A/N: Sorry this took me so long! Here's the next chapter, enjoy!

Chapter Four - Mistakes And Consequences

Renesmee

We dressed with phenomenal speed even for us. The wind was still on our side, and while we knew my father was there — and his scent had now been joined by my mother's — he wouldn't yet know we were here. They would soon though, once they got close enough for our movements to be picked up by their super-sensitive hearing.

We were ready just in time; it was clear that we'd been doing something — Jacob's fly was still undone, and my hair was tousled beyond repair, but hopefully I could blame that on running through the trees. And I didn't think either of my parents would be looking at Jake's crotch. As long as the smell of sex wasn't too strong…we could be okay.

Once they got close enough to smell us both without the assistance of the breeze, my mother's melodious voice rang out. "Renesmee!"

My doubt grew; they weren't out of the trees yet, and Mom could smell us already. No way they wouldn't smell the pheromones both of us had to be pumping out. I put my hand on Jake's chest, pushing him slightly. "Go," I urged in an undertone.

He shook his head stubbornly, voice just as soft. "No way."

The silhouettes of my parents detached themselves from the treeline at the bottom of the clearing. I swallowed, then hit on a plan. There was something else, something important we could think about. And it was something my parents should know. I looked at Jacob, speaking through my hand. Think about the vampires.

It worked; worry and concern filled his expression, and filtered down through our contact to me. Vampires, out in the forest where they could harm people I cared about, people I loved-

"Are you and Bella both alright?" Jake asked as soon as they were standing in front of us.

"Why wouldn't we be?" Dad asked, frowning.

"There're vampires in the forest. At least half a dozen of them. Unfriendly ones."

My parents exchanged worried but understanding glances. "That would explain the deer we found."

"Deer?" I questioned.

"Up by the border — we found a whole herd with their throats torn out," Mom told us.

"By the border? The Denalis?"

Dad shook his head. "No, not a whole herd like that."

"How many of them?" Jacob asked, his arms folded and his expression totally focused.

"Twenty or so."

"More than would be needed for only six," I put in. This just got worse. How many of them were there? I thought of the days after my birth, the Volturi attack that never quite happened. Maybe we'd have to do a similar thing now, and assemble all the allies we could until the danger had passed. No one had been attacked yet, but if there were more than about ten strange vampires in the forest, it could realistically only be a matter of time.

"And Alice hasn't seen anything?" Jacob asked us.

I shook my head. "She hadn't while we were in Alaska, beyond the newborn we fought."

"We'll go home and check," Mom said.

Jake nodded thoughtfully. "I need to go warn the pack."

"I'll go with you," I said immediately.

"No," came at me from three directions.

"You should come with us," Dad added.

I shook my head, folding my arms. "No one should be out alone right now," I pointed out, carrying on before Jake could interrupt like he wanted to, "and, Jake, I don't care that you'll be alright, not if there are six-plus vampires out here."

Mom apparently agreed. "Come back to the house. I'll drive you back to La Push."

He nodded, much to my relief. "Alright. Come on then."

I'd almost forgotten about the compromising position my parents had almost caught Jacob and I in. Complacency was not my friend, though, not today. Mom's slender hand reached out to touch my collar. "Renesmee, your shirt is ripped."

Shit! There was no way to know if it had been ripped by Jacob when he was divesting me of my clothing or in the hurry to dress after the sex, but it hadn't been there before. "It is?" I asked, hearing how high and shrill my voice sounded. "Must've caught it on a tree." Even as I spoke, I knew there was no point in trying. It was too late; Mom's shield wasn't covering me, and Dad would have heard everything.

Sure enough, his feet slowly came to a halt as he stared at me in apparently mounting horror. Then he looked at Jake, then back at me. "Renesmee…you…"

I took a step to the left, toward Jacob, putting my hands up. "Dad, before you-"

Too late — before Mom or I could react, my father had thrown himself at Jacob, his frighteningly white teeth bared in a vicious snarl. The impact knocked Jacob off his feet, and in midair, he phased. They were both moving so fast that all I got was an impression of incredible strength — coupled with the intent to kill. I heard myself yelling both of their names, just as Mom was at my side. She'd dragged me away from the two of them, and was now holding me in position so I couldn't rush between the two of them and probably get myself hurt in the process.

"Edward-"

As soon as they were any distance apart, I knew both my mother and I would rush in and keep them apart. The opportunity came when Jacob kicked Edward off him. Twenty feet was nothing for the speed my father could run, but it was the chance Mom and I needed.

