A/N - Once again, some lines are pulled from New Moon so those are not credited to me. Thank you for the reviews and the many followers and favourites. Hope you enjoy this chapter :)

Warning: Mature themes ahead

Jacob choked in shock at her words and chuckled nervously, shaking his head as Bella wrapped her hands around Jacob's neck.

"Bells, we...we don't have to."

"No, we don't. But, do you really want to do this?" She quickly asked, both seriousness and frustration etched across her face. She was getting tired of him asking her over and over and wondered deep down if he didn't. "'Cause, you've been asking me a lot if this is what I want. I'm starting to wonder if this is something you want."

Again, he chuckled. "Of course I do. But I'm not going to coerce you into having sex with me. I don't want our relationship to be based on me trying to manipulate you or you just going along with it just because you think its what I want. I want more than that for us; I want us both to be happy and satisfied. And I'm not looking at this like some one-time fuck, Bella."

He paused, and ran his hands over her hips. "I love you. I'm not going anywhere. Ever."

Bella's memories suddenly flashed back to Edward, hearing words similar to those coming from his lips. But to hear them from Jacob, see that deep affection in his eyes, it brought a clarity to Bella's mind. She suddenly realized that the man sitting under her had given her more respect and honesty than she had ever gotten from Edward. Closing her eyes briefly and nodding her head, she erased Edward's image from her mind. He was no longer her focus.

Never again.

"I want that too," Bella told him, smiling. "All of it."

Jacob grinned, before he winced. "Good, but I do have to tell you something important."

Bella's smile faded.

"I've never done this before, so this is kinda new territory for me."

Her smile quickly returned as she kissed Jacob once again. "It is for me too."

He looked at her eyes, surprised to hear her say it. He was certain that she had a physical relationship with Edward Cullen. Everyone thought so but to hear from her own lips that she was a virgin as well. Something deep stirred, roused the monster within him, satisfied to hear that they were both sharing their first time together.

"We'll go slow," Jacob assured her, before Bella nodded in agreement. "And let me know if anything hurts. We'll stop."

Jacob reached up for her face and brushed her hair from her eyes before giving her a smile and bringing his mouth to hers. He met her lips in a long, fluid, passionate kiss; much more intimate than any kiss that they ever had before. It left them both with a hunger and desire, far beyond anything they had felt yet.

When Bella's hips rocked once again, Jacob swore into her mouth before sweeping his tongue out to taste her. Bella moaned, running her hands down his chest. When Jacob leaned forward slightly to wrap his arms around her, Bella ran her hands behind his back.

Again, Bella's hips rocked against him, pushing hard against his erection.

"Damn it," he cursed, breaking the kiss although Bella continued her frantic kisses down Jacob's jaw to his neck. He closed his eyes before reaching down between them. With one hand, he undid the button and zipper on his jeans. Using his arms, he pushed up on the seat, lifting both of them slightly up off the chair, just enough to get the waist band of his pants out of the way. Just that extra room for his bulging erection felt so much better.

With Bella's lips on his neck, he slipped his hand into his underwear and he closed his eyes. He felt the pulsing ache within his hand and he moaned.

"Bells," he gasped, feeling her kissing and licking his neck, all the while desperate for that release. "That's good."

She brought her eyes back to his before she noticed his hand down within his underwear. Taking his face within her hands, she brought her mouth to his own, sucking on his bottom lip. Jacob gasped, pulling his erection out and tucked his underwear beneath it. Giving it a few pumps of his fist, he brushed it towards where Bella straddled his legs. Bella sucked in a breath as she kissed Jacob. It was an odd sensation to feel something so hard against her inner legs, but it produced a sudden burning within her.

"Your underwear are still on," Jacob moaned against her mouth.

Frantically and with her mouth still against Jacob's, Bella reached down between them and simply pulled the fabric of her underwear to one side before pushing up slightly on her knees. As she kissed him, Jacob slid his hand down her stomach and over her underwear. He felt her tremble involuntarily, breaking the kiss and her breath come in short pants as his fingers found her soft, wet heat among the folds between her legs.

Bella gasped, pinching her eyes shut as she gripped Jacob's long hair on the back of his neck. She could feel his fingers against her. They were hotter than her own skin and she instinctively bucked her hips slightly at his touch, demanding more.

Jacob looked up at her face, seeing her eyes shut as she bit down on her bottom lip, seeming to enjoy his finger gently exploring within her folds of skin. She was wet and it wasn't from being drenched in the rainstorm.

