Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.


Nessie

Our fingers were twined. His hot skin warmed me as we walked into the front entrance of my home and I was glad for his comfort. He can be very intense when agitated, and I could tell fresh memories of the fight were making him want to rage. However, he withdrew into a quiet fury. For me. Because somehow he knew at that moment I required his stillness, though he wanted to rant and shout and express his most basic emotions. At a later time he would unleash his anger. Possibly even rip down a tree. It would be very Jacob and I would need him to be who he has always been. That fierce werewolf that I so depend on and love so much.

Looking over the scene the second time, I saw the damage with calmer eyes and could process what must have occurred. It was dark in the house but Jacob let go of my hand and went to the wall. He turned the dial there and the light softly came up on the main entranceway. I hugged myself when I could see the deep grooves on the floor. Jake returned to me and I reached up for his face. He took my hand, placing it against his smooth skin. I showed him what I guessed had happened - the wolves fighting, digging their claws into the hardwood floors.

"Yeah. Sorry, we had to go and kill the floor," he said, shrugging, but I could see from his flashing eyes that he wasn't very sorry at all. He'd carve up a hole to China if it meant he could tear apart more enemies.

"It was a rough fight," I commented as I clutched onto his arm. He started walking further into the house and I could see the bloody chunks of vampires that I avoided stepping on the first time I'd run through the rooms. Now they were more illuminated and I didn't feel the need to dwell too long on it.

"It was a little tough, but we're the ones still standing." I knew it was much more than that, but he dodged giving me details. It was his way of protecting me. It was typical Jake. I decided to let it slide and went on to the more pressing question.

"Who were they?"

I looked at him, but he wouldn't face me. I could see the set of his jaw and knew he was fighting hard to spare me the truth. What was he protecting me from?

"Jacob?" I wanted him to tell me. What was so horrible? Did everyone know? Was everyone trying to protect me? I faced the Volturi! I was a Cullen and could handle a little something like the truth.

"Renesmee." It was the voice of my father. I looked over to see him standing in the next room, next to the ruins of his beloved piano. My mother was running her fingertips lightly across the polished wood. She looked quite somber over the loss. I broke away from Jacob, stepping over a tipped lamp and several thrown books to stand next to my parents.

"It's only wood and string. It can be replaced, love," Edward said to Bella as he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her against him. I looked back at the piano and wrapped my arms around myself as memories of the three of us at that instrument suddenly made me very sad. That emotion was interrupted in a moment when I felt Jacob's strong arms slide around me. I closed my eyes and leaned back against him, welcoming his comfort. When my eyes re-opened, I noticed my father was watching us. It was the first time they'd seen Jacob and I as more than the friends we'd always been. Edward was already keenly aware of the thoughts of us both, and as far as I knew he hadn't threatened Jacob yet. It was Bella that concerned me as I wasn't sure how she'd take it. This made me tense, yet Jacob's warmth was fighting to melt my apprehension. Edward whispered something too soft for me to hear and I could see Bella form a small smile. She glanced at us and I knew immediately that things were going to be alright. Her eyes were mirthful but soft.

"It's alright, baby. I'm happy for you," she said to me. "You could do worse than Jacob Black."

"Oh, thanks a lot, Bells." I heard the playful sarcasm in Jake's voice - for me it was the most beautiful sound. My heart felt free. I turned around in his arms and hugged him tightly, smiling despite the reality of the destruction we were standing amongst. I didn't even notice when we were joined by other members of my family.

"Awww…well it's times like this where it's nice not to see your future." I broke away from Jacob and looked over at Alice as she skipped over to us. It was something she would have said with a happier mood, but I could only guess that Jasper's more serious emotion was dragging her down. "With you two, I still get surprises."

Jasper came out from behind her, looking grave. "Sorry to break up your happiness, but we should all meet outside," he said, Alice already on her way. "We need to discuss what this attack means."

My parents followed them out, but Jacob wouldn't move. I normally would have gone with Edward and Bella, but now I found myself choosing to stand still. Sticking with Jacob. I slid my hand to his neck and showed him a picture of the pack. He nodded, so we waited a few moments before a tan wolf skipped from the back rooms and stopped before us. Seth head butted me and I scratched his ears, showing that it was good to see him.

"Hey, Seth. Missed you." Seth was sweet and so honest. He was always welcome at my house and we could sometimes find him hanging out there alone. A lone werewolf in a house of vampires. Completely comfortable with all the Cullens, he was absolutely accepted and a true friend.

"You did good. Go wait outside for us," Jacob said to him. Seth yipped and turned to leave. Rosalie and Esme walked by next. They stopped to make sure I was alright. Rose glanced at us suspiciously before realizing we were finally together. She rolled those golden eyes, but I could tell it was mostly for show. She had to keep up the pretense of her dislike for Jacob or else admit defeat in their feud. I smiled at her and she winked at me quickly before Esme pulled her along.

