Chapter 10

Wait a Minute. What?

Jacob

I hadn't slept worth a damn for the past week. And when I did the dreams were horrific. In every one, somehow, Nessie was being pulled from me. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't hold on. In would have hold of her hand and then I would feel her slipping. Then I could see her slowly being pulled away from me.

I had talked to Bella about it and she seemed to think it was just my anxiety about Nessie starting school. I had to admit, the fact that she would be around all those people, those men, didn't set too well with me. But I trusted Nessie and I would fight till my last breath if it ever came to that. God I hoped it would never come to that. My alarm went off, just as there was a knock on the door. I heard my Dad greet Seth and I got dressed and headed out to the living room. He was so excited. Unfortunately, that made my mood about today even worse. I didn't want her to go. I wished she would just stay here and have Edward teach her. But Edward and Bella thought that this was important, and I knew that Nessie had to have an opportunity to see what the world had to offer.

Seth looked at me and instantly caught my mood. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. "You ready to go Jake?" He looked at the floor so that he wouldn't have to look in my eyes.

"Yeah, let's go." I slapped my Dad on the back and walked out the door. We ran without phasing towards the cottage. I needed Seth to do something for me, and I knew that if I asked him he would, but I didn't want Nessie to know what I was asking. I didn't want to have to use my power as an Alpha, but this was important, and I hoped Seth wouldn't mind too much.

We stopped about five minutes before we reached the cottage. Seth looked at me, anticipating what would be coming next.

"Seth I need you to do something for me. I'm going to tell you this as your Alpha because I don't want Nessie to know." Seth nodded his head. "You are to protect her, especially from men. If anyone hits on her or does anything inappropriate, you are to, as discretely as possible, get her out of the situation." Again, Seth nodded. "And no matter what, don't tell her I told you to do this." He smiled and winked.

"You know Jake you could have just asked. I would have done it anyway." But then he paused. "But you are probably right about the not telling her order. Nessie does have a way to get me to say more than I want to." He laughed and sprinted ahead of me toward the clearing that surrounded Edward and Bella's house.

Seth reached the door first and knocked. I heard Edward invite us in and I slowly followed into the house. I was looking at the floor, I felt like a jerk. When everyone else was so happy, I just wanted to curl up in a corner and hide until this day was over. I saw Nessie in the hallway and I went to her room. She was behind me and heard her greet Seth.

"I'll be just a few minutes Seth." She followed me into the room, closing the door behind her. I soon as she turned, I had my arms around her. I wanted her touch to be burnt into my skin. I wanted her scent to fill my nose. I wanted her to still feel like she was in my arm when she was gone. I didn't want to see this big step for her as a step away from me, but it was easier said than done. I ran my hands over her soft hair, kissing the top of her head because that was the only part I could reach; I was holding her so tight.

"I'm not so sure about this." I was trying not to cry, but that is all I wanted to do. This was the farthest she would have ever been away from me without a member of her family with her. I knew that Seth would protect her, but I still would have felt better with her in a cement tower somewhere. My own personal Rapunzel. Nessie pushed back and looked up at me. She smiled slightly and I started rethinking my decision about going to school myself. But I knew that she needed to do this. I would have to let her go in order to keep her. But I hated that logic.

"It will be fine. Just like I'm on a shopping trip or something. Besides how much trouble can I get into with Seth there? He's almost as much of a worry wart as you are." She put her hand on my cheek. I love you. Forever and a day Jacob Black. No distance or experience we have separately will pull us apart; because what you go through I go through. And vice versa. I will miss you and will be racing home to you every time I go. I closed my eyes and listened to her sweet words in my head. "I need to finish getting ready. The sooner we leave, the sooner I come home." This brought me back to reality, and she was right. The quicker she left the sooner she'd be home. I gave her a quick kiss. I didn't think I would let her leave if I pushed anything more. I quickly walked out the door, and went into the living room.

I stood by the window looking out over the small lawn that surrounded the cottage. In my mind I was replaying memories of all the time spent on that lawn over the years. I could see Nessie when she was four running around in her favorite overalls. Wanting horsey rides when I was human and wolfy rides when I wasn't. I saw the picnics we would have. She went through a phase when she was about 8 where she would make me pb & j sandwiches every afternoon. She would make a whole stack of them and if I didn't finish every one she would cry because she though I didn't like them. Then I could see her at seventeen. That summer night we had spent lying under the stars. The first night that I saw her through new eyes. The moonshine made her hair shimmer like silk. She had rolled on her side and kissed my cheek when the conversation lagged. I felt that simple kiss all the way to my toes. And then just last night as I kissed her goodnight on the path to the house. It all went too fast. This day came too damn fast. I felt Edward's hand on my shoulder. He gently squeezed it.

