The night was somehow even more exhausting than she had planned for. The hours spent waiting, the pack returning alive but broken, and now the further complication of Edward's involvement. Maybe Edward was right: maybe it would have been better not knowing. She could just allow herself to just be completely at peace with the knowledge that Jacob was home again and Victoria had been reduced to ashes along with the rest of her coven. No more vampires. That doesn't mean Jake was a hundred percent off the hook.

As she watched him disappear from her life for the last time, she wondered if everything she had told herself since that last time was true, that she'd accepted the past and forgiven him for his part in it. But as she stood in the snow, demanding him to show himself, she could not help but feel a surge of rage in her blood that kept her warm as the wind blew through her. This was her chance, her chance to spew all the venom that had laid dormant within her at the man who'd wronged her. And yet, she couldn't. In fact, she almost pitied him. He would go on forever with his guilt long after she was dead, but she hoped that perhaps someday we would find his own happiness that required no sacrifice.

"Jake," she called. "Let's get back inside."

Whether the tortured look on his face was from his injury or from the encounter, she wasn't sure. It seemed to register relief at Edward's departure, though he clearly knew that wouldn't be the end of it. But he had been through too much tonight, and so had she.

She took his functioning hand and they trudged back into the house, where much of the pack had been quietly chatting and blowing through the cookies. Sam was already sitting up again, though he still looked pale from the blood loss. Emily was not letting go of him for even a moment, and was sending the brothers to fetch water and food in her place. Quil and Embry had slung themselves across the remaining chairs in the living room and promptly passed out. Embry was snoring loudly, crumbs covering the fresh pink scars on his chest. Even in sleep he wasn't quiet. Everyone who was still awake turned to glance nervously at the pair.

"Everything alright guys?" asked Emily.

"Yeah," Bella sighed heavily, running her hands through her hair.. "I think I just need to get to bed."

She did not drop Jacob's hand. She led him upstairs to Emily's guest room, and closed the door behind him. He simply stood there, staring silently at her as she changed into her pajamas and fell backwards onto the bed. He seemed to be waiting for her still, too anxious to make the first move. She didn't like silent Jacob. It usually meant that he was afraid, and she worried that she was the one scaring him. As tired and upset as she was, she had no interest in guilting him about any of this.

"It's ok, Jake," she murmured groggily, tucking herself into the massive quilt that covered the bed.

"C'mon, we both need to get some sleep."

With some hesitation, he slid out of his shorts and crawled under the blankets with her. There was still sweat and small patches of dirt on him, but she was long past the point of caring. They'd get cleaned up in the morning and she would wash Emily's sheets for her. It looked like his arm was still bothering him as he shifted and re-adjusted his body on the mattress. she wasn't sure how quickly wolf bones healed. She wasn't sure how quickly anything healed.

She cuddled up to him, gently pulling him in to rest his head on her chest. As hot as his skin always was, he seemed to shiver under the blankets. He'd worn a brave face for her for so long that she had almost forgotten that he was even capable of fear. He looked tougher than anyone she'd ever seen, but that veneer couldn't conceal the gentle heart hidden just beneath the surface. The buildup to that night had been so long and so tense, and the comedown felt just as bad. He gave her so much: his support, his protection, his friendship, and most importantly, his love. Now was the time to pick herself up and give him the love and support that he needed. There was nothing she wanted more than to sleep off the entire ordeal, knowing that he'd still be beside her when she woke. Where he belonged.

The birds were the first to wake her up, followed by the sun filling up the room from top to bottom through the sheer gauzy curtains. There was no clock in the room, and her phone was too far to reach from the bed. She didn't need to know the time, anyways. She had all the time in the world.

Jake was still asleep, pressed against her back with his arm around her waist. She could feel his slow, steady breath on the back of her neck. Something else was pressing against her from behind as well, grinding into her every so often. There was no getting out of a grip like this, not that she ever wanted to, but a trip to the bathroom was in order. She carefully wriggled her way out from under her arm and tiptoed to the bathroom. He grumbled incoherently and rolled onto his stomach in response.

She had dragged herself into bed the night before without a second thought, and it showed. Her hair had dried in a weird way, sticking up on one side with the other stuck to her forehead, and there was still a bit of chocolate stuck in the corner of her mouth. Her night shirt had adhered to her body with sweat, an unfortunate side effect of having Jake in her bed. A quick shower was definitely in order.