She let go of me and charged at her husband. "Alright, stop! Both of you!"

I didn't bother with shouting; it wouldn't help the situation. Instead I put myself in front of the massive wolf, hands outstretched and voice softly pleading. I'd never seen him so wild, and there seemed every chance he'd still smell vampire and take me down too. When I spoke to him, though, he stopped, still snarling. "Jake, please." I moved closer, until I could touch him, my hands touching his muzzle. "Calm down," I whispered. "Please."

After another second or two, during which I wasn't breathing, all signs of aggression left his body, and he moved closer to me, resting his head on my shoulder. I sighed in relief, continuing the soothing stroking with my hands.

Thank God. Thought I'd lost you for a second there.

His nose touched my ear, then his tongue: cold and wet followed by warm and rough. Never.

It took Mom slightly longer to calm my father, but eventually Dad wasn't trying to tear Jacob's throat out. Neither was he looking at me or Jacob. "Back to the house," Mom said tightly.

It was an uncomfortable journey made in utter silence. Most of me wanted to grab Jacob's hand and run, but the impulses just weren't being converted into action. I had to obey my parents in this. The fallout was going to be huge, and it was going to be supremely ugly. Talk about cheating on my parents… I sighed. Well, united we stood, divided we fell.

Unfortunately, it seemed dividing us was precisely what my mother had in mind. She grabbed Jacob by the arm; I saw him shudder briefly before he visibly schooled his instinctual reaction to resist.

I touched his cheek. I'll see you tomorrow.

My father spoke for the first time since we'd arrived back at the house. "Like hell you will, Renesmee!"

Jacob's fingers squeezed mine. Be careful.

Once his massive, warm presence was gone, I crossed my arms again and fought the urge to shiver. My father said nothing else, but he glared at me as though he'd see right into my soul.

I swallowed, then spoke. "Alright, I'll start. I'm sorry, Dad, but we haven't done anything any other couple wouldn't."

He started where I knew he would. "Bella and I were married before-"

"Yeah, and why was that? Because you were born in the nineteenth century and because Mom was as fragile as tissue paper compared to your strength!" I wanted to argue my point logically, but now that I was in real danger of my father forbidding me from seeing Jake ever again — under no circumstances could I now remain calm. When I slammed my foot down, it went straight through the tile. "I am in no danger whatsoever with Jacob, and you know it!"

"That is not the point!" my father yelled. "You have betrayed the trust your mother and I placed in you to act responsibly!"

I rolled my eyes with a dismissive sound. "Dad, we've been careful-"

"I don't care! You should not even be contemplating sex at your age-"

We were both yelling now, standing ten feet apart but screaming at one another like any other human father and daughter might. "I'm immortal! Age is completely irrelevant to this discussion and this situation!"

"Then you're not mature enough!"

"How so?" I demanded.

"It's not just a physical act, Renesmee, especially the first time. It means commitment, it means a deeply emotional bond forged between two people!"

"I agree — and I care so much for Jacob it makes my chest ache sometimes, and you might not think I'm ready, or that I grasp all the implications, but you're wrong," I told him firmly. "Jake and I aren't just messing around, Dad. He means everything to me. Just like you and Mom do," I added imploringly. Please don't make me choose, Dad… It's not a fight you can win.

Hearing my thoughts, his golden eyes narrowed. "Are you in love with him?"

I put my chin defiantly in the air. "Yes. And he loves me too-"

In a very human gesture, Dad ran his hands roughly through his hair. "Strangely enough, Renesmee, that is not my primary concern!"

I narrowed my eyes, not understanding. Wasn't I his daughter? Shouldn't he be worried that I was the one who might get hurt? But his tone suggested that there was no way in hell Jacob would ever hurt me. In which case did that mean that I would be the one to break Jacob's heart? "Then what is?" I asked angrily. "That I'm leading him on somehow, experimenting sexually until someone better comes along? Try and find me a better man than Jacob, Dad, spend the rest of eternity scouring the entire globe — you never will!"

"How can you be so oblivious to this, Renesmee? It's too late now — you are too young, and the second you realise that, the pile of shit you're going to plunge us all into-!"

Having never, ever heard my father swear in any capacity, no matter how angry, I stopped, staring. "What does that mean?"

"It means exactly that!" he spat. "You're too young for a serious relationship, and if you try and stop this now, you have no idea what you're going to do to Jacob, or to the alliance between the coven and the pack! You're too young!"

