A/N: This chapter is done all in Jake's POV, hope you enjoy the look inside his head. This chapter took a little longer to get out b/c of that, I'm just not as good at writing in 1st person POV and it took me a while to make sure this one was good enough. Let me know if you think I did it justice.

…

I sat in a small chair with faded blue cushions in the corner of the small hospital room Claire had been assigned. She was laid out in the hospital bed across the room with Quil at her side. Getting to the hospital and checking in were all a blur for me. I'd been sitting quietly in the chair for the last half hour, just taking everything in. My best friend was just hours away from becoming a father. It was making me put my own life into perspective. Quil looked scarred, but at the same time, I'd never seen him so happy; I knew I wanted that.

Just then, Claire spoke up, pulling me out of my introspection, "Jake…come over here please."

I stood up slowly and made my way to her bedside. She was holding her hand out to me and I grabbed it once I reached her side, giving it what I hoped was a reassuring squeeze, "what's up Claire?"

She squeezed back, but turned towards Quil and asked, "Hunny, can you go and get me some more ice chips please?"

I watched as Quil gave her the most tender smile I'd ever seen. It seemed private and personal and part of me felt like I should turn away, but I didn't. "Sure thing baby. You need anything else?"

Claire shook her head no, "Just the ice chips please."

"You got it," Quil replied. He bent down and kissed her forehead quickly before he pulled back and left the room.

I stood there for a few seconds; I didn't say anything, just listened to the sounds coming from the heart monitor on the other side of the bed until Claire spoke, "You know I love you, right Jake?"

"Of course," I looked down at her and held her gaze with mine. "I know how shitty I've been to you and you have no idea how sorry I am about that. I was in a bad spot and I took it out on you. But I get it now, and I'm sorry."

"You don't need to say sorry, I get it…and honestly, I may have stepped over the line just a tad."

I gave her my best look of shock and teased, "You step over the line?"

She looked back at me with her big innocent eyes, "so hard to believe right?

I snorted back, "yeah."

And then her face melted, "I just want to put it behind us. Quil and I love you so much and, after all, we can't have our baby's godfather mad at us."

I starred at her for a second before I was able to speak, "You want me to be the godfather?"

"If you want the job, it's yours," she said as she nodded.

"Hell yeah I want the job," I told her.

"Good, because I didn't have a backup plan. And since you're being so agreeable…there's one more thing I want." She had that mischievous smile on her face, the one she used to have when she was little and she wanted my help doing something she shouldn't be.

"And what would that be?" I asked hesitantly.

My weary tone made her laugh. "Just be happy Jacob. That's all I want for you. Whatever it takes for you to get there, do it. Just promise me you'll be happy." Her face was serious and her eyes bored into mine.

So many different emotions hit me in that moment that made it hard to speak. Instead, I just nodded my head.

…

I was walking down the hallway a short while later, on my way to the waiting room. Claire's words were running through my head on a constant loop, but I tried to push them to the back of my mind; there was more to worry about right now.

When I reached the waiting room, I looked around and saw the faces of my friends and family. Some were sitting and quietly talking, a few were standing in the corner, and the rest had their heads down and eyes closed, resting in their seats.

When I cleared my throat they all looked my way. "Claire and Quil asked me to come down and let you guys know it's gonna be a while. So if you wanna wait it out at home, I can give you a call when it's done."

I noticed some of them glance around, waiting to see what the others would do. And then out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone approach.

I turned just in time to see my sister coming around the corner, but I was surprised to see Ness with her.

Rachel walked over to me and put her hand on my shoulder, "Jake, what's going on? We've been waiting but no one's come and said anything yet."

I noticed Ness hang back, she looked unsure of herself. I wanted to go to her, talk to her, there was so much I wanted to say, but I had to finish here first. I looked down at my sister, "it's uh – gonna be a while. Claire said you guys should head home if you want. I'm gonna stick around, so I'll call you when it's time."

"Dad and Sue have the kids, so there's no rush. But if it's gonna be that long, there's no point in all of us staying and sleeping in these uncomfortable chairs all night."

"Yeah, I think it's definitely gonna be awhile," I said loud enough for everyone to hear.

Rachel nodded and turned towards the room. She had her "ready for action" look on, "Okay, so I'm gonna stay and I'm sure Jake is too. The rest of you can head home, get some rest. We'll call if anything happens."

I stood starring at my sister; I admired so much about her. The way she could take charge of a situation, her ability to get things done, and her capacity to love and care about her friends and family. She was so much like our mother. I walked up behind her and hugged her, I couldn't help myself. I had been an emotional hermit for months and now everything just seemed to be pouring out of me. She didn't make a big deal out of it, just rubbed my forearm in acknowledgement.

