Chapter 32

Jacob was still around Mystic Fall's, watching over Bella's life and making sure that the people around her were good people while ignoring his friend and family from Forks asking him to come back home. He could feel that her babies' father was worried about something concerning Bella. It couldn't be about the babies' health because the Cullen Doctor wasn't worried but it had to be something else. Maybe an enemy lurking around…

What bothered Jacob too was the fact that Leah was on her way. She hadn't announced herself to him but he had seen it in her head the last time he had shifted. He tried to tell her to go back and to ask Sam to order her to go back to Forks but she had refused and Sam decided that since he didn't order Jacob to come back home, it would be hypocritical of him to ask his ex girlfriend to come back home. Besides, they both knew that Leah was much happier away from Sam and Emily's happiness and it wasn't like either of them were needed at the reservation.

"Can I get you anything else, sir?" A blond boy asked Jacob as he sat at the Grill a little before closing time.

He heard Bella calling him Matt and he felt that he was on her side, he was a good guy. One look was enough to tell that this boy was innocent.

"Another burger would be nice, thanks. No fries this time but extra pickles." Jacob replied nicely.

"Sure, I'll be right back with it." Matt told him before he left.

Jacob had entered the Grill a couple of hours ago and he had ordered 4 burgers with fries already. Matt and the other people working in the Grill were looking at him like he was some sort of record breaker but since he paid everything he ordered, they couldn't complain. He was drinking his 3rd beer when Bella's boyfriend came inside and asked Matt for a peach pie. The shape-shifter listened closely to his conversation with Matt.

"Bella having one of her cravings again?" Matt asked the Original hybrid.

"Yes, she texted me a few minutes ago, asked me to get her some peach pie if I didn't want her to go out at night on her own." Klaus smiled.

"Couldn't Rebekah get it for her?" he asked.

"No, she's spending the night at home, trying to bond with Sage. She's thinking of moving back in with us after Christmas, I know she's discussed it with Bella already." Klaus shook his head.

"Why did she text you, I thought you spent most of your nights with her ?" Matt asked as he placed the last Peach pie in a box.

"I usually do but tonight I was with my father's pack. I mean my pack. I guess I need to get used to calling it my pack since I'm their alpha now. Anyway, she insisted that I spent time with them and it feels rather nice to connect with a part of my father this way. Over the centuries they've kept his memory very alive." Klaus explained.

"We're all lucky to have her in our lives." Matt smiled.

"That we are. And I personally am lucky there was still one last Peach pie here. I don't think she would have liked to wait for me to bake her one to eat it. She's patient, but she's pregnant, there are limits." Klaus added.

"Oh, I put it aside for her. I've been telling people there wasn't any pie left. I know she craves those lately so I wanted to make sure there was some in case she wanted it." Matt explained.

"She's lucky to have you as a friend Matt." Klaus complimented the boy.

"I'm the lucky one. It's the least I can do after everything she's done for me. She made me feel like I belonged, like someone cared about what happened to me and made me understand that it didn't matter if my mother left me all alone after my sister died. I know that I deserve something out of life now. The least I can do is save her some pie in case she gets a craving." Matt replied.

Klaus was about to say something else when his phone biped.

"It appears that Bella wants me to make sure I grab some pickles to go with the pie… Pickles... She eats those all day long. The big jar barely lasts two days and I know that she has one in her office as well." Klaus chuckled after reading the message she had just sent him.

"I'll grab some for you." Matt replied, chuckling as well, amused by the strangeness of Bella's cravings.

He remembered seeing her add whipped cream inside a cheeseburger the other day.

Jacob watched the tall blond haired vampire leave and couldn't deny that he was good with Bella. He couldn't even pretend that he hated the guy because he was a good man who obviously cared a lot about Bella, his entire family did.

.

The next morning, Bella woke up and smiled at the sight of the empty plate on her nightstand. She had been unable to fall asleep due to one of her cravings and Klaus had rushed to her rescue, bringing her the pie her unborn children craved.

Knowing that she was completely alone for the first time in a while, Bella took her time to get ready and eat breakfast. Klaus would come to pick her up around 10:30 and this gave her plenty of time to get ready while taking all the time she wanted.

As soon as Klaus picked her up, Bella and he went to the Grill to look at all the things that had been placed in the Auction section. There, they met up with Elijah and Klaus left Bella with his brother for a while because he needed to speak with someone.

"I forgot to ask Carole... What is this Auction for anyway?" Bella asked Elijah.

"I have no idea. Klaus didn't know either when I asked him yesterday." he replied, guiding her to his brother's painting.

"Who knows what Carole came up with this time." Bella commented.

"Niklaus worked very hard on the painting he brought this morning. I think you'll be able to appreciate it." Elijah added, having seen the painting before it was brought here.

