A Fateful Choice

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

A/N-thank you for the awesome reviews. Nikki

Part Ten

"Do you love him, Bella?" Her mother's question made Bella open her eyes. She was sitting with Renee outside near the swimming pool, enjoying the warm sun. She glanced to the side at her mother who was looking at her curiously, waiting for an answer.

"It's not as simple as that." Bella dodged the question.

Renee pulled her sunglasses down and raised her eyebrows. "Oh yes it is as simple as that. You left your husband when you had only been married for barely a week, then you return to the young man whom you always insisted to me was just a friend. Why? It had to be because you love him."

Bella's hand flew to her abdomen. She stroked the skin softly. In her first pregnancy she had felt the baby move within a couple of days. It would take a lot longer than that for her to feel the same with this baby. "It's not just about love." She mumbled.

"Oh for goodness sake, baby girl." Renee said testily. "Yes it is. Now do you love him?"

Bella's fingers curled into fists as she stood up abruptly and began to pace. "Of course I love him. I love him more than anything or anyone in the whole world."

"Have you told him that?" Renee's voice was softer now.

"I can't." Bella cried out. "It's my last chance to protect myself."

"From what?"

"The day that he leaves me." Bella collapsed back onto her seat and began to cry.

Renee quickly knelt in front of her distressed daughter and cuddled her. "Hey, baby girl." She rubbed soothing circles on Bella's lower back. "Has he given you reason to think he will go? From what you've told me he sounds very loving and loyal. He followed you to New Hampshire for heaven's sake."

"I don't doubt that he loves me. But he could be taken from me because of things out of his control." Bella whispered.

"Bella." Renee took hold of her daughter's face and held it between her hands. "That could apply to everyone. No one knows what the future holds. You have to just trust and get on with your life otherwise you'll forever keep running and being alone and miserable."

Bella wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "You're telling me to go back and tell him, aren't you?"

Renee nodded. "Yes. Go home and let him know that you love him and are carrying his child. The only person preventing you from being happy is you. Learn to live in the moment, baby girl. Otherwise you'll drive yourself mad with all the what ifs?" She kissed the side of Bella's face and sat back down on her own seat.

"I'll book a flight back for tomorrow." Bella gave Renee a wan smile as she closed her eyes again and let the warm sun soothe her frazzled nerves.

Jacob locked himself away when he finally returned home. He wouldn't speak to his father about where he had been or what he had done. He refused contact with his pack brothers and neglected his business. Seth Clearwater did his best to cover for his absent boss, but was finding it hard to do all the work necessary alone. Jacob would lose customers if he didn't come back in. On the fifth day Billy knocked on Jacob's door, as per usual he got no response. So he took a deep breath and barged in. The room was dark as the curtains were drawn. All Billy could see was his son's outline as he lay on his side on the bed. His eyes were open but he seemed unaware that his father had entered the room. Billy rolled his chair over to the window and yanked the curtains open, flooding the room with light. Jacob groaned and threw an arm across his eyes as the sunlight blinded him.

"What the fuck are you doing?" He growled.

"Get up." Billy poked him.

"Get off." Jacob rolled away to face the wall.

"You are like a petulant child." Billy yelled at him finally losing his temper. "What would Bella say when she comes back to find you hiding away in your room like a spoilt baby?"

"DO NOT MENTION HER NAME!" Jacob snapped. "SHE IS NOT COMING BACK."

"Grow up." Billy ignored the ferocity of his son's anger. "You can't be sure of that. Instead of wallowing have you even given thought to why she needed a break?"

Jacob sat up abruptly and ran a hand through his hair. His eyes were alight with anger as he glared at his father. "I have done nothing but think. I just don't know."

"You can't do this, Jake. This isn't like you. You've always bounced back before." Billy pleaded. "Come out of this cave and have something to eat. Poor Seth has been on the phone. He needs help at the garage. He is swamped with work. If you are not careful you'll lose the business you've worked so hard to build."

"It means nothing now she's gone." Jacob swallowed thickly.

"She isn't gone, Jake. I'm sure of it. I know that she'll be back. Whatever is troubling her I'm sure she will resolve and come and talk to you." Billy tried to infuse certainty into his voice.

"Has Charlie heard from her?" Jacob asked instead.

"No." Billy admitted. "But that doesn't mean anything."

Jacob lay back down on his bed. "Close the door on your way out." He said tonelessly.

Billy gritted his teeth in frustration. He rolled his chair back out into the narrow hall and slammed the door behind him.

