A/N: Hello, everyone! Sory for the late update. Real life happened. Meanwhile, Lent starts tomorrow. I'm still trying to decide what I should give up tomorrow but I haven't come up with what I should give up or do. Maybe I should give up food? Just kidding. I'll probably have to give up dairy as I have a strange allergic reaction to it even though I love it. I'll see.

-FTP-

"Uncle Jacob, do you think Daddy loves me?" Vanessa asked.

"Of course. Why did you ask?"

"Because Mommy and Daddy didn't tell me," she explained.

In that moment, I wanted to bump Bella and Edward's head together. Their desire to make things go smoothly for Vanessa actually caused her more pain. "Vanessa, they were planning to tell you. They just haven't figured out how," I admitted.

"It doesn't feel that way," she said.

"I know. Things often don't work out the way we wanted. Would you like to go to the arcade?" I needed to distract Vanessa even if it was just for a few hours. She would process things better if she would get a break from thinking about what happened. It would also help me deal with Bella and Edward who obviously hadn't gotten their act together. I was so angry I could smack both of them in the head.

Vanessa and I went to Chuck E. Cheese. She and I played basketball together and she beat me by a lot.

"I could see your practice had been paying off," I said.

"I know, Uncle Jacob," she said with a smile.

We did other physical games. She needed it as much as I do. Then, it was time to go home. I needed to have a chat with Bella and Edward about what they wanted to do. I have held my tongue to let them take care of this on their own. Not anymore. I needed to do this for Vanessa.

Bella and Edward were waiting when we got home. They were holding hands. Vanessa held on to me. She obviously didn't want to deal with her parents yet. I led all of us in the house. Once Vanessa was inside, I turned to Edward and Bella.

"Can we talk outside?" I asked.

"Sure," Bella said with hesitation.

I just stared at Edward who didn't seem to know what to do with his handsome self. I shook my head and reminded myself that I needed to focus on the issue at hand. Vanessa discovering who her father was when she was admiring the trophies.

"Bella, how did you not manage to tell Vanessa that Edward was her father? You had two months," I vented.

"I was waiting for the right time," she said. I was sure she felt bad but it still didn't excuse the fact that her inaction had caused more harm than good.

"The right time happened today. Your daughter is heartbroken because it didn't come from both of your mouths," I explained. It didn't take a genius to figure that out. For two smart people, it seemed that their brains were on vacation these past few days. "Can I give you both an advice?"

"Go ahead," Edward said. He seemed to be more protective of Bella than usual.

"Vanessa is a very smart person. She's a lot less fragile than you believe. She inherited that from both of you. Give her a little credit. Be honest with her and try to explain things to her in an age appropriate way. She loves both of you. However, she didn't know how to deal with her feelings right now. That's why I'm asking for both of your permission to spend the night here," I said.

"But Jacob-" Edward was about to say something but Bella shook her head.

"Go ahead, Jacob. I'll pick her up early for school tomorrow," she said.

"Meanwhile, you two work on what you should tell her. I'm pretty sure you family have a lot to talk about. She needs rest. You two need to get your act together. You can't put it off," I said.

"I know, Jacob," Bella said. Then, she hugged me as tears fell from her eyes. "I don't know what I would do without you."

Edward seemed to be uncomfortable with the whole exchange.

"Everything will be alright. See you later," I said.

I let go of Bella, then I shook Edward's hand, and then they were gone. I went back inside to check on Vanessa. She was playing the piano. Beautiful music came out of the instrument. While I had studied the piano growing up, I was never as good as my goddaughter.

I decided to heat up some lasagna in the oven from yesterday. It was Vanessa's comfort food and she needs a lot of comforting right now. I was sure that she would be okay by tonight. However, Bella and Edward had a lot to discuss. When Bella had first found out that she was pregnant, I urged her to continue the pregnancy. It was not the innocent child's fault that her father left. Whether or not she should keep the baby was her decision.

Bella didn't want to keep the baby at first. Her mother had found an adoption agency for her future grandchild. However, the moment she held Vanessa in her arms, she decided that she wanted to keep her. When she made me Vanessa's godfather, I vowed to stand as her child's father until Bella could have a father for her. In this case, it seemed that it would be Vanessa's actual father coming back into the picture.

Originally, I wanted to be a priest. However, I realized that I was attracted to men so I couldn't be in the seminary. Having Bella and Vanessa in my life gave me a purpose. I realized that taking care of them, I wanted to have a family of my own-having wife and children. Yet it seemed that it was a desire of my heart that couldn't be granted.

The timer rang so I called Vanessa to eat dinner. She seemed to be quieter than usual. That's when I saw her new shirt.

"Pretty cool shirt. Where did you get it?" I asked.

"This? Aunt Alice gave it to me. She's Uncle Edward's cousin so I guess she's my aunt," Vanessa stated. She went silent after that.

"So, what is she like?"

"You've never met Aunt Alice? Mom said you two had known each other since she was in the womb," Vanessa pointed out.

"That might be true but she never introduced any of Edward's family members to us," I told her.

"Why is that?"

"Well, it's because it's too soon. When you introduce your boyfriend's family members to us, we would have to develop a relationship with them. If you two broke up, your family basically break up with the rest of their family too. That's why we met your Uncle Emmett's side of the family a few weeks before they got married," I explained.

"So Mommy never introduced Aunt Alice to anyone?" she asked.

"That's right."

"Oh!"

Vanessa talked about how the day went by. I noticed that she skipped the part of her finding out about her dad. I didn't push her. She'll talk when she's ready.

That evening, I read her a story. She was getting so big to the point that she won't like listening to my stories anymore. I'm going to miss this. I helped her say her prayers before tucking her to bed and kissing her on the forehead.

"Uncle Jacob, can you still be my dad even though Uncle Edward is my real dad?" she asked.

I smiled. "Of course. I'm your godfather after all."

"I love you, Uncle Jacob!"

"I love you, too, Vanessa!" I would always love her like my first born. If only God would grant my prayers and give me a family of my own.

-FTP-

Closing Notes:

What do you think of Jacob? He's a very religious man and was quite masculine. He's striving to be perfect. He's living his faith the best way he knows how and sees his attraction to men as a cross to bear. He knows he can't be a priest as seminary is full of men who wants to be priests-it's like being in a candy store for someone abstaining from sweets. Meanwhile, taking care of Vanessa and Bella makes him realize that he wants to have a family to take care of. He enjoys taking care of Bella and Vanessa but he knows that they're not for him to take care of forever. He's a protector at heart. Do you believe that Jacob deserves his happy ending?