/To the ones who thing Bella forgave too easily, first, who Jake is is how he was brought up, having no memories meant that WASN'T Jake. Bella knew this. the only thing to forgive was that he was too scared to talk to her about it, which when you think about it, having thoughts of killing your significant other, would be scary.

on the other side of things, in the book did anyone else forget the months of hell Bella went through after Edward left? and she forgave him instantly, without a thought. 2 days later Edward proposed. So in my not so professional opinion, she did not rush into that decision. she knew he would be back, she just didn't know all that was going on, so the him being distant thing was already forgiven in her mind. It was what caused the distance that she needed to forgive./

BPOV

When I got back to my bedroom I noticed the light on my phone flashing. I checked and there were a few texts from Angela.

/Hey. Are you okay? Do you need me? Couldn't help but overhear…/

/Hey Bella. I know you're probably going through a lot right now but I'm worried about you./

/Bella, please call me… after what I heard last night, and you not getting back to me, I just need to know you're okay./

I decided to call Angela and explain what was going on.

/Angela POV/

"Hey!" Leah called from the beach.

"Hi." I called back.

"I thought you and Bella were carpooling today?"

"She uh.. hasn't picked up her phone. We ran into Jake last night and he.. well he admitted some thing that I wouldn't normally talk about but I'm kind of worried about her."

"What kind of things?" Leah asked, and I was glad we were the first ones at the beach for our weekly meetup with the other pack members.

"Some really crazy stuff from before his memory returned. I don't want to repeat it."

"So he finally told her. And you haven't heard from her? You don't have to worry. Jake's not going to hurt her."

"He told you?"

"Actually he showed me. He phased and ordered my silence. He isn't dangerous though."

"Then why isn't she picking up?" I asked, worried but Leah's insistence that she was safe calmed me some.

Leah tried Jake's number but it went straight to voice mail. "They could be sleeping. Jake hasn't slept well since before the fight."

I was about to write another text to Bella when my phone vibrated in my hand. Leah stood close to listen to the conversation.

"Bella! Where have you been?"

"Sorry." She said, "I was busy. I didn't check my phone until now."

"You can't just be too busy after something like that. It takes two seconds to send a text. You really couldn't pick up the phone?"

"Jeez, I said I'm sorry. And no, I couldn't use my phone, that would be rude while having sex."

"O.M.G. You didn't!"

"I did. Many times."

Leah grabbed the phone from my hand. "Girl, get your ass down here." She hung up the phone and handed it back. "Sorry. What was she thinking? She may be safe but that doesn't mean she should just go back to normal already."

/BPOV/

"I think Leah's mad at me." I said to Jake as he walked into my bedroom, buck naked. "Come on, get dressed. Time to get life back to normal."

"You think I can? I just abandoned everyone. I haven't even paid attention to who the new members of the pack are."

"I'll update you on the way. Everyone loves you and they know you're going through things. Just get dressed."

I slipped on a shimmery brown bra and panty set with little rhinestones along the straps and slipped a short floral dress over my head. I paired it with a cute set of flip flops and turned to find Jake watching me, still very naked.

"Can I help you?"

"Who ARE you?" Jake asked, smiling at me. He got up and slipped his clothes back on.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you're dressed in a way that you'd never dress before. And you seem so….confident."

"Yeah." Was all I said, then we drove down to first beach.

I hopped out of the truck and walked to the other side, knowing that the pack who was entirely on the beach wouldn't be able to see who was in the truck with the glare of the sun.

Jake stepped out of the truck and looked at me like he was worried.

"I told you, they all miss you. You have nothing to worry about." I reached for his hand then pulled him along, walking backward to the meeting place. It was something we decided to do once a week since Sam took over as interim alpha. First we held a meeting during the morning, then we turned it to a backyard cookout, partying into the evening.

I turned around so I wouldn't trip but my hand stayed on Jake's.

Quil laughed when he saw Jake and his voice boomed across the group of friends. "Our fearless leader has returned!"

I laughed and Jake looked worried. Everyone was staring at us.

Jake cleared his throat, everyone was looking at him, quieting down. "I… I just wanted to tell everyone how sorry I am that I've been AWOL these past few months. I also wanted to tell the new members how bad I feel for not being here to personally welcome you to the pack. I am back now, if you'll have me, though I will gladly give up my role as alpha if that's what everyone feels is best.."

"Jake, man…" Paul said, clapping Jake on the back, then giving him a hug. "We all know you've been through a ton of shit. No one blames you for taking a break from all of this. Come on."

We had our monthly meeting which involved discussions over any new vampire scents, but no new scents had been discovered. No vampires had been to Forks aside from the Cullen's. Bree still went to school here, her and Edward were doing great.

A few things around the community needed volunteers so whenever that happened, the pack helped out, as long as it didn't interfere with school, which for some was not an issue.

The community center needed help setting up for a tribal meeting to discuss funding for the school and the beach was just closed for the season. It didn't mean people couldn't go in, it just meant the volunteer lifeguards wouldn't be around until next summer. The lifeguards being members of the pack. A time anything was needed around the community, the pack took it upon themselves to help out.

When afternoon came, serious conversations gave way and turned into a walk back to Sam and Leah's.

