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Part Two: Chapter One: Life Moves Forward

Four years later….

Jacob walked up the sandy beach where he knew Bella would be sitting in her lounge chair soaking in the late afternoon sun. She didn't like to be out during the hottest parts of the day. She claimed she was tan enough. Jake didn't care about the color of her skin. She was always sexy to him. She was solely his Bells now. His heart always skipped an extra beat when he thought about her. She was his whole life.

"Hey beautiful." Jake plopped down in the chair next to her. Handing her a cold bottle of water, he squinted his eyes as he stared up at the beautiful sunset.

"Hey honey. How was business today?" Bella asked as she sips on her water. She found it interesting how he always seems to know when she was hungry or thirsty. The man was amazing at sensing her every mood.

"Good. I received payment for that commission piece the lawyer ordered for his wife and mistress." Jake chuckled rudely. He didn't understand why men betrayed women they claimed to love.

"That's good. That alone should take care of our winter get away trip." Bella winked at him.

Due to the lack of tourism during the winter season, business remained slow so they both decided this was the best time to plan a getaway and spend the holiday season.

The holidays was the hardest time of the year for them. Although they had one another and sometimes spent time with friends, it didn't replace the loss of their real family and friends back home in Forks.

"Definitely. So what about you? Did you get any writing done?" Jake looked over at the closed notebook sitting on the ground next to her.

"A little." Bella sighed heavily.

"What happened?"

"I was in the mood but then suddenly I got terribly sick to my stomach. I took some medicine and laid down. When I woke up I just felt so …blah….couldn't seem to get my head back into the book." Bella yawned.

"You should go get that stomach ache checked out. That's the third time in the past two weeks." Jake set up studying her face closely. He noted that her eyes were starting to get small dark rings underneath them. She didn't look pale but she was so tanned it was hard to tell these days. His eyes scanned her body over. He noted that she had the button undone on her shorts.

"I'm fine Jake. I think I just need to take some vitamins." Bella shrugged her shoulders casually.

"Vitamins won't heal a stomach problem. I want you to go in and see the doctor Bella." Jake's voice was soft but stern.

Bella cocked her head to the side and stared into his eyes. She could see that he was determined to have her go see the doctor. Letting out a long deep breathe she knew it was fruitless to argue with him when he was in this state of mind.

"Fine."

"Good. Let's go up the house. I'm in the mood for steak tonight. I will grill if you make the salad." Jake offered.

"Mmm…that sounds good." Bella licked her lips as her stomach growled loudly. They look at one another and laughed.

Taking her hand, they walked up the steps that led to their small cozy home. The house was secluded so they had plenty of privacy. He knew how Bella didn't care for crowded areas. She was always fearing the chance of running into vampires. He reminded her that Forks hadn't been over populated. They still managed to get vampires in their area.

Working together as they prepared their meal, they discussed Bella's book and Jake's work. Once they were seated at the table they grew quiet as they devoured their meal. When it was done, Jake insisted on doing the dishes while Bella laid on the couch. A half an hour later he returned to find her passed out. Lifting her up he took her to their room and laid her gently down on the bed. He was growing genuinely concerned about her health. She hadn't been acting like herself.

Pulling the blanket over her he wondered if she was going through one of her dark moments again. Since they left the Cullen's she had periods when she would grow very quiet and have restless nights. When he asked her about it she would blame it on hormones but he had a feeling there was more to it. He didn't push her. He knew when she was ready she would discuss what was bothering her.

He knew it was killing her that she hadn't heard from the Cullen's in the past three years since they broke away from them. He didn't blame her for missing them. They were her family. However, he couldn't afford to let her fall back under their spell. He knew that in their hearts that they would love for her to become one of them.

He only allowed Edward to see her once after their final night in the Cullen's house. Edward explained he was coming to give Bella the divorce decree asked that Jake allow him to talk to Bella one last time. Jake understood that Edward had wanted a better ending with Bella then the way they had left it. Edward had gone over the deep end when he came home and saw Bella was packing to leave him. It had really drove him berserk to know that she had already slept with Jake before she had even ended her marriage to him. It had been a act of betrayal that had stung his ego and broke his heart. When he finally managed to pull himself together, he remembered that Bella had imprinted with Jake and was no longer the woman he had married. She couldn't stop the attraction she had felt for Jake no more than he could for her. Yet that night Edward only saw red. He tried to calm down but the calmness didn't last long and his true demonic nature came through as he threatened to kill her in order to keep her by his side. Jake gave him two hours while he patrolled the area to make sure that Edward hadn't set up a attack or worse, brought more vampires to the area with his scent.

