Disclaimer: The last time I checked, I did not own Twilight. Wait, let me check again...Darn it!

Billy's doctor thought that having the surgery right away would be best. Rebecca, Rachel, and Jacob had talked about how they would come up with the money since Billy didn't have insurance on himself. Jacob had slapped a for sale signs on the Rabbit and Bella's bike after getting her permission. They had nicknamed the bike the Death Trap and Bella hadn't rode it since her first lesson. He'd already had four calls about the car but none of them were willing to pay what he was asking for.

They would worry about the rest of the money once the bills started coming in. Rebecca was admitted the Friday after she had arrived. They'd had a week as a family before the surgery, that was enough for them. Bella picked up Jacob from school and the ride to the hospital was silent. Rebecca was already in recovery and resting when they got there.

Bella sat next to Jacob, not sure what to say. There wasn't a lot that could be said in a situation like this, so she held his hand and let him lean against her when he needed her. Jacob hadn't been sleeping since he came home. He spent most nights running patrol with Sam, preparing for when he would be made Alpha once Billy was well enough to do the passing of responsibility ceremony.

The doctor came out to meet them three hours after Jacob had gotten there. The surgery had gone well and they had been able to remove both kidney's at the same time. They were hoping that Billy would be able to function with only one kidney. Only time would tell.

Everyone left leaving Jacob and Rachel alone so that they could see Rebecca and Billy before visiting hours ended. Rachel planned to drop Jacob off at the Swan's so that he could get some much needed rest. Bella hoped that Jacob took his sister's advice and took a few days to relax and decompress. He'd had to deal with one thing after another and it was starting to take a toll on him.

Bella was awake when Rachel dropped Jacob off just before midnight. He was loaded down with bags so she opened the door to the guest bedroom downstairs where Billy and Rebecca would be staying. Jacob would be spending the next few weeks at the 'Sofa Hotel'; at least that's what Charlie thought. They crept past Charlie's door hearing his soft snoring.

Jacob lay on his back while Bella lay on her stomach with her chin resting on her arm. She watched him, taking in his tired, defeated features. She had never seen him like this. He wasn't the type to think the worst or give up when things got hard. If things didn't change everything would come crashing down around them.

"You should sleep," she said soothingly.

"I can't," he said with a sigh.

"What's going on?" she pressed gently.

"What if I'm not good enough? What if my dad doesn't get better?" he asked, scared.

"What if you're not good enough to be Alpha? If you don't think that you can do it than you need to talk to Sam. I'm sure he felt the same way when he became Alpha. And you have to believe that your dad will get better. You can't go into being Alpha with the doubts that you have," she reasoned.

"I know," he said mutedly.

"Get some sleep. You'll feel better once you do."

"You're right," he said with a weak smile.

"I usually am," she said confidently.

"Thank you," he said, closing his eyes.

His deep, even breathing filled the room a minute later. Bella pulled the blanket up then snuggled closer to him. She was asleep almost as soon as she closed her eyes.

XXXX

Bella was surprised to see Emily when she came into the store on Monday. Kourtney was doing inventory in the back and the store was pretty much dead as Emily made her way to the register. She smiled warmly in greeting when Bella met her at the side counter.

"It looks good on you," Emily said, gesturing to Bella's necklace.

"Thank you," Bella said, reaching up to touch it, sometimes she forgot that she was wearing it.

"I've been meaning to come in here, I haven't been here in years," she said looking around the store.

"You've been here before?"

"I lived less than twenty minutes from here when I was growing up."

"I didn't realize that there was another reservation close by."

"Just north of here," Emily said with a nod.

"I'm glad that you came in. I haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah, just before I found out about this guy," she said, rubbing her bulging belly.

"Has it really been that long? I'm sorry," Bella said with remorse.

"No apologies needed. You had your own set of problems. It's good to know that you're doing better doing now."

"Much better," Bella said with an affirming nod.

"I came in to talk to you about the necklace."

"What about it?"

"I gave one to Rachel and Kim when they became imprints. I had a good feeling about you the day that I met you. It's hard to believe that it was less than a year ago. I've prayed so hard for Jacob to imprint on you that everyone thought that I was crazy," she said with a short laugh.

"All of the imprints have a necklace like this one?"

"Well, each one is different. I should explain the story behind it. Each imprint holds the key to their respective wolves future. A lot is riding on each of us, and I wanted something to tie us together, kind of like the pack in a way."

"But you gave me this before Jacob imprinted on me," Bella said as the news sank in.

"Like I said, I had a good feeling about you," Emily said with a smile.

A group of women came in and Emily pushed away from the counter with a wave. Bella felt like she was on cloud nine as she walked over to assist one of the women with something. She hadn't realized that she had made such an impression on Emily when they first met. It was like her friendship with Alice, who she missed terribly. The Cullen's had made themselves scarce since Edward left. She made a mental note to go and see them soon.

She lost track of time and before she knew it her shift was over and she needed to get home. Rebecca was being released from the hospital and Ina needed to be picked up from the airport. Rachel was picking Ina up and getting her settled into a hotel so it was up to Bella and Jacob to get Rebecca settled in. She got to the hospital as Rebecca received her discharge paperwork. Jacob lifted his sister into Charlie's truck with ease and got her buckled in while Bella threw her bag into the back.

"It's been a while since I've been to Charlie's," Rebecca said nervously.

"Trust me, it hasn't changed," Jacob said with a light laugh.

They pulled up to the house and Sue came out to meet them. She had come over to get the room finished so that Bella wouldn't have to.

"There's no reason why you should run yourself into the ground, it's your job to keep Jake from doing that. Dinner is in the oven and I'll be over in the morning."

