The Last Time

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

A/N-thanks for the kind reviews!

Part Sixteen-Exploding

Rennie picked at the grass at her feet. She was still feeling melancholy after the tense meeting with her father. Edward had looked right through her. As far as he was concerned, she didn't exist. Deep down she had always known that she had never been a priority for him, his obsession with her mother overrode everything else. Even though she had come to a quiet acceptance of this a long time ago, it still hurt.

"Hey!" Seth greeted her as he sat down beside her on Charlie's pristine lawn.

"Hey." Rennie mumbled disconsolately. Seth was one of her favourite people, but even his sunny presence couldn't raise a smile.

"What are you doing out here all by yourself?" He asked gently.

"I don't know." Rennie admitted. All she could remember feeling when she had escaped the confines of the house was a need to be away from the pitying gazes of the adults. She hated that everyone was feeling sorry for her. They had all seen and heard the way her father had spoken to her.

"Ren, you can talk to me." Seth ducked his head to peer at her heart shaped face. It about broke his heart when he saw how anguished she looked. "Come on, a problem shared is a problem halved as my dad used to say." He smiled fondly at the memory of Harry Clearwater's jovial smile.

Rennie glanced up at him. She saw the wistful expression on his face. She knew he was experiencing a good memory of his father, and in that moment, she envied him fiercely. No one would ever really be able to understand what it felt like to walk in her shoes. She was different, technically she shouldn't even exist. If it wasn't for her mother's sacrifice she wouldn't be breathing right now. Rennie knew very well that Edward and Carlisle had been planning to abort her in the early stages of her mother's pregnancy. Unaccustomed tears welled in her eyes and she began to cry.

"Rennie!" Seth said in alarm. In the short time he had known her he had never seen her as distraught as this. Rennie hung her head, hiding her lovely face behind a swathe of her luxuriant red hair. She was curled away from him as if she was somehow ashamed of herself. It hurt Seth deeply to see her like this. "Please, don't cry." He begged her.

"I'm sorry." She apologised. "I can't stop."

"Oh, Rennie." Seth sighed as he put an arm around her shaking shoulders and drew her close. It didn't take much to guess that this was all because of Edward. "Listen to me, Ren." He continued gently. "Edward Cullen is not worth your tears. You have so many people who love you. You've got your mom, Jake, Charlie, Billy, Rachel and Paul….and me." Seth tagged on at the end.

Rennie raised her tear stained face to his and sucked in a deep breath. "Do you really think I'm worthy of love, Seth?"

Her question broke his heart all over again. For her even to ask it showed just how much Edward's rejection had crushed her spirit. Seth hated Cullen in that moment with a boiling anger that took him completely by surprise. He was always so level headed, he didn't let his emotions rule him like Paul and Jake sometimes did. But seeing Renee so low, questioning herself, thinking she wasn't worthy to be loved, shattered his self-control. If Edward showed up right now, he would beat him into the ground.

"Listen to me, Rennie, you are more than worthy. I know we haven't known each other that long, but in the time we've spent together, I've seen how much you've changed peoples lives just by being you. You are special-and I don't mean because of your hybrid status-I mean because of who you are as a person. You know Bella adores you, you know that Jacob does, too. He loves you like his own daughter. Edward is the one who is not worthy of your love. Please, don't waste another tear on him, Ren. Promise me?" Seth declared earnestly.

For the first time that day a small glimmer of a smile lit up Rennie's pale face. The sun came out, casting a light shimmer on her peachy smooth skin. Seth smiled back at her, thinking how much of a stunner she was going to be when she grew up. He hoped that she wouldn't lose that sweet innocence that was part of her unique charm. Seth stood up, holding his hand out to help her to rise. "Come on, little one. Your mom actually sent me out here to get you. Dinner's ready."

"Okay. Thank you, Seth." Rennie said as she put her hand in his and rose gracefully to her feet. She was feeling much better now. She skipped gracefully by his side as he led the way back inside.

It was gone midnight. Everyone was asleep. Well, everyone apart from Jacob and Bella. Jacob's warm lips were on hers, kissing her worries away. She had been fretting about Rennie, but Seth's little talk with her daughter seemed to have done the trick. The little girl was much brighter and her natural sunniness had chased away the gloom of Edward's rejection.

Jacob pulled away and smiled. "Should I be offended that you're preoccupied with something else when I'm trying to seduce you?" He teased. He wasn't offended in the slightest, he knew how worried she had been about Rennie.

"I'm right here." Bella murmured between kisses. His skin was so warm and she wanted nothing more then to touch him, skin to skin. She raised his shirt over his head and tossed it across the room before drawing her tongue slowly up his chest. He shivered in response, loving her increasing boldness when she touched him.