"I couldn't agree more." He whispered and went back to his seat next to Bella. Bella and Edward went back to giving Seth some inside information they had discovered on their excursions to the campus last week. Seth stood up and turned as Nessie walked into the room. She walked behind me and put her arms around my waist. I grabbed her hands to keep them there and she kissed my back.

"So you better have something fun planned when we get back mister." I could tell she was trying to make me feel better. So I would put on my best poker face. I wanted this to be a special day for her. Just because I wasn't looking forward to it, didn't mean I should ruin it for her.

"I'll figure something out." I turned so that I could put my arms around her and pull her to me. I didn't want any distance until there had to be. I looked over to Seth who was standing by the door. I wanted him to understand that I was trusting him with the most precious thing I had in the world. "You better bring her back exactly the way she is now, or you will have me to deal with. Do you understand me?" Seth looked at me with full comprehension of what I had just said. He knew the responsibility I had given him and he also knew better than to take for granted that taking care of Nessie would be easy. But at the same time, he was the one person I trusted more that anyone to keep her safe. I pulled her back from me and lifted her up so that her face was the same height as mine. "Be careful please. I will be here waiting for you." She put her arms around my neck and I gave her a kiss appropriate for a public display. At the end of the kiss she kept her eyes closed and it made me smile. When she opened her eyes, the look on her face made me smile even more.

"One more please. This has to last me all day." She was begging me now and that was more than I could take public place or not. I kissed her as if I wanted to leave my mark. She put her hand on the back of my neck. When I get home, you and me under a blanket mister. I want your hands on me. I want to start up right where we are leaving off. She pulled back from me reluctantly. "I love you. I'll miss you." She kissed my cheek and I put her feet back on the ground. I looked over towards Edward, and he was just shaking his head, smiling slightly at Nessie.

I let my hands fall to my sides "I love you too." She turned to walk to the door and I wanted to let her know I was okay. I reached out and gave her a swat on the butt. "Now hurry up so you can get your butt back home." She was laughing now and that made my anxiety flare even more. I just wanted this day to be over. She took Seth's arm and Bella and Edward were giving them reminders about all the things they had told them. I really couldn't hear what they were saying. My ears were ringing and I felt like I was about to lose it.

I needed to touch her one more time, so I hurried over to the door and ran my hand down her hair as Seth led her outside. "Remember what I said Clearwater." Seth gave a quick nod and they were on their way down the path.

I stood in the doorway and watched them start to run. I drew in a ragged breath and felt Bella's hand on my back.

"She'll be home before you know it. What do you want to do today? Whatever you want to keep you occupied." She was trying to help and I appreciated it. But I had already made plans for today. I was going to go home and try to catch up on sleep and sulk.

"I'm pretty tired. Haven't been sleeping too well. I think I'm going to go home and catch up on my beauty sleep." I never looked at her. My eyes were stuck on the spot where Nessie had disappeared. And then there she was. Walking towards me. I couldn't get to her fast enough. She jumped at me when I got close enough and I kissed her. She felt so small in my arms, but she held everything I would ever need in that little package.

She kicked her legs up so I was carrying her and looked up at me. "Walk me to my car?" I just kissed her all the way down the path to the main house. I walked slowly through the creek, not wanting to get her wet. Once we got to the other side, I could hear Seth revving the engine of Nessie's car. I was hoping that Nessie would let Seth drive. She wasn't as good of a driver as he was and I knew that he would be more cautious behind the wheel than she would. I set her on her feet and we walked towards the car.

"Go ahead. You can drive there, but I'm driving home." Thank God. Hopefully I could get Seth to try to convince her to let him drive the return trip too.

I stuck my head into the driver's window. "Try to convince her to let you drive both ways. Much safer for both of you." I whispered to Seth. He smiled and nodded. Seth was very aware what can happen when Nessie drove. I had taught her to drive on my old Rabbit. On her first solo trip around La Push, she had managed to back into a light pole and T-bone Charlie's cruiser. The fact that Bella and Edward got her the Bugatti still kind of boggled my mind.

