Bella drove as fast as her GPS would give her directions. It was taking her into a different part of town, one in which she wasn't as familiar with. That's the thing about living in a big city though, you could live in the same place for ages and still find new places to discover. Her lead foot got her to her destination in record time - ever since high school when Jake taught her how to ride a motorcycle, Bella has developed a need for speed.
Pulling up to her destination, Bella noticed it was a park. A large gorgeous park she never knew existed. She drove around the parking lot looking for Jake's truck and when she found it, she parked next to it. Off in the distance there was a reasonably sized jungle-gym with picnic tables on the perimeter. Knowing her sons, they were probably over there playing; smiling, she headed in that direction. Making her way through the scattered trees, she stopped right before the clearing, leaned against the large trunk of one tree, and scanned the playground. Sure enough, there were her two boys racing around the playground. It looked like they were having another one of their contests of who was better at something. This particular one seemed to be who was better at the monkey-bars. It looked as though Josh always got one more rung further than John, before they'd drop to the ground and try again. Neither could make it all the way across yet. Bella was so involved in watching her boys that she didn't notice the shadow lurking among the trees.
"Did it hurt?" a deep voice spoke from behind her, breaking the silence and making Bella jump. She turned to look behind her and found her husband.
"Ya know, did it hurt, when you fell from heaven?"
"You think that line ever really works?" Bella asking in wonder, smiling at her husband. Jacob flashed her a brilliant smile, stepped towards her and was about to reach for her when he stiffened.
"You brought a friend?" Jake looked wounded, even though he tried to mask it with a face of indifference.
Bella just furrowed her brows in confusion. "What are you talking about?" Why was Jacob looking at her like that? She was about to step towards him when a hand grasped her arm, yanking her backwards. It happened so fast, Bella didn't have time to react. Next think she knew she was standing behind another man. She couldn't see his face, but she didn't need to to know who he was. She'd recognize his messy bronze hair anywhere, and it also explained Jacobs expression. He thought she had invited Edward to their family date.
Bella tried to move around Edward, but he shot a protective hand out again. "Stay back!" he growled at her.
"Edward..." anger was slowly building inside her. Her voice held total calm. Jacob quickly recognized it; it was like the calm before the storm. Whenever Bella really got angry, she was perfectly calm before she would blow up with built up frustration. Seeing Bella's reaction to Edward reassured Jacob, some.
"Edward," Bella tried again, resolving herself to remain as call as possible, "you have about two seconds to remove your hand from me."
Surprised by the steel in her voice, Edward chanced a glance at her face and was shocked to see the anger building behind her eyes. "Bella, you don't understand. You're not safe around this man. There are more dangerous things than vampires out there." Couldn't she see he was trying to protect her? The old Bella would have accepted his reaction; she may not have agreed to it, but she defiantly would have trusted him. This Bella, though, seemed to seethe upon hearing his reply. He could almost picture smoke coming out of her ears.
"That -man- is not dangerous, at least not to me. If, however, you don't back out of my personal space, I cannot guarantee how safe -you- will be."
"Bella..." Edward hesitated, "he's a werewolf."
"AND" said Bella, "He also happens to be my husband." This reply seemed to throw Edward completely. He seemed prepared for any response, but not that.
"Wha-?" Edward was at a loss for words. Bella took the opportunity to shove past him and into the embrace of her husbands strong arms. Jacob wrapped a possessive arm around Bella's waist; his beamed at Edward gloatingly.
"B-but, you don't wear a ring." said Edward, checking once again to her left hand.
Bella glanced down, and blushed. This wasn't the first time wearing a ring would have come in handy. "Yeah," Bella said, glancing sheepishly up at Jacob, "I have issues with jewelry. I have this gorgeous ring at home Jake bought me, but it just... gets in the way a lot. So I keep it in a safe box." Bella glance back to Edward; most of her anger disappearing and being replaced with annoyance.
Edward seemed to finally digest the information, his expression a mix of horror and disgust. "You married a -werewolf- ?!?!" he bellowed.
For some reason, Bella seemed to find this whole situation rather amusing, and she quirked an eyebrow at Edward, a small smile playing on her lips. "Its not your concern, now is it? What are you doing here anyways Edward." Bella glanced up at Jacob again, "I didn't invite him here, I swear. He must have followed me." Bella's eyes were pleading with Jacob to understand. She knew he was having doubts about the Cullens making an appearance back in her life, but she didn't want him to think that one hello from Edward and she'd go running back to him like a well trained dog.
