Chapter 25- Bending the Rules.

The sky above the trees was beginning to change from black to grey with the dawn light when I finished my book and sat up from where I had been lying with my head in Emmett's lap as he watched tv. I looked around for Ness and found her peacefully asleep in Esme's lap as Esme and Carlisle talked quietly over her head, Jacob sprawled in a nearby armchair with his eyes trained on the baby. Jasper was reading, and Alice was on the computer again. I could tell from the gleam in her eye that she was shopping.

"So I was thinking that there's not much keeping us here in Forks now," Emmett said casually, loud enough so that everyone looked up and paid attention. "Bella's changed, the baby monster seems pretty portable- and actually they're two big reasons why we should get out of here. How do we explain vampire Bella if anyone sees her now?"

Esme looked a little worried. "There's Charlie to consider."

"We will have to give him some explanation soon," Carlisle acknowledged. "He won't be put off by my explanations that Bella is sick and contagious much longer."

"Moving on has always been the plan," Jasper said practically. "It's just a matter of where. Carlisle?"

Carlisle hesitated. "I'm not sure honestly, Jasper. We had been planning on needing at least a year for Bella to learn to control herself and become accustomed to what she is now, but that may not be necessary."

Alice shook her head. "Completely unnecessary Carlisle- as far as I can see her she's got things well in hand."

"I think we should go to New Hampshire," Emmett suggested. "Bella's registered at Dartmouth already, Rosalie still has a deferred place there if she wants to take it up- we should get going and get things set up."

Jacob suddenly rose to his feet and stormed out the door, his face like thunder. Emmett looked after him in surprise. "What's his problem?"

"Where should I start?" I murmured sarcastically, breathing deeply. "Ahh, fresh, untainted air…"

Emmett laughed and reached for me. "Are you ever going to stop giving the poor mutt such a hard time?"

"Of course," I said, sliding my legs over to sit on his thighs. "When we're in New Hampshire I won't be in the least bit nasty to him, since he'll be in a different state. And I'm hardly going to start a pen pal relationship with him just to throw insults and listen to all his wretched blonde jokes."

Emmett's hands caught in my hair. "Blondes are my favourite," he said teasingly.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "I don't want to hear about your man-crush on Jasper, thanks."

Emmett growled and his teeth came down on my tongue. "Man crush? You're demeaning my feelings for Jasper by calling it a man-crush?"

I would have laughed, but Emmett kissed me in a way that wiped everything else out of my mind but how much I wanted him.

Half a second later Jasper cleared his throat loudly and pointedly. "Emmett and Rosalie….excuse me?"

I opened bleary eyes to see Emmett flipping Jasper off over the sofa with the hand that wasn't trying to work its way under my shirt. "Huh?"

"Edward might not be here to hear your thoughts, but I feel your emotions," Jasper said with exaggerated patience. "How about you take that somewhere else before the clothes start coming off, hmm?"

"Happily," Emmett shot back and, with his hands under my ass and keeping my legs wrapped around his waist, he had me upstairs before my embarrassment had caught up with me.

"Emmett!"

"Mmmhmm?" Emmett kept one arm under my ass and pulled my shirt off with his other hand, gazing hungrily at the black lace bra I wore underneath. "Oh, nice…you buy this one for me?"

"Thought you might like it," I muttered, gripping his hips tighter with my thighs and rubbing against him.

"Matching knickers?" Emmett dropped me onto the bed and removed my trousers in the same movement. "Oh yes, you did…" He kicked off his jeans and yanked off his t-shirt with typical Emmett haste. "Very nice."

I reached for him. "You do like the traditional," I said teasingly.

"Jesus, is that traditional?" Emmett gasped when he could finally talk again. "I don't know…either way I like that a lot…sweet hell, Rosa girl!"

I laughed raggedly, kissing my way up his body until I reached his mouth, and loving the feel of all that solid muscle and smooth skin and bulky masculinity under my lips and hands. "Love you…"

"My pretty girl," Emmett whispered against my mouth, and then he was stretched out on his back and positioning me over the top of him so that as I slid down I took him into me with a low whimper of pleasure. I loved the way he watched me with eyes full desire and worship, I loved the way the muscles of his belly rippled with his own arousal, I loved that I could make him moan and pant and beg, and oh, when I writhed against him and he touched me in just the right way to make me come I loved that too. I love all of you, Emmett.

We were dressed again and back downstairs by the time Renesmee woke. She stretched her arms towards me imperiously and I took her from Esme with a hug. "Good morning Nessie."

