Hey, everyone[: I know this chapter is very, very late but I've had a pretty terrible past couple of weeks and I'm totally sorry /: I promise to try and make it up to you guys[: Anyways, this chapter is a bit slow but I promise things do pick up VERY soon, so bear with me! All Bella's POV:

"Jake?" I asked tentatively. "Can I please take it off now?"

I heard him sigh overdramatically as he continued to guide me slowly towards some mysterious destination. If I was clumsy when I had all five of my senses, I was downright dangerous with a blindfold on. For the past twenty minutes that we had been walking, I had constantly been tripping, slipping, and stumbling over the smallest of objects in my path. Even with his firm grip on my arm, I was dangerously close falling and ending up in the emergency room with a broken bone or two. Not exactly where I wanted to spend my evening.

"Bella, Bella, Bella," he chastised. "Patience is a virtue."

"And kidnapping is a crime," I muttered under my breath. But, of course, his enhanced ears had no trouble comprehending what I said.

"Whoa whoa whoa, wait just a second, Bells. Kidnapping? Whose idea was this anyway?" Jake asked incredulously. "You're the one who just had to see me in my wolf form right now. Couldn't even wait until I got you home so Charlie could breathe again once he saw you were okay. See what I mean about patience? If anyone was coerced into anything it was me! You just kept pressuring and bullying me until I HAD to give in! And I'm not very good when it comes to peer pressure. You can be very persuasive when you want to be, Bells. But you know, I still love you. Menacing, intimidating bully or not." I could just picture that stupid, huge grin of his. Jake laughed, obviously pleased at the outraged expression on my face. At this, I roughly wrenched my arm away from his grasp.

"Jacob Black! I am NOT a bully! Yes, I wanted to see you phase, but I didn't ask to be blindfolded for an hour and forced to trek through the woods all damn afternoon! That's it, I'm taking this stupid blindfold off right now." I yanked the piece of fabric and tossed it angrily at the floor. The brightness of the sun blinded me for a few seconds, and I had to blink several times before I could get a clear picture of my surroundings. We had apparently reached some sort of small beach, surrounded by a series of caves. The water was eerily still, a strange contrast to the overwhelming currents I had experienced just that morning on a different beach.

"Geez, Bells, no need to get violent," he mocked, giving me one of his stupid smirks. "Oh well, you don't really need the blindfold anymore. We're just about to get in the water, anyways."

This stopped me dead in my tracks. Not funny. Not funny at all. And Jake could tell. As soon as he saw the look on my face, the smirk disappeared from his. He turned to face me and pulled me by the hips, closing the distance between us.

"What's wrong, Bells?" he asked gently, tucking a strand of hair away from my face and behind my ear. I took a deep breath and cleared my throat before replying.

"Nothing's wrong. It's just… I almost drowned today. I think it's best if I stayed out of the ocean for a bit, don't you agree?" That was understatement. I was downright terrified. As confident as I had been when I dived off the cliff that morning, I was much more aware now of how close I had come to death, and I wanted to stay as far away from those memories as possible. I was alive. I was with my Jacob. And I certainly wanted to keep things that way.

"Are you serious, Bells? You're afraid?" Jake laughed and looked at me as if I were insane. "You run with vampires and werewolves but you're afraid of some good old H2O? C'mon, Bella, it's gonna get late and then this will all be for nothing. Start walking or I'm gonna have to carry you and toss you in the water myself!" He grabbed my hand and started walking but I refused to budge.

"Jake… please don't. I'm serious, Jake, please don't make me do it, I can't." My voice had begun to tremble. Perhaps I was being immature and irrational, but the thought of going near the water was making me nauseous. Jake could sense the genuine fear in my voice, and his face fell.

"Bells, I was just joking. You know that, right? I would never force you to do something you didn't want to do. But, I just don't understand… are you really that scared?" I nodded silently and looked away, too embarrassed to face him. I knew I was being completely ridiculous, but I couldn't help it. Jake grabbed my chin gently and made me look him straight in the eyes. He slowly lowered his mouth to my ear, as if afraid to startle me. "I would never let anything happen to you, Bells. You're safe with me, I will always protect you. You just need to trust me, Bella. Do you trust me?"

And I did. More than he could ever possibly understand. I nodded once again and turned my head slightly so that his forehead rested on my own.

