Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer, the creator of Twilight.

Things seemed to return to some level of normalcy in the Cullen household. Bella had hunted and her eyes were now a cool golden color, no longer the horrifying blackness they had been once before.

When Ness had returned home, she found Jacob and Bella sitting in the living room, with the television on, neither of them really watching it. Jake's eyes lifted to hers and he lifted himself off the couch and began walking towards her. Ness' impatience shined through and she ran right into his arms, not willing to wait one more second it would take for him to reach her. He hugged her fiercely to him. Jake had certainly missed her and now that she was back, he felt all was right in the world again. He closed his eyes and held her. She laid her head on his chest and stayed there. Jake just wanted to savor the moment. It had pained him to be away from her and with the events of this afternoon-he just wanted to stay in this moment a little while longer.

Jake wasn't sure how much time had passed nor did he care but the bubble he and Nessie were in was burst as he heard a gentle clearing of a throat behind him. He released Ness and slowly turned them both around to face Bella. Ness' eyes filled with tears as a huge smile spread across her face. No doubt she had seen her mother's newly brightened eye color never mind that she had moved from that hated corner in the room, making sounds as she went. "MOM!" With amazing speed and fluidity, Ness had leaped from Jacob's arms right into Bella's. Jake could hear Bella's tinkling laugh as she embraced Nessie. He stepped back a little to allow the mother daughter reconciliation to play out. He saw Bella close her eyes, hug Ness tighter, let out a contented sigh and begin to stroke her daughter's bronze curls lovingly. It seemed Bella wanted her moment, too. The two women before him didn't look like they were going to break their embrace anytime soon. He could sense Ness' need for this time with her mother. He decided he'd head outside to give her just that.

"Gonna go talk to Leah and Seth. Be back in a bit." He quietly whispered his intentions as he turned around to leave. He knew Bella had heard him even though she made no indication to let him know she had.

Once outside, Jake walked to the treeline of the yard and stripped off his sweats, tying them around his leg while fastening the leather cord. He immediately phased and began to run. He decided he would stick to the edges of the property just in case Ness needed him. He didn't sense Leah or Seth so they must still be driving his car back to his dad's house. He also didn't detect Sam so that must mean one of the other wolves was on patrol in La Push. Now seemed as good a time as any to let his thoughts wander freely. He began to replay the last few hours in his head.

Once he and Bella had had their race (she won) and found a clearing with a small group of deer in it, Bella had fed while he waited for her to finish. Not that he was averse to eating as a wolf, but his nerves were too on edge for him to even think about hunger at that point. Bella had never mentioned their little stolen moment again and neither did he. A silent mutual agreement had been reached between them, knowing that Ness' ignorance to the fact would be best all around. Jake didn't want to hurt her and it seemed that Bella didn't want to, either. She still loved her daughter, Jake knew that. She just had a weak moment, a human moment he would have called it if she still had been, and it was a mistake. They were past it. Bella would always love Edward. There was no changing that. Just as he would always love Ness. Bella was in pain and wasn't thinking straight. But once Jake had forced some semblance of sanity into the interaction between them, Bella immediately had been brought back to reason. She wouldn't make that mistake again and neither would he. And he made sure that he kept that determination on his face for Bella. Once they had returned home, he and Bella still teasing each other and laughing like normal, they both had sat down in the living room. The silence that began to fill the air was unbearable and he couldn't understand why. Just a second ago, they had been best friends again with clear lines that could not, would not, be blurred. And now there was tension. He quickly made the call to Sam who had been standing by, waiting to hear word through the other wolves or Jake himself. He let Sam know all was in the clear in the most subtle way he could think even though he knew Bella could hear every word on both ends of the conversation. He then turned the TV on and flipped through the channels until he settled on some movie he had seen before. Bella made no protest so he relaxed back into the couch he was laying on and stared at the screen, allowing his thoughts to wander. Every once in a while, he would glance over at her sitting on the loveseat, noticing that she also was staring at the movie, not really watching, her mind obviously elsewhere. Jake desperately wanted to know what she was thinking about but something told him not to ask. He was sure he didn't want to hear the answer. Then he would turn his head back to the television and space out all over again. And they had stayed like that until Ness came home.

