A/N

This is my entry for the fifth PTB writing challenge.

As always, I do not own Twilight. I just appreciate the loan.

Challenge #5 – The Limerick

Date Posted: 2/17/2013

Fandom: Twilight

Rating: K+

Genre: Canon

Content Descriptors: Mostly Fluff

Character Pairing: Jake/ Nessie

Jake's POV

About six months after Nessie had been born, when the dust had settled from the Volturi's visit and it was clear she wasn't going to have only a few years of life, I decided it was time to do something with myself. I couldn't spend forever sitting around, taking advantage of the Cullens' money. Eventually, I would want a family of my own, and I would need to be able to support them.

I'd dropped out of school because I wanted to spend every minute I could with Nessie and because of all the extra patrols I'd been running. It seemed like I should go back and finish but, quite frankly, the idea of going back to the reservation high school depressed me. It never seemed like there was much to do there, nor did I ever really seem to learn much. And the food really, really sucked. In the new zeal for 'healthy' living it was tasteless and there were never big enough portions. Even with packing my own lunches, I didn't know how I'd survive the monotony day to day without going nuts.

The Cullens offered to financemy tuition if I enrolled in a private school, or have my residence transferred to their address, but I didn't want to be looked at the way I was at Forks High School. There, I was the unknown reservation kid who was too big for his own good and might become dangerous at any second. I had no illusions: it would be different no matter how much bribe money the Cullens paid for me to go anywhere else.

So, I enrolled online to get my GED, and for appearances, Esme signed off as if she was home-schooling me along with her "daughter" Renesmee. I was welcome at their place for lessons, and to go fill out tests and other paperwork occasionally. Otherwise, I was left to complete the courses online at my pace.

It was a great arrangement, and I had to admit I was thrilled with it. Jasper agreed to help me with some of my rough spots in history, and the doc with my sciences. It was unusual, to say the least, to learn these things as they'd happened in real life rather than the way they'd been written in a book.

I would have loved to see the examiner's face if I ever wrote down any of the stuff I'd learned.

One day, I was sitting at the dining room table with Nessie and Esme. We had some essays due and were working on creative writing. Esme pulled out a section on limericks and started talking.

I'll admit, I lost interest fairly soon. We'd already started to cover this when I dropped out. Nessie brushed her hand over my arm, showing me how bored she was too and how much she just wanted to get outside and run.

Grinning, I slid out a piece of paper. Across the top I wrote, There once was a girl named Nessie,

I slid the paper over to her, and she got the idea quickly; I wanted her to add the next line. She wrote, Whose room was nothing but messy

We kept sliding the paper back and forth, rolling our eyes and trying not to show just how desperately bored we were. The limerick built, line by line, until Esme finally glared and narrowed her eyes.

"Do you two have something you'd like to add? Or should I assign you to write ten pages of limericks each?"

She just about fell apart laughing at Nessie's and my twin looks of horror as I handed our paper over to her.

"Well, I see you have the point of this lesson quite well. This is rather inventive."

She began to read, "There once was a girl named Nessie, whose room was nothing but messy, her best friend Jake, said please for my sake, clean this place up soon, it smells like my room."

Esme chuckled. "I don't think your room smells quite that bad, Nessie, and you guys could use some work on rhythm, but this a good start. I'd probably grade this about a B."

She looked up and out the windows where Nessie and I were staring longingly.

"How about I fix the two of you some lunch, and while I do, you run for a bit. We can work some more on this when you come back."

Nessie slid off her chair, practically squealing with glee.

She sped out the door, and I took off after her, making sure she was well out of eyesight when I shrugged out of what I was wearing to phase.

On four paws, I put on a burst of speed and went flying to catch my Nessie. I could hear her just up ahead. She'd climbed a tree, thinking to get the drop on me.

Unfortunately, between the noise of her giggles and the shaking of the branches around her, I could tell exactly where she was.

Casually, I continued forward, acting as if I had no idea at all where she was. When she did leap down, I stepped aside at the last second so my darling wound up missing me by inches.

I turned, rubbed her with my cold nose, and bathed her face from jaw to hairline with my tongue.

"Gross, Jake," she yelled.

My jaws lolled open in a wolfy grin. I woofed a chuckle and took off running.

Nessie wasted no time in giving chase, determined to get me back.

This time, she had a more coordinated plan. She flanked me, turning me towards the river, pushing me off course until, before I knew it, I'd run right smack into the river.

Two could play at that game. Dripping wet, I lunged up out of the river and graciously showered the excess water from my coat all over my darling.

We headed back to the house, me looking like a demented cotton ball, her looking like a drowned rat.

Esme caught sight of us and went running for towels. "What on earth," she stammered as she wrapped Nessie from head to foot.

"Both of you, you're taking a bath right now. Nessie, you're filthy, and Jake, you smell like wet dog."

The normally reserved and polite Esme clapped a hand to her mouth. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to be rude, but I really do see now what everyone complains about."

Nessie dissolved in a fit of giggles. "It could be worse; try being at First Beach on a swimming day with the pack."

I ducked upstairs, showered off quickly, got dressed in my spare clothes, and went back downstairs. "At least it's not as bad as the time Emmett went hunting for bears and found a family of skunks instead," I replied. "I think we bought all the tomato juice Quil's mother had at her store that day."

Chuckling, Esme shook her head. "That's enough talk about body odor. I'm going to take Renesmee up for a bath. Keep an eye on lunch so it doesn't burn and work on your essay while you're waiting. You both have a test due next week."

I wandered over to the kitchen where I could smell something delicious coming from the oven. I opened the door and saw a pan of lasagna. It was just starting to bubble and was not close to being done yet. So I closed it and turned back to my work.

Ugh. Only three more months and I'd have my GED. There was a local garage owner who was looking for help. I'd been working there off and on, but he couldn't hire me officially until I had my GED and could start work on a mechanic's certificate. For now, he had me helping out with paperwork and running the front of the shop. I'd gotten to know the regular customers and figured I could be quite happy working there. It wouldn't be fun to be away from Nessie eight hours a day, but if Alice helped me manage my pay, I could turn it into quite a sizable start for us.

I heard Nessie upstairs, splashing as she cleaned up after her unexpected shower. Thinking of Nessie, I sat and wrote.

There once was a boy named Jake

Whose life was no piece of cake

His heart, it was shattered

'Til he found what mattered

The one he'd die for her sake