Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, I just like to write about it.
Bella knew that Jacob's time away from her had brought about a few changes in him. He had matured and was more level headed, but those were just the major changes. His love for her had always been there but now that he could show it without repercussion she wondered how he had been so patient and had lasted as long as he had before leaving.
His patience hadn't really been tested, even with the threat to her safety Jacob had taken it more or less in stride, someone who didn't know him never would have known the stress that he was under. The Cullen's were still a sore subject with him since he still had issues with Rosalie who had become belligerent as of late. Bella was having trouble keeping him calm at times because Rosalie was more vocal about her feelings about the situation than she had ever been. It was time for someone to step in and put a stop to things before they got out of hand.
Bella hadn't expected the voice mail from Esme inviting her and Jacob to dinner that night She'd worked a double shift and still had to go home and make dinner for Charlie. She would just have to call Esme and cancel. She didn't like telling Esme no, but it was last minute. She put the key in the ignition as she waited for Esme to pick up.
"Hello, Bella," Esme greeted warmly.
"Hi, I just got your message. Tonight isn't a really good night for Jake and I to come over. I just got off of work and I need to make dinner for my dad before he goes to work in an hour."
"Alice and I brought dinner over for your dad an hour ago and Jacob is at your house, waiting for you to pick him up. Alice saw you calling first thing this morning," Esme explained.
"Jake and I will be there as soon as we can," Bella said, giving in.
"See you soon."
By the time Bella got home she was exhausted and wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for the rest of the night. Jacob caught onto this as soon as she walked in. He watched her with worried eyes as she towel dried her hair after taking the quickest shower she had ever taken.
"I can call and tell them we aren't coming," he offered.
"No, don't. I have a feeling that they want to talk about something important. It would be better to get whatever it is worked out now rather than later.
Jacob knew that she was right; but if they ganged up on her he would not hesitate to hightail it out of there and never let her come back. What could they possibly need them to come over for on such short notice? Alice had seemed fine when she came over and without Jasper, she was like an open book; Jacob would have sensed that something was wrong.
Jasper met them at the door when they got to the Cullen's an hour later with a calming smile. Bella was grateful that he was there to soothe her frazzled nerves. Jacob gave him a appreciative nod as he stepped into the house.
The first floor was silent, alarming Bella since it was usually filled with music and laughter at this hour. She sighed, forgetting that the music was usually played by Edward. She hadn't realized how much his family relied on him until now. Jasper led the way up the stairs where hushed voices could be heard from the loft as they passed.
"Is someone leaving?" Bella asked to get Jasper's attention.
"No, Bella, no one is leaving," Jasper assured her gently.
The kitchen was at the end of the hall and light spilled out of the archway, welcoming them. Esme stood at the oven, pulling out a large casserole dish while Alice chopped vegetables for a salad. Esme noticed them first, her eyes shining brightly.
"Hello," she said, crossing the room to hug them tightly.
Alice wrapped her arms around Jacob's middle as soon as Esme let go of him, squeezing tightly. He gave her a one armed hug, looking at Bella out of the corner of his eye. Bella shrugged, not sure what to make of Alice's behavior.
"You're probably wondering why we asked you to come over," Alice said looking up at Jacob, still holding onto him for dear life.
"The thought had crossed our minds," Bella said with a small nod.
"We asked you over as a peace offering. We know that Rosalie has been causing so much trouble and strife for the two of you and we want you to know that her feelings are not shared by the rest of us. Carlisle and I have tried to reason with her, Emmett has tried to talk to her numerous times but she will not listen. Especially now that Edward is gone and we have no idea if he will be join us again," Esme explained.
"She's acting like an intolerable child if you ask me," Alice said, throwing in her opinion on the situation.
"And where is she now?" Bella asked quietly.
"Emmet is talking to her yet again. We don't want the two of you to feel like you have to stay away to spare our feelings. Edward made the decision to leave, no one forced him," Alice reasoned.
Esme led them to the table, explaining that Carlisle was working late and that he was sorry that he had missed them. Emmett came down the stairs from the mud room, greeting them with a wide grin and a hearty pat on the back for Jacob and a gentle shoulder squeeze for Bella.
"Will Rose be coming down?" Alice asked, grabbing plates to set the table.
"She needed a minute to talk to Jasper," Emmett explained before pulling out a chair across from Jacob and Bella and straddling it.
