You're my satellite
you're riding with me tonight
Passenger side,

Lighting the sky
Always the first star that I find
You're my satellite

-Guster "Satellite"

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BPOV

I found myself humming often; humming and smiling while I cooked, while I was at work, while I did grocery shopping. It was nice to finally feel a little lighter. I couldn't pretend that everything was perfect. The circumstances weren't easy to deal with because I would wonder and worry about Edward and his family. I missed them.

But I remembered what Alice had told me. I was trying to move along with my life and being with Jake was remarkably easy.

It was also remarkably wonderful.

Jake had left for home with one of my casseroles and some whole-grain rolls I had picked up at the store along with a bunch of fresh fruit I found at a local farmer's market. He had been so appreciative and had kissed me for quite awhile before I finally managed to shoo him out the door.

It still wasn't easy for me to be alone at night, so I called Dana and asked if she would stay overnight with me. She wasn't busy and to my relief agreed. I really enjoyed her company as we simmered beef tips in a wine and gravy sauce and cooked pasta. Once we got the salad together and sat down to eat she looked at me teasingly.

"So….how are things with Jacob?" she asked innocently.

I rolled my eyes at her innocent act and laughed. "Things are going well," I answered just as innocently as I nibbled on a beef tip.

She smirked. "I know how it goes. It's always wonderful especially in the beginning. Amazing sex, cuddling, the works," she said with a wink.

My cheeks warmed, but there was no way I could deny it. We had only had sex twice now, but I could already feel myself anxiously waiting for when we could be together again. I was glad he was going home, though. I knew he was still worried about his dad and Rachel; he missed them and his brothers. It would give him a chance to help out and spend some time with them.

"I'm really happy for you. You're a lot happier than before," Dana said with a genuine smile.

"Thanks Dana. I still worry, I still have some problems dealing with things, but Jake somehow makes me calm and really happy at the same time."

"Being in love with your best friend – and vice versa – is always the best kind of relationship."

After dinner we watched movies and made some popcorn. When it was time for bed, I felt unsure of what to do. I think Dana sensed my unease because she suggested sleeping in the living room.

"No, no, that's okay," I said. "There's a spare room upstairs. You'll be more comfortable there instead of on the couch."

"I slept on a couch in my apartment for awhile before I ever got a bed," she said with a chuckle. "Honestly Bella, I don't mind. And isn't that the point of a sleepover?"

I relented and made up the sofa for her and piled blankets and a sleeping bag and pillows to make a puffy nest for myself on the floor. We talked for awhile; Dana told me she met someone recently and they were going out for the first time the following night. She seemed pretty hopeful and I was excited for her. She asked me questions about Jake and we finally settled down to sleep.

I was having trouble drifting off; I wished Jake was here to hold me. It was nice to have company, but it wasn't the same. My cell phone buzzed quietly right by my head and I checked the little screen. It was Jake. I opened the text and saw - everyone is doing fine but I miss you and love you – which made me smile. It was as if he knew. I texted him back and told him the same and fell asleep with a little smile on my face.

The following day I was waiting eagerly for Jake's return. As soon as I heard the key in the door, I hurried over and nearly tackled him as he came in. He laughed and caught me. His lips met mine in a frenzied kiss that he slowed considerably after a moment. His tongue tasted mine, gently exploring as his hands roamed over my back.

"Mmm, now that was a welcome home."

I smiled against his lips.

We spent the remainder of the day entwined around each other on the couch. His hands explored at will, his mouth tasting previously un-tasted areas; my biceps, my bellybutton, my big toes, and the backs of my knees. He managed to tell me at one point that Sam and Emily wanted us to be in their wedding at the end of April. Surprised, but pleased, I knew I would go back to La Push for that. He told me she would call within the next few days. Later that evening after we managed to get ourselves off the couch to make dinner, I got a phone call from Dana.

"Bella!" she exclaimed. "Since you and Jake are just starting out and things have been so difficult, I decided to talk to my sister and she said you and Jake could stay at the house in Ocean Shores for a couple days to have some fun together!"

Surprised I glanced at Jake as he raised his eyebrows. He had heard everything of course.

"Wow… Dana, that's really sweet of her… but I don't know that we can afford…"

"Oh Bella, she said as long as you take care of cleaning up after yourselves, maybe adding a few non-perishable groceries, she's not worried about money."

Jake began to look excited and I was starting to feel that way, too. "Really? I mean that's incredibly generous of her. I don't want to take advantage of that."

"Yes, really! She's a sucker for romance."

I laughed and thanked her profusely over and over for even thinking of something like this for the both of us. We both had two days off near the end of the week, so we planned for that. The week dragged by as we both got even more excited. We decided to take Tinker with to see if traveling would work with her. I hated to leave her behind when we went to La Push and to Ocean Shores before that, so it was decided. She was a relatively calm cat so I hoped it wouldn't be an issue.

