Sam's POV
I was in one of the guest rooms cleaning it out. I had more than one room. It was just that I'd used the other two as virtual closets. But with Bella and Renesmee here for an extended period of time, I was going to have to get rooms ready for the both of them.
I soon heard the door open. I didn't bother stopping what I was doing. I knew it was a member of the Pack. I'd commandeered them to help me clean the place out.
Sure enough, moments later, I heard Jared's voice. "Hey, Sam."
I turned to see him, Paul, and Embry. "Hey. We need to get this place cleared out. Paul and Embry, I want you guys to clean out the room next to this one. Jared, you help me here. And be quiet about it. Bella and the baby are sleeping in the living room.
"Yeah, we saw them. Why are we doing this? Up until recently, you spent all your time at Emily's," Embry said.
I cringed at the mention of Emily. She wasn't going to respond well to this arrangement. Bella and her child were going to be in my house for the next year. Emily liked Bella and all, but something like this would test any woman's patience and kindness. "Yeah, well, that's gonna change for a while. I'm gonna be sticking around here with Bella and the baby."
"What?! You're keeping that thing on our land?!" Paul yelled angrily.
I heard Renesmee start to stir in the other room. I glared at Paul for a minute before rushing to the baby's side. I didn't want to wake Bella, as she was still recovering from surgery. I immediately picked Renesmee up from the pink bassinet that was stationed by the couch. "Hey, little one. It's alright. Come on, why don't you come with me so we don't wake, Mama?"
I carried Renesmee into the other room with me where the boys were all waiting. I immediately turned my attention to them. "Let me make this clear. None of you will say one bad thing about this baby in front of her, Bella, or myself. Do you understand?"
Embry and Jared both nodded. Neither of them seemed to have much of a problem with Renesmee. Paul was the real wild card. Him and Leah were gonna be the real problems.
Paul glared at me and the baby.
"Paul," I said in warning tone.
"Whatever. I'm gonna start with the other room.
Renesmee raised her hand to my face. 'Who are they?'
"These are my friends, Renesmee. You've already seen Jared. This is Embry and the other man was Paul," I told her before looking at the boys who looked confused. "She wanted to know who you were."
"Yeah, Jared said she could show you her thoughts. They're really staying her? Bella can't be thrilled," Embry said.
"Actually, she agreed. I gave her the choice," I told him. I was actually surprised when Bella said she'd stay. I'd hoped she would, but I wasn't overoptimistic. Then again, she didn't have many options either. She was going to need help with a child like Renesmee and she certainly couldn't trust the leeches.
"Really? I figured she'd run as far away as possible," Embry said and Jared nodded his agreement.
"I think I'm the lesser of two evils right now," I said.
"Well, I guess we should start. Uh, what do you wanna do with all this crap, Sam?" Jared asked.
"Just toss it. I haven't touched or even thought about most of it in years," I said as I gently bounced Renesmee.
Just then we all heard the door open and close again. Seconds later, Seth, Quil, and Leah came in. I was less than thrilled with Leah's presence. Things were still really awkward with her and I was worried about her reaction to Renesmee. I knew she would be just as much of a problem, if not more so, than Paul. "Hey, thanks for coming.
"No problem. Jake's on his way too. He's not thrilled. Apparently he's been fielding calls from Edward all day," Seth said.
"The leech apparently wants his lover back. Good riddance. He can take her and his spawn," Leah said hatefully.
"Leah, back off. You will not speak about either of them like that. You will treat Bella and Renesmee with respect," I said quietly, but firmly.
"Her name's Renesmee," Seth asked as he approached and took in Renesmee's form. "She's beautiful. Can I hold her?"
"No way! Are you crazy, Seth. Who knows what it could do to you?" Leah asked.
I glared at Leah intently for a minute before turning back to Seth. "Yeah, I think that's fine. Just be careful," I said before transferring him over to her.
Seth took her, supporting her head with his arm. He looked down at her in awe. "Wow, this is so cool. She looks a lot like Bella."
"Yeah, she has her eyes," I said.
Quil leaned over Seth and reached over to touch Renesmee's arm. "Her skin's hard, but it's really warm, like any other baby's would be."
"Yeah, she's special," I said.
Renesmee giggled. She clearly liked the attention. Then she touched Seth's cheek and he suddenly gasped. "Whoa!"
"What did it do to you?" Leah asked as she advanced.
I immediately got in between them and took Renesmee from Seth. "Back off, Leah."
"She didn't do anything. She spoke to me, through her mind. She asked who I was and who Quil was. I'm Seth, Renesmee, and this is Quil."
