All in all, it was one of the best nights I could remember having in a long time.

He dropped me off and kissed me a little less carefully than he ever had, and bid me a goodnight. I practically floated up the stairs, and into my room. I went inside, shut the door, and spun around to find I wasn't alone.

"Hi, love," Edward said quietly, stepping out of the shadows near my closet and into the moonlight.

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I hope you enjoyed it! PLEASE REVIEW!!