After having scrubbed herself down from head to toe, she realized that she had left her clothes in the bedroom, and would need to leave the warmth of the tiny steam-filled room. She wrapped the towel around her and made a beeline for the bedroom, where she found Jacob stirring but still asleep. She dug through her bag looking for the extra clothes she brought and her underwear. She'd brought some of the nicer ones, even though she had no expectation of anyone seeing them. She was going to need to buy more cute ones.

She dropped the towel and began trying to put on her panties as quickly as possible as the cold air nipped at her skin. Her misstep made her hop on one foot as she struggled to get her legs through. Now she couldn't even dress herself without a catastrophe.

"What's the rush?" he said groggily, that stupid goofy grin plastered on his face.

"Oh that's what wakes you up," she sighed, rolling her eyes at him as she pulled a long sleeved shirt over her head.

"Well yeah, my naked senses were tingling."

"Is that all?" she asked smugly, gesturing towards the lump under the blankets.

"You didn't give me much of a choice, Bells. Especially after that."

When she finished redressing, she climbed back into bed next to him, laying nose-to-nose. His eyes were a bit bloodshot from the strain and lack of sleep in the past week. His cuts had already disappeared. The truth was that he looked like hell, and it was going to take more than a shower to get him back to normal.

"How's your arm?" she asked softly.

"A little achey. It gave me some trouble when I was trying to fall asleep, but I should be able to use it sometime today."

"Good." She kissed his nose and pulled the covers up over their shoulders, her hand coming to rest on his chest.

"...Bella?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you still mad at me?"

It was a fair question. She had tried not to think about it too much after Edward left, knowing full well that she would have to deal with it in the morning. She didn't realize it would mean first-thing in the morning. Truth be told, she would have much rathered to not deal with it at all, but that wasn't how she wanted to operate anymore..

"I'm not sure," she said. "The whole thing was such a mess. I guess I was mad at you for hiding that from me. I get why you did, but I didn't like it. I didn't enjoy thinking that your promise to him trumped your promise to me."

"It doesn't."

She looked into his eyes. She knew he was remorseful and likely conflicted about Edward as well. Maybe Jake was worried that he would try to take her back, or that she was reevaluating their relationship. Nothing could ever be simple, could it?

"It's good that you told me. Nobody else trusts me to make decisions. They just shield me from truth because they don't think I can take it. Everyone walks on eggshells around me like I'm going to fall apart any second, and then they end up either manipulating me or forcing my hand. Charlie, Renee, Edward, the rest of the Cullens, it never stops. It's hard to trust anybody when they lie to you or just leave you. At least this time I got to choose. And I got to say goodbye properly."

He let out a heavy sigh.

"I hated keeping it from you, Bells. I didn't want him here at all; I came close to tearing his head off when I first saw him. But he was tracking the redhead and knew how we could take her out, and I wasn't really in a position to turn down the deal."

"When were you planning on telling me?" she asked, her voice more stern than before.

"Well assuming everyone survived, I was waiting until the right half of my body wasn't broken and partially dislocated. Which reminds me: I need to punch Quil the next time I see him. I'll just have to do it with my left hand," he said.

She snorted and pressed her lips together, trying to stifle giggles.

"Don't say it…"

"... I bet you do it with your left hand a lot."

She erupted into a fit of giggling and he rolled over, letting out a long sigh of disapproval.

"I was trying to have a mature, adult conversation here and you ruined it."

It felt good to laugh again, even if it was juvenile. She didn't want to be so serious anymore, and now she could afford not to be. And Jake could too.

"You were mad just a minute ago, remember?"

"I'm sorry," she said, wiping her eye. "I really needed that."

"...it's not like you have any room to talk," he muttered.

"What was that?"

She climbed on top of him, straddling his hips and running her fingers carefully along his chest. Without his jeans on, he was completely defenseless. But how cruel did she want to be this early in the day? Perhaps it was a bit too soon to be teasing him like this, especially in his weakened state,, but it was so much fun, and she was feeling especially nosy. He inhaled sharply.

"Nothing..." he mumbled.

She slid down to press herself on top of his chest, planting very light kisses up his neck, and she felt him shiver underneath her.

