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 23

After Bella had woken up from her three-week coma, things had pretty much gone back to normal. She had been released from the hospital a week after waking up and had returned home to La Push. Jacob and Sarah were ecstatic to have the brunette back home, Billy, Charlie, and the Pack just as excited. They had thrown her a small celebration and she had been showered with so much love, her heart had been filled and she couldn't help but to cry in happiness. For Bella, even after all that she had done and put them through—old and new—they still loved her and forgave her. Even better, a weight that had been suffocating her for the longest had finally been lifted from her and she could start living again. She could begin a new life with her loved ones, with her family, with Jacob and Sarah.

1 Week Later…

Bella and Sarah were at currently at Charlie's house, spending time with him on his rare day off from work. The brunette was busy laughing as she watched her father and daughter play a rather hilarious game of Twister in the living room floor, Charlie struggling with keeping his extremities on the colored spots. She absolutely loved how involved Charlie was with Sarah, knowing that he hadn't been much if at all in her upbringing. Yes, she had also deprived him of doing the same the first twelve years of Sarah's life, but it seemed like that didn't matter now. Charlie had forgiven her for what she had done, he absolutely adored his granddaughter, and her own relationship with Charlie was better than ever.

After she had spun the arrow and called out for Sarah to put her left foot on a green spot, there was a knock on the front door. Standing up, Bella said, "I'll get it."

"Can we take a pause? My arm is cramping up," Charlie asked.

"No, we can't. You've got to hold it, grandpa," Sarah said matter-of-factly.

Giggling as her father grumbled, Bella walked to the front door and opened it. Her chocolate brown eyes widened as they stared at the blonde vampire standing on the front porch. Amber eyes stared back at her before Rosalie gave her a small smile. She looked her over once before saying, "You look good, Bella."

Blinking a few times, Bella opened her mouth to speak, only to close it before opening it again saying, "Oh, hi Rosalie. And thanks, I guess."

Rosalie nodded before asking, "Can I come in?"

"Yes, come in."

Bella allowed the blonde entrance before shutting the door behind her. Leading Rosalie, she took her to the living room where Sarah and Charlie were still bent in weird shapes on the Twister mat. Sarah looked up as she saw her mother step back into the living room and she grinned at the sight of her aunt. Quickly getting up from the mat—and accidentally knocking her grandfather over—she ran to Rosalie and wrapped her arms around her in a hug, holding her close exclaiming, "Aunt Rosie!"

Chuckling Rosalie returned the young teenager's hug saying, "Hello Sarah."

Groaning, Charlie sat up from where he had fallen on the floor and rubbed his shoulder before saying, "Hi Rosalie. What brings you by?"

"Hi Charlie. I'm just here to check up on Bella one last time before leaving Forks for good."

Silence followed Rosalie's words before Bella finally said, "So you're really leaving."

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, I am. I've already put the house up for sale, so it's officially on the market as we won't ever be returning. I've also got to meet back up with the others to see what can be done about Alice, and I can't be away from Emmett for too long."

Charlie's eyes widened before he nodded. Standing up from the floor, he walked over to her and stuck out his hand, allowing her to shake it as he said, "Well then, I guess this is 'goodbye'. Thank you so much for all you've done in taking care of Bella and Sarah and watching out for them, even when those that claimed to love them didn't. You are alright in my book, Rosalie."

"Thank you, Charlie. That means a lot considering all the hell my family put Bella through, and you by extension," Rosalie replied with a kind smile.

Sarah frowned up at her aunt and said, "I wish you could stay. I don't care that you're a vampire, you're still my aunt."

Her sweet words touched Rosalie's un-beating heart, and she knew that if she was still capable of it, she'd be shedding a few tears. She hugged the girl close to her once more before kissing her on her forehead.

"Me too, Sarah," Rosalie said softly. "But just know I'm only a phone call away if you ever want to talk. And if you absolutely need me, I'll be here."

Sarah nodded, closing her eyes tightly as she hugged her aunt. "I love you, Aunt Rosie."

The vampire held her as tight as possible without crushing her. "And I love you, my niece."