Embry and Leah came through and with that, Jacob finally moved, walking with them. I was glad to see Leah. She was really great to have put up with Jacob when I was in Italy, and for that I was very grateful.

"Thank you." I said, knowing enough not to touch the gray wolf. She walked beside us for a few seconds and I wondered if she'd even heard me. Then, she moved sideways a bit and bumped into me, snickering a little in her wolfish way. I smiled and left it at that. It didn't seem right to throw a one sided conversation at her when she couldn't talk back..

"Emmett and the doc are coming in a minute," Embry said as we broke out to the yard. I looked around and everyone was watching us as the pack wandered down the steps to gather at one end of the group. Seth had had been sitting next to Edward and Bella, but when we emerged from the house he got up and moved to sit by his sister.

It was nice to be outside. I noticed how different my home felt now that it had been invaded by strangers. Strangers that had intent to kill those I loved. I wrapped an arm around Jacob and rested my head against him, waiting for my grandfather and uncle to emerge from the house and give us their verdict. Alice was smiling at us and I could see Jasper moving closer to me, bit by bit. Rose shook her head and crossed her arms.

"Why don't you just go stand with the wolves, Jazz. Get it over with and get your fix," Rose said, but she wasn't being mean. Jasper shot his sister a look that could kill and Alice took his hand, dragging him over to Jacob and I. She was grinning.

"He needs to settle down. He was making me entirely too emo," she said and I was amused by her use of words.

"Say what?," Jacob asked, obviously needing clarification. I figured he'd have grasped Jasper's emotional ability by now. I touched Jake's face and showed him how I was happy, that he was keeping my heart up over the chaos.

"Jasper feels it and it's helping him not be so severe, which actually helps all of us," I said to him.

Jacob frowned a little, looking at Jasper. "So, you're feeding off us."

Alice smirked. "Yep."

"Leech." Jacob remarked, but he made no attempt to stop it. I had wanted to help, and if my feelings were doing it I was more than willing to share them. We all looked up at the main doorway of the house when Carlisle and Emmett came through. They walked down and stood in the grass with us, the moon and the illumination from inside the house our only light. Rosalie walked over to Emmett, standing next to him, still as a statue. Carlisle looked at Edward and my father began to explain.

"These weren't normal vampires, as we were all made well aware," he said. Bella was looking at me and her eyes were worried. Or sad. It didn't matter. She knew something and it made me think back on Jacob when I felt that he was keeping something from me. Protecting me. My father glanced at me, no doubt hearing my mind work frantically to figure out what was going on.

"They were sent here to Oakwood," he paused for a second. "They were sent to eliminate the pack." I clutched harder to Jacob, but he held on strong.

"More specifically…," Jacob said, his voice filled with distaste.

"Jacob," Edward confirmed. My heart leapt with fear and began to pound hard in my ears. Jacob. MY Jacob.

"What?! Why?!" I looked at my father, demanding he answer me though my voice was small and broken. Bella was already standing next to us, in the blink of an eye she was there. "Momma, why would they want to kill Jake?!"

"Shhhh….no one is killing Jacob." She looked up at the werewolf in question, her eyes reflecting the determination she had to keep her word.

"No one can kill me. I'm freaking indestructible, Ness." Jacob said and I looked up at him, no doubt showing him my worry. He couldn't use those tough guy phrases on me anymore. They lost their fairy tale sparkle. There were cracks in the armor I always believed my guardian angel to have. He could break. I could lose him.

"That's not true. You almost lost today." I stated the truth and stared into him, daring him to deny it. He was quiet and I looked back at everyone. "So…who were they?" My voice was stronger now that I had something to protect. I was finding my inner warrior through my need to keep that which I loved safe.

"It isn't clear who is behind it, but I pulled several names from their minds. Names that all have connections to Volterra," my father continued, keeping his gaze trained on Carlisle. It must have been easier for him to concentrate away from my thoughts if he focused on the one he looked up to for support.

"The timing was too perfect," Embry commented and I remembered he was there. I looked at my friend and he had his arms crossed. "They were in town earlier in the week. I saw them there. We all went there to hunt, but came up empty."

"But why would they wait? If they saw you, why didn't they just attack then?" Rosalie was ever the tactful one.

"They were waiting for a command," Jacob answered, guessing. I was amazed that he wasn't dominating the group meeting. It was a first for him.

"We met with the Volturi days ago. It appears from that moment, they set their trap," Carlisle said, finally taking over the conversation. He turned his attention to Jacob. "They'd been here for only a few days. My guess is they were only waiting for you to come to them. To trap you in the house and most likely destroy you. They probably hoped you would be missing Nessie and would go in alone."