Bella gave him a warm smile, hearing someone else descend the mud room stairs. Rosalie stood at the door, watching Bella and Jacob cautiously. Jacob's shoulders squared, feeling her eyes on him. If she said one thing out of hand he wanted to be ready for it.
"Get off your haunches. I'll be nice if you will," she said as politely as she could.
"Rose," Esme warned.
"It's good to see you Bella. I haven't seen you in a while," Rosalie said, considerably nicer.
"It's good to see you too," Bella said politely.
"I hope you like lasagna Jacob, I found a recipe for Mexican lasagna online that I've been wanting to try," Esme said from the stove.
"It has polenta instead of lasagna noodles and chorizo instead of sausage. Even I would try it if I were human," Emmett announced.
"I hope that you didn't make too much," Bella said, worrying her bottom lip.
"Nonsense! Whatever is left over can be taken home with you or you can give it to the pack."
Jacob didn't have the heart to tell her that most of the pack probably wouldn't eat it since it would smell like her. Charlie, Bella, his dad and he would finish it off if there were leftovers.
The family sat with them while they ate. Even Rosalie had contributed to the conversation. By the time they finished dinner it was after ten and Bella was so tired that she couldn't hold her eyes open. Esme packed up the chocolate chip blondies that Alice had made because Bella had once mentioned that Jacob liked them.
Bella fell asleep during the car ride home and Jacob brought the food in and put it away before coming out to get her. She stirred as he picked her up but he told her to go back to sleep, kissing her forehead as he placed her under the covers.
"Stay," she mumbled, her voice thick with sleep.
"My dad hasn't been feeling well since yesterday. I want to be there if he needs me.
"Love you," she said, closing her eyes.
"I love you too," he said, leaning to brush his lips to hers before leaving.
All in all he thought that things had gone well that night. No blood had been shed, no barbed words were traded and no one had stormed off mad. Maybe things could be different after all.
XXXX
Jacob had enlisted Embry and Quil's help to set up the shipment of tools and supplies that had come in for his shop which would be opening in the summer. Sue had offered to go through the applications that had been coming in for the past week since Jacob put the help wanted sign in the front window. As it was he would only be able to hire two people plus Sue and he would barely be able to pay three of them what they deserved while the shop got off the ground. He was forgoing being paid so that he could pay his employees what they deserved.
He used the time with Quil and Embry to get some perspective and get their opinion on things that had happened since he had come home. Embry was free with his opinions and confessed that he liked the new and improved Jacob. He felt that Jacob was doing the best that he could for the pack and had proven to be a great leader who led by example.
Quil had been quiet for the most part. Reiterating Embry's thoughts on Jacob's job as Alpha and he was just glad that Jacob had decided to come home. Jacob could tell that something was bothering Quil and called him on it while they were taking a break to eat the lunch Bella had sent with him.
"I love Bells, you know that. She's like a sister to me and I would do anything she asked of me without thinking twice," he started.
"But?" Jacob prodded.
"Sometimes I get jealous of what you have with her. I'm glad that you two make each other happy but it bums me out because I can't have that with Claire, not yet anyway. Don't you get jealous sometimes?" he asked Embry.
"Don't drag me into this you Neurotic Psycho," Embry wraned.
"Do you?" Jacob asked with curious eyes.
"No!" Embry said with an eye roll for emphasis.
"Why haven't you said anything before now?"
"I wouldn't have said anything if you hadn't asked. I have fourteen more years of being in the friend zone while you only had a year and a half. Life isn't fair sometimes, but I'm dealing with it."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Jake. Now stop acting like a girl and quit hogging the chips," Quil said, jerking the bag out of Jacob's hand.
Jacob hadn't expected Quil to say what he had but he was glad that it was out in the open. He made the decision not to tell Bella since it would only make her worry. He'd keep his thoughts of Bella to a minimum while he and Quil patrolled and he would tone down the PDA in front of him. That was all he could do since he couldn't change the situation.
XXXX
The pack sat in the back row of the room at the municipal building that was used for tribal counsel meetings. The room was only used when the weather kept them from having their meetings outside. This was only Leah's third meeting since joining the pack since the meetings weren't mandatory. Leah had asked all of them to come, not giving them a reason as to why.