I gave Seth a reassuring slap on the shoulder and walked Nessie to the passenger side of the car. I opened her door and helped her get in. As I slowly shut the door, she rolled down the window. Poker face man. Poker face. I kept saying to myself. I leaned into her window. "Have a good day Baby. I will be here waiting for you to come home." I kissed her and fought the urge to rip the door off and drag her from the car. I pulled back and took in her face one more time. Then I focused on Seth. "Remember what I told you brother."

Seth gave me a look that set my mind at ease somewhat. "No problem man. Don't worry. We'll see you tonight."

I ran my hand across her cheek as I backed out of the car. "I love you baby. Have fun." I poked her nose with my finger. It was something I had done since she was little. Every time she went somewhere without me. I took a step back, but stayed low so I could look into her eyes.

Her eyes never left mine. "I love you too. You better be ready for me when I get back. I'll be ready to put my feet up after a long day." She was acting like she passed out and I laughed despite myself. "See you soon love." The car slowly moved forward. Nessie leaned out the car window and waved at me as they drove away. Just before they turned the corner, and she wouldn't be in view anymore she yelled back to me. "I'll miss you." She blew me a kiss then she was gone.

It felt like a rubber band was attached to the car and my heart, and it was getting stretched tighter as she drove away. I hated feeling this way. I lowered my head and started to walk back to La Push. Before I got very far though, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Bella had snuck up on me.

"You doing okay Jake?" She hugged me and I fell apart. I felt so stupid. This was a good thing. I knew that. I knew that Nessie needed to be in the real world, but I was so afraid that what I offered her here would seem so insignificant compared to what she could have with someone else. I was tied to this place by blood and obligations. I made any future for her limited.

"Bells, I'm just so afraid of losing her. To an accident, a psycho, or to a life that I can't give her. She is so special; she deserves more than a life here. More than a life in La Push." I couldn't look Bella in the eye. I was ashamed of the fears I felt, no matter how rational they may have been. I trusted Nessie. I trusted our love for each other, but I didn't trust fate. Let's face it. Fate has screwed me over on numerous occasions.

Bella wiped a tear away that was running down my cheek. "Jake. I know you and I know Renesmee. You two are going to build a wonderful life together. You are already off to a great start. Don't over think it. Trust her. Trust yourself. It will be fine." I took a deep sigh, and finally looked at her. Bella had been my best friend for so long. She knew me better than almost anyone, with Nessie probably being the exception. She ran her finger under my eye. "Now no offense my dear friend, but you look like hell. Go home and get some sleep." She hugged me and ran back to her house.

I stripped down and phased. Just before I reached the clearing that led into La Push, I phased back and redressed. I walked up the road to my house and was greeted by my Dad and Embry. I wasn't in the mood for small talk, so I just nodded at them and headed towards my room. I lay on the bed, hoping that sleep would come and be peaceful. I drifted off without even knowing it. I realized I was dreaming, because it felt like I was floating. It was black, but my vision slowly came into focus.

I was floating above a crowd. It was a Wedding. I could tell because of all the flowers and everyone was dressed in white. I heard the Wedding march sound. I was behind the minister, and could only see the groom from the back. He was tall, with short black hair and wearing a white tux. At first I thought it was me, but I looked up the aisle and I was walking the bride towards the groom. She had a vale over her head, so I couldn't see who it was. I placed the bride's hand in the grooms and they both turned towards the minister. I finally saw that it was Seth. He was the groom. I looked back at myself and saw Nessie standing next to me in the front row. The rest of the family was there. The bride turned towards Nessie and me and raised her vale. I couldn't see her face. But I heard her whisper, "I love you Daddy."

I woke with a start. It was better than the dreams I had had the past week, but still, Nessie and I had already discussed the possibility of us having children someday and we both agreed that it was too risky. Carlisle didn't even think it was possible. And Seth, imprinting on my daughter. That would be too weird. I am sure that Bella and Edward would get a kick out of it.

I looked at the clock. Four hours had passed. I felt a lot better and I decided that I would call, just to see how things were going.

I went out into the living room and it was empty. I figured that my snoring must have driven everyone away. I picked up the phone and quickly dialed Nessie's Cell. It only rang twice before she answered.

