A/N: I don't own Twilight.

Long a/n here, sorry.

First of all, thanks to everyone who has taken the time to review my story. It doesn't take a lot of time, but it means a lot to me. For those of you who haven't done it yet, I send teasers for the next chapter when I respond!

Okay, quick question for anyone reading planning on following it. I was wondering what you would think of a couple chapters done from BPOV. I want to keep the story as mostly EPOV, but I thought that maybe a couple of chapters from Bella might be helpful. First of all, they would help illuminate the readers on what Bella is thinking and feeling. Since we have been seeing her through Edward, it is harder to know how she actually feels. Since she is not the most forthcoming character, a little illumination might be helpful so that her actions in the future don't seem so out there. Second, something important is going to happen that Edward won't be around for. I don't want you all to miss that. Lastly, I have to admit, Edward isn't speaking to me at the moment. I have another two chapters written that will follow this one and some written for farther down the road, but am a little stuck in the in-between part. Working with Bella might be helpful in getting rid of some of my writer's block. However, if you guys aren't interested in hearing from her or you think it will be too weird, I won't do it. I'll just force Edward to come out of hiding. Anyways, send me a message on what you think!

Back to the drama!

Chapter Eleven

Another week went by. Bella was becoming more and more like her self. She still mourned the loss of her baby and her relationship with Jacob, but she was getting to the point when they weren't on her mind every second of the day.

The tension between the two of us had eased; partly because we were friends now and could joke around with each other, and partly because I was making every effort to not be as intense, to not overcrowd her. There were still moments, though. Whenever she caught me staring at her, she would blush, or sometimes stammer if she was talking, or trip if she was walking.

My family seemed to be amused by the development in our relationship. I often caught them smirking when they thought I wasn't looking or paying attention, my siblings anyways. Esme seemed a little smug and Carlisle just looked happy. They were all convinced that she did or would be able to return my feelings. Of course, it was still way too early. Two months was hardly enough time for your average human to get over a seven-year absence, the death of a child, and losing a husband/best friend to another woman. Besides, she still hadn't spoken to that husband/best friend yet.

One day, Bella, Jasper, and I were sitting in the main part of the house. Jasper and Bella were reading, or at least pretending to read. Bella was preoccupied with something else and Jasper was paying more attention to her than to his book. Recently, Jasper had increased his supervision of Bella because there was a growing tension and worry in her that didn't seem to have a direct correlation to me or anyone else in the family. The atmosphere in the room was beginning to grow unbearable, only because I could read everything Jasper was taking in and it stressed me out. He wasn't purposely trying to make me anxious as well. Finally, I spun around on the piano bench where I had been tinkering with a composition.

"Bella, what's the matter? You've got Jasper all worked up here."

"Huh?" She seemed startled by my question, as if I had pulled her from some abstraction.

"What are you thinking about, Bella. You've got Jasper so worked up that he's begun to spread the feeling to me. He's not doing it intentionally, but it's beginning to get quite uncomfortable in here."

"Oh, sorry," she smiled with chagrin at Jasper.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to broadcast your feelings."

"You weren't, Jasper." I pointed to my temple.

"What has you worried, Bella? Is there anything Edward or I can do?"

"I don't think so. I just— I just think I should talk to Jacob. It's almost been two months. He's got to be very upset and I should talk to him and let him know I'm okay."

"Are you ready for that?" I asked, thinking of the significance that this conversation was going to have for Bella.

She closed her eyes, holding back some emotion.

Jasper came closer to her, sitting on the couch cushion next to her. "Don't hold back your feelings, Bella. It's okay to feel them."

A tear ran down her cheek.

I couldn't stop myself from going to her, kneeling at her feet, and taking her hand.

She opened her eyes and squeezed my hand, giving me a half-hearted smile.

"Thanks, guys. Yeah, I think I'm ready. I need to let him go, both for his sake and my own."

"Do you want to call him or would you like me to?" I offered.

She smiled. "Actually, I'll just text him." Her smile turned to a smirk at my amused expression. I was only amused because she had never sent a text message in high school. It seemed sort of funny that she was now; it was very atypical of her usual middle-aged personality. "What?" she asked. "It was about time I got with it and joined the rest of my generation!"

Of course, she hadn't completely joined her generation, as her cell phone wasn't permanently glued to her hand or her pocket. I ran up the stairs and retrieved it from her bedside table so she could stay where she was.