"I can see what you mean, it's… him, somehow." Bella nodded after looking at the painting for a few seconds.

"Glad to know you appreciate it, Love." Klaus said, coming behind them with a smile on his face and wrapping his arms around Bella's waist.

"Someone is happy this morning." Bella noticed.

"How could I not be? You're okay, our babies are okay and I just had a great night with my pack, made even better because I got to see you in the middle of it. Everything is going perfectly well in my world today." Klaus explained with a smile.

"Let's hope it stays that way, in both of our worlds." Bella replied with a kind smile.

"Why did you have to say that? Now you can be sure something will go wrong!" Elijah complained jokingly.

"Hey, if I'm not worried, neither should you be." Bella chuckled.

"You're not the least bit worried that your Cold one teen ex will show his face in town and hurt you?" Elijah asked her and the look on Klaus' face showed that he, too, was wondering what her answer would be.

"It's not that I'm not worried, more that I'm not going to let him spoil my good mood. He's not going to rule my life anymore and I'm confident that I'm safe enough. I have you, your siblings, hybrids and pretty much all the supernatural beings in this town watching over me and keeping me safe along with a few humans. I'm not afraid and I'm confident that I can have my fun without looking over my shoulder every minute. If he wants to play the immature teen forever, that's his problem, I'm not going to make it mine. I'm also choosing to believe that he'll be mature enough to just come to speak, see that everything is fine and let me be." Bella replied.

"You're right." Elijah nodded, while Klaus kissed her forehead.

Throughout the day, Bella and Klaus managed to spend some time with everyone of their friends and to see and do everything they wanted to do. They ate with the Gilberts for lunch and for dinner, they ended up in the Grill with everyone they knew and that was still in town. They pulled several tables together.

"Something wrong Bella?" Elena asked her.

The young Gilbert had been entering the Grill with her father when Bella looked at the door with wide eyes.

"I'm not sure, I thought I saw someone…" Bella replied, shaking her head in confusion.

"Edward?" John asked her, turning around to look back at the door.

"No, not Edward. I'm not even sure I really saw who I thought…" She shook her head again.

"Who did you think you saw Bella?" Elijah asked her.

"Jacob… Charlie told me that he left La Push after learning that I was pregnant and I guess I expect him to show up at any moment…" Bella replied with a reassuring smile.

"You said that you weren't worried about him." Jenna reminded her.

"I'm not. I think I'm just thinking about him because of the fact that Edward is on his way here. I'm afraid they'll arrive at the same time and end up fighting each other in the middle of town, stuck in their delusion that I belong with one of them and that the winner of the fight would get me, like we're stuck in a high school version of the animal kingdom or something." Bella shook her head, explaining her thoughts and making the other chuckle at the image.

"Shouldn't this Jacob guy be more mature than that though? I mean, he's just a couple of years younger than you, he's an adult." Caroline asked.

"I know he should but he's not when I'm concerned. Don't ask me why, even I don't understand how his delusion works. I've always been more than honest with him about the way I saw him." Bella replied.

"Well, right now he's not here, neither is Edward. Sit down, eat, relax. Like you said earlier today, you have nothing to worry about, you're well protected." Klaus reminded her.

"And remember that worrying isn't good for the baby." Finn added just as Sage and he came in the Grill after spending the day enjoying the town's festivities with Carlisle, who was about to leave to rejoin his family to help them pack up.

"You didn't happen to smell Jacob around here, did you?" Bella asked him.

"Even if Jacob was here, I wouldn't have been able to smell him, there are too many other scents around here, especially vervain." Carlisle apologized, shaking his head.

« It's okay, like I said, I'm not going to let it ruin this perfect moment. » Bella replied.

As they ate, everyone discussed their plans for the holidays.

Bella was planning on having her father over for a few days, the Gilbert's and Alaric were going to the lake house together, Caroline was going to her father's house and everyone else was staying in town.

Bella quickly made sure that Matt would spend Christmas with her and her father, she didn't want him to be alone.

Night fell over the town and the group was still at the Grill, having fun together before they all separated ways for the holidays.

.

Jacob had thought Bella would go and have dinner at one of her friend's house, that's why he went to the Grill so late. He wasn't ready to let her see him yet and he was glad he was able to leave the restaurant before she could see him. He'd grab dinner somewhere else, maybe he'd hunt or eat road kill tonight. He'd done it before, he didn't mind doing it again. Food was food.

He was just grateful for all the vervain around town, hiding his scent. Since he had learned that this herb could hide his scent, Jacob had started wearing some around his neck.

.

Edward hadn't been in town for long. He had just arrived and finding Bella hadn't been hard, the only thing making it a bit more difficult was that his new sun ring had stopped working as soon as he got too close to her. It complicated things but he was used to being careful of the sun, so it wasn't a big problem.