When he returned he found Bella weeping. For nearly a week she stayed in the bed. She only bothered to get out of it to use the bathroom and take a shower. He was kind enough to bring her meals to the room. He knew she was hurting but it was killing him to watch her mourn over the ending of her marriage. He hoped that their imprint would make the break up easier this round. Fortunately it hadn't lasted as long as he feared. She managed to pull herself out of the deep despair and was bouncing back into the woman he loved. There were days when he saw the darkness in her eyes and knew she was thinking about them.

He had only granted Nessie permission to speak to her. He wouldn't prevent her from talking to her daughter. Nessie had finally managed to get past her own heartache and ask Bella and Jake for their forgiveness for her horrible behavior . They agreed it had been a hard ordeal on all of them. From that moment on Nessie called them once a month to keep them updated on how she was enjoyed her calls. Jake did as well until she began to speak about Nahuel. He knew that Nahuel was a part vampire like Nessie. Edward had mentioned the mysterious guy to him a few times in the past. He knew that Bella thought that Nessie's interest in him was just from natural curiosity. Jake knew it was much deeper than that. He kept the information to himself in case he was wrong.

Jake no longer loved Nessie the way he once had. He saw her as a step daughter. He cared for her. He would kill for her not because he loved her but because she was a part of Bella. He hoped that Rose wasn't pushing the relationship to run its course faster than it should. He knew that Rose wanted Nessie happy and they both knew that Nessie wanted to experience everything in a relationship. This would entail sex. He had to admit the thought of Nessie having sex with someone turned his stomach. He could still see her as a baby. He would never think anyone was worthy enough to be her lover but he also knew he had little say in the matter.

Laying next to Bella he made a mental note to get someone to cover the shop so he could personally take Bella into the doctor the following day.

Two days later….

Jake and Bella sat patiently in the doctors office awaiting the blood results from her tests two days before. The doctor seemed concerned about her sudden change in appetite and restlessness. He informed them that she had lost ten pounds since her last visit. He just wanted to run some tests to make sure it wasn't anything worse than a bad stomach virus.

"Good morning you two." The doctor sat across from them as he opened the folder he had held in his hands when he entered the room.

"Good morning." they said together.

"I have some great news Bella. Your not dying. All the tests I ran came out negative for any life threatening diseases." The doctor informed them happily. He knew that Bella was more concerned that her illness might somehow end with her death.

Both sighed with relief.

"However, you are ten weeks pregnant. I am going to refer you to a ob/gyn who can run further tests on you. I think the weight loss could be normal. You did say you were sick often and tired so that would explain the lack of appetite over the past few weeks." He continued.

Bella and Jake had been holding hands as they listened to the doctor. When they heard she was pregnant both of their heads whipped around to look at each other's face. Neither of them had planned on this being a result of her tests.

"Are you sure?" Jake asked.

"Of course I'm sure. We even have a picture of the baby if you like to see." He pulls out a sonogram photo. Jake reached out first to look at it.

"Wow. I mean…are you sure that's a baby?" Jake squinted his eyes trying to make out what the doctor identified as a baby.

Bella gasped loudly.

"I've been a doctor long enough to know what a fetus looks like." The doctor chuckled loudly.

"Wow." Jake said again handing Bella the picture.

Bella's hands trembled as she looked at it.

"Yep. So here is the name and number of the doctor. I think you will like her. She has a lot of experience and a lot of my patients have given her great reviews."

"Wow." Jake took the card from the doctor.

"Is that all you can say?" Bella snapped as she stood up abruptly.

"Bella, I know this is a bit of a surprise for you but I would think you would be happy with the news." The doctor frowned at her sudden angry outburst toward Jake.

"A surprise? That's a understatement doctor. We both used protection. How is this possible?" Bella demanded.

