RPOV

The waves rolled in as noisy whispers, hissing quietly against the sand. They kissed my toes gently as I sat at the edge where sand met water, scooping that sand into my hands and then letting it slip easily between the cracks of my fingers. I drew in a breath of the salty air and continued to wait. I'd been waiting for three hours now. Each minute that passed was torture. Each second that slipped away warned of a truth I didn't think I could ever accept, even if I had to sit on this beach for the rest of my life, glancing over my shoulder now and again to see Jacob's empty home.

A seashell surfaced upon my next handful of sand. I rubbed my thumb across its ridged surface and then tossed it away.

I hated waiting, not knowing. My mother's instructions had been brief and vague: Go to Panama City, stay at Jacob's house, wait for news.

My father hadn't exactly agreed with this plan, but I couldn't have been stopped for anything. After going forever without seeing or hearing from Jacob, I was ready to go to desperate measures to be near him, to do anything that might put me near him. I'd clung to the second-hand instructions that I'd received, because they'd been from Jacob.

I had nothing to do but to wait, so I set on the shore, and I did just that. I counted the waves like the minute hand on a clock. Each time they rolled in, it signified even more passing of time. Each wave seemed more gruesome than the last, until I could hardly stomach watching them.

What had happened in Volterra? What had happened to my mom and to Jacob?

The sun was starting to set. It was becoming a purple bruise on the horizon, smudging colors in a sad and lonely display. The colors made me ache, each cresting wave made me ache. I wouldn't survive the night if he didn't show up.

But I didn't know what to expect. I was running only on assumptions now. I was assuming that I was in Florida waiting on Jacob. My mother hadn't said that this was what I would be waiting for. She had only told me to stay here for news. News of what? I hoped not of death.

I was becoming more and more pessimistic as time waned, as the sky darkened, as the waves crashed.

I leaned back into the sand, looking up at the sky. The closer it got to night, the cooler the weather was becoming. A breeze filtering through the beach brought a chill, and I thought, vaguely, of retreating to Jacob's house and waiting for him inside.

I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

"Ren."

Something pressed to my mouth. It was warm and soft. It smelled like earth and musk. I wanted to lean into it. I wanted to fall right down into it and be warm and safe forever. I sighed and opened my eyes. It was dark then, and it took a moment for Jacob to swim into my view.

I sat up with a start.

"Jake!"

I scrambled to my feet. I flung myself at him, hoping he wasn't a mirage.

"Ouch," he laughed.

"Oh. Oh, I'm sorry."

I pulled away, saw the dark lines of scratches and the coloring of bruises on his arms and neck and one on his cheek.

"What happened? Are you all right?"

He grinned. "It was a rough escape, but I'll be fine. I heal fast. It doesn't matter. There's something I need to tell you."

"Yes?"

"I love you."

He kissed me and lit my world on fire.

---

JPOV

Saying we'd narrowly made it out of Volterra was an understatement. It was only because we were fast, only because we'd surprised them by defeating Liam and Felix, that we'd gotten the advantage. Once we'd made it to the surface, we'd been almost home-free. Maybe I'd had to throw Bella's cloak over her and carry her most of the way to keep her out of the sunlight, but I'd made sure that we stayed in that sunlight.

The vampires wouldn't follow, wouldn't risk a public scene.

And then I'd gotten Bella onto a plane. I'd made her several promises that I planned to keep, and then I'd kissed her, tenderly, on the forehead. She'd laughed when I'd told her that she was my hero, but I'd left her to board her plane while I went to hop mine with the confession that I would always love her in some way, and that I was sort of glad she'd dragged me into her bizarre world. I'd left her with that as I'd climbed onto my own plane, and I'd headed straight for Florida. I'd hoped that Ren would be there waiting, and I hadn't been disappointed.

Seeing her real and whole and alive, sleeping peacefully on the beach, I'd been a little overwhelmed. Near-death experiences were eye-openers. Realizing how much time I'd wasted fighting against something that could be perfect was painful to admit. I'd almost missed my chance. I wouldn't let it pass again.

"You have a lot of explaining to do," Ren murmured against my mouth.

I pulled her, gently, away. "First, tell me you'll give me another chance. Tell me that I haven't ruined everything."

She looked surprised. "How could you have ruined anything?"

"I didn't fight hard enough for you. You almost died."

Renesmee frowned. "It wasn't your fault, Jacob. No one was prepared for that."

She took my hands, looking incredibly sad.

"Tell me that you'll forgive me for not being there for you for... for Billy's funeral."

I sucked in a breath. I'd needed her then. More than I had needed anyone else.

"Your family was right to fake your death. It was better that you weren't there."

"Jake..."

"Look," I interrupted, "it's all over. Let's put it behind us."

"But—But what are we going to do? About the Volturi?"

I smiled. "If it's what you want, I'm going to move back to La Push. I want you to live in my dad's old place with me. We'll be safe there, with the pack and your family. I think your mom and I really intimidated them."

"M-My mom?" Renesmee shook her head. "Are you sure that's what you want? This is your choice, Jacob, not what you should feel forced to do."

"It is what I want. I want to be with you," I told her. "I don't want to make any more mistakes. I want to be there for you and for my pack. I want to make up for everything."

