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

Chapter 38

"YOU DID WHAT?" Charlie asked for the hundredth time.

Bella sighed and lowered her eyes to the table. "Dad, can I just get through my story before you ask any more questions?"

She had been trying to get Charlie up to date with what had been happening in her life for the past eighteen months since she had been living in Forks… under his roof.

"Sorry, kiddo. It's just a lot to take in. I can't believe I was so blind!" he said, angry at himself. He prided himself on being a good cop.

Charlie joined Bella, Jacob, and Billy for dinner, with the intent of hearing all about what they had been up to behind his back. They were eating at the Black's house. The Swan residence was still under repairs.

Bella had tried to soften her father with beef stroganoff made with Grandma Swan's secret recipe and plenty of Vitamin R. However, it was still a bitter pill to swallow.

Jacob held her hand under the table, and she leaned on his shoulder for support. It had been a long, exhausting week, and she had the morning shift tomorrow at the cafe.

When she had finally finished telling him all the gory details, she had left nothing out; there was a long silence. Bella held her breath as she waited for his final reaction.

Charlie closed his eyes, and when he opened them, Bella was surprised to see pools of unshed tears in them. "I'm sorry, Bells. I feel responsible for not protecting you better."

It seemed that self-flagellation and unnecessary guilt was a Swan trait.

"No, Dad. This isn't your fault. I made these decisions. I made one bad decision after another until I finally made the right one when I chose Jacob." Jake kissed her hand.

"Charlie," Jake spoke up for the first time. "I don't think Bella had even fully understood this, but vampires are designed to draw in their prey… humans. It makes them hard to say no to. Usually, they use this to draw them away from a public place, etcetera etcetera. I do not doubt that Edward used that to his advantage to enthrall Bella."

Bella knew this deep down, but it was hard to admit. She had always shouldered all the blame.

"Jake once told me that he was like a drug to me," she looked up into his eyes as she remembered the time she tried to let him go. "He was right. It wasn't until the partial imprint that Edward's effects started to wear off. When he left me last year, I basically went to withdrawals and entered a deep depression." She saw Charlie flinch at the memory. "Jacob was the only one who could make me feel better, even then. He was like the antidote."

Jacob kissed her head and inhaled her scent. "Bella grounds my wolf and me. Sometimes I feel like I am going to forget who I am, and the wolf will take over."

"I told you I would always remind you," she whispered to him. He quickly kissed her on the lips.

"Ugh, not PDA, guys. You know my rules," Charlie grumbled.

"Sorry, Dad."

"If I ever see that scrawny white ass again, I'm going to shoot him," Charlie declared with a twitch of his mustache. "I know it won't hurt him, but it would be fun to try."

Billy and Jacob started laughing. Next, Charlie joined them, and eventually, Bella did too.

When the laughter settled down, Bella announced that she needed to get to bed; she had an early start. Charlie bid farewell to them, and he headed back to Sue's.

Jacob helped his father get to bed for the first time in a month. Bella was proud of him for putting aside his disappointment in his dad and helping him again. It was especially needed now that Rachel and Paul were in the hospital.

Bella had a quick shower and waited in bed for Jake. When he finally returned, he was carrying a massive pile of blankets.

"What's that for?" she asked curiously.

"I have to patrol tonight. I'll be back about 1."

Bella pouted. She hated when she had to sleep without him. Jake leaned down and kissed her, sucking her bottom lip into his mouth. He gently bit it. Bella moaned and melted further into the bed.

"Can you spare five minutes?" she asked desperately.

Jake chuckled. "Is that what you think of me? Sometimes I think you are just using me for my body."

Bella's mouth opened in mock horror. "I also need you as my mechanic-type friend. You know how I am with anything with a motor."

"Well, in that case…" Jake said with a coy smile before he attacked her with his lips. His heavy body pushed her into the mattress. She loved the feeling of all of him on her body.

Ten minutes later, Jake kissed his sleeping beauty, wrapped her in three blankets, and ducked outside to do his patrol. Hopefully, she wouldn't even notice his absence.

