Rekindling What's Meant to Be

JacobxBella

Rated T

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Rekindling What's Meant to Be

Chapter 11

Angela hummed to herself as she sat at her laptop, typing away at her new book. She stopped typing momentarily when she heard a soft giggle from behind her. A smile appeared on her face and she went back to typing, smiling more at the giggling and how it seemed to be getting closer. She finished typing the paragraph she was writing. Before hitting the 'save' button and turning around, coming face to face with Sarah with a feather duster.

"Trying to sneak up on me to tickle me, huh?" Angela asked teasingly, raising an eyebrow as Sarah's less than guilty expression.

Sarah giggled and said, "I was, but you caught me before I could."

"I have a lot of experience in catching sneaking people. Take Embry for example. He moves very light on his feet, yet I can always catch him whenever he's either trying to sneak up on me, or sneak into the house late at night."

"Why would he have to come home late at night?"

Angela paused in her answer, careful not to spill that it was because her husband was a wolf Shifter and would sometimes patrol at night. Instead she said, "Because he hangs out with his friends and forgets to come home."

"So daddy gets Embry in trouble?"

"Sometimes, yes."

Sarah giggled before reading the paragraph the woman had written. Nodding she said, "This looks good so far. I can't wait to read it when it's published."

Angela grinned and blushed lightly before saying, "It'll have to be edited and such before it can be published. But I promise that when I'm done, you can have the raw, unedited book, as well as an autographed published hardcover from me."

An excited gasp left Sarah's throat as she stared up at Angela like she was a goddess. She let out a happy cheer before hugging the bespectacled woman, thanking her immensely as she did. That was how Embry found them as he stopped by his wife's office. He smiled at the sight, thinking this will be Angela and their own child in a few years after she had their baby. She was only two months along, but he was already excited to be a father.

A knock on the door caught his attention and he went to answer it. Opening the door, he saw that it was Jacob and Bella. Greeting them, he invited them inside and called Angela to let her know Jacob and Bella were there. Sarah ran in from Angela's office and hugged her parents, animatedly telling them about all of the fun she had with the Calls. Jacob laughed as he listened, Bella smiling as she listened to her daughter talk excitedly about the time she had while she and Jacob had been at the hospital visiting Leah. Remembering the scene of jealousy she had put on at the hospital, Bella's smile slipped a bit and it did not go unnoticed by Angela, her having walked into the living room not too long ago.

Seeming to know something was wrong with her friend, Angela said, "Bella, come take a walk with me."

Bella looked at the tall woman in shock at first before nodding and telling Jacob and Sarah that she would be back soon. As the two women left the house, Embry turned to Jacob and asked, "Is everything alright?"

Jacob was silent for a moment before finally saying, "I think Bella is fighting to stay in denial that she wants me."

"But she already loves you. I don't see why she wouldn't want you, daddy," Sarah butt in, a slightly confused expression on her face.

Smiling softly, Jacob ruffled his daughter's hair before saying, "I know she still loves me, but I want it to be her decision to be with me, not because we think she should. She must want me without being pressured or manipulated to. I don't want to force her or make her think she wants to be with me like her leech."

Sarah frowned. "Her leech? What does that mean?"

Embry coughed briefly, giving his Packmate a knowing look to cover his slipup. Realizing his mistake, Jacob thought quickly and said, "It's what we would call Cullen. We called him 'leech' because…well…"

"Because he seemed to always be stuck to mom's side? He still does it now or did while we lived in Colorado."

"Yeah, that's it. That's why we called him 'leech'."

"Smooth," Embry said, rolling his eyes.

Jacob shot his friend a glare before turning back to Sarah. The preteen was looking up at him with a strange look before shrugging to herself. She then asked if they could poker, a skill the blonde leech (Rosalie, or Aunt Rosie as Sarah called her) had taught his child. Embry and Jacob gave each other amused looks before agreeing, Embry going to find his deck of cards while Jacob and Sarah settled at the coffee table in the living room. While waiting, Sarah looked at her father and asked, "Daddy, can I ask you something?"