She smiled. Her fingers drifted over my forearm, skirting around the cuts, though she rubbed past them tenderly.

"They hurt you, but you fought to come back to me."

I looked down at the cuts. "Yeah, but I'm a wolf. Everything will heal quickly. You're avoiding me though, Ren. You're changing the subject. Why?"

"I'm not changing the subject." Ren looked up at me. "I'm just gloating in the idea that you went through all of this for me. Selfish, right?"

I smirked. "As long as we're being selfish here, there's something I'd like to make up to you."

She lifted a brow. "Oh yeah? What's that?"

I slid my fingers underneath the hem of her shirt, skimming the smooth skin just under her bellybutton, and carefully pulled the shirt up and over her head. She gave a surprised squeak as I tossed the material to the sand, whipping her arms up to cover the mounds of her breasts that peaked over her bra.

"What are you doing?"she hissed.

She looked really beautiful in the moonlight as it washed over her alabaster skin. I stepped forward, hooked a finger at the top of her pants. Her eyes widened.

"That day that the Volturi showed up at my house, I was cutting firewood. I was going to make us a little fire, roast some marshmallows, and make love to you. It didn't get to happen, so you can see why I'd feel cheated, right?"

Ren licked her lips. It was probably an unconscious action on her half, but it certainly didn't go unnoticed by me. I'd spent the last several weeks swearing myself off as a permanent bachelor, thinking that Renesmee was dead. Now that I knew that she wasn't, a world of possibilities was opening up for me.

"Sure, I guess so," she murmured.

I worked the button of her pants loose.

"Any objections?"

She glanced down between us, watching my hand slide into her pants, between her skin and her panties.

"Nope," she breathed. "Not one."

---

Two Days Later

"Jacob...please. You realize your thoughts are broadcasting very clearly, I presume?" Edward choked. "I understand that my daughter...that Renesmee is your—your imprint, but understand, also, that it is taking some getting used to."

Leah snickered. I cast her what I hoped would be a silencing glare, but I could barely contain that grin that was fighting its way toward my mouth. Thinking about the airplane ride home with Ren hadn't been intentional, but, when you'd fucked in an airplane bathroom for the first time, it was sort of hard to stop yourself from reverting back to it, even if you were in the middle of forming a new treaty with a clan of vampires.

It'd been really hard to fit in that tiny bathroom. Ren had been precariously perched on the edge of the tiny sink, her panties around her ankles, her skirt parted for me. Sliding into her had been the most amazing fucking thing since our reunion sex on the beach.

"Jacob," Edward hissed.

Ren elbowed me in the ribs, her cheeks tinging pink. There was a coy smile on her lips that she attempted to cover by staring determinedly at the floor.

I coughed. "Sorry. Anyway, it's agreed then, right? Same treaty, a little more flexible. Being alpha, I think I can successfully negotiate any changes that might need to be made later."

Carlisle nodded from his place near the window. He kept turning, often, to glance over his shoulder, to stare out into the forest that lay on the other side of the glass. The Cullen's had all been anxious about the idea that the Volturi would retaliate.

Bella and I had assured them that they wouldn't. Not with the Cullens and the Quileutes working together. At least, not for awhile. Either way, Alice would see it coming, and, this time, we'd all be ready.

"It's agreed," Carlisle said. "Thank you, Jacob, for renewing the treaty."

I shrugged. "It's the right thing to do."

Ren snaked her hand over my leg and intertwined her fingers with mine.

"And I have sort of have personal reasons, of course."

Bella slid her arm around Edward's waist. "We're happy to add you to the family, Jake."

I smiled at her. Memories of unrequited feelings, of nightmares of her lost mortality, no longer surfaced. There was a tranquility between us that had not existed before her team-up in Volterra.

"I just can't believe that you guys fought the Volturi and made it back," Rosalie spoke up for the first time.

I smirked. "I was sort of surprised myself."

"Yeah, yeah, that's all great and all, but there's still one thing I just can't believe," Emmett said.

Emmett had obviously held a grudge against us for fighting the fight he had often dreamed of partaking in himself, a real test to prove his skill. I lifted my brows at him, sinking into the couch next to Renesmee, feeling more whole than I had in a long time.

Everything was perfect.

I glanced down at our hands clasped together.

Almost perfect, I amended, rubbing my thumb over her bare ring finger. It could be fixed.

Emmett shifted so that he sat at the edge of his seat, studying Bella curiously.

"Bella..." Emmett made a strange face. "Bella killed someone? Seriously? You have to be shitting me. This pipsqueak killed Felix?"

Everyone laughed.

Author Notes:

So yeah, sorry to drop the bomb on you guys, but this is the end. ;) Or, almost! I have an epilogue in mind, but, for the story itself? This chapter is very end-like. Yes? I hope it's not as abrupt as it feels like, but this was the ending point for my outline, and the ending point the more I considered it.

My next project? Revenge Cake.

http://www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/5793332/1/Revenge_Cake

I'm allowing myself a small break though, until the contest ends on April 20th. So, until then, I'll just be floating around relaxing. Other than that, leave me reviews, let me know what you think, and don't flame too hard. Remember, there's an epilogue in the works to appease those that feel the ending wasn't enough.