The first time he saw Bella, he was surprised by how young she still looked, yet she wasn't the same anymore. Even if he ignored her visible baby bump, she had matured, that much was obvious. He also couldn't deny that she was safe, that her boyfriend and baby daddy cared about protecting her and keeping her safe a lot.

Another thing that was obvious was that Bella was well loved in this town and that she had found her place, a place to call home, where she belonged, truly. He could see that she was happier here than she had ever been in Forks.

He had only watched her for a couple of hours but it was obvious that she was happy, and that was enough for him. He'd always loved her, she had changed his life for the better, but she wasn't the same anymore, and she wasn't for him.

Alice was right, if he had changed her when she asked him to, they would have worked out and they would have been happy, but he didn't and now he only had himself to blame for not having her in his life.

Alice and Jasper were on their way here, along with Esme, Emmett and Rosalie. Carlisle had bought a big house near the woods and they were thinking of making this town their home for the next few years. He needed to speak with Bella, make peace with her and, maybe, he'd be able to be her friend. Then he'd be able to have a few years here with his family, maybe even over a decade with the young witch's help.

As he considered how he would approach Bella and speak with her, he wondered if she'd be willing and able to help him move on and, maybe, find love with someone else.

He was about to enter the Grill, thinking that since they knew he was on his way, there was no point in hiding himself, when he saw someone that he hadn't expected. It didn't make sense because the distinctive quileute shape-shifter scent wasn't in the air, but then again, there was a lot of people and the vervain was the thing he smelled most. He decided to look into it as soon as he was done speaking to Bella.

.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to get a bit of fresh air, I'll be right back." Bella replied, her cheeks red not because she was blushing but because she was feeling too hot.

"Do you need me to come with you?" Klaus, Elijah, Rebekah, Carlisle, Sage and Matt asked her at the same time, making her smile.

"Thank you, it's nice of all of you but I'm fine. I'll just be a minute and I promise to leave the door open." She replied gently with a soft smile before making her way out the back door of the Grill, her hands on her baby bump.

Bella reached the back door and pushed it open, making sure it would stay open to prevent her from being locked out and have to walked all the way to the front door to get back in and stepped outside, knowing that Klaus and the others were listening, making sure she was fine. She felt better as soon as the cold air of the night touched her skin.

"Hello Bella."

Of course she recognized his voice, even after all these years he's been away from her. At first she thought she wouldn't recognize his voice but hearing it was like putting on an old record, one that you used to listen everyday and suddenly stopped listening. You think you've forgotten it but as soon as you hear it again, you know that you still remember it.

"Edward, what are you doing here?" She asked him, doing her best to stay calm and keeping her hands over her baby bump, protecting her children the only way she knew how even though it wouldn't protect them much if Edward decided to hurt them.

She wanted to believe in him but she needed to stay on her guard. Being trusting was good, but there was no need in being overly trusting.

"I was about to come in the Grill to speak with you, let you know that I was here and willing to speak with you, but since you stepped out... Here I am. The others wanted to wait to tell me everything, they thought I wasn't ready... Maybe it was childish of me to leave this way to prove them wrong, but I wanted to show them that I was more mature than they thought. I wanted to show them that I was stronger than they thought, capable of moving on... " He replied.

His face showed that he was calm, though a bit nervous and she immediately calmed down, especially since the others could still hear them.

"It's been over 10 years Edward..." She replied gently, not knowing how to start.

"I know, and I'm sorry for the way I left you, I know that if I'm hurting now it's my own fault. I came here to see if you were happy, safe." Edward explained.

"I am. Happy and safe." She replied.

"I can tell, which makes me think that perhaps my leaving you was what was best for you. It's all I ever wanted, to see you happy. I thought I was giving you that when I left, but I understand now that it was wrong of me to take this decision without you. Maybe if I had listened to you and changed you when you asked me to, we would have worked out and been happy, but it's too late now, and I accept it. I do need to apologize though." Edward shook his head.

"I accept you appology. There is no doubt in my mind that we would have been happy if you had changed me then, but I'm different now, I've changed and I wouldn't give this present happiness for anything. Klaus is perfect for me. I truly love him, more than anything." Bella replied with a smile, her happiness obvious on her face.

"I can see this. Given his history, he's not the first person I would have chosen for you, but I guess it would be hypocritical of me to refuse to accept that people can change. I know it better than anyone. He does seem sincere with you, even though I can't read his mind. As you know, it tends to frustrate me." Edward said with a smile.

Inside the Grill, everyone was listening, ready to rush to her rescue if anything happened.

"Well, you're still standing here, so it proves that he trusts me enough to stand here with you and that he gives you the benefit of the doubt. Otherwise you can be sure he'd be standing between us already. Almost everyone in my group of friends and family can hear us speak right now." Bella informed him.