When the day came, we were both bouncing like little kids. Our bags were packed so we threw our stuff in the car and got Tinker into her travel carrier. It felt like even more of a burden had lifted from me as we made our way to Dana's sister's place. Once there we carried everything up and I felt a rush of contentment. Since it was later in the day we decided to stay in and enjoy the sunset with a pizza we ordered in. I also wanted to make sure Tinker was okay with the new surroundings.

She zipped around the living room while we got our pizza and drinks together, darting in and out of the other rooms, making us laugh as she dive-bombed every little thing that caught her eye on the floor. She settled down as soon as I put some food out for her and got her litter pan set up. Jake pulled me onto his lap in the big armchair by the sliding doors; it was harder to eat but I really didn't want to move.

The sunset faded and purple began intermingling with the red and gold colors as the sky got darker. We had finished our pizza and I was curled into Jake, his fingers combing through my hair lazily.

"Let's watch a movie," he decided.

He pointed out the DVD's that were stacked by the television. So I let him go through the titles while I took a quick shower. He was grinning triumphantly as he held up Kick-Ass. I just shook my head, but he was so pleased to have found a movie that was more his speed. Then he held up Jane Eyre and I grinned happily.

"This one seems to be the least dippy of the three," he said flipping it over. "Plus you've made me watch Wuthering Heights and Romeo and Juliet already anyway and they're the only classics you own." He smirked and I laughed.

We settled in after Jake made himself a bag of popcorn and unearthed some candy bars. We watched his choice which I admittedly enjoyed, but feigned boredom when he asked which set off a tickling war until I did admit it. After Jane Eyre I teased him about getting watery eyes at the end which led to him throwing me over his shoulder and carrying me to the bedroom.

If this was my punishment, I was ready to accept.

We still hadn't explored each other fully, both of us still getting used to the idea of making love to each other, but when Jake tugged off my pants and bikini underwear I bought specially with him in mind, I was ready. His large, overly warm hands slid up the outside of my thighs.

He slipped his hands behind my knees, lifting my legs and spreading them. I swallowed hard and squirmed at the embarrassment of him gazing down at me. Then I wasn't thinking about it anymore because he brushed his lips against me. I gasped, my hips bucking of their own accord. He caught hold of my backside, lifting me, as he then touched the sensitized area with the tip of his tongue.

"Oh… Jake…" I managed to gasp faintly.

He gave me an experimental lick from bottom to top, and I cried out. "Is this okay?" he asked looking concerned and a little flushed.

"Yes… yes please…" I barely recognized my own voice.

Then I felt his teeth nip gently at just the right spot, and I continued trying to push myself closer as his tongue tasted me all over, pressing against me and then inside me. Bright spots flashed behind my eyelids and I moaned and whimpered as he continued.

Soon the pressure began building and I gave a small cry as I felt one of his fingers slip deep inside of me. My eyes blinked open slowly and the sight of him kneeling between my legs, head bent down tasting me, and the feel of his finger had me spinning out of control.

"Uhhhhhh…" I gave a small cry and then felt the rush between my thighs.

Weak and shaking I reached out for Jake and he slid on top of me, his lips against mine and I could taste myself mingled with his taste. His tongue was gentle, tangling with mine, as he undid my shirt. I struggled to pull his shorts off and ended up hooking my toes into them to pull them off.

"I always want you," he whispered into my ear, his hair tickling my face and neck. "I can't stop."

Desire rushed through me as I turned and we ended up face-to-face. "Good," I whispered back. "Because I want you, too."

I reached down and cautiously took hold of the solid length of him. It was so soft, and I stroked my fingers up and down as his body stiffened against mine. He hardened even more in my grasp. "Bells…" he groaned. "That feels so good…."

It was rather sudden; one minute I was stroking him, the next he was unrolling a condom and pulling my leg up over his hip. He pushed himself into me, and I gasped. He leaned down and took one of my nipples into his mouth as he thrust himself into me.

"Mmmmmmm…Jake…"

He was eager and he was thrusting into me faster. I tilted my head back, angling my neck toward him. "What do you want, honey?" he whispered thickly as we gripped each other tightly and rocked harder.

The blush crept up. "Bite me again," I murmured.

I felt his soft laugh more than heard it and was momentarily mortified, but then he nipped a little roughly at the same spot just as he grabbed my backside and pulled me forward and gave one more heavy thrust. Another quake ripped through me at the feel of his teeth; another stroke of his length and then he was growling as he came.

We came down slowly still entwined.

"God, you're beautiful when you come, Bella," he murmured sleepily. "I love you."

I smiled and said, "I love you, too."

