You guys got close. I got 23 reviews for the last chapter, which is GREAT! Today is Wednesday, so here is your regularly scheduled chapter. Again, I will be posting on Wednesday and Saturday every week UNLESS I get 30 reviews for the most recent chapter, in which case, to reward all my lovely readers for giving me the feedback I crave, I will post an EXTRA chapter the day I hit 30. So this 30 review thing will not affect my regular posting schedule and this is not a manner in which you have to "earn" chapters. I don't really do that.

So, enjoy the taste of J/B actions and let me know what you think!

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Billy's house was exactly like she remembered it. The small kitchen, the clutter, the old television set in the living room and the well worn couch that she'd spent countless afternoons lying on. Jacob had driven her car back to his house, marched her inside, and sat her down at the kitchen table. He'd given her five minutes of silence while he perked a pot of coffee and sat a plate of cookies someone had baked for the funeral on the table. Once they each had a cup in front of them, he looked at her expectantly.

"Explain."

One word held a strong command that Bella found that she unable to resist. She hadn't ever been able to tell anyone what had happened, and knowing that Jacob would believe her, that he would help her, it spurred her to tell him everything.

"I left two weeks before the wedding. Everyone thought that I ran away with the Cullens. I didn't. I went to my Mom in Phoenix to take care of her. The Cullens left Forks, let everyone think that, but they didn't go to Phoenix. It's too difficult for them to live there with all the sun. They went north to Alaska. We kept in touch, I flew there a couple times to see them, but after my mom died, everything changed.

"It was like I woke up one morning and I wasn't in love with him anymore. Nothing had happened. No fight, nothing. I just realized that I had healed. When he left the first time, I healed. I stopped thinking about him all the time; I stopped needing him like I had. And when I went to be with Mom, it was easier. I was fine without him around, I was enjoying my mom, and when she died, I was devastated. I'd thought she was getting better, but then she was just gone. And I ran away. I left Phoenix, moved to New York, went to college.

"We never officially broke up, now that I think about it, but we weren't together. Alice came to visit, Carlisle and Esme, even Edward a time or two. We were friendly, but the spark was gone. It had faded, gone back to friendship, at least for me. He didn't have the same epiphany. He started pushing me, trying to get me back, offering to change me. I refused. I'd grown out of the wish. Somewhere along the line, I started enjoying being human. I liked going out in the sun, being able to taste food, everything about it.

"Then, the Volturi got involved. They're the vampiric high counsel, in Italy. They wanted me turned. The Cullens had promised them I would be, and they made it clear if I wasn't, I was to be killed. Carlisle sent me away, to Argentina, where he thought I'd be safe. They gave me money, a home, everything I needed. And for about eight months, it worked. Then, the Volturi sent a guard to the Cullens, and they captured Edward. They took him back to Volterra, and they tortured him. For months they tortured him, trying to get him to tell them where I was. But he didn't know, not exactly, so he couldn't tell, and the Volturi couldn't see it in his mind. That's when Jane got involved.

"Jane is the worst vampire of them all. She can put you in agonizing pain with a thought. She is more powerful than anyone you've ever met. She drove Edward crazy, conditioned him to find me, to turn me, or to kill me. They broke his mind, took away everything about him that I had loved, everything that made him Edward. They turned him into a monster. And when they were sure that he would do what he was told, they let him go.

"That was three years ago. He's been after me ever since. I've been running, trying to stay away from him. Carlisle has tried to help him. Twice they've caught him and managed to hold him for a few weeks. But they can't stand the thought of killing him. Alice warns me when he's close, and I hit the road. Without her, I'd be dead. Two weeks ago, she had a vision, of Edward in Forks, holding my father hostage. He'd told me when he first left Volterra that if I ever came back here, came to the pack, he'd kill my Dad. But eventually, he used that to lure me here, the same way that Victoria and Laurent lured me with my mom. And I came. I left Australia, where Carlisle had sent me, and I headed back here. When I got to Chicago, I got the call that Dad was dead. It wasn't Edward, but it was two of the muscle that the Volturi uses. I knew that he wanted me to come back here, but I couldn't miss my Dad's funeral. So I came anyway. And I stayed on the reservation because I knew if I was here, then Edward couldn't find me, or even if he could, I don't think he would risk coming on the reservation with all the wolves around.