"I don't have to at work until one," Bella let her know.

"I know. Like I said, you aren't doing this on your own. I'll see you three bright and early," she called over her shoulder as she walked down the walkway.

Jacob was working on his homework when Charlie came home an hour later. Bella was sorting laundry and the washing machine was filling up with water so she didn't hear Charlie clear his throat.

"Bells!" he said over the roar of water.

She jumped three feet in the air, hitting her head on the shelf that held the laundry products. Luckily, Charlie pulled her out of the way before the container of Tide Pods conked her on the head. The packs spilled onto the floor and Bella groaned in frustration. She rubbed the small bump on her head with a sigh before picking up the mess.

"I didn't mean to scare you," he said apologetically.

"You never do," she said in disdain.

"How long have you guys been home?"

"An hour."

"How did you manage to make beef stroganoff and get the laundry together in an hour?" he asked perplexed.

"Sue made dinner; it should be ready soon. I still need to heat up some soup for Bec," she said as she brushed past him.

"I already did it," Jacob called from the living room.

"It looks like the two of you make a good team," Charlie said with a smile.

Bella smiled in appreciation. It meant a lot that her dad approved of her relationship with Jacob. She knew that it wouldn't bother him since he thought of Jacob as the son he never had. She was more worried about how he would react when things got more serious and the conversations that they had about Jacob became more awkward. Charlie didn't handle awkward situations well and Bella was not looking foward to it.

XXXX

Jacob was keeping something from her, she could feel it. He'd gotten a call that morning and he hadn't been the same since. Bella had asked him about it but he had quickly changed the subject. After lunch she found him sitting on the front stoop. She sat next to him, pulling her jacket tight around her to ward off the chill.

"I know something is going on and I swear if you change the subject you will be sleeping on the couch for the rest of your time here," she threatened.

"We have somewhere to be in an hour," he said vaugely.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I tried to get out of it..." he said, then cut himself off.

Her phone chirped and she answered it with a sigh.

"Hey Alice."

"Why did I just have a vision of you jumping off a cliff again?" she asked, panicked.

"I'll call you back," she said quickly.

She turned her head to look at Jacob, her eyes thin slits. He turned to look at her with a helpless look.

"Why am I cliff jumping?" she asked accusingly.

"Technically, we both are. You're being initiated today."

"I'm what?"

"All of the wolves and their imprints had to do it at some point. Apparently there's a low tide today which is perfect for jumping."

"It's twenty degrees!" she argued.

"It was in the teens and snowing when Jared and Kim did it last year," he said with a shrug.

"What if I get sick?"

"Then I'll take care of you," he said with sincerity.

Bella opened her phone with a sigh and sent Alice a text to let her know that everything was fine. She had her reservations about jumping but she wasn't going to tell Jacob that. Flashbacks of her last jump flitted through her mind. She knew that she had nothing to worry about, Jacob would be with her, just like he had been last time.

He took her hand in his and squeezed it gently. If she was going to jump, than she was going to be prepared. Inside, she grabbed a change of clothes, a blanket and made a pot of hot chocolate. Jacob watched her with a bemused expression. Once she finished she turned to him.

"What's with the look?"

"You aren't nervous?"

"I am, that's why I'm keeping myself busy; it takes my mind off of it," she stated.

"You wouldn't be you if you didn't worry. It'll be over before you know it," he promised.

"Is anyone else doing it?"

"Nope, Rachel and Paul got lucky and had to do it last summer."

She nodded as she packed her clothes, blanket and the thermos of hot chocolate into a bag. They walked towards the wooded area across from her house hand in hand. Once she was in his arms and the bag was situated on her shoulder properly he took off. The woods were a blur and if Bella's face wasn't buried in his neck she'd be feeling the chill bite her cheeks.

They were at the cliffs in less then ten minutes. The only people there were Sam, Emily, Rachel, Embry, and Quil. Emily smiled at Bella as Jacob set her down. They were on the lower shelf so Bella felt a little better about jumping. Nothing but blue sky stretched out as the far as the eye could see. Jacob stripped down to his basket ball shorts while Bella handed her bag over to Rachel.

They stood on the edge hand in hand while Sam explained the rules. They weren't allowed to just step off and everyone would judge them and if they felt that it wasn't up to par Jacob and Bella would have to jump again.

"On the count of three," Sam said.

Sam counted down and Jacob looked over at her and she nodded and then they sprung off the cliff at the same time. She could hear not only the wind whipping around them but Jacob's laughter. She let out an excited yell just before hitting the water. She came up less than two hundred yards from the shore, turning to look for Jacob. He surfaced twenty feet from her.

She laughed excitedly as she shoved her hair out of her eyes. He flashed her a grin before swimming to her.

"Was it so bad?"

"No, but I'm freezing," she said through clenched teeth.

He gathered her in his arms and carried her to where Rachel waited with her bag. Bella found a place to change then wrapped the blanket around her. Jacob had a cup of hot chocolate waiting for her when she came back. She would rather have had coffee, but Jacob wasn't a coffee drinker and she was thinking of him when she made it. He cradled a cup in his hands as she leaned into him. Everyone left and they had the beach to themselves. She couldn't put into words how happy she was that the pack and the imprints accepted her. She wasn't the type of person to value peoples opinion of her but this was different, she and Jacob were tied together forever and there was nothing could separate them. Little did they know that their bond was about to be tested.

Dun, dun, dun! Don't you just hate when that happens? I'm contemplating how long I should keep you all waiting. I know what I want to happen but I still have to get it out of my head and onto my comp. So you guys will have to wait a week, at least. As usual, let me know what you all think. Love you all!