Chapter Twenty Seven - Death

I grabbed something random from my bag and walked to the bathroom to put it on. He was standing still in view, so I turned my back to only feel his eyes upon me. I was afraid if he saw me changing like this, he would try to rape me again, but I had nowhere else to dress.

I was standing topless when I almost pinched myself - Had I just caught a tiny whiff of Jacob? Or was it just a delusion?

There was a very loud crash, and then a lot of growling behind me. I spun around, not caring that I had no shirt on. My heart thumped wildly at the scene before me, both with unimaginable joy and fear. There were two wolves in the hotel room, one a brownish-red, the other an unmistakable reddish-brown. Jacob had found me.

The two of them snarled ferociously as they circled one another slowly. Jacob attacked first, but was thwarted in his attempt. His body hit the floor with a loud thump, making my heart stop altogether. It beat again as he stood up to circle some more.

This time he used tact, waiting patiently for Jerrick to spring at him. He jumped lightly from his spot, grabbing the skin of Jerrick's neck as he fell past him. Blood squirted from the torn flesh, spraying wildly across the room.

Jerrick tried to stand up again under Jacob's weight, but he could not get his bearings. Jacob's teeth ripped his skin again and then spit the chunk towards my direction. Jacob's eyes met mine then, making him completely distracted. Jerrick took advantage of the moment, grabbing his own chunk of flesh from my Jacob.

Jake pulled himself back into the fight, biting and clawing at Jerrick's belly which was now above his face. Jerrick whimpered loudly and collapsed, but was back to his feet as soon as Jacob was gone from underneath of him.

I took a deep breath and smelled something that made me feel alive again. My parents were here too.

Dad and Mom flew through the open doorway, tackling Jerrick to the ground. Dad punched him in the face repeatedly, looking more like he just needed to get his anger out than he was actually trying to hurt him. Mom held him down and looked like she was trying very hard to decide something.

Dad threw Jerrick against a wall, not using all his strength so as not to break it. Jacob came over to me and rubbed his big furry head on my abdomen, making me the happiest girl in the whole world. I had thought I may never feel his touch again. I finally put my shirt on, then bent to my knees and hugged him around his neck.

He pulled back slightly and licked the length of my face, making me smile. My smile turned down a bit as I felt the pain from my previous beating. Jacob's eyes flashed with some unknown feeling, and then he turned back to Jerrick growling.

My mom was still standing there looking undecided about something. She looked to me from across the room, and her eyes focused in on the spot where I'd been punched. Anger flashed in her eyes, and she quickly spun around to face Jerrick as well.

She flew to him in an instant where Dad had him pinned to the wall, and her teeth cut into his flesh at different areas of his broken body: his neck, both arms, both legs, his torso, over his heart. He writhed in pain before crumpling to the floor.

Mom's venom began seering away the flesh, turning it quickly to ash. His bones shown beneath his blackened skin as he howled in fury. He was dying, and I was glad for it. He had deserved to die.

And I was able to live again. I had Jacob again, and my family. My heart fluttered wildly as I realized I would soon have my own family of myself, Jacob, and our unnamed baby.

Dad looked over at me for the first time. His expression was confused, but quickly turned to anger. I did not want him to be mad at me right now. He had just helped save my life - couldn't he hate me a little later?

He crossed the room to me in two steps and picked me up into a huge hug. