Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight but I do own the OC characters that are mentioned in this chapter. Please do not take them.
AN: I am finding it more difficult to write than I used to. I'm going through not only personal but some family issues that I am having trouble working through. Please bare with me while get through the madness that is going on right now. As always, leave a review because they make me smile and I need to do more of that.
Three months later
It was her own fault for waiting until the last minute to make sure that she could fly down to Jacksonville for Christmas. Phil had offered to pay for her plane ticket to California to spend the holidays with his family and then they would fly back to Florida and spend the rest of her break from school together.
The thing was that Bella had never actually met the Drayer's before. They were kind enough to send her money on her birthday and a present at Christmas and that was more than she could have expected. She didn't want the first time that she met them to be awkward and showing up unannounced was just plain rude.
So now she was stuck at school until the day after Christmas because she refused to go to Washington. If she went to Forks she would never want to leave. A year and a half later and she still couldn't gather up the nerve to face her dad, much less Jacob.
Her dormitory was nearly deserted; only a handful of students remained, most of them snowed in. Stacey had pleaded with her to come to Chesterfield with her but again, Bella would feel like the an odd man out in a family setting, only this time, the family wouldn't have been hers. Robert had offered to drive up and see her on Christmas Eve but with the snow storm that had just blown through Richmond had thrown a wrench into that plan.
She had promised the others who had stayed behind that she would make Christmas dinner and she liked the idea of all of them bonding together. She put together a list of what she needed and everyone had chipped in twenty dollars a piece and all together she had more than enough to make a dinner with all the fixings.
When she got back from storing the food at the sorority house where she would be making dinner she saw someone standing outside her door. It took her a few seconds but once the initial shock wore off she was able to speak.
"Dad?" she asked, getting his attention.
Charlie, who had been looking down at his phone looked up when she called for him. He had shaved his mustache and lost a little weight but he still looked the same in ever other way. She stopped in front of him, letting him pull her to him. She breathed deep, taking in his familiar scent of pine and Irish Spring. He was the one to pull away, leaning back to take her in. Bella pushed her now wavy, shoulder length hair behind in her ear, feeling self-conscientious.
"Your mom called me last night. You must really not want to face Jake if you're planning on spending Christmas alone," he said gravely.
"It's not that I don't want to face him Dad, that has never been the problem," she answered with a slow shake of her head.
"Then why won't you come see me? Why did I have to fly five hours just to see you?"
"Because if I see Jake I won't want to leave him, okay? I'm not strong enough to tell him no. I need some time for myself and to figure out who I am."
"I guess I can understand that."
"How long are you here for?"
"I leave the day after Christmas, same as you."
"Where's your stuff?"
"At our hotel."
"Our hotel?" she asked, perplexed.
"I got you a room, that way we can spend as much time together as possible in the next seventy-two hours."
"I'm making dinner for some friends who weren't able to make it home for Christmas," she informed him.
"You can still do that. It'll more than likely be better than cheap hotel food."
Bella unlocked her door, motioning for him to follow her. She grabbed her bags for Florida before giving him a tour of the suite. Five minutes later they were in his rented Yukon driving further into the mountains.
"I really missed you, Kid," Charlie said once she had met him in his room for dinner.
"I missed you too," she said with a smile.
She looked around his room, realizing that it wasn't any different from hers next door except for the presents spilling out from under the Christmas tree in front of the window.
"Don't you think you went a little overboard?" she teased, her eyes moving to the presents.
"Not all of them are from me. You do have friends and extended family who love and care about you," he said, giving her an even look.
She felt her neck and face grow hot with embarrassment as her eyes shifted to her hands. She hadn't thought of the consequences that her distance would put on everyone else. Maybe now was the time to ease them back into her life; everyone except Jacob, that is. Would they be okay with that or would they hold it over her head? That was a risk that she felt ready to take.
XXXX
In the three months since imprinting on Nessie Jacob had made very little headway. He felt like he was infringing on her relationship with Lena and just how do you tell a woman who had absolutely no interest in you that she could possibly the mother of your future children? There wasn't a manual that he could refer to and he felt like he was floundering. The only person he trusted enough to tell them how he felt was Jared. Quil loved having Claire as his imprint and Embry would never understand.
He planned on taking his three weeks off from school to regroup and gain some perspective. He knew that he was wishful thinking but he hoped that by some miracle that Bella would come home. When he found that Charlie was going to Virginia he had offered to take him to the airport personally and he had used that time to let Charlie know that he hadn't given up on Bella and that he would wait as long as it took for her to come back to him.
He felt that the gift he had sent with Charlie would express his feeling for her and let her know that she was the only one for him. They both had some growing up to do and life lessons to learn before things could work for them.
He may not be boyfriend material in Nessie's eyes but they had become friends. She had understood and even forgiven him for lying to her when they first met. She was nice, funny, and smart; everything that he could have ever wanted. In a way he was glad that he had imprinted on her, his feelings for her were completely different than his feelings for Bella even if they were just as strong. He had made a lifelong friend when he had imprinted on her.
The pack knew the situation but had kept quiet since they didn't know what to make of it.
"Does this mean that Jake could be the first pack member to have two imprints?" Seth questioned.
"It doesn't work that way, Seth. Maybe there is a way for her to have your children," Sam said thoughtfully.