"Hello?" She sounded excited, and I hoped it was from seeing my number on the caller ID and not by some hunky upper classman.

"Hey Baby. How's the most beautiful freshman in the world doing?" Now that I had slept, I was in a better mood. My dream was also making me laugh a little. That would be just my luck.

"I don't know. But I'll ask her when I see her." I knew that hearing from me had been the reason she was chipper and that made me laugh. "So what spectacular thing do you have planned for when we get home? You jetting me off to Rome for pizza? Sailing down the coast? Hot dogs and Marshmallows on First Beach?" She laughed and I clicked my tongue like I always did when we had this conversation. This was a long running joke with us. We always did the same thing. Only real variation was whether we were on the beach, my house, her house, or the movies. Not a lot of excitement in our world, but it was a happy world none the less.

"Well we just did the first two things last week, so First Beach it is." I was just so happy to hear her voice that I think it was conveying through the phone.

There was a pause and then Nessie said, "So what's the big deal using your Alpha mojo on poor Seth? You are causing him more grief than is really necessary. And no he didn't say anything, as you know. I figured it out on my own."

Well the fact that she knew that I had given Seth an order about something means that there had been some kind of incident. She would have had no idea unless Seth had to step in for some reason. I sighed, "Let me talk to him please."

"Hey Jake." Seth sounded like he was afraid to talk to me. Never a good sign.

"Is something wrong?" I wanted to try to calm his fears, but the curiosity was killing me.

"No everything is fine."

"Something must have happened, otherwise she wouldn't have known about our conversation."

"There was just one time. I took care of it though. Everything is fine." Seth was trying to calm my nerves, but it wasn't working too well. I just had to trust him and hope for the best though. Nothing I could do from here.

"Well thanks for taking such good care of her for me. I appreciate it." I really did appreciate it. Seth always had been a good friend. He would have given his life for any of us without a second thought. If fate intended on him someday being my son in law, then I guess I could do a hell of a lot worse.
"No problem man. I'll see you when we get back." There was a pause while he handed Nessie back her phone.

"Ok, you are killing me here mister." She was more curious than upset, I could tell by her voice.

I started to laugh, because I could just imagine poor Seth. Nessie's interrogations were never pleasant. And she can be so persistent. I thought the truth would save both Seth and I a huge headache. "I just told Seth not to let any guys too close. I didn't want some upperclassman trying to sweep you off your feet."

"Jacob Black, do you not trust me at all? That is a very cruel thing to do to Seth. He should be able to enjoy this and not have to be constantly on lookout if some guy is hitting on me. Shame on you." She was trying to sound all tough, but I just closed my eyes and all I saw was a kitten trying to get its neck hairs up.

"Can never be too careful when it comes to you baby. Now finish up and come home. I miss you."

Nessie laughed. "Nice try, but your Alpha orders don't work on me. I think maybe I'll stick around here a little while longer. I hear there is a big blow out on frat row tonight."

"Let me talk to Seth again." I could have bantered with her like this all day, but that wasn't getting her home any faster. We were both laughing now. "I love you Baby. I'll be waiting at your house."

"I love you too. See you soon." And she hung up.

I stood there with the phone in my hand for second. In my mind I was with Nessie. I didn't hear any voices until someone waved a hand in front of my face.

"Earth to Jacob." Quil was the one whose hand was in my vision. When I blinked, he proceeded to smack me on the forehead. This sent a growl rumbling through my chest and caused both he and Embry to retreat to the couch and sit down.

"So are we having a bonfire tonight? Steph has the night off and I was hoping we were. I'm broke." The pack and I do odd jobs around the reservation. We don't make a lot of money, and let's face it, being a werewolf is not high on the income scale. I had turned into the neighborhood mechanic, so I always seemed to have more money than the rest of my pack, but not much.

"That's the plan. My funds are wearing a little thin myself." I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bag of chips from the cabinet. My stomach was growling and I hadn't eaten all day.

"I'll go over and raid Seth and Leah's house. Sue always stocks them up pretty good. We can see if Sam and his group want to come too. Emily will hook us up." Quil stood while he was talking, making his way to the door.

"Give me a second. I'll go with you. Got nothing better to do." I ran into my room and grabbed a clean T-shirt. It was the AC/DC shirt that Nessie had given me for my birthday last year. I pulled on a pair of shoes and we headed out the door.