The following day passed quickly. Jacob enlisted some of the pack members to help Charlie clean up his place. Sam had a construction business, and a few of the pack members worked for him. With a new door, patched plaster walls, a fresh paint job, and some deep cleaning of the floorboards, the downstairs area of the Swan house was almost back to new.

The tension was clear between the new alpha and ex-alpha. Jake had briefly considered making Sam his beta. He had a wealth of knowledge and experience, but that would be impossible with his current attitude. It would also mean he would have to demote Leah, which he was not happy about doing. Leah had made an excellent beta so far. She was tough on the boys, and when Jake was out of action, she took charge without a second thought.

When Bella got home from work, she looked exhausted. Jake ran her a bath and made her take a nap. She protested, but he could feel how tired she was. He promised to make dinner. She looked at him skeptically and left him to it. It almost felt like a challenge.

He cooked sausages and made mashed potatoes with steamed some veggies to go with it. Bella was impressed at his handy work in the kitchen, but she wasn't really up to eating much. Even Charlie complimented him on it.

Jake and Bella fell into bed that night by nine. Charlie was still up watching tv downstairs. Bella couldn't believe she was still tired after her nap. She also felt a bit guilty; Jacob was the one who had patrolled the night before.

They chatted a bit about their days, and Bella asked Jake about how Embry was going.

"He's okay. He is refusing to see Old Quil. But I don't blame him. Leah is trying to get him to speak to his mom, but he's not game yet."

"I'm sorry, I wish I could make it better for him," Bella conceded.

"You can't fix everyone, Bella."

"I know," she sighed. "At least he has Leah."

"Yeah, they are good for each other."

In their excitement about their own imprint revaluation, Bella had forgotten entirely about Leah and Embry.

"It's so unfair," Bella grumbled.

"I know," Jake agreed, knowing what she was referring to.

Bella's eyes slowly drifted close as she listened to the game on the TV downstairs and the rain outside on the roof.

She didn't sleep well that night. She woke multiple times with strange dreams that she couldn't remember. Usually, she could remember her nightmares vividly, and she only got them when Jake wasn't with her.

The rain had gotten louder during the night, and having the window propped open didn't help. Moreover, she did not appreciate her increase in hearing at four in the morning.

The rain was hammering down on the roof, and both Jake and Charlie were snoring. She grumbled as she tried to get more comfortable. He was lying on his back, which probably wasn't helping.

She sat up and grabbed his wrist on the opposite side of her, and pulled. He slowly rolled onto his side, not waking from his sleep. She nestled into his chest with her back and pulled his arm around her waist.

With Jake's snores gone and his large body deflecting some of the rain sounds coming through the window, Bella was finally able to get back to sleep.

Bella woke to the feeling of something tickling her face. She swatted it away blindly but missed. The feeling returned, and she finally peered through her eyelashes to see Jake's fingers tracing her forehead, nose, and lips.

"Morning," he whispered and kissed her briefly on the lips.

"Mfpht," she grumbled.

"Come on," he encouraged her. "It's probably time to get up."

"Why?" she croaked. "I don't have to work today."

"It's nearly ten in the morning."

Bella's eyes flew open, and she raised her head slightly. "What?"

"You've been asleep for over twelve hours," he said with a smile.

"Ugh. So tired," she grumbled as she laid back down on the pillow. She must have turned in her sleep and was facing Jacob now. "How do you do it," she asked.

He frowned. "Do what?"

"Fall asleep and stay asleep, whenever and wherever. It's so noisy all the time."

Jake chuckled as he finally understood her predicament. "Rain kept you awake?" he guessed.

"Yeah, and the snoring."

"You need to learn to tune it out. It takes time and patience, but it is possible. I don't hear the rain anymore, but I can hear a wolf howl from forty miles away, even in a dead sleep."

Bella frowned. "How exactly do you tune it out?"

"Um…" Jake paused to think. "It helps if you can identify each sound. I picture the object or thing that is making the noise, and then I visualize shutting the door on it if I don't want to listen."

Bella looked at him skeptically.

"Okay," he said. "Close your eyes."

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Humor me," he said. So she laid flat on her back and closed her eyes. "What do you hear?" he asked quietly.

