Jacob was waiting on the porch of our new house; Renesmee in his big hands. She had her left hand placed on his forehead. There was no doubt she was showing him all he'd missed.
Before I could even turn off the engine, Bella was out of the Ferrari and beside Jacob. She held him in a tight embrace, though not too tight that she'd crush him or the precious creature in his arms.
"Jacob! Jacob! Jacob!" Bella yelled as she hugged him. Her face was filled with joy, happiness, and love. This didn't bother me, like most thought. I knew Bella would always love Jacob, but in a different way than she loved me.
"What are you doing here? When did you get here?" The words flew out of her mouth like a tornado.
"You know I can't stay away from my best girls for long," Jacob's face filled with a huge smile at his words. He was happy just because Bella was happy to see him. The half vampire in his arms also had something to do with it, but that was understood. We all knew Jacob wouldn't be able to stay away form her for long.
"When did you get here?" Bella repeated.
"About an hour ago. I was hoping you'd get home soon. I can't say I feel completely comfortable around just Carlisle and Esme yet!" He joked, knowing that Bella would take the sentence as lightly as he did.
Without asking, Bella took Renesmee out of Jacob's arms and cradled her close to her chest. I stepped closer, one arm around my wife and the other shaking Jacob's hand. We weren't exactly friends now, but the need to act as enemies to one another constantly had vanished long ago.
Bella was lost in the eyes of her adoring daughter. It was as if Jacob wasn't even there. Jacob didn't take offense to it, though; he knew what it was like to be away from someone so precious for a long period of time.
"How long are you here for?" I asked, my hand still tightly gripping Jacob's.
"As long as I want," I knew he didn't mean that to be rude, it was just the way Jacob was. Wish they'd just move back to Forks. Don't need to go to school. Maybe I could move in…
"You're welcome for as long as you want," I added, ignoring Jacob's first thought. I was used to him going against these things; he'd never been in favor of the core of his existence leaving.
"Why don't we go inside and talk? We'll be less confined in the house," Alice, appearing out of nowhere, suggested.
The five of us, including my daughter in my wife's hands, walked to the house in silence. Three of the five were too happy for words; that left Alice and I. I knew the visit from Jacob was inescapable, but still, I hated it. I hated the idea of anything or anyone taking time away from being with my family.
"Bella! Edward! You're back! How was your day?" Esme asked in a sweet, but loud voice. It was as if we just returned from our first day of school and our mother was so anxious to know what happened. Not many mothers asked their children the same questions Esme was wondering, though. Did everything go okay? We probably would've heard by now if something had gone wrong.
Esme was always bothered by being alone in our big house. She hated that almost as much as she disliked being out of the loop. Even though Carlisle was home as well, she always felt more 'at home' with her full family. "Fine," Bella replied, Renesmee still in her firm hands, "We were the center of attention all day."
"Not that anyone would tell us that. They were all too scared to even make eye contact!" Alice joked.
"I expect nothing less," Esme agreed. Don't know why everyone got so worked up over nothing…
I agreed with Esme's thoughts completely. We'd known from the start that Bella was special - with more self control than all of us put together, excluding Carlisle. I guessed it was good that Rosalie and Emmett had left for the afternoon; Rose's presence would only sharpen the happiness of this mood. Jacob's unexpected visit really did have a big impact on Bella, and that was truly enlightening for him, as well.
"Bella was hardly even affected by being alone with a room full of humans by herself," I added, taking pride in my wife's fascinating self-control.
"Edward! How could you take such a chance?" Carlisle replied in an unusual, hasty tone. Even if Bella is a 'little angel' there is absolutely no need for such risks. You should've thought ahead. The last sentence was directed at me more than the others.
I nodded, taking full responsibility for my actions. Besides, who else was there to blame? The teachers and students weren't trying to make a joke out of losing lives by being alone with a newborn. I knew I should've been more careful, and I knew such a thing would never happen again.
Esme obviously stayed on the lighter side of things. "What? Really? You didn't even have to leave the room?" There was no doubt she was full of satisfaction; you didn't need to read minds to know that.