A uncontrollable growl rose up in Jacob's chest once again and he couldn't help but bring his fingers to his face. A snarl came to his lips as the beast within caught the sweet scent on his hand. Jacob found that he couldn't help but lick the length of his fingers that had the most intimate of juices on them. It was a strange desire, but it placated the monster that he felt threaten to rise within him. Jacob ignored the strange creature that seemed to want to push itself to the surface in favour of the woman practically naked in front of him. Somehow, he knew that the monster was wanting this to; it needed it, demanded it.

Gently, Jacob centred himself under her before Bella instinctely brought herself down. Jacob sucked in a breath, feeling the overwhelming tightness and the desire to just thrust. He held back, watching her face. She was concentrating on relaxing and when a slight crease appeared on her brow and she whimpered, Jacob spoke.

"We can stop."

Bella shook her head, before opening her eyes; a desire thickly veiled over them.

"Kiss me," she demanded huskily.

Knowing that this was something that she was needing right now, Jacob obliged. He kissed her, pecking at her lips and allowing her to take the lead in whatever she was needing.

Bella kissed him passionately, moaning slightly as she pulled at his lips with her teeth and swept her tongue across his teeth. It was in a frantic desperation. She was needing a distraction from the pain and that was exactly what it was doing.

Jacob was careful not to buck his hips as the overwhelming pleasure of being half engulfed within Bella was hard to ignore.

Suddenly, she moved and pressed into his hips, a sudden pressure being released as she whimpered against his lips.

"Bells?"

She nodded and smiled. "I'm good. This feels so good."

Jacob had to agree. The heat not only surrounding his erection but also pressed firmly against his groin was something that he wouldn't forget anytime soon.

He leaned forward and placed a kiss above her breast before reaching down to hold onto her hips. Bella moved slightly and Jacob sucked in a breath of pleasure.

"Do that again," Jacob moaned, closing his eyes.

With a smile on her face, Bella moved once more as she had and continued the action over and over. Jacob let out a deep groan before he reached forward and brought his mouth to Bella's nipples. He sucked and teased with his tongue, finding that he was enjoying her small gasps and sounds she made. At the same time, his hands clawed down her back while Bella's hips kept moving against his groin.

Bella slowed down her movement slightly, making them long and fluid. Jacob could feel almost his entire length pull out of her warmth before plunging deeply back within her. He gasped against Bella's breasts, his lips curled up and a snarl escaped his lips as she panted.

"You feel so good inside me," Bella groaned breathlessly. "God...go deeper, Jake. Deeper."

With a growl, he reached up and took her head between his hands, thrusting up at her harder. Jacob frantically kissed her, both gasping in need and pleasure as Bella quickened her own pace on his hips. Jacob met each movement she made and thrusted his hips at her, small cries of pleasure erupting out of Bella.

Suddenly he broke the kiss and stopped.

"Shit, shit, shit, stop, Bells. No," Jacob suddenly said, growling angrily and shaking his head. "I don't have a condom."

Bella quickly took his head between her hands, looking at him beneath heavy lust-filled eyes. "Don't...don't worry about it. Don't stop."

Taking that as Bella was on birth control, Jacob grabbed her hips once again and resumed thrusting up at her. Upon hearing Bella's cries of pleasure and demands that he keep moving under her, Jacob kissed and sucked at her lips before kissing a trail down her cheek, along her neck and across her shoulder. He held onto her hips tightly, as he felt himself about to explode.

"J..J..Jake," Bella gasped aloud, feeling herself slowly coming apart at that same edge. She wrapped her arms around Jacob's back, pulling him tightly to her as her nails seemed to dig into his skin. Jacob slid his arms up her back, his thrusting into her becoming more chaotic as he felt himself about to come.

Jacob groaned deeply, already feeling her inner walls beginning to clench around him with the forthcoming of her climax.

Feeling himself about to reach that same pinnacle, he continued to kiss and lick her shoulder, focusing on the skin under his lips to hold back for her. Just as he couldn't hold back any longer, Bella cried out and writhed within his tight grasp as he held her tightly against his chest, her nails digging into his back. At the same time, Jacob growled, biting down on her shoulder as his body tensed and spasmed with its own release.

Quickly, Bella reached up and held Jacob's head to her shoulder, ensuring that his mouth wasn't going to move from her neck. She found his erotic bite at her skin was as pleasurable as her climax.