I held on for another few seconds before letting go as the others started to get up and gather their stuff. Just about everyone was going; Rachel, Embry, Emily, and I were going to stay.

I looked back at Ness, hoping to get a minute with her before heading back to the room, and I saw her gathering her things.

I quickly walked over to her and reached for her arm.

"Don't go," was all I could think to say.

She looked up at me hesitantly and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," I replied. "I want you to stay."

She bit her lip and I noticed her look back over my shoulder before she answered. "Okay."

I let out a breath I'd been holding and smiled down at her. It was going to be a long night, but knowing Ness would be here waiting for me made it easier.

We said our goodbyes to everyone that was leaving and I waited as they made their way out.

Once they were gone I spoke to the ones that had stayed, "I gotta go back, Quil asked me to. But they can have another person in the room. So if you guys wanna trade off, I'm sure they'd appreciate the company."

"Okay." Emily spoke up. She was Claire's aunt but there was a very big age difference between her and Claire's mother and because of that, her and Claire had grown up more as cousins than aunt and niece. "If you guys don't mind I'd like to go in first."

I heard mumbled approvals from the others, but my gaze was focused back on Ness. She smiled nervously at me and bit her bottom lip again. I wanted to stay with her, but I knew I had to go back. "You guys decide who wants to come in next when Em gets back. If we get any updates I'll let you know."

With that said I gave one last look to Ness and then turned to make my way back towards the delivery room with Emily.

We had just rounded the corner when I saw Leah heading our way. In all of the excitement I'd somehow overlooked the fact that she hadn't been in the waiting room.

As she approached, I debated running off and letting Emily deal with her. But I knew that would just piss her off, and the last thing I needed was a pissed off Leah in the same room with Ness.

"Hey Jake, Emily, what's going on?" I could see the concern on her face. Leah was a lot of things, a manipulator, a man eater, and a raging bitch…but when it came to Claire, she cared.

"It's gonna be a while. Most of the others went home for the night. The ones that wanted to wait it out are still in the waiting room. Emily and I are going in to the room. As soon as she comes out, one of you can come in"

Leah turned her focus on me. "Well, why don't you go wait it out with the others and I'll go in with Emily."

"Because," I said standing up a little straighter. "Both Claire and Quil want me there.

I knew she wasn't going to back down that easy. "Well, since I'm family, I'm sure Claire would want me with her."

I didn't have the patience or time to deal with Leah and didn't bother filtering as I normally did with her, "Seeing as you haven't really been around the last few years, I'm sure your presence won't be missed too much."

Leah glared at me, "You do not want to get on my bad side Jacob Black, I…"

At that, Emily decided to jump in and break us up, "Okay, I think we get it. Leah, why don't you go in with Jake, I'll go back to the waiting room and wait until you get back to go in."

Emily was always doing things like that, trying to keep the peace. But in Leah's case especially she always seemed to go out of her way to stay on her good side.

"Okay," Leah agreed, "that'll work."

"Just try not to stay too long, I know everyone else wants to see her too." Emily threw in.

Leah just starred her down for a second, "Okay, I can do that."

With that settled, Emily turned and headed back to the waiting room while I led the way to the delivery room Claire was set up in.

Just before we got to the door, Leah stopped and placed her hand on my arm. I looked down at it and then back up at her just as she started to speak. "Jake, you've been acting strange all night, and you didn't answer my question earlier. Aren't you glad to see me?"

She was batting her eye lashes and had a sad, wide eyed expression on her face. It was her innocent, helpless look; a look that used to have me wrapped around her finger. But that had been a long time ago.

"It's not gonna work this time Lee, give it up." I said, shaking her hand off my arm.

She gave it one more try, thrusting her lower lip out in a pathetic pout to add to the effect, "Jaaake, what are you talking about?" She paused and took a step closer, pressing herself into my side so she could whisper in my ear. "I've really missed you."

I could feel my anger start to take control and I snapped, "ENOUGH." I brushed her off and took a few steps away.

"I told you last time Leah, I'm done. It's not gonna be like it's been in the past. You had your chances, plenty of them. I've moved on. The only reason I'm here is because of Quil and Claire, otherwise I would have left when I saw you at the house."

I ran my hand through my hair, trying to calm myself. "I'm gonna go in that room, I'm gonna be there for my best friends, and I'm gonna do everything in my power to ignore you."

I paused and moved towards her. I could tell she was pissed, I'd known her well enough at one point to notice the signs, but I wanted her to really hear the last part of what I had to say. When I was close enough, I lowered my head and whispered, "And for however long you're here this time, I want you to do me a favor and pretend you don't fucking know me."

With that said, I turned and walked away.

…

An hour later, I was sitting in the same small chair in the corner of the delivery room as I'd been in earlier. After my confrontation with Leah, things had been tense in the room. She'd stayed by Claire's side, occasionally shooting me dirty looks, until she left after half an hour. Emily was in the room now, but she was just starting to say goodbye so the next person could have their turn.