"I don't have anywhere else to go, Jake. If I leave, he will kill me. If I run, they'll catch me eventually. I can't leave, or I'm dead." She blinked back tears. "I don't want to die. I thought it could wait a few days, let things settle down. I knew I had to tell the pack, but I didn't even know if you would help me. I thought everyone hated me. But I knew you were my last chance. The Cullens can't kill him, they can't stand the thought. And he's not evil, this isn't his fault. They broke him, they made him crazy, they brainwashed him. But it doesn't change reality. If I step foot outside La Push, they will come for me."

Jacob was silent for a long time, mulling over the situation. Finally, he laid his hands on the table, stared at Bella intensely. "You had to know the only possible outcome from asking for my help is that Edward Cullen dies."

Bella nodded miserably. "I don't want him to have to die. He was trying to protect me. But yes, I know that the only way this ends is if either I die, or he does." She cleared her throat. "And if he dies, the Volturi will come for me. They will want me turned or dead."

Jacob nodded. "If they do that, they'll meet the same fate as Cullen. No one comes here and threatens anyone." He stood, ending the conversation. "I'll talk to the pack about it in the morning. You can sleep in the twins' room."

"You don't have to let me stay here. I know it has to be uncomfortable for you." She reached for her coat. "Really, I'm fine in the Tahoe."

"You're not sleeping in your damn car. There are three beds in this house not being used. Sleep in one of them." He raked a hand through his hair. "Yeah, it's awkward having you here. But we're not kids anymore, and we need to act our ages. I'm not sixteen with my head in the clouds. I know the score, and I've accepted it. There's a lot to think about and a lot to talk about, but I've never been mad enough at you that I'd let you sleep outside in the cold."

Bella carried their cups to the sink, looked at the clock. Five seventeen. "It's too late to sleep for me. I think I'll just go for a walk if you don't mind."

Jacob sighed. "You're bound and determined to make this as difficult as possible, aren't you?"

She sighed. "I don't know what to do. I don't know what to say, or how to act, or who to talk to. I never thought I'd come back here. I never thought I'd see you again. I never thought I'd have to sit here and make conversation and pretend that I didn't hurt you!" she swore as she realized she was again on the verge of tears. "Dammit, Jake, I'm sorry!"

Jacob leaned against the doorway. "It's not entirely your fault, not really. We were young, and we were stupid, and mistakes were made on both sides. Maybe if I'd been a little more supportive, more understanding, you wouldn't have stayed away."

"And if I'd been more honest, maybe I wouldn't have hurt you so badly."

"I didn't want to hear it. I was convinced that if I could just make you see him for who I thought he was that I'd win in the end. But it wasn't a contest. It was your heart. I was hormone driven and had been carrying a torch for you since I was nine years old, and those months he was gone, I thought I had a chance." He looked at her, and she saw sadness in his eyes. "Tell me one thing. If he hadn't come back, would I have had a chance?"

Bella crossed the room, lifted her hand to lay it against his cheek. "You always had a chance." She offered him a smile. "I had feelings for you then. You were my best friend, and I loved you. I just loved him more."

"Do you still love him?"

She shook her head. "No. I don't. I got over him. I moved on. The time that I spent with Edward, I will always cherish it. But I don't love him. Not anymore. It's hard to love someone when their only purpose in life is to kill you." She moved past him into the living room, dropped onto the couch. "Since we're laying everything out there, can I ask you something?"

Jacob sat in the reclining chair. "Shoot."

"Did you ever imprint?"

"No." he bent to untie his boots, slipped them off. "I told you before that I'm not going to imprint."

"I thought all wolves do."

"I'm not going to. I know it. I don't know how, but I know." He leaned back, studied her. "I'll take you to Forks tomorrow if you want, to go through some of your Dad's things. You'll need to decide what to do with the house."

Bella shook her head. "Sell it, burn it to the ground. I don't care what gets done with it so long as I don't have to live there."

"Because of what Edward did?"

"Because of me. Everything that went on there, all the memories, all the turmoil, it's too much. It'd be living in a house filled with ghosts." She smiled sadly. "Plenty of good memories, but more bad I think. But you're right. I need to deal with my Dad's things. I'd appreciate it." She glanced toward the door to Billy's room. "I'll help with Billy's stuff if you need."

"My sisters took care of it already. It's like they erased Dad from the house."

"He left it to you?"

"Yeah. They get the life insurance, I get the house. It equals out."

"Jake?"

"Bella?"

"Where do we go from here, you and I? Is there any coming back from what I did to you? Any way that you could find it in you to forgive me?"