The rest of the afternoon was spent gathering supplies and getting the wood together. The rain that threatened earlier never really came through and the sun was reflecting off the ocean. It was going to be a beautiful sunset. I just hoped that Nessie got back in time to watch it together.

"What time is it?" Embry was impatient for Steph to be done with work. I could relate.

I grabbed my pocket watch. "3:30", I said. Time had gotten away from me. It had been almost two hours since I had called Nessie. I realized that I should probably be heading back to the house. "I'm going to head over the Nessie's. You guys got it from here?"

They all grumbled and I started jogging in the direction of the cottage. I had only been running for about five minutes when I heard a wolf's howl. It was Quil. I quickly phased, wondering what danger was here we hadn't detected.

Quil. What's wrong? Has someone crossed the boundaries? I could feel his anxiety as I ran closer to him.

Jake, there's been an accident. Billy just found us. Seth called Edward. They were in a car accident. Nessie is unconscious and the car is at the bottom of Crescent Lake. There was a deer in the middle of the road and Nessie was driving and they lost control. He paused, waiting for my reaction.

Wait a minute. What? I was in disbelief. Shock. I stopped running and phased back without even realizing it. Quil met me where I stood and phased too.

"Jake?" Quil stood there looking at me. I saw him, but my brain didn't seem to be working. "Jake, we need to get back to the main house. Bella is calling Carlisle and Edward went to go pick up Nessie and Seth. We need to get there and help. She will be looking for you." He grabbed my arm to lead me in the direction of the main house.

I didn't move. I just looked at him, trying to process what he had said. "What?" And then everything started to replay in my head. Nessie was hurt. They had gone off the road. The car was at the bottom of a lake. Edward went to get them and bring them home. Bella was calling Doc. But Doc was at least three hours away. What if she needed him now? I needed to get there. I needed to be there when she came home. I started running and phased in mid stride. Quil was behind me trying to calm me down.

She'll be fine. It's not the first time she's passed out. Probably just the stress from the accident. His attempts at making me feel better were not working. Nessie had passed out before, but always from food issues. I didn't know what this was from. She was still human enough to get head injuries and broken bones. Mind you she healed almost faster than I did, but still, an internal injury could be fatal, or at least I thought it could. We reached the main house, phased back to our human forms and dressed. Bella was pacing around the living room when we came through the door.

"Jake. I just spoke to Edward. He's almost to them. Carlisle is on his way. He said he would be here in about two hours. I'll need some help getting his office set up. We won't know the extent of any injuries until Edward gets there." She was starting to fall apart. Vampires can't cry, but there is an equivalent and I've seen it before. I put my hand on her shoulder and she pulled me into a hug. Normally, when Nessie was concerned, she was the one who calmed me. I wasn't used to this and I began to think things were a lot worse than I was imagining.

I took a deep breath and pulled her back. I leaned down so I could look in her eyes. "What do we need to do to get ready?" Bella closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Damn. I've got too may thoughts going through my head at once." Bella looked up at the ceiling and then over to the staircase. "Right. Jake, go into the back of the garage. There is a hospital bed there and a bunch of other equipment. Bring it up to Carlisle's office. Quil, go see Charlie. Tell him what has happened and let him know we might need blood. See if he can pull any strings at the hospital. If he can't we'll have to wait for Carlisle. I'll go up and get his office ready for all the stuff." We all ran off to perform our tasks.

I quickly found the equipment and made several trips up the stairs. Carefully placing it where Bella instructed. I needed to keep moving, because if I stopped, I knew the reality of what was happening would come crashing down. I was just bringing up the last monitor when Bella's cell phone rang.

"Edward?" There was a pause and she was looking at the floor. I wanted to rip the phone out of her hand, but I knew that would be a very bad idea. "I don't understand. Why is she not waking up then?" Crap, she wasn't awake yet. "Ok, I have almost everything ready here, just get her here. Carlisle is still about an hour and a half out. Tell her we love her. Is Seth ok?" Seth. I hadn't even thought about him. I was searching Bella's face for an answer and she finally looked at me and smile. I knew then he was ok. But Nessie was still unconscious. Why? "Be careful my Love. We'll be ready and waiting." And Bella hung up.

I looked at her and she wouldn't meet my eyes at first. This couldn't be good. "Bells. What's going on?"

She finally looked up at me and the worry pained her eyes.