A/N: Thanks to the anonymous reviews as always!

"Fever"

Never know how much I love you
Never know how much I care.
When you put your arms around me
I get a fever that's so hard to bear.

You give me fever
When you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight.
Fever! In the morning
Fever all through the night.

What a lovely way to burn.

Jake and I stood in the living room, just enjoying the feel of each other. He was so incredibly warm, and I tried to move in as close as possible. His hands were moving from the small of my back slowly up to my neck leaving a heated path in their wake. I knew we had to talk, but I was just trying to enjoy the moment. And ignore my nervous feeling about what we had to talk about.

Jake finally broke the silence. "Bells?" he asked, brushing my hair away from my face.

"Hmm?" I murmured.

"I just wanted to know why you, um, came down that day. For some reason, I got the impression you came to tell me something."

I bit my lip. I knew how I felt about him then and now, and though I wanted to tell him, I wasn't sure I wanted him to know that was the reason I came. It was going to hurt.

"No reason, I just wanted to see you," I murmured.

He tilted my chin up so I was looking at him. "Bella, you're a bad liar. You can tell me, honey."

I shook my head. "I don't want to hurt you."

His brow furrowed. "Why do you say that? We should just air everything out, Bella. We have a lot to talk about."

I sighed. Looking down, I managed to mumble it. "I came to tell you that I'm in love with you."

When Jake didn't say anything - or move - I glanced up hesitantly. The pain mingled with disbelief. Before I could say or do anything, he pulled me up into his arms; my legs automatically gripped his hips, my arms around his neck. He kissed me, over and over. "Oh Bella," he said softly, "I'm so sorry; more than sorry."

I stroked a finger under his eye, catching a stray tear. "I've wanted to hear you say that for so long," he whispered against my mouth. "I'm so sorry, Bella. I wish I was just a normal guy. I hate that you got hurt."

He let me slide down his body after that dizzying kiss. Feeling a bit weak at the knees, I dropped down onto the sofa. He sat next to me and pulled me against his body. His lips brushed against my hair, my temple, as I curled into him. Night had settled in fully, the light of the moon coming in through the window. I gave a small sigh; I knew we needed to discuss this even though it worried me.

"Jake? I'm kind of confused about your relationship with her." I knew it was childish, but I couldn't refer to her by name yet. "I mean, how do you know it won't change in the future? You said your ancestor married someone other than his imprint and was completely in love with her, but does that guarantee the imprint won't change later?"

He slid his fingers into my hair, twisting it around his fingers. "It's kind of hard to explain about the vision quest. Taha Aki didn't talk, but when I saw what he was showing me I knew without a doubt. It was felt more than told. I know that's hard to swallow, but Bella, I promise that I know with certainty that it won't change. It was a pretty rare thing, but he fought it and so did I and there is no reversing it. Do you trust me?" he asked vulnerability in his eyes.

I thought about it. Jake never lied to me, he always tried to do what was right by me. Granted, he made mistakes, but to doubt him now was foolish. I came this far, and I knew he wouldn't lie to me or keep something from me again. So I nodded, meeting his eyes, letting him see just how much I trusted him. He stroked my cheeks with his fingers, leaning down to kiss me, dipping his tongue inside my mouth.

The kiss got more heated, and I ended up on Jake's lap. I felt his fingers move under the bottom edge of my t-shirt. I lifted my arms, breaking the kiss, and he pulled my shirt over my head. Our mouths met again urgently in another heated battle of lips and tongues as he undid my pants. I managed to kick them off and keep kissing him.

As much as I wanted to continue, we weren't exactly done. We both had the same thought and reluctantly pulled away. He rested his forehead against mine while we tried to catch our breath. I laid my head on his shoulder and let my breathing even out. Our hands explored bared skin - my back, his chest, and my thighs. We were re-learning each other's bodies.

"Jake?" I had to continue to ask the hard questions; ones I wasn't sure I wanted to hear. "Why didn't you imprint on me?" I whispered.

His hands spread over my back. His breath tickled the hairs resting against my neck. "Bells, I don't really know. But I think it means more that I imprinted on someone else, but my heart still belongs to you. You have more power over me than an imprint. I love you more than an imprint. I don't know why I didn't, but shouldn't that mean something more?"