Once she left the room, I made my way over to check on Claire. Quil had gone to fetch more ice chips a couple of minutes before, and I was in charge of her comfort.

"You holding up okay?" I asked as I fluffed up the pillows behind her.

"Yeah I'm doing great. I don't know why woman complain so much about labor. It's a piece of cake." She replied with a cheeky smile.

I shrugged, "well, the doctor did say you've got a long way to go and haven't had a real contraction yet. But I'll remind you of those words in a few hours."

She called me a jerk and playfully punched my arm and we both laughed.

Quil came back a few minutes later and I was about to sneak back to my chair when the door opened and Rachel popped her head in. She looked around for a second before her eyes met mine and she spoke, "Hey Jake, can I see you for a sec?"

Claire looked over and asked, "Is everything okay?"

Rachel smiled, but for some reason, it didn't have a reassuring effect on me. "Yeah, I just needed to ask Jake something. Then I'll be right in."

I nodded and made my way to the door. Once we were out in the hallway, Rachel took my arm and led me down the corridor.

"Jake, what the hell happened with you and Leah?"

I didn't know how to respond at first, but something in Rachel's eyes made me nervous. "You know Lee, how she gets when she comes back. I just told her flat out that there was no way in hell I was falling for her shit this time and walked away."

"What did you tell her about Ness?" she asked.

I shook my head, "nothing, I didn't even mention her name. Why?"

Rachel let out a sigh, "When we first got here, hell even at the house, Leah didn't pay any attention to Ness…didn't introduce herself or even ask anyone who she was. But when she got back to the waiting room, it was like she zoned right in on Ness. She looked at me and Embry and then back at Ness and asked who she was."

I started to feel a knot develop in my stomach, I didn't like the direction this story was going in, but I didn't stop her. "Ness looked like a deer caught in the headlights, so I jumped in…and I said she was here with you."

My eyes got a little bigger at that last part, "Rach…"

She cut me off, "I know…I'm sorry, I should have kept my mouth shut. But I couldn't stand looking at her standing there with this smug attitude, like she owns the fucking world…"

Now, my sister was a mom to the T, had been almost all my life, which meant there'd only been a handful of times that I'd ever actually heard her curse. So I knew she had to be pretty pissed to let one slip, especially an F-bomb.

"After everything she's put you through…" She trailed off.

"Rach, that was a long time ago. I never even think about that shit anymore," I tried to assure her.

"I know. I just couldn't hold back. I just wanted to rub something in her face, get her to see that she couldn't just snap her fingers and have you come running anymore."

I smiled down at my sister. Although I was almost a foot taller than her and probably had a good hundred pounds on her, she still felt the need to protect me…and she probably always would. "I know your intentions were good. But Rach, things with me and Ness are rocky at best. And Leah…she's a shark, she'd eat Ness alive."

I watched my sister twist her hands nervously, "I know…that's why I came to get you. When she got back to the waiting room and saw Ness, something must have clicked for her. It was like she already knew Ness was with you and as soon as I confirmed it…I could see her eyes blaze. I tried to step in; she just wouldn't listen to me."

Rachel's eyes got bigger and bigger with every word, and the knot in my stomach clenched. "Where's Ness?"

"She's gone, she ran out. I'm sure she went home."

I turned, ready to run for the exit and find Ness, but Rachel pulled on my arm. "Jake, you can't go. Quil needs you and you promised you'd stay. I didn't tell you so that you'd run after her. I told you so you'd know."

I clenched and unclenched my fists a few times, trying to stay calm, "What did Leah do?"

"You know Leah," Rachel said shaking her head, "backhanded compliments, sarcasm, innuendos, and slightly veiled threats are her MO. She didn't lay a finger on her."

Yes, I knew Leah, it wasn't her fingers I'd been worried about; her words had always been her most lethal weapon. "So she just left?"

"I tried to stop her," Rachel replied, "I followed her out and tried to talk to her, but she said she couldn't stay".

I turned back to face my sister. Over the past couple of weeks I'd learned a lot about myself. This whole growing up and acting like a man thing wasn't easy, especially now. I wanted nothing more than to run after Ness and make her listen to me. But the sensible, mature part knew that I'd made a promise to my friends and I couldn't leave until I'd fulfilled it.

I took a few minutes to calm myself down; I went to the bathroom and splashed some cold water in my face to help. Once I had it under control, I took a deep breath and walked back into the delivery room with Rachel.

…

I was flying down the road in my truck, praying any cops would be snoozing in their cruisers and not paying attention to me. I had somewhere to be and I didn't want any delays.

It was Sunday morning, just before noon. I'd been at the hospital all night and hadn't slept; but I wasn't letting that stop me.

