A/N:

Twilight and its characters are property of Stephanie Meyer.

Chapter 3. – Bedtime Stories

Jacob POV

When I first found out that Edward could read my mind, I was beyond infuriated. I felt like my privacy was completely violated, I felt robbed of something sacred. After I imprinted on Renesmee, I was eternally thankful that he had the ability to see that I wasn't a sick demented pedophile.

Everyone was generally accepting of the circumstances and the Cullen family took me in, some more welcoming than others. Of course Esme immediately offered me my own bedroom in the Forks house, but sleep was impossible around the thick stench that the Cullen's had left all over everything in the house. Even after I had repeatedly tried to cleanse the room of it, the smell persisted. I slept outside most nights.

When we moved, the Cullen's designed the house with me in mind. They knew I would be a part of their lives for as long as Nessie lived with them. My living quarters were in the house, but separate from everyone else. My bedroom was at the end of the hall where all of the guest rooms were, and I had my own balcony and entryway. Their smell was tolerable during the day, but it was hard to ignore when I was trying to sleep.

They had no use for the guest rooms, and they allowed me to keep them dusted and cleaned so as to not let the smell linger too closely to my bedroom. I didn't mind the cleaning; it helped me feel more at ease about living with them. I did whatever I could to earn my welcome, but the truth of the matter is that I was only earning my own approval. Everyone else accepted me openly. Well, except Rosalie, but she didn't hate me as much as she once did.

I had a lot more free time after we moved to Portland. The only thing I had to occupy myself with was homeschooling with Alice and playing with Nessie. Alice was a great teacher. The others usually didn't sit or stand within a few feet of me due to my smell, but I didn't mind at all because I thought they smelled pretty horrible, too.

But Alice was different. When she was showing me how to do something, she would sit beside me and not even wince or scrunch her nose at my scent. Since she was so kind, I pretend not to notice how her scent almost burned my nostrils when she was in close proximity. The longer I was around them, the less the smell bothered me. Maybe it was the same for Alice.

Since I had so much free time, I decided to get a hobby. I started doing woodwork. I had always been good with my hands, and even tiny details were easy for me. I dabbled in it when I lived at La Push, but the greatest thing I ever did was carve Bella's wolf charm.

After a few months of carving animals and painting them, I decided to try my hand at furniture. I knew Esme wouldn't mind helping me. My first project was a square breakfast table for the bay window off beside the kitchen. I was incredibly nervous when Esme told me that she'd gladly help me, so long as she could show off the finished product. I insisted she not tell anyone that I made it. When the family started spouting out complements and questions regarding the "intricately detailed, heirloom quality breakfast table," my ego soared. When everyone started gushing about Nessie's playroom, I just knew that this would be my special contribution. I custom built all of the furnishings.

Edward, Bella, and I took turns reading with Nessie every night. Some nights, she would want to read to us, others she would want us to read to her. I loved it when she would touch my cheek and show me what she was picturing as she read. Reading with her was the highlight of my day.

Despite Edward's numerous explanations to Rosalie about how I was not a pedophile and how my reading to Nessie in her room was completely innocent, she still stood closely by her bedroom door listening intently. There was nothing disgusting about my reading to Nessie, but it was a special time and I despised that I could hear her near the door.

Edward understood that the way I loved Nessie was similar to the way he loves her, and his love was much different from most fathers. Many fathers are awkward around their daughters because they don't understand the femininity and they are in constant fear of being thought of as too close or doing something inappropriate when the intent was harmless. Society puts a huge burden on fathers and made it difficult for them to bond with their daughters. I understood Edward and he understood me. He knew my undying love and devotion to Nessie just as well as I did. So if I fell asleep beside Nessie while she was reading to me, Edward knew without a doubt that it was perfectly innocent.

It just so happened to be my turn to read with her the day we presented her with the playroom. I felt like a kid. I was excited because I couldn't wait to see the ceiling when it was actually night out and the light of day wasn't peaking through the tiny cracks between the thick drapes. When I entered her new room, I was astonished at how beautiful everything looked under the twinkle of the tiny overhead lights.

As I gazed up at the night sky of the room, I noticed something that I somehow missed in all the time I spent helping Jasper get the electrical wiring just right. There, on the ceiling, was every bit of welcoming I had ever wanted or needed. Words could not express the emotion this sight evoked or the immense gratitude that I felt.

Out of nowhere, Edward, Bella, and Carlisle were standing around me just inside the playroom. I could feel the tears welling up and a lump forming in my throat. I turned to face them.

"How'd—I ju— I mean—…" I gave up talking. I could only imagine the expression on my speechless face.

"Those lights have a special button," Bella explained. Her eyes were soft and warm. She looked me in the eyes and there was no need for words. Her sincerity was written all over her face. She reached out and embraced me tightly. Fire and ice. She ran her fingers through my short hair gingerly.

