Hi readers!

Thanks to all of you for continuing to show this story love and support. There are only about 10 chapters left to go now...probably...maybe...okay, who knows! I did originally say that this was only going to be 24 chapters total, so it's pretty safe to say that my estimates are never accurate. I'd like to have this story finished by the end of the year.

Gigantic thanks go to:

Our new followers Skepo, NYGURL2468, seanchaidhe, therealhanna01 & abithriel.

kat2335, abithriel & 5starbarbie for adding this story to their favourite lists.

for fav'ing and following both me and my story.

madkins, VioletDream13, jansails, "Guest", frostedglaze & leegee123 for their lovely reviews. It means the world to me to have all of you behind me and my story.

Big thanks to my son as well, for lending me his laptop so that I could get this out to you all sooner. Love you, Zeus!

:-D

EPOV

"Hey Cull-...Edward?" Emmett says hesitantly, jogging up to Bella and I as we walk hand-in-hand at the front of the group.

That's right, I, Edward Cullen, am holding Bella Swan's hand.

In public.

Yeah...I'm the man.

I give Bella's fingers a gentle squeeze as I turn to acknowledge Emmett. He looks uncharacteristically nervous and honestly, I'm a little nervous too. I don't think I'll ever really be comfortable in his presence.

"Yeah," I say slowly. He looks down at his feet and huffs a little before continuing.

"Look man, I just want to say I'm sorry," he sighs, looking like he's undergoing some kind of horrendous torture.

I, on the other hand, am completely shocked.

"D-did you just...apologise?" I stammer. "To me?"

"Yeah, yeah I did," Emmett chuckles, shaking his head. His face turns serious as his eyes lock onto mine. "I was a dick to you. Hell, I've always been a dick to you and not once have you ever done anything to deserve it, so whether you forgive me or not, I'm sorry."

"Uh...thanks?" I say. When he doesn't immediately move away from us, I wonder if he has something else he wants to get off his chest.

But he remains silent, so I decide to ignore him in the hopes that he'll get the hint and leave Bella and I alone again. The minute I turn away from Emmett, I feel a sharp jab in my side. My head whips around to face my attacker.

"What?" I mouth, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention to us in case we're about to have an argument. Bella simply raises her eyebrows at me and jerks her head in Emmett's direction. I roll my eyes back at her and shrug.

See that's why Bella and I are perfect for each other, we're always on the same page.

"Forgive him," she mouths impatiently, gesturing to Emmett again.

Okay...maybe we're not on the same page after all.

But I still think we're perfect for each other.

Bella does have a point though. Emmett may have spent years bullying me, but it must have taken a lot of courage for him to admit that he was wrong and apologise, so the least I could do was accept his apology.

"Um, Emmett," I begin as I turn back to him. "I forgive you."

"Thanks Edward," he smiles, looking like a giant weight has been lifted off his shoulders. He pats my back and slows down to wait for his friends.

"Feels good to be the bigger man, doesn't it?' Bella asks happily, clutching my hand a little tighter.

"Yeah, it actually does," I smile.

We continue to walk on in silence until we come across the discarded packs that mark the path that we took from the camp-site to the road. It feels like months since we were last here, although really it's only been a few days.

As we make our way through the trees and back to the camp-site, I begin to worry about what will happen once we get there.

My whole plan for getting home to our time relies on the belief that Jacob will be there at some point in the next few hours and we will be able to force him to help us. But what if that doesn't happen?

What if he's already been and gone?

What if he still refuses to help and disappears again?

What if something happens in his time and he's never able to return at all?

My stomach churns at the possibility that I may have gotten everyone's hopes up only to find us in the exact same position that we started in. Or worse, we are able to time travel again but end up in a completely different time period all together. While that might be cool in the movies, I don't think any of us would be able to handle any more time travel.

Once in a lifetime is more than enough, thank you.

I don't want to end up being my own grandfather or anything twisted like that.

Eeww...

I can feel the tension building in my body as the camp-site comes into view. I'm sure Bella can feel it too as I'm probably squeezing the life out of her hand. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how this all plays out, the camp-site isn't the only thing I see.

The big unfriendly giant stands in the middle of the camp, studying the area. To my surprise, he actually looks lost for once. If we didn't need him now more than ever, I might have found the irony hilarious. But when Jacob suddenly turns to look in our direction, I quickly realise that my laughter might not be appreciated.

His eyes are set in a cold angry glare as he marches over to us and they appear to be locked on me. If he's expecting me to cower away from him, he's going to be disappointed.

I'm not backing down this time.

I want to go home.

He's only a few feet from our group when he stops with his hands firmly planted on his hips, still looking directly at me as he opens his mouth.

"We need to talk."