A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting. I was too busy eating and shopping Thursday and Friday, and then the rest of my weekend was spent caring for a teething baby. Fun fun.

I don't usually flip POVs mid-chapter, but I did it in this one.

This chapter is one of my favorites. Enjoy!

Chapter 21 – Approval

NPOV

Jacob's habits behind the wheel were comparable to my family's. We pulled into the driveway at three-thirty: It would have taken the average driver five hours.

Kimber wheeled out the front door to greet us. Her face was back to perfection and she was smiling brightly, cheeks glowing with the flush of pregnancy. Her exposed injuries were healing nicely. The bruises were already turning a caramel color and her stitches were out. Her baby bump had become more like a basketball. It was the cutest thing ever.

"Hey beautiful," I greeted Kimber, leaning over her wheelchair to hug her gently.

"It's about time you two got here. I've got so much to talk to you about." Kimber's hair was flawless, she had on make up, and she was wearing one of the new maternity outfits Alice had purchased Monday.

"Alice, have you been playing life-size Barbie with Kimber?" I asked when she greeted me at the door.

"She likes it," Alice retorted.

"I did, too…the first seven hundred times," I said sarcastically.

My demeanor did a one-eighty when I saw my father walking toward the foyer. I gathered that he wanted to talk to me about the tension between us, and I had my own matters to discuss with him.

"Please, just for the weekend, try…for me," Jacob whispered.

I stopped myself from rolling my eyes.

"Welcome home, Renesmee," Dad said cordially.

"Thank you, Father," I said with strained geniality.

It would have been nice to mingle with my family for a while before getting to the tough part – talking to my dad – but I didn't want him seeing anything in our thoughts before I had the chance to defend myself. Mom, Dad, Jacob, and I went straight to my parent's balcony. It wasn't private in the sense that no one could hear us, but it was as far as we could get without leaving. As an added bonus, the serene atmosphere would lend to civility.

"I'll let you go first," Dad told me.

There was no beating around the bush with him. "I'm transferring to University of Alaska starting in January. I'm not returning to UGA. Not even for my things."

I didn't get the usual 'Angry Dad' look. Jacob must have been feeding him further details. "Are you sure this is the best way to deal with this? Run away from it?" he said softly.

"Maybe not, but I can't go back there."

"Very well. Now it's my turn. I'm willing to compromise with you on some things. But this is where I draw the line. We've set up a room for you two. There are two beds. You may sleep in the same room, but not the same bed. Renesmee, I'm begging you, please don't push me on this. So long as you aren't married, you cannot sleep in the same bed in this house. Your grandparents agree with me on this. There are only certain things I can control, and what happens in this house is one of them. What you do elsewhere is your business and it's clear that I cannot stop you. Do you accept my offer?"

Jacob squeezed my knee and I caved. "Fine."

This wasn't permanent. We would be heading for Washington in a few days and would be free to do whatever we wanted in our hotel room.

"What?" Dad asked, shocked.

"What?" I replied, unsure of what or who he was referring to.

"You're going to…to Washington?" Dad's face became void of all emotion, frozen solid as a marble statue.

Jacob spoke up. "Monday. We're going to see my family. I haven't been home in a long time and I'd really like for my father to meet Ness," he said, smiling at me.

Mom looked panicked, which made no sense at all. Why were they so freaked out about my going to Washington with Jacob?

Dad rolled his eyes and let out a single chuckle. "Jacob, you and I have a lot to talk about. Come on," he said, jumping off the balcony and landing three stories below with ease.

"I'll be back." Jacob kissed my cheek and followed suit.

JPOV

We were a good five miles away from the house before he laid into me.

"You can't take her to La Push! Are you insane?" he roared.

"Why?" I asked defensively.

"The wolves, for starters. How do you think they are going to respond to a half vampire coming onto their land?"

"They won't harm her. She's my imprint and I'm the Alpha." Technically.

He scoffed. "When was the last time you took responsibility as Alpha, Jacob?"

"Sam stopped phasing two years ago. I was in charge until I started school."

I'd been trying to keep my thoughts focused on the weather, the birds chirping in the trees, anything except my time as Alpha. And I failed.

