As always, huge thanks to Nikki and Dani *snogs*, and welcome on board to my two new permanent betas, Angelz1114577 & Whitlocked. Thanks for your help so far :o).

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters, they belong to Stephenie Meyer.

Chapter 5

Nahuel PoV

My head snapped around in the direction of the voice. There stood Jacob, shirtless and trembling with rage. It was unclear whether his statement had been directed at Renesmee or me; his furious expression was focused on us both equally. Renesmee's head had turned too, but she had otherwise frozen, her hand still in mine. I felt her begin to shake and she reclaimed her hand as she stood to face the huge man before us.

Rising, I automatically moved to stand in front of her; noting as I did so, that this appeared to anger him further. All of my senses alerted me to the fact that Jacob was dangerous right now. The trembling built to a crescendo as he threatened to phase into the huge wolf form that I had witnessed only once before. Before he could change though, two more figures emerged quickly from the trees behind him, moving across the clearing and stopping directly in front of him, their backs to us.

"Jake, enough." Bella placed her hand on Jacob's naked, quaking chest and the sudden cold sensation of her icy hand on his hot skin was enough to break his focus and look down, noticing her and Edward for the first time. The steely expressions on their faces were enough to tell me how serious this situation was. I had underestimated Jacob and the depth of his possessiveness toward Renesmee when I decided to pursue her. Edward turned his head toward me and raised an eyebrow, a reminder that he was able to read my thoughts as clearly as if I had spoken them.

I looked back at Jacob now, his breathing still heavy enough to hear from where we stood. He seemed to be calming down now as Bella spoke to him, her voice too low for me to hear, even with my exceptional hearing. Edward had also turned back to speak and I watched as Jacob nodded his head. Bella took his arm then and he half turned with her, before he looked back at Renesmee. His eyes still burned with the anger that had threatened to boil over only moments before. He opened his mouth to speak and then seemed to think better of it, turning and walking away. I noticed that Bella's hand lay on his back in a gesture of comfort and then they disappeared from view, into the trees.

Edward had remained. After watching Jacob and Bella walk away, he turned slowly then crossed the space to where we stood. I moved aside so that I was no longer in front of Renesmee, then she moved forward so she was beside me. Edward's expression was strained as he focused first on his daughter's face, before looking at me. His perfect brow furrowed as he addressed me

"Nahuel, my first instinct is to demand that you leave." I felt a flash of panic and thought I'd gasped aloud, until I realised that the sound had come from next to me. Renesmee was standing with her fists clenched and her eyes narrowed at her father. Her mouth hung open momentarily, before she closed it again, licking her lips before she spoke. Despite the situation, the simple, sensual action registered in my brain. Edward's head flew back around, his eyes burning into mine, accusingly. My eyes widened in alarm now and I took a step back, holding my palms up in front of me.

"Dad--"

"I hadn't finished what I was going to say, Nessie." Edward slowly turned back to look at his daughter, his face softening slightly, before he turned back to me. "However, my daughter has made it clear that she would like to spend some time with you." His voice lowered and almost cracked as he continued. "It's very difficult for Bella and me, Nahuel. We've done the best we can for Nessie, and it's hard for us to discover that there's more she needs, that we cannot give her. It's even harder for Jacob; we will always be her parents, Jacob, however, feels that his own role in Renesmee's life could be under threat with your presence here."

Beside me, Renesmee fidgeted slightly and ran her hand through her hair, sighing deeply. I made a conscious effort not to look directly at her now while Edward was here too, knowing that I couldn't rely on my thoughts to remain benign. I wasn't sure if I imagined it but Edward seemed to nod his head slightly, as a sign of understanding and appreciation.

"Dad, I have no intention of hurting Jake, he means the world to me, and you know that." Her voice had been soft but suddenly picked up. "Jeez! Jake knows this better than anyone! I shouldn't be getting shit from him over this." She waved her arm, gesturing between herself and me. "This is something I have to do for myself. I want to know somebody the same as me. Please, don't be angry at Nahuel, I completely understand why he felt he had to come here. He didn't know about Jake and me." Edward nodded, confirming her words were true. "Please, could you give us a moment Dad? Could you tell Jake I said to go home? I'll meet him back there soon."

