*** for those of you who have read this chapter before, as of 1.16.11 - it has been updated. i was re-reading and realized IT SUCKED so i had a bit of time, tried to make a few changes! ***

A/N - a continuation of where the story left off - Beginning at the end of New Moon:

After becoming upset at Edward's endless jealousy towards Jacob, instead of leaving with Edward, Bella demands the keys to his Volvo. And true to Bella form, she crashes right into a tree.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, but they're so much fun to write about! Especially since they unfortunately do not exist in real life.

Warning: Rated M - some adult language.

Reminder: This story begins at the end of New Moon. Jacob refers to Sam as his Alpha - Jacob hasn't yet separated from the original pack.

"No, you don't know the one
Who dreams of you at night
And longs to kiss your lips
And longs to hold you tight
Oh I'm just a friend
That's all I've ever been
'Cause you don't know me…"

You Don't Know Me – Michael Buble

"Are you here for Isabella Swan?" the nurse asked.

"Yes…" Jake replied, his throat tightening. His whole body trembled. He hadn't phased in over 24 hours and then tension was beginning to take its toll. He took a deep breath, struggling to calm himself.

She smiled at him gently, misunderstanding his body language. "Dr. Carlisle is with her now, but he asked me to speak to you." Jake nodded numbly, unable to respond. "He says that in the accident Isabella-"

"Bella," Jake growled, rumbling low in his chest, interrupting her automatically. He couldn't seem to stop himself. The nurse gaped at him, a bit taken aback. "Sorry," he muttered, staring down at his large hands. His anger, his sorrow, his regret, were choking him. They filled him to the brim and he couldn't figure out where the pain ended and he began. He could hardly breathe, let alone participate in a conversation.

She shook her head at him, and then continued. "It seems that Bella," she emphasized the name. "Sustained severe head trauma. It appears she hit her head on the steering wheel. But her reflexes are good, her pupils are dilating, she responds to painful stimuli, and her brain activity is fine. However, there is some swelling of the brain, so she is in a medically induced coma while we wait for the swelling to go down. Until then, we have no idea how extensive the injury to the brain may be. There seems to be no other major injuries other than some bruising. You'll be allowed in to see her when she is out of the ICU. Until then, only immediate family."

"Is there any way I can at least look at her? Through a window or something?" Jake begged as the nurse began to turn away. His anxiety increased exponentially at the thought of the nurse walking away, without providing him with the opportunity to see Bella. His Bells.

She turned and studied him a second before reluctantly nodding her head. "Sure, follow me. I guess Dr. Carlisle wouldn't mind."

Inwardly, Jacob scoffed at the idea that Carlisle could really stop it from seeing her, but he didn't want to piss of this nurse, so he quickly jumped up and hurried down the hallway after her, his head hanging down. If only he hadn't gotten upset over and done something so stupid, if only he would stop being so jealous, if only he hadn't let her walk away angry. There were so many "if only's", but in the end they still all meant the same thing - Bella was in a coma because he was a jealous ass.

"Through there," the nurse said, pointing to a glass window at the end the hallway.

"Thanks," he choked out, and quickly jogged down the hall in the direction she had pointed. Skidding to a halt in front of the window, he carefully peered through the curtains. His heart shattered into a thousand pieces as his brain slowly deciphered the scene before him. He could see Bella laying there, her head wrapped in bandages. Inside he could hear the steady "blip-blip" of the heart monitor and the hissing of the breathing machine. He gagged, struggled to keep from becoming physically ill at the site of her lying there, so damaged, so broken. He barely managed to keep his eyes from over-flowing.

He didn't have to hear the bloodsucker's footsteps to know that Carlisle had appeared beside him. His stench announced his arrival for him. "Can she not breathe on her own?" Jake asked quietly.

"She's in shock right now," Carlisle replied. "It's more like a precaution. She needs all the help she can get."

Suddenly Jake heard the hurried thumping of work boots on the linoleum floor and he turned to see Charlie rushing towards him. "Jake! What the hell did you and Edward do? I trust in you to protect her and this is what you do?"

Jacob lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. 'Just when I thought things couldn't get worse…' he thought as the yelling got louder.

Carlisle stepped in Charlie's path, as if Jacob somehow needed his protection. "Chief Swan, please calm down."

