A/N: Thanks to my betas, EssatheTwerp21 and DeeDreamer. They are so encouraging and helpful!

There have been some questions as to where the Cullens live. I mentioned in one of the early chapters that they left Forks after Bella's change was complete, lived in Canada for a while, then moved to where they are now – somewhere in the Southeast that's never mentioned specifically.

Chapter 17 – Decisions

JPOV

Ness didn't quite grasp the magnitude of what had happened until she came into the house and saw Kimber lying there half dead. Once we got to the Cullen home, we talked about it while waiting for Kimber to come around. We stayed with her every minute. Esme brought us dinner. I felt guilty for enjoying anything as I sat beside Kimber's bed. Ness barely ate, either. For some reason, she felt responsible for what had happened – that made two of us.

Even Edward felt a little guilty since he'd pushed Ness to take Warren to college with her. He never thought Warren would be capable of this. He never heard anything in his thoughts that could lead him to think he was a psycho who could rape and violently murder anyone, especially Ness.

I tried to focus my attention on Ness and Kimber instead of my own building guilt. They needed me.

The swelling had gone down a good bit since that morning. Kimber was still puffy but whatever Carlisle had put in her IV had helped a lot. She was able to open her eyes when she woke up. She slowly turned her head to look around and stopped when she saw me.

"Will you please tell me what the fuck is going on?" she mumbled. Her lips were still pretty swollen, making it hard for her to talk.

"Do you remember this morning?" I asked softly.

"Yes," she whimpered.

I held her hand. "We're at the doctor's house. He's Ness's grandfather. You're getting better. Ness and I are staying with you. Is there anything I can do to help? Do you want to talk? Are you in pain?"

"I hurt. Tell Ness I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Ness said softly, entering with Carlisle.

Carlisle stood beside Kimber and checked the bags of fluid. "Where does it hurt?" he asked quietly.

"All over, but mainly my leg," she groaned.

"We'll take care of that, dear. I need to check your wounds and possibly change your dressings. Would you be okay with Jacob stepping out for a moment?" Carlisle's tone was light and gentle.

"No. Jacob stays," Kimber said urgently. "He can just close his eyes or something."

I squeezed her hand just a little. "Okay, that's fine. I'll keep my eyes closed."

Ness kissed my cheek. "I'll be out in the hall."

"I'm going to touch your hand now, okay?"

She and Carlisle looked at each other as he ever so lightly grasped her hand in his. Kimber flinched on contact.

"Everything's fine, Kimber. It's me, Carlisle. Not the monster. I'm not going to harm you, I promise."

Kimber relaxed a little and nodded. "I'm sorry. I trust you, it's just…"

He brushed his hand across her forehead, moving hair from her face. "I completely understand…now then, are you ready?"

She replied with a small nod.

When the doc finished, he gave her more pain medicine and she fell back asleep. Alice and Jasper set up a bed for Ness and I to sleep on for the night. If Kimber woke up in the middle of the night, I didn't want her to wake up alone. I held Ness close and tried to fall asleep, but couldn't.

That morning, back in our suite in Atlanta, I had woken to Ness running open mouth kisses down my chest in a bed that was made for royalty. My life was pretty much perfect. Now here I was, at the Cullen's house, lying wide awake, thinking of all the nightmarish events that went on that day.

"Jacob."

"Jacob."

I thought someone was mumbling my name. I had barely slept and my subconscious was not ready to let me wake.

"Please, Jake."

I snapped upright when my brain finally registered what was going on.

Edward flew in with a plastic trash can and got to Kimber just as she started heaving. Esme came in with her arms loaded with water, sheets, towels, and some clothes. I got up to stand beside Kimber and held her hair back. Everyone was avoiding physical contact as much as possible so they didn't trigger shock or anything.

After the spasms stopped and Kimber could breathe without getting sick, I knelt in front of her so she could see my face as I spoke. "Well, aside from the obvious, how are you feeling? Are you hurting?" I asked. She looked a little better. The swelling in her face had decreased. It would be at least a week before she would resemble her former self though.

"A little better. The pain isn't as bad. I can see and speak a lot better. I'm a little nauseous though," she said in a sleepy but clear voice.

"I'm sure Carlisle has something that might help if you want," I suggested.