"Your turn." He whispered hoarsely, lifting her shirt.

Bella had no idea what he did with it because she could only concentrate on his hands on her body, his lips on the tops of her breasts as she struggled to breathe. At some point her bra disappeared as well as he kissed her breasts, his tongue teasing each nipple in turn. She felt his desire, his need, as each shift of his body pressed closer to hers. Her passion was as great as his and she no longer wanted to deny him.

"Make love to me, Jake." She whispered.

Jacob pulled back in surprise, his dark eyes burning like liquid fire. "I thought you wanted to wait until- "

Bella put a finger to his lips to quieten him. "I'm done with waiting." She said, pulling his face back to hers.

The next day Paul and Rachel turned up, bringing Jo along with them. He was on the mend now, though his arm was still in a sling. Other than that, he was as confident as ever. Rennie squealed with delight when she saw him, and threw her arms around him in an enthusiastic hug. Jo's face immediately turned red and he coughed as he used his good hand to pat her on the back awkwardly.

Paul and Rachel burst out laughing, both of them enjoying his embarrassment. Rennie seemed none the wiser as she let go of Jo and beamed at him. "Come on, lets go play." She said, taking the hand that he'd used to pat her on the back.

"Be careful. You've only just come out of hospital, Jo. No climbing trees." Rachel warned as she placed a protective hand over her growing bump. She was glad that she was finally beginning to show and couldn't stop showing off about it. Paul happily indulged his wife, his own hand reaching out to cover hers.

Jo scowled at this reminder, but Rennie just giggled. She towed him outside into the fresh air, where Charlie and Billy were sitting on the back porch, drinking beer.

"Hi, Grandads." Rennie chirped as she skipped past them.

Billy choked on his beer when she said that, forcing Charlie to thump his back. "Did she…did she…did she…. did she just call me Grandad?" He stuttered in surprise.

Charlie chuckled. "Yes, she did." He laughed at Billy's soppy expression. The old fool actually had gone all misty-eyed. "Watch it, old man." He said wickedly. "Your sentimental sides showing."

"Never!" Billy denied hotly as he snatched another beer from Charlie, but his tender smile as he watched Rennie and Jo play together said otherwise.

A little while later Jacob and Bella came out to join the others. Jacob was practically walking on air. He couldn't stop smiling. He looked down at Bella, admiring how beautiful she was. She was so soft, so delicate, so tiny. He could cover her fist completely with his hand. Her skin, pale and translucent, seemed to glow in the morning light. He was so in love that wanted the whole world to know about it. Instead he had to make do with his family. He noticed everyone shooting them meaningful looks, apart from Charlie, who was as oblivious as the children as to what had happened under his roof the night before.

"Where have you two been?" The police chief hailed them cheerfully.

"Can't you guess?" Paul snickered.

"Shut up, Paul." Rachel smacked him hard on the arm.

Charlie frowned, still not getting it. He noticed Billy trying to stifle a smile. "What?" He demanded.

"Nothing." Billy mumbled, still trying not to laugh.

"Hi, Mommy!" Rennie danced over to Bella with Jo trailing in her wake. "Hi, Jacob!"

"Hey, sweetie." Bella reached out for her daughter and picked her up. She smiled down at Jo. "Good to see you, Jo. How are you?"

Jo shrugged. "Okay." He mumbled.

"And the arm?" Jacob asked as he bent down to ruffle Jo's hair.

"Itchy." Jo complained. "I hate this stupid cast." Then his face brightened. "But Rennie signed it and drew a picture. Look!" He held up his plaster cast for closer inspection.

The adults surround him, trying to get a good look. Jo was loving the attention. He held it up proudly for them all to see. On the side, just above her name, Rennie had drawn a picture of a tiny baby. It was so life like that it looked almost real.

"Sweetheart, you drew this?" Bella breathed in awe.

"Yes, Mommy." Rennie danced around in a circle, her green eyes shining with excitement. "That's Ben."

"Who's Ben?" Charlie cut in as he studied the picture carefully.

"My new brother, silly." Rennie scoffed as if it should be obvious.

There was a collective gasp as all the adults exchanged shocked glances. No one's was more shocked then Charlie who finally seemed to get what everyone else had already guessed. His face turned beet red and he cleared his throat awkwardly. "I see. You…" He glanced at his daughter's equally red face and grimaced.

"Mommy and Jacob did sex." Rennie confided to Jo, who looked a little green. "But they didn't explode." She finished with a wide smile.

A/N-thanks for reading!