Charlie stopped in amazement, not comprehending how Carlisle could possibly be so calm. "That girl in there is my daughter and that boy –" He screamed, pointing at Jacob, "Is responsible! I'm going to arrest him and have him charged with assault!" It was then that Charlie approached the glass and gasped. His legs slowly gave out from under him and he sank to the floor. The tears streamed down his face and he began to silently weep, covering his face with his hands.

Carlisle sat down next time him, slowly, as if he was afraid his close proximity to Charlie would cause another outburst. When it became clear that it wouldn't, he placed his cold hand gently on Charlie's shoulder and didn't say a word. Jacob watched the scene wordlessly, feeling the bile rise up into his throat again. Charlie was right. He was to blame.

He needed to get away. As he walked back down the hall, he heard Carlisle explaining the same thing to Charlie that he had heard moments earlier.

Finding a lounge, he settled into an easy chair to wait. And he knew he would wait. He would wait there in that uncomfortable, lumpy chair for the rest of his life… if it meant that his Bella would wake up so he could tell her how much he really loved her.

It was almost 2 days before Jacob got the chance to see her again. She was in a private room, thanks to Charlie's ranting and Carlisle's influence, with a beautiful view of the mountains.

As the endless hours slowly ticked by, Jacob had done his best to avoid Charlie and Renee, feeling more than uncomfortable under their suspicious gazes. Somehow, he hadn't seen Edward. He supposed that Carlisle had done his best to keep the two of them apart, so as to keep them from having that inevitable argument over whose fault it was.

Jacob shook his head. Not that a fight like that would come to any kind of reasonable conclusion. If only that bloodsucker could have just stayed away. He could have made Bella happy.

He opened the door slowly, almost afraid that just walking inside could somehow damage her more. The breathing machine was gone, but the gently "blip-blip" of the heart monitor could still be heard.

A few of the bandages were gone, and he could see the black bruises on her face. He wanted to touch them, as if that meant they would magically disappear. Instead, he knelt down next to the bed and took her hand. There were so many things he needed to say.

But when he opened his mouth, no sounds came out. His eyes filled with tears. He laid his forehead against her hand on the bed and sobbed. Body-wracking, uncontrollable sobs. He cried so long he thought his heart would burst from the pain.

But finally, his tears slowed and his eyes drifted shut.

He was dreaming about their time together in his garage, fixing the bikes, when he first found himself loving her, when he felt the hand underneath his forehead twitch just slightly.

He looked up and realized she was looking at him. But instead of love or comfort or joy at the sight of him, a look of complete confusion and horror crossed her face.

"Hey, Bells" he said softly, reaching up to gently stroke her cheek, hoping she would be happy he was there.

She jerked away from his touch. He leaned back, afraid that he had hurt her.

Instead, she said three words that changed his life forever...

"Who are you?"

He stared at her. Was she for real? His lips moved in an attempt to say something, anything to reassure her, but no words came out, his tongue frozen around the dead sounds in his throat.

"Who are you?" Bella said again, looking more than a little frightened. She fidgeted uncomfortably, tugging the thin sheet closer around her. She attempted to sit upright, but winced at the pain it caused in her head.

He wanted to help her, but something told Jacob that reaching for her again would not have the effect that he wanted. He opened his mouth again, and everything he'd wanted to say at the moment she awoke fell right out of his head. So instead, he stammered, "Um, I'll, uh, go get your, um uh, doctor."

He walked slowly backwards out of the room, unable to take his eyes off of her face. Her eyes, he noticed, were the same soft chocolate color, but that shine, the shine he used to see…

It was gone.

"With a head trauma like Bella's, temporary amnesia happens. It's not unheard of. Give her some time and she'll be fine. Her brain just needs a little more time to heal… there are a few things you can do though…"

Jacob realized that Dr. Cullen was talking, but for some reason it sounded like white noise, nothing comprehensible. All he could think about was that look in Bella's eyes; that empty, faded look.

It had been only 3 hrs since she had woken up, but for Jacob, it felt like a lifetime.

Looking around the lounge, he noticed at some point in time, Renee, and her husband, Phil had joined him and Charlie. He had seen the other bloodsuckers earlier, in another part of the hospital, and was thankful that Carlisle had kept them away. He didn't think his body could take another stressor.

He looked up again and noticed that Renee were crying and Charlie was on the phone in the corner. Jacob shook his head. He was such an idiot.

"Some time?" he interrupted the bloodsucker, his tone of voice cold and rumbling. "What does that even mean?"

