Rekindling What's Meant to Be

JacobxBella

Rated T

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Rekindling What's Meant to Be

Chapter 3

Bella stared at the name flashing on her cell phone as it rang, complete contempt filling her body. She absolutely did not want to talk to Edward, especially at seven in the morning. He had started off texting beginning at six-thirty, but upon her ignoring them he started calling. It continued so much that the person in the hotel room next to her banged on the wall and yelled at her to silence her phone, to which she did. Now it just flashed his name with his continuous calls. She wanted so badly to just not answer, but she knew she had to. Reaching over to the bedside table she grabbed her cell and finally answered.

"What Edward?" Bella said coldly into the little device.

"Good morning, my love," Edward's smooth voice greeted in her ear. "I hope you slept well. I was just calling to ask are you on your way home yet."

"No, I'm not. I haven't gotten Sarah yet. But the moment I get her, we'll head back to Colorado."

"Well I hope to see you soon and that you don't dawdle in Forks. Remember what I told you, especially if you run into him. He'll just pull you back and you don't need that."

A cold shiver ran down Bella's spine at her husband's implied threat. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves she said, "Edward, you promised. You promised you wouldn't hurt Sarah if I stayed with you, regardless of the fact that I don't love you anymore."

"Oh how I hate to hear you deny your true feelings for me after all of these years. Just do as I say and Sarah won't be touched. I'll see you soon; until then, my love." And with that the line went dead.

Tears filled Bella's eyes and she shut them tightly to keep them at bay. Damn Edward! Damn him! She wished she had never gotten involved with him at all, something she had been regretting since Sarah had been born. But there was nothing she could do. All she could do now was go to La Push, collect Sarah, and head back to Colorado—Sarah kicking and screaming if need be. She just hoped Jacob wouldn't be stubborn and just let her get in and out without fuss. If only it could be that easy, but she knew better.

Jacob watched in concealed amusement as his daughter waltz around the kitchen comfortably as she made breakfast for him and Billy. She was obviously in her comfort zone and was whipping up mouthwatering deliciousness; she obviously picked up cooking from her mother. Also Sarah was bouncing and dancing around the kitchen as she cooked as well, humming along to whatever it was she was listening to on her iPod; it sounded like Katy Perry. At some point after flipping a pancake in the pan, she shook her head almost wildly, her dark brown hair flying all around her head and he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Sarah turned around to look at her father with a bright grin, loving the sound of his laughter. No one ever laughed with the family she lived with and this was a lovely contrast. They were always so closed off and cold-like, and her father and grandfather were so warm and open and welcoming. It made her not want to leave and she had only been here for almost about twenty-four hours. Giggling she turned back to her cooking and soon she had three plates set on the table topped with pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, homemade biscuits, and a bowl of cut fruit. There were also glasses of poured orange juice set up and soon Sarah, Jacob, and Billy were seated at the kitchen table and enjoying each other's company while eating the twelve year old's delicious breakfast.

About the time breakfast was over Sarah looked at the two men and said, "I didn't know the animals around here grew so big."

Billy frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

"The animals, or at least the wolves here are massive. And they're friendly, too."

Jacob froze and shared a look with his father before looking back at his daughter. Clearing his throat he asked, "When did you see this wolf?"

Sarah smiled up at him and answered, "Last night. I have a tendency to sneak out at night and play with wild animals and I did last night; I'm sorry. But I ran into a very friendly bear sized wolf. It even let me ride on its back."

Already having an idea about who the wolf was Jacob asked, "What did it look like?"

"It was sandy colored and gangly looking, and it was really sweet. It even made sure I got back inside alright."

Jacob and Billy looked at each other once again, knowing immediately she had just described Seth in his wolf form. They weren't upset Sarah had snuck out of the house, considering Jacob did it a lot as a teenager. But he was internally freaking out because it was obvious Sarah didn't know about the Pack and she had run into one of them, meaning Bella hadn't told her anything about their supernatural world. This meant Sarah was completely in the dark about this aspect of his life. He wondered why Bella kept this from their daughter when she was living in the midst of vampires. Did Sarah not know the Cullens were vampires, that her mother married one? He had so many questions, but the only person that could answer them was Bella.

Deciding to leave that alone for a while he decided he needed to talk to Seth. Why did he reveal himself to Sarah when they were trying to remain secretive? It couldn't have just been because she was his daughter; it had to be for another reason. Finishing his food he stood up and placed his empty dishes in the sink before turning to face his family.

"Well, I need to step out for a while and I don't know when I'll be back. Sarah, dad is going to take you to meet Charlie. I'm sure he'd love to meet you," Jacob said.

Sarah nodded and said with a smile, "I'd love to meet him, too." She turned to look at Billy. "Do you think he'll like me?"

"He's going to love you," Billy told her while ruffling her hair. "Just let me call Sam to come and give us a lift to Forks and we'll head that way soon.

Jacob smiled at them before heading out of the door to his car, getting inside and cranking it. He pulled away from his home and headed to the road to head to the Clearwater's house. He and Seth needed to have a chat.

Sarah stood nervously in the driveway of her other grandfather's home, staring up at the little yellow house. It looked exactly how her mother described the home and she thought it looked like it should belong in a happy story; all it needed was a picket fence. However her mother only ever wore a sad expression when talking about living here and she didn't understand why.