She showed me that she'd had a dream, and then showed me Bella and Edward, mutely asking where they were. "In the cottage," I told her cheerfully. "We'll call them…soon." I couldn't help but smile to myself, wondering how much the newlyweds would welcome any interruption. "Here- play with this." I sat down the floor beside her, handing over the chunky bead necklace I was wearing. Renesmee's cognition might be amazing, but she still liked to play with shiny things like any baby.

Renesmee broke the string and then played with the beads, alternately laying them out in complex patterns and then tapping my knee and asking for Bella. Esme brought out an unused set of silverware and that kept Renesmee happy for a little longer, as she twisted the silver utensils into new and interesting shapes. When she saw Bella and Edward approaching through the glass wall she hurled away the spoon and pointed majestically at Bella, making the rest of us laugh.

Bella bounded into the room and scooped her daughter up. I could see her eyes, assessing the changes that had taken place during the night. "How long as she been up?"

"Just a few minutes," I said. "We would have called you soon. She's been asking for you – demanding might be a better description. Esme sacrificed her second best silver to keep the little monster entertained." I smiled at Renesmee and the baby dimpled back at. "We didn't want to…er, bother you." I looked away, biting my lip and trying not to laugh.

"We'll get your room set up right away," Bella said to the baby. "You'll like the cottage. It's magic. Thank you Esme, so much. It's absolutely perfect."

Despite the glare I sent his way, Emmett started laughing. "So it's still standing? I would have thought you two would have knocked it to rubble by now. What were you doing last night? Discussing the national debt?"

Bella gritted her teeth and then ignored him. "Where're the wolves today?" she asked me.

I sniffed scornfully. "Jacob took off this morning, pretty early. Seth followed him out."

"What was he so upset about?" Edward asked curiously, returning to the living room with Renesmee's bottle. I noticed Bella immediately stop breathing as she handed the baby to me- I guess even her super self control had limits and a bottle of blood was probably beyond it.

"I don't know- or care," I said snippily, taking Ness and the bottle and settling into the sofa to feed her. "He was watching Nessie sleep, his mouth hanging open like the moron he is, and then just jumped to his feet without any kind of trigger – that I noticed, anyway – and stormed out. I was glad to be rid of him. The more time he spends here, the less chance there is that we'll ever get the smell out."

"Rose," Esme reprimanded gently.

I rolled my eyes. "I suppose it doesn't matter. We won't be here that much longer."

"I still say we should go straight to New Hampshire," Emmett said, continuing the earlier discussion. "Bella's already registered at Dartmouth. Doesn't look like it will take her all that long to be able to handle school." He gave her a mocking grin. "I'm sure you'll ace your classes…apparently there's nothing interesting for you to do at night besides study."

I couldn't help giggling. Just because everyone wasn't as blatant as HE was about such things!

Much to my surprise Edward growled then, a furious snarl of anger, and Emmett's eyes widened and he held his hands up in immediate surrender.

"Just a joke…" he began, but then Alice jumped to her feet and stamped and we realised that Edward's rage had nothing to do with Emmett at all.

"What is he doing? What is that dog doing that has erased my schedule for the entire day? I can't see anything! No!" She gave Bella a tortured glance. "Look at you! You need me to show you how to use your closet!"

"He talked to Charlie," Edward snapped. "He thinks Charlie is following after him. Coming here. Today."

Alice swore and was gone, racing out the rear door in blur of motion.

Bella looked horrified. "He told Charlie? But- doesn't he understand? How could he do that? No!"

I was shocked. Whilst I'd never credited that bone-headed Jacob with a great deal of intelligence, I would not have thought he would have consciously put someone in danger. But Charlie Swan knowing the truth about Bella and our vampire world could spell disaster.

Jacob came in the door moment later, shaking his wet hair like the dog he was, tense and edgy with excitement. "Hey guys," he said, as though he hadn't just broken decades of trust with his latest stunt.

"Rose," Bella said quietly, holding out her arms. Silently I passed the baby over, and Bella held her gently, kissing the silky curls as her red eyes focussed on Jacob intently.

"Charlie'll be here soon," Jacob said casually. "Just a heads-up. I assume Alice is getting you sunglasses or something?"

As though Bella's red eyes were the biggest problem with this plan?!

"You assume way too much," she hissed. "What. Have. You. Done?"