"Yeah!" Alice chirped in, "I saw her making the decision to go into the room alone, but I knew she could handle it," she directed her next thought to Bella, "You are so much better than the rest of us! I don't know how you do it."
Having gotten over his little quarrel, Carlisle put a smile on his face, "I'd say part of the reason for this amazing self control you have, Bella, is due to the fact that you had so much time beforehand to prepare for the thirst. There aren't many who would choose this life."
A smile lit on Bella's face. Despite the fact she didn't like attention, she did love when her family was happy with her. She put her arm around my waist, still holding Renesmee, "There is no way I would miss out on the chance for this kind of happiness."
She stood on her tiptoes - immortality hadn't given her an extra few inches - and leaned in to kiss me. If we would've been alone instead of with our family surrounding us, I would've held her body tight against mine, and that's where the rest of the night would've led to. But since there did happen to be loving family members next to us, we merely exchanged a light kiss on the lips.
"Get a room!" Jacob joked.
We laughed with him, knowing that wasn't too bad of an idea.
I wish I could be the one in a room with her… he thought a second after the words left his mouth.
I fought back a growl, but I wasn't prepared to hold back such a passionate hate. A fierce snarl escaped from my mouth, leaving the room quiet and tense.
"What?" Bella almost snapped at Jacob and I, the happiness leaving her face. It hadn't taken much for her to figure out what the reason for my sudden change in mood.
No one answered. "What?" She repeated.
Jacob flashed an innocent look on his face. "I'm sorry, Bella. I didn't come here to make you upset. Your mind reader needs to stop listening to me."
I succeeded in fighting back another growl. As much as I wanted to end Jacob Black right at that moment, it would upset Bella and Renesmee too much. Their happiness wasn't worth a short moment of triumph for me. "I would give anything to seclude your thoughts from my mind. Just get over it, Jacob. She's married and I highly doubt she would ever come crawling back to you. You-"
I was going overboard and I knew it, but I couldn't help but defend my wife. Bella stopped me before what I said could go any further. "Would you two please stop it?! Jacob, you know I love you, but things are very different now. Whatever fantasy you're dreaming up, just please, stop."
"Sorry," he mumbled into the black jacket he wore. Odd for Jacob, he usually preferred being shirtless around Bella.
Silence spread across the room. "Well, Jacob, as you can probably tell, we have a lot to discuss at the moment. I'm sure Esme wouldn't mind helping you settle into one of the guest bedrooms upstairs," Carlisle eased the tension. He motioned for Esme to get Jacob's bags, being hospitable. Leave it to Esme to be so polite to someone who didn't even earn the right to be in our home.
"Thank you," Jacob replied and followed Esme up the stars to his temporary room. "But you know, it's not really necessary. I'll probably be spending the nights outside; Alaska is a lot different than Washington."
Carlisle smiled, being polite as ever. "Of course. Well, if you happen to change your mind, there will be a room for you if you need it."
"Thanks," Jacob mumbled again and disappeared up the long staircase.
Carlisle politely walked out of the room, looking for Jasper and Alice, who had left just minutes earlier. He was giving the three of us time alone. As soon as he disappeared, I put my hands on the small or Bella's back, facing her, pulling her closer to me. I would've closed the space between us completely, but that was impossible, noting the adorable child in my wife's arms.
"We haven't been alone together with her for a while," Bella pointed out, referring to Renesmee.
"I've missed it," I confessed.
Renesmee reached out for me with her right hand, wanting to show me what I'd missed. Bella held her closer up to me, and I let my concentration flow only around the pictures in my head. Renesmee had quite a few adventures – Esme and Carlisle hadn't let her out of sight, having full conversations with one another and discussing the pictures they were shown. And then there was the inevitable pictures of Jacob. Right when he'd arrived, they'd gone out in the woods, playing in the water and running around playfully. Renesmee seemed to have enjoyed that quite a lot.
Renesmee's hand left my forehead, and my eyes opened. "I see," I murmured. "You've had quite a day."
"I missed you, Daddy." She smiled the most adoring smile. The joy on her face when she wore it took the breath out of me.