Sam lit the grill and I worked inside the house to make sides for the huge pack.

"Hey Bella!" Charlie called from his cruiser as he stopped by on his way to visit Harry. I handed him a few burgers and a container with sides, knowing he was just looking for something to eat. "Woah, is that Jake? Is he back, is everything okay?"

"He's back, and we're good. I told you, I had faith he'd come back to me. He just needed time."

/JPOV/

I watched as Charlie drove away. Quil ran up to Bella and dragged her over to where some of the group was dancing. Music played loudly through an outdoor stereo system.

Leah came over and weaved her arm through mine. "She's become this amazing, independent, confident woman, Jake. A good part of that is because of you. After Edward left, you were there for her. I have no idea why you thought she shouldn't be there for you during your moment of need. I told you that you should have told her from the very beginning."

"It wasn't as easy as just telling her. It wasn't like I was telling her the sky is blue."

"Actually, it is easy. Jake you should have talked to her sooner. You can't just keep that shit inside and hope it goes away."

I knew she was right, and I would need to talk to someone, other than Bella and Leah about what was going on in my brain, but for now I just wanted to enjoy things, and get back to some form of normal.

Bella was dancing in the middle of the crowd. Leah was right. The confidence that came off of her was one of the sexiest things I'd seen yet. You always hear people say that confidence is sexy and now I understood just what that meant. Bella was always sexy to me, but this confident Bella was beyond words.

Her body swayed to the music, and my eyes were lost in the rhythm of her movements.

I could hear her singing along with the song, my body attuned to finding her voice in the noisy crowd.

Some song came on and she got an extremely sexy smirk on her face. Quil started moving against her and I had to fight the urge to attack. It was Quil, he was harmless, but the wolf in me wanted her only for himself, and their grinding was far too intimate. How close had they become over the months I was away? I knew that it was my fault regardless. She wasn't going to stop living just because I had.

"I'm going to miss this." I could hear him say. "Now that Jake's back, I'm not going to be able to have my way with you anymore."

What? What did that mean? His hands slipped down to her hips as her ass swayed back and forth against him. I fought the growl that was rising inside me. Had she been with Quil while I was MIA? No, she said she was alone, and even if she found comfort with someone else, no way would she ever betray me by being with one of my best friends. She even told me about that toy, so definitely alone. Relax.

She turned around to face him then danced around him, her finger trailing along his chest before coming back around to his front, her ass pressing into him. As her hair fell to one side of her face. Our eyes locked and she started to sing along with the song again, her voice mesmerizing and the look on her face was doing things to me regardless of whose body she was pressed against. I knew she only wanted me. She was singing to me.

"Welcome to the panic room

Where all your darkest fears are gonna

Come for you, come for you

Welcome to the panic room

You'll know I wasn't joking

When you see them too, see them too

Welcome to the panic room"

She walked away from Quil and sauntered over to me, the confidence coming off of her made her look like a whole new person. She danced against me now, facing me though and singing for me.

"There's no crying wolves now

'Cause the truth has settled in

Hiding under goose down

For your nightmare to begin"

Bella turned around to face me, dragging me down into the group and through them to the guest room inside the house.

Without saying a word, Bella undid my pants and dropped them to the floor, then slipped out of her panties. She pushed me backwards onto the bed then climbed on top of my lap. She lowered herself onto me and with the sound of the music outside, rhythmically swirled her hips as she moved up and down. She arched backwards letting her head fall back, her long hair tickling my legs. I was about to flip her over when she reached down between her legs and started touching herself.

"Oh fuck!" I moaned, the sight overwhelming me and I had to focus to not finish too soon.

We laid there for maybe an hour after without talking, just touching each other lightly, running hands through each other's hair, kissing each other.

Next thing I knew, it was dark. Bella's arm laid across my stomach, her eyes closed in a peaceful sleep. I glanced over to the night stand and there was a clock. 4:18AM. We must have fallen asleep. I gently moved out from underneath Bella's arm and made my way to the bathroom, not caring about my lack of clothes.

After I was done, I found myself outside. I wasn't sure what brought me out there but I felt like I needed the air. I went from pretty much no Bella for half a year to telling her I'd like to break up and somehow spending the last 36 hours with her. She actually took me back, even after everything I told her. How did I get so damn lucky?

As if on cue, Bella's arms wrapped around my torso and she leaned her head against my back. Fuck, I was lucky.

I turned around to face her, wrapping my arms around her. She was still wearing the dress, and I wondered if she slept comfortably in it.

She took my hand and brought it down to the spot where her ass met her thigh, then did the same with the other hand. She placed her hands on my neck, like she wanted to slow dance but then she hopped up, her arm wrapping around my neck as my hands gripped her where she placed them, holding her weight.

The woman knew exactly what she was doing. She had her legs wrapped around my waist and was kissing and sucking at my neck. She loosened one of her arms from my neck and brought it between us, gripping my now hard cock in her hand, then guiding it to her entrance. Her other arm loosened on my neck and her body lowered onto me.

"I missed you and I missed this." She whispered and I walked so that her body pressed up against the door to the house.

"You have no idea how much I missed you."

"Then show me." She demanded. Who was I to say no?

The sun was starting to rise by the time we finally made it inside. Our bodies exhausted.