While Bella held him to her shoulder, Jacob could feel himself being spilled into her in what seemed to last longer than any hand job he had ever given himself in the past.

The car once again fell silent as their panting was the only sound they could hear. The storm outside seemed to have moved on while they had had sex, the rumbling of thunder once again far in the distance. Neither of them moved, nor wanted to. Bella merely turned her head on Jacob's shoulder to look out the window, to find the glass had steamed up. Chuckling, she reached out with one hand and wrote not only her name but Jacob's as well on the condensation. She finished it up with a heart going around them.

Hearing Bella's lighthearted laughter, Jacob opened his eyes. For the first time, he saw the angry red teeth marks embedded in her skin. Feeling a strong instinctive desire wash over him, he gently licked it. Bella moaned lightly.

"That feels so good," she mumbled, her other hand was still on his head, holding his face towards her shoulder. Jacob smirked and continued the gently laps of his tongue over the small wound. Satisfied, he turned his head to see what she had written on the inside of the car window. Bella sat back slightly.

"What do you think?"

Jacob smiled, running his hands up and down Bella's bareback.

"I love it," he replied. He paused and looked at her. "You were amazing."

Bella turned to him, and put her hands behind his neck, looking at him at arms length.

"You sir, were incredible."

"Not bad for a couple of first timers."

Bella giggled and shook her head.

"I never thought my first time would be inside of a car during a rain storm but there's something intimate about being in such close quarters."

"I'll never look at the Rabbit the same way again," Jacob added with a smirk before giving Bella's lips a quick peck. He reached around her and cranked the window down, letting the fresh rain air into the car. There was a calming silence in the forest, the sound of the waves in the distance echoing up into the woods.

"We should probably get home," Bella said, kissing Jacob's lips again. "Dad's going to be wondering where I am if he happened to see us pick up Mike's car and not come back."

Something stirred within Jacob upon hearing the mention of Mike Newton's name once again. It was obvious that the guy had planned the evening with the intention of making it a date between himself and Bella.

From the moment Jacob showed up at Bella's house and they found out that it was just going to be the three of them going to the movies, Jacob could sense a silent competition going on between them. While Jacob had felt confident and cocky, knowing full well that Bella wasn't interested in Mike's advances, he couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of her attention on him when he had been sick. The thought of knowing that Mike didn't know when to back off and her, not only seeing the guy at school but also at work caused a deep possessive feeling to wash over him. A single thought came to mind and it was strong.

Mine

Suddenly feeling strange and a bit concerned over the unfounded anger that seemed to course through him, Jacob cleared his throat.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea," he said, his brow creasing.

Bella looked at him, concerned not that he was agreeing with her but by the unusual tone of his voice.

"Jake, you okay?"

"I don't know," he said, thoughtfully. "I'm feeling a bit odd."

Bella sighed. "Oh, I hope you're not getting what Mike has."

Again, the name brought back emotions.

"We should probably get going."

Bella nodded and carefully pushed up on her hips, feeling him slide out of her. While she moved over to the passenger seat, she watched as Jacob tucked himself back inside his underwear and pulled up his pants before trembling as he passed her her wet pants from his feet.

"Jake, you don't look good," she commented as he turned on the ignition. "I can drive if you want."

He shook his head and took a deep breath. "I'm fine. I'll be fine."

Bella glanced over at him every so often as she pulled on her bra and did up her blouse while they made the trip back to Forks. At one time, she reached over and put her hand on his knee. He slid his hand into her palm and squeezed her hand. Strangely, touching her skin made him feel almost well again. Jacob held her hand the entire way home, his rough thumb gently brushing against her skin. As horrible as he was beginning to feel, he wanted nothing more than to pull the car over to the side of the road and take her there once again. But coming into Forks and having the daughter of the police chief beside him, it would be unlikely that Jacob would be alive for very long.

When he pulled into her driveway, he was starting to feel as though he was crawling out of his skin.

"You know, I think you might be right," he said, taking deep breaths. "I think I might be coming down with something."

Bella sighed sympathetically and brushed her hand across his forehead. "Yeah, you do feel quite warm; warmer than you were earlier."

Jacob nodded, feeling the heat pouring off of him. "I need to go."

Bella undid her seatbelt and leaned over, catching Jacob's lips with her own. She could hear his unsteady breathing against her mouth, trembling slightly from whatever bug he had caught. Bella was worried, knowing he had a good fifteen minute drive to get home.

