Chapter Twelve

Jacob parked the Volvo at the edge of the woods. Nessie remained where she was, staring at the dark forest before her.

"Jake... it's not that I don't trust you-"

Jacob just laughed, stepping out of the car. Nessie followed suit, standing outside the passenger's side, her arms folded over her chest as she shivered, and began bouncing around to keep warm.

"You still haven't told me where we're going," she pointed out.

"I know," Jacob replied, tossing Nessie a jacket from the back seat of the Volvo. "Now put this on."

"And then you'll tell me?" Nessie asked, pulling the jacket around her shoulders.

"Nope," Jacob replied, still grinning.

He reached down to pull off his sweat pants, when he suddenly caught Nessie eyeing him curiously.

"I'll be right back," he said, heading towards the woods.

"Aw, come on!" Nessie called after him.

Jacob ran far enough away so that Nessie did not stand a chance of seeing him before pulling off his pants and tying them to his ankle. Only then did he allow the quivers to take over...

Nessie's face lit up as the giant, russet wolf came walking back out of the woods towards her. She rushed over, burying her face in his masses of fur.

"Mm... I love wolf-Jacob," she muttered.

Jacob let out a wheezing laugh, and crouched down so Nessie could leap onto his back. She did so, grabbing onto his fur tightly to keep her balance.

"Take me away," she whispered. And Jacob went darting off into the woods.

Nessie closed her eyes, letting the cold wind rush into her face. She could feel her curls flowing behind her, and a smile grew on her face as she tightened her grip on Jacob's fur. She loved flying through the woods as if she were a bird, soaring over the world below. It gave her a sense of freedom that she never had on foot.

A freedom that she never had without Jacob.

After several minutes, Nessie and Jacob arrived at a wide, grassy clearing. The moonlight shone down on the patch of grass like a spotlight, as if it were just there to illuminate that one spot. The grass and all the surrounding trees sparkled in the light of the stars, and the cold wind seemed to disappear the minute they arrived.

Nessie let out a small gasp, as Jacob knelt down again, allowing her to slide onto the soft grass. She landed gently, still in her toe-shoes, and began to walk carefully to the center of the moonlit patch. A small breeze pushed her curls back, but she could not force her eyes to close again. She was in awe, gazing at the incredible beauty surrounding her on every side.

"You like it?"

Nessie turned at the sound of Jacob's voice, gazing up at him with more admiration than ever before. He grinned, quickly shortening the distance between them.

"Jacob... this is amazing," Nessie said. "Thank you so much for bringing me here."

"This isn't even the main event," Jacob insisted. "Come on."

He took Nessie's hand in his own, the warmth of it sending shivers down her spine. She followed him quickly, nearly running to catch up as he flew excitedly through the clearing.

He stopped in the center, turning to her.

"Lay down," he said. Nessie frowned.

"Wh-"

Before she could question his intentions, Jacob had tackled her to the ground, tickling her. She screamed in protest, her shrieks echoing around the clearing and bouncing off the surrounding trees.

"Jake! Stop! JACOB!" Nessie screamed between laughs, rolling onto her back.

Jacob stopped instantly, throwing himself down onto the ground beside her. The two lay in silence for a moment, each breathing slowly as they recovered from their battle.

Then Nessie gasped.

"Oh, Jake."

The stars above them were magical. There were trillions, all scattered across the deep blue of the sky in fantastic patterns. Some shapes were discernable, illustrating epic stories and legends. Others were just tossed about in random patterns, merely adding to the exquisite beauty of the scene. Each star burned brightly, shining down on the clearing, and on all of Washington, illuminating the lives of every creature, living or otherwise.

"Not bad, huh?" Jacob said, folding his hands behind his head proudly.

"It's... beyond incredible," Nessie uttered. "This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."

"It's only second on my list," Jacob replied softly, gazing over at Nessie rather than at the stars above.

Nessie remained oblivious, mesmerized by the beauty and serenity of the stars above.

