Disclaimer: Nothing has changed, it's never going to change.
Okay, so this is the last chapter for this story. Before you start sending me hate mail, I do have a sequel planned out, I will post it ASAP. I'm also working on something else. So I don't know which one I'll post first. For now, enjoy.
Sunday dawned sunny and bright, and in Bella's mind, it was the perfect day to bring up the idea that she had been planning for over six months. Jacob lay beside her, still asleep. She would lay in bed with him all morning if he wanted to. But this afternoon, they were going to do what she wanted. Her fingers glided over his forehead, brushing away a piece of stray hair. She was glad that he had decided to let it grow out a little. She hadn't even had to ask him.
He stirred only slightly as she pulled her hand away. She smiled, watching him stretch. He sighed before rolling over on his back. Which meant that Bella was now completely on top of him. He rested his hands on her hips, before slowly opening his eyes.
She smiled down at him, resting her arms on either side of him. He gave her a sleepy smile, before brushing her hair away from her face. She leaned down, resting her head on his shoulder. His hands glided up her back to rest at her shoulders.
"What do you want to do today?" he asked, breaking the silence.
"I thought we could go to the diner in town for breakfast. Then maybe go cliff diving."
"Cliff diving?" he asked with a smile.
"I've never done it. I wanna try." she said, shrugging her shoulders.
"If you want to go cliff diving, then we'll go cliff diving. As long as the weather holds up."
Bella kissed him, letting her weight fall on him. He tightened his grip on her as the kiss deepened. She ran her fingers through his hair as he slipped his hands up the back of her shirt. His fingers drew lazy circles on the small of her back as she gently pulled on his hair. He pulled away from her with a smirk.
"Bella Swan, I never pictured you as a hair puller."
"Only yours." she said, resting her forehead against his.
"You better not be pulling on any other guys hair." he said, giving her a mock threatening look.
"I don't know if I'd be able to stop myself from pulling Paul's. It's almost as nice as yours." she said, giving him a teasing smile.
"You're lucky you're joking. Or I'd shave his head in his sleep."
Bella threw her head back in laughter as Jacob rolled them over in one swift movement.
"You think you're funny?" he asked, giving her a serious look.
She knew that look, she threw up her arms in defense as his fingers attacked her. She started laughing again as he tickled her stomach.
"Okay, okay, you win!" she said in between fits of laughter.
"What do you say?"
"I'm not saying it. You already know!"
"You still have to say it."
"I can't say it with you tickling me." she said whining.
"Stop whining." he said with a laugh.
"Jacob Black is the sexiest man that I have ever met." she said, with all the seriousness that she could muster.
"Thank you baby. I actually believed you that time." he said, smiling down at her.
She stared at him lovingly as he rolled himself off of her. In all seriousness, she had meant what she had said. It was something that he had been making her say since last spring. It always brought her to submission. Back then, she had said it as a joke. Who knew, that a year later she would be saying it with so much feeling?
XXXX
They stood on the lower shelf, staring down at the ocean. She had wanted to jump from the top, but Jacob had been adamant that he didn't want her jumping from there.
"Then I'll just have to ask someone else."
"Oh no, you're not. I'll make Embry tell you no."
"He never tells me no."
"He will if it means that he's back in Sam and my good graces."
"Fine." she said with a sigh.
"Tell you what. If you aren't scared after diving from here, next time we'll do it from from the top."
"Do you promise?" she asked, looking up at him.
"I swear." he said, taking hold of her hand.
"On the count of three?"
"We step off on the count of three." he said nodding.
"We're diving."
"Okay." he said with a chuckle.
"One...two..."
"Three."
They both dove at the same time. The free fall alone was a rush that Bella hadn't been expecting. They hit the water, and Bella felt Jacob tighten his grip on her hand. She let him pull her to the surface letting the water cool her skin.
Bella shoved her hair out of her face as soon as they reached the surface. Jacob wrapped his arms around her waist, keeping her afloat. She wrapped her arms around his neck as her eyes met his. She gave him an excited smile as he let out a breathy laugh.