When I thought about it like that, it made sense. And it made me smile.

Then I hesitated when I thought about her. "So, why do you think you imprinted on her then?"

He pulled me in closer, and I buried my face in his neck. "Going by what I felt from that vision, I think maybe I was destined to help Leah overcome the obstacles in her life. We had been coming to an understanding beforehand, so I guess that was natural. She's had no one to confide in, to help her move on. I think the imprint on my part was the sympathy for her, the idea that I could help someone suffering by being their friend and confidante. Does that make sense?"

When he put it like that, it made it a little easier. I still felt unsure about Leah, not knowing her well enough.

"But what about her? I don't like the idea of sharing you. And I don't like that this might mean something different to her." I couldn't look him in the eye when I said it; I felt like I was being difficult.

Jake tilted my chin up. "I had originally thought she would want an imprint so she could move on with that person and leave behind the pain of her and Sam's relationship. She surprised me, though. She's very independent, and she told me she didn't want to hurt you like she had been hurt; that she was starting to feel as if imprinting wasn't what she needed. I think she wants to be able to explore life, find someone of her own choosing to love. Bells, we want what is best for our imprints. She knows how I feel about you; they all do. She told me to go to you, knowing that's what I wanted."

"I want her to be happy, too" he continued. "If this imprint eases her pain and allows her to find someone she can love, then that's great. I didn't want this, though, Bella. I knew it would hurt you, and I can never forgive myself for not telling you we were trying to work it through, for making you hurt more. I wished it had never happened, but it did. I just hope you know how sorry I am for all this."

I felt the tears welling in my eyes. I took his face in my hands and kissed him softly. He kissed away any tears that escaped.

"One more question," I whispered. He nodded, his fingers now gliding over my bare stomach.

"Are you… going to want to spend time with Leah instead of me sometimes?" I was beginning to hate my weakness.

He idly twirled my hair. "If I had the choice, it would still be you, Bella. Sure, I'll want to talk to her, but it's not like we're going to be running off somewhere together. I see her enough anyway considering we're in the same pack and run into each other on the res."

The horrible notion struck me when I realized they would see each other naked. Jake took one look at my face and kissed me again understanding my expression. "Bells, honey, we don't look at each other; I promise it's not like that. I told you we have already, but we have been warning each other and the other looks away. I hate that that upsets you, but you are the only one I want to look at."

I knew that would bother me longer than I wanted, and I knew things weren't entirely back to normal, but we had made progress. I felt secure in Jake's love for me. Then I felt my stomach rumble; we had been talking for quite awhile and I felt hungry.

Jake grinned. "Hungry, Bells?"

I blushed and stood up, reaching for my shirt. "Would you… keep it off?" Jake asked, looking hesitant again. I bit my lip and nodded and we went out in the kitchen. Emily had kept the refrigerator well-stocked, so I pulled out various packages of cheese and lunchmeat and we made sandwiches in companionable silence.

He twined his fingers through mine as we ate. It was so quiet at Sam and Emily's. They were a little more separated from everyone else; I could hear the ticking of the clock, the wind outside. When we finished eating and had cleaned up, I felt a nervous burn in my stomach that had everything to do with Jacob being so close. I knew it wouldn't solve all of our problems, but I knew Jake loved me, and I wanted to show him how much I loved him. We seemed to have the same thought because when he looked at me I could nearly see the fire in his eyes.

As we kissed our way back to the living room, Jake pulled back to study me. "Bella? You do know we don't have to do this. As much as I want you, I don't want you to feel like you have to. We can wait if you need more time to think. I'm just happy to have you all to myself."

I smiled, but pulled him back down to me for another long, deep kiss. I wound my arms around his neck, twisting my fingers into his hair. I couldn't keep my hands in one place; they roamed from his hair, to his wide shoulders, to his back. He was doing the same thing. His fingers settled on the clasp of my bra and unsnapped it. I shrugged it off, feeling vulnerable and exposed. When his lips brushed over the tops of my breasts, something snapped in both of us.

Before I could react, I was on the floor on my back, Jake hovering over me. His mouth fused to mine, his tongue inside my mouth as I moaned and arched my hips.