"Sure Sarah," Jacob replied.

"It's obvious you and mom still love each other. If she loved you back then, and she still loves you now, then how come she chose her husband over you?

Jacob looked into Sarah's chocolate brown eyes brimming with innocent curiosity. It was so unfair that she was in the middle of all the mess that was his and Bella's lives. And he wanted so much to tell her the entire truth that Bella wouldn't, but he also wasn't sure if she was ready to not only hear but accept it. He didn't want any supernatural information to corrupt her and mess up her life like it had his and Bella's. But concerning her question, he decided to tell her part of the truth.

"She chose Cullen because she said that even though she loved me, she just didn't love me enough," Jacob answered, the familiar pain about the situation settling in his chest.

Sarah frowned and said, "But you can't be in love with two people at once. You're either in love with one or the other, not both. It's impossible and not fair to either party. And all it does is hurt the person that is supposedly in love with both parties in the end."

It amazed Jacob how smart his daughter was and how quickly she saw the flaw in the situation faster than he or Bella had seen it. Smiling softly yet sadly, Jacob said, "I wish we would have known that thirteen years ago."

"It's not your fault. If anything—and I hate to say this—the fault falls on mom." Sarah then lowered her voice. "You won't tell her I said that, will you?"

Jacob chuckled softly. "No, I won't. Besides, I think your mom already knows."

Embry took that moment to walk back in with his deck of cards, sitting at the coffee table with his friend and daughter. He had heard everything that had been said but decided to act like he didn't hear a thing. He glanced at Jacob who was looking at him, shaking his head to let him know he wouldn't say anything or share the conversation exchanged between him and Sarah. Jacob nodded at him gratefully before he began to divvy up the cards.

Angela walked a ways away from her home, Bella following behind her before finally stopping. Turning to face the brunette she asked, "What's troubling you, Bella?"

Bella wasn't surprised Angela knew something was wrong with her. She had always been able to pick up on things concerning her even back in high school, more so than Jessica Stanley. Sighing, Bella answered, "Angela, I'm conflicted."

"About what?"

"My feelings for Jacob. I think…I think I may be…falling for him again."

Angela titled her head slightly. "And that's a bad thing?"

"I guess not, but I don't want to be. Angela, I've made so many bad decisions in the past and hurt so many people. I can't bear to hurt Jacob again."

"How do you know you will hurt him again?"

"Because I always end up hurting someone! Even if I don't mean to!" Frustrated tears began to prick at her eyes. "I want Jacob to be happy, but he won't be happy with me; I just know it."

"Bella, I think you're just scared. These feelings of yours have been repressed for a while, only letting them surface from time to time. I imagine it was because of Edward, but you have. But all of these personal issues of yours stem from how you handled, or failed to handle, events back when we were teenagers concerning Edward, Jacob, and yourself. Personally, I believe you chose Edward not because of a promise or that you were as in love with him as you thought, but because he was your safe choice."

Bella stared at Angela in confusion. "What do you mean my 'safe choice'?"

"I mean that you chose Edward so you wouldn't have to deal with and face anymore heartache. But in doing so, you just caused yourself more. Understand that I'm not saying this to be mean, I'm just making a point."

Bella knew she was right, absolutely right. It was just sad that she had to realize this years later. But perhaps it was because she was too close to the situation, rather than looking at it from an outside perspective like Angela. Yes, Angela was involved now being married to Embry, but she still looked at it from the outside rather than from the inside like she and everyone else involved. Choosing Edward had been a safe choice, but not the right choice like she had originally thought. She had thought it was right to choose Edward because she thought she was irrevocably in love with him, was going to be a vampire as she had promised the Volturi and like she had wanted, and she would be away from Jacob and wouldn't hurt him anymore. But really, she chose Edward to run away from Jacob, to run away from Imprinting, something she was afraid of Jacob doing. Sure, Jacob wasn't Imprinted to anyone now after all these years, but the fear that he would was still present.