She leaned in to kiss him, feeling his normally hot skin cool under her fingers. They were pushed together as waves crashed around them. Jacob pulled away taking her in.
"You ready to again?" he asked, just above a whisper.
She nodded as she let go of him. They swam to shore side by side then she ran for the incline as he tried to chase after her.
"Come back here!" he said, laughing.
"No way!" she called over her shoulder.
"I'll meet you up there. I'm grabbing our towels." he said, veering towards the path that led to the lower shelf.
Bella sat on the edge of the cliff, looking out over the ocean while she waited for Jacob. All was quiet until she heard someone call her name. She shielded her eyes from the sun, looking down towards the rocks. Paul gave her a worried look as she waved at him.
"Stay there. I'm coming up to get you."
"Jake's on his way up."
"Not anymore." Paul said, climbing the incline.
"What happened?"
"The red head came out of the water as you two were climbing up."
"How did Jake not smell her?"
"We can't smell them when they're in the water." he said, finally standing in front of her.
"Where is Jake now?"
"He's already on her trail." he said, picking her up.
"Where are you taking me?"
"To Emily's."
Paul wasn't as fast as Jacob. So she was able to hang on loosely. She felt a little embarrassed that only her bathing suit was separating her skin from his. Where was the brave girl from ten minutes ago? She had vanished as soon as she found out that Victoria was close by, and that Jacob had gone after her alone.
Sam and Emily were standing on the porch waiting when Paul and Bella came up the driveway. Emily shook her head with a smile.
"You poor girl. Come inside, lets get you dry."
"Thank you." Bella said as Paul set her down.
Paul and Sam sat on the porch in human form as Bella watched from the kitchen table.
"Why haven't they phased?"
"Jake said he wanted to handle it on his own. Also, something has happened..."
"What?" Bella said, giving her a concerned look..
"My uncle...Harry? He had a heart attack this morning. My aunt is on her way to Tacoma. Your dad and Billy are going to stay until he's better."
"I'm sorry."
"You're sorry for me? And here I am feeling sorry for you." Emily said with a watery laugh.
"Yeah? Well, Harry being sick trumps my dilemma."
"Not to Jake it doesn't. This has got to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard of him doing."
"I'm glad somebody agrees with me." she said seething.
"You have to calm down. If you're still mad at him when you see him you're just going to make things worse."
"I don't know if I can."
"I have just the thing." Emily said, patting her arm.
Bella watched her busy herself around the kitchen. She pulled a tea tin and a package that Bella didn't recognize out of the pantry, before reaching into the cabinet to get a saucer. She put tea into the pot, before filling it with water.
The pot whistled as Emily put whatever was in the package on the saucer. Emily grabbed tea cups from the china cabinet in the corner of the room, before pouring the tea into the cups. She set everything on a tray before carrying it to the table.
Sugar cookies and tea sat in front of Bella as Emily sat down again.
"I haven't had tea and cookies in over a year." Bella said with a sad laugh.
"I don't get to do this unless my mom comes over."
"She doesn't come over that often?"
"Not very often. She lives over an hour away."
"What kind of tea is this?" Bella asked taking a sip.
"Chamomile."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. It will help settle your nerves. Just relax. I'll ask Sam to take you back to Jacob's in a little while if you'd like."
"I don't wanna be there by myself."
"I'm sure Sam won't mind staying."
"I'll stay here if you don't mind."
"I don't mind." Emily said with a smile.
XXXX
He was glad that Bella had left her phone with their clothes. He was about to do something he didn't want to do. He looked through her contact list and found the number he was looking for.
"Cullen residence." Carlisle said, answering the phone.
"Can I speak to Edward?"
"May I ask who's calling?"
"He probably already knows."
"I'll talk to him Carlisle."
"Who is it?" Esme asked in the background.
"It's Jacob." Edward said, getting on the phone.
"Alice did you see anything happen to Bella?" Jasper asked.
"No. I can't see her when she's with Jacob."
"How convenient." Edward said icily.
"She's fine. Nothing happened to her. A friend of mine was able to get her to safety."
"Then what is wrong?"
"Victoria!" Alice gasped.
"What is going on?"
"What did she see?"