The flight back home seemed to take an age. It gave Bella far too much time to fret about how Jacob would react. She should never have given into her urge to run. It was always what got her into trouble in the past. She had thought she had grown out of fleeing when she couldn't cope, but her immaturity when faced with problems, still forced her to resort to her old ways. Now she had made the situation much worse. He would hate her. The cold note she had left made her cringe. Bella knew she hadn't been thinking when she fled La Push. Finding out she was pregnant again had made her act irrationally. This whole situation was different then when she was carrying Edward's child. No one was going to force an abortion on her like before. But still she was ambivalent about the future. Even though she had convinced herself that imprinting didn't matter, in reality it had always been at the back of her mind. That was why she had held back from telling Jacob that she loved him. It was a sad attempt to protect herself against abandonment. She thought holding that last piece of herself away from him would ease the pain if he imprinted. Suddenly faced with carrying his child and the possibility that it could still happen had made that weak resolve crumble.

It was no excuse Bella knew that. Renee had been right. No one ever knew what was around the corner. Look at people who had assumed that their relationship's were fine? They had been left because of an affair or because the partner got bored and wanted a new life. Couples were breaking up all the time, and they coped. At least Bella knew that Jacob loved her. She had to hold onto that and live in the moment. She spent so much time worrying and fretting that she had made herself unhappy. Finally when the plane touched down on the tarmac Bella could breathe easier. Only a couple more hours and she could see Jacob and apologise for everything.

Billy was banging the pots and pans loudly in the kitchen when Jacob finally emerged from his room. He loped over to the table and sat down. "You've made your point dad. Can you stop making so much noise." He muttered.

"At last you've risen out of your pit." Billy rolled his chair over to the table and slammed a plate down in front of his son. "Eat that then go shower. You stink."

Jacob shot him a glare before picking up his fork and shovelling in the food. He hadn't wanted to get up but his wolf craved fuel and gave him no choice.

Billy watched in satisfaction as his son cleared the plate then held it out for seconds. He gladly refilled it. Jacob may still be grouchy but at least he was up.

The taxi dropped Bella off at the top of the dirt track leading to the little redwood house. She dumped her luggage and left it behind as she strode toward home. She was feeling nervous and unsure of herself. It took all of her willpower to force her legs forward and not turn around and flee again. When she reached the front door she let herself in with her own key and slipped inside. The smell of cooking wafted her way and she peered into the main living room to see Billy clearing up in the kitchen.

"Hello." She called out shyly.

Billy stopped what he was doing and twisted his chair around. "Bella? Is that you?"

"It's me." Bella came further into the room and gave him a sheepish smile.

"Am I glad to see you." Billy came to greet her properly. Bella bent down and kissed his weathered cheek. He could see by the look on her face she was wondering where his son was. "He is in the shower washing up."

"How is he?" Bella asked worriedly.

"Pissed off, that's what he is." Jacob's angry voice startled them both. He moved so silently they hadn't been aware that he had come out of the shower.

Bella swallowed the lump in her throat as panic set in. Jacob was looking at her like something that had crawled out from under a rock. There was no happiness at her return, only anger and resentment at the way she had treated him. He was barely clothed. Shorts hung low on his hips, a towel was draped across his shoulders which was not doing it's job of catching the droplets of water dripping from his hair. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

"What again?" Jacob growled. "You love using that word but you never mean it, do you?"

"Jake?" Billy said warningly.

"Leave us." Jacob glared at his father.

Billy frowned. He gave Bella a sympathetic smile before rolling his chair down the narrow hallway to his room. Jacob waited until he head his father's door close before he spoke further. "Where's your luggage?"

"Outside, up the track a little." Bella stammered. She twisted her hands together agitatedly.

"Good, it'll save you hauling it back out when you leave." Jacob stared at her challengingly.

"Leave?" Bella echoed him. "I won't be leaving."

"You will." Jacob spat. "That's all you ever do."

"I won't be leaving." Bella said again. "I came here to tell you something."

Jacob sat down on the couch and began to use the towel to dry his hair a little. He didn't bother to look at her. "Tell me what?"

Bella forced her trembling hands apart as she approached him cautiously. She carefully knelt down in front of him and looked up into his curious eyes. "What are you doing?" He demanded. "Are you begging now?"

"I am not going to beg for anything. I'm kneeling here to ask you to marry me. I love you Jake and I...I want us to be married." Bella couldn't seem to stop stammering. She so wanted to appear confident but the way he was glaring at her made her feel uncomfortable.

"Why?" Jacob asked incredulously. "Why are you saying this now?"

"Because I'm pregnant and I love you." She watched his eyes widen as his face registered his shock. "You're going to be a dad, Jake. We're going to have a baby."

A/N-thanks for reading!