"But I think that is only part of the reason you want to talk to me. I might have gone a bit more in depth about it," Angela said, giving the brunette an apologetic smile for speaking more on the subject than was probably necessary at the moment.

Bella took a deep breath before speaking again. "Jacob and I went to the hospital to visit Leah and see if there was any progress of her condition. On our way out, a nurse stopped us to flirt with Jacob and ask him out. She even gave him her number, but I ripped it up in a display of jealousy and caused a scene. After that, Jacob pretty much made it plain to me that he not only still has feelings for me, but that I'm the only one he'd want to date. And…and it made my heart race. It was like…like when we were teenagers."

Angela gave Bella a smile. "You still love him, Bella. Whether you want to admit it or not, whether you want it to be true or not, you're still in love with him. You should really, seriously give him a chance. Give Jacob and yourself the chance that you didn't give yourselves thirteen years ago. And if you really open up your heart this time and be true to yourself in how you feel, I promise you won't regret it."

"But what about…Imprinting?" Bella couldn't help but hesitate in even agreeing with her friend's words. She couldn't knowing Imprinting was still a thing that could hang over their heads.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much."

"Why not?"

The bespectacled woman smiled at Bella. "Because if you two weren't meant to be, Sarah wouldn't exist. I'm not Embry's Imprint by any means. He didn't Imprint on me either, but we still gave ourselves a chance. And now look at us; we're married and expecting a baby of our own. If things weren't meant to be the way they are now, then we wouldn't be happy like we are now. Therefore, Imprinting be damned."

Bella was stunned at the accuracy of Angela's words. She wouldn't have gotten pregnant with Jacob's child and had Sarah if they weren't meant to be. And Angela had basically admitted that Embry had never Imprinted on her, but she and him were happily married and having a baby of their own. Maybe Angela was right, maybe she just needed to give her and Jacob the chance she couldn't give before. Hugging her tall friend closely Bella whispered, "Thank you, Ang. You have no idea how much your words mean to me right now."

"You're welcome, Bella." She then pulled away and they headed back to her home. "Of course, I'd still take some time to think, but I really believe you have nothing to wait for now. If anything, you should go for it and rekindle what you two once had, what's meant to be."

"I think I will."

The two women soon made it back to the Call home and walked inside, spotting Embry, Jacob, and Sarah in an intense round of poker that the men seemed to be failing miserably. A few turns later, Embry put his cards down and said, "Four of a kind."

Jacob chuckled and showed his cards saying, "Straight flush. Read 'em and weep."

"Uh, you read 'em and weep, daddy," Sarah said with a smirk before showing her cards. "Royal flush."

Embry and Jacob stared at the twelve year old astonished as Sarah gathered the stack of money that was in the middle of the table. Bella rolled her eyes and shook her head fondly, Angela giggling herself before announcing that they were welcome to stay for dinner. Jacob and Bella thanked her, but politely declined the invitation knowing they had to get home to make their own dinner and have a plate ready for Billy. The five of them said their 'goodbyes' before Jacob, Bella, and Sarah left the house and climbed into Jacob's car, soon heading back to the Black home.

As they drove, Sarah looked at her mother before asking, "Mom, when are you and daddy going to go on a date? You know, get together like you should have been before?"

Bella turned to look wide-eyed at her daughter before turning to face Jacob. Jacob had a light blush on his face, but otherwise showed no other sign of surprise or embarrassment from their daughter's blunt question. Deciding Angela was right in that she needed to take a chance, Bella smiled and answered, "Hopefully this weekend, so long as your father isn't busy."

Jacob's eyes widened almost comically before he slammed on breaks and parked the car. Turning to face the brunette, he asked, "Really? You mean it, Bells?"

"Yes, so long as you want to."

"I definitely do."

Sarah looked back and forth between her parents, taking note of how her father's eyes sparkled and were full of love as he gazed at her mother. Her mother, though seemingly shy, seemed to be happy about the answer her father had given her. Grinning she giggled to herself, happy that her parents were going on a date soon. If all went well, they would soon be a family again, and she wouldn't have to go back to Colorado to her mother's husband's family.