"And being the wonderful Alpha you were for that year, how do you think they'll respond to you coming home with her? They don't have to follow your orders, Jacob. From what I've seen in your thoughts, it looks like Paul has done a fine job in your absence."

I wanted to tell him to fuck off, fight him, something…but I wouldn't. Not when I had my own concerns to discuss with him.

"They won't hurt her. I'll call and explain everything beforehand. If anyone has a problem with it – which they won't – we'll just stay in Forks and have my family visit us there."

"Renesmee cannot, under any circumstances go to Forks," he said seriously.

"Why?" I asked again, annoyed.

"Charlie."

I crinkled my eyebrows. "I don't understand. Now that you bring it to my attention, shouldn't we visit him rather than avoid him?"

"No! He knows nothing of Renesmee. We…when Bella finished changing, we immediately moved to Canada. As far as he knows, Bella died nearly seven years ago. Renesmee is the perfect cross of Bella and me. He can't see her. Furthermore, Bella looks too much like Charlie. Renesmee would notice and somehow put the pieces together." Edward's face was severe.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing. Why? Why would you do that to Charlie?"

"Do you have a better idea? His daughter is a vampire."

I shook my head, disgusted by what I was hearing. "Renesmee has family she doesn't know about. Don't you think you're cheating her by keeping her away from her human side, her human family?"

"To what purpose? So we can expose ourselves? Drag the Volturi into our lives? So she can know what it feels like to lose a loved one in twenty years? We did it to protect her," he said, stepping closer to my face aggressively.

"Then so be it. If we have to, we will stay in Hoquiam or Port Angeles. But I'm sure staying in La Push won't be a problem. And I'll tell Billy to pretend he's sick so Charlie won't come by." I was trying to appease him, even if my beliefs differed from his.

"Now tell me about this Alaska deal." He stepped out of my face.

I took a deep breath – possibly my last – and tried to calm the butterflies in my stomach. "I want…I want to move to Alaska with Ness…" Say it. Say it. Say it. "As my wife."

Just the words sent my heart soaring. I knew she would say yes. I wanted to live together off campus, just me and her. She was all I'd ever need in life. I wanted to marry her, to solidify what we already had.

"Have you lost your mind? You two barely know each other," he seethed.

My eyes tightened. "I know her better than anyone else." Including you.

"Really?"

I started with the inconsequential things, "Her birthday is September tenth. Her favorite color is lavender. She's a fucking genius. When she's in bright light, there's a burst of hazel around her pupil. She talks in her sleep. A lot. She's the most stubborn, caring, loving person I've ever met. And by some miracle, she decided to let me into her life."

I took a step closer to him. "She said I was the first and only person she's ever felt truly connected to; the only one she feels herself around. You know what she dreams about? Being a mother. And not to pale, sparkly babies either. They're dark skinned with dark hair. Two boys, one girl. Always. Lately it's been almost every time she sleeps."

Edward wasn't interrupting, so I kept going. "Yesterday she told me she wanted to marry me. She likes to put on a hard-ass act, but on the inside she's sensitive. She needs space and freedom but protection and guidance at the same time. My Ness is completely happy. She would never run away from me." Like she did you and Bella. "Never."

Edward stood there speechless, a hard glare plastered to his face.

"I'm not asking for your approval because I have to. I'm asking because I want your approval. And I believe that deep down, Ness wants it, too."

"What can you provide her? Can you even buy her a suitable ring?"

Was he trying to insult me?

"I'll work while I go to school in Alaska. And I already have a ring; my mother's. It isn't huge or expensive but you should know Ness well enough to know that wouldn't matter." It was getting difficult to keep my tone even. He doubted my ability to take care of her – the one thing I was put on this earth to do.

"You are in no position to be her provider."

Now he was definitely trying to piss me off.

My entire face turned sour. "Money isn't what makes her happy, Edward. Do you not realize that? She uses it because it's there, but not once has she demonstrated that she needed money in order to be happy or to feel good about herself. We are talking about the same person, right?"

He softened a bit. "And what about her family? She's just a few hours away in Athens. You're going to move her thousands of miles from us?"