I couldn't stand there anymore, arguing with him — rage and pain and need for Jacob were all rising up and choking me. Before I gave into the urge to punch my father for yelling at me for something about which he had no idea, I turned and headed for the door.

"Where do you think you're going? We're not done talking about this!" he told me angrily.

"Yes we are, Edward! I can't believe you'd think that of me, that I could use anyone like that, much less Jake!"

I made it ten feet from the house before the sobs came, and my hands were trembling when I pulled out my cellphone. I couldn't dial Jake's number, I couldn't even see the keypad in order to use speed-dial. In frustration, I clenched my fingers around the device too hard; it disintegrated into a shower of plastic and metal. There went my chance of contacting Jacob. I pressed my lips together against more sobs. I needed to get to him, and crying hopelessly wasn't going to help. Alright, so phone was out, so I'd have to run. I swallowed. Unless he somehow knew I needed him.

That hadn't worked the last time I'd really needed him. Though, of course, that had been entirely my own doing.

November 5th

The mirror inside my closet door shattered as I slammed the door shut as hard as I could. And then, with a groan, the door fell off its hinges. I let out a groan of frustration just before the inevitable, "Renesmee!"

I turned to grimace apologetically at my grandmother. "Sorry."

Esmee came further into the room, eying me like I was a stranger. "That's seven years bad luck you know."

Yes, but my reflection had been looking at me with utterly accusing eyes for a week now. Telling me what a fool I was, telling me I should crawl to La Push and beg Jacob to forgive me. Hence the smashing. I did not need to be made to feel like more of a moron than I did already.

I raked a hand through my curls. "I've got forever; I think I can weather seven," I said shortly.

She frowned, coming further into the room and taking my face between her cool hands. "Honey, this isn't like you. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I…"

But it wasn't nothing, it was everything. I hadn't seen Jacob since we woke up in bed together, five days ago now. And out of my entire life, those five days had been the only time I hadn't spent time with him. It was ridiculous how cold this house was, how still and silent. Without Jake, it really hit me for the first time that all the other people I loved were dead.

I needed him back. And my stupid pride wanted him to come to me and spare me the humiliation. Then my heart would hit back telling me that I deserved massive humiliation and more, and that I was the one who'd screwed up. And since Jacob wasn't responding to my mental need for him, something had to be done.

I flopped down on the bed, biting my lower lip as a fresh wave of tears threatened. "I think I fucked up, Esmee."

She raised an eyebrow at the profanity, but didn't comment. "In what way?"

Well, I couldn't tell her that we'd slept together while drunk, so I swallowed and tried to frame what had happened without specifics. "There's a guy."

"Yes…"

"And I really like him. Ridiculous amounts. To the point where it's taken most of my energy to hide who it is from Dad. I'm pretty sure Jasper has had to have had a migraine for about four months now."

"And this boy doesn't like you back?" she asked, taking my hand gently.

I laughed shortly; 'boy' was the worst word to use to describe Jake, and I was one hundred percent certain he did like me back. "No, he does," I said. "But that way I behaved, I don't think he thinks I want him."

She blinked, still looking confused. "What did you do, Nessie?"

"Kissed him. Or he kissed me, or something." Not strictly something I remembered, but I imagined there would definitely have been kissing at some point. "But then I panicked."

"Alright. Why?"

"I don't know!" I cried, burying my face in my hands. "But now I feel like a total imbecile for losing my mind completely. And I don't know what to do. I want him back, but…how do I do it? And this guy means a hell of a lot to me, even as-" -the words nearly choked me- "Even as only a friend. I don't want to lose him."

"I see."

"So what do I do?" I asked desperately.

"He likes you — explain what happened, explain that you panicked and try and be clear this time. And apologise."

I nodded. "Least I can do."

She stood, pulling me up too. "I know it must be a difficult prospect, especially when your feelings change after so many years of friendship. But have no fear, darling girl. He'll forgive you."

With that, she kissed my forehead and left. I nodded to no one in particular. I'll find him. I'll tell him the truth. And I'll plead with him to forgive me.

Jacob

Things had been this awkward with Bella before, but not in the same way. Now she was utterly still. She didn't have to breathe anymore, but she'd kept it up through habit. Same with blinking. Well, now her chest wasn't moving, her eyes hadn't closed once, and she hadn't looked at me. Or spoken. Still, there was something about the set of her shoulders. They were slightly rounded, slightly downturned. She wasn't angry. She was disappointed.