"When God has a plan...birth control won't get in his way." The doctor replied.

"God. You think this was God's plan for me?" Bella's eyes filled with tears.

"How else can you explain it?" The doctor shrugged his shoulders.

"She is just a bit shocked. She will be less freaked out once she sees this doctor and she tells her that everything will be okay." Jake assured the doctor. Standing up he reached over the desk and shook his hand. Placing his hand on Bella's lower back he pushed her gently out of the office. He didn't say another word until they were in the privacy of their vehicle.

"Bella I know we didn't plan this but you have to admit it's a miracle." Jake started with a gentle loving tone.

"I know that the doctor in California told us that you probably wouldn't ever get pregnant after ….well the way Nessie was born but you are pregnant. We just proved them wrong."

"Jake, what if something happens. What if I don't go to full term?" Bella's voice crackled as she looked at him with both eyes shining from unshed tears.

"Don't talk like that. Let's wait and see what this doctor says. I have a good feeling it's going to be different for us." Jake hoped like hell it would be. He didn't want to lose her. He would die if she somehow died from childbirth again.

"I hope so." Bella sobbed as Jake wrapped his arms around her.

"Exactly, we have to hope for the best Bella. We are two human beings. We are not ….well…we aren't freaks of nature. I know you hate when I say it like that but we are both alive. Two healthy human beings. Our baby will be normal." Jake hoped like hell she didn't start screaming at him.

"Jake, your not exactly normal." Bella pointed out that he could phase into a wolf. That wasn't exactly normal in her book.

"True but Emily had two healthy babies and I'm sure more of the pack had healthy babies. We can do this. We can bring this baby into the world and neither you or it will die on me. I won't let it happen." He vowed.

Kissing her tenderly he held her in his arms for several more minutes before he turned on the truck and took them both back home where they called and made an appointment to be seen as soon as possible.

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Four months later….

Jake handed Bella a saucer filled with sliced apples and caramel sauce on the side. It was Bella's favorite midnight snack.

"Do we have anymore left over ham?" Bella asked as she saved her file then set her lap top away.

"Ham? You want ham at twelve o'clock at night?" Jake looked astonished at her.

Bella wasn't a big fan of meat but since she hit her fourth month of pregnancy she had insisted on eating it with one meal a day. He liked watching her appetite increase. At the beginning of her pregnancy she had lost so much weight that the doctors had been concerned. Now in her sixth month of pregnancy, she had gained back the ten pounds and a few more and seemed to be enjoying every inch of her new waist line.

"Please. I'm so hungry." Bella rubbed her stomach. Bella's eyes suddenly grew very large.

"What?" Jake sat down beside her. His heart began to race as he watched her expression closely.

"I think it kicked again." Bella giggled.

"Really." Jake was relieved.

"Yeah. Here." Bella placed his hand over the spot where she felt the movement.

Both of them held their breathes as they awaited for another sign of movement. A minute later they were both graced with a kick.

Jake yanked his hand away as he looked amazed.

"Wow! That was one heck of a kick." Jake cried out.

"I know. It use to be like a flutter but lately it's been stronger." Bella gushed.

"I think he is doing karate in there."

"Um…He?" Bella batted her eye lashes.

"Or she." Jake laughed.

"We seriously should start thinking names."

"I already told you until we get to the ninth month, I don't want to jinx it." Bella argued.

"How is naming our baby going to jinx your pregnancy?" Jake scowled.

"Look, I know this is all exciting and new for you but unfortunately the last time I named my child before she was born it didn't turn out so well. I'm just trying to be cautious." Bella caught him wincing as she brought up the fact that this wasn't her first pregnancy. She knew it was a constant kick in the nuts for him to be reminded that she had laid with Edward. She knew his wolf hated the idea that she had been with it's enemy before she had recognized the love they shared.

"I understand cautious, Bella, trust me I do. I just think your being perhaps a bit paranoid. Not that you don't have reason to be freaked out. I just….well….I am so damn excited." Jake flopped back down on the bed, laying his head gently over her stomach. Bella giggled as he pretended to listen to the baby talk to him.

"See, even "it" wants a name instead of being called "it" all the time." Jake teased her.