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I woke up with the sun streaming into the room. It was going to be a nice day, I was lying naked with Jake on our mini-vacation, and I felt comfortably achy. I kissed the tip of his nose, then his eyelids, and his chin as he began to stir. "Morning," I whispered against his lips.

He smiled and kissed me back. "Morning."

"I'm going to go to that bakery we passed on the way here for breakfast. You can still sleep if you want," I told him as I brushed a lock of hair off his forehead.

He yawned. "That's okay, I'll go with you. We can always nap later."

We got up, and I found myself staring at the length of his naked body as he headed for the shower. He turned and smirked at me while my eyes were firmly fixed on his lean backside. "Enjoying the view?" he teased.

"Mmmm… a bit," I answered. "Maybe you should do a little spin for me before you go in," I added brazenly and laughed at his surprise.

He did, and I swallowed thickly as he disappeared into the bathroom. Shaking my head, I dressed and fed Tinker, and then we were walking down the road hand-in-hand. The bakery was just opening and smelled of doughnuts, cinnamon, and coffee. We both ordered a hot chocolate to chase the morning chill away and a dozen doughnuts, a few different flavors of bagels and cream cheese, and some fresh fruit.

Back at the house we ate breakfast discussing what we wanted to do for the day. We ended up on the beach since the weather was comfortable. Giggling like little kids, we got bucketfuls of sand to build a sand castle, topping the turrets with seashells. We snuggled and watched the birds going about their business for awhile and even saw a whale in the distance.

There was the Razor Clam Festival going on that day, too, so we stopped and checked out the vendors and sampled different kinds of clam chowders. Jake bought me a really pretty hand-blown glass bead with swirls of green, blue, and orange and promised to put it on some thread he was weaving for a necklace.

"Come on, I hear there's a bookstore," he said after awhile and I readily followed along.

I bought a couple books and then we went to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Jake asked me after we paid the check, "How about we follow it up with some bowling?"

I had never gone bowling before, and I kept snickering as Jake tried to temper his strength so as not to break anything. Neither of us did very well, but we had fun doing it. After a few games, I was beginning to wear down, and he was ready to head back to the house, too. We played with Tinker since she had been alone all day.

I left Jake rummaging for snacks while I took a shower and crawled into bed. He came in and with a sigh of relief I rested my head in the crook of his neck and shoulder. He had popped a DVD in and we watched in silence as I traced my fingers over the muscles in his chest and stomach. My thoughts wandered to our times together, and I bit my lip as a thought occurred to me.

I wasn't sure I wanted to ask this when everything was still so new, but I felt I had to know.

"Jake?" I asked quietly.

"Hmmm?" he muttered absently.

"I feel like I have to ask… I mean have you… um… done anything, you know, before?" I couldn't get the words out and I felt silly as my cheeks colored.

He turned his head to look at me, his brow furrowed. "What? You mean…"

I nodded and he realized what I was asking. "Bells… I don't know if…"

We were both stumbling around and I felt bad bringing it up. "Don't worry about it," I murmured.

"We should be able to be honest with each other," he mused quietly. "I haven't, um, had sex before Bella. Linds…" he started to say, but hesitated. "I mean, we fooled around a little, but it wasn't anything like what I've done with you. What about you?" he asked and his cheeks looked a little red, too.

"It was the same for me. You were buckling your belt, though," I said and looked away.

He swallowed and turned to me, brushing the hair off my face. "I'm still so sorry about that, honey. It was a stupid thing for me to do, to invite her in and go upstairs. Not much happened; I was just about to tell her no when I heard you. I reacted and didn't think. I'm really sorry."

I didn't like hearing about him and Lindsay like this, but I was glad we were getting it out in the open. It was what happened and it was in the past, but I was relieved neither of us had gone very far. I let it go and reached up to kiss him.

"It's over and done with," I said. "Let's just concentrate on us and take things a day at a time."

He smiled and kissed me back. As I curled into him, a wave of happiness washed over me. It had been so long that even a moment of happiness was thrilling.

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We got home Sunday late afternoon after a day of sight-seeing and driving up to the bluffs. Jake got a call from Rachel and he disappeared into the living room to talk to her. I called Dana and thanked her over and over for getting approval for us to stay at her sister's place. We had supplied some grocery items for her sister and I went into a little flurry of cleaning before we left. I asked Dana about her date and got an earful of how well it had gone.

There was some leftover casserole in the fridge that we could have for dinner, so I got that out for us to share.

I was heating the food in the microwave as Jake came into the kitchen. "Hey Bella? Would you mind if Rachel and Billy came up for an overnight? I thought you could ask your dad, too. I think Rachel could stand to get away and I'd like to see my dad again."

"Of course," I agreed. "I'll give Charlie a call and see when he can get a day off."

