A/N: This, like Maybe Next Time, was a 500 word drabble written for an anonymous contest in the LiveJournal community sortofbeautiful (which is AWESOME, so go check it out). The prompt was "Meet me at your best behavior/Meet me at your worst." Enjoy!
"Edward…oh, Edward…" Jake stared at the sleeping Bella, his expression changing swiftly from drowsiness to confusion to anger in a matter of seconds as he realized what was going on. "Edward…"
"Bella, wake up! You're dreaming!"
She stirred. "Hmmm…Jake? Jacob? Oh God, Jake, it was terrible!" Bella burst into hysterical tears, no trace of sleep left in her wide eyes. She threw herself into his arms as she wept, allowing herself to be comforted. When she had pulled herself together, she found a sitting position on Jake's big lap and closed her eyes.
"It was awful, Jake. Really awful. We…we were married!" The words brought on a fresh wave of tears, and she put her face in her hands as Jake recoiled, hurt.
"Well, I didn't realize that was how you felt about us…" Jake muttered, and Bella corrected herself.
"No, Jake! Not me and you, me and Edward! I was married to Edward!" Suddenly she was laughing, tears still dampening her cheeks, the very picture of madness. "We got married," she repeated, "and we were in some house that I didn't recognize, and he wrecked the bedroom while we were—" She caught Jake's eye, cleared her throat, and moved on. "Anyway, I don't remember it all—which is probably for the best—but there was this part near the end…" Her laughter subsided now, leaving her the quietest she'd been since waking so hysterically. "Near the end…"
"What, honey? What happened?" Jake held her tightly, fearfully. The blank, empty expression on her face reminded him of one he hadn't seen since she had begun to recover, since the pain of the leech's betrayal had begun to lessen. Since she had learned to let Jake kiss it away.
"Near the end, I had a baby. I don't remember the details, exactly. You know how dreams are. But all of a sudden she was there, and you…" Bella shifted to face him, her wide eyes looking nowhere but his. "You had imprinted on her, Jake. On my baby."
"Oh, Bells. Bella, honey, come here." He gathered her to him tighter than ever as her tears began again. He was glad for them, glad for anything that would replace that horrible emptiness.
"All I could th-th-think when I woke up was that you weren't muh-muh-mine anymore!" Bella wailed, pressing her body to his. "I need you mine, Jacob. I need you here. I can't have you leave, I can't have you leave like him…"
"Never," he whispered into her hair, hoping she couldn't feel his trembling. The thought of this other life, of Bella's daughter, sickened him. He could only imagine how horrible it must have been for her to live it, even if only in a dream. "Just you, Bells, for better and for best. For worse and for worst. I will be here, always." She nodded into his chest, then pulled away and gave him a watery smile. Together they watched the dawn break and their thoughts, though silent, were united; he had better not come back.