Bella rolled her eyes playfully.

"No." She continued to be firm with her decision. She knew he was happy and so was she but nothing would sway her to change her mind at this point in her pregnancy. The pregnancy was a miracle. This was her second miracle. Like the men in her life, pregnancies and her were a strange phenomena. This time however, she would be the first person to see her newborn child. She wasn't going to let anything or anyone come between her and her child.

She was already feeling a certain protectiveness for her unborn child. She understood now why Edward was so angry with her for inflicting unintentional pain on their daughter. He understood logically she had not chosen to hurt Nessie. On the other hand he also knew she had another option that night to prevent any further pain to Nessie and she chose not to go along with his plan.

In the past she had loved Edward so much that she had willingly gave up so much to keep that love alive. Now, she understood that love shouldn't cost you anything. She hoped that he understood that her decision to stay with Jake wasn't from the lack of love for him but a personal choice. It made entirely sense that she and Jake had been imprinted all along. It explained why when Jake was near her she was always on edge. Her hormones would kick in high gear. She felt so relaxed and totally herself.

When she was with Edward she had felt alive but it wasn't from the love they shared. No, it was more about the constant danger and excitement that he offer her ordinary world. He had opened her eyes to a supernatural world that had enticed her. She had grown addicted to the bizarre and dangerous situations. She had misunderstood her feelings. She had been a teenage girl after all.

" Who are you thinking about?" Jake's question broke her train of thought.

"Umm…Nessie." Bella wasn't entirely lying. She had been wondering all day why Nessie hadn't called this month. She wondered if she was taking the news of her pregnancy harder than she had let on. Bella squeezed her eyes tightly as she recalled the conversation she had shared with her daughter that early morning a few weeks after she discovered her pregnancy.

"Nessie you should be more careful. I can't believe Emmett let you drive the speed boat." Bella sighed nervously.

"Bella, come on. I'm not going to kill myself in a boat." Nessie giggled.

"I know your immortal in the sense that you will live a long, long time but your not invincible. Vampires die too." Bella reminded her.

"I know that. I don't think the boat was going to snap my head off of my shoulders."

Bella winced at the image that formed in her mind from her daughter's choice of wording.

"Sorry." Nessie apologized.

"What else have you been up too?" Bella changed the subject.

"Well, Nahuel and I went exploring in some caves we found off the coast. It was so cool. I am going to send you some stones I found. They were so beautiful. Oh! I also saw a dolphin and it let me swim with it. Dad says that is unusual because they usually take us as the enemy." Nessie snorted.

"That sounds fun. I look forward to the package." Bella chewed on the corner her lip as she try to muster up the courage to reveal to her daughter that she was now pregnant with Jake's baby. Nessie seemed more comfortable when they didn't mention anything directly about her relationship with Jake.

"So what news do you have to tell me? Alice said she saw something this morning and I should call you." Nessie confessed.

Bella felt her heart flutter anxiously. She didn't like knowing that Alice was still trying to keep tabs on her future. She really didn't want any heads up about how she would die someday.

"I….you see I wasn't feeling well so I went to the doctor." Bella started.

"And he told me I wasn't dying." Bella laughed harshly.

"I'm glad to hear that. But what did he say was wrong with you?" Nessie's chipper voice had dimmed into a nervous tone.

"I'm pregnant Nessie. I'm going to have a baby." Bella inhaled sharply, closing her eyes she braced herself for her daughter's wrath. Instead she only heard several minutes of silence.

"Nessie, are you okay?" Bella mumbled.

"Yes. I am just a bit shocked. I didn't know you and Jake had gotten married yet." Nessie answered sadly.

"What! No! We haven't. I ….we didn't plan it. I swear to you. The doctor says that it's possible to get pregnant even though we both tried to prevent it." Bella wasn't about to tell her that the doctor also mention that God deemed this pregnancy somehow. She knew it would hurt Nessie's feelings somehow to think that God didn't find it necessary for her to be with Nessie also.

"I'm shocked. Dad is always ranting about how important it is to be married before you have sex and have babies." Nessie explained.