I'm certain she knew it when my single welled tear escaped me, but I pulled Charlie's trick and buried my face into her wavy brown hair before it could fall. It was no use. I may as well have used Edward's designer shirt to wipe it away. There was no escaping the "all-knowing" Edward.

When Bella released me, Edward reached out for a hug. I was surprised, we played nice with each other but it was hard for us to build a friendship with all of the bad blood between us which was mostly the result of my own arrogance. We were working on it though. His hug wasn't as tight or long as Bella's, more of a quick man-hug, but it was still a nice gesture. More than I would expect from Edward.

He pulled away and ran his fingers through his tousled bronze hair nervously. His eyes met mine for a brief moment. He knew how I felt, and his eyes said everything he wanted to say aloud. Again, there was no need for words.

Carlisle put his hand on my shoulder and turned me to face him. His hand remained on my shoulder as he spoke.

"Jacob, you are a part of our family. We all welcome you, even if you can't see it. I—no, everyone— knows what Renesmee means to you. You belong with our family, and I look at you as a son."

I was speechless… again.

Those words meant everything to me. No one's acceptance meant more to me than Carlisle's. He saw me as his family. He knew that I would be around so long as Renesmee kept me around.

I saw Bella's head turn from the corner of my eye; she was looking at the top of the stairs where Nessie was now standing. She turned to look at me.

"The princess awaits you, Jake. Best not keep her waiting," Bella whispered.

I made eye contact one last time with all of them. It was all I could do. I was still choking back tears and unable to speak as I made my way to the staircase.

When I sat down in the oversized chair with tonight's book in hand, Nessie climbed up into my lap and touched my cheek. She showed me an image of the constellations on her ceiling.

"Tell me the story, Jake. Momma said you would tell me what it means," Nessie said in her sweet, melodic voice. She had me wrapped around her tiny pinky all the way up to her little polished fingernail. She could have asked me to tell her a story about the grim reaper coming for Sponge Bob and I'd do it.

"The one shaped like a wolf is called 'Nulinega,'" I began in a low, soothing tone. "One night, a pack of wolves were attacked by a neighboring pack. The only adults were the mommy and daddy of the single pup who the neighboring pack came to kill. Legend says that this pup was special. He was to be a great warrior. The neighboring pack wanted to eliminate him. The mother and father fought as hard as they could, but they were outnumbered. The mother cried out to her pup 'Run! We will find you!' The pup ran as far and as fast as his tiny legs would allow.

"After a few miles, he ran into a group of mountain lions. The mother lion saw the fear in the pups face and immediately began to protect the little pup from the predators that were coming through the forest, despite the fact that the mountain lions and the wolves were natural enemies. The rival pack of wolves was taken out by the mountain lions, and the pup was welcomed to become part of their family forever. The pup decided to keep the name his parents had given him- Nulinega, which meant 'Strength.'

"When he got older, he fell in love with one of the mountain lions. He was worried that the leader would be upset with him. When he approached the mountain lion that was his father figure, he wasn't sure what his reaction would be to him asking to be with his daughter, who Nulinega referred to as 'Dream Catcher,' forever.

"It was never heard of. The father was overjoyed. His gift to the couple was magically fixing stars in the sky in the shape of Nulinega and his daughter." Nessie stared at me wide eyed throughout the whole story without once looking away.

Nessie wasn't ready to go to sleep, so we read a few tales from her big Mother Goose Treasury. This had been a very exciting day for her. I was surprised it took her so long to fall asleep. My eyes were fighting to stay open.

"Just one more story, my Jacob." She knew calling me "my Jacob" pulled on my heart strings. I was her Jacob. She was the reason I existed, the reason I woke up in the morning, the reason my heart beat, and the reason I lived among eight people who made my nose burn if they got too close. In my eyes, she was the reason the sun came up in the morning and spread hundreds of shades of lilac and pink across the sky, and the reason golden rays shot through to the heavens when it set. Every emotion and feeling in my body belonged to her. So naturally, I turned the page and read on more story.

"Goodnight, my Jacob. I love you," She said, leaning over and kissing my forehead. "Tomorrow after lesson time, can we play dress up? I have lots of new costumes, you won't even have to wear the tights, I promise." Her little voice, so sweet and gentile, was the most beautiful sound God ever created.

"Of course I will. Night, love you too Ness." I kissed her cherub cheek and tucked her in. The word 'love' didn't come close.

A/N:

Here's this chapter's inspirational photo album: .com/fairytalesfanfic930/Chapter3

The little tale above is entirely made up. The names I used were found on a website of translations for various American Indian languages. Forgive me if I completely botched something.