And not with me.

"It was always going to happen," I said eventually, my voice quiet.

"I know. And believe it or not, I saw it coming."

"You did?"

She nodded, sighing. "I may not be the telepath in this family, Jacob, but I know my daughter. In a way only a mother can. Her body language, especially, has been telling. I'm sure she did a good job at keeping her thoughts from Edward, but unconsciously…? Every time you walked into the room she lit up."

I had to ask. "Does she love me?"

Bella took her eyes off the road to deliver me a disparaging look, golden eyes pitying. It clearly wasn't a question worth asking, in her mind. My heart felt like it had swelled by three hundred sizes. I knew Nessie felt something, but she'd never told me she loved me. Of course, I hadn't told her yet either… But I would. Tomorrow, assuming Edward hadn't locked her in a tower or something. But if she loved me, then this was it. This was happily ever after, staring me right in the face. It was an odd thought. A brilliant one.

"Don't look so happy," Bella snapped, her sharp reprimand cutting through the fuzziness. "Neither you nor Renesmee told us the truth about the beginning of your relationship. And Edward knows that now, and he is not going to let it go. So tell me now so that I can at least try and calm him down."

"Halloween, that part was true. But we couldn't tell you the truth because neither of us know, Bella. All I can tell you for sure is that I woke up November first with her in my arms, in my bed. It was pretty clear what had happened."

She nodded. "Okay. Not happy, but okay. And that's it? October 31st, not a couple, November 1st — couple?"

I grimaced. If only it had been that easy. "Sort of. She panicked. And then almost literally ran away."

Bella took her eyes off the road, topaz gaze full of compassion. "Oh Jake."

"Yeah. Y'know what having your heart broken feels like? Times that by a million. I didn't eat for that entire week. Or sleep."

November 5th

Jacob

When Bella agreed to marry Edward, those years ago, I used the wolf as my solace. As an animal, emotions were simpler, easier to brush aside. Instinct took over and made everything else obsolete.

Not so now.

If anything, being in wolf-form made it worse, because every instinct was attuned to Renesmee. I kept finding the faintest traces of her scent all over Forks, which then led to tracking her; then being stopped by the knowledge that she didn't want me. I couldn't just show up at the door if it was going to cause her pain or unhappiness. Equally, hunting led to her too — it had been months since I'd hunted without Renesmee by my side. I needed to know who she was hunting with, if she was at all — if she wasn't, then why not? If she was hunting by herself, then she could be in danger, she could be wounded somewhere without help-

But human, everything was dominated by the fact that she didn't want me. She didn't want me. She was- She was everything, and I was nothing to her. Knowing that, nothing mattered. Nothing. The sun had decided I was the one part of the world not worth shining on.

I'd now gone back to cliff-diving. At least the sea didn't smell like Renesmee. On some level, I knew that jumping off a hundred-foot cliff into a storm-stricken sea was probably a stupid idea, even for someone almost as indestructible as me. But I didn't care. Smashing my head against jagged rocks sounded a lot less painful than having my heart punched out of my chest by the centre of the universe. It hadn't happened yet, and this was the twenty-third time I'd thrown myself into the ocean.

It was, however, the first time I'd been dragged out of it again. By Renesmee. Who, for some completely unknown reason, thought she had the right to look angry. Once we were waist-deep in the water, she stopped. And then slapped my chest. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

It wasn't polite to stare, I knew that, but she was here in front of me, looking at me with those searing brown eyes, her hair tangled and soaking yet with her irrepressible curls beginning to bounce back up again anyway, her hand was still against my skin — staring was about all I was capable of.

Finally feeling the weight of my gaze, Renesmee began to blush lightly, a rose bloom appearing on her cheeks. Slowly, she took her hand away. I missed the warmth immediately. "Hi, by the way."

I grinned. Grinning was good. Step on the road to speech.

"Um, I- I came to find you." She stopped, took a deep breath, and then threw her arms around me. "Jake, I'm so sorry! I'm such an utter, total, absolute and complete idiot — I didn't mean to leave the way I did, I didn't even mean to leave at all-"

Having had enough, I put a crooked finger under her chin and lifted her face. When I kissed her, she let out a deep groan from deep in her chest and pressed her lips harder to mine. It didn't matter that I hadn't eaten in days, because all the nourishment I needed was right here, in this freezing sea.

When I pulled away, we were both breathing hard, and — actually surprisingly — not floating. "Now," I smiled. "Slower."