"Maybe I should drive you home."

"No!" He said a little to forcefully, a small growl dripping from his lips.

His eyes suddenly became apologetic.

"Sorry. I hope it's just something I need to sleep off," he added softer.

"Then call me when you get home."

Jacob nodded, quickly putting the car into reverse before she even closed the door.

"I love you," she told him, a small smile appearing on his face

"I love you too."

Bella watched as he pulled out of the driveway and disappeared down the road. It appeared that despite how he was feeling, he seemed to be driving fine. As concerned as she was for Jacob, a smile that she knew wouldn't be leaving anytime soon graced her face when she recalled heir evening. Afraid that Charlie may suspect something, she looked down at her clothing ensuring that nothing was backwards or inside out before she opened the door.

When Bella walked in the house, she realized that her concerns were unfounded. Charlie was sitting a foot in front of the television, so engrossed in what was going on that he didn't notice Bella come in, let alone the unusual smile on Bella's face.

"Dad, I'm home."

"Movie over already?" He called out, his eyes not leaving the screen.

"Mike got sick," Bella told him. "It's probably the stomach flu. Jake's probably coming down with it too."

"You okay?"

"I feel great," she told him, that same smile on her face.

Charlie looked over at her and for a moment, Bella wondered if he knew, if he could tell what had happened in those minutes between the cinema and coming home. He paused and his eyes squinted.

"Why are you wet?"

Bella chuckled. "Long story."

Charlie's moustache twitched as he grinned at hearing her laughter. It wasn't something he had heard in a while.

"As long as you kids had fun and didn't get into any mischief, I'm okay with that."

A chuckle escaped Bella's lips once again as she took Charlie's statement in a whole other direction. Charlie smiled.

"It's good to hear you laugh again, Bells," he said, softly. "Looks like you had a good time tonight."

"I did," she agreed wholeheartedly. "I'm going to get changed out of these clothes."

"Sure! And you're welcome to come join me for the final inning of the Mariners game. I haven't seen a double play like this in years! They're going to need a miracle to recover from it."

Bella smiled, nodding and finding that she would enjoy doing something like that. Besides, she was going to be waiting for Jacob's phone call anyways.

A few minutes later, she came down the stairs to hearing Charlie's shouts of frustration and cursing at the television.

"Damn short stop needs to be traded next year or something," he stated, gesturing to the television as he sat back on his chair and took a swig of his beer. Bella sat down on the couch, and put a blanket over her lap, watching the screen. "I'm sure that guy just cost them the rest of the game."

"Sanchez?" Bella asked. "Wasn't he just traded from Toronto?"

Charlie looked over at her, surprised to hear that she was even aware of the players name, let alone what team he had been on previously. He had no idea that she had any interest in baseball. He nodded, smirking.

"I didn't know you kept up with baseball."

Bella shrugged and smiled. "I don't. I just heard Jake spout something off about him with Billy a few days ago." She paused for a moment and looked at the screen. "Maybe we could get some Mariners tickets this summer and you and I see a game in person. Make a weekend of it in Seattle."

Charlie smirked, intrigued with both the idea of spending a weekend with Bella in Seattle and the fact that she even suggested it in the first place. Even before her world seemed to revolve around Edward, she would have never made such a suggestion. Charlie didn't want to get too optimistic about finally seeing some life within his daughter, but based on her mood's lately and the fact that she was not only smiling, but laughing, he knew that Jacob's sunny disposition must have rubbed off on her. The way that she mentioned his name more often than not and desired to spend time with him caused Charlie to suspect that there may be more than a friendship going on between his daughter and his best friend's son.

"Sounds like a plan," Charlie said with a smile on his face. He took another swig of his beer before glancing curiously over at Bella as she held the phone in her hand.

"Waiting for a phone call?"

Bella looked down at the phone in hand before nodding. "I told Jake to call when he got home. He wasn't looking good. I probably should have drove him home."

Charlie's moustache twitched as he suppressed a grin, considering his suspicions to be more than right. She had never shown so much concern about someone either than with Edward. He'd have to confirm later with Billy if he had been seeing the same thing.

"Well, you did just get in about ten minutes ago and it's a good fifteen minute ride to La Push," Charlie calculated. "Give him another five."

Bella sighed, knowing Charlie was right. But, she also knew that Jacob had a tendency to drive faster down the winding road to La Push than Charlie was aware of. Still, she gave Jacob more time, not knowing if he had to stop along the way to throw up or if he had made it home and was in the bathroom.