"I missed you, too, love," I replied and rubbed my hand against her cheek. It was impossible to be away from this beautiful child for such a long time. I suddenly felt an odd feeling for Jacob – was it sympathy? – for having to be away from her for weeks. It was hard for me, for just hours.
Bella smiled. "I still can't believe it."
"Believe what?"
"All of this," she motioned around the room, and then to me, and to Renesmee. "It's all mine. Forever."
I smiled back at her. "It will take some getting used to."
She then held Renesmee slightly to her side, a sign that she was about to kiss me. I moved my hands from the small of her back to the sides of her waist. When our lips first touched, we were hesitant. Then the kiss became more passionate. Using only one hand to hold Renesmee, Bella took her free hand and put it on my neck, pulling me closer to her.
I hated this part, the part when our lips had to separate. I knew we had plenty of time for this later, but I'd always had a hard time getting through the afternoon – waiting.
If Bella was still human, she would be gasping for air at this time, something I missed. There were a lot of things I missed; her rosy cheeks when she blushed, the smell of her blood, but most of all, the sound of her beating heart.
Just then, as if to ruin our perfect moment, the sound of footsteps interrupted my thoughts. Oh great. I hope they aren't going to be like this the whole time. We both looked up at Jacob, who was deciding whether or not to interrupt us.
"Do you not know I can hear your thoughts?" I snapped at him.
He seemed to have calmed down since the last time we'd seen him, an effect from talking to Sam. "Yeah, it's just hard to remember. It's been a while." I decided to go along with Jacob's polite attitude. "You know, Jacob, you are always welcome here. No matter what."
He smiled, said, "Thanks," and then headed to Bella. "Do you mind?" He held his hands out, obviously waiting for Renesmee.
Bella reluctantly gave him her daughter. He cradled her just as he had when she was days old. There's my girl. There she is. He cooed in his head. "Hey- don't you think she's a little old to be held like a baby?" He would know, seeing her walk and talk made Renesmee so much older to him in his eyes. Both Bella and I had a hard time remembering how old Renesmee really was – physically. To us, she was still our little baby.
"She's only half a year old, Jake," Bella answered.
"Doesn't look like it."
Bella playfully grimaced at Jacob, knowing he was joking.
A few minutes after watching Jacob and Renesmee enjoy each other's company, I decided to let them be alone and bond. "Hey- Jacob, Bella and I need to discuss some things. You'll be okay with her for a few hours, right?" I asked. Jacob smiled. "Sure, sure." Right. 'Discuss some things'. Does he think I'm stupid?
I smiled at the thought and then quickly replied, "Yes."
Hand-in-hand, Bella and I walked out the door and headed towards the woods.
We didn't speak; there was nothing to say . We were both just so excited for what lie ahead, a usual feeling. We headed north, racing through the trees and over streams and creeks. There was a little meadow close to a creak – much like our meadow we'd left in Forks – that acted as a hideout for us. It was far away enough that no one would hear us, but also, no one ever encountered.
With it being Winter in Alaska, it was already getting dark. The moon was out, a full moon. We laid together, looking at the stars, taking everything in. Then, Bella had some better ideas. She rolled over, on top of my rock hard chest. Without saying a word, she kissed me with even more passion than when we'd been in the house after Jacob had gone upstairs.
I quickly rolled us both over, so that I was on top of her. She seemed to like that better, anyway. We kissed each other passionately – not needing oxygen had it's advantages – as her hands ran through my hair.
The minutes passed slowly – to my surprise. The time seemed to pass so fast when I was with Bella – not that we needed to worry about not having enough time. I always felt the need to hold her body close to mine, to run my hands through her hair, and to kiss her. This feeling would never die out – or decrease – for me, and I knew it was the same for Bella. We simply could not get enough of each other. As she held my face in her hands – kissing me without hesitation – I ran my hands down her back and to her legs. Every curve of her body fit perfectly to mine. I slowly sat up, pulling her with me, and wrapped her perfect legs around me. As she'd said earlier, practice really did make perfect. We'd gotten this move down and were pretty much experts now.