"Thanks," she said dryly. "Walking up those stairs would have been too much for me."

"No need to get sarcastic, young lady. I was only preserving you the unnecessary effort."

"Yeah," Jasper said. "As Rosalie would say, what's the point of having boys around if they can't fetch and carry things for you?"

"Emily used to say the same thing about the pack, only she said dogs rather than boys." She giggled.

Jasper and I smiled. "I like Emily," I said.

"Yeah, me too. I miss her. I should probably call her sometime. She's left me a billion messages."

Bella sent Jacob a text. He got back to her fairly quickly. He was in class at the moment, but said he'd come out to our house afterwards. He seemed very excited that Bella was willing to talk to him again. Though, knowing what Bella would be saying to him, he should have been more worried than hopeful.

During the interim hours between the times she sent the message and when Jacob would be coming, Bella was fidgety and nervous. She paced frequently, not seeming able to sit still for very long.

Finally, Jasper asked "May I?" It took her a second to realize what he was asking, but then she nodded her head. Within seconds, she relaxed again, though there was still a subtle edge to her.

We didn't know if Jacob would be coming alone, or if Sam would make him bring backup as Sam had done when he went to Bella's house to bring Emily her things. Until we knew, we were on the defensive. Coming onto our land would be difficult for any of the wolves, though Jacob would probably be able to handle himself. When Bella walked into the woods where she said she would meet him, Jasper and I stayed closest, a little less than a mile away from her. It wasn't close enough that we could interfere with their conversation, but it was close enough that we could intervene if things got bad. Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Rosalie, and Emmett waited a little farther back in case more of the pack than Jacob showed up. Bella was seriously annoyed by our precautions, but she accepted them, knowing it would be futile to try and dissuade us from our natural protectiveness.

When I realized that it was only Jacob who was coming, I told everyone except Jasper that they could leave. Between the two of us, we could handle him if anything were to happen.

Bella stood waiting by a tall spruce tree at the edge of a small clearing beyond the river. When she came into Jacob's view, he paused at first, looking to see if she was alone. When he determined that she was for the most part alone, he picked up his pace again.

"Bella," he said, his voice thick with feeling.

She cut in before he could say anything else. "Before you say anything, I just wanted to apologize to you for what I said, for making you leave and then not talking to you at the funeral."

"I don't blame you."

"I would like to hear about how it happened. Who is she?" I could hear the sadness in her voice, but no anger. I couldn't sense any of that emotion in Jasper's reading either. My poor, brave Bella.

"A girl in one of my classes. Her name is Olivia." I could hear Jacob warring with his own emotions at Bella's calm tone.

"Is she pretty?" Bella asked.

"Bella, we don't have to talk about that."

"I know, but I'd like to know. I bet she is wonderful. Anyone who could catch your love would have to be amazing."

Jacob couldn't answer her immediately. He only slammed his fist on a nearby tree.

"Damn it!" he finally said. "Damn it, Bella, I'm so sorry." His voice broke on the last three words.

"We always knew this could happen."

"Yes, but why? I mean, I have you. Why do I need her? Who is she to me? She's a stranger!"

"She's your soul-mate."

"No! You're my soul-mate!" he yelled, but even while exclaiming this, he knew he was wrong. He knew that, as much as he wished he were Bella's, he was not, not anymore.

"Jacob, I'm going to let you go. I'm going to let you go because I love you."

"I don't know how to do this," he whispered as he stared at the forest floor.

Bella took a few steps towards him, and reaching up, ran her fingers through his hair. "I'll help you." They were quiet for a few moments. "You know, I always thought I would be jealous if you found your imprint, but strangely, I'm not. Somehow, this all makes sense. I was never right for you. I have never been able to give you what you want." She said the last sentence mournfully. I could tell that she was referring to Laurel.

A burst of anger shot through him. "That's a lie, Bella! I've never been good enough for you! And you gave me everything! How could that not be enough?" He took in several deep breaths. "It wasn't supposed to happen this way, not loosing the baby, not Olivia! Damn her! Why did I have to see her? I could've just been happy with you!" He slammed his fist again.

"This is all going to make sense one day, Jake."1 They were quiet again, Bella with her own thoughts, Jacob trying to soothe his anger and understand the other emotions he felt roiling underneath the surface.