Charlie glowered at him, and opened his mouth to say something, but Carlisle spoke before he could. "It's hard to say, Jacob. There's some much that we understand about the human-" Jacob coughed at the bloodsucker's use of human, as if somehow he found it funny.

He did not.

Carlisle's eyes narrowed slightly, but he continued as if Jacob had not disrupted his train of thought. Charlie didn't seem to notice the sudden tension between the two men in front of him. "It could be a few hours or days or even longer," Carlisle continued. "I wish I had a better answer for you, but I don't. Bella will heal on her own time".

Jacob scoffed at the response. He saw Charlie stiffen again and he knew it was time for him to leave. He got up and left the room, deciding that some fresh air might help. But when he looked around again, he realized that he was standing outside of Bella's room. He wanted desperately to go in, but was afraid of the reaction his appearance would cause. Ah hell. He was already here.

He tapped on the door lightly.

"Who is it?" a quiet voice asked.

"Um, well, you might not know me, but I know you," Jacob replied, carefully easing his face in the crack between the door and it's frame. "Can I please come in and talk with you for just a few minutes?" Peeking in the door farther, he saw her nod reluctantly.

"Dr. Cullen said there were some people here to see me," Bella said, staring at her hands, as if somehow the right answers to all of her questions had been written there. "I know that I'm supposed to know who you are. At least that's what I was told."

"Well… I'm Jake," He stuttered awkwardly. "Jacob Ephraim Black….I know that doesn't mean anything to you, but I'm your best friend… or was, maybe. I guess." He looked up and noticed the confusion in her face, even though she was carefully avoiding his gaze. "I suppose I'm not explaining myself very well. But I'm sorry that this happened and I think it's all my fault."

"How is it your fault?" she asked, finally looking up at him.

"We had an argument and you drove off angry. I should have never let you go."

"Well, I don't remember it," Bella huffed, turning her head away again. She crossed her arms across her chest and Jake's heart constricted painfully at the sight of the girl he loved looking so angry, so confused, so vulnerable.

"But, please, Bells, just listen to me for a little bit –" He started to plead, stepping towards her.

She jerked away as if he had slapped her. "Get out!" she cried. "Please just leave me alone!"

"Bella… please…" Jake begged, but she just got louder. "Get out, get out, get out!" The tears were streaming down her face, and all he wanted to do was cross the room and pick her up in his strong arms, carrying her away from this place that had already damaged her so much.

But instead he turned and walked to the door. He turned and looked back at her before he closed it; she was still crying, her small shoulders shaking painfully because of the memories she no longer had. Jacob wanted nothing more than kiss her soft lips until the last 3 days had disappeared. But instead, he crossed the threshold, into the cold, empty hallway, and shut it with a click.

Jake sat on the beach, back at La Push, listening to his Ipod in one ear and the waves with the other. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. What was he going to do now that the one person he cared about most in the world didn't even know who he was? She wouldn't talk to him without crying and it broke his heart just looking at her.

He had spent the last 3 days at the hospital, hoping that if he, Charlie, Renee, hell, even the Cullens, just talked with her, that she would begin to remember things. She didn't remember the accident, school, her friends or family, her favorite places... nothing.

But Billy had finally convinced him to come home. To give Bella some space, and time with her parents. His blood boiled at the thought that he was just providing Edward with more time with her. He didn't want that corpse anywhere near Bella, but there was only so much he could do about that while she was still in the hospital.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't hear Sam come up and sit beside him.

"Hey man," Sam said softly.

Jake nearly jumped out of his skin. "Shit, man! Don't sneak up on people that way! Especially stressed out ones!" He growled at his Alpha.

Sam laughed. "Sorry. Billy said you were down here. Wanted to see how you were holding up."

"How do you think I'm holding up? Bella can't even stand to be near me and she doesn't even remember me, our relationship, anything!" Jake balled his fists angrily and punched them down into the sand. "What am I going to do?"

"Jake, it's not your job to fix this for her. I mean, we all want to, but the Carlisle said her memory will come back. It's just gonna take some time. I know that's the last thing that you wanna hear, but I just hate to see you killing yourself over it," Sam said.

Jake sighed. "I know. She's in so much pain and I just want to make it all go away."

"See, and that's because you love her. And in time she's gonna see that. You just have to let your problem with this go, 'cause that's not helping anyone. And if you keep going there angry, eventually you're going to run into Edward and the last thing she needs is for you to start a fight with him," Sam replied, clapping a hand on Jake's shoulder. "You need to control yourself. Not just for her, but for you. If you're planning on helping me lead this pack, I need to trust you to take care of yourself. Do you hear me?" Jake looked at the older man, his friend, his Alpha. Sam was right, and Jake knew it. He nodded slowly, carefully releasing the delicate grains of sand his tightly fisted hands had collected. Sam smiled reassuringly. "You ready to head back to the hospital?"

