Chapter 6:

Bella helped prepare dinner for the three of them. She was having a hard time concentrating on what she was doing because her attention was on Lizzie most of the time. The little girl had decided to play underneath Bella's feet. She had a few blocks and a small doll that when you tossed it back and forth it made a twinkling bell like sound. She seem to like to make that sound often.

Bella's face was constantly smiling as she prepared the salad, fish patties, and twice bake potatoes. She hoped that Jacob liked her choice for dinner. It was the last of the ingredients she had located in the fridge and pantry. She made a mental note that after they visited the hospital to insist on stopping at the grocery store to pick up a few necessary items. Which brought her back to one of the two major dilemmas she was facing tonight.

One, she wanted, no she hoped that Jacob would offer her a invite to stay the night and hell maybe even a few weeks so she could bond with her daughter. She hated the thought of wasting so much on a room she could barely tolerate to stay in and would only be there to sleep. She would rather spend that money on some food and the medical bills she was sure would pile up soon if she was indeed a match for Lizzie.

Second problem, she knew she had seen someone in her room and had not created out of her dream. After Jake spoke to whomever was his guest he had return to the room to inform her that he was sure she was safe enough in his home. Bella had followed him downstairs where he had plop down to watch some sports game on television. Bella tried hard to stay focus but the liquor had nearly knocked her out on her feet. She had sat in the chair next to the sofa and fallen back to sleep. She woke up shortly after Lizzie had. She heard Jake and Lizzie playing up in her room. When she nudge the door open she saw such a tender sight that it had nearly brought tears to her eyes.

Jake had been on the floor playing patty cake with Lizzie who could not seem to keep her eyes off of him. It was so obvious that Lizzie adore Jacob. She saw him as her hero. Bella was slightly jealous. She knew it was to be expected since it was Jacob who had cared for her during her first year of life. Bella hated to do it but she wondered for a brief moment if Collin would have been so attentive to their daughter if she had survived? She knew it was not healthy to go down that path with her mind. So she put a stop to it and made her appearance known as she entered the room. Lizzie looked up at her for a moment she seem to try to figure out who the stranger was, that dared to interrupt her playtime with her father but then Bella watched as Lizzie's face lit up. Her smile grew bigger if that was possible. Bella spotted the little white tooth that was fighting its away through the gum line. It made her simply look even more adorable.

"Hi." Bella waved at Lizzie who just cried out happily while clapping her hands.

Jacob looked up at Bella with a gentle smile. Bella sensed that he was not too thrilled at her timing but he also understood why she was so tempted to be there in the first place.

"Come sit, you can play with us." Jacob patted the plush beige carpet next to him.

Bella happily sat Indian style next to him as she joined in the fun.

After a half an hour of play time Jacob received a call that he took downstairs. A few minutes later he reappeared to ask if it was okay to leave her alone with Lizzie while he ran an errand for a friend. She was more than pleased that he had considered allowing her some alone time with her daughter. She nodded her head. He leaned down planting a couple of kisses on top of Lizzie's light brown hair before he left the room.

After several more minutes of play time Bella had lifted up Lizzie and took her downstairs with a few of her toys. She looked at the clock saw that it was growing close to dinner time when she decided to cook them all dinner. She hoped that Jacob did not see this as rude since she was only a guest in his home presently.

Bella put the fish in the oven while lifting up Lizzie in her arms.

"You are simply too perfect for words, do you know that?" Bella asked as she kissed the small child's chubby little cheeks.

"Yes, you are. You are far more than beautiful. You are so special. I will never, ever let you go again. I promise." Bella hugged her as a single tear slid down her face.

"So where do you think daddy went, uh? He has been gone quite sometime. I guess that means he trusts me with you." Bella talked as she began to sway her hips as if she was listening to music. Lizzie found it amusing and began to giggle.

"You like that do you?" Bella laughed along with her daughter.

"Sounds like you two are having a party with out me." Jacob said as he walked into the room to find Bella and Lizzie dancing about in the kitchen. He had caught the scent of dinner cooking before he even opened the front door. His wolf scents picked up aromas rather acutely.

"Sorry, we were just playing." Bella apologized hoping Jacob was not annoyed with her. He seem to wear a frown when he looked at her.

"Why are you sorry? You say that a lot." Jacob stated matter of factly.

"Yeah, I do tend to do that." Bella agreed with a heavy sigh.

