Pawprints

Summary: After a terrible accident and with Edward now irrevocably out of the picture, Bella finds shelter and comfort in Jacob's arms- and he learns that love comes unbidden, not when forced. BSJB

A/N: Thank you all SO MUCH for the reviews. They really kept my creative juices flowing, and I couldn't be writing this without your encouragement.

------

Chapter 6: Heart

He couldn't sleep.

The werewolf's eyes were closed and he was tired, but there was neither warm bed nor lulling rain outside to help him sleep as there was this morning. So much had changed in the past few hours that his mind couldn't quite comprehend or register it all, and his thoughts were going around and around his brain in a tornado of emotions.

Jacob, among other things, felt incredibly guilt. He should be feeling sadness and sympathy – he did feel them – but he also felt content for the first time since he had met Bella Swan For the first time since he had become a werewolf, he felt more human than beast. Love filled him, his heart nearly bursting.

After Bella had gone to his room Billy had also taken leave, claiming exhaustion and heading to bed. This left Jacob alone with his thoughts on the makeshift bed he had created on the still drying couch, and the combination of swirling thoughts and damp lying spaces had driven him to the bathroom to search for more towels. He was debating whether Rachel would kill him for using her fluffy pink towels to dry the old, dirty couch when he heard a whimper coming from the hallway.

He turned around quickly, recognizing the voice as belonging to Bella, but the hallway was still dark. Leaving the towels on top of the toilet seat, he walked cautiously into the hallway. All of the doors to the bedrooms were shut. He turned to go back into the bathroom when he heard the whimper again, clearly coming this time from behind the door to his own bedroom.

Bella.

He switched off the bathroom light and approached his door, his hand hesitating before it touched the doorknob. He had no idea what to do; he wanted – no, needed – to comfort her, but he didn't know if she was having a nightmare, or if she even wanted him in there with her. His father's words, though, echoed in his head along with his own thoughts.

She chose you. She needs you. Why are you just standing here?

A third whimper reached his ears, along with a sob. Without another second thought, Jacob knocked lightly on the door and twisted the doorknob, opening it just a crack.

"Bella?"

The sobs didn't stop; Jacob opened the door wider and stepped halfway into the room. The girl in his bed gave no reply as she tossed her head back and forth, deep in the throes of a nightmare.

Without making a sound, he shut the door and slinked over to the side of the bed. He looked into the sleeping girl's face, and was grieved to discover that her cheeks were wet, and tears were still falling from between her closed lids. Her sobs gradually quieted as he watched her, and to help relax her she began to stoke her hair.

She began to mumble in her sleep, and Jacob had to lean in to hear her.

"Jacob," she whispered, her voice soft and filled with hurt. "Jake, where are you?"

Her voice became louder and she began tossing her head again. "No, Jake! Please… don't leave me! NO!" And with that, she shot up shouting. Her eyes were wide and panicked, and he immediately pulled her into his arms.

"Bella! Bells, it's okay. I'm here. I'm not leaving. I promise."

Her cries started a new and she collapsed into him, her arms reaching around his neck and clutching him to her as she sobbed.

"It was real, wasn't it?" she whispered haltingly, now terrified and beginning to shake. "He's really, really gone…"

Jacob began to stroke her back, his warmth and the surprisingly gentles motions of his hands succeeding in stopping her trembling, although she wasn't exactly calm.

"bells, I-"

But before he could apologize – before he could make an effort to comfort her – she continued on.

"You had left me; h-he had come back and you went away, and I was alone with him. His eyes were black and hungry, and before I could try to run, he pounced at me- and I-I called for you but you were gone and-"

The flow of words from her mouth stopped as Jacob took her face in both of his hands. His dark eyes met hers and held them, and he was socked to see the amount of pain in hers- she still believed herself abandoned by him, the last one left who loved her. Her eyes were red and filled with hot, burning tears, and they tore away from his gaze to study her hands.

"Charlie's dead, and you left me. All I had left was him," she whispered, dejected.

"Bella," Jacob said, his own voice firm, and her eyes flew back up to his face. "It was a dream. I'm never going to leave you, Bells. The Pack won't let him near you- and I will never let him hurt you again."

She brought one of her hands up and covered his. "Do you promise?" Her voice was soft, almost feeble, and it broke his heart to hear it.

"Bella, with everything I am, I promise you. I… I love you too much to let anyone hurt you."

He kissed her forehead then, and tried to stand, now unsure of whether or not he should have told her he loved her. She knew that he did, and he knew that she had chosen him, but he didn't know if she knew he had finally imprinted on her. What would she think of this forced bonding of the two of them?

And so soon after the death of her father? Trying to deal with a new boyfriend who had pretty much supplanted her old one by magic was way too much for her to attempt to deal with at a time like this.

Smooth, Jake. As if today wasn't traumatic enough.

But before he could stand all the way up, Bella grabbed onto his arm.

"No, Jacob, please- stay. I-I need you."

He sat back down on the bed and she nested into him. Instinctively he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she sighed contentedly, more relaxed than she had been all day.

Jacob himself felt his tension ebb away; all he needed was to be near her and to make her happy. His heart was beating in sync with her own, making him feel more connected with her than he ever had.

Does she feel this?

Her breathing slowed as they cuddled there, and after a few minutes she wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at his face.

"Lay with me?" she asked. "I'm only going to be able to sleep if you're here with me."

He nodded and gave her a small smile. She stood up as he climbed into his bed, pressing himself up against the wall while he waited for her to make herself comfortable. She crawled in after him and lay on her side, and he, with a slight hesitation, curled his body around hers.

Oh, so no it's okay for you to spoon with the girl you love who just lost everything? You're a sick, sick dog.

She, however, quelled these doubts with a sigh of contentment.

"Thank you," she whispered, and pulled his arm around her waist to bring him even closer. She was silent then.

Jacob's thoughts, however, filled the quiet. He could smell his shampoo on her hait, and felt her body pressed against his. His hand on her stomach fell and rose rhythmically with her breathing ,and it took all he could to stop himself from moaning.

Stop it, dammit! You've held her before; don't get horny now. She'll be able to feel you.

She made no other noise as they lay there, and 15 minutes passed. He began to suspect that she had fallen asleep and was debating whether or not she should try to as well when she said something so quietly he almost didn't hear it.

"I love you too, Jacob."

---------

A/N: Still not quite done. :D There's a lot more I want to explore between these two, but this story will probably end within 1 or 2 chapters after this one. However, there will be at least one sequel.