Disclaimer: I'm not Stephenie Meyer, or her cousin, or her aunts cousins daughter. I'm a poor student from Norway. So I don't own anything Twilight. Haha.

Song: Massive Attack - Teardrop.

Talk

We didn't feel like running, so we left to the main house in good time. We were walking slowly through the forest. Jake had wrapped his hand around mine. We didn't say much, it just felt good to be there with him, my hand in his.

I was getting jumpy. Several times I turned my head when I heard a sound, and it felt like someone was staring at me. Paranoia, I know. But could you blame me? Once I almost screamed by a sudden movement at my right, but then it just turned out to be a bird flying up from the ground. Jacob wrapped his arm around my shoulders and kept it there as we continued to walk. He didn't say anything, but I think he understood.

We arrived at the main house before the others. As I first saw the entrance the memories of the last time I opened that door hit me, and I ended in a halt. Jacob stopped as well, and held me closer to him. We stood there, looking up at the big white house.
"Do you not want to enter?" he asked softly. He understood.

I hesitated, but then I gave myself another mental-slap. I needed to stop being ridiculous.

"Yes. Come on" I said firmly and started to walk up towards the house. It didn't smell of human any more – it had been raining. I reached the door and opened it without hesitating.

I was not nearly as rock-steady as I tried to be, but I refused to break down again, not now. I went inside, with Jacob right behind me. When we entered the kitchen , and saw the dishes I had planned to wash. The water was still in the sink. It was cold, of course. All the bubbles were gone. A tear streamed down my face and I angrily wiped it away. Jacob put a hand on my shoulder and turned me around to face him. I looked up and he studied my face seriously, frowning. Another tear.

He wiped it away before I'd even lifted my hand to do it myself. Then he leaned down to kiss me, and I forgot all about the lump in my throat. He cupped my face between his big hands and kissed me like only he could. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them I only saw him. He gently broke the kiss and then guided me out of the kitchen into the living room. I was okay here. No bad memories. We sat down in the sofa. I kept my eyes on his face, and it was like I could not get enough of looking at him. He held my hand in his.

Then we heard the sound of a very familiar car approach in the distance. And it was approaching fast, someone pushing the gas pedal all the way in. I got up from the sofa and went outside, and Jacob followed right behind me. He stood beside me on the porch, wrapping his arm around my waist. I stared at the turn of the road where I knew the car would appear any time now. It was the Volvo. The silver one. I could hear it. I could smell it. Dads car. Jacob tightened his arm around me. I wondered what he was thinking.

The silver car appeared right where I knew it would. Alice was driving. My mother was sitting in the front seat, all tense, her eyes fixed on me. I could hear a little gasp escape her lips, before she tore the car door open (in speed) and the next thing I knew she was gushing the air out of me in a tight embrace. I felt Jacobs arm slide away from me as my mom tore me away from him, and I gripped his hand firmly. He squeezed my hand in return. My mom held me tight to her, sobbing tearlessly at my shoulder. I felt another pair of hands wrap around us both, and realised my dad was there too. Hi dad, I thought weakly, and I knew he heard. Their touch felt cold against my skin, in contrast to Jacobs neutral, warm hand.

Mom let go of me to lean back and look at my face. Her eyes touched every bruise and scratch in my face, overlooking nothing. My dad stroke his hand carefully over my hair. He was only looking at my eyes.
"Nessie" was all he said.

My mom hugged me again. "How are you feeling?" she whispered in my ear.

"I'm okay now" I said truthfully. I was okay, now. They were here. Jacob was here. I was okay. My mom leaned back to look at me with sceptical eyes, but my dad put a hand on her shoulder. I was thankful; I didn't want to retell everything right here, right now. I met my dads gaze. He nodded slightly.

"We should go inside" he said, and I realized my parents were not the only ones here. Alice, Rosalie and Jasper were there too, keeping a little distance from our little private reunion. As soon as I laid eyes on them however, they were all around me, hugging me and caressing my face. I was still gripping Jacobs hand, refusing to let it go.

As Jasper hugged me, a wave of calm flooded through me and I welcomed it gladly. I really liked Jasper – we understood each other. In some ways he understood parts of me better than anyone else. "Don't disappear again now, you hear me?" he said.

"Oh, I wont. " I promised. "Don't worry"

"It would be so much easier if I could see you two!" Alice accused me, sending Jacob a glare too. "Then I could have prevented all of this from happening!".

"The important thing is that you're back." my mom said gently "I don't know how to thank you for this, Jacob". She sent him a grateful look, never letting go of me, always touching me in some way.

It looked like my dad was having some kind of silent conversation with Jacob; Jacob was looking very focused and serious, and my dad was looking down, sometimes moving his head a little bit in one direction or another. I knew that look. I wondered what Jake was telling him. As soon as I was thinking it, my dad looked up, breaking free from the little conspiracy. He'd heard me, I guess.

"Come on, let's go inside" he said "The others will be here any minute" He put his hand on my shoulder and sent me a smile. Huh. Well, it was nothing bad then, I guess.