"What's going on in here?" Jacob forced a softer smile on his face.

He sensed that Bella was quite nervous around him. He knew that if he did not hurry and put some serious charms on her she might eventually want to run as fast as she could from him.

"Well, I hope you don't mind but I am cooking some dinner for us." Bella bit down on the corner of her lower lip as she prepared herself for some sort of nasty remark. She was quite surprised when she did not receive it.

"Good. I'm starving." Jacob rubbed his flat muscular stomach.

Bella gulped hard as she noticed how the tight shirt outline his muscles so refinery. She wondered what it would look like bare. Closing her eyes she fought back the incredible sexual need that he often brought out in her. She was not usually a hormonal type of woman. In fact sex was normally the last thing she thought about but this man seemed to reek of it. He made you crave sex. Then again he also looked like a walking talking sex God. There was not any one thing that made him stand out more than any other guy but there was something hidden beneath the surface that drew Bella to him. She was curious what it was about him that made her want to slide her hands up and down his chest, licking it, sucking on his taunt nipples, then if she was really in the mood maybe even go down even further to where his cock laid beneath some dark colored underwear. Gulping hard again she open her eyes praying that he did not see the sexual need she was definitely experiencing inwardly.

"It will be done soon." Bella manage to say with a slight crackle noise in her voice.

Jacob's eyes widen as he stared at her closely. He was sure he just saw her cheeks turn a shade pinker, her eyes seem to gleam, her breathing was heavier. He wondered what she was thinking that seem to make heart race madly. He could nearly feel it inside his own chest. He found himself staring at Lizzie's hand that laid comfortably over Bella's firm rounded breasts. He could not resist the urge to wonder if she liked having her nipples nip at or sucked on really hard. He turn slightly as he adjusted him self. He feared his tight jeans might reveal his horny ass thoughts. The woman was definitely working some type of magical charm on him. He wondered if this was part of the imprint. If she was horny, then he would be horny? Or was it possible that he was just attracted to her due to his lack of sex life these days.

He had not been with another woman since Sienna had left. He had no time to date. He had no desire to date other than for sex. He was not big on one night stands. It had never been his style before and he was not about to whore himself out now that he was someone's father. He never wanted to be an embarrassment to his daughter. He knew how that felt. His own father had unintentionally brought some shame on his name when he drove that fateful night drunk, ending the lives of two people who had done no wrong to no one. Not that his father usually was the type to drive and drink. He was just grieving but still it had cost him severely.

Pulling himself out of those darken days he turn to see that Lizzie was playing with Bella's hair. He could see how much Lizzie was enjoying the attention of Bella. She had Emily and Leah as a female companions but he sensed that this was more intimate for her. It was as if she somehow knew that Bella was not just a babysitter but her mother.

It irk him a bit but it also pleased him. He was happy to see that she seemed at ease with Bella. If the time ever came and Bella did take Lizzie from him he knew that she would be okay. She would survive the separation although he, himself would go insane with out her in his life.

"Can you hold her while I check on the fish?" Bella handed over Lizzie who was shaking her dolly rapidly in the air.

Jacob had to lean his head back several times or the doll would make contact to his face.

Bella bent over as she pulled open the oven door checking on their dinner. Jacob was not big on fish these days but the lemony scent coming from the oven was definitely enticing to his taste buds. His eyes gazed over her body as she reached in with her fork pushing the fish around. He could not help but noticed how firm and nearly heart shaped her ass was from this view. He licked his lips wondering if she would find enjoyment in his hands slapping that tight ass? Closing his eyes he fought with the wolf in him to calm the fuck down before he ended up ravishing Bella in the kitchen. He had to remain calm. He was definitely going to get some of Bella before he allowed her to leave his home with Lizzie but for now he wanted to focus on getting Lizzie well before he finally made the imprint bond permanent between them.

He knew that she would be too overwhelm in the next few days with tests, waiting on the tests results, and the procedure itself. He would have to wait until Lizzie was out of danger before he would allow the wolf in him to brand her as his. One way or another Bella Swan was going to open those thighs and he was going to thrust his hard cock straight into that sweet smelling tight pussy of hers. She would never want to leave once he showed her how much he could offer her if she chose to stay with him. He could offer her protection, security, friendship, respect but he could not offer her his heart. He feared his heart would always belong to Sienna, even if she did not return his feelings.