"I guess you're going to go back to him now. You know, it all does; it all goes back to him."

"You mean—you mean Edward."

"Yes." Jacob had more to say, but he waited a minute to let Bella adjust to the emotions my name brought on.

"What do you mean?" she asked warily. "Do you mean to say that you blame him for all of this?"

"Yes. If his kind didn't exist, then I wouldn't be a freak. You and I would have been together, naturally, and I wouldn't have imprinted. Even if he did exist and you did fall in love with him, if he hadn't left, we never would have come together and we wouldn't have to be suffering like this; I wouldn't be hurting you like I am!"

"Do you regret everything we've had together?"

Jacob was surprised she had come to this conclusion, but he thought it over, finally realizing what she had heard in his words.

"No, of course not. I didn't mean it like that. I just— I think we got off on the wrong track somehow, the wrong course, and that a lot of that hinges on him."2

"Jake, I understand why you blame him, but I cannot."

"Bella, there's something I need to ask you. I've wanted to ask you for a long time, but I never could, but I need to now." He paused, reading her face. "Do you still love him?"

Bella hissed in a breath in surprise. I began to feel a burning inside of me; I was so afraid of what I was about to hear.

"It's been a long time, you know, and I have loved you in the time since he left." It was clear she was evading the question. Was this for my sake, or for his?

"I—I think you do, somehow, somewhere. I've always kind of thought that."

I could see it in her face, and in Jasper's assessment, Bella's temper was rising at these words. "I don't know what I have done to make you think that, but I think I understand why you might hope that. It would certainly ease your conscience to know that I am back in his arms, that he is protecting me. You won't have to worry about me any more. Is that why you are okay with me staying with the Cullens?"

Jacob took in several shocked and hurt breaths.

"I'm sorry," she amended. "I shouldn't have said that."

He continued to breathe in deeply. "No, you're right. Even if I despise him, it will ease my guilt somewhat, to know that you are being loved, even if it is by something so repulsive to me. But, Bella, I still love you; I love you so much. I mean, it's different, but it's still there. This is killing me!"

"I believe you. This isn't going to be easy for me, either. But, Jake, he doesn't love me. He is only here because he has the biggest guilt complex of anyone roaming this earth. I have no doubt that he would agree with your placement of the blame on his shoulders. I see no other reason for his being here. He's not taking me back. I am no different than I was at eighteen. I am still weak, boring, and plain. He made it quite clear to me that he didn't want me when he left. And he hasn't done anything since his return to show any change towards me. I mean, we're friends now, but he doesn't want me."

Jacob looked at her skeptically. He was sure that I had feelings for her. Hadn't I said as much? Also, it hadn't passed by him that she never said that she didn't want me. Bella averted her eyes and stared down at her long, slender fingers, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.

He ran a finger down her cheek. "I'm so sorry, Bella. I'm sorry for all of this, for not being there for you when you lost the baby, for being a monster, for taking my love away from you and giving it to a stranger. I'm sorry for making it so that you had no one to turn to except those who have hurt you as deeply as I have. I wish you could have a different life—a better one. I wish you could be with someone who would stay with you and not break your heart. I wish you could have a child to care for." Jake let a tear fall down his face without wiping it away.

After wiping the moisture from her own face and composing herself, she asked, "When will you go to her?"

"I don't know. We don't exactly know each other, you know. I haven't even spoken to her yet, even after all this time. I couldn't, not yet." He laughed bitterly. "Not that she'll think too much of me when we do start talking. 'Oh yeah, I formed an everlasting and unconditional commitment to you the day my wife went into premature labor and our baby died. I left her as soon as I could so that I could be with you.' I'm sure she'll think I'm a real catch." He sighed. "I guess it doesn't matter. Just because she's my imprint doesn't mean we'll ever be together. She is well within her rights to hate me. Of course, it won't change me. I'd gladly be her punching bag for the rest of her life if that is the only thing she wants from me."

"Has that ever happened in the legends, you know, the imprint hating the wolf?"

"Not that I know of. I guess the closest is with Emily and Sam. She was furious with him in the beginning, pretty much hated him, actually." He sighed. "Doesn't exactly set a good precedent for me, does it?"

"So, so— are we getting a divorce, then?"