Bella's cheeks burned with embarrassment. It was pretty clear that despite the fact that Nessie lived in the twenty first century her father was raising her with his old views. Bella wasn't sure if this pleased her or angered her. At the moment it pissed her off. It made her look like a scarlet woman in her innocent daughter's eyes.

"It is proper to be married before you do those things. However, I'm a grown woman who lives with a man and well….sex is a factor in our relationship. I didn't want to have children with Jake until we were married someday. But once again I have no say in the matter." Bella laughed softly.

"Why aren't you two married yet? I mean, your his imprint. You're a grown woman. You don't need your father's consent. Why haven't you married Jake, Bella?" Nessie's questions threw Bella for a loop. She wasn't prepared to answer the very questions that Jake had asked her more than once before.

"I will marry Jake someday. I'm in no rush. I rush into it once and it didn't turn out quite like I had envisioned." Bella exhaled deeply and long.

"But that was different. You are Jake's imprint. You should be jumping over the moon at the very idea of marring him. Do you not love him anymore?" Nessie's voice grew deep with concern.

"I love Jake. Trust me nothing or no one will ever change how I feel about Jake. Our love is forever." Bella answered sincerely.

"Then why don't you marry him?" Nessie pushed.

"I…let's talk about you. Are you okay with my pregnancy?" Bella changed the topic of their conversation back to what concerned her the most. She didn't want to explain to Nessie that she loved Jake but marriage scared her. She knew one day she would share his name but for now she just preferred being good old Bella Swan.

"What did you guys talk about the last time she called?" Jake rolled his face over to her stomach planting a kiss on it before sitting upright.

"She told me that her and Nahuel were going sky diving. She mentioned she wanted to get flying lessons next. The girl has an amazing resume. I swear she can do more things that I can imagine trying." Bella answered. Her face glowed with pride.

"She is amazing like that. I just worry what happens when she runs out of things to try and do. Then what will she look for, for fun?" Jake replied seriously.

"What do you mean?" Bella looked alarmed.

"I just think that they give her so much, so fast that eventually she will out of experiences and then she might start exploring things that are better left alone." Jake shrugged his shoulders.

"Do you think she is going to go all evil on us?" Bella half laughed but when she saw he wasn't laughing back her heart jump rapidly.

"I don't know about evil but she has a short attention span. You got to keep her busy in order to keep her out of trouble. At least that was her nature as a child." Jake replied.

"I know in human years Nessie is only eleven years old but honey in experience and maturity she has far exceeds that number. I'm sure that she will find things to keep her occupied that are less dangerous. At least I sure hope so. The girl is giving me a fright." Bella winced as the baby kick again but this time it wasn't a fun kick. It actually hurt.

"Ouch." Bella winced again.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know. It has kicked twice now and it actually hurt." Bella answered.

Sitting up further, she put a few more pillows behind her hoping it might alleviate some of the pain she was starting to experience in her lower back.

"You should go to sleep. I'm sure your just exhausted. It's really late. You are starting to sleep like a vampire." Jake joked as he took the dishes and started to leave the room.

"Very funny Jake." Bella rolled her eyes.

Closing her eyes she drifted into a deep sleep rather faster than normal. It took only a half hour before her dreams began. No, not dreams. Nightmares. They were starting to increase in the past few weeks. She hadn't told Jake about them. She knew he wouldn't put much stock in them. She however, knew from experience that they often left her with clues of things to come or were happening already. Everyone assumed that Nessie's gift had come from being a vampire and Bella left them thinking so. It was her that had the gift for seeing things in her dreams. She liked it at first. It made her feel like she belonged with the rest of them but now they were starting to scare her. She wished they would go away. When she woke up from them she couldn't remember all the details. She was just left with this cold dreaded feeling of fear.

These nightmares were warning her that something horrible and very dangerous was heading their way and this time Edward and the rest of the Cullen's wouldn't be there to protect them from it.

Bella shivered in her sleep. Jake's arms automatically wrapped around her body pulling her up against him where between his heat and love she drifted away from the nightmares and finally fell into a calm deep sleep.

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A/N: Thank you for joining Part Two: you guys have been so gracious with the reviews and support of this story. I hope you enjoy the second part of Unwavering Fate as much as you did Part one. xoxoxA