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Edward stood staring into the fireplace. It was stupid how they often lit up the damn thing when their bodies were so cold that the heat did nothing for them. He figured it appeared natural looking and his parents were nothing if not wanting to fit in with the rest of the human population. He had to admit it did soothe his nerves a bit. He was still experiencing this foreboding sense of something bad in the future. He could not explain it. He did not have the gift of foresight. That was Alice's special ability.

He had the gift of hearing thoughts. Sometimes it work in their benefit and sometimes it was quite annoying for him, He got tired of hearing women look at him, lusting after him, wondering what it would be like to rape him. He would never understand these modern women. He sometimes missed the women from his era. They had more self control. They saw sex as a gift to give their future husbands. Sure they found other men fetching but they were not famous for impulsively taking lovers. Their sexual drives were not so peaked as the women of this generation.

He suddenly found himself remembering Bella Swan. How strange it was that while he visited her that day he had not read one thought in her lovely head. It had not occurred to him until after he had safely left her residents. Why was that? It had been such a peaceful feeling not knowing someone else's every thought. It was also a bit unnerving. It made him wonder what was wrong with her? Why was she different? When he spoke to his father about it later he agreed it was definitely peculiar but he had no explanation for him.

They both had agreed that Bella Swan was someone to keep an eye on, especially with the possible lawsuit they could face due to someone's irresponsible duties. They were still investigating each employee that had been working that day. So far he had not come across not one person whose thoughts reveal they were the guilty party. It made him wonder if someone from outside of the hospital had done the deed. If they had what was their purpose for it?

It seem so cruel to him. But for the past hundred plus years that he had been on this planet he had come to learn that sometime people did things for no other purpose but to watch the pain they could inflict on others. It was seriously devious. It was also something he had a hard time tolerating. He wanted so badly to sink his fangs into those types of bastards to end their reign of hell. Carlisle was always lecturing him about this unhealthy desire of his. He would tell Edward that no good would come from it. Two wrongs don't make a right.

Edward thought it was bullshit personally but he respected Carlisle enough to abide by the rules. Carlisle after all had survived being a vampire a lot longer than he had. He had lived in an era where it was extremely dangerous to be one of the unloving dead. So Edward took his advice to heart even if he did not agreed entirely with it.

"Hello brother." Jasper glided into the room with a old southern grace that he still held even after all these years.

Edward got along with both of his brothers. Emmett was the big, goofy but damn tough brother while Jasper was more like Edward, soft spoken, elegantly graceful but also very lethal when crossed. He knew that Jasper had not always lived the life of luxury. He also had to fight like hell to stay alive in a time when his maker had been at war. He was lucky that his maker, his creator, had been kind and gentle with his training. Carlisle had never used his ability to improve his lifestyle or to rage war with his enemies.

Rosalie the second sibling created by Carlisle was not so pleased with her transformation. She had been downright furious at first. Eventually she accepted it but to their dismay and unfortunate timing they were unaware of her acts of revenge on those who had killed her. It had nearly cast eyes upon them. Luckily, Carlisle was able to make it look like a random serial killer. They knew that if the humans got wind of their true nature the Volturi would hunt them down and kill them one at a time.

Once Rosalie got her sick revenge out of her system she grew to adjust to her new self. It was she who begged Carlisle to turn Emmett when she found him nearly dead after a bear attack. She had been watching him for sometime while out hunting. It was the first time that any of the others had seen her show a sign of compassion for another.

Eventually Alice and Jasper had joined their family. Apparently with Alice's visions she saw that they were the right path for her. When they joined up they had a whole family at last. Carlisle and Esme his wife agreed if they grew any larger people might become a bit suspicious. Edward was of course the odd man out. He had no mate to satisfy his needs or entertain him. Instead he kept his head buried in books or playing the piano to allow the time to roam by him.

It wasn't until Carlisle decided he was prepared to work in the hospital this time around that he felt a incredible purpose. He didn't exactly find his job mind blowing but it did keep him busy. Now this case he was working on had him up to his eye balls with questions. Questions that so far he had no answers too. It was a little annoying but also quite a enigma that he was enjoying.

"Good evening Jasper." Edward replied as he continued to stare straight ahead at the dancing flames.

"How are you doing on that case that seems to be keeping you up at night." Jasper asked curiously.

Edward laughed. Both of them knew quite well that neither of them slept anymore. It was not necessary for them.