"A lot of Quileute legends come from these stars, you know," Jacob said, after a moment.

"Like what?" Nessie asked.

"Well, you see that group of stars over there, on the right?" Jacob asked, pointing.

"It kind of looks like a bird," Nessie remarked.

"It is," Jacob confirmed. "There's a legend, about a girl named Tala. She was the Cheyenne chief's only daughter, and she was treated like a princess. She got everything she wanted, and she had an endless line of suitors for her hand in marriage. But she wasn't happy, because her father never let her leave the Cheyenne lands. One day she snuck out, and she met a man from the Quileute tribe named Kele, who took her out into the world. They fell in love, but Tala's father would not allow her to marry outside of the tribe. So Tala left the Cheyennes to be with Kele. In his anger, her father had them both transformed into birds. But Tala and Kele were happy, because they got to be together, and they were more free as birds than they ever had been as humans. You see that small cluster of stars nearby?"

"Yes."

"That's Ciqala - their son."

"Wow," Nessie said softly. "That's a beautiful story."

"It was always one of my favorites. Not too many legends end that happily," Jacob said.

"Tala was lucky. She got her freedom, and she earned it. She didn't wait for it to come to her," Nessie remarked.

"She's very admired among the Quileutes," Jacob said.

There was a moment of silence as Jacob and Nessie gazed up at the multitudes of stars above them.

"Thank you, Jacob," Nessie said, after a moment. Jacob turned to look over at her, and smiled.

"I'm glad you like it," he said.

Nessie turned to face Jacob as well, and her face lit up the minute she looked into his eyes.

"Jake-"

"Shh," Jacob hushed.

He edged closer to Nessie, wrapping his arm around her small shoulders. Nessie curled in close to his warm body, letting her arm fall across his bare chest.

A while passed, and Nessie was nearly asleep as she lay across Jacob. Jacob knew that they would have to return home soon, but every muscle in his body was content to remain exactly where it was.

"Jake," Nessie uttered suddenly.

Jacob stroked her hair, convinced that she was talking in her sleep, though he had never heard her do so before.

"Shh... I'm here," he whispered.

"I'm sorry," Nessie muttered. Jacob frowned.

"Sorry for what?" he asked.

"For earlier," Nessie continued. Her voice sounded almost pained.

"You did nothing wrong," Jacob said softly, continuing to stroke her hair.

"No... no, it's not fair to you," Nessie insisted.

She had forced herself up into a sitting position now, and was staring intently at Jacob, her brown eyes wide with concern.

"What are you talking about, Nessa?" Jacob asked.

"What happened in the woods today..." Nessie began.

"We don't have to talk about that," Jacob assured her.

"That's what you want," Nessie stated. Jacob hesitated for a moment.

"That's what my heart is telling me," he replied.

"And what if that's not what mine is telling me?" Nessie asked. "You're everything to me, Jacob... but you want to be just one thing."

"I don't need to be," Jacob said.

"That's not fair to you," Nessie insisted.

Suddenly Jacob's phone began ringing in his pocket. He leapt with shock as he was pulled from the moment with Nessie. She quickly turned away, all thoughts disappearing as Jacob reached into his pocket.

"Alice."

He knew who it was before he even answered. Sure enough, Alice's voice replied on the other end.

"Renee decided to leave. She should be out of here in ten minutes, at most. You can bring Nessie home whenever you want."

"Sure, sure," Jacob replied, hanging up before Alice could say another word.

"What's going on?" Nessie asked curiously.

"Alice wants us to return the, uh... Volvo," Jacob invented. Nessie nodded.

"Dad must be freaking out," she said.

There was a moment of silence as neither Jacob or Nessie could bring themselves to move. The night had been so peaceful, so beautiful...

"Look, Nessa... I don't want you to feel bad about this afternoon," Jacob said, reaching over and placing his large, warm hand on her shoulder. "I love you with all my heart, and I want you to be happy. And I will do whatever it takes to makes you happy."

"And what about you?" Nessie asked, staring up at Jacob sadly. He smiled in return, running his hand across her cheek.