"Jacob wants to talk to you Alice."
"Where is Bella right now?"
"She's at a friend of mines house. What did you see?"
"Victoria is in Seattle."
"I know, I just chased her there. Anything else?"
"She's planning on coming back. She'll have more."
"More what? Vampires?"
"Yes. Lots of them."
"I want to talk to him Alice." Edward said before taking the phone.
"Does your offer still stand?"
"My family and I can be there before night fall."
"Good."
"Are you going to tell Bella?"
"I don't have a choice. I have to go get her."
"Bring her home."
"She'll be fine in La Push for the night."
"We can't take care of her if she is in La Push."
"And I can't take care of her if you are in Forks."
"We'll work that out when we get there. Just please take her home. My brother will meet you there. I will be there as soon as I can."
Jacob snapped the phone shut before crunching it in his hands. He felt it give, before throwing it in the trash. She'd be pissed, but she would get over it.
He was in front of Emily's twenty minutes later. He heard laughing from inside, so he knew that whatever worry Bella had felt earlier was now gone. He knocked on the door, hearing someone on the other side a second later.
"Hey Jake." Emily said, with a smile.
"I need to take you home." he said, walking in.
"Your house is my home now? I don't know how Billy's gonna like that. Not to mention my dad." Bella said, teasing him.
"I've got your stuff in the truck already. We need to leave now." he said, trying to hide his emotions.
"Is something wrong, Jake?" Sam asked, giving him a worried look.
"I'll tell you later." Jacob said with a nod.
Bella was across the room in two strides. She gave him a curious look as he led her down the stairs. He walked her to the truck and opened the passenger door for her before getting in the driver's seat. She handed him the keys without a word.
They pulled up in front of her house thirty minutes later. Emmett's jeep was already outside. Emmett climbed out of the jeep as the truck pulled to a stop.
"What is going on?"
"The Cullen's are coming back."
"What?" she asked as the breath was knocked out of her.
"They're going to help me get rid of Victoria, once and for all."
"How did you get in touch with them?"
"I got the number from your phone. Tell Charlie you dropped it when you hiking on the cliffs. It's destroyed. I'll get you a new one as soon as I can."
"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it."
Emmett leaned against the jeep, with his arms folded over his chest. He watched them with curious eyes.
"You can't come in can you? Since he's here?"
"No. I have to get back."
He leaned in, brushing his fingers down her neck.
"He's the one who's not easily grossed out, right?"
"Yes." she said, nodding her head.
"Good."
He brushed his lips to hers, before quickly pulling away.
"I don't want him reporting to Edward that I man handled you."
"He wouldn't do that." Bella said, shaking her head.
"I'll call you later."
"I love you." she said, smiling at him.
"I love you too." he said, opening his door.
Bella opened hers, as he took off at a run down the road back to La Push.
"So that's your boyfriend?" Emmett asked, coming to stand beside her.
"That's Jake."
"He doesn't smell that bad. I've smelled worse." he said, nudging her.
"Where's Rose?" she asked, smiling up at him.
"She's at home, waiting for everybody else." he said, draping an arm over her shoulders.
He grabbed her bag from the truck, before leading her into the house.
"I need to call my dad and let him know that I'm home." she said, heading into the kitchen to grab the cordless.
"Bella? What are you doing calling me from home?"
"Something came up. I'm at home. I broke my phone this weekend. I just wanted to let you know so you didn't call Emily's."
"What came up?"
"Emmett's here. Just for the night. And he needed a place to stay. I didn't think you'd mind."
"Emmett Cullen? What is he doing there?"
"He came to see me. Is Harry okay?"
"No Bells, he isn't. He died a little while ago."
"Dad, I'm sorry."
"Billy and I are going to stay here with Sue. It's gonna be at least Tuesday before she can bring him home."
"Okay."
"It's good to know that you aren't there by yourself. I was going to call Sam and ask him to stay with you tomorrow night."
"You don't need to do that."
"You're going to be okay by yourself?"
"It's just one night dad." she said with a laugh.
"Alright. I'll call tomorrow to check on you."
"I'll talk to you tomorrow."