Her hands slowly left my face – not breaking our kiss – and found the way to my shirt. She gracefully lifted my shirt off my back with no problem. I was, however, surprised she hadn't done this earlier.
A few minutes had passed, still no break in our kiss. I ran my hands down Bella's chest, feeling every curve, and lifted her shirt off of her. She held her hands straight up so I could get her shirt off faster. Quickly after she was shirtless, she pushed me to the ground and flew on top of me. Letting her dazzling long hair fall on my face, I took advantage of the opportunity and grabbed a lock of her hair and pulled at it aggressively. She giggled through our kiss at the movement.
My hands rubbed her sides up and down, needing to memorize every curve of her body. Her hands traced the muscles on my chest, with more pressure than usual, telling me that she wasn't going to be careful tonight, and neither was I. My lips moved from her mouth to her neck, her collarbone, and all the way down. I held her so tight, I felt I was going to crush her rock hard body.
Just at that moment, something moved in the forest. Not close - far away - but close enough for me to hear it creeping closer. We were in no danger whatsoever, but the thought of something being in the forest with us, definitely not an animal, made my instincts kick in – the instincts to get my precious, loved one away from anything that could possibly be dangerous. Even with her being indestructible and even stronger than Emmett, I still felt the strong need to get her to safety.
She must've felt the urgency in the way my lips moved, because in the same moment, she tensed and stopped kissing me. I would've preferred our kissing to end more passionately, or romantically, but there just wasn't time for that, not when her safety was at risk. Something about the way the creature moved had me itching to get her out of there.
"What is it?" Bella asked patiently and kissed me once again on the lips. I tried to keep a clam façade. "It's nothing, I guess. I heard something, deeper in the forest." The expression on her face made me realize she needed more information. "Definitely not an animal. I think we should get back home." "How close do you think it is?" Bella asked cautiously.
I sighed, worried at not knowing the answer. "Not too close. I couldn't hear it's thought's, so-" There was no reason to explain any further, she knew the range of my hearing.
We both stood up reluctantly, not wanting to leave our meadow. With a sigh, Bella took my hand and we were off in the forest.
Running like this running away from rather than to – made the travel back less enjoyable. There was too much tension, too much worry. When would the worries end for us?
We made it back to the house in half the time it had taken us to make the same journey hours earlier. All the lights in the houses were on, of course. Before we even made it in the house, Alice hassled us, knowing something was wrong. "What happened, Edward? What do you think it is?"
I sighed, disappointed that I really had nothing to tell Alice that she didn't already know. "I don't know. The sound was far off, but unfamiliar."
Alice looked at Bella. "Did you hear it?"
A faint smile appeared on Bella's face and I knew that if her heart was still beating, she would've blushed. "No. I was a little- distracted."
Alice giggled with Bella, helping to ease the tension.
Before anyone could say anything more, Carlisle was in the front room with Esme following. Any ideas on what it was? I know you were far away, but-
I wondered why Carlisle hadn't just said that aloud. The way his "voice" sounded was almost too worried to speak, which was very odd for him. Today had been a tense day for everyone.
"There wasn't a scent. The wind blew the opposite direction so the creature obviously got our scent. But the way it moved was just so unfamiliar to me." There was a moment of silence. Well, for everyone, but me. "Where is Jake?" Bella asked.
It was Esme who replied to this question, "He's with Renesmee. He heard what happened and got a little over protective. He phased and ran with Renesmee a little ways south. I told him you'd be back soon, but he just gets so protective over her. I figure he won't harm her, so it couldn't hurt."
"Thank you, Esme," Bella replied. "It makes me feel better now that I know she's with him. She's always safe with Jake."
Carlisle sighed. "Well, we know that whoever or whatever is out there didn't come for us. What have we done? Nothing. There's no reason to get worked up over this small of an incident. We'll just keep watch." His eyes flashed immediately to Alice and I, expecting us to warn our family if anyone or anything got too close. A few seconds passed, and the room felt less tense to me – no doubt an effect from Carlisle's words.
Should I go get him? Carlisle thought. He didn't need to explain any further, as I saw Jacob running out of the house with Renesmee in his hands.