"I'm happy as long as I'm with you," he replied.

Nessie threw her arms around Jacob, squeezing him as tightly as she could. Jacob returned the hug, embracing the moment and trying to keep his thoughts as pure as possible.

"I never want to let you go," Nessie said.

"I know the feeling," Jacob assured her. "But your dad needs his car."

Nessie sighed, pulling away. Jacob quickly got up, rushing into the shadows to change into his wolf form.

"Nothing I haven't seen!" Nessie called after him.

"Do you honestly think I'd risk phasing so close to you again?" Jacob retorted.

The russet wolf was back in an instant, and Nessie hopped eagerly onto his back. She paused for a moment, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Let's go, Jake," she whispered.

And Jacob took off into the woods, heading back towards Nessie's home.


The ride back to the mansion was mostly silent, as both Nessie and Jacob took time to process their thoughts from the evening. When they finally pulled up to the garage, Nessie smiled over at Jacob.

"Thank you for an amazing night," she said.

"You think it's over? I still have to walk you to the door," Jacob teased.

Nessie laughed as Jacob quickly leapt from the driver's side, rushing over to open her door and escort her out of the Volvo.

"We should do this more often," Nessie said, as Jacob led her up the stairs towards the kitchen entrance.

"I don't know how Rosalie would feel about that," Jacob replied, grinning at Nessie, who giggled.

"I almost forgot about that. Aunt Rose is going to be livid," she said.

"Don't worry. I'm sure she'll be kind enough to let it all out on me," Jacob assured her.

"Not a ch-"

Nessie stopped mid-sentence, as she stood at the entrance to the kitchen, staring through the glass window in the doorway at the scene in the foyer.

There was Bella, embracing a lovely older woman. A woman with Bella's features. The same features found on Nessie's own face.

Nessie quickly turned away. She was breathing deeply, and her eyes were wide with shock.

"Nessie?" Jacob said, eyeing her cautiously.

"Is that...?" Nessie trailed off, staring up at Jacob, her wide eyes full of questions.

Jacob stared back for a moment... before nodding silently.

"Oh," Nessie squeaked. She turned back again, looking into the foyer.

Charlie was standing in the doorway beside Renee, and they were both smiling. Edward had his arm wrapped around Bella, and Carlisle and Esme hovered proudly behind them.

Nessie reached one, small hand up, touching it to the glass as she watched the idyllic family scene play out before her.

"They look so... happy," she whispered.

"Nessa-" Jacob began.

Nessie quickly turned away from the door, looking out at the dark woods behind the Cullens' house.

"I understand," she said softly.

"They just wanted to protect Renee," Jacob reasoned.

"Of course," Nessie uttered.

"If Renee could handle any of this you know she'd be here as much as possible," Jacob insisted. Nessie was completely still, her hands clenched into tight fists.

"I know Renee can't be involved," she said, her voice calm and level. "I know I'm too much for anyone to bear. But it still hurts to see how happy they could be... without me."

Jacob was instantly beside Nessie, wrapping his arms around her.

"They could never be as happy as they are right now. You mean the world to them, Nessa. To all of them," he said.

"They should find a better world," Nessie muttered.

"Nessie-" Jacob began.

"I want to go home with you tonight, Jake," Nessie said suddenly.

Jacob stopped, staring at Nessie for a moment in disbelief.

"What?" he asked.

"Let me come back to La Push with you," Nessie said, staring up at him imploringly. "I don't want to stay here tonight."

"Nessie... your parents-" Jacob began.

"They're perfectly comfortable sending me away all night," Nessie snapped bitterly, "what's a few more hours?"

"Please think this through," Jacob begged.

"I'm done thinking. I want to be with you... if you'll let me."

Jacob stared at the radiant young girl before him, her cheeks flushed a brilliant pink with the cold, her brown eyes illuminated with emotion. He could not deny her anything.

"Let's go," he said, quickly hoisting her up onto his back, and running towards the woods.