Authors Note: I'd like to apologise for the slow update. I am working on my other stories too, and as you all know, life interupts sometimes. It's been a very busy weekend!
I hope you enjoy this chapter. I liked writing it - it's a fun chapter, not as heavy as the last, but there's still an emotional moment included. I think Nessie is extremely perceptive, even for her accelerated age.
Thanks for the response so far; you guys all made me smile with your reviews/favourites/alerts. Thanks so much for them all.
Happy Reading:
Two days after the imprint exposure was mine and Nessie's next play-date. Sure, I'd seen her the day before too, but that was only briefly because Bella had taken her to see Charlie for most of the day. As hard as it was to do, I understood that I had to share Nessie, so a fifteen minute chat was as good as I got some days.
Today, I'd planned to go fishing. It was the visit to Charlie that had given me the idea – he loved it, just like my dad.
Running through the forest, I felt the rain as it began to fall, droplets of heaven falling from the sky. I loved the rain – it just felt so cleansing as it fell.
"Jake!" Nessie squealed from inside the confines of the dry Cullen house. I phased quickly, slipping on some shorts, before running in to see her without knocking. No-one was with her in the living room, but I heard some clanging in the kitchen.
"You ready, Ness?" I smiled, and her eyes widened.
"Let's go!" She agreed, tugging on my hand with a small force. Of course, I was inclined to go where ever she pulled me, told me to go, where ever she was.
"Wait right there!" Bella said appearing out of the kitchen, with a tea towel in her arms. I don't know why - it's not as if the vamps ever ate anything! "Don't I get a 'hi'?" She accused at both Nessie and me.
"Hey Bells." I smiled rolling my eyes, and I turned to go.
"Don't I get a goodbye either?" She asked, teasingly.
"See you later, Bells." I sighed.
"Renesmee?" She asked, smiling as Nessie plodded over to her, her steps slow.
"Mommmyyy!" She dragged it on. She puckered her lips and kissed Bella on the cheek. "Bye Mommy!" She called, running out of the door with me, gripping my hand and pulling me into the depths of the forest that I ran through frequently.
I didn't phase as we ran, so we chatted instead. It was nice to be in Nessie's presence without being in wolf form even though being in wolf form was easier sometimes. There was never the worry of an unexpected phase, seeing as I had already done it. It gave me some peace of mind.
"Have fun at Grandpa's?" I asked as we ran - the twigs and leaves crunching and snapping as we trod on them carelessly.
"Yup!" She said, popping the 'p'. "We played a game of checkers and then he took me to the diner for dinner. Mommy said I had to eat it, but I didn't mind because we went hunting the day before, didn't we Jake?" She smiled as she slowed her pace to talk easier.
"Yeah, we did." I agreed, matching my speed with hers. Each step with her was pure heaven – it felt so light and easy.
"What are we going to do today?" She asked her chocolate brown eyes that caused me to crumble under the weight of their beauty.
"What about fishing?" I suggested, unsure now whether the idea would satisfy the adventure seeking girl beside me.
"Yeah!" She enthused, smiling widely. "That's what Grandpa does!" She continued excitedly. "He's got a boat and a fishing rod, and he promised me he'd take me fishing one day. Imagine what he says when I tell him I know how!" Her eyes were alight with a fiery happiness and excitement.
"Ness, you know you don't tell Grandpa everything, right?" I said, trying to hold back the crooked smile that threatened to bend my lips. She nodded in agreement. "Well, we're not going to use a boat, or a fishing rod. We're going to catch one properly." I promised. "And you can't tell Grandpa how we caught one, okay?"
"Okay…" She agreed though her eyes were fixed in concentration. "Can I tell him that I fished though, just not tell him how I fished?" She asked.
"Sure, sure." I muttered, realising again just how clever Nessie was. She knew the boundaries, the lines in which she had to play in.
As we reached the edge of the forest, now firmly on LaPush territory, I directed Nessie in the direction of the sea. The wind was harsh as we left the protective barrier of the trees, but each gust made Nessie squeal as it tickled her.
Nessie's body was amazing; she could feel the cold, feel the heat on the outside but it didn't alter her body temperature, or her internal levels. It was strange… and it took a lot of explaining on Carlisle's part for me to finally understand. One thing that did make me smile was that her body temperature was the same as mine – closest to mine than a human, or a vampire. She was made for me. Our temperatures almost matched.
The sand oozed either side of my bare feet, parting under my heavy weight.