"Of course not" he whispered in my ear. Jacob sent me a curious look.

Carlisle, Esme and Emmet arrived soon after. The first thing Emmet did when he saw me was lifting me up and swinging me around like I was a little girl. It made me smile. He didn't even care that he knocked over one of Esmes lamps on his way over to me; in fact, nobody cared about the lamp. Esme hugged me until Carlisle had to remind her that I in fact did breathe, and then Rosalie hugged me again just because she felt like it. It was good to see all of their faces again. It was a little uncomfortable to be the centre of attention for so long though, a quality I without a doubt had gotten from my mom.

I was sitting in the sofa, with Jacob on the one side and mom on the other. My dad was sitting opposite me on the other side of the table, leaning his elbows on his knees. His eyes never left my face. The rest of my family was spread around the room, eyes on me as well. I knew what was coming – I would have to tell them everything that had happened. I opened my mouth to start talking, but I didn't know where to start. But before I could say anything at all, Jacob started to explain.

"You already know what happened on Saturday." he began. "Well, it turned out that wasn't all coincidental..."

He told them about the phone, how he'd left and how I was gone when he came back. He told them about the pack, cleaning things up, sorting things out. The eyes of my family wandered back and forth between me and Jacob. I was so grateful I didn't have to retell everything. Jacob told them about Joham and how he'd kept me locked up in a room. When he came to the point where he was about to tell them about Johams plan, he stopped, as if he couldn't continue. I noticed his hands was trembling slightly. My dad let out an angry sound and made a sharp movement before he closed his eyes and covered his face with his hands. Oh. I guess Jacob had been thinking it, even though he didn't manage to say it out loud.

"What?" Carlisle said, alarmed.

I sighed. This wasn't something Jake should have to say. I should say it myself. And so I told them, quickly assuring them that I was, in fact, okay and that nothing had happened. I didn't want another misunderstanding on that area. Their reactions were different. Some didn't show any reaction at all. Others did. Mom gasped and hugged me, and I noticed she was shivering. Emmet swore. Esme looked sick. Jasper closed his eyes. Jacob was just sitting there, his hands trembling.

I didn't want them to think about it, I didn't want to talk about it. I think they understood that, though. Of course dad and Jasper knew, and Jacob, but I think the rest of them understood as well. Jacob continued, explaining how he'd found me and gotten me home. I leaned back in the sofa closing my eyes, just listening to his voice.

It was dark outside. I lay there, listening to everyone talking. Jacobs story was interrupted by many questions, which led to new ones and new ones. I was tired. Again. What was wrong with me ? All I did was fall a sleep. I smiled without really knowing why. I felt funny. I wanted to go to bed, to sleep, but at the same time I didn't want to go anywhere. I didn't want to be alone, to leave, but at the same time I wanted to be alone. I wanted to listen to their voices but I didn't want to listen to their words.

A cold finger touched my face. I opened my eyes. My dad was standing behind the sofa, leaning over my shoulder.

"Do you want to go back to the cottage?"

I sighed.

"Maybe. I'm tired" Yes. I added in my mind. He smiled.

"We can go ahead. I'm sure Bella and Jacob can come later on"

"Okay. Sure" I said, a little puzzled. I got the impression that he wanted to talk to me alone, without anyone else there. It also was a little weird that he mentioned Jake – he never used to sleep in the cottage with us. I was glad, though. I wanted to be with him. I got up from the sofa, and received numerous hugs and kisses and a reassuring "We'll be right there" from my mom. I caught Jakes eyes before I left. It was clear that he wanted to come with me, but he smiled nonetheless, and tried to make it reassuring. I smiled back before I followed my dad out the door.

We were walking back to the cottage. It was way faster than any human, but not as fast as running. I wondered what he wanted to talk to me about.

"So you caught that, huh?"

Dad sent me a crooked smile.

"Wasn't very difficult" I replied.

"Guess I could have been more discreet" he said. "But I did want to talk to you. If you're not too tired "

Go ahead, I thought

He looked down as if he was weighing his words.

"You know I had a little...conversation...with Jacob earlier"

Ah. The silent-front-porch conversation.

"Yes" he continued. "That one"

I waited for him to continue. I had suspected them to be talking about what had happened to me. My heart sank a little – I didn't want to talk more about Joham or anything that had happened. I didn't want to talk about it, I got tired by just thinking about it...

"Yes, Jacob did brief me about that too. We don't have to talk about that today if you don't want to. Maybe tomorrow, when you've gotten some rest. But that's not all I wanted to talk about, though"

Then what is it? I couldn't think of anything else that they had needed to talk about.

Dad paused a little before he continued.

"Actually, I wanted to talk about you two"

That was unexpected. Had Jacob told him...?

"Jacob told me that you know about the imprinting, yes. He also told me that he didn't know exactly how you felt about it"

"Oh" that was all I could manage to say.

"And then he told me very specific that nothing had happened and that I had no right to be angry with him."