"I didn't think so. I thought that if you ever came back, I'd have to kill you. The thought of you being dead, being one of them, it haunted me all these years. I loved you. I wanted life for you, and I thought that we would live it together. I was very angry at you, and hurt, and heartbroken. But I got over it, and I moved on, and I moved past it. When I saw you yesterday, realized you were still human, it made everything come rushing back. All those feelings I thought I didn't have any more, all those emotions I had worked so hard to get rid of. You were eighteen years old. You were a kid. I can't hold what you did at eighteen against you at twenty five. So, yeah, I forgive you. But only if you forgive me too. I was an ass back then."

Bella laughed, the laugh tinged with tears. "I was never mad at you. Consider yourself forgiven." She smiled when he stood and opened his arms, went into them willingly, sighed in happiness when they closed around her. His heat enveloped her, and she rested her head on his solid chest, the sound of his heart in her ear. She wrapped her arms around his waist, closed her eyes and breathed in his smell, leather and spice, and Jacob.

"You grew a couple inches."

She laughed at his observation, tilted her head to look up at him. "I did. Last minute growth spurt gave me three inches. Had to do something to balance out the extra thirty pounds."

Suddenly serious, he met her gaze. "You're beautiful. When you turned around on the cliff and I saw you, you took my breath away. You grew up. Life looks good on you, Bells."

Bells. That was all it took for the dam to break and all the emotions she was feeling to come flooding out. Before she could stop herself, before he knew what was happening, she'd slid her arms around his neck and lifted up onto her tiptoes, pressing her mouth to his. His lips were warm and firm, just like she remembered, and she wanted desperately to know if he still tasted the same as he had that night in the tent.

Jacob was shocked when she kissed him, and he froze. Her mouth was cooler than his, and smooth, her breath warm against his face. Her hands were small and soft on the back of his neck, and he could feel every curve pressed against his body. Before he could shake off the shock to respond, she was stepping away, hurt in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I must've misread." She backed up, heading for the stairs. "It won't happen again, I'm sorry. I'm just gonna go to bed."

"Bella."

She stopped on the fourth step, looked back at him. "Jake, I'm sorry. I thought, and I was wrong."

"You weren't wrong." He strode to the bottom of the steps, laid his hands on her hips and lifted her off her feet. "You just caught me off guard. I didn't think we were going there." He slid his hands around to her backside, urged her to wrap her legs around his waist, their chests pressed together. "I used to dream of the day that you'd kiss me, Bella Swan, and when it finally got here, I screwed it up. I just need to know one thing before we finish this."

Breathless, Bella nodded. "What?"

"Is this real? You and me? Or is it grief and fear and old memories coloring it all?"

Bella searched his eyes, those pools of melting chocolate, laid her hands on his face. "Jacob Black, I have never, even at my worst, pretended to feel something that I didn't. I told you from the start that I was in love with Edward, and that I was falling in love with you too. So believe me when I tell you that when I heard your voice yesterday, when I saw you standing there, I knew I wasn't just running away from Edward. I was also running to you."

When he kissed her, it was coming home. It was as if everything snapped into focus, and the world was suddenly clear. Everything spun away until all that was left was Jacob. She wound her fingers into his hair, splaying them on his scalp, and she felt a slow burn start somewhere deep in her stomach.

His tongue was soft and demanding against hers, tangling with it, his mouth insistent and firm, his hands big and hot through her jeans. She groaned into his mouth, pressed herself feverishly against him. His hands travelled up her body, glided over her sides, up to frame her face as he slowly drew back. Her eyes were cloudy with passion, and her breathing was heavy. The evidence of his desire was hard and hot against her, and when she shifted, they both groaned.

"I thought seven years would at least dull it."Jacob dipped his head, ravaged her mouth again. When he lifted his head that time, they were both panting. "Good God, Bella, I never thought we'd be here. I thought I'd lost you."

Bella lowered her head to his shoulder, rubbed her nose on his neck. "I'm not going anywhere. Not this time." She unwound her legs, felt her feet hit the floor. "But it brings up a lot of questions."

"Let me take you on a date."

The words were out before he realized he'd said it, and once he did, he felt ridiculous. But Bella smiled, the first genuine smile he'd seen since she'd gotten back. "A date? Like dinner and a movie?"

Committed to it, Jacob nodded. "Sure. We'll go to Port Angeles, have a nice dinner, watch a movie, and walk around. I don't want to have a big conversation about where we are and where we're going, and what that was. I don't want to try to figure it all out. I just want it to happen. Let's see where we go." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "What do you say, want to go on an adventure with me?"

Bella smiled up at him, her eyes shining. "I'd love to. How's Friday sound?"

It sounded like the longest six days of his life.