Thanks for reading everyone!

Here's the fourth chapter:


Chapter 4: Jacob

Jacob arrived after a week had gone by. I barely noticed as I was deep in thought staring at the trickiest part of the machine, as I had been for almost a day.

Esme had convinced Emmett to hunt with her, he was so weak his voice was failing him. They left a few hours earlier, and would be returning shortly. We were not picky about our meals these days.

"Bella." Jacob said. I turned my eyes to him in acknowledgement, and then I quickly set my eyes back to the machine.

He sat down close to me. Then, he put his hand over mine and I reluctantly put the machine down. I took a deep breath and looked at him.

He looked at me, too.

I saw the tears begin to fall from his eyes. We did this before, back when we all lived together.

He would stare at me for hours, my face and eyes reminding him of Nes. I would stare at him, and see features of my one and only grandbaby. I barely knew little Charlie, but I loved him completely and absolutely even before he was born.

"Why did she have to have that damn vampire speed." He said it as a statement, the way he'd said it a million times before. We all had said things like this countless times. Our mates were all faster than us by a fraction of a second to step into that fire so many millennia ago.

"He must have lived a good life, Bella, don't you try sobbing for him one more time. We can't know what happened to him. We have to have faith that Aro let him live out his whole life, happily." He spoke of his son, kidnapped from us by Aro on that fateful day.

I nodded. I often told myself exactly that. Aro wasn't so heartless. Though all of the Volturi had left this Earth, and probably ended their existence a few millennia ago when the false knowledge and hopelessness spread.

I tore my eyes from Jacob's. I didn't want to sob anymore, I couldn't look at Jacob's eyes anymore: exact replicas of little Charlie's.

I wanted that smile, still. I craved it, like a drug. I knew it wasn't a good time to go down memory lane, though, so I pushed it away.

Before I could turn back to my work Jacob spoke again.

"If I don't make it back in time with you all, don't worry about me. I really only care about Nes and little Charlie's happiness," my body visibly cringed as he said their names aloud, his voice so reverent as he spoke of them as gods, "in the afterlife, let them know I love them, and send me some signal from you if you can do that sort of thing, so I know it worked, and that Nessie is reunited with her mother and the rest of her family."

The sobs broke through again. He continued though I saw the tears rolling freely down his face, "it would make me happy to know she is happy up there. I'll live off of that forever."

Jacob rose, still holding my hand, his eyes locked on mine.

"Please, one last time."

I rose with him, knowing exactly what he was asking for. I knew what it did to him after, but just for a moment, he could pretend.

I very slowly slipped my arms around his neck, his wound cautiously around my waist. And in unison, we swayed. I put my head to his warm chest. And I felt him rest his chin over my head.

I hummed my lullaby, Charlie's lullaby.

I felt tears from his face fall down the back of my neck.

I was used to this.

My sobs and his tears went on as the sun danced in a complete circle around us. I pulled my head back to look at his red eyes.

"You know, little Charlie has to be up there too, and sometimes I wonder how he would react to meeting his namesake. It makes me smile, sometimes, when I think of them interacting."

Suddenly, his lips tugged upward to one side.

"Bells, thank you."


Let me know what you're thinking!