SM owns Twilight. We just want to live in her world a bit longer.

A/N Not sure if I need this warning, but there is talk about blood in this chapter... I figured the bulk of the audience would be female and could handle it. haha, sorry guys.

Chapter 19

The following day, Bella went to the cafe on First Beach and handed in her resume. She met the lovely owner, Mary, who ran the shop on her own. She was a Grandmother and wanted to spend more time with her Grandbabies, so she needed help in the cafe. Bella and Mary hit us off quickly, and she was hired the same day.

Bella did three opening shifts, starting at 5:30, and two closing shifts, finishing at 3:00, per week. Jake tried his best to tie his patrol shifts with hers, so they had plenty of time together. Some days he had to patrol at night and slept during the day, but they made it work. Bella drove the Rabbit most of the time, as Jake could pretty much run anywhere he wanted. She was saving up for her own car.

Embry, Quil, Colin, Brady, and surprisingly Sam were happy to welcome Bella back into the fold.

Seth was happy, as always. He was one of Bella's most popular customers at the cafe, second only to Jake. Mary didn't mind them hanging around as she said it brought it the ladies. Even some of the older ladies on rez would hang around a little longer, order an extra cup of tea if one of the boys were hanging around.

Leah was an enigma. Everyone was not surprised that she wasn't a huge fan of Bella and Jacob's relationship, considering she had been burned by an imprint in the past. But Leah was friendly with Bella, and they had developed an unlikely friendship. They even went out shopping in Port Angeles together. Neither of the girls really liked shopping, but they both needed some new clothes, so they went together.

Paul was never as bad as that first day, but he never looked at her, and he refused to eat anything she cooked. This upset her more than any of the nasty comments he had made in the past. His influence seemed to rub off on Rachel, who never had anything nice to say to her. Rachel seemed to get Kim on her side, but Emily sat in the middle, friendly with everyone. Jared mostly avoided Bella and only dealt with Jake on a need-be basis.

The most unexpected opponent of their relationship was Billy. He thought that continuing the relationship was only going to cause more hurt to both Bella and Jacob in the long run. Jacob was very hurt by his father's actions, which caused him not to go home all that often.

Jake slept nights in Bella's bed, except when he was on patrol. He only crashed at home when he had to nap during the day.

It was two weeks after the almost wedding, and they were all still waiting to hear a response back from the Volturi. Bella's alarm went off at 4:30. She groaned and reached over to switch her phone off.

Jake pulled her in tighter, "call in sick," he groaned.

"I've only been there a week. I can't do that. Come on, let me go. Mary is counting on me."

"Fine," he muttered.

"What time did you get in last night?"

"2."

"Go back to sleep. Charlie won't come into this room after I leave."

She kissed him on the forehead, and he rolled into her warm spot on the bed. He started snoring almost instantly.

Bella grabbed her toiletries and went to the bathroom. When she got undressed to have a quick shower, she was surprised to see she had got her period.

Well, she shouldn't have been surprised, she had always been like clockwork, and it was due about now. But still, it hit her in a way she didn't expect.

It suddenly dawned upon her that she would never be pregnant with Jake's child. She had heard him say it before, but she hadn't fully grasped it. She felt the tears building in her eyes as she tried to hold them back.

She quickly turned the shower on and stepped under the water. In the solitude of the shower, she let the tears fall down her face. She told herself that she would only do this once. Her one time to feel the lose, and then she would accept it and move out on.

Before she had even started washing herself, she heard the bathroom door open. It wouldn't be her Dad. She put her face under the water to wash away the tears.

"Bells, are you alright?" Jake whispered.

"I'm fine," she croaked out, grimacing at her voice which betrayed her.

"I can feel that you aren't. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. Really, I'm fine," she lied again.

She heard the shower door open and felt a rush of cold air. Jake stepped into the shower behind her. He was moving very slowly, almost like he was approaching a frightened animal.

He turned her around to face him and pulled her into a hug. Any attempts of normality were quickly squashed as she burst into tears at his touch. He stroked her hair while she got all the tears out of her system.

When she felt like she could talk, Bella finally opened up.

"I never wanted kids. I was never good with kids. I was about to marry a vampire, for goddess sake. But then I saw that vision of us, with our kids, and I wanted it. I wanted it so badly. I guess I was kinda holding out hope that they got it wrong. You know we haven't been using any protection. We kinda forgot at first, and then it didn't matter... But this morning… I found out that I am not pregnant. And it hit me."

Jake stayed silent throughout her whole speech. "I was wondered when it was going to hit you," he whispered, kissing her on her head. "You've been handling this so well."

"I haven't changed my mind," she quickly added. "I'll never change my mind about you, about us. If I can't have your babies, I don't want any. I just needed this," she said, pointing to her face. "Then I'll be good."

