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 9

Sarah crept out of the house early the next morning, wearing her light jacket to keep warm from the crisp morning air. Silently closing the door, she crept off the porch before taking off in a run for the woods, her tennis shoes lightly pounding the dew-covered grass. She ran into woods and kept running for about two minutes before slowing to a stop she breathed some air into her lungs for a moment before looking around and listening intently to the sounds of nature. A smile slipped onto her face at hearing the squirrels chitter to each other and the birds sing as the wind rustled the leaves of the trees above her head.

She always felt the most at peace when she was out in nature, like she was one with it. She at first didn't understand how that could be considering her mother seemed to never want to be outside and her husband's family didn't venture outside at all. But now she realized she was a nature child because her father Jacob was one. It was like they were allergic to being outside or the sun or something. She loved feeling the sun on her skin. If she didn't know any better, she'd say that the Cullen family were vampires considering how they never stepped outside when it was sunny, even going as far as to shut the curtains when the sun was out. But vampires didn't exist, and if they did, she believed they'd be the classic Dracula kind of vampire. Maybe the Cullens were just allergic to sunlight and broke out and burned badly.

Hearing some shuffling Sarah turned her head towards the sound and began walking towards it. As she did she whistled, almost like she was calling for a dog. In a way she was, hoping the giant wolf she had encountered her first night in La Push would show up. She had wanted to run into the large, gentle creature again but hadn't seen it since. When she got no response she whistled again, this time longer. After a while she heard the shuffling again and before she knew it, a giant wolf was emerging from the morning shadows. However, it wasn't the sandy colored wolf she had first seen. The wolf standing before her was much larger than the previous one had been, and its fur was a beautiful russet color. He should have been intimidating and should have scared her, yet Sarah felt nothing but a sense of ease and calm as she stared at its majestic figure.

The wolf stood still and stared at her, the wind rustling through its fur. Sarah felt an overwhelming want to be close to it. Slowly she walked towards the wolf and held out her hand, all the while being cautious in case its demeanor changed and tried to snap at her. Even so, she felt as if the big creature wouldn't hurt her. It was looking at her almost as if it knew who she was. Stopping in front of it she gently placed her hand on the space between its large eyes, marveling at how it allowed her to do so and even closed its eyes in contentment.

A soft giggle escaped her mouth as she buried both hands in its fur. Boldly she wrapped her arms around its large neck as best as she could and cuddled into the large body and soft fur. The wolf let out a purring sound before turning its head and licking her face, the action causing Sarah to squeal in surprise before laughing. The wolf let out a barking sound that sounded like laughter as well, making the preteen laugh harder. Pulling away she looked into the russet wolf's large eyes and couldn't help but find warmth and familiarity in them. It was shocking to see the familiar eyes, but she couldn't think of a reason as to why they would be familiar to her.

"You feel familiar to me," Sarah said softly. "Like I know you from somewhere, but I can't think of where. But your eyes are definitely familiar to me, and they're big and pretty too."

The wolf nuzzled her before licking her once more. She giggled and hugged the large wolf once again, loving how close she was able to be with it. A soft bark caught her attention and she turned to see the sandy wolf she had befriended coming towards them. She grinned brightly and ran to it, hugging it as well and smiled brighter as it nuzzled her as well. She was about to speak to the wolf when she heard here mother's voice call her name being carried on the wind.

"Sarah! Sarah, come on! It's time for breakfast!" Bella's voice called.

Sarah sighed and hugged the sandy wolf once more before moving to hug the russet one. The russet wolf lifted a paw and seemingly hugged her in return before backing up and gently nudging her with its snout. Sarah smiled and nodded before waving 'goodbye' to the creatures and running back towards home.

Jacob watched his daughter run away from him and head back to his home. It seemed almost surreal to him that his daughter saw him in his wolf form, and he couldn't help but be surprised that she seemed to recognize something about him that was familiar to her. Granted she didn't understand why, but she had nonetheless. It was almost like when Bella had first seen him in this form, having been in awe just like she had been, only without the present fear.

Turning to Seth he gave him a pointed look and said through their mind connection, "We're going to have to let Sarah know soon."

"I thought you didn't want that just yet," Seth said in confusion.

"I don't, but if I don't tell her soon, someone else will."

"That's true. Are you going to tell her that I Imprinted on her?"

"I think you should do that, but only after the concept is explained to her. But one step at a time. First, we'll tell her eventually about the spirit wolves."

"Are you going to ask Billy if you can?"

Jacob was silent for a moment before answering, "I'm going to ask Bella. But in doing so, I'm going to have to reveal that the Cullens are leeches to Sarah, and then Bella is going to have to explain her side and…I don't think I can put them both through that just yet, especially when Bella seems to want to just forget right now. Her life is finally getting back on track and I don't want to ruin the peace she has."

Seth nodded in understanding. "Hopefully they won't come back like they did the first time."

"Don't jinx it, Seth. Alright, we're done for now. Go home and get some rest."

Seth nodded and took off in a light trot to head to his own home while Jacob did the same towards his own home. Reaching the edge of the woods, he phased back to human and put his pants and shirt back on before walking to his house. He didn't know if Sarah had told Bella about her encounter with him, but he couldn't say he was upset about it. In fact, he had enjoyed it and it was obvious she was comfortable and not scared at all, just like her mother had been.