"I trust you more than you know, Jake." He smiled, and leaned down to briefly press his lips against my own. Too briefly, in my opinion. I tried to pull his face back down to mine when he pulled away, but he only laughed and scooped me up in his arms.

"Remember what I said about patience, Bells. We'll have plenty of time together later. But now, we're on a bit of a tight schedule." He walked towards the water slowly, until the waves lapped gently at his feet. I wrapped my arms tightly around him, and prepared myself for what was to come. Jake continued to walk into the ocean until it reached his chest and only my upper body remained dry. With Jake holding me close to him, I could barely feel the icy water as it surrounded me. The heat emanating from his body seemed to radiate out into the water. "You said you trust me, right?"

"Yes."

"Then hold your breath on the count of three."

"Wait, what?!"

"One."

"JAKE!"

"Two!"

"Agh, I hate you!" I knew it was useless to fight him, and I was genuinely curious as to what he was planning, so I ceased my futile attempts at getting him to stop and began to prepare myself mentally.

"Three." I sucked in a huge lungful of air just as Jake dove into the water, taking me with him.

I didn't know what was going on. All I knew was that we were moving, quickly. Very quickly. I could feel Jake kicking furiously behind me, propelling us into deeper water. He swam towards a narrow tunnel in the ground and went in without hesitation. And then, suddenly, we were no longer underwater. I gasped wildly as I tried to fill my lungs with oxygen, though we had only been underwater for all of thirty seconds, max. The tunnel had led us to a small cave. It was dark, but I could see light emanating from an opening on the other side of the tunnel. Jacob pulled us out of the water and onto the cave floor. I could hear the sound of rushing water coming from the opening of the cave. Jacob eased me down slowly to the floor, and looked me over meticulously to make sure I was okay. Once he was certain that I was, in fact, alive, in one piece, and not bleeding, he laughed and began to shake himself violently in an effort to dry himself.

"You're such a dog." I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes at him. He just laughed some more and pulled me into one of his enormous hugs.

"You know you love me, Bells. Almost as much as I love you."

"Jake, can't breathe!" He was squeezing me so tightly that I was finding it difficult to think, much less breathe.

"Oops, sorry about that, Bells," he laughed, as he released me. "Now c'mon, I've got something I want to show you." He grabbed my hand in his and led me to the opening of the cave.

The cave opened up into the most beautiful beach I had ever laid eyes on. To one side of the cave was a path that led to what appeared to be some sort of forest. To the other side of the cave was the source of the sound of rushing water I had heard: a gorgeous waterfall. And across the waterfall shone an incredible rainbow. I couldn't help but remember a trip I had been on years ago to Niagara Falls, where I had seen a rainbow for the very first time. Even then I was amazed by the different colors, as they painted a perfect arc across the sky. But this… this was much more beautiful. Niagara Falls, though incredible and majestic in it's own way, had become just another tourist area, crowded and noisy all year round. But this beach appeared so quiet and untouched that I felt like an intruder watching this masterpiece nature had created. Jacob was silent beside me, lost in his own world. He truly was beautiful. Yes, a werewolf, strong and fearless, but so delicate and human all the same. He turned to look at me when he noticed me staring. He was smiling, but not his typical grin or smirk. It was a soft smile, almost solemn.

"Do you like it?" he whispered.

"I love it, Jake. Really, it's beautiful. How did you ever find this place?" He turned back to the waterfall, still with that sad smile.

"I used to come here with my mom, before the accident… Every time the sun was out. We would drive up through the forest, and the rainbow would always be here. Same rainbow, every time. It never changed. She was fascinated, you know. She would always joke around, ask where the rainbow went when the sun was gone… My sisters and I would sit out here for hours, just watching the rainbow with her. Sometimes we would get bored, and start messing around in the forest or in the caves. That's how I found the tunnel that leads here from the other beach. When she died… I would come up here by myself all the time, but the rainbow never showed up again. Wherever my mom went, she took her rainbow with her… That's what I thought. And then I saw you that day at La Push, right after you first moved to Forks, and something just clicked. I didn't know what it was, Bells, but ever since that day, the rainbow has been coming back… But now… now I know why. Remember when I was telling you about the wolves this morning, what I said about imprinting? I think that's it, Bells… I think that's why the rainbow has been appearing since I saw you…"

Jake was silent then. I was completely overwhelmed by his words, and I realized that in that moment, I loved him even more than I had before. Once again, he had shown me the deepest parts of his soul. He trusted me with everything in him, just like I trusted him. His honesty, his humanity, his patience and his optimism, I didn't deserve any of it. Not after the way I treated him for so many months. But he was here. He was mine. And I was his. Not completely, not yet all his. But I was his all the same, and the rest would come in due time. I could only watch in wonder as he spoke, telling the saddest and most beautiful of stories. Yet his final words intrigued me. I remembered his explanation about imprinting very well. I had found the concept fascinating from the start.