I rolled my eyes. "Are you really resorting to Jewish-Mother-guilt? Don't pretend that you guys can't afford to fly out whenever and as often as you want. Hell, you could probably move to Juneau."

He nodded slowly. "That's not a bad idea. It's about time for us to move. And Alaska would be a much better place to break in Kimber once she's changed."

Oh shit. What have I done? Ness would not be happy about this.

"Calm down. If we move, it will be somewhere an acceptable distance from you two and the university. But I have a feeling that Renesmee will want to be close to her new sister." The anger in his voice was gone now. Good. Now I could get back to my original question.

"So does this mean you approve of Ness and I getting married?" I hedged.

Edward's shoulders slumped slightly. "Does it have to be soon?"

"It's up to Ness. I want her to know that the option is there and I'm ready when she is, whether it's next week or after we graduate." Knowing my Ness, she won't wait that long. "Would you rather approve of us shacking up while in college, or living together as man and wife?"

At last, his resolve was broken. I knew how traditional and conservative he was about things like that.

"While I still think you two should wait, you…have my approval," he said in a sad, defeated tone.

Relief washed over me. I would wait as long as Ness wanted to, but I knew she would want to get married sooner rather than later. There was no denying our connection. Two weeks or two years, neither of us could be more certain about the other than we already were. We didn't need time to be sure we were making the right choice, and Ness was the type to make a decision and act on it.

Edward and I headed back to the house in silence. It wasn't uncomfortable, though. My mind was busy planning a proposal. I had a few different ideas. It couldn't be cheesy or cliché. I wanted it to be special and unique, something completely unexpected. The proposal in itself would be a huge surprise, but that wasn't enough.

Edward knocked me over just as my thoughts were starting to turn to things he didn't want to see, ways in which I could propose that we definitely wouldn't be able to share with our grandchildren.

Sorry.

When we got back I phased at the edge of the woods, put my clothes back on, and began looking for my imprint in the huge house. Her sweet voice led me up two flights of stairs to a room I'd yet to see – Kimber's bedroom.

Alice looked at me bitterly. "What did you do?" she asked.

"I'm not sure what you mean," I lied. By now, her precious visions had either completely changed or disappeared altogether.

She squinted her eyes at me. "I'll be back, ladies. I need to see Edward."

I took her spot on the bed and pulled Ness in my lap, placing a little kiss on her cheek.

"Miss me?" she asked flirtatiously.

"Of course."

I filled her in on a couple of the things her father and I discussed, leaving out the part about them moving and my proposing. She and Kimber were clicking through some baby crap online. I was pretty sure the only part she heard me say was that everything was settled.

She was engrossed in the article she was reading aloud, something about the best colors to use in a nursery. I was a teensy bit put off that she was practically ignoring me, but I had spent almost a full week alone with her. I decided to leave the two girls with their baby chatter but wasn't sure what else to do. I could have stayed with them, but Ness hardly registered that I was in the room. And I felt like I should socialize with everyone else, especially if I was going to be around them as much as Edward thought I would be.

He appeared at the bottom of the stairs as I was coming down. "C'mon. Let's play a game," he said sinisterly.

Being a mind reader, he could beat anyone at any game, so I wondered what the hell he meant.

He led me out the back door and across the back yard to where Jasper and Emmett were standing beside a long table. On it was every type of firearm you could think of. Everything from your garden variety handgun to military issue assault rifles.

What the hell did vampires need with guns?

I stopped dead in my tracks and swallowed hard. "What's this?"

Emmett laughed. "We're not killing your ass today, so relax."

"We found something Edward can't use his power to beat us at," Jasper said, giving Edward an arrogant smirk.

"Where's the target?" I asked.

"Pull!" Emmett shouted.

Twenty or so clay discs shot into the air about five hundred yards down the expansive lawn. I hadn't noticed the blonde demon standing down there until then.

At vampire speed, Emmett grabbed a rifle, loaded it, and popped off all but one of the discs in less than twenty seconds. Jasper checked the stopwatch in his hand and wrote Emmett's time down on a chart on the table.

"Getting better," Jasper said encouragingly.

Edward stepped forward and followed the same procedure Emmett had, except he missed two and used a handgun.