She nodded. "Right. Sorry, didn't mean to, please forgive me, I was an idiot. Good enough?" she asked.

"Good enough. So what now?"

She let out a chuckle of relief, a brilliant grin on her face. "Well, I'm completely disappointed that we got drunk, since I can't remember any of it."

"Me too." Oh God me too.

She tucked a strand of wet hair behind her ear. "So I was thinking…as neither of us are drunk at the moment… Maybe we could do it again. And remember it this time."

"Are you sure?" I asked her.

In answer, she kissed me again. And the cold really stopped mattering.

Bella sighed, nodding. "Well, you seem to have been through drama enough without Edward and I chewing you out. And God knows I would've jumped Edward long before we were married if I could. Renesmee…is just taking the opportunities given to her. As are you."

"So you're on our side?" I asked hopefully.

"I'm not on anyone's 'side', Jacob," she quelled. "I'm simply trying to be rational about this rather than ripping your throat out."

She pulled over as we neared the reservation. "Call Renesmee when you get back. Let her know I haven't tried to kill you on the drive here."

"I will. Thanks, Bella."

Just before I shut the door, she spoke again. "Jake. I meant what I said. Break her heart and I break you in half."

I knew better than to laugh, and nodded, closing the door and pulling out my cell phone. Only to be told by an automated voice that the number I was trying to dial couldn't be reached. What? Ness never turned her cell off. Had Edward taken her phone from her as some kind of punishment? Didn't seem like him. Throw her into a dungeon, maybe, but not take away her cell phone. Unless he'd smashed it? Unless she had?

I left a message anyway, hanging up- Just in time to have my girlfriend slam into me, crying. "Nessie! What's wrong, what-" I stroked her hair as the rate of volume of her sobs increased, recognising that asking questions was pretty pointless until she'd stopped crying.

It didn't take her long to stop; when she looked up, her face was a mask of anger rather than sadness. "Take it it didn't go well with Edward then?"

She ground her teeth. "No, it didn't. He actually accused me of using you sexually — like I was experimenting on you before moving on. He didn't even consider that you might be the one to break my heart — not that you would, I know that," she added quickly. "But I couldn't believe it. I'm his daughter, I'm the one he's supposed to be worried for, and he's worried for you!"

There's a very good reason for that, I thought, not for the first time wishing I could tell her the truth. In fact, why couldn't I? It was different before, when I was just her best friend, but we were more than that now. We were lovers. She'd chosen me on her own, without anyone telling her we'd been bonded since the day she was born. What could it matter if she knew she was my imprint?

I looked down at her furious, beautiful face, and nodded inwardly. I'd tell her, soon. Just after she'd calmed down. With my hands on her shoulders, though, she seemed to be calming anyway. "Then he's wrong," I said gently. "I know you'd never do that, you know that too. "Don't let it get to you."

She sighed, nodding. "I know. I just…he yelled at me like he didn't even know me."

"Give him time. It's gotta be a shock, seeing that in your own daughter's thoughts. He overreacted — he'll get over it."

"Can I stay with you until he does?"

"Of course," I told her. "Come on."

"Actually, can we go for a walk first?" I asked. "I really need to calm down."

There was another way to calm her down, and I could tell from the small smile playing at the corners of her mouth she was thinking of the same thing. "Can't do that," I grinned. "Dad's in, and you know what you're like."

She grinned. "I refuse to believe I'm as loud as you say."

"One day I'm going to have to record you."

"Now there's an idea."

I took her hand. "Come on."

We walked out of La Push into the forest, neither of us really that tired, and we both knew that we'd basically come through the first big challenge of our relationship. "It's no good, you know," she murmured after a while.

"What isn't?"

"I'm never going to be able to let you go."

I grinned, opened my mouth to reply — then stopped when the wind abruptly changed direction.

Renesmee

Suddenly he stiffened, then immediately started shaking. His lip curled in a soft and deadly snarl. "What is it?" I asked. "Ja-" Suddenly I knew exactly. There were footsteps all around us, not even bothering with stealth. There were growls and snarls. There were no heartbeats. "How many?" I whispered.

"Least a dozen," he said tautly.

I saw shadowy forms detach themselves from the trees. Red eyes glared at me. "Make that fifteen," I whispered. There was an undulation of air, and a deeper, far more comforting growl. I reached out; touched soft fur. "Jake, I love you."

There was a ripple of cruel laughter from through the vampires that surrounded us. The first move came from the two of us.

A/N: Review please!