"Come on, Jakey!" Nessie squealed as she ran forwards, her little feet clapping on the wet sand and making small thuds.
Sprinting forwards, I overtook her and dived head first into the shallow depths of the sea. The giant leap that I took allowed me to safely swim without making contact with the floor of the water.
"Jake!" Nessie sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes. "You got to wait for me!" She called playfully, dropping her bottom on the sand and tugging off her shoes, followed by her socks. Once again, I would get it in the neck for bringing back a dirty Ness. She took off her jeans and jumper, leaving on her small underwear and her t-shirt.
She skipped into the water that slid around her like it did to a rock.
"Oh!" She squealed, "Its cold!" I worried a little, until a smile broke out across her face as she swam towards me. The water wouldn't carry her weight – she was like a stone – but she was an excellent swimmer, like everything else she did.
"A fish, Ness, yeah?" I reminded her as she went underwater, holding her breath. Unlike the other vamps, she actually needed it. She popped back up again.
"Okay, but Jake…" she trailed off, looking down whilst treading water embarrassedly. "How?" She admitted and I laughed un-supportively.
"Sorry," I quickly muttered. "Errm, you've got to smell the fish, or put your head under water to see the fish." She nodded her head in understanding.
"Do you want me to show you?" I asked at her still unsure face.
"Okay." She agreed hastily, and I suppressed a smile at how like Bella she looked at the moment.
Swimming quickly a few feet away from her, I phased quickly, sending a wolf-made wave of water to bury her. The current bounced off her with no affect on her at all, apart from a giggle.
"Jake, that's not fair!" She pouted, still afloat. "I can't turn into an animal!" Despite her protests, I swam true doggy style, head forwards and spotted a silver trout amongst its friends. Propelling forward, I extended my jaw, snapping my teeth over the writhing fish until it stopped wriggling and brought my head to the surface.
I swam to the shore, closely followed by Nessie, as I spat the fish out. Nessie clapped enthusiastically.
"My turn?" She asked, as she ran back into the white frothy stuff that appeared as the tide rippled backwards and forwards.
Leaping after her, I splashed her again with my huge leaps through the water, barking loudly as she laughed. Her little arms quickly caught up with me, and I wondered where she'd learnt to swim. I mean, sure, I'd taken her before. In the summer was her favourite time, and mine too, as she glowed with such beauty that no-one else could carry off. But I'd never actually taught her? Had Edward? Bella? Or had it come naturally, like talking had to Nessie? She seemed to capture everything with such grace and perfect understanding with no real lesson in it.
Her arms stopped moving, but her legs made quick, solid movements that hit the water and propelled her underwater. Like a mermaid, she dove under and I followed her movements, watching as she approached a tiny pathetic thing that really shouldn't be called a fish. I didn't want to burst her bubble, so I watched as her hand reached out for it, and missed it, grasping water and making a mass of bubbles because of the quick motion. Using her superhuman speed, she swam after it, clamping her hand around it harshly as it squirmed under her grip.
I barked encouragingly but the water gagged me and the bark was silent. She held her grip as she came up for air, gasping naturally as the air filled her lungs. As air hit my own mouth, I barked loudly then as we swam back to the shore. She laid her tiny fish next to mine and pouted sadly at the difference in catches.
Pressing her wet hand against my fur, she showed me exactly what I could see without her hand; two fish, one smaller than the other. I pulled away from her hand and ran over to the side, phasing quickly before running back to her.
I could never be too safe.
"It's you and me, Ness. I'm the big fish, 'cause I'm so big, and you're the little fish, 'cause you're so little." I laughed staring at the fish in a new light.
"Will I grow up to be like you?" She asked, turning to face me, staring up at me. I crouched down to minimise the height difference.
"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.
"I'll get bigger won't I?" She asked.
"Yeah, you'll be big like me, in…" I did the math. "Four years." I finished. Four years? Was that all? Four years and she would be fully grown, seventeen forever. The three that had already passed were a blur of memories that seemed to accelerate if I dwindled on them for too long. I was driving fast down memory lane, watching Nessie's life out of the window.
"So, that's when I have to choose?" She asked, again confusing me.
"You're gonna have to stop speaking in riddles, Ness. I'm not as clever as Mom and Dad." I laughed as she sighed and rolled her eyes at my 'clear stupidity'.