"You never have to hide what you are feeling from me. I want to be here with you through everything. So if you want to cry every month, I'll be here. Okay?"

She chuckled through her tears. "Ugh, I'm just an emotional mess."

"You're my emotional mess," he said cheesily. Then he kissed her. Even though they were both naked and wet, it was not a sexual kiss. Instead, he was comforted her, siphoning off his strength and giving it to her.

"Thanks, Jake. I needed that."

"Anytime," he said as he stepped back out of the shower.

Bella quickly washed and got dressed. Then, she ducked across to her room to see Jake back in her bed. He was laying on his back, hands behind his head, sheet barely covering his lower half. He was such a sight to see; his beautiful russet brown skin covering the bulging muscles of his arms and chest. It was like having a demi-god in her bed. She smirked at him.

Then she frowned; there was no time for that. Jake seemed to understand the play of emotions across her face and started laughed.

"Tonight," he promised.

"I can't… remember? The reason I was crying in the shower..."

"Oh… um… how long does this… last? I can't really remember from Biology…." Jake asked awkwardly.

Bella chuckled, "usually three or four days, sometimes five."

"Five days!" Jake almost shouted.

"Shhh," Bella said with a smile. "Yes, Jake, is that going to be a problem?"

"Hmm, I'm sure we can still do other stuff, right?"

"Um…" Bella was not sure what to say. She had never had this problem before.

Jake mumbled something about having to ask the guys. Bella just shook her head. Since they had been together, they had had sex at least once a day. She wasn't sure if this was normal or what people did during this time of the month.

"I'm going to be late for work. Later, okay? And remember dinner tonight at your Dad's. Charlie is joining us." It was their new Friday tradition.

"Can't wait," Jake mumbled sarcastically.

Bella walked over and gave Jake a quick kiss before shutting her door and racing to the front door. She glanced at the clock and was pleased to see she wouldn't have to speed. The last thing they needed was for her to have a car accident.

She arrived at work and set about opening up the store. The mornings were quiet and peaceful, down by the beach, but it didn't take long for the first customers to arrive. Bella was slowly remembering the names of the usuals and getting to know a few more people from the Reservation.

By mid-morning, the tourist rush had started, but she didn't mind. It kept her busy. When Mary arrived at 11:00, and Bella finally got a chance to sit down for five minutes. She checked her phone and saw a new message from Alice.

She hadn't heard from any of the Cullen's since that day at the treaty line.

She nervously opened the message:

Hey Bella, we've heard from the Volturi. All good news.

We'd like to come and see you once more, to say goodbye. We are leaving today.

Carlisle and Esme have already gone to set up the new place. It will just be the rest of us.

Are you free this afternoon? We could drop by your house.

Love, Alice.

Bella chewed on her lip as she read and re-read the message. She really did want to see them once more. It would probably be the last time she'd ever see them. She knew Edward would be there, but the boys would keep him in check, she hoped.

Jake would be on patrol this afternoon until diner. He would be angry if he didn't know about the meeting. But she didn't want to have to ask his permission, either.

She texted Alice back, saying she would be home about 3.

Next, she texted Jake to let him know her plan. She said he was welcome to join if he wanted, but that she wanted him to trust her judgement that she would be okay.

The rest of her shift went quickly, but she got more and more nervous. At one point, she dropped a coffee mug on the ground, smashing it. She apologized profusely, but Mary didn't care. She said it happens all the time.

When 2:00 arrived, Bella said goodbye to Mary and drove home. Alice had replied that they would be there at 3. Jake had not responded.

Bella had about half an hour spare when she got home. So she changed out of her work clothes and cleaned the already clean kitchen.

She was scrubbing the sink when she heard a knock at the front door. Jake didn't knock. She felt a spike in her nerves. Maybe she should have made sure Jake was here.

"Come in," she called out as she washed her hands.

The five of them walked in, perfect as usual. All her feelings of inadequacy came rushing back instantly. She quickly tried to quash them; Jake loved her just the way she was; she didn't need to be perfect.

"Hey guys," she said nervously.

Alice flittered in front of her and pulled her into a hug. "I've missed you," she complained.

Bella just smiled back; surprisingly, she hadn't missed them quite as much as she would have done in the past.

"So, what did the Volturi say? Are they going to come here and hunt me down?" Bella said, trying to joke, but she knew it fell flat.

"No, silly, I told you it was all good news. Come on, have a seat. I know you'll feel more comfortable sitting."

Alice led the way to the couches. Bella sat down, Alice next to her.

Emmett sat in Charlie's chair; Bella had to stifle a giggle; he looked way too big to be comfortable there. Rose sat on the other recliner while Edward and Jasper stood opposite them.