"I don't know, Bella. I guess that is up to you. I don't know how things are going to be with Olivia. I just know that, as much as it might hurt, I will not be able to refuse her anything, and that is not fair to you. But, we don't have to do this now."

Bella spoke slowly. "I think that getting a divorce would be the right thing. I want you to be free of any obligation or duty towards me."

"A stupid piece of paper isn't going to get rid of my feelings towards you."

She nodded. "Maybe, but time will. You deserve to be free, Jake. I'm not going to hold you back. You can just pretend that we were never together if it helps you."

He sank to his knees, wrapping his arms around her and resting his head on her chest. "Bella, I'd never want to do that. I'd never want to forget you."

"But you should; you'll be so much happier if you do, and Jake, I want you to be happy."

"I don't deserve it," he mumbled.

"Oh, Jake! You deserve happiness more than anyone else I know. Olivia is going to give you more happiness than I ever could."

"Bella, I never deserved you. I really hope you can be happy, too, despite how fucked up this all is. I love you so much. I never wanted to hurt you."

"I know, Jake. I love you, too. That's why I forgive you and why I'm going to let you go now."

"This sucks."

"Yes."

They held onto each other for a while, but then Jacob stood up, still keeping Bella's hands in his own.

"So, how are you? Last I heard from Emily, you weren't doing so well. You look great, though."

"Yeah, I wasn't doing so well for a while, but I'm feeling a lot better now. I'm still sad, of course, but I'm coping. It's been helpful having an entire house full of vampires who have made it their mission to help me. They left me alone for a while, but they've definitely upped the ante on their Bella-rescue-mission. What about you?"

"Well, like you said, it was rough at first, but I'm trying to come to terms with it. Some parts are harder to accept than others, though. But, there's nothing I can do to fix it now, right?" He let a gusty sigh. "Anyways, what have you been up to since you've been here?" His eyes flickered up to the direction of the house.

"Not too much. I listen to their stories, read, watch them do stuff, and go on walks with Esme. I went hiking with Edward in Mt. Rainier Park last week. It was gorgeous there."

"So you've been spending time with him, huh?"

Bella eyed him warily. Whatever was on his face reassured her. "Yeah, we're friends now."

"Yeah, the friends thing definitely worked for me. It's a pretty solid technique."

"Real funny, Jacob Black."

He laughed. "I'm teasing you, Bella. Calm down. So, when am I going to see you again? I've missed you. Though, I can understand if you don't want to see me anymore."

"No, I'd like to. I might need some time, though."

"I understand. So, is this goodbye?"

"For now. I'll— I'll send you those papers."

Jacob frowned deeply at that. "Divorced at 23."

"It's the right thing, Jake."

"Sure, sure. Can I have a hug before I go?"

"Of course." Jacob enveloped her in his tight embrace, breathing in deeply, trying to take in as much of her as he could— something I could understand well.

"I can't believe I'm never going to get to be with you again, Bells. I don't know how I'm going to continue to go on without having you in my arms at night."

"We'll get through this, Jake. You won't have to be lonely for too long. You'll get the courage up to talk to Olivia and it won't be long— I just know it."

"Ah, the power of wishful thinking."

She didn't respond to this, she just continued to hold him.

"Anyways, I'll miss you, Bells." He pulled back a little and kissed her very lightly on the lips and her cheeks. She kissed him back. These weren't kisses of passion, but a mark of their bond in friendship and their mutual love and understanding.

When he let go of her, they stared at each other for a little while longer, but then, squaring his shoulders, he turned from her and started to lope off deeper into the forest.

A/N:1 and 2 Bella tells Jake the same things in Breaking Dawn. I don't feel like looking up the page number, though.

A/N: Okay, dolls, here's chapter twelve. Sorry it took me so long to get it to you. As I told you all, Edward was not being his usual chatty self. I had some of this chapter already written, but the rest was like pulling my teeth out. I know many of you said you wouldn't be averse to hearing BPOV next, but I'm still deliberating. If Edward is a good boy, I might just continue with EPOV and then publish a separate BPOV as a sort of companion to this story. We'll see. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this one.

A big thanks to the faithful 1962, who sent me a PM recently and asked me when I was going to submit again. Thanks for reading and thanks for caring. If I could, I'd send Edward to you wearing a sopping wet white t-shirt, some torn-up jeans, and a sexy, crooked smile, with strict instructions to do whatever naughty things you tell him to do.