Seth sat next to his sister, wondering why she had asked him to come tonight. She hadn't been involved in a lot of tribal events since their dad had died the year before. Billy brought a discussion about noise pollution to a close, asking if anyone had any business that they felt needed to be resolved. Leah stood before Seth knew what was going on.
"I do," she said with determination.
"Come on up to the front," Quil Sr. said, waving her forward.
Leah made her way down the center aisle, a look of fire in her eyes that Sue hadn't seen in a long time. This wasn't going to end well. Leah came to stand in front of everyone, her eyes scanning the small room. Everyone in the room knew about the pack but they didn't know what went on behind closed doors.
"As most of you know, Seth and I joined the pack within a couple of days of each other. I haven't had the easiest time adjusting to things while Seth has thrived off of serving our tribe and doing everything in his power to ensure that all of you are safe. Some of you might have even heard that Seth has imprinted. What you don't know about is the pressure that not only Billy and Quil Sr. but our own mother has put on him. He's barely old enough to drive but the three of them have the rest of his and Kourtney's lives planned out for them, without their consent. Am I alone in thinking that this is wrong?"
"Pop?" "Dad?" Quil asked with Jacob following a second later.
"Leah, go and sit down," Sue urged.
"Nope, I'm staying right here. How could you let them do this? You are our mother, you're supposed to protect him!" she accused.
"Do you have mine and Claire's life planned out too?" Quil asked.
"No," Quil Sr. answered honestly.
"So, Seth is just a special case then?" Jacob asked.
"I get that he isn't old enough to decide what he wants but you can't make the choice for him Mom. I've tried to reason with you but you wouldn't listen," Leah stated, turning to face Sue.
Billy called the meeting to a close and everyone filed out of the room except the Clearwater's. Sue sniffled, swiping at her eyes quickly before standing.
"Is this how you both feel?" she asked feebly.
"Yes, Mom. He has been trying to tell you for weeks. Why would you do this to him?"
"It seemed like it was the best option. I thought that it would be what he wanted in the end."
"You can't force your opinions down his throat. He may not be an adult but he is not a child either."
"I'm sorry," Sue said before walking out of the room.
Seth stood, making eye contact with his sister before pulling her to him so quickly that she was almost knocked off balance.
"Are you okay?" she asked, cupping his face in her hands.
"I'm fine. Thank you," he whispered the last sentence, holding her tightly.
"You may annoy the hell out of me but I will always fight for you. I'm your big sister and that's what big sister's do," she said before kissing his forehead.
After the night she'd had Leah did not need anymore excitement, stress, or drama for a while. She knew that she was asking for the moon but she'd had enough of answering to others. She wanted her old life back.
XXXX
Jacob bided his time, letting his anger simmer just so that it could fester. Billy was in the kitchen when he woke up the next morning and Jacob couldn't even look at him.
"Do you plan on being mad at me forever?"
"I might," he said with a sigh.
"Jake, come on, talk to me."
"You want me to talk fine, but you're not gonna like what I have to say. I didn't say a single word while I was with Bec when you constantly reminded me of my duty to the pack. Even though I was pissed enough to rip someone apart when I came back I held it in; but this is where I draw the line. How could you think that it was okay to plan someone's else future for them? I can guess who's idea it was but why would you go along with it? Why did you have to drag Sue into it? You used to have such a high moral code and I respected that about you. That all changed when I left and you decided to let Quil Sr. make all the decisions when it came to the pack just because he is older. He's not the Chief, you are. You should have put a stop to this instead of making Leah do it for you. I still respect you because you're my dad, but that doesn't mean that I have to agree with you."
"Is that what you really think?" Billy asked, his eyes not able to hide the hurt and shame that he was feeling.
"Yeah, it is," Jacob said with a quick bob of his head.
"I guess that I deserve that. I'm sorry for everything that happened while you were gone. You're right, I never should have let Quil Sr. influence me and Seth is old enough to decide what he wants even if he doesn't have a say in it yet. Thank you for being honest with me," he said before pushing himself out of the kitchen.
Jacob sat at the table with his elbows resting on the table and his head in his hands. He had been holding that in for months and it had boiled over and spewed out of him in less than thirty seconds. He didn't regret what he had said but he did wish that he hadn't been so hard on his dad. It was going to be a long time before things would be made right and his view of his dad would forever be altered. He wished that he could undue the last year and do things differently but it was too late to change the outcome now.