Sam helped Billy into his wheelchair before telling him he'd tell Jacob to come by to get them later. He had been so surprised to meet little Sarah, further surprised to learn she belonged to Jacob and Bella. He wanted to talk to Jacob but knew it wasn't his business.

Billy watched Sam leave before turning to his granddaughter. Taking her hand gently he asked, "Ready to meet your mother's old man?"

Sarah looked at him and smiled saying, "Yes, I'm ready."

"Alright, let's go meet the chief."

The two of them made their way to the front door and soon were knocking on the door. They waited for a moment before they heard the door unlocking and soon it opened to reveal police chief Charlie Swan. Charlie was about to greet Billy when he took notice of the girl next to his best friend. He looked at Sarah confused for a moment before looking into her chocolate brown eyes, knowing those eyes to belong to one other person besides himself. He looked between her and Billy, his mind racing until finally he said in disbelief, "Oh my God."

Sarah smiled and was about to greet the man when he suddenly covered his face with his hand, his face turning from fair to pink to red in a manner of seconds. Before she or Billy knew it they could hear the sobs that Charlie was trying to conceal. Billy wasn't really surprised by the reaction, knowing Charlie only ever reacted strongly to things concerning Bella, but he knew that realizing his daughter had kept Sarah a secret had to be definitely overwhelming for him. He also knew he'd probably be raving mad later, but not right now. As for Sarah, she couldn't stop the tears that weld up in her eyes upon seeing her grandfather become so emotional upon meeting her. She knew it wasn't fair of her mother to deny her and Charlie this and she was aware of what her grandmother Renee had done to Charlie concerning her mother. So for her own mother to do the same thing only worse, to her it was despicable.

She sniffled as her tears fell and she soon stepped up to Charlie and wrapped her arms around him in a close embrace, Charlie bending down a bit to return her hug. As the two of them cried and held each other in this long overdue meeting, Billy watched them with a smile on his face before looking away to give them the illusion of privacy. He already had his moment with Sarah and he wouldn't dare interrupt Charlie's.

Jacob knocked on the door of the Clearwater house, waiting patiently for someone to answer the door. When no one answered he knocked again, only louder. This time someone did answer, that person being the one he came to see. Seth smiled at him and said, "Morning, Jake! What are you doing here?"

"I've come to talk to you for a bit," Jacob replied. "Do you mind stepping outside?"

Seth shook his head and stepped out of his house, closing the door behind him. They stepped off the porch and walked away from the house a bit before Seth asked, "What's up?"

Deciding to not even beat around the bush Jacob said, "Sarah told me that she ran into you last night while you were on patrol."

Seth's eyes widened in surprise before asking, "How'd she know it was me?"

"She doesn't, but she described what you looked like and mentioned the wolf was rather friendly. She also mentioned it gave her a wolf-back ride."

Jacob watched as his Pack mate scratched the back of his head nervously and how he refused eye contact. Usually Seth would just admit to something like this without pause, though would probably still feel guilty. Even as a man he hadn't lost that quality about him. So why was he not saying anything now? A sudden thought came to mind and Jacob closed his eyes briefly before asking his next question.

"Seth, are you aware Sarah is my daughter?"

"Yes, and that's why it's hard for me to tell you this, why it's hard for me to admit to why I so easily approached her last night and allowed her to see me."

"Just tell me, Seth. If you tell me the truth, then I won't be upset with you." He paused for a moment. "Besides, you're shit at lying anyway."

Seth chuckled a little before taking a deep breath and saying, "The reason why I allowed her to see me and spent time with her last night is because…because I Imprinted on her."

There was a long silence flowing between them before Jacob finally asked, "When?"

"When Billy and I first walked into your house yesterday and I looked at her. The moment I stared into her eyes I just knew. And when I saw her walking through the woods last night, I was only following her to look after her, I swear. But then she called out to me and invited me to her, and I couldn't help myself. Just…just please don't be upset with me, Jake."

Jacob rolled what Seth told him over in his brain for a while before nodding and saying, "It's alright, Seth. Thanks for telling me the truth. For what it's worth, I think Sarah—when she's finally told our secret—will take it in stride. She's so open to everything from what I've observed of her that I know she'll accept you."

Seth grinned brightly and nodded, thanking Jacob before inviting him inside to which Jacob declined. Jacob told Seth he'd see him later on patrol before getting back in his car and heading back to his home. He'd stop there first before heading to Charlie's house to check on Sarah.

Chocolate brown eyes stared out of the window of the taxi as sadness and regret filled her being. She didn't think she'd ever return to this place, but she had to in order to get her daughter back. She knew she wasn't even allowed on these lands anymore, but she hoped she could get in and out without being detected. Before long her eyes settled on the little red house that the taxi pulled up in front of.

The taxi driver looked at the house and said, "Funny, I was just here yesterday dropping off a little girl. Are you her mother?"

Bella nodded and gave the driver more than enough money before thanking him and getting out of his cab. She bit her bottom lip nervously before squaring her shoulders and walked up to the house, hearing the taxi turn and leave. Walking up onto the porch the brunette raised her hand and knocked on the door, hoping to any god that was listening for Billy to open the door. It'd probably be easier to get Sarah and go if he was the one to answer.

The door opened and Bella came face to face with the one person that could break her as easily as he could fix her. He was her best friend whose heart she had broken. He was the father of her child. He was the person Edward didn't want her to come into contact with.

Brown eyes stared at her for a moment with concealed surprise before Jacob finally said, "Bella."

"…Jacob."