Suddenly Bella's voice rang through the house. "Sam?"
"Back here, Bella!" I called to her.
Bella joined us a second later. "Oh, I didn't know everyone was here."
"Well, we're not all here, but most of us are. Sam asked us to help clean up the spare rooms some," Seth said.
"We're cleaning them up so you and Renesmee will have your own rooms," I said.
"Wait, they're staying here. You're gonna let that thing with you?" Leah asked in disbelief.
Bella narrowed her eyes at Leah. "Hey! Don't you ever insult my daughter!"
"Leah, I think you should go," I said through gritted teeth. The only thing stopping me from screaming and going Alpha was the little girl in my arms.
"Gladly," Leah said before storming out of the room.
Renesmee touched me and used her gift once more. 'Mad?'
"Yes, a little bit, but it's okay," I told her.
"What is it?" Bella asked as she rushed forward.
"She wanted to know if I was angry," I told her.
Just then, someone else came in. "That must be Jake. We're back here, Jake!" Seth called.
Jacob came back a second later. "Hey. Hi, Bella. You're looking much better."
"Jacob," Bella said coolly. She obviously wasn't ready to forgive Jacob any more than she was me.
"Thanks for coming, Jacob. Between all of us, we should be able to get this place cleaned out quick," I said.
"Sure. Um, the leech has been calling me all day. He wants us to let Bella go. He threatened to break the treaty," Jacob said.
I barely managed to suppress a growl, again, it was only because of Renesmee.
"Did he mention Renesmee?" Bella asked. A part of her was probably still hoping the leech would come around like I had.
"Uh, yeah, but I don't think you wanna know what he said," Jacob said.
"It's up to you, Bella. I will allow him entrance once if that's what you want," I told her. Once was all he got though. I wasn't going to give him access to La Push, and definitely not my home. I didn't trust him one bit. Out of all the Cullens, he was the one most likely to do something stupid.
"I'm gonna have to talk to him. I have to tell him what I've decided and I don't want him to break the treaty," Bella said.
"Tell him he's allowed once. Tomorrow morning," I told Jacob.
"Okay, I'll…" Jacob trailed off as his eyes locked with Renesmee's. He just kept staring at him for several seconds. He wouldn't take his eyes off of her.
"Jacob?" I asked concerned. It was starting unnerve me how he was looking at Renesmee.
"Holy crap! You didn't!" Quil asked in disbelief.
It took me a minute, but soon I figured out what happened. Jacob had just imprinted on Bella's baby.
"What's going on? Why are you staring at my daughter, Jacob?" Bella demanded to know.
I immediately handed Renesmee off to the closest person, which happened to be Quil. I then grabbed Jacob by the arm and hauled him out of the room. He tried to stop me, wanting to get back to Renesmee, but I didn't let up. I dragged him through the house and out the front door. "What the hell did you do?!"
"I didn't mean to. I couldn't help it," Jacob said.
Bella came out seconds later. "What the hell's going on?"
"I didn't choose it, I swear! It's just like with Quil and Claire," Jacob said almost pleadingly, like he was begging for Bella not to be mad at him.
"Quil and Claire? You imprinted?! On my baby?!" Bella yelled in disbelief.
"I couldn't help it! I looked at her and it just happened," he said.
"You can't… She's just a day old!" Bella exclaimed in disbelief.
I had to force myself to calm down because I didn't like this either. I already felt a connection to Renesmee and the thought of her being imprinted on pissed me off. But I had to remember that imprinting wasn't about an instant mating bond. Quil and Claire were proof of that. "Okay, it won't be like that Bella, not for a very long time. Tell her, Jacob."
"He's right. I don't see her as a mate. I just… I feel the need to protect her now because that's what she needs from me. I will be what she needs when she needs it," Jacob said quickly.
"Why? Why did you have to imprint on my baby?" Bella asked, still very upset.
"I don't know. It's not something I have any control over. It happened without me even realizing it until it was over. I didn't even realize what had happened until Sam was dragging me away," Jacob said.
"Bella, I know you don't like this. I'm not exactly thrilled either, but if legends are right, he won't feel anything for her romantically until she's ready," I promised her.
"He better damn well not," Bella said before going back inside.
I turned to Jacob. "Go home."
Jacob immediately started to object. "But…"
"You need to give her some time, Jacob. You just told her you imprinted on her baby. That's not something she's going to just accept in one day. Go home," I told him again more forcefully.
Looking defeated, Jacob began walking away.