"Jake, are you saying that… I'm your imprint?" The idea felt wrong. Yes, I loved him. With everything I had left. And I knew with everything in me that he loved me back. But for some reason, one I couldn't explain, it didn't feel right. Not now. Not yet. I was afraid. Not of the implications behind the imprint. No, not that. I already knew that Jake was mine and I was his. Forever. The fear didn't stem from the concept of eternity, but rather from a gut feeling that there was something else, that it wasn't time. The idea of being his imprint just didn't fit.

Jake looked up suddenly, a slightly hurt look displayed across his features. He sighed and paused for a moment before answering.

"No… Not exactly. At least, not yet. I mean, I feel it, Bells. I feel my soul pulling at yours, trying to reach you, but it keeps coming back empty-handed. I don't understand it. I trust you, Bells, and I believe you when you tell me you want to be with me. I don't doubt it for a second. But I can't explain it, because I know you're the one and I know that if I ever imprint it will be on you, but it hasn't happened. It's like your soul isn't ready, Bells, like it's waiting for something. But that's okay. I don't need some strange wolf bond to tell me that we're meant to be together. It's just… I just wish I knew why."

"Jake, I can't tell you why or how or when, but I can tell you that I'm yours, whether or not you imprint. If you want me, I'm yours." And I knew that I had never spoken truer words in my life. Whatever this imprinting issue was, we would figure it out.

"I just wanted you to know the truth… Until you showed up, it's like I was living in black and white. Living… but not alive. And then you came and brought the whole rainbow back with you, and all of a sudden the colors were everywhere, and I could see nothing but those colors. I don't think I can go back to living in black and white, Bells."

"And you won't have to. Get used to the colors, Jake, because they're here to stay." And then he looked down at me with that smile I knew too well, and I knew exactly what he meant about the colors and the rainbows. I, too, was living in darkness before he lit up my sky. My sun. Forever and always.

Jake turned to me and kissed my forehead, before turning around and walking in the direction of the forest. I frowned and began to protest.

"Where are you going?" Jake turned around, his signature smirk in full effect.

"Well, Bells, we came here for a reason." Right. To see him phase. And to think I had almost forgotten.

"That still doesn't explain where you're going, Jake." He just laughed this time, and I really wanted to know what in the world was so damn funny.

"You see, I can't exactly phase wearing my clothes, Bella. Billy wouldn't be too happy if I destroyed all of my clothes like that." I still wasn't getting it, and Jake sighed before continuing. "That means I have to remove my clothes, Bells, and I don't think you'd like it very much if I did that in front of you." At this thought, I began to blush furiously. The thought of Jake removing his clothing in front of me… all of his clothing… I had to stop before I got carried away.

Of course, Jake noticed me blushing insanely and thought my embarrassment was the funniest thing in the world. So as he stood there, doubled over in laughter, all I could do was blush even more.

"Maybe I was wrong, Bells," he said, once he'd recollected himself. "Maybe you'd like it a little too much."

"Jaaaaake," I groaned.

"I'm sorry, Bells, I just couldn't resist," he said, giving me his best little puppy dog pout. And that's where my anger ended. Because I was absolutely useless when he gave me that pout. Oh god, I was so weak. I rolled my eyes at him and he just walked up to me and wrapped me in a gentle hug. "There's nothing to be ashamed about, you know. If only you knew how much I want you, every second of the day. It would put your blushes to shame… I love you, Bells. I'll be right back."

And he walked off into the forest, and I watched him go, knowing and trusting with all of my heart that he was coming back. Because he was Jake, and because with him, I knew that not only was I worthy, but I was wanted. And that knowledge was enough to make up for everything and anything that got in our way.

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