She shook her head. "Nah. It'll probably make me drowsy. I've been asleep for the bulk of the last week. I'd like to wake up a little, even if facing reality sucks."

Ness and I spent a few hours watching DVDs that Edward had selected, claiming they shouldn't contain anything that would remind Kimber of what happened. Kimber seemed pretty happy that Ness was with her. I knew it was hard for Ness, though. She was still having a difficult time coming to terms with it all. She'd spent a while talking with her family about it. I could comfort both the girls, but I had no idea how to help them get through the emotional damage.

I knew Ness would be fine in a week or two, but I couldn't imagine how Kimber could ever stand being left alone again. She was a tough, resilient woman. I hoped and prayed her inner strength would be enough to get her through this.

Carlisle came into the makeshift hospital room looking more miserable than usual. He checked her IV and the vitals that were on the monitor and then pulled up a seat beside Kimber's bed.

"We need to talk about the x-rays we took yesterday," he said gravely, sounding as if he were fighting back tears.

"Are you going to be able to fix my leg?" she asked.

"Not right away, but there's something else. Would you like Ness to step out?"

She shook her head and glanced over at a very concerned-looking Ness. They shared a reassuring smile.

Carlisle took a deep breath and continued, "There isn't a delicate way to put this." He paused, his jaw clenched tightly. "Kimber, you're pregnant."

The world froze. Oh. Fuck.

Becoming a father with my former fuck buddy was nowhere in my plans for the future. I was in love with Ness. We were together and happy, even if it had only been for a brief amount of time at this point. I didn't want anything but her.

But I couldn't possibly abandon my child. Getting rid of it was not an option. I could vaguely hear Kimber stammering apologies and sobs, and something about her IUD before the doc interrupted her.

"This isn't Jacob's child." We both stared at him in shock.

I turned to Kimber. "Is there something I should know? Because last I checked, I was the only person you'd been with for the last year." My voice was a little cold, but if she'd been fucking someone else all this time, I had a right to know.

I wasn't sure if I could actually contract an STD, but I sure as fuck didn't want to find out the hard way. And Kimber and I never used protection, didn't see a need for it since we were both clean, she had an IUD, and we only slept with each other.

Her body sagged against the hospital bed, her gaze shooting straight up to the ceiling, as if she were looking through it to the heavens for guidance.

"We had consensual sex. Twice. In the beginning, when I didn't know…" Kimber trailed off, tears building in her eyes.

"I want you to know your options before you make any decisions."

Kimber nodded and Carlisle continued. "Option one, you abort." The words fell from his mouth as if they tasted disgusting. Kimber's face contorted as though she'd been back-handed. "I'm not certain that it can be done. I would have to get another doctor to perform the operation and it might mean losing the ability to ever have children. Option two, you have the child. You would be pregnant for about two and a half, maybe three more weeks. Your child would be like Ness, half human, half vampire. You would likely have to be turned into one of us after delivery. I will be honest, it's a very difficult pregnancy, but we know what to expect and how to handle things."

Kimber was absolutely frozen, staring at the wall behind Carlisle.

"Dear, I'll give you some time to think. If you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to call for me. Bella is willing to help in any way she can, as well. We all are," Carlisle concluded.

Kimber only nodded. Tears streamed down her face but she wasn't sobbing. After several long, silent minutes, Ness grabbed my hand. Her eyes bored into mine. I can't stay Jacob. I can't keep myself together. Even if Warren was a monster, that is a baby inside her. My family wanted to kill me. You have no idea how it feels to know that. That baby is like me – part human, beating heart, breathing lungs. It isn't a monster. You have to make her see this. Please, Jacob. She can't kill the baby.

She swatted the tears from her eyes and kissed my cheek before leaving.

I held Kimber's hand and stared blankly at the wall. She was silent and perfectly still. We were both focused on our thoughts. I was one of the people who wanted Ness dead when Bella was pregnant. I wanted to kill her myself. But knowing the amazing creature she'd become, could I think the same way about the child Kimber carried?

Ness wasn't a monster at all. I saw her childhood photos all over the Cullen home. She was without a doubt the most beautiful, angelic looking child I'd ever seen and I was pretty sure I'd think that even if she wasn't my imprint. She had chubby cheeks. Her hair was a little lighter than it was now and hung in ringlets all over the place. Her smile made the pictures bright. She was like a little angel. Could Kimber's child be another little angel? Would it be worth losing her mortality? It wasn't my decision to make.