"Uhhh…." I managed to gasp as I felt his erection press against my panties.

Jake pulled back, his eyes focused as he kissed my neck, trailing kisses down my chest. His mouth was so hot, and I writhed on the floor as he eagerly kissed my breasts.

"Oh Bella…" he groaned as his lips moved down my stomach. My eyes widened in shock when I felt his nose brush against my panties.

My body jerked in surprise as he made quick work of removing them. "Jake, I…" I managed to mutter before his mouth touched the sensitive area between my legs. The feelings ricocheted and I cried out in surprised pleasure.

I could sense he felt a little out of his league, but now that he was there, I wanted it so badly. I fisted his hair, my breath squeezing out in moaning pants as his tongue gently licked from the bottom of my slit to the top. "Ohhhhh, yes… oh Jake, that feels so gooood," I whimpered in a more high-pitched tone than normal.

He placed soft, open-mouthed kisses on me, finally flicking his tongue where I craved it. As he touched the sensitive nub with the tip of his tongue, I gave a small cry and felt him push my legs open wider. My hips had a mind of their own as I thrust upward, trying to get closer to his mouth. He focused on that area, his tongue circling, pressing, and then I felt his teeth scrape against it. My toes were digging into the carpet, my hands flexing in Jake's hair as my back arched up off the floor. Heat was spreading over every area of my body; then I felt Jake slip a finger inside me as he lightly sucked on my nub and the heat pooled in one spot. The cry ripped from my throat as my body shook convulsively with the force of my release.

I struggled to catch my breath as the after shocks rippled through my body. Jake immediately began kissing his way back up my body. "You taste so good, Bella," he murmured as his lips brushed my earlobe. I bit back a moan and sought out his mouth.

I could feel him reaching out, searching for his pants. I was so thankful at that moment that I had started and continued with the birth control pills even after everything that happened. "We don't need one," I mumbled against his mouth.

He pulled back and looked at me, knitting his eyebrows. "Um, Bells…?" he questioned. He suddenly looked nervous.

I giggled softly. "I, um, went on birth control before. I'm still on it. We don't need condoms," I explained.

His eyes widened and gleamed as his hands glided up my arms, pulling them behind his neck as he nudged between my thighs. The sensitivity of being pressed on after I released had me jumping slightly. Jake's mouth distracted me as he pressed kisses over my breasts and then he was pushing into me quickly. The combination of the sensitivity and still adjusting to the penetration had me whimpering and trying to back away.

"Are you okay?" he whispered, worry creasing his forehead.

"I'm just a little sensitive," I whispered back. His mouth traced patterns over my face and neck as he gave me a moment to adjust. Then I was lifting my hips and Jake gave a heavy thrust, scooting us over the carpet.

I couldn't help but laugh at the excitement of being together again. He thrust into me again and I felt the rug bite at my back, but I didn't care. It felt too good. Jake suddenly sat back on his heels, pulling me with him. We were still connected, and I was straddling his lap. I threw my arms around his neck with a little squeak as he stood, holding me against him.

"I want to make love to you the right way tonight. We should be in bed doing this," he explained as he carried me to the bedroom. The feeling of him inside me as he hurried us to bed had my eyes rolling back in my head.

I was lowered onto soft sheets and then he whispered that he loved me and was moving inside me in a way that drove me crazy. At one point we rolled over and I ended up on top of him. I felt my cheeks flush as he looked up at me, lust in his eyes. He tweaked my nipples and I moaned incoherently. "Mmmm… ohhh," was all I managed to utter.

My nerves settled as I found a rhythm on top of him. His hips arched up as I pushed down and he went so deep I lost the capability of even making sounds. My breath was uneven, sliding out in fragmented gasps. Jake was holding onto my hips when I looked down at him. "I love you so much, Bella," he said softly.

I felt the grin start from deep inside me and spread outward. "I love you, Jacob Black. I'm in love with you."

He blinked a few times, a huge smile curving his lips, his hips thrusting harder. I rocked faster on top of him as he groaned. "Bells, say it again. Please?"

I brushed my lips over his. "I love you, Jake. So much."