But now, in the darkness and stillness of the woods, in his wolf form, Jake allowed himself to go there for the first time since it had happened earlier that day. How did he allow that to happen? Sure, Bella had been right, she had kissed him. But he had told her he loved her and at the time, he knew he had meant it. And he had kissed her back. She was his best friend, the one person, vampire or human, who knew him inside and out. Yes, he and Ness were soulmates but she didn't know Jake like Bella did. No matter how much time they would spend together, no matter how much they would share, there were just some things she would never know about him. Plain and simple. Still, this was not a justification in the smallest form for what he had done today. He knew he had been wrong to not only do it in the first place but also to let it progress as far as it had until he put a stop to it. If Bella hadn't gasped and it didn't remind him of Ness-he was pretty sure he'd be feeling a hell of a lot worse right about now and unable to look his imprint in the eyes ever again.

Jake couldn't deny it. That kiss had been absolutely incredible. The kiss he and Bella had shared on the mountaintop once upon a time didn't even compare. He had thought he had died in that moment, Bella's lips being his weapons of choice, but today he had been reborn. At least that's what it felt like anyway. Something inside him definitely came to life when that happened. Yes, he had been aroused and he didn't feel that way towards Ness yet (which made him wince) but this was something completely different. Like the sparks had been ignited in his very soul. A fire now lit, waiting to be stoked even further, but never able to be put out. Almost like the old Jacob had been dormant all these years and was now suddenly awakened, acting from within Jake, working to reclaim the love he had once lost to that vampire, to imprinting. Just like that old fairytale. Bella had woken up Sleeping Beauty (he snorted at the thought) with a kiss. Ugh. He knew he had been hanging around girls too long when he started to compare his life to princess stories. Jake shook his massive head as if to clear his mind of the traitorous thoughts. What the hell was going on? For years, ever since the imprinting, he had felt the pull to Nessie, couldn't bear to be away from her, had loved her as far back as he could remember. He had been everything she needed and he had given her everything he had to give. Except what she seemed to need from him lately, affection and intimacy. For some reason, his heart wouldn't let him go there yet with her. She was ready, no doubt about that. But he wasn't and this had confused and plagued him for longer than he cared to admit. How he was able to deny his imprint he never knew but it certainly didn't come without a price. Her pain would echo within his chest each time he refused her, asking her to wait just a bit longer. Still, he had loved her and was hopelessly devoted to the youngest Cullen. Bella had loved Edward and it seemed everything had been set right by the magic of the imprint. He remembered his words to Bella that night she had awoken in the marble body of his mortal enemy.

"You said we belonged in each other's lives, right? That we were family. You said that was how you and I were supposed to be. So...now we are. It's what you wanted." That was what they had become. Family. And it worked well.

"Do you remember how much you wanted me around three days ago? How hard it was to be apart from each other? That's gone for you now, isn't it?" It was true. Their need for each other had disappeared the second Jake had imprinted on Nessie. And they never felt it again. Everything was the way it was supposed to be.

"Bella, things are different with us now, but you'll always be my best friend, and I'll always love you. But I'll love you the right way now. There's finally a balance. We both have people we can't live without."

So why is it that now he started to feel as if he was somehow turning back the hands of time and Bella was once again included in that category? Someone he couldn't live without. He was so confused. And he hated it. What's worse, Ness' kiss outside this morning had not nearly the same effect as Bella's in the afternoon had. He again felt the ache inside his chest. Guilt consumed him as he knew he needed to put more space in between him and Bella. He knew she was far from over grieving for Edward but she seemed to be in better spirits. She seemed...stronger than she had been in recent weeks. Much stronger. There was no comparison.

The easygoing banter of hours past seemed to flow flawlessly but Jacob needed to clear these thoughts from his mind. He had to put himself back into control, back into the structure that had worked out well for them all this time. And the only way to do that was to get more space from his best friend. Just for a little while so he could get all his ducks in a row and be true to Ness. It came to him within an instant. He would move forward with Nessie. She was ready and it's what she wanted. He wouldn't deny her that. Even though he still felt skittish at the thought, Jake knew it was the right thing to do. It's where they would end up further on down the road anyway. The old Jacob needed to be put to rest once and for all. There could be no doubts. He would move on and he would do it tonight.

Jake began to run back towards the house. Towards his life, his imprint, his Nessie. And he would never think of Bella in that way ever again.