"I saw a vision of what the Volturi said when they received our letter but didn't want to say anything until we received the official response, which was this morning.

"Aro said, 'Such a pity, she would have made such a talented vampire,'" Alice said, perfectly imitating Aro's eerie voice. Bella shuddered.

"Talented?" Bella had to ask.

Jasper spoke up, "Aro thinks that you are a shield. You can block vampire attacks on your mind. It's probably why Edward can't read your mind or why Jane couldn't torture you." Bella felt her stomach drop at the thought of Jane and her evil 'gift'.

"You're gift would have magnified as a vampire. I suspect that Aro would have wanted you for himself if he'd got the chance."

"He won't come for me now, will he?" Bella asked, horrified.

"No!" Alice said quickly, "we will make sure of it. I'll keep an eye on him for you."

"Thanks, Alice."

"Caius, however, was not as happy as Aro."

"Why?"

"Centuries ago, he hunted nearly all the werewolves to extinction. He almost lost his life to one at some stage. He holds a grudge," Alice said. Like Emmett with bears.

"Aro reassured him that these wolves are not the same type of wolves he hunted," Alice tried to reassure her.

"Huh?"

"The Quileute wolves are shapeshifters, not true werewolves or children on the moon. They could have chosen any animal form, but they chose wolves," Edward explained. That was interesting.

"Was Caius happy enough with this explanation?" Bella asked. The last thing she wanted was to put a target on the back of her new family.

"Well enough," Alice said.

"What does that mean?" Bella asked nervously. She felt a wake of calm hit her and looked up to Jasper.

"There's no need to be nervous or scared, Bella. We will look out for you and the pack," Jasper said.

"You are still our family, and you love the pack, so we will help protect them too," Alice said. "I can give you a heads up if anything changes."

Bella shook her head, "I'm always putting those I love in danger."

"This isn't your fault," Edward said. "We all shoulder some of the blame, and we are going to make it up to you."

"What do you mean by that?" Bella asked, getting nervous again.

"Me, first," Alice said happily. Oh-oh. "I need to apologize for taking you to Italy in the first place; I shouldn't have put you in that sort of danger."

"Alice-" Bella tried to say no, but Alice wouldn't let her.

"Shhh, let me say this. I also need to apologize for being a part of Edward's terrible plan to 'Keep Bella from La Push'."

Bella rolled her eyes but didn't comment. That was a pretty shitty thing for a friend to do.

"So I sold my Porsche, and I'm giving you the money I got for it," she blurted out almost too fast. It took Bella a few seconds to understand her.

"You sold your baby?" she asked.

"Nah, it was my gift for helping with said terrible plan, and now I can't look at it without thinking about how I disappointed you in so many ways. So here," she said, handing Bella a check.

"Alice…" Bella said as she slowly opened it up. Holy shit... 300,000. She had a car worth more than Charlie's house.

"Alice, I can't take this," Bella said, handing it back to her.

"I knew you would say this," Alice said. Of course, she had seen her reaction. "So I've already transferred half to your bank account, and the other half is in shares, in your name. I've emailed you the instructions on how to access them. I'll keep an eye on them and move them about when needed." Alice shrugged her shoulders as if this was a normal conversation.

"Alice…" Bella was starting to use her name as an expletive. "You're still doing it."

"What's that?"

"Doing things for my own good, without asking me."

Alice frowned. "I just wanted to make it up to you somehow." She sighed. "You can give the money away to a charity if it makes you uncomfortable. Or put it in a trust for your kid's college fund or something. I just thought you might need it. I can't see your future, but I feel like you are going to need some soon." Bella winced at the mention of children but covered it quickly.

She thought more about what Alice was trying to do. Plus, she did need to get better at accepting gifts. She didn't want to offend Alice. She knew this wasn't about the money; it was about the intent.

"Thank you, Alice. I will think about a good use for the money."

"Yay", Alice squealed, clearly happy that Bella had accepted her gesture.

"You know, you could have just said sorry. I would have forgiven you without the bride."

"I'm sorry, Bella," Alice said sincerely.

"I forgive you, Alice," Bella said, blinking away the moisture in her eyes. She threw her arms around Alice and hugged her tight. She had forgotten how cold and hard they were. It made her shudder.

"Man, you smell even worse. I didn't think that was possible," Alice said jokingly. Everyone seemed to laugh at that.

"Sorry," Bella muttered as she pulled away, trying not to blush.

"Now, it's my turn to say sorry," Edward said.

Bella turned to him; she had avoided eye contact with him until now. She could see the sadness in his eyes, and it made her heartache.

"Edward, we don't have to do this," Bella said.