He kept his eyes, alight with love, on me as he reached down. He was stroking me, as our hips continued to move more quickly. We were both near the end and I placed my hands on his chest for support as I orgasmed for the second time that night, soft cries and I love you spilling from my lips. Jake followed with his own cry of release. My energy was sapped and I collapsed on top of him.

Jake turned so I was lying next to him as he pulled out of me. His long arms wrapped around me as I snuggled in closer, exhausted beyond belief. The movement of his chest as he breathed softly and the soft thump of his heart lulled me to sleep.

JPOV:

I was so tired, but I had to touch Bella, to feel every bit of her against me, before I could relax and sleep. As I lay there with her warm weight spread over me, I felt as content as was humanly possible. She was the best thing that ever happened to me. She was beautiful, smart, had a sense of humor, was sweet, forgiving; she was the perfect package. She was also sexy as hell, and even though I had no other experience to go on, she was amazing when we made love. I stroked a hand over her hip and nuzzled my face into her soft, thick hair. To think I could have lost her forever was excruciating. I knew we still had issues to work out, but I loved her. And she loved me. The grin crept back onto my face knowing that. She had told me she loved me.

I gave a contented sigh and tightened my arms around her. I drifted off to sleep.

It felt like no time had passed when I was startled awake. Bella was twitching against me, her brow furrowing and then smoothing out. She whimpered a little and muttered. "Jake… you won't? Are you sure?"

I smoothed my hand over her hair, down her arm where I laced my fingers with hers. She woke slowly, eyes a little damp and unfocused and looked at me immediately. It felt as if she were checking to make sure I was still here. I rolled to face her, pressing my lips to hers. "I'm not going anywhere, honey. Its okay; go back to sleep."

She smiled slightly and curled back into me, drifting off immediately and I followed suit.

When I woke the following morning, I could feel weak rays of light on my face. I stretched and reached out for Bella. Frowning, I opened my eyes. She was gone and so was the blanket, though she left me with the sheet. I rolled out of bed and padded naked out into the hall, my keen sense of smell following the scent of bacon and eggs to the kitchen. My lips curled into a grin as I leaned against the doorjamb watching Bella get everything ready. She was clearly in her element. She was bustling around the stove, the scrambled eggs covered to keep warm, with the blanket knotted neatly at her chest. The rest of it was draped around her small frame leaving plenty to drag on the floor behind her. Her hair stuck up in an adorable, messy way.

I moved up behind her – conveniently when she was away from the stove – and wrapped my arms around her. "Morning, Bells."

She gave a little gasp of surprise and then leaned back against me. I reached up to push her tangled hair out of the way and kissed her neck, then gave her a raspberry which made her giggle quietly. God, I loved hearing her laugh. She turned in my arms to face me and I leaned down to kiss her. It was slow and languid leaving plenty of time for me to get hard.

When I pulled away, she realized I was naked and reddened a little. I was apparently ready for some action, too, which she noticed right away. It was so cute how she would turn away, but then sneak a look. Then she surprised me by staring fully at me, a smirk lurking behind that innocent expression.

I laughed. "So, Bella, it seems you could use a shower," I said, trying to contain my laughter.

Her brow furrowed. "What…?" she started to question, but I scooped her up and tossed her over my shoulder in response and carried her to the bathroom.

Her laughter trailed behind us as I took her into the bathroom and turned the shower on. We were so going to take a shower. Together. Right now. I hauled her into the shower with me and shortly after we were both moaning, steaming the bathroom up even more. It was one of the longest – and most definitely the best – showers I had ever had.

BPOV:

We sat at Sam and Emily's little kitchen table eating lukewarm eggs and bacon. It was such a good feeling; I wanted to cling to the normalcy of it. We were alone together, there was no danger, and there were no lingering issues to deal with in this moment. I grinned as I ate my breakfast; that had been one hell of a shower. Jake certainly knew how to use those large, beautiful hands of his. His mouth, his hands, the way he had pushed against me from behind had been enough to nearly drive me crazy. My body was still feeling a bit weak from his attentions.

