A/N: I know that the last two chapters were fairly focused, so the next three will cover the rest of the time until 10 years post Breaking Dawn, which will be the present. This chapter is pretty short and to the point, but I promise the others will be longer.

In the chapters beyond the present, the POV will change depending on the chapter. Like SM, in order to keep the story interesting, another character may need to pick up where one leaves off.

Chapter Seven: The Beginning of the End

Once Nessie and I were both dressed, packed and ready, we headed off to leave the keys of the cottage in the early check out drop off at the main lodge. Apparently, when Nessie commissioned the services of the owner and his son, she had paid our stay up front, in cash, and then some. It still amazed me how little anyone in the Cullen family stressed out about money. I mean, when you have centuries to build your financial foundation, I guess it makes sense that it becomes a natural part of who you are, but still. She was just over six years old, in the literal sense, and she was already throwing money around to get what she wanted. I mean, not that I mind, but still, it's a little strange. When I asked her how much her little escapade last night cost the family, she blushed a little at first and then said in a nonchalant voice, "Oh, not too much, I had about six hundred in my purse, so gave him four fifty and left it at that."

I quickly dropped the subject, because I had never carried six hundred dollars around in my pocket, unless it was in the form of a paycheck. Once the keys and checkout paperwork were safely in the box, we loaded the car and headed back to Port Angeles. I was determined to make it there in enough time to be the first car onboard. There was no way I was facing the wrath of angry Edward, he didn't get furious with me often, but the memory was enough to make me cringe.

We pulled up to the loading gates with plenty of time to spare. It was only 6:15, and there were no other cars in sight. My stomach growled, and so did Nessie's so I told her to go find us some breakfast from the McDonald's nearby. The sun was beginning to make its appearance for the day, so the sky had lightened to a medium hazy blue. After about 10 minutes, she returned with her arms full, drink carrier in one hand, and two stuffed bags in the other. By this time, a small line of cars had formed behind us, so we knew it couldn't be long before they opened the gates to board, so we decided to wait to eat until we got the car situated. She plopped the bags in my lap so they would stay warm, and lazily gazed out the window.

A few moments later, several men began to take their stations as they started the car boarding. There was also a small line forming under the covered blue walkway to our left, where the by foot passengers loaded. Within minutes, the large sliding door that concealed the car storage compartment in the ship began to pull open. The same man I had talked to the day before was also sliding the gate open to the loading area. He quickly checked my tickets and motioned for me to pull into the front of the left loading lane. Nessie was still lazily gazing out the window, so I kept silent for the time being. I knew we would need to seriously talk about the events from the night before, but I wanted to wait until we were loaded, because then we would have two uninterrupted hours.

After all of the loading area was full, the man motioned again for me to pull around the corner to where the loading ramp was positioned. I filed up the ramp and into the space at the left of the front of the boat, and parked the car. Nessie reached to open the door, but I stopped her, knowing that the car would give us privacy for the conversation we were about to have.

So we waited. It was only 7:45 by this point, so I opened the food bags so we could eat before the boat departed at 8:20. She had bought me four breakfast sandwiches, one of each popular variety, as well as a half a dozen hash browns. I was too distracted by food to look in her bag, but I assumed her meal was probably half of mine. It didn't take me long to finish my meal, but I tried to slow myself so there wouldn't be any awkward downtime before the boat left the dock.

By 8:15, I had finished completely, and had also finished off my large cup of coffee. Nessie was still finishing her food, which wasn't like her, she usually finished well before I did, so I figured she was as lost in thought as I was.

Within minutes, the boat was on its way, so I thought that it would be a good time to start our conversation. The rest of the passengers had apparently decided to go to the upper decks, so we were virtually alone in the holding area. I knew from previous trips that we would remain alone; because they discouraged passengers from returning to their cars once the voyage had begun.

Before I could say anything, Nessie took my hand and turned to face me. The next words she spoke with a very worried look on her face.