"Sure," Jake said, standing up and dusting the sand off of his pants. "Let's go."

Bella lay in her bed with the TV on, but she wasn't really watching it. Instead, she was thinking about Jacob. She felt so badly for him - he was trying so hard to try and help her - not that she understood why. He had explained that he was her best friend, but no matter how long she thought about it, there was nothing she could recall about him.

She sighed and twisted the top bed sheet between her fingers. She smiled. He was cute at least. She knew she had good taste. He obviously cared about her, otherwise he wouldn't have spent so long just sitting around a hospital for her when half the time all she did around him was cry or yell.

There was a knock at the door. Bella rolled her eyes and prayed that it wasn't that pale man that claimed to be her boyfriend. That guy, Edward… him, she didn't understand. His gaze was like a magnet and she felt even more out of control just looking at him. He took her breath away each time his icy fingers grazed over her cheek.

Bella shook her head as hard as she could without causing pain, as if the physical movement would drive away her thoughts of the pale one away, but instead it caused new ideas to surface. Ones of a tall, russet skinned boy, his strong hands reaching for her-

Another impatient knocked stopped her rapidly approaching inappropriate thoughts. "Come in," she said.

The door swung open and she was relieved to see a petite dark hair girl in the entrance.

"Alice... right?" Bella asked slowly, desperately hoping for once to have the right answer.

Alice breathed a sigh of relief. At least she had remembered her name from earlier visits. "Yup, Bella, that's me!" She danced inside the room, her graceful movements igniting a small jealous flame deep inside Bella's stomach. She bit her lip ferociously – What was wrong with her…? Alice was just trying to be nice!

Bella watched as the pixie-like girl settled into the chair next to her bed. "How are you feeling today, Bella?" Alice asked in a conversational tone, doing her best to keep Bella's mood as light and happy as possible.

Bella snorted, bitterness rising in her throat. But she immediately blushed, feeling bad for seeming rude when Alice hadn't done anything wrong. So she gave her dark haired friend a half-hearted smile. "I've been trying, but I still can't remember anything. It's frustrating! All these people here that are obviously here to support me and I can't remember a single one of them!" Bella complained.

"It's not your fault - don't stress about it. Everything will come in time and then we can all laugh later about how you couldn't remember us because of a silly bump on the head!" Alice's twinkling voice was distracting, musical in its quality and Bella found it hard to concentrate on what the girl was saying.

Bella looked at her, a little confused. "Um... we? I know you've explained it before, but just one more time?"

Alice nodded. "Ok, you, me, Jasper-" She smiled carefully as she mentioned her husband, and then continued. "Rosalie, Emmett, Esme, and Carlisle – Dr. Carlisle." She stopped then, and looked at Bella. "And Edward."

Bella stiffened at the sound of his name. "Huh," was all she could find to say. Edward had been by several times. He was beyond beautiful, intriguing, mystifying, eloquent and… so many other things, but comforting was not one of them. He was cold, both physically and emotionally, and despite his endless vocabulary of pretty words, Bella found it impossible to believe that this man was her boyfriend.

Alice began her chattering again and Bella fought to pay attention, to learn about this life she had that she couldn't even begin to understand. Again, her dark-haired, russet skinned visitor rose to her mind. A quick, small smile grazed her lips. She carefully glanced at Alice to see if she had noticed. She was still talking, gesturing with her hands, talking again about the family.

Jacob Black.

Just his name made her feel warm, low in her belly, and it made her wish that he had visited again. Bella frowned. Why hadn't he been back?

"Don't feel bad, Bella," Alice said suddenly, placing her icy hand on top of Bella's. "I'm just telling you, maybe give him a chance when he comes in to talk with you. Everytime he comes out of here he seems more depressed then when he went in. All he wants is for you to get better. We all do," she continued, curling her fingers through Bella's.

Bella gave her a small smile. "Him?"

"Edward, of course!" Alice trilled, lightly, laughing. Bella stiffened, and Alice fought against calling attention to it.

"Of course," Bella mumbled, and fought against the tears that threatened to bubble to the surface. Edward. Who else would she be talking about? "Of course..."

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!