I nodded. Who knew what would happen if I went alone to get Jacob? And I wasn't going to let my life go alone; there were too many dangers at the moment, despite what Carlisle had said.
Without a sound or word, Carlisle disappeared. There was no need to worry – he'd be back in an hour or so.
Emmett and Rosalie had gotten home in the time that Bella and I had been gone. They were sitting on the couch, next to Esme who'd claimed the spot a minute ago.
"So, how was your 'discussion'?" Emmett joked. In his head, he replayed asking Jacob where the two of us had gone, and Jacob had told him the whole story. He really was smarter than I gave him credit for.
"We got a lot accomplished." A huge smile flashed across Bella's face. I can't believe they haven't smashed any houses yet… Rosalie thought, joking to herself. And for the first time in a while, her thoughts weren't negative or self centered.
I chuckled at Rosalie's thought. She obviously hadn't known I was paying attention to her, by the look on her face.
See what I mean, she directed directly to me, For the first decade Emmett and I never took our eyes off each other.
"That has nothing to do with how much we love each other, Rose. Have Bella and I ever made you sick to the point of throwing up?" I joked, recalling memories of the time when Emmett and Rosalie were so new to each other – so passionately in love.
"No, not really," she laughed with me, for the first time in a while, maybe since Bella and I gotten married.
I hate when you have these secret little conversations, Emmett decided. He'd always hated not being in the loop with everything, and that definitely showed when I answered silent questions.
"Can you please talk out loud?" Bella snapped. She hated the silent conversations almost as much as Emmett did, but, unlike anyone else in the family, she couldn't even have a silent conversation with me.
"Rose thinks we don't love each other as much as she and Emmett love each other, because we haven't smashed one house. And Emmett just finished thinking how much he hates not being in on the silent conversations."
Bella smiled. "Just wait for tonight."
A huge grin flashed across both Emmett and Rosalie's faces. As selfish as Rosalie was, she'd been waiting for me to find someone who satisfied my love just as I had. And, like Rosalie, Emmett was just excited that I had something to do at night besides learning new languages and reading.
Seconds later, Carlisle and Esme entered the room with Alice and Jasper following close behind. "Where's Jake?" Bella asked the question we were all thinking – I would know.
Carlisle smiled. "I'm impressed how calm he has become since the last time we've seen each other. He was simply playing with Renesmee in a park down south. He'll be here in just a few moments."
"Didn't feel like waiting for him?" I joked, knowing Jake would run slower than my family with Renesmee in hand.
If this conversation had been between just Carlisle and I, he would've thought his answer. Instead, knowing the silent conversations bothered a few members of the family, he answered aloud, "No, I actually took my time getting home. I guess Jacob wanted to be alone with Renesmee longer, knowing you and Bella will probably claim her for the rest of the night."
Bella and I smiled. "I can see there are going to be a few more fights than necessary over our daughter."
A few moments later, Jacob appeared in the doorway. Holding Renesmee in his huge arms – more muscular than a few months before – he smiled and walked closer to the couch of vampires Bella was sitting on.
I moved to the couch and sat down before Jacob got to Bella. "Come here, baby. Come here, honey," she cooed to Renesmee.
Reluctantly, Jacob handed his life to Bella. He forced a grin – not wanting to let go of Renesmee – and sat in the chair closest to us. He slouched down and tapped his foot impatiently on the hard wood flooring. I want to hold her… he thought to himself over and over.
I hissed at Jacob, trying to be polite, "Be patient. We haven't seen our daughter all day."
"Thanks to you," Bella mumbled to Jacob.
Jacob grimaced and then turned his thoughts to less important things. He truly must've forgotten – or not remembered – my mind reading abilities. His mind wandered without one thought of me listening in on him.
Sam must be crazy with me gone. Maybe I could phase for a little bit and talk to him…? No, I'll stay with Renesmee where I'm supposed to be. I hope they found out what was in the forest.
I flinched at that last thought, something I don't normally do. What had the pack found in the forest? Was it the same thing that I heard tonight in our meadow?