Bella was off phone a few minutes later, and went looking for Emmett. She noticed that the back door was open, and saw Emmett on the other side of the yard. She stayed inside, just in case something was out there.
"Everything's fine. Edward called. He wants you to call him our house."
"They're here already?" she asked, rubbing a hand down her face.
"They just got there."
She hadn't talked to him since the day he had left. Living with a psychic was more effective than caller ID. He had yet to answer the phone when she called.
"Hello?" he answered, before the phone could finish ringing the first time.
"Hi."
"I talked to Jacob. We both agree that Emmett should stay with you tonight. Jacob will stay outside the house while one of pack runs patrol."
"Jacob can't come in?"
"If he chooses to. He mentioned that he would rather be outside."
"I don't know what he's told you. But thank you for helping him. They've come close several times to catching her."
"They need a vampire's input. I'm more than happy to help as long as it means that you are safe."
"Did you just get to Forks?" "
"Yes."
"And the first person you called was Emmett?"
"Actually I tried your phone first. Several times."
"My phone got broken today. I have to get it replaced."
"Let me know when you do."
"I will."
"Bella?"
"Hmm?"
"I am very sorry for everything that has happened."
"I've never blamed you. Don't think that I do."
"Bella, Jacob is outside." Emmett said from the living room.
"I'll let you go." Edward said, in a quiet voice.
"Goodbye."
"Goodbye Bella, I'll see you tomorrow."
She hung up the phone, seeing Jacob leaning against her truck.
"You can come inside."
"I can't handle the smell."
"He doesn't mind. He said you didn't smell that bad."
"I can't say the same. I can smell him on you."
"It's just for one night."
"I'll come up and say goodnight before you go to bed."
"You won't mind the smell?" she asked, teasing him.
"Just don't let him come upstairs." he said with a smile.
"Then go upstairs now. I'll be up later."
"I'll stay out here."
"You aren't sleeping with me tonight?"
"I'll be right out here. You'll be fine." he said, before hugging her.
"I'll order a pizza, and you and I can eat out here."
"We can do that." he said, tightening his grip on her.
"You sure you don't want to come in? There's a UFC match getting ready to start." Emmett asked, opening the door.
"How do you know his weak spot?" Bella asked, laughing.
"He's a teenager. I was a boxer when I was his age." Emmett said, rolling his age.
"Are you coming?" she asked, looking up at him hopefully.
"I can't say no to that look." he said with a small smile.
"Sweet. Come on!" Emmett said with a smile.
He walked away from the door a few seconds later.
"He's like a kid."
"He's you. Just in vampire form."
"That's not funny!" he said, poking her in the stomach playfully.
"I wasn't trying to be funny. It's true."
XXXX
Emmett sat in Charlies recliner, while Jacob sat as far away from him as he could. He had to admit the smell wasn't so bad, now that he'd gotten used to it. It wasn't like he hadn't smelled it on Bella before. She sat on the floor in front of him, leaning against the arm of the couch.
"I'm ready to go to bed. Are you coming?" she asked, looking up at him.
"Right behind you."
"Goodnight." Emmett said, not looking away from the TV.
A few minutes later they were under the covers, and Bella was already half asleep. It was like any other night for them. Only this time, instead of Charlie being downstairs, there was a vampire who could decapitate someone just by lightly twisting their neck. Yeah, that made Jacob feel so much better.
"Go to sleep. Your tense vibe is vibrating off of you onto me."
"Him being downstairs doesn't make you nervous?"
"No more nervous than Sam."
"I guess he takes some getting used to." Jacob said tiredly.
"Seriously, go to sleep. We have school tomorrow."
"Don't remind me. I'll probably fall asleep in every class."
"I'll make a deal with you. For every class you stay awake through, I'll take off an article of clothing the next time I see you."
"I am in love with the smartest girl in the world." he said, kissing her loudly on the forehead.
"Just go to sleep." she said, smiling into his neck.
He tightened his grip on her as she draped an arm over his chest, to rest her hand on his shoulder. For right now, all was right in the world. They weren't going to worry about Victoria, or the newborns until the time was right.