"I'll just have to get it out of you later, " she whispered.

"Then I'm definitely going to need full use of my hand."

She laughed and gave him a kiss before hopping out of bed. She could hear the clanging of pans and the oven door downstairs, along with the guys yapping and hollering. They really had no concept of an "indoor voice." She'd hoped that everyone would sleep in after the night they had, but there were no limits to Quil and Embry's mouths, whether something was going in or coming out of them.

"Come on, Jake. I'm sure Emily's working on breakfast downstairs. You know what'll happen if they get to it first."

"I think I'm going to need a minute, Bells. Good job." he said sarcastically, eyeing his crotch.

"Well at least we know that's still in working order," she countered. 'Also, it was like that when I got there."

"Maybe, but you definitely didn't help the situation."

She rolled her eyes. "Just put on some pants and meet me downstairs. I'm starving."

"Let me at least hit the shower first, honey. I smell like a wet dog. I think they'll all thank me."

With a quick peck on the lips, she made her way to the kitchen. On her way down, she realized that she felt lighter, like everything that had been weighing on her for so long had vanished. She was smiling all on her own, not just because of Jake or social convention. Today was just going to be a normal day, the morning after a sleepover, where everyone was half asleep in their pajamas while the mom cooked breakfast.

The scene downstairs was not too dissimilar. There were fewer shirts, at least. Sam's chest has healed into an angry looking scab, and he seemed to move slower than usual, but he was undoubtedly better than when she had last seen him. Emily was somehow more chipper than usual, stopping to kiss Sam every chance she got, and Sam's cool exterior was replaced by that sappy smile that took over when they were together. After the night she and Bella had, she was surprised she had let Jacob out of her sight for even a moment. Though if she knew he would be up so soon after her, she might've convinced him to join her in the shower.

The others were very much themselves, which was comforting in its own way, but also a bit too much for nine in the morning.

"Dude, just because you made out doesn't mean she's into you."

"If she wasn't into me then why did she give me her number?"

"Probably as a distraction so she could escape. I bet it's fake."

"I swear to god, if you two don't shut up…" Paul growled, looking almost hungover with his hands propping up his head on the table.

"Morning, everybody," she said, stepping into the kitchen. She pulled out a chair for herself, and Emily appeared with a cup of coffee. It was probably strong enough to kill an elephant, but having something hot to drink made her feel better. She sipped and watched the brothers argue while she properly came-to.

She could hear Jacob's footsteps thudding down the stairs. He bent down behind her, wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and kissed her cheek before taking a seat beside her at the table.

"You two look happy," Embry remarked in his usual mocking tone. "Hey Jake, did you guys-"

"Enough!" roared Paul.

"Here, Emily, let me help."

Bella decided to avoid any further lewd inquiries by bringing plates to the table, piled high with scrambled eggs, toast, and ham. The milk was already half-empty thanks to Jared, who was still non-verbal. Too bad the rest of them weren't.

"So…" Bella began as everyone gathered at the table. "Does this mean that this is the last big pack gathering?"

She could hear the sadness in her tone. Now that the pack wasn't going to be patrolling and coordinating anymore, or at least not regularly, she might not get to see everyone like this again for a while. She'd always have Jacob, but she felt a certain kinship with the pack that she never had with any of her other friends. She knew she'd never completely fit in with the tribe as a white girl, but she still felt that perhaps there was a place for her, but hopefully not just because of the imprint.

"Of course not," chirped Emily as she loaded Sam's plate up for him. "We're definitely going to still see each other, but now it'll be less business than pleasure. I'm still doing movie nights if they don't eat me out of house and home."

As usual, she was an open book. Nobody had misunderstood what she really meant. Maybe they could hear her thoughts too.

"Yeah, Bella. You're a wolf girl now. You're in the pack. You don't need to be in imminent danger to hang out with us. You have an open invitation."

"Great," she said with a sigh. She realized she sounded more relieved than she wanted to let on.

"We aren't going to let you have Jake all to yourself. He's an idiot, but he's our idiot."

She was grateful to be there. The first time she sat at that table, her life had been flipped upside down yet again. Jacob had nearly left her, albeit against his will, and now he was sitting next to her, holding her hand and looking at her as if she were the only person in the world. How lucky could she get?