After we ate dinner, I called Charlie and asked if he wanted to come to visit and bring Billy and Rachel along. He had a day off in the next couple of days, and he seemed excited to come visit me. It had been a little while and I realized I was anxious to see him, too.

The next couple of days went pretty quickly and I got the apartment ready for them. Charlie insisted he would sleep on the couch so Billy could sleep in the bed. It would be no problem for Jake to carry him upstairs. There was a cot stored in the closet, so we got that out and set it up for Rachel so she could keep an eye on Billy.

I was busy at work with Easter orders starting to come in, but I managed to find a dessert recipe for cupcakes that would be allowed on Billy's diet; I just had to make a couple changes. When they arrived, I practically threw myself at Charlie. His arms circled around me and I breathed in his familiar scent.

"How are you, kiddo?" he asked.

"I'm really good," I said with a smile and I saw his eyes scrutinize me.

"You look a lot happier," he noted with a satisfied look. "I'm really glad to see that."

He didn't know the source of my happiness yet, but I wasn't sure how to say anything. It wasn't an easy thing to discuss and we were never very good at handling that. I was just glad we'd already had the sex talk.

Rachel smirked a little at Charlie's comment, but didn't say anything. I bit my lip as I realized she seemed to know what was going on. Once Charlie and Billy were sitting down eating breakfast, and we were in the living room, she turned to Jake.

I could see the little tell-tale signs of stress in her eyes and she looked a little tired. "How are you doing, Rach?" Jake asked noticing it as well.

"I'm okay, but there are moments when it's not easy," she admitted. "I don't know how you did it for that long, little brother."

"It was just day-by-day," he said. "And it was dad, so I wanted to help. You know you can call me anytime…"

"I know. I mean it's not like I don't have help. Everyone's been really helpful, but it's just hard seeing him struggle. He's doing well enough, but the therapy is tough sometimes."

She leaned her forehead on his chest and he gave her a hug. "Jake, you know you can…" I started to say.

"I know, Bells, but it's important to him that I have this life. I'm not saying I won't ever go back, though."

"You should live your life how you want right now, Jake," Rachel said. "I know you'll be home to help as much as you can, but dad's right. Sue and Charlie have really been a great help so I'm okay."

We were all silent and Rachel added slyly, "Plus I can see you two are enjoying your time together…" She gave us both a teasing smirk.

Jake got her in a headlock and gave her a noogie.

I laughed, but then realized Charlie had just walked into the room. His expression was a little shell-shocked and I realized he understood. Rachel look horrified, and after Charlie muttered they were ready to go and left the room, she squeezed my hand.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered to both of us and groaned.

Jake rolled his eyes, but couldn't help snickering. I sighed, resigned to talking to Charlie later.

We headed out to walk around town. We went into the bakery and I introduced them to everyone I worked with. Dana was thrilled to meet everyone and she and Rachel hit it off pretty well. Billy and Charlie wanted to do a little fishing so we got their gear and they set up to fish for trout. Rachel wanted to check out some of the shops, so we walked around with her, watching as she poked through a few shops.

We went back to the docks where Billy and Charlie had caught some trout. Rachel had struck up a conversation with someone, so Jake and I walked hand in hand by the water. It was nice to feel so normal; just a normal couple walking together by the water and enjoying the day.

"I can't believe Charlie overheard," I groaned.

Jake chuckled. "I know it sucks, but I doubt he was that clueless, honey."

We went back to clean up and go out for dinner at an Italian restaurant. I could see Rachel had relaxed over the course of the day and knew this had been a good idea. Billy seemed to be in a pretty good mood. Back at the apartment that evening, Rachel was showering while Jake helped Billy with some of his physical therapy in the living room. He had squeezed my hand when I said goodnight to him and told me he was really happy that Jake and I were happy. It was nice to hear.

Charlie was leaning against the counter. "So, you and Jake are together," he said quietly. His face looked a bit red and I knew it wouldn't take long for me.

"Yes. I said something and we worked things out," I murmured.

"I won't lecture, Bella. It's your life and the less I know the better. Just be safe, okay?"

I groaned quietly. "Dad, please," I muttered. "We already had this talk. Don't worry."

"Works for me," he muttered back.

We both laughed through our embarrassment at our lack of wanting to deal with this and it was thankfully dropped. But after Jake got Billy settled upstairs and came back down to grab his stuff, Charlie glared at him and said, "Remember what I said? You do anything to upset her and I'll make it look like an accident."

Jake nodded, I groaned, and Charlie disappeared into the living room muttering about teenagers.

On the way upstairs Jake and I both broke into quiet laughter.

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AN: Razor Clam Festival does happen mid-March in Ocean Shores. I try to keep what they do there and/or in Hoquiam true to the area in case you're curious. Anyway, a little more fluff, so hope you enjoyed!