"Your turn," he said, gesturing to the table.

The only time I'd ever shot a gun was my dad's .22 when I was a kid, and all we did then was pop soda cans off a log less than fifteen feet away. I didn't even know how to load one, but it didn't look that difficult.

"Pull," Edward said, and my seemingly microscopic discs were in the air.

I managed to hit five of them, which I thought was pretty good considering my lack of experience.

The bitch came up to take her turn.

"Behave, Rose," Edward mumbled.

I backed away from her, hoping it would keep her from taking advantage of the situation.

It didn't work. In a blur, I saw her spin around with one of the larger handguns in her grasp. I immediately moved to the left as she fired.

Scorching pain ran through me. I'd sustained some serious injuries in my time, but this hurt more than any of the others. Edward was examining my leg seconds later. I was biting the shit out of my lip to keep from screaming.

"God damn it, Rosalie! I told you not to do this!" he boomed.

"That's pretty messed up, babe," Emmett mumbled in a small voice.

I'd tried to be extra nice to all of them, even her – on the surface at least – but this was way over the line.

"What the fuck, you stupid bitch? I haven't done a damn thing to you! Why the fuck did you shoot me?" I yelled, not caring at all what Emmett or anyone else might have thought.

She fucking smiled. "Oh come on, you'll heal. And Edward, don't act like you didn't want to do it yourself."

"Looks like the bullet went straight through," Edward said to me, sounding legitimately concerned. His voice turned sour when he acknowledged Rosalie. "He's not my favorite person at the moment, but I would never do this to my daughter."

Ness came running from the house to my side. "Baby, are you okay? What happened?" she questioned shakily, noticing my blood-soaked shorts.

I finally sat down, using Edward's marble arm to ease myself to the ground. "Your aunt fucking shot me. But don't worry about me. I'll be completely healed in a day or two."

I don't think Ness heard anything past where I told her that Rosalie had shot me, because in that same moment she froze and turned bright red. I'd seen Ness pissed before, but not like this. The look in her eyes was scary, nothing but raw fury.

Ness screeched and charged at Rosalie. "I'll fucking kill you!" she screamed. The sight made me proud. My girl was defending me when I couldn't defend myself. Because even if I hadn't been in total agony, there was no way Emmett would let me plow his bitch to the ground like Ness had.

Rosalie was pinned beneath Ness. No one stepped forward to pull her off. Edward and Jasper stood slightly in front of Emmett, just in case he got the urge to step in.

"Why are you such a bitch? Kimber and Jacob haven't done anything to you!" she continued screaming as she pounded her fists onto Rosalie's face. I didn't think Ness was strong enough to actually hurt her, but screeches pierced through the air with each blow.

Ness's small hands wrapped around the demon's neck. "Apologize or I'll pop your fucking head off!"

"I'm sorry!" she said in a garbled voice.

Ness looked to her father. "Does she mean it?"

He nodded. "I think so."

Ness released Rosalie and came back to my side, examining the wounds. Without averting her attention from my leg, she spoke, "Look, Rose, I'm sick of this shit. I don't know what Jacob did to you seven years ago, but you need to get over it. And Kimber has done nothing but try to be your friend. She's part of this family now, so fucking deal with it," she said venomously.

Rosalie darted toward the woods, Emmett on her tail. Maybe this would teach her a lesson.

"Good job, babe," I said gratefully.

She pushed my hair behind my ears. "Are you okay? Does it still hurt?"

I didn't want to look like a pussy, so I lied. "Not too bad. I'll be alright."

She looked behind her to her father who must have shook his head, revealing the truth.

"You don't have to be a hard-ass all the time. It's okay to hurt."

Her palm pressed against my cheek and I leaned into her warm touch, closing my eyes. I saw myself on the sofa in her room, and then she walked in holding a tray of food, wearing a sexy ass nurse outfit.

"You're killing me, Renesmee," Edward groaned.

"Fine, no nurse outfit," she pouted.

I was grateful and surprised when she didn't try to fight him on it.

"Let's get you bandaged up," Edward said, offering to help me up with an extended arm.