"No, I do. I have done some reflecting over the past two weeks, and I can now see the error of my ways."

Bella raised her eyebrow.

"I tried to control every aspect of your life in an effort to do what I deemed as right for you. I nearly condemned you into this life. I nearly killed you," he shook his head. "Also, I'm sorry for all the hurtful things I said to you the other day. I lashed out in anger, and I will have to live with that for the rest of my existence."

"Edward… please don't live the rest of forever carrying this guilt. It will eat you up." Edward tried to smile, but it didn't reach his eyes.

Bella reached into her pocket and pulled out her engagement ring. It felt like it weighed so much heavier than it really was. Edward stood frozen for a few seconds; Bella could feel her heart pounding out of her chest. Then, finally, he stepped forward and took it back from her. When their fingers touched, she was surprised and relieved that the spark she used to feel was now gone. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

All the vampires turned their heads at the same time towards the front door; Bella's gaze followed, but she couldn't hear anything. Then the door flew open, and Jake was standing in the doorway.

"Jake!" Bella said, standing up quickly and walking over to him. She felt instantly calm in his embrace.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his eyes darting from vampire to vampire.

"I'm good," she reassured him.

"Sorry, I only just saw your message."

"That's okay. They were just telling me about the Volturi's decision and saying goodbye."

"And?" he prompted.

"All sorted," Alice said happily.

"I can fill you in on all the gory details later if you want," Bella added.

"Sure, sure," Jake said. "Um.. but what is your truck is doing here?"

"What?" Bella asked, confused. Her truck had been towed away months ago after it died a sad death.

"Wait, I haven't gotten to that part yet," Edward growled, clearly not happy about Jake's appearance. "While I was rehashing everything I had done wrong, I saw one thing that I got wrong the first time; one thing I could make right again." Bella looked confused. "I knew you loved your truck, and I took it away when it died and bought you that ridiculous car. I should have helped you fix it up; it's not like we don't have the money to do it. So.… last week, I found your old truck at a junkyard and brought it back home. Rose and I have spent the last week and a half rebuilding it."

"WHAT?" Bella screaked, looking between Edward and Rose. She couldn't help the smile that was plastered across her face. She let go of Jake's hand and ran for the door.

What she saw outside made her stop. There was a truck in the driveway, but it wasn't her truck.

"That isn't my truck," she said, dumbfounded.

Rose chuckled from behind her, "we did a little paintwork on it too. I promise the old girl is still in there."

Bella looked back at the truck. It looks practically brand new. There were no scratches, dents or rust. It was shiny and red like it had just come off the production line.

"That's amazing," she muttered as she walked down the front stairs towards her new truck. She ran her fingers along the fender, and over the wheel arch, before reaching up for the handle and opening the door. It opened easily, without getting caught. The inside had been re-upholstered, and there was a new steering wheel.

"She goes a little faster now, so be gentle on the gas," Rose said with a smile.

"Thank you!" Bella said as she ran back and hugged Rosalie tightly. "I love it."

"You're welcome, Bella," Rosalie said sincerely.

Bella knew that the car had lost some of its character, but she was so excited to have her truck back that she didn't care. Plus, now it should last for years.

Bella stepped away from Rose and looked up at Edward; he was still standing in the doorway, behind Jake. She needed to say goodbye to him.

She walked back up the steps slowly; she gave Jake's hand a gentle squeeze as she passed him and threw her arms around Edward's neck to hug him.

"Thank you," she whispered, "you have no idea how much this means to me."

"I can see it on your face. I just wish that I had seen it earlier."

She pulled back to look at him, studying his face one last time. "I forgive you, too," she said and kissed him on the cheek. Edward closed his eyes and breathed her in, one last time, before releasing her back to Jake.

Jake hugged Bella from behind as they watched the Cullen's walked down the front steps. "So this is it?" Bella asked.

"Yes, we won't be back this time. You can tell your tribe that we won't settle in this area again in the future. We don't want to cause another generation of wolves."

"Thank you," Jake said sincerely.

Jake and his Bells stood on the porch together as they watched the Cullen's get into their cars, and with one last wave, they were gone.

A/N – So the Cullens are finally gone. I wanted to be angry with them - make them out to be the villains, but I couldn't do it. I know they have their flaws (very controlling), but they do have a good heart. I wanted to stick true to SM original characters. Plus, I am a firm believer in forgiveness :)

I think that Bella always did what other people wanted her to do, even before the Cullens. She was a people pleaser and had very low self esteem. Hopefully with Jake's healthy influence on her, she can start to believe in herself.

Sorry for repeating a lot of information you probably already know about the Volturi and Bella, but in this storyline, Bella didn't know all this information yet. She may need it for later... hint, hint.