A/N – Firstly, I have to apologise over and over again for the lateness of this chapter. I hit a serious case of Brick-Wall-itis, and didn't really know where to send this chapter. I also started two new summer subjects for my Uni course, and one of them is Creative Writing, so I've had to do some work on my original piece. On the upside though, i'm doing a oneshot loosely based on Alice's human years, right before she was made a vampire...
I think this chapter might be a little bit of fluff, but hopefully in the next couple of chapters, we're getting to some good stuff...
And as always, keep reviewing. Let me know what you all think.
Romeo save me, they try to tell me how to feel
This love is difficult, but it's real
Don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess
It's a love story, baby just say yes...
-- Love Story, Taylor Swift.
Edwards POV...
Standing in the living room, next to my beautiful wife, staring through the glass window, I realised something.
My daughter was growing up. I hadn't expected it to happen so soon, but I knew it would happen eventually. I had hoped not for 100 years, but you know how it is with humans; it's seems to be fairly similar for half-humans too, only it took half the time.
I took Bella by the hand and glanced down at her, knowing that she was thinking the same thing as I, even though I could not actually read her mind. She looked up at me, squarely in to my eyes, and ever so slightly tilted her head, lightly tugging on my hand to indicate that she wished for me to join her outside. I nodded, once, and we walked together through the front door. I could still hear the horrifying noises coming from the upstairs bedroom. I knew perfectly well what they were, but I would remove and scrub my own brain with soap until it was completely clean before I admitted that my daughter was kissing Jacob Black.
We were too close to the house. I could still hear Emmett's booming voice echo around us.
"Go, Nessie, go!" he was cheering.
"Remind me to smack him one when we go back inside," I grunted as we wandered. As much as I hated what Renesmee was doing up there, I'd be damned if I was going to let Emmett give her a hard time about it.
We stopped walking when we reached the tree line. The trees were sparse here, so we couldn't just 'take off' like we used to, but I wanted to be nearby anyway... just in case things got... out of control.
I turned around and sat down on the ground. Bella threw herself down next to me, much more gracefully than she would have if she were still human. Her blue jeans and stylish green sweater looked stunning on her. I laughed as I wrapped my arm around her shoulders.
"She's growing up," I stated, shrugging my shoulders in a very matter-of-fact kind of way.
"You knew that this would happen one day, Edward." Bella was right; she was always right.
"I know," I sighed. "Doesn't mean I have to be happy about it."
"Oh, come on!" Bella nudged me in the ribs with her elbow. "What did you think would happen when she woke up? We knew why she ran away in the first place, so we knew that her feelings for Jacob were changing. And we've always known how Jacob felt about Renesmee. So tell me, Edward. What exactly did you think would happen?" She leaned in to me as she spoke.
I didn't answer, but we both knew the unspoken words that hung between us. My daughter was in love with Jacob Black – Werewolf Extraordinare. Super.
I raised my face when I heard footsteps heading towards us. Jarrah and Alkina stood in front of my love and I, talking animatedly between themselves. Alkina gracefully inclined her head in the direction of the trees, and turned to face me.
"We're headin' out on the hunt," Alkina said, her Australian accent coming through very strongly. "That cool with you?" She grinned a wide, toothy grin, that would have made any human cringe.
I chuckled quietly and glanced at Bella. A smile was playing on the edge of her lips and I knew then that she found the Australian slang just as odd as I did.
"Things seem to be heatin' up, in there. Glad to see they got their shit together," Jarrah smiled, indicating the house with a tilt of his head. "Must be awkward for you two, though."
"Thank you, Jarrah, for pointing that out. We came out here to give them some privacy. I'm sure Renesmee does not need her parents listening in on her, um, conversation with Jacob," I said. I had 'The Grumps', as Renesmee would have said.
"Yeah mate, that's kind of why we're headin' out, I guess. You wanna come with?" Jarrah asked.
"No, thank you, Jarrah. I'd like to hang around here in case our daughter needs us. But thank you for the offer," Bella quickly interjected.
"No probs," Alkina said, with a shrug. "See ya!" she added, waving briefly as they took off in a blur towards the trees.
I sighed, a deep depressing sigh.
"So, where to from here?" I asked my love.
"I suppose we should just be there for her, Edward; be there for both of them." Bella looked at me, and I could picture with perfect clarity how her beautiful golden eyes had once looked – a deep chocolate brown, so deep that I could drown in them. "We have to support them."
We sat for a while, just enjoying each other's company. I envied the way that Bella's skin shimmered in tones of blue, purple, green and pink. Beautiful just wasn't the word for it. She easily rubbed her hands along my thigh, and intertwined her fingers with mine. If I wasn't sure that I needed to be here for Renesmee, and too scared to go back into the house, I would have whisked her off to our room for an impromptu 'sleep'.
I smelt Jacob's approach before I 'heard' him. When I did hear him though, he was reciting the lyrics to 'Twinkle twinkle', Jacob style, in his head.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star, daddy drives a motor car...
"Bella, love, shield him please. I have no desire to hear the rest of that verse, nor the thoughts that would be going through his head otherwise," I requested.
She looked at me, puzzled, and Jacob's thoughts instantly quietened.
"Thank you," I said. I indicated the ground in front of me, and Jacob took a seat, sitting back on his heels.
"Edward," Jacob began. "Would it... er... be okay with you, if, I, um.." he stuttered. His foot kicked the dirt in front of us, sending a dust cloud in Bella's direction. I had never known Jacob to be so nervous about anything before, and I had known him for several years now. I glared at him and cleared my throat.
"Spit it out, Jacob. I don't usually bite," I chuckled. It was difficult, trying to ease his tension, although I wasn't sure if I wanted to. It was fun to watch him squirm. Bella chuckled next to me.