Edward stepped forward and embraced Renesmee, whispering quietly to her as he did so. After a moment he let her go, flashing a warning glance in my direction before his manners got the better of him and he spoke my name curtly with a sharp nod. He turned and left then, following the route that Bella and Jacob had taken.

Renesmee spun around to face me, her bronze curls flying out from her head and bobbing for a moment, before they were still. She looked troubled, understandably, and I fought the urge to gather her in my arms to comfort her.

"I'm so sorry Nahuel, for all of this…mess; for Jake and for my Dad. Honestly, I…" words seemed to fail her and she looked down, shaking her head from side to side. I watched her curls again and longed to reach out and touch them, to run my fingers through them. She looked up at me then, an apologetic half smile on her face, which

became puzzled. She'd obviously caught the flash of guilt that had crossed my face when she'd looked up while I was thinking about touching her. I smiled back quickly and she seemed to forget her confusion as she reflected the smile back at me.

"Renesmee, how about we make a deal?" The confused expression returned again as she waited for me to reveal my thoughts to her, "Now we know that we both want the same thing," she seemed to shiver very slightly as I spoke, although I wasn't sure if I was just watching her too closely and had imagined it. "Let's both stop apologising for this, at least to each other."

She smiled wider and looked relieved. "Deal." She thrust her hand out quickly for me to shake and I slowly slid mine into hers until it fit exactly around it. I squeezed gently as I shook it and raised my eyes to meet hers.

"Deal," I said quietly, and this time I was certain that she shivered because I felt it in her hand before it travelled through my body too. Both of us seemed reluctant to break either connection, so we stayed like that for a moment, eyes locked together as closely as our hands. Then Renesmee blinked and it had gone. I hadn't even realised that my heart had stopped, but in the next moment it thumped loudly back to life and I exhaled loudly as apparently I'd been holding my breath too.

"Nahuel, I really should go. I need to sort things out with Jake; I can't leave it like this." I nodded in agreement, even though I didn't want her to leave. The thought of her going back to the wolf didn't exactly thrill me either. She took a step back now, pulling her hand away from mine. "Will you come to Carlisle and Esme's house again tomorrow? I'll meet you there. I really don't think it's a good idea for you to come to my house with Jake acting like he is," she rolled her eyes and smiled slightly. "I'm sure everyone would enjoy a proper chance to catch up with you too, once today's excitement has died down."

"I'd like that too. I'll look forward to it," I answered her, silently adding that I wouldn't be looking forward to it as much as I'd be anticipating seeing her again. I was glad that Edward wasn't here to hear me. She smiled.

"Tomorrow then…" and she moved away across the clearing, turning to wave quickly before she disappeared into the trees.

I stood for a long time, watching the spot where she'd disappeared, half hoping that she'd change her mind and reappear, although I knew that this wouldn't happen. My head was a whirl of memories, from the time I'd spent with her. I was surprised at just how many small details I'd taken in that I hadn't consciously noticed at the time that now filled my head. The way that her smile was ever so slightly crooked, the exact chocolate brown colour of her eyes, the way the sunlight made her bronze curls even more vibrant. It went on. Every memory that floated to the surface of my consciousness enhanced my jubilant mood further. I was feeling buoyant, my emotions peaking as I recalled the shiver; the way it moved through her and passed to me in the way that an electrical current moved through a wire. My limbs tingled now as I remembered the sensation. I circled the clearing as I allowed my thoughts to be filled with her and everything about her. Then the image of an angry Jacob appeared from nowhere and I was quickly brought back to the moment, my exultation evaporating instantly. Not everybody was going to get out of this situation unharmed emotionally. While I knew and accepted that either Jacob or I were going to be badly hurt, I intensely regretted that whichever way this went, Renesmee was not going to emerge unscathed.

So…what do you think of events so far?

Please review if you have a moment, I love reading people's thoughts; they keep me inspired to carry on!