"So far none of the employees that I have interviewed have shown any knowledge of commiting the act on purpose or hell even accidental." Edward answered.

"I see. So now what?" Jasper ask as he sat down on the large Italian sofa that Alice had flown into the states. She was constantly shopping for one thing or another. Each home they owned had expensive taste in furnishing and decorations.

"Now I have to wonder if there was outside help. I can't fathom why anyone would want to switch the babies? What would one have to gain from it? They would have had to know that eventually it would have been found out." Edward answered.

"Maybe. Or maybe they hoped that it would go unnoticed." Jasper shrugged his shoulders.

"You did say that if the child had not grown sick that her blood work would probably have not shown the truth." Jasper reminded him.

"True but somewhere down the line the child would have had a blood test for something." Edward sighed.

"The other child died shortly after birth, is that right?" Jasper thought out loud.

"Yes, a freakish pin size hole was found in the heart. The family had refused further investigation on the baby before she was buried." Edward answered.

"Ummm….but the child was already diagnose as being ill when she was born. So that would mean the original parents would have been informed of their child's illness." Jasper stated.

"Yes, why did it not occur to them odd that their daughter was suddenly healthy as a ox?" Jasper scratch his head as he pondered that last statement.

"I guess they hoped it was a miracle or some sort of medical mistake on the staff's side.' Edward turn to look at Jasper who was deep in thought.

"Or maybe they did it. You did say that they were the only two girls born on that very day." Jasper hated to think that one set of parents would deliberately swap their own child for a healthy one but he knew that when people suffered from fear they would do just about anything stupid these days.

"No. I don't see Jacob Black as the type of fellow. I also know that the family doctor revealed it to him personally and my reports say that he was devastated by the news. He would have been expecting the doctor to discover the truth from blood work." Edward had to disagreed with that idea.

"What about the mother. Where is she?" Jasper did not have all the details of the two sets of parents that were involved but he had noticed the lack of the mother being spoken in the conversations he had been a party too.

"Jacob's girlfriend. She left shortly after they brought the baby home. I assume she had that postpartum stuff." Edward waved his hands in the air in front of him.

Jasper laughed at him. It was true that Edward did not have much knowledge of the female thought process or their anatomy. He was like a freaking monk. Jasper would never understand how he could remain abstinent when so many women threw themselves at him. He also did not understand why he did it at all, he just left him alone for the most part when it came to his sexuality.

"I see. Funny, how does a woman leave her child and her boyfriend behind? What could have possessed her to abandon them both?" Jasper shook his head in disgust.

"Have no clue." Edward answered.

"Oh well. Maybe you should look more into the parents as an option. I could be wrong but something just doesn't smell quite right about that scene. Just saying." Jasper presented his two cents on the subject just as Alice entered the room.

Edward was amazed at how lovely Alice appeared each time he saw her. She was like one of those magazine models. She was a tiny thing but she was like dynamite.

"Alice." Edward nodded at her.

Alice wore a serious expression on her face as she entered the room, sitting down next to Jasper.

"Edward." Alice smiled at him but Edward could tell it was not a genuine smile.

Lately she had been acting oddly around him. He also noted how she put random stupid thoughts in her head when he was near her. He wasn't sure why but he had a gut feeling that she was hiding something from him, which rather hurt his feelings. They had been pretty close up until now. What had he done to make her feel she could not trust him?

"Where are you two off too?" Edward had heard Jaspers thought. He knew he was not too pleased about tonight's event. He had not heard him say what it was exactly they were doing but he had been unpleased by them.

"The opera." Alice smiled widely.

Jasper rolled his eyes.

Edward laughed. Edward often went to the opera with Alice. Once again she had shown Edward she did not want to be near him. Normally she would have invited him, allowing Jasper to remain behind.

"That sounds lovely. Are you feeling okay?" Edward asked curiously as he stared closely at Alice's face. He tried hard to read her deepest thoughts but all he could hear was "Jingle Bells" song playing in her mind. He now knew with out a doubt she was purposely blocking her thoughts from him.

"Peachy." Alice laughed loudly.

"Let's go." Alice yanked on Jaspers arm leading him out of the house while her head continue to sing the song over and over again.

Edward ran his hands through his messy hair. What was Alice hiding from him? Why did she not trust him enough to reveal the truth to him? He would definitely talk to Carlisle and Esme when they return home tonight. He hoped with their help they would get Alice to explain what it was she was hiding from him.

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