Edward looked embarrassed. "I followed you." He mumbled, looking down at the ground.
"Why?!" Bella asked, confused.
"I..." Edward struggled for the right words. "I, I wanted to make sure you were safe." Now that he got that out, he couldn't seem to stop the verbal diarrhoea "Blind dates are risky, you never know who the person is and if they're safe or not. I was concerned. I wanted to make sure you were safe, so I followed you. I wasn't going to interrupt the date or anything, but then I smelt werewolf and knew you were in danger, so I reacted."
Annoyance flickered back in Bella's mind. "Since when do you care if I'm safe? Y'all left with not so much as a goodbye! No forwarding address, no telephone number! I don't see or hear from you for 10 years! 10 years, Edward! I could have died in those 10 years! Car crash, drowning, whatever. I bet you haven't even thought about me once in those stinking 10 years." Past wounds seemed to resurface and fuel the fire. "I want you out of here. You are not welcome near me or my family. Especially my family! The only time I want to see you is in school when I'm paid to be in the same room! You revoked any right to be concerned or involved in my life when you left like you did. From this point on, if we have any contact at all, it'll be on my terms. And right now Edward -" Bella had stomped forward during her little rant. Now she was almost chest to chest with a very shocked Edward. Bella shoved her finger in his chest, "right now Edward, I don't want any contact with you, outside of school. Get lost!"
Edward seemed to want to say something, or several somethings. A lot seemed to have changed about Bella, but one thing he was sure remained the same was her stubbornness. He could see there would be no backing down. He'd have to revisit this fight another day. Jaw clenched tight, Edward inclined his head towards Bella in way of conceding, glared once at Jacob, and disappeared. Bella's raised hand was pointing in thin air.
Jacob's chuckle broke the silence. Bella turned a questioning look towards him. "I've never been a bystander when the storm is released." Jacob chuckled some more, "You are quite a sight when you're mad, you know that?"
Bella smiled in response. "Yeah?"
Jacob scooped her little body in his big arms and pulled her tight to him, bending his head to her ear he whispered, "Yeah, and its sexy as hell."
Bella playfully smacked his arm, earning another barking laugh out of Jacob. Hand in hand, they walked together towards the playground and their two gorgeous boys.
Bella and Jacob spent the rest of the afternoon playing at the park with their kids. When everyone seemed sufficiently tired, Jacob directed everyone over to a table where he had stashed a picnic basket and dinner. Everyone was too busy scarfing the food down to make conversations.
Jacob was the first one to clear the silence. "Alright boys, ready for part two of the date?" The boys, initially, looked like they were ready for a nap, now perked up in excitement. They ran over to Jacob. Jacob grabbed a knife from the picnic basket and seemed to be taping out a beat on the table. What happened next sent Bella into a fit of giggles. Jacob and their two young boys rapped out a Happy Birthday song to her. It appeared as though they had practiced it too. Everyone was on beat and everything. It shocked Bella that she could have forgotten it was her birthday, and was incredibly touched they went to so much effort to make her feel special today. It was the perfect birthday gift. A wonderful and pleasant evening together as a family, Jacob preparing dinner, and now finishing with her own remixed birthday song.
It was 10 years ago on her birthday that she thought her life was over. That fateful birthday with the Cullens resulted in them leaving, and Bella struggling with depression for the next few years. Back then, Bella thought she would hate her birthdays for as long as she lived. Until she fell in love with Jacob. He had been her friend through that depression; in fact, he's probably the reason she was able to over come it. Back then, she thought she'd never love again - doomed to be single until she died. Three years later, on her birthday in fact, is when she realized she was in love with him. He never said anything; never made any advances towards her or anything. He always remained the perfect gentleman, the perfect best friend. Perhaps that's why Bella fell for him. Because he gave her the chance to figure it out for herself. Or maybe it was for a hundred other reasons. All she remembered was, 7 years ago on her birthday, Jacob had prepared something special and sweet to say happy birthday, and she remembered suddenly looking at him and seeing him in a new light. It was as though a light switch had come on, or a veil had been lifted, and she truly saw Jacob for the man he was, and not just a friend.
Reminiscing brought tears to Bella's eyes. Glancing between a beaming Jacob and two happy little boys, Bella just knew she was the luckiest girl in the world.