Ness wanted me to talk to Kimber, but I had no idea how to begin or what to say.

At least an hour had passed since Carlisle and Ness left the room when Kimber let out a quick huff and said, "Can you get Bella?"

She saved me from having to talk to her like Ness had asked. Thank God.

Of course Bella was standing in the doorway seconds later. I excused myself so they could speak privately.

There was another conversation that needed to be had. Edward knew I was roaming around the house looking for him. He called my name from inside yet another sitting area I had yet to see. He gestured to the sofa across from him. There was a sub sandwich and soda on the table. I was having a hard time eating since it had all happened, plus I couldn't bring myself to in front of Kimber. The poor girl probably wouldn't be able to eat a semi-solid meal for a week at best.

"Thanks, man," I said quietly, avoiding eye contact. I took my seat across from Edward and took a couple of bites before opening up the conversation that I was dreading. I was nervous, which wasn't a common thing for me. "So I guess you know why I'm here?"

He nodded.

Here goes…

"I don't want you to hate me. Ness means everything to me now. And I know she's stubborn enough to let our issues become a wedge between you and her. I don't want to be the reason she separates herself from you. Just…" I paused and took a second to swallow my pride. "Give me a chance. I'm good to her. And Ness…she like…makes me whole. Love isn't a good enough word for how I feel about her."

Finally, my eyes met his hard glare. Edward spoke, "I was going to kill you, you know. You were next after Warren. I thought about it on the way to that house. Renesmee would have hated me, but my anger was overruling my better judgment at the time. It wasn't until you showed me all those things in the car that I started to change my mind. I haven't seen her smile like that since she was a kid. So I decided to let you live. I still hated you, but I couldn't kill you.

"The last thirty-six hours have given me the opportunity to see who you really are now. I've seen Renesmee's thoughts about you, how she feels about you, memories you've created together. I've witnessed your loyalty to that poor girl upstairs. The things you've done in the last day have more than proven to me that you are man enough for my daughter. I don't think I could hand-pick a better man if I searched the world over. If you do all those things for a mere friend, I can only imagine the things you would do to protect my daughter…your imprint."

I looked him straight in the eye. "I want to spend my life with her."

I did. If I was certain about anything at all, it was that. Nothing could compare to the way Ness made me feel. It was indescribable. Nothing could be better. Nothing else mattered. As long as I had her, everything would be fine.

He sighed and laughed nervously. "Let's start with baby steps. Get through college, make something of yourself, and then we'll talk."

I would do that. I wanted to give her everything I could and provide her with a life we could both be proud of.

"Kimber and Bella need me. Spend some time with Ness while you can," Edward said as he got off the couch and made his way to the stairs.

"Hey, is she okay with me helping Kim? I mean, she doesn't seem jealous, but I don't want to piss her off."

"She's fine. She worships you. You'd have to do a lot more than help a friend in need to piss her off." The annoyed expression on his face was almost funny. Maybe she really was as into me as I was her.

Ness breezed in as I polished off my sub. She looked happy for a change. It seemed like weeks since I'd seen her beaming smile. Hard to believe it was only yesterday morning. I didn't realize I was even walking until my arms wrapped around her little waist and lifted her against my chest.

"I love your smile," I whispered, nuzzling her ear. I stood her up in front of me so I could see it again. Just as I hoped, it was even wider than before.

"Aren't you going to ask why I'm smiling?"

AN:

The Edward/Jacob conversation may not have gone as you'd expect, but my objective in writing this story was to go against all the customary Jacob/Nessie plotlines…do the opposite of what people have come to expect from the pairing, and make it plausible. Thus far, going by the reviews, I'm doing an okay job of keeping you guys guessing.

I've decided to tell my husband about my writing if I reach 500 reviews. So if you like what you're reading, tell me! I want to tell him, but I want to have a sense of accomplishment first, and 500 reviews is definitely a milestone worthy of sharing (well, for the Jake/Ness pairing, at least).

A teaser for chapter 18 will be sent to those who review/retweet.

Maniacal: Second Chances update has been posted. It's chapter four and corresponds with chapters 16 and 17.

Sorry for the crazy long A/N. I tend to ramble sometimes.