I looked at the clock and realized we only had a couple hours until Sam and Emily came home. Then it would be back to reality; trying to fit in time to see each other and to deal with the Leah thing. I hoped that Jake was right about Leah wanting to not hurt our relationship. I didn't doubt him, but I was still nervous, still a little upset over it. I was just so grateful we had this time alone together. It had helped a lot.

Jake interrupted my thoughts. "Hey Bells? I kind of had an idea I wanted to run by you."

I raised my eyebrows as I finished off my eggs.

"You know how you mentioned about us going to Florida to see your mom? Well, I thought maybe we actually could go. Soon. Just for a couple days; I think we could still use the time alone to work on things, to just get away for a little bit."

My mouth opened in surprise. "That's a nice thought, Jake, but I don't know… I don't think I can leave Charlie and Qahla alone. And what if we were followed? I can't put Renee and Phil in danger. Plus, you have your pack duties, right? And can you… um, be away from Leah like that?" I finished lamely, looking down.

He reached over and tilted my chin up. "Bells, I care about her. This imprint doesn't mean that I can't be separated from her, though. You're the one I can't stand being separated from."

I looked up at him and he smiled. "I love you, Bells."

"I love you, too," I whispered. The taste of those words on my tongue was delicious; made even better when I saw his sunny smile.

"As far as the pack, I kind of mentioned it, just to find out if it'd be possible. There was a lot of arguing and promising to fill in time slots for them, but they said they would patrol for me while we were gone. Charlie and Qahla, all your friends would be well looked after. And we would be sneaky about leaving; nothing would trail us."

I bit my lip, gazing out the window toward the forest. In the light it didn't look so threatening; the trees were a deep green, swaying lightly in the soft rain, the sun glinting off them as it randomly peeked out from behind the banks of clouds. I didn't doubt the pack would take care of my family and friends, but it still scared me a little to run off and not know first-hand they were fine.

"Charlie's another matter," I added as an afterthought. "I don't know if he'll go for it. He's not too happy about this," I murmured.

Jake nodded. "I know. I need to talk to him anyway," he sighed. "But let's give it a try, if you want to go."

I nodded. I couldn't help but love the idea of going to Jacksonville with Jake. We cleaned up our dishes and he took me for a quick run through the woods on his back. I found that I really enjoyed it after that first time; it was quite a rush. Afterward, I threw our sheets in the wash and we cuddled on the couch, watching television until Sam and Emily got home. When they got there, I smiled seeing Emily's eyes looking lighter than before and Sam seemed a little less rigid.

Emily motioned for me to follow her into the kitchen, leaving Sam in the living room with Jake. I could feel the tension, and I hoped they would be able to work things out. In the kitchen, Emily turned to me, her eyes bright with excitement.

"Sam and I set the date!" she exclaimed in a whisper.

"What?! Oh Emily, that's great!" I gave her a hug. "When are you planning on it?"

"We want to get married in the spring, so we planned for the last Saturday of April. You will be a part of this with me, right?" Her smile was infectious; she was just that happy.

"Of course, if you want me! I'm so glad everything went well for you and Sam."

She put some water in the kettle to make tea. "Yeah, we talked a lot of things over. He explained about Leah." She looked a bit reflective and sad. "But it's over and done with. I'm hoping we can both begin to repair our relationships with her now. She is my family, after all," she said softly and I understood her sadness.

Sam and Jake had disappeared outside, so I sat with Emily and she told me a little about Leah and it actually helped me as well as her. Hearing about her from another woman's perspective was enlightening. She also told me that she and Sam had talked more about having children. Her face lit up as she told me she would love to have two or three children; that Sam said he was ready for them. She said they were going to try probably closer to the wedding date, but they both saw no reason for waiting. She asked me about how it went with Jake. I gave her the basics and she was happy for us.

Finally Jake popped his head in the door. "Bells? You ready to go?"

I didn't want to let go of the night we spent, to go back to problems that were daunting to face, but I knew I had to. I said goodbye to Emily, thankful that I had someone to chat with about all the craziness of dating a werewolf. He drove me home and promised to be back later to talk to Charlie. He headed home and I went in to get ready for my afternoon shift at Newton's. As I left for work, I reflected on how we had made some headway last night and I just hoped it would work that way with Charlie as well.