Later that day Bella was ready to go and visit Leah in the hospital. She knew there was a chance that Sam would be there and probably wouldn't take to well to her sudden presence back in Forks, but she didn't care. She was going to be there to see Leah, not Sam. She was waiting for Jacob to return as he was gone dropping Sarah off at Call's house. The moment she found out she was going to be spending time with Angela, Sarah had been ecstatic about it. She had wanted another chance to ask Angela about her book and what inspired her to write it, as well as the new book she was writing. Bella only hoped Angela wouldn't spill any secrets to Sarah about the origin story of her book. She didn't know what she would do if her friend told her daughter that her book was an inspiration based on the complete fuck-up that was her and her life. As far as she was concerned at the moment though, the best thing that had come out of all of the crap she had put herself and others through was Sarah, and she wouldn't give her up for anything.

The sound of a car pulling up outside the house caught her attention and Bella walked out of the house, saying 'bye' to Billy who was busy watching a soap opera that he had recently become invested in. Stepping off the porch, Bella got into the car where Jacob was waiting and buckled herself in. Jacob looked at Bella and asked, "Ready?"

"Yeah," Bella answered.

Jacob nodded and pulled away from the house, heading back down the road out of La Push towards Forks. Along the way Jacob engaged Bella in small conversation, just enough to get her mind off her obvious nervousness. Bella was getting better at masking her anxiousness, but it was still obvious to him. As he drove he couldn't help but smile as Bella admitted that she wanted to take her hobby in cooking and go to culinary school, or at least enter a program where she could get credentials and own her own little eatery. Bella sounded so cute talking about her ambition and dream, but his heart clenched when she admitted she didn't think she could do it.

"Bells, you can do anything you want and dream of doing. And no matter what Sarah and I will support you. If you want to become a chef, then you go become a chef," Jacob told her encouragingly. He smiled at Bella's blush and adorable smile, her face looking smooth and young rather than the older face she seemed to sport from constant stress and worry over the years. He wanted to badly to help ease her stress and worry away, more than it was going away now.

He gave her a playful smile before saying, "Besides, you've got plenty of taste testers to try out your food."

Bella raised an eyebrow as she looked at Jacob and said, "You mean you and Seth are going to eat everything I cook, regardless of what you think of it. I guarantee the only person to genuinely tell me what they think will be Sarah, Billy, and Charlie."

Jacob placed a hand over his chest dramatically. "You wound me, Bella. You really think I would lie about your cooking?"

"Yes." She didn't mean it and she knew Jacob knew it too, especially when he barked out a laugh. His laughter was still as infectious as it had been thirteen years ago, and she found herself laughing with him.

The two of them were so caught up in laughing and talking that Bella was surprised when Jacob parked the car and turned it off. Looking out the window Bella saw that they were at the hospital in the parking lot. As they got out of the car Bella took a deep breath before walking with Jacob from the parking lot into the hospital. As they stepped inside the hospital, the smell of antiseptic hit Bella's nose, the sterile smell burning her nose and bringing back memories of when she herself had been in the hospital for accidents, many of which happened here in Forks.

Walking up to the front desk Bella got the attention of the woman behind the desk and said, "Excuse me, we're here to visit Leah Clearwater."

The woman looked at her before looking behind her towards Jacob. Recognizing the tall, good-looking man she nodded and said, "Just follow your friend, he knows where to go."

"Thank you," Jacob said before leading Bella away from the desk and over towards the elevator, his hand resting gently on her lower back.

Bella blushed feeling of his warm hand on her back, not having expected him to place his hand there. She knew it was probably an unconscious move on his part and probably didn't mean anything by it, but he had no idea how much he was making her heart race from doing so. She didn't want to get caught up in her feelings for Jacob again, but he was having a major effect on her, whether he knew it or not. She had been trying to convince herself that she wasn't falling back into her old feelings for Jacob but seeing him every day again and seeing him interact with and love Sarah made her heart swell with happiness and she couldn't help but think what life would be like for them like a real family. But she couldn't do that, not when she was still technically married to Edward.

The two of them stepped into the elevator and rode it up to the fourth floor of the hospital, Bella watching the numbers change until the elevator stopped on the desired floor. They stepped out onto the floor and walked along the corridors, many nurses smiling and greeting Jacob a bit too flirtatiously for Bella's liking. She found herself scowling at the thirsty bimbos as a feeling of jealousy settled in her chest, a feeling she rarely ever experienced. It wasn't like any of those women were Jacob's type anyway. He wouldn't even give them a chance to date him or the time of day. At least she didn't think he would…she hoped he wouldn't.

What am I thinking? Bella thought to herself shaking her head. It's not like Jacob is mine and we're together. He can see and date any woman he wants. Even so, she couldn't help but feel jealous at the thought of him doing just that.

Jacob cut a corner and finally stopped in front of a door, the name on the sign outside the door reading Clearwater, Leah. He sniffed the air before determining the smell he was smelling was his former Pack brother and Alpha. Looking at Bella he said, "Sam is here, just to give you a heads up. Are you ready?"

Bella looked at him before nodding, biting her lip as she did so. Jacob nodded and knocked on the door before opening it, stepping inside and lightly beckoning for Bella to follow. Bella took a deep breath before following him inside the hospital room, steeling herself to see Sam and Leah for the first time in thirteen years.