Once Rosalie and Sarah had let go of their hug, golden eyes turned to look at the brunette that had been silent for the time being. Walking over to her, the blonde looked Bella in the eye before placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. Smiling sadly at her she said, "Have a fantastic life, Bella. Live it to the fullest with your family and be the one thing you haven't had the chance to be these past thirteen years: be happy."

Tears filled Bella's eyes before she nodded and for the first and final time, hugged the blonde vampire. With her tears falling down her cheeks, Bella whispered, "Thank you, Rosalie. I know I never acknowledged it before, but you were the sister to me that Alice wanted and could never be. I love you and I'll miss you so much."

Surprised wasn't the word to describe how Rosalie felt in that moment, but she had never been filled with so much joy from hearing those words. Returning Bella's hug, she softly said in reply, "I love you and I'll miss you too, Bella."

The two of the stood hugging before Rosalie finally let go. Looking at the three of them, she lifted her hand in a wave and bid them 'goodbye' before turning to leave the house. As she left, Bella, Sarah, and Charlie followed her outside and stood on the porch, watching as the blonde vampire climbed into the red rental car she had rented. They watched as she backed out of the driveway and prepared to drive away. However, she stopped momentarily and rolled down the window.

"Oh yeah, by the way Bella. Tell your wolf man that he better take good care of you and Sarah, or he'll have to answer to me in the future," Rosalie called out with a playful grin.

Bella let out a small laugh before nodding, waving after the blonde as she drove away and out of her life for good. And as sad as she was to see her go, she knew that it was because of Rosalie that her life was finally back on track, and she thanked her for it.

A month later Bella was busy going through legal documents due to her now being a widower, and thus was being asked to look over deceased Mr. Edward Cullen's assets, properties, the works. She didn't even know she was going to be getting any of this, but she had a feeling Carlisle had contacted a lawyer or someone and told them of Edward's "untimely" death, as well as to where to send all of the documents and information. She honestly did not want to go through any of this. She did not want to have anything more to do with Edward now that he was forever gone out of her life, and it was all thanks to her precious bean of a daughter. She had given Edward's mother's ring to Rosalie a few days before the blonde departed from Forks, and she didn't want anything else to do with him. She had finally closed that chapter in her life, and she didn't need all this crap keeping the chapter going.

Hands settled on her shoulders and she smiled when she felt Jacob's lips against her cheek. Turning to look at him, she accepted the kiss he gave her on her lips before saying, "Hey."

"Hey honey," Jacob replied. He took a seat in the chair next to her at the kitchen table, looking at the legal documents that his love was looking at. Frowning he asked, "They finally sent you his things?"

"Yeah, and they've alerted me that his "life insurance policy" check has already been deposited into my account."

"Which one?"

"I don't know, and I don't care. I've got no use for his money; I don't want it. I don't want any of his stuff. But I have decided that as far as any properties in his name—now my name—I'm going to sell. And any other money that is still waiting to be taken, I'm going to donate to charities. I just want to wash my hands of Edward once and for all."

Jacob nodded silently before gently taking the brunette in his arms, holding her close. He wanted nothing more than to tell her to toss everything in the trash and forget about it, but he also knew that it wasn't his place. But he didn't like seeing her stressed out and bothered about things, especially pertaining to the leech. He wanted to do something to get her mind off things, to cheer her up and make her happy. What could he do?

A sudden idea came to him and he smiled before giving Bella a quick hug and a kiss on her cheek before standing saying, "I've got to go, I forgot I had something to do."

Bella blinked in surprise before replying, "O-Okay. I'll see you when you get back."

She watched her lover leave before smiling to herself, wondering just what he forgot to do. Oh well, she supposed it didn't matter. Jacob could handle anything. Turning back to the documents in front of her, Bella gave a sigh before getting back to work. The sooner she settled everything, the sooner she could be done with it all.

Leah stood watching Sarah run around in her wolf form, Seth, Embry, and Sam with her to help her continue to get used to her new form and abilities. Jacob had asked Leah to be a mentor to her, even though she was no longer phasing, and Sarah had taken to Leah immediately and vice versa. She helped ease her into phasing back and forth and moving around and running she left to her brother and man. watching her now she knew that Sarah didn't need anymore guidance from her on phasing, as the thirteen-year-old seemed to have it down to a science now. Angela stood next to Leah, her hand resting on her pregnant stomach. She smiled as she watched her husband run around and play with Jacob and Bella's child. Seeing how involved he was made her smile more, knowing that he would be just as involved with their baby.