"Jake, I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me last night, and I realize that it was inappropriate. I didn't intend for any that stuff in the cottage to happen. I just wanted to create a nice evening for us, since we aren't alone very often. I wasn't trying to seduce you; I guess my hormones got the best of me," she said, stressing the word 'trying'.

When she stopped talking, I couldn't help but smile, and she gave me a confused look.

"Nes," I began slowly, "I couldn't have said it better. Don't get me wrong, last night was amazing, all of it, but I didn't want things to get to that level between us yet."

I closed my eyes tightly, trying to think of what else to tell her that wouldn't make her feel rejected. I tentatively started again, focusing my thoughts on the bigger picture.

"When we are able to be with each other like that, I want you to be ready to start a life together, as a couple. I don't want to be some experiment that you conduct because of your 'hormones'. Like I told you before, I will not under any circumstances take away the rest of your childhood, because that's what you are, you are still a child until you go through all of the experiences you are meant to have the first time around." I said, slowly opening my eyes to see her response before I continued.

She had straightened up in her seat, narrowed her eyes, and stared at me with the intensity that warned me she was getting upset. I didn't let her angry look affect me, and I took a deep breath and quickly said my last comment.

"Nes, you are my life, you always will be, but I want you to live the time you have left to develop knowing that you have no regrets. You will graduate high school, you will travel the world, you will go to college, and you will decide who you end up with. You do have a choice, and I won't make it for you. When you finish those things, I will let you have what you want, but not unless you choose to. My imprint means that I am bound to you, but you have the right to choose your own destiny. If I am not it, then I will remain your friend, and I will respect your wishes."

The last part of my comment seemed to dissipate her anger a little, but she still held her hand to my cheek to send me a message. She showed me images of her in a graduation gown, actually two graduation gowns, then a white flowing wedding gown, a silk nightgown, and another of her cradling her enlarged belly clad in a flannel nightgown. Then she showed me the images again, but from a different perspective. With each image, I was there, holding her hand, or embracing her from behind, and on the last one, my hand was over hers, feeling our child kick.

I was flabbergasted, I knew she felt drawn to me, but I never imagined that she would want that much from me. I thought I was just a fantasy that she lusted after with a schoolgirl crush. The older man, the one who could bring her excitement. I was wrong; she felt the same pure love for me that I felt for her. I didn't just want her for what she looked like; I wanted her for who she was, who she wanted to be, and how she made me feel.

I sat there with my jaw hanging down, and stared at her intently as she began to talk.

"Jake, don't you see? I will choose you, I want to choose you, and you will deal with it eventually. I know that my actions last night were contradictory to my promise, but I still mean it, I will wait, I have to." She said the last comment with a smile, and she blushed profusely.

After she had said her piece, I knew we had to get down to the matter at hand.

"Ok Nes, now I am being totally serious about this next part." I started, lowering my voice so she knew I meant business. "You will not think about what happened last night, and neither will I. We cannot afford to have your family find out about it. They will lose all trust they have for me, and we will be forced apart. I know your father, I know how protective he is, and I know he will not hesitate to hurt me in order to look out for your best interests. He takes virtue very seriously, and last night was anything but virtuous."

I took another deep breath and continued. "I do not want you to take this as I will not show affection towards you, but my thoughts will be pure. You are allowed to hold my hand if you want to, but your thoughts will not wander. Where kissing is considered, any peck on the mouth, cheek or forehead is ok, but you have to control yourself."

"As far as interactions when the family is not around, we can be affectionate, but the aforementioned line will still be in effect. If either one of us crosses the line before you turn ten, then I will return to La Push and remain there until your tenth birthday." I finished, resolve in my voice.

I somewhat expected her to argue, but she simply replied, "Fair enough. Now can we go above deck? I need to use the bathroom."

A/N: Random comment: It was nice not to have to rely too much on my imagination for the first part of this chapter. I have a friend who lives on Vancouver Island, so I visited there several times when I was younger, taking the Port Angeles Coho ferry each time. I know you probably don't care, but I felt compelled to share.

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