After a few more minutes, I turned off the main road and started up the familiar drive towards the old white house. As I rounded the curved drive I saw the house and, to my relief, Ness' car parked in front.

I'd tried to call her sometime during the night but I'd just got voicemail; I hadn't bothered to leave a message. I'd had no idea what I was even going to say if she'd answered so trying to think of what to leave in a message was more than I could handle.

I parked my truck behind hers and got out. I took a minute to compose myself before I made my way up the porch steps and stopped at the front door.

I'd been going on sheer adrenaline since leaving the hospital and I hadn't really stopped to think any of this through. Now that I was finally here, I was beginning to second guess myself.

But I held it together and knocked on the door, I'd come this far and I wasn't about to chicken out.

I waited a few seconds, listening for sounds coming from the other side; there were none. I was just about to try the doorbell when I heard something and, finally, the door opened and Ness was standing in front of me.

She was wearing a pair of blue cotton shorts and a white tank top. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a messy, mass of curls and she had no make-up on. I'd never seen her look so good.

"Jake, I –"

She started to speak, but I took two steps towards her and cut her off. I couldn't help myself; once I reached her I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her close until her chest was flush against mine.

I looked down at her, her eyes were wide and her mouth was slightly opened. I could feel her breathing heavily, each breath she took caused her breasts to press into my chest.

"Ness," I whispered. I couldn't hold myself back; I dropped my head and captured her lips with mine.

I felt her resist for the briefest moment before her lips softened against mine and she sighed into my mouth. My lips parted and my tongue darted out to trace her mouth, begging for entrance.

She let her arms wind their way up and around my neck as she parted her lips in response. When my tongue met hers I felt jolts of electricity race over my skin.

Her tongue caressed mine as she pressed herself closer to me, but it wasn't close enough. Without breaking the kiss, I grabbed her by the thighs and lifted. She wrapped her legs around my waist as I took three steps forward and into the house. Once inside, I turned to my right and sandwiched Ness between myself and the wall. When her back hit it, I heard her moan and felt myself instantly harden in response.

In that moment reality caught up to me and I forced myself to get a grip on things and pull back.

Every part of me was screaming in protest as our lips parted. I wanted her, badly, and as I looked down into her eyes I could tell she wanted me to. But a small part of me was saying to pump the brake; that going too fast too soon was how we'd ended up where we had seven months ago.

So we stood there, starring at each other instead. I was trying to calm down but our bodies were still pressed closely together and her legs were still wrapped around my waist, making it difficult. I could tell she was having a hard time as well, her chest was heaving with each breath she took and she had a wild look in her eyes.

I couldn't manage to say anything, my brain just wasn't cooperating, and so I just stood there and starred. Almost a full minute went by before I saw her pink tongue come out and licked her full bottom lip, it made me ache to do the same.

But what did me in was when I heard her whimper. It was quiet and I nearly missed it. But she followed it up by arching her back, which caused her lower half to press into mine, and I lost it.

I attacked her, taking her full bottom lip between my teeth and alternated between sucking and licking it. Ness' legs around my waist pulled me in tighter and I was sure she could feel me between her legs; I was hard as steel.

My hands traveled up her outer thighs to her ass and I squeezed. Even though I considered myself to be a boob man, I couldn't seem to get enough of her ass. It was round and soft and fit perfectly in my hands.

At the same time, I felt Ness' hands travel up and into my hair, gripping and tugging softly. Her lips broke away from mine and she turned her head to the side, raising her chin. I felt her hands pull my head down and I got the hint. I started kissing from her jaw bone down her neck, licking and biting softly as I went.

As I licked, I felt her start to move, pressing herself against me in a constant rhythm. I was still wearing my jeans and they were starting to get uncomfortable, but I wasn't about to stop her. I could hear her breaths coming out in hard, fast little puffs, mixed with soft whimpers and moans and her hands gripped my hair tighter.

I had a feeling she was close to coming and I wanted to help her out. So I waited for her to press herself against me again and then I held her in place with my hands just long enough to grind against her for a second before releasing her.

The moan she let out when I did this was all the encouragement I needed and I kept it up, rubbing against her just a little longer each time.

I moved my lips back up her neck and over her jaw and whispered in her ear, "Come for me Ness".

She moaned loudly in response and then I heard her say my name. I pulled her to me again and kept her there as I rubbed myself against her, determined to hear her say it again.

It only took a few seconds to get what I'd wanted. Two, three, four times she shouted my name as I felt her body shake; and then she was still…

A/N: I really enjoyed writing this chapter, hope you all liked reading it just as much. And I know I'm ending on another cliff hanger, I just love 'em. But don't worry, things are just starting to heat up for Ness and Jake and they are a long way from finished.