Looking at the woman standing just as tall beside her, Leah asked, "Should you be standing this long?"

Angela waved off her question answering, "I'm alright. I actually don't feel real heavy yet, so I'm fine for now."

"You won't be saying that when you enter month seven."

"Probably."

The two of them giggled, their giggles bringing them attention of their other halves. Embry trotted over to Angela and nuzzled her before doing the same to her stomach, Angela smiling sweetly as she stroked his fur. Leah smiled at the sight before turning her attention back to the other three wolves, only to blink when she two. As Sarah playfully pounced on Seth, knocking him to the ground, she looked around for the big black wolf that was Sam. A cold wet nose nudging the back of her neck made her let out a surprised cry before whirling around, staring up at Sam's wolf. Sam looked down at her in amusement as she lightly shoved him saying, "Don't do that, Sam."

Sam let out some sort of wolfish chuckle before licking her cheek, making Leah grimace but otherwise do nothing. She looked up at him for a while before finally smiling, wrapping her arms around his large neck in a hug.

The sound of running feet caught the wolves' attention before Angela and Leah became aware of anyone approaching. Before long Jacob jogged up to them, greeting everyone as he did. He laughed when the white, gold-tipped wolf that was Sarah bounded over to him, rubbing herself against him in greeting. After giving his daughter a hug, he looked at the two women and asked, "Leah, Angela, can you two watched out for Sarah a little longer for me?"

"Sure, but why?" Angela said. "Not that I mind, I love Sarah."

"I've got something to do before tonight and I need Sam, Embry, and Seth's help. Sorry, but I've got to steal them for a couple of hours."

"Alright, have fun," Leah said.

Seth, Sam, and Embry all went into the woods out of sight for a moment before returning, having phased back to human form and wearing their cutoff shorts. Looking at Jacob Seth asked, "What do you need us for, Jake?"

Jacob grinned before answering, "You'll see."

Waving 'bye' to the three females, Jacob turned and ran back into the woods, the other three right behind them. After they left, Sarah phased back to her human form, not minding her nakedness in front of the two women before saying, "I wonder what dad is up to."

"Knowing Jacob, it's either really stupid or really thoughtful," Leah replied.

Angela laughed before saying, "If he's involving Sam, it might not be stupid."

"You don't know Sam like I do."

Angela laughed at Leah before turning to Sarah and telling her to get dressed so they could head to her house. Nodding, Sarah ran off to get her clothes and get dressed before running back to the two women. Once she was with them, they walked back to Angela's car that they had driven out to their destination, climbed in and drove back to the Call house.

Bella hung up the phone finally after such a long conversation with the lawyer Carlisle had gotten involved. Finally, finally, she was done with Edward and anything else to do with him. Turning to Billy she smiled saying, "It's done. Oh, and I'll pay for the phone bill this month, don't worry."

Billy smiled in return saying, "Don't worry about it, Bella. It was important and it had to be taken care of. I can let you use my phone for that."

Grinning, Bella went and gave the man a hug before saying, "Well, I better get started on dinner. How does lasagna sound?"

"It sounds great, but don't worry about cooking anything tonight. Besides, even if you did make it, you won't be eating it."

"Huh?" Bella blinked in confusion.

"And I can cook, so Sarah and I won't starve."

"Okay…but what will I be doing then?"

Billy grinned at the brunette. "You need to put on a nice outfit and wait until Jake gets back."

Bella stared at Billy before nodding, still a bit confused but her heart fluttered as she had a feeling that Jacob was planning a date night for them. "How long do I have before he gets here?"

Glancing at the clock Billy said, "He called me thirty minutes before you ended your call and that he'd be here in about an hour and a half."

Pleased to hear she had plenty of time to get ready, Bella smiled and hurried to the room she still shared with Sarah to pick out an outfit. She enjoyed the first date he had planned, so she knew that she was bound to love this one.