I tried to get up on my own but fell back on my ass. It hurt like hell. I allowed Edward to assist, feeling defeated and weak. I used him as a crutch and hobbled into the house. He didn't protest when I opted to hold the handrail on the way up the stairs. He could have easily carried me the whole way, and it would have saved me a lot of agony, but I wanted to retain some of my dignity.

Ness helped Edward clean the entrance and exit wounds since Carlisle was at work. They brought me to Ness's room – which now had two queen size beds instead of the single king.

"I got it from here, Dad," she said nicely, but her posture was strange. Maybe because this was the first time she and Edward had been truly kind to one another in who knew how long.

Edward grinned and hugged her. "No problem. Please be good," he said before disappearing from the room.

Ness handed me the remote and walked into her closet. "There's some good movies on pay-per-view, pick one."

I began flipping through the guide. "What's a girl doing with such a badass TV in her room anyway?" I asked. TV wasn't even a fitting term. The thing was a monster the size of a projection screen you'd see hanging at a sports bar, except it was plasma with insane picture quality.

"I went through a phase where I was obsessed with Virtual Reality games," she replied from the closet.

I ended the conversation at that. VR was probably a lot more fun than her real life had been.

She came back to the sofa wearing tiny shorts and one of those tank tops that had a bra built in, her large breasts spilling out. This could be very bad.

"I'm feeling better already," I said with a sly grin.

"Well, it's no naughty nurse outfit, but it'll do I guess."

I pulled her beside me, wishing she were in my lap instead. I could tolerate the physical pain it might cause my leg…but it would definitely make keeping my hands off of her difficult.

"We can hang out and watch this movie until the smoke settles, but I want you to spend some time with your family," I told her. We didn't come here to stay cooped up in her room all weekend.

Once the house heard which movie we were watching – a new Rob Zombie horror flick – they all filed in. Esme dragged another sofa into the room for Kimber. Emmett and Rosalie eventually returned but didn't join us.

Ness ended up sitting on the other sofa with Kimber, massaging her swollen feet. Those two were definitely going to be close. Ness needed a girlfriend she could be completely honest with, someone who could know all of her secrets. She had found that in Kimber.

Though I never committed myself to her, I still considered her a good friend. She wasn't the dramatic, conniving, selfish type of girl. Ness was the absolute most important thing in my life, so my approval of her and Kimber's friendship meant a lot to her. I told her that Kimber was worthy of her, that I trusted her with that piece of her heart.

The two girls barely paid attention to the movie. Instead, they were carrying on a conversation only Edward could understand. Ness was only using her gift and Kimber was answering with one and two word replies. I smiled privately at the exchange. It satisfied me that both of them were happy. If Ness wanted me to know whatever it was they were talking about, she'd tell me.

Once the movie was over, those who slept hit the sack. It seemed harder to sleep with Ness in the bed next to mine than it would be if I were in a different room. I could hear her mumbling but couldn't watch her dreams. I could smell her but couldn't feel her body against mine. She had her blanket bunched up, her legs and arms wrapped around it the way they should have been wrapped around me. The tiny shorts and tank top did little to conceal her body. As if her smooth, exposed thighs weren't torture enough, she shifted, revealing her stiffened nipples under the snug white shirt.

Fuck.

I couldn't stay like this – here watching her, wanting but unable to have. I couldn't even fantasize about her while taking care of myself. When I finally dozed off, my dreams were much worse than my thoughts. I couldn't recall exactly what it was about, but a snippet of a very naughty Nurse Ness lingered in my mind when the slam of a door woke me.

"Please shield me," I heard Edward roar…whatever that meant.

I knew I was a dead man when I woke the next morning. The warm skin and smell of Heaven was much too intense and real to be a dream. The second I realized Ness was curled against me in my bed, I moved to jump up, completely forgetting that my thigh still hurt like hell and that I couldn't bear weight on it.

I fell flat on my ass. Ness jerked up looking scared as hell. She had her index finger pressed against her lips insistently, begging me to keep quiet.

I used my upper body to climb back onto the bed. I looked at her bed then back to her questioningly.

My mom is keeping him from hearing our thoughts. With a hand on my arm, she replayed the door slam and Edward asking to be shielded.