"Dad..!" I started. That was something I hadn't even thought about (much), and for my dad to just bring it up like this...

"Relax, Reneesme. I don't want to embarrass you" he smiled, totally unaffected.

I hesitated for one beat.

"Well, are you?"

"You're asking me if I'm mad? Why? Because he loves you? No, Reneesme. Of course,your mom and I could always have wanted him to wait a little while longer with feeling like this, but that is nothing we can control. Of course we are not mad. We knew it would happen eventually. I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it. Are you upset that we didn't tell you sooner?"

"I was." I admitted. "But I understand now. He explained, and... I get why you didn't tell me." But I am glad I know now, though, I added in my mind.

"But you know, Renessme, that even though you know how he feels, that should not affect you and what you decide. What you decide must come from you, because neither of you deserve any less. You should not make your decisions based on his."

"I know. I haven't"

"I know" He smiled.

"Of course you do" I smiled too. Little bit embarrassed, but still.

"Don't be" he said solemnly. "This is nothing to be embarrassed about."

I'm not e m b a r r a s s e d, I thought. "I just don't like to talk about it, because I don't know yet." I finished out loud.

"I can understand that" Dad lightly put a hand on my shoulder " I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it".

We were nearly there now. I didn't know how long it would be before mom and Jake caught up with us. And speaking of Jake...

"Why did you say that Jake would come too, later?" I asked, frowning. "I mean, I don't mind, not at all, it's just... he don't normally sleep here. What brought this on?"

"If you could look into his head, Reneesme, you would have asked him to come too." Dad got suddenly serious. "It was very...hard...for him, being away from you those days, not knowing. I don't think you've realized how he acts around you now. It is as if he is afraid that someone is going to snatch you away from him any time. Or maybe he is just thinking it, it's hard for me to tell the difference. But he will stay with you no matter what now, as long as you let him. Besides, I'm pretty sure he would have slept outside your door whether I asked him to come or not"

Dad sent me another crooked smile and I smiled too, but only because I knew he was right. Jacob would have.

We had reached the cottage by now, and we both walked inside. It always felt so peaceful to come here. Peaceful, quiet, safe. Home.

"It's good to be back" my dad noted " We did miss you, you know" He patted my head, and I suddenly felt like I was two years old. He chuckled.

"Next time you'll come with us" he added. "Both of you".

That sounds good. I slumped down in a chair, and dad sat down on the sofa opposite me.

"Nessie" he said, seriously. I looked up. "How are you, really? I know you don't want to talk about it but I have to ask. "

"I'm...better. It will work out, I think. Just trying... not... to think about it. I'm tired. Maybe some time later. But not tonight"

He nodded. "Well, when you do want to talk about it..."

"I know" I tried to smile and closed my eyes. Thank you, I added in my mind. Far away I heard the muted thuds of running paws.

"Someone is eager to see you" he noted, listening too.

I heard my mom running, a few seconds before she opened the door and entered. She went straight over to me to give me a hug, before she went over to kiss my dad. Then she eyed me up and down.

"Are you tired, honey?"

"Yeah" My voice was dragging.

"Maybe you should go to sleep. We will be here the whole night. Nothing is going to happen while we are here, don't worry." She stroke my forehead and I realized my eyes had closed again.

"I know. I think I'm going to bed" I mumbled and staggered on my feet. As I looked around, Jacob appeared in the doorway, still wearing my sweatpants.

"Hey Jake" I said. The words melted into each other.

"You should go to sleep" he said, looking at me intently. "I'll be outside. Nobody will come close to this place tonight."
It took me a second to understand what he meant.

"No, no Jake, you can't, you need to sleep. How long has it been since the last time you slept for real? It must be..days" I stopped, trying to count the days and nights in my head, but I was too tired to work it out.

"Stay, Jacob, you need to rest" I heard my mom say from behind me.

Jacob just smiled.

"Don't worry about it. I can sleep later. I'll be outside"

He kissed my forehead and before I could say anything he was gone. I stood there, staring at the door for several seconds. He'd probably phased already. What was he going to do? Run patrols around the cottage? Probably. A cold hand wrapped around my wrist.

"Come here"

My mom guided me into my room, stopping only to let me hug my dad. Mom waited for me change into a pyjamas and then she wrapped the blanket around me. Again. I felt like I was two. I didn't really mind it though. She gave me a long hug.

"I'm so grateful to have you here with me" she whispered. "I don't know what I would've done if something happened to you. Sleep now, honey. Nothing is going to happen now, okay? Just try to relax and you will feel better tomorrow when you've gotten some rest"

My eyes had already been closed for several seconds. I think I mumbled something incomprehensible, some kind of mixture of okay and thank you. I heard my mom close the door as she left. She said something to my dad, worrying that Jake didn't get any rest. And then I fell asleep and didn't hear anything else.

A.N: Hope you like it. Remember to review:)

This story is now nearing the end, there is only two chapters left...But there will be a sequel, I'll give you more info about it later;)