Two hours later, Jacob and Bella were seated at a table for two set up with candles on First Beach during a sunset. Surprisingly, the bit of wind on the beach coming from the waves were not blowing the candles out, to which Jacob was grateful for. He wanted—no, needed—this night to go right. The two of them sat together eating a meal of lemon and rosemary baked chicken, creamy mashed potatoes, steamed asparagus, and a bottle of red wine. It was all so delicious and Bella knew Jacob had not at all made this; it made her wonder who did because Jacob couldn't even boil water.

Once dinner was over, Bella was surprised when Jacob reached into the cooler by his feet and pulled out two plates of chocolate cheesecake. Laughing she said, "Okay, there is no way that you or whoever made chocolate cheesecake."

Grinning Jacob said, "Of course not. I hope you're okay with store-bought."

"I'm okay with that."

Bella picked up her fork and stuck it into the cheesecake, scooping some up before putting it into her mouth. She hummed in approval as she chewed before swallowing and saying, "You've really gone all out tonight, Jake."

Jacob smiled and said, "You deserve it, Bells. After everything you've been through, I wanted to do something real special for you."

Chocolate brown eyes looked into brown ones lovingly and she softly said, "Thank you for this, Jake. It was really sweet of you, and I love you so much. I know I don't deserve you, but I do."

The man stared at her for a moment before he said just as softly, "I love you too, and you do deserve me."

"I don't."

"Then let's agree to disagree."

Bella chuckled as Jacob took a sip of his wine, deciding that was as good as any compromise. The two of them continued to eat their dessert, talking about this and that, and Bella was able to pull out of Jacob that Embry had been the one to cook dinner for them while Sam and Seth helped him set up their little table on the beach. He also told her about Sarah's phasing progress and how she seemed to enjoy turning into a wolf, though she was struggling with the idea of cutting her hair. Bella laughed at that, reminding Jacob that he took struggled with having to cut his hair when he first phased. They also discussed enrolling Sarah into the La Push middle school, unless she wanted to go in Forks of course. They supposed it didn't matter where she went, so long as she was happy wherever she was learning.

By the time they finished eating, Bella was feeling content and happily full. She leant back in her chair and sighed before saying, "I think I'd fancy a walk down the beach now."

Jacob, who had been watching the brunette adoringly, smiled and stood up from his seat. Walking over to where she was, he held out a hand and said, "My lady."

Laughing softly, Bella kicked off her flats and took his hand, letting him stand her up before walking hand in hand towards the water. They walked parallel to the water, Bella's toes dipping in the sand with every step, the wind blowing through their hair and ruffling their clothes, Bella's skirt of her dress fluttering in the cool breeze. After a while they stopped and Bella turned to look up at Jacob.

Taking his hands into hers, she looked up at with him so much love in her eyes before saying, "I know I've already said it, but thank you for tonight. I had a wonderful time and I don't think anything can top it. Though knowing you, you will find a way."

His mouth quirked a little before a grin broke out on his face. Shaking his head, Jacob looked down at Bella saying, "Yeah, I have found a way. Hopefully you'll love it as much as the rest of this night."

Releasing her hands, Jacob reached into his pocket, taking a deep breath as his hand enclosed around the little box. Pulling it out he bent down on one knee, opening the little black box to reveal the ring that once belonged to his mother, Sarah Black. Gasping in surprise, Bella covered her mouth with her hands, tears filling her eyes.

"Bells, we've known each other since we were kids, and ever since I was fifteen, I've been in love with you. We've been through numerous amounts of hell and I wasn't ever sure we would ever get out on the other side. And I finally admitted defeat when you got married and moved away. But you came back to me and even gave me the best gift in the word, a daughter. Even after all of these years, I've been in love with you. I've always loved you, even when I knew I should have hated you. But my heart won't let me, because you are my heart, you and Sarah. Bella, I love you more than anything and I know that no matter what, no matter how bad things get, I want to always be by your side. And I know we've only been back together for a few months now, but I know what I'm feeling and I know it's right, I know it's meant to be. So, Isabella Marie Swan, will you marry me?"

Author's Note: This is the penultimate chapter to RWMtB. This story is about to completely wrap up. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for the final chapter to come. Thanks so much for you kind reviews as well! Love, SehunsBae37.