The door flew open then. "Is everything okay?" Bella asked. Her mouth gaped when her eyes landed on us sitting together in bed. She eyed Ness.

"Jacob fell out of the bed," she said nervously.

Bella raised a suspicious brow. "Come on downstairs. We have some things to discuss after lunch."

Lunch? I looked at the clock. Damn, it was already twelve thirty.

Ness slid out of my bed and stood in front of me as I was about to get up. She pulled my head against her belly, running her nails over my scalp. Was she trying to test my willpower? I smacked her ass.

"Behave or I'll put you on restriction," I said sternly.

"Restriction?"

I looked down at my crotch and back up to her. She laughed. "Pah-lease. As if you could actually follow through."

I carefully got up, standing on my good leg, towering over her. "Care to test me?"

She play-pouted. "I'll be a good girl…as long as there's a reward."

I kissed her chastely on those full pink lips of hers. "Monday. Two days."

It would be tough, but we could go two more days without sex. We'd gone longer than that before. Two whole days longer. Controlling my boner would be a challenge, but at least Bella had some weird ability to keep Edward out of my head.

Ness, Kimber, and I ate a huge lunch courtesy of Bella. Watching Kimber sip from her cup of blood was pretty disgusting, but it didn't completely ruin my appetite. I knew Ness drank animal blood – something I'd yet to witness firsthand – but it still caught me off guard when she took a sip from Kimber's cup.

Thankfully she didn't see my nose crinkle. That would take some getting used to. I had eaten raw animal flesh before, especially when I was running, so the concept wasn't completely foreign to me. But I liked to pretend Ness was some other form of supernatural; something that didn't enjoy the flavor of human blood.

I accepted it, though. In all honesty, she could probably live by killing humans and I'd still love her the same.

Everyone filed into the formal dining room once we finished eating. The three of us sat at the opposite end of the table from Rosalie. Her head was hanging down, eyes focused on the wood of the table. I hoped that bitch felt remorseful for what she did. I still couldn't walk on my right leg unsupported.

Carlisle entered last, standing at the head of the table and meeting each person's gaze with a smile. "As you all know, Renesmee is transferring to Alaska in January. All in favor of going with her raise your hand."

Rosalie's hand was the last to go up, but it did…along with everyone else's. It was unanimous. Kimber was bouncing in her seat with excitement.

"Very well. Esme, Kimber, and I will be leaving Monday. We'll be staying at our old house in Douglas for a little while until we find something permanent. Cars, anything worth more than ten thousand dollars, and personal effects will be moved; but everything else can stay. Including the guns," he said with a pointed glance to Rosalie. "Any questions?"

"Are you sure Kimber can handle such a long trip?" Alice asked.

"Bella flew in from Brazil when she was approximately two weeks into her pregnancy. Things didn't get…complicated…until the last week or so before delivery. It will be close, but we should have everything squared away by then."

Kimber spoke up next. "I want to apologize for being the reason this move has to be rushed. I appreciate everything you all are doing for me and the baby," she said, rubbing her enlarged belly.

"Don't be silly. It's not like this is the first time we've uprooted unexpectedly. Most everyone in front of you has been cause for such actions over the course of our time together. It's part of what we are," Esme said sweetly.

"Yeah, home is where the heart is, right?" Emmett chipped in, earning snickers from all but Carlisle and Esme.

"Where are you guys going Monday? My vision is crystal clear for a change," Alice asked Ness and me.

"I'm going to meet Jacob's family in Washington!" Ness replied excitedly.

Everyone who didn't already know of our plans was stunned for a moment. An uncomfortable silence fell over the room.

"What the hell is the deal with me going to Washington? You guys are acting weird." Ness stood from her seat, eyeing her family suspiciously. They all looked at Edward.

He shook his head. "Meeting Jacob's family is a big step in your relationship, that's all."

"Yeah, sure. Whatever," she said in disbelief.

"Alright, boxes are in the basement. Start packing," Carlisle concluded.

Suddenly it felt all too real. It wasn't just an idea anymore. Ness and I – and her entire family – were moving to Alaska…and I was going to…propose.

A/N:

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