"The rain on the roof."

"Okay. Can you go out further outside? What else can you hear?"

She squinted her eyes as she tried harder to listen. She felt Jake's warm fingers smooth out her forehead.

"I can hear birds in the trees."

"Good. How many different types of birds can you hear?"

She listened more carefully and noticed the different frequencies in the chirping. She could almost pinpoint in her mind where the sounds were coming from. Which trees surrounding the house had birds in them.

"Four, I think," she guessed.

"I can hear five. There is one flying overhead."

"Oh yes, I can hear that one too."

"Now, go out further. What else can you hear?"

"Something scratching in the dirt. It is small, maybe a rabbit?"

"Yep."

"I can hear cars. Quite a few of them, their wet tires are splashing on the road. Is that the 101?"

She could hear his smile as he told her it was.

"Wow, that's like five miles away," she marveled.

"Okay, so now bring it back in. Shut the proverbial door on the car noises, the animals in the forest, the birds, and finally the rain. Focus on something inside the house. What can you hear?"

Bella took a few deep breaths as she tried to concentrate on what he was teaching her. "I can hear the fridge?" she questioned what she was hearing. "Like a gentle hum and a click?"

"Yep. And the tv is that constant high-pitched noise."

"Ugh, that's annoying now I can hear it."

Jake chuckled. "I had to unplug mine at home for a while when I slept. It was too loud."

"That might be a challenge here with Charlie unless it bothers him too. Oh no…" she said as she looked up at Jacob in shock.

"What?"

"What if he gets supernatural hearing too? There is no way we can… you know…" she blushed.

Jake grimaced. "Yeah, that could be annoying."

They lay in silence for a moment before Jacob continued. "Is he home?" he tested her.

Bella listened beyond her room to hear any hints that someone was in the house. It was probably a good skill to pick up for safety reasons. "No, I don't think so," she finally answered.

"Good, he left a few hours ago."

Bella smiled that she had got it right.

"I can hear your heartbeat," she said with a brilliant smile. She had never before been able to hear it unless she was lying on his chest. "It's so loud!"

"It beats for you," he said cheesily.

Bella rolled her eyes, even though they were closed. Jake noticed and chuckled.

"I slept best when I'm with you," he continued, "because I can sleep listening to your heartbeat. It's the one noise I latch onto, when I slept."

Bella smiled; she loved listening to Jake's heart when she fell asleep. Now she could hear it from across the room.

"What's that's humming noise?" she asked.

"Where is it?"

"Somewhere down the end of the bed," she pointed towards her feet.

Jaco didn't say anything.

Bella was confused. There shouldn't be anything there. She got up and clambered around to the foot of the bed. Then, listening carefully again, she ducked down to peer under the bed. She frowned nothing there.

She walked over to the desk and looked under it. Nothing there either.

Maybe it was an appliance. But she didn't think what it was.

She checked the computer, it was turned off, and there was no noise emanating from it.

"What are you doing?" Jake asked, clearly amused.

"I can't find what is making that noise. I hope it's not a mouse." Ugh, that thought creeped her out.

"I can't smell a mouse," Jake said.

She walked to the other side of the room and checked in the wardrobe.

When she had given up looking, she returned to the bed and stared at Jake; he had an odd expression on his face. "What is it?" she asked.

He sat up and eyed her suspiciously. "Stand still," he instructed her. Then, he crawled towards her and stopped at the edge of the bed. "That noise is coming from you?"

"What?" she asked as he lowered his head towards her stomach. She stepped back.

Jake grabbed her around the waist and pulled her closer. He placed his ear over her lower stomach and listened.

"It's coming from in here," he whispered in awe. "It's very faint and very fast."

"What is fast? Jake, you are freaking me out? What is going on?"

"Bells, I think you have two heartbeats."

A/N So I finally did it. This has been a long time coming. I wanted Sybil to tell everyone during the big reveal about the prophecy, but it didn't seem appropriate with Rachel injured in the same room. I also haven't read a story where Bella hears the heartbeat first, so there you go. Just trying to keep it original. Hope you are still enjoying it. Let me know what you think.