"I know. I'd like to meet him at some point though." Edward smiled, happy to see that she wasn't closing the door to a possible friendship.

"Why don't you come inside now ? You can meet everyone. Rosalie and Emmett have already met them all and Alice and Jasper have met a few of them, will meet the others later." Bella suggested.

"I'd love to but I want to investigate something. I saw someone that shouldn't be around here and since I didn't smell anything that goes with it, I'd like to see what this was." Edward replied, thinking that he wanted to see if Jacob Black was really here or not.

"Who did you see ?" She asked him seriously, and the new tension in her voice had Klaus and Carlisle coming outside in a woosh.

They nodded at Edward and listened to his reply.

"I've been in town for a day only, and I haven't smell anything that fits but I think I saw Jacob Black in town earlier and, even before that, a huge wolf was seen by a human running through the woods nearby. I saw that part in a human's mind. She's not sure of what she saw because she was crying, just walking through the cemetery but..." Edward explained.

"Maybe I didn't see things earlier then." Bella replied.

"Your father did say that nobody knew where he went after finding out that you were pregnant, maybe he came here after all." Klaus suggested, looking around.

"I'm not worried. He won't do anything to us, we'll think about this later, come on inside Edward, relax, meet everybody. I'd add 'have a drink', but I doubt there's anything you'd digest on the menu." Bella decided and they knew there was no point in arguing.

Edward would still be able to look for Jacob during the night.

"If you're sure." Edward nodded, following her inside.

"You're okay?" Elena asked Bella as soon as they all came back inside, rushing to hug Bella.

Carlisle introduced Edward to everyone. The red haired Cullen could tell that some people wouldn't trust him right away, he'd have to prove himself, but that was only natural. Already he could read John Gilbert's mind, the man, even though not close to Bella, was dead set on protecting her as much as he could and would keep an eye on him. The young Elena also felt strongly protective of Bella but she was decided to give him a chance. Elena's aunt Jenna was also willing to give Edward a chance, but she was still going to be on her guards. The others, he couldn't read their mind, probably because they were supernatural. It was a weird and nice change that would take some getting used to.

Carlisle was relieved for the way Edward had reacted, he'd need to apologize to his first companion later, he had underestimated him and his reactions. He had feared Edward wouldn't be ready when he was. Looking at Edward who nodded this way, Carlisle knew that he was forgiven.

"I'm fine, don't worry. I could do with a hot chocolate though." Bella replied.

"One hot chocolate coming up, Love." Klaus declared, rushing to the counter to order it for her.

Edward could understand how Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie and Emmett could have fallen in love with the little town and its inhabitants. There was so many supernatural beings around, that it was easy to be yourself here all the while living an almost normal human life.

« Here, hand me your ring, I'll make sure it works all the time again. » Bonnie told Edward after silently asking Bella if she agreed.

« Thank you. » Edward nodded.

« So Carlisle, what's happening now ? I mean, it's kind of confusing with all the counter decisions. Everyone is coming here or you're all going back to Alaska for the holidays?» Caroline asked the doctor.

Caroline felt a small attraction to Edward, but she didn't know what to think of him, he was Bella's ex after all, and he was also Rosalie's brother. She could see Stefan starting a conversation with him and thought that, maybe, she should get to know him before deciding if she should try to be his friend or not. Still, there was no denying that he was handsome.

« We decided to go back to Alaska for the holidays. Alice, Jasper and the others will come back with us to settle here permanently later. If we want to settle permanently here, we'll need new documents anyway, so we'll use that time to get our guy to do it. » Carlisle replied.

« Good idea. » Bella smiled.

« What about Jacob Black ? What if it's really him out there ? » Edward asked around.

« He'll show up once he decides to mature up, and when he does, he'll have some explaining to do. I've punched him before and I'm not opposed to doing it again.» Bella shrugged her shoulders, thinking that this time, even if she broke her hand once more, Klaus' blood would heal her right away.

« I have my hybrids on the look out anyway. He can't get too close to her without our knowing. » Klaus added.

Edward nodded, and since Carlisle wanted to leave that night, he'd go with them to pack everything up with his family. He'd go and look for Jacob once they came back. If Bella wasn't worried about this, he wasn't going to insist and go behind her back. He wanted to earn her friendship and so he needed to listen to her wishes.

The 2 Cullen men ended up leaving before the others, wanting to drive during the night. Carlisle reminded Bella that she needed to take it easy and that he was just a phone call away in case of problem, concerning her or anyone else, and that he'd see her at the beginning of January.

Review?

As you can see, Edward matured up here. I was tired of turning him evil or crazy in almost every story of mine. It was time it changed.

Lorelei Candice Black