"Maybe Bella shouldn't shield me," Jacob grumbled. "It would be a lot easier to explain if you could hear it in my head, instead."
"You're cute when you pout, Jake," Bella said. That earned a stern glare from me, and a laugh from Jacob. It made the atmosphere a little less thick, also.
"I'll tell Ness that you said that," Jacob laughed.
"So? She thinks you're cute when you pout too!" Bella replied.
Jacob grinned at my Bella. When he turned to face me, his smile stiffened, and no longer looked natural.
"Please don't hate me, Edward," Jacob begged.
Jumping to my feet, I recoiled in shock. "Hate you, Jacob?" For what? "What did you do?" I demanded. "You better not have pushed her!"
"I did not push her, Edward. I would never force Ness into something that she wasn't ready for!" Jacob growled, leaping to his feet. His fists were balled, and shaking at his sides.
"Jake, calm down," Bella said, springing to her feet, also. She reached up to place her hands as close to his shoulders as she could reach, and the shaking slowed.
"I'm sorry, Edward. I – I'm just, nervous, I guess." He apologised. "I haven't had a relationship with anyone for about nine years, and I'm a bit out of practice." He grimaced when he spoke, and I could see that this was embarrassing for him.
"Jacob, you know that since Renesmee was born, I have considered you to be my Son. So please, do not make this any harder than it needs to be. As long as you treat my daughter with respect, and do not push yourself on her, we will continue to support your relationship. Just use your head, Jacob," I said. I offered out my hand to him in a gesture of solidarity, and he shook it. My hand was not small, by any means, but his hand still encased mine.
"Jake, I think what Edward is trying to say, is that you have our permission to date our daughter," Bella said, putting it in to simpler terms for him.
Jacob's head turned to look at me, then back to Bella, and back to me again. He repeated this action several times before I shook my head, laughing. His grin was plastered on, stretching right across his face.
"You look like a bobble head doll, Jacob Black," I grinned. "Now go back to my daughter, before I change my mind." Jacob hugged both Bella and I tightly, before dashing back to the house, kicking up the dust behind him, leaving my Wife and I in his wake.
Renesmee's POV
It had only been 30 seconds, but my arms felt so incredibly empty. I had only had my Jacob in them for less than a couple of minutes, but the instant that he left my warm embrace, I felt empty.
He left to go and talk to Daddy. I think Uncle Em had scared him a bit, when he realised that everybody could hear us. We were only kissing, but it spooked him nonetheless. Jacob said he needed to go check that Daddy was okay with this – with us.
So, against every instinct I had, I let My Jacob go.
I was browsing the books in my bookcase awaiting Jacob's return, when after a minute or so, Leah materialised on the edge of my bed. Sometimes I wondered if she wasn't part vampire, she was so fast. She grinned at me like a Cheshire Cat.
I couldn't help but grin back at her. I turned and leaned my back against my bookcase.
"Can I help you, Leah?" I asked. I knew exactly why she was there.
She patted the bed beside her, and I wandered over.
"It's about bloody time that you two got your act together," she said. "I was about ready to beat your heads together, if you didn't figure it out soon!"
"Thanks, I think," I laughed. I'm sure she would have sounded much more menacing if she wasn't grinning so much.
"For a half-vampire, you sure are slow."
"Again, thanks!" I said.
"In all seriousness, though, Nessie, I just wanted to say congratulations," Leah said. She put her arm around my shoulders and squeezed gently. "I was really worried when you took off. Promise me you won't ever do that to me again," she said.
"As long as Jacob is willing to have me, Leah, I'll be here." This time, I really couldn't keep the grin off my face. I felt like my cheeks were about to fall off my face, they were stretched that tightly.
She sat with me for a minute, in silence.
"You know, you and Jake are more suited to each other than you know, Nessie." Leah was the first to break the silence.
"Yeah? Why's that Lee Lee?" I asked.
"Jake had the same dream as you."
I laughed. "I have dreams all the time, Leah, which one?"
She shrugged. "The one where you were kissing each other."
"Leah, I have lots of those dreams, and you know what? It's okay to admit that now, right?" I grinned at her.
I noticed that Leah looked a little troubled. She didn't smile at me like she had before, but the corners of her mouth did turn up slightly.
"Let's go downstairs, Nessie," Leah suggested.
I was suddenly nervous. I didn't know how the rest of the family would react to this. I mean, Jacob had been my best friend for as long as I could remember. As far as my family knew, this is how we would be for the rest of our lives. And then I had selfishly gone and changed that. So yes, I was nervous. Leah laughed.
"Nessie, I can hear your heartbeat sweetie. It's racing. There's nothing to be scared of, you know. They're your family, they love you," she soothed.
"I – I know. I guess I'm just a little worried. They would never have seen this coming. Even Aunt Alice wouldn't have, because she can't see past you three."
"Nessie, I don't want to burst that little bubble of yours, but I have a feeling that they've been preparing for this," Leah scoffed.
"But – why – what do you mean? How on earth would they have known that I would fall in love with Jacob?" I asked. I was getting confused. She made it sound like this was to be expected! Did all best friends fall in love with each other in the end?
"I – nothing, Nessie." Leah stumbled over her words. "It's nothing, just an obvious thing, I guess. It was obvious how you and Jake felt about each other," she finished, turning her head away.
"Oh." That was all I could manage to think of to say.
"Yeah," she said. "Let's go downstairs." Leah stood up quickly, and grabbing my hand, we raced from the room, together, to meet the mob.
I'm not sure what's going to happen next, but I know that somewhere in the next couple of chapters, somebody needs to approach the whole 'imprinting' thing with Nessie.. I wonder how she will react.. ;)