"Well, that just goes to show that they still don't understand us wolves," Embry spoke up, crossing his arms. I was immensely proud of him in the turn of a second. I could never thank them enough for their fierce loyalty to their Alpha.

"No. They don't," Edward agreed. He closed his eyes and nodded. "Everyone's thinking close to the same thing."

"Caius." Alice, Emmett, and Bella all said at once.

"He was acting more suspicious than usual," Esme said, her quiet presense a comfort to me.

"I could feel his aversion to the wolves heightened when Aro spoke of them to Nessie," Jasper spoke up. "He really hates the idea of mixing the blood."

Edward frowned at his brother and shrugged. "Well, I wasn't going to say such a thing since it's my child's blood in question, but yes. He does hate the idea of what could happen…in that respect." Bella shook her head, not feeling the need to sidestep the issue.

"We didn't think Nessie was possible," she turned to look at me. "So, yes, if you are choosing Jacob for your future, a baby is a possibility. However, there aren't any rules against it. They can't come down on us again for that the way they did when you were born."

Edward took hold of her and I was a little embarrassed that we were even discussing children when Jacob and I just very recently became an actual couple.

"But…that wouldn't happen for a long time," I added quickly, just to make sure they knew I wasn't looking to test the Volturi any time soon. I wasn't sure when we would get to the point where we were ready to take that step. I was comfortable with it, but I was giving Jacob the time to discover when he was ready. I wouldn't just assume that he was, because he would do anything to make me happy. I had a responsibility that way. For all I knew, he still saw me as a kid. It was all up to him.

"Of course. We weren't assuming you would…" Alice said, and began to twist her hair.

"However," Carlisle interjected. "I will be sending a message to Aro and his kin, letting them know about the attacks. Perhaps they will solve it on their own. Either way, we must remain on our guard." He walked back up the steps and turned back to look at Jacob and myself, then looked to Edward who nodded. "Renesmee, you need to hunt and rest. It's been over a day since you've had sleep." He then looked at the rest of our group. "We should all hunt, actually. First, we need to take care of the dead."

Rest? How was I going to rest? My room was probably reeking of the vampires that now lay strewn all over the house.

"You can stay with Jacob and the pack," Edward said to me. "We've already discussed it - before you began assaulting my mind to get him out of the house." He hugged me to him and Bella looked sternly at Jacob.

"Jake. Just…do me a favor and be good. Okay?"

"What do you guys take me for?! I'm the safest guy," he said, attempting to defend his honor. There was my snarky friend. He was finally letting himself go. I took hold of his arm and pulled on him, edging him away from everyone. "She's off limits in that way that you're thinking. Actually, you have the dirty mind, Bella. Thinking such thoughts…"

"Someone will be over later to help guard you all in case you need to rest," Bella said. But then she was quick to add, "Not that I don't think you are capable of protecting Nessie yourself, Jacob. Or, guarding your pack."

Send Emmett. They can all play videogames or something. I let my father know my request as I yanked on Jacob then, dragging him in the direction of my car. "Let's go, then." I wanted the three of them to stop dancing around the subject of sex. It was a fact of the situation of their friendship that the three of them had a fiery history. I knew that. I accepted it. I just didn't need to hear about it. Now it was accepted that Jacob and I were forever just as much as my parents were. That was what I needed to focus on now.

Jacob suddenly stopped. "Wait just a sec." He dashed up the front steps and disappeared inside. The rest of my family had begun the grisly task of collecting up all the body parts and a pile was quickly forming. A few minutes later, my werewolf came back with fresh clothes for me tucked in his arm. "Okay." I was touched that he'd thought of such a thing and went to the garage to retrieve my Audi. Seth and Leah wouldn't fit, so they decided to run for it and meet us back at their house. The thought of sleep was actually beginning to sound pretty nice. I found myself yawning as I sped along the dark road.

"You guys came by just in time. I still can't believe our luck." Embry said from the back seat and I looked in the rearview mirror. Of all of them, he'd come closest to a bloody end. If we hadn't gotten there when we did, it could have been too late. He looked a little disturbed by his close call now that he was away from the Cullens. He could finally be honest with himself in a place where he felt safe.

"Hey, when we get to the house, do you want to play Halo 3? It's literally been a week and I'm having withdrawal," I said, knowing there was no way he'd refuse. I wanted his mind distracted so he could relax. Jacob looked over at me and gave me a look that made me melt into my seat. That imprint look. However, the lines between that look and a new one that ran deeper were blurring. Or, rather, I just didn't notice it as the look of imprint anymore. He was pleased with me and it made me happy. Bring on the Volturi. Bring on odds that might threaten to overcome my happy future. I had an arsenal built of my love for him to keep me fighting.

A few minutes went by and we drove in silence before I received a response from Embry.

"Nessie, anytime is always a good time for Halo."

Jake and I laughed.