"Is that when I have to choose whether you're like Auntie Alice or Mommy?" She exclaimed, heaving her shoulders as she spoke. Oh. How could I answer? Everything that was said, whispered, even thought, Nessie had a way of taking it in, remembering it, and questioning it later. How did fishing result in these awkward questions?
"You choose whenever you're ready." I said simply; it really was her choice.
"How will I know when I'm ready?" She asked, with the intelligence of a freakin' twenty year old, not a three year old! I looked at her physical body – she looked about eight or nine.
"When it feels right." I answered unsurely. She opened her mouth to ask another question. "I don't know Nessie, okay? Do you even know the difference anyway?" I snapped, instantly feeling guilty at her trembling lip.
"Sorry, Nessie." I sighed, sitting my bottom next to her. Even whilst sitting, I was still taller than her, but only by a couple of inches.
"I just don't understand!" She said frustrated.
"Shhhh…." I soothed. "You don't have to. Not yet." I told her. "Be young. Have fun. You'll be older for longer." I whispered to her, and she smiled.
"I want to be old, though. When I'm old, I can do what I like." She smiled.
"I didn't realise you didn't already." I laughed – half laugh, half bark – referring to her manipulative nature of wrapping us all around her little finger.
"I'll be able to catch big fish too." She smiled, glancing back at the seemingly forgotten fish corpses lying against the golden backdrop.
"You're wet." I observed, looking down at the top that clung to her like foil to a turkey.
"So are you." She said cleverly.
"Do you want to catch any more?" I saw her look at the smaller fish, comparing it to the larger one and weighing up the chances of catching anything of a bigger size. Finally, she shook her head as she bronze curls flicked in the air.
"Do you want to eat the fish we caught?" I asked, and she screwed her face up in disgust. I had to admit, they didn't even look appealing to me – and I ate normal human food.
"Okay, so what do you want to do with them?" I questioned her, and we stared at the fish for some time. The water begged their lifeless bodies to return to them, but I didn't want to put it back in. It seemed a bit ironic, putting a dead fish back in the water.
"We could sell them?" She suggested, and I eyed her strangely. What planet did this girl live on?
"Don't think so, Ness." I smiled as she pulled herself closer to my bare chest. "How about we go back to my place, get you dried off, and then take a detour to Grandpa's and give him the fish?"
She smiled widely at my idea, jumping up with such speed and running off to fetch her socks, shoes and clothing that had been left a couple of metres further along the beach.
Picking up both fish by their tails, we ran back to my house quickly, both of us bare feet and hardly dressed. It may have looked weird, but it felt so normal. It felt right to run with her beside me. It felt like I was running in the right direction, because of the strong pull that I got from her.
"Inside, Ness, quick. You may not get cold but Billy does!" I said as I pushed her inside.
"Too right!" I heard Billy call from the lounge.
"We're just drying off, dad!" I called back, and took Nessie into the bathroom. I switched her wet shirt with a dry one of my own, and handed her a towel and her jeans. Minutes later, she appeared out, in her own jeans, socks, shoes and jumper but with a huge t-shirt on underneath.
"It smells like you." She said, holding it up to her nose.
"That good?" I smiled, knowing only too well the rest of the families' hatred of the 'dog' smell, obvious to the fact they smelt repulsive too.
"Yes. Can I keep it?" she asked, wrapping it around her twice.
"Sure, sure." I agreed distantly, as I put shoes of my own on and held the smelly fish at arms length, which were now in a small bag. "Back later dad!" I called, pulling the door to. "Hurry back, son, I want to discuss something with you!" I heard him call, sighing.
"Get in the truck, Ness." I instructed as she hoisted herself up onto the seat, her wet t-shirt in her lap and wet curls straightened out under the weight of the water, falling way past her waist.
The drive to Charlie's wasn't exactly quiet, but there was no talking. Nessie had leant forward, turning the CD on that I didn't even know I had, and began singing loudly to some song I'd never even heard of. It was cute to start off with, sure, but by the third playback I got bored.
Charlie's cruiser pulled onto the driveway seconds before I pulled up outside the house. I saw the confusion etched across his forehead.
"Alright, Charlie." I smiled at him, as both Nessie and I got out the truck.
"I am now." He smiled. "Two visits in two days. How lucky am I?" I'd forgotten Nessie came yesterday.
"Grandpa!" Nessie called, running over to him and jumping into his leg with careful strength. "Guess where Jake and I have been!" She challenged. He looked at me for help and I shrugged teasingly, although gripping the bag tightly.