"Only you would complain about imprinting. You're living every guys dream. What the hell is the matter with you?" Paul inquired.
"Enough, Paul," Sam warned.
"I wanna know why he gets everything fucking handed to him on a silver platter and yet he isn't happy," Paul challenged.
"I said enough. Jake, there is obviously something we're missing," Sam broached.
"Maybe she swings both ways," Leah offered.
Jacob shook his head, his eyebrows furrowed together in thought.
"What about artificial insemination? There's no reason why she can't still have your kids," Leah suggested.
"You might be onto something. Thanks Leah," Jacob said appreciatively.
Leah had settled into the pack after the newborn battle. She felt more comfortable around them and was less likely to fly off the handle. They all attributed the change to her imprint, Will. She was less uptight when he was around and luckily, he was around a lot.
"I'm not saying that you need to bombard her with the idea the next time you see her but it's something to think about," Leah suggested.
"I agree. Have you even told her the truth yet?" Sam questioned.
"No. I'm still trying to find the best way to tell her. I've only seen her a handful of times since the night I took the pictures of her."
"Take your time," Sam nodded agreeability.
"What about Bells?" Embry asked.
"My feelings toward her haven't changed," Jacob mumbled.
He hadn't expected his feelings for Bella to remain after he had imprinted but he was not going to question things.
"We need to find you a girl who can give you the attention you deserve," Leah mentioned.
"Oh you didn't know? Jacob has decided to become a monk," Paul said sarcastically.
"If you can't say anything productive than shut up," Jared retorted.
"Leah has a point. Part of growing and maturing is being in a healthy relationship," Emily added.
"I don't know," Jacob said unsurely.
"What harm could it do? Do you honestly think that Bella living the life of a nun?" Quil questioned.
"I would hope that she's happy, that's all I want for her."
"Don't you think that she wants that for you too?" Jared asked.
"I guess," he answered with a shrug.
Maybe they were right. No one had said that he had to be lonely, miserable and suffer through the Bella situation. If the tables were turned he would want Bella to date other guys until they could be together again.
XXXX
Charlie woke Bella early on Christmas morning. He had gone downstairs to get them some breakfast while she showered and got ready for the day. After breakfast they exchanged gifts and he encouraged her to open the rest of her gifts.
"This is from Sue," he said, holding out a medium sized square box.
"How is she doing?"
"She's good, she misses you."
Charlie and Sue had gotten engaged that Thanksgiving and Bella had sent Sue flowers along with a card in congratulations. Sue had gotten her a very nice, personalized stationary set and the addresses of almost every person that Bella knew. Everyone except for Jacob. Seth had gotten her a journal and Leah had gotten her a scarf and gloves set. Sam and Emily had gotten her a photo album full of pictures of the pack. She flipped through it with a sad smile, thinking that it was the last gift. Charlie left the room and came back a few seconds later.
"I almost forgot this one," he said, holding out a long, slim, rectangular box.
"Who is it from?" she asked, taking it from him.
"Jake. It wasn't with the others because he gave it to me just before I boarded the plane to come here."
"How was everyone able to get me a Christmas present on such short notice?"
"Most of them were from last year. I had no idea that Emily was putting that album together for you or that Jake would get you anything," he said, pleading his innocence.
She stared at the box; worried, anxious, nervous, and a little scared of what might be inside. She carefully peeled away the paper and lifted the lid with a shaky hand. Inside was a charm bracelet, she pulled it out, inspecting each charm. There was a sun, a book, one half of a best friend charm and a silver heart with the word always written inside of it. She let out a shaky breath as she wiped her eyes.
"Do you need help putting it on?"
"I don't know if I should wear it. I mean, I love it and it's beautiful but I'm finally comfortable with the idea of being with someone who isn't Jacob. He knows what happened between us and he understands that I can give him only half of my heart but he would never understand this."
"What's his name?"
"Robert. He was supposed to come up yesterday but mother nature had other plans."
"He lives south of here?"
"Yes Sir, I had to talk him out of coming three times before he finally agreed with me."
"This is the guy that you met in the library?"
She nodded, right now was a good time to explain things to Charlie. The last time they had they had talked liked this was before she had left for school. Usually he only asked her how school was going and if she had given any thought of coming home. He agreed that moving on from what had happened between her, Jacob and Edward was a good idea. He still held out hope that she and Jacob would get a second chance one day.
XXXX
"Are you ready yet? It's freezing," Charlie griped from a few feet away.
The wind from of the lake wasn't helping but Bella wanted Jacob to see this part of her life. This was her favorite place in all of Virginia and she wanted him to share it with him. Before heading back to school she had stopped in the hotel gift shop and picked up a picture frame. She wasn't about to let Jacob think that his feelings were unrequited.
"Okay, take the picture."
She sat on a log with the lake and mountains behind her. The lake was peaceful and had yet to freeze over so it looked beautiful and serene.
"One picture down, two to go," Charlie said once he had taken a few pictures.
"One more actually, I have one on my computer that I can use. It's of the both of us."
"I think he'd like that."
"Lets go inside before we get hypothermia."
"Where's the next one gonna be taken?"
"In my room, I can take it."
Half an hour later she had wrapped the frame and they went to the house so that she could dinner. Her friends were already there and they welcomed Charlie to the group, no questions asked. It wasn't how she had originally planned to spend the holiday, but she was grateful for the time she had gotten to spend with her dad.