For a moment Jacob's smile faltered. "Blondie and Emmett woke me up this morning going on and on about you all moving cross-country. Like I could let you leave. Charlie was the biggest issue there right? Well, problem solved."

"Do you even realise what you've done? The danger you've put him in?"

Jacob snorted derisively. "I didn't put him in danger. Except from you. But you've got some kind of supernatural self-control, right? Not as good as mind reading, if you ask me. Much less exciting."

In a blur of motion, Edward was suddenly inches away from Jacob's face, his jaw clenched in rage. "That's just a theory, mongrel! You think we should test it out on Charlie? Did you consider the physical pain you're putting Bella through, even if she can resist? Or the emotional pain if she doesn't? I suppose what happens to Bella no longer concerns you!"

Jacob frowned, bewildered. "Bella will be in pain?"

"Like you've shoved a white-hot branding iron down her throat!"

"I didn't know that," Jacob whispered, abashed.

"Then perhaps you should have asked first!" Edward snapped.

"This isn't about me," Bella interrupted them, standing very tall and glaring at both of them. "This is about Charlie, Jacob. How could you put him in danger this way? Do you realise it's death or vampire life for him now, too?" Her voice trembled with the intensity of her emotion.

Jacob didn't seem overly troubled by Bella's words. "Relax Bella. I didn't tell him anything you weren't planning to tell him."

"But he's coming here!"

"Yeah, that's the idea. Wasn't the whole 'let him make the wrong assumptions' thing your plan? I think I provided a nice red herring, if I do say so myself."

Belle's hands made fists. "Say it straight, Jacob."

"I didn't tell him anything about you, Bella. Not really. I told him about me. Well, show is probably a better verb."

"He phased in front of Charlie," Edward hissed.

I suddenly imagined what it must have been like for the quiet, pragmatic Charlie Swan to have Jacob turn into a wolf in front of his eyes and drew in a sharp breath.

"He's brave," Jacob said. "Brave as you are. Didn't pass out or throw up or anything. I gotta say, I was impressed. You should've seen his face when I started my clothes off though. Priceless."

"You absolute moron! You could have given him a heart attack!"

"If you'd give this just a minute, you'll see that I did you a favour here."

"You have half of that, Jacob," Bella snapped. "You have thirty seconds to tell me every single word before I give Renesmee to Rosalie and rip your miserable head off. Seth won't be able to stop me this time."

Damn. Why wait, Bella?

"I phased. And then I phased back and got dressed and said, 'Charlie, you don't live in the world you thought you lived in. The good news is, nothing has changed- except that you know. Life'll go on the same way it always has. You can go right back to pretending that you don't believe any of this.'" Jacob paused. "I told him you had been sick, but you were better now- it was just that in the process of getting better you'd had to…change a bit. He asked if you turned into an animal too. And I said, 'She wishes she was that cool!'" Jacob chuckled.

I gagged. Oh yeah, turning into some hairy animal…so cool.

"Charlie said he'd rather not know the specifics. He just wanted to see you, and I said that it would be better if he gave me a head start to explain stuff. He also asked that he be told as little as possible about everything. Need to know, only." Jacob smiled smugly at Bella.

"And Renesmee?" Bella asked.

"I told him that you and Edward had inherited a little mouth to feed. She's your orphaned ward – like Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson." Jacob snorted. "I didn't think you'd mind me lying. It's all part of the game, right?"

I dug my fingernails into my palms to stop myself from hitting him. A game? This fucking game was our life…

"Charlie was way past being shocked at this point," Jacob continued easily. "He did ask if you were adopting her. 'Like a daughter? Like I'm sort of a grandfather?' and I told him yes. 'Congrats, Gramps' and all that. He even smiled a bit."

"But she's changing so fast," Bella whispered.

Jacob shrugged, and his eyes on the baby were soft. "I told him that she was more special than all of us put together." He reached towards Renesmee, but Bella pulled her daughter closer to her and away from his reach. "I told him if he could deal with that, you would all stick around for a while and he would have a chance to get to know her."

"I'm not going to say thank you," Bella said stiffly. "You're still putting Charlie at huge risk."

"I am sorry about it hurting you," Jacob muttered. "I didn't know it was like that. Bella, things are different with us now, but you'll always be my best friend, and I'll always love you. But I'll love you the right way now. There's finally a balance. We both have people we can't live without." He smiled at her winningly. "Still friends?"

Bella's eyes were still narrowed but the corners of her mouth curved up, just a little, and she and Jacob smiled at each other. She forgave him.

Goddamnit. We're stuck with him.