"No idea, Nessie, where have you been?" He asked, defeated with a smile.
"Fishing!" She announced excitedly. Charlie glanced over to me and I nodded with a smile. "We caught you a fish."
"You should have told me, kiddo, I would have come with you." He said seeming bummed out. "What Jake?" He asked, eyeing up my grin.
"Well…" I began. "I don't think you would have adapted very well." I smiled, letting out a cough that sounded similar to a bark. Charlie stood rigid, an evil glare in his eye as he stared me up and down. He shook his head, ridding himself of my comment.
"Let's look at the fish then, Ness." He suggested, returning back to him normal state. Handing him the bag, he opened it up and glanced inside. "Impressive." He muttered, but not very convincingly.
"We thought you'd like it, because you like fishing, and fish." Nessie smiled.
"Thanks, kiddo." Charlie said, pulling Nessie in for a quick hug. "You guys coming inside? He offered, pointing to the door with his hand.
"No can do. Sorry Charlie. Edward wants her back." I sighed, rolling my eyes which made Charlie chuckle; it was nice that he preferred me over Edward, even if Edward was growing on him now him and Bella had married.
"See you later then." Charlie said, hugging Nessie again and gripping the bag hard.
"Bye Grandpa!" She called cheerfully as she climbed back into the truck and put on her seatbelt.
Climbing in too, I made my way to the Cullens. It felt strange driving there instead of running.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nessie lean forward and press 'play', filling the car with the awful noise echoing out of the speakers.
"Oh, for the love of god, Nessie cut it out!" I snapped, but all she did was giggle and sing louder. What else could I do? She was happy, and her voice was soothing, in the most ridiculous way when she sang to the upbeat tune.
For the fifth time, she re-played the song, and I hated knowing that I'd be humming it until the minute I fell asleep. Maybe that was good – it would mean that there was a connection between us if I sang along.
I pulled onto the Cullen driveway, almost shocked to see that it was full of all Cullen members. Usually, there was only one or two of them sitting in the lounge. They were all doing something useless, as always.
Despite the fact we'd arrived, Nessie was adamant she'd sing along until the song finished a further two minutes and thirty six seconds later. Edward eyed us up suspiciously.
"Out, Nessie, now!" I demanded as she leaned forward for the seventh time to click the 'previous' button. She smiled guiltily, like a puppy that knew they'd done something wrong, her eyes wide with rebellion – or as rebellious as a three year old gets.
"Have fun?" Bella said, appearing at the doorway.
"We went fishing." Nessie announced with pride, "and I got wet, so we went to Jake's to get dried off and then we took the fish round to Grandpa's because he likes fish, and Jacob shouted at me because I was singing." She informed.
"You shouted at her?" Bella asked in disbelief.
"I simply told her to 'cut it out'! She kept singing the same song over and over and over and over!" I repeated to emphasis how much. Bella stood back as we walked into the house.
"But you shouted at her?" Her voice wasn't angry, or annoyed, it was amusement. I think she struggled to believe that I 'shouted' at her – I was usually the obedient friend.
"I may have snapped." I huffed, as Edward chuckled too.
"I think that's the first time, isn't it Renesmee?" Bella laughed. "The first time you've ever been shouted at." Nessie nodded as she dove on the couch between Blondie and Emmett, causing protests from Emmett but a cuddle from Blondie.
"You staying?" Bella invited.
"No, Billy wants to discuss something with me. And the pack is going round to Sam's later – Emily's cooking for us all." I smiled. "Besides," I added loudly, "I need to go lie down in a darkened room!"
Nessie jumped up and ran over to me, bouncing into my arms and whispering into my ear quietly. "I was only joking Jake." She said, taking my words too seriously. "Mommy says that people are mean to other people when they like them, so I was just being mean to you because I like you." I don't think she realised exactly what she was saying, and the affect it had on me. My insides seemed to rocket upwards as she smiled warmly at me.
"That's okay, Ness. I know." I lowered her to the ground and she ran to Bella, placing her hand on Bella's cheek.
"See you later." I called, leaving Nessie with the rest of her family.
Walking away was so hard; I had to defy the gravitational pull that I felt towards her, and each step I took grew harder and harder until I reached the equilibrium. The distance was already there, separating us until tomorrow.
What did you think? Please review with your thoughts and comments. Also, if you have any ideas for future outtings, please let me know. I'd gratefully appreciate them!!
Thanks for reading :) xxx