Another ten minutes went by and nothing.

Bella watched the baseball game, yet at the same time, she wasn't. Her mind was preoccupied with the fact that twenty minutes had passed since Jacob had left her house. With a sigh, she stood up from the couch with the phone in hand, telling Charlie that she'd make the call from the kitchen so she wouldn't disturb the final minutes of the game.

She dialed and it rang and rang, and for a moment she wondered if she had called the wrong number until she heard the call going straight to Jacob's voice mail. Bella hung up rather than leaving a message. Worried and desperate, she called directly to his house.

Again, it rang and rang. For a moment, Bella thought that Billy may have been asleep until she heard his wary voice on he eighth ring, as though he was expecting bad news.

"Hello?"

"Billy, it's me, Bella. Is Jake there? He left my house twenty minutes ago."

"Yeah, he's here," Billy answered stoically.

"He told me he'd call when he got home," she told him in confusion. She knew that Jacob wouldn't have forgotten. "He looked like he was coming down with something when he left."

"He was...too sick to call," Billy told her. He sounded distant, as though he had a lot of his mind. "He's still not feeling well right now."

"Let me know if you need any help," she offered, thinking of Billy being confined to his chair and having to care for Jacob. "I could come down."

"No, no," Billy said quickly. "We're fine here. You stay home."

The way he said it was almost rude. But knowing Billy, she assumed that he didn't want to expose her to whatever virus Jacob had gotten. Only Billy had no clue how exposed she had already been to his son.

"Okay," she agreed softly.

"Bye Bella."

The line disconnected before she had the chance to say her goodbye. Charlie took that moment to walk into the kitchen, looking just as despondent as she felt.

"Games over and I'm betting so is any chance for winning a pennant this year for the Mariners," Charlie said grudgingly. He paused and looked at Bella's face. "How's Jake?"

"Sick," she simply replied.

"Damn," Charlie stated, throwing his empty beer cans into the garbage. "Hope Billy doesn't get it. The guy's health can't take it right now."

Bella nodded in agreement and yawned, stretching her arms forward as she thought about offering to bring some soup over in the morning.

"What's that on top of your shoulder? Looks like your skin is reacting to something that bit you."

Bella ran her hand over her shoulder, her mind going back to those intense, intimate moments in the car and suddenly remembered the painful, yet erotic bite that Jacob left at the height of his climax. It wasn't raised, nor was it painful.

"Try not to scratch it," Charlie said, warningly. "I'd put something on it if I were you before it gets worse. Damn bugs around here are horrible this time of year."

While Charlie told her he was going to get some sleep before heading into work in the morning, Bella went into the bathroom and for the first time, took a look at that bite on her shoulder. It did look like a bad insect bite - it was bright red with a defining edge to it, yet it didn't itch, sting or hurt. Bella ran her finger over it, feeling the contours and finding that she could sense slight indentations around the edges. It caused a tremor of pleasure to pulse through her body. With a gasp, she quickly held onto the countertop and took a deep breath before looking at herself in the mirror.

What the hell?

Pulling out an antibiotic cream, she gently ran it over the surface of the bite before heading into her room. Charlie was fast asleep, based on the snoring coming from his bedroom. She climbed into bed and laid down, realizing for the first time that she was still sore in places that she ever thought she'd be sore. It was a pleasant ache. When she closed her eyes to try to sleep, memories of Jacob's warm hands on her filled her mind. His kisses on her lips, her neck, and her breasts ghosted over her. She couldn't wait to feel his lips on her own again and to simply spend time with him in his garage, working on a project or just talking about anything and everything

While she was convinced that she had been in love with Edward, this was different. This was not just an infatuation, a crush or an obsession. She loved Jacob with her entire being and as much as it scared Bella to had admitted it, not only to him but to herself, it excited her.

Bella rolled over, her thoughts on Jacob and their night together. Clearly, she had been exposed to whatever virus Jacob had. There was no doubt about it and Bella knew that it was only a matter of time before she began to show symptoms. She just didn't think that it would be so quick.

Bella suddenly awoke just after four in the morning when she felt a strong burning sensation in her stomach. Quickly jumping up from bed, Bella raced for the bathroom and threw up. An hour later, when he woke up, Charlie found her laying on the bathroom floor, her cheek resting against the cool tiles. With a sigh, he put a glass of water and the portable phone beside her.

"Do you need anything else?" He asked, concluding that she had ultimately caught the same bug that Mike and Jacob had.

"Yeah, call the store this morning for me and tell Mrs. Newton that I wont be coming in later."

Charlie considered staying home to watch over her, but Bella insisted that he go. The last thing she wanted was for him to fall sick too.

While Charlie left for work, Bella spent a good part of the day on the bathroom floor. She vaguely remembered Charlie coming home that evening, opening her bedroom door to check on her. She rolled over and squinted at the invading light from the hallway.

"Sorry," he whispered. "Go back to sleep."

Her eyes tried to focus on her digital clock beside the bed.

"What time is it?"

"Nearly eight at night," he replied, sitting on the edge of the bed. "You must have been in bed all day. I called after lunch to let you know that I'd be working late, but I guess you were sleeping. There's been reports of bear sightings around town and we've been busy."

Bella couldn't believe that she slept all day. She had climbed into bed sometime in the morning when the bathroom floor was no longer comfortable. Her stomach was no longer protesting and although she still felt weak, she did feel a bit better.

"Has Jake called?"

Charlie shook his head, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I called Billy this morning to see how Jake was feeling. He was feeling as crappy as you." He paused for a second, as it seemed he was attempting to hold in a smile.

"What?"

Charlie shrugged. "Oh nothing, just heard something interesting from Billy today. He said that although Jake was feeling horrible, he had mentioned that you and he had come to an understanding last night." He paused once again. "So, is it true? You and Jake, you guys are a couple?"

A smile came to Bella's face. "Yeah, I suppose so. Since when have you and Billy turned into old gossips?"

Charlie chuckled, patting Bella's hand.

"I'm just happy for you. Do you know that Billy had been trying to get Jacob to ask you out since you moved back here? I'm glad you two are together. Jake's a great and decent guy, the kind of guy that you can depend on."

There was a underlying tone that Charlie was comparing him to Edward and Bella knew it. As much as she defended Edward in the past, she had to agree with Charlie. Yet, Bella doubted that Charlie would be thinking so highly of Jacob if he was aware that that same great kid was the one who took her virginity last night.

"He is," Bella agreed, with a smile.

Not wanting to cross into uncomfortable emotional territory, Charlie stood up from the side of bed. "So, are you up to eating? I can make you some toast."

Bella nodded, finding her stomach growl with the mention of food.

With a satisfied smile, headed back downstairs. Bella slowly sat up and reached for the portable phone from beside the bed, dialing Jacob's cell phone number. If she was feeling better, there was no doubt that he'd be well by now as well. But when she heard his voice, she knew that he wasn't over it.

"Jake? You sound horrible," Bella told him.

"I feel horrible," he said, his voice weak.

"This is my fault," she admitted. "If you didn't come last night, you wouldn't have been exposed to the flu that Mike had."

"Don't blame yourself," Jacob whispered. "This isn't your fault. And besides, I wouldn't have missed last night for the world. I had a lot of fun being with you. I'll never forget it."

A smile came to Bella's face.

"Me too." She sighed.

"How are you feeling? My Dad mentioned that you were feeling sick."

"I'm doing much better so you're probably going to be feeling better soon," she encouraged.

There was a slight pause and he mumbled before she could hear him once again. "I doubt it. This is different."

"You don't have the stomach flu?"

Bella was confused.

"No, I have something else."

"What's wrong with you?"

"Everything," he whispered. "Every part of me hurts like hell."

"What can I do? I'd like to help you, Jake. I can come over..."

"No," he interrupted, almost rudely. "You can't come here."

She heard him sigh, a rough irritable growl laced beneath it.

"Look, Bella, I'll call you when I can. I'll let you know when you can come down here again."

"Jacob-"

"I've got to go," he told her with sudden urgency.

"Call me when you feel better."

"Right," he said, his voice taking on a bitter edge to it.

He was silent for a moment before he spoke again.

"Bella, remember that I love you. I'll always love you," he said softly, his voice barely audible. "No matter what, remember that, okay?"

A sudden fear gripped within Bella. His words and voice had such a finality to them.

"Okay," she told him, weakly as though she was keeping herself together for his benefit. "I love you too. More than you know."

She heard Jacob breathe in deeply before he let it out.

"I know," he finally replied softly.

"Bye Jake."

"Bye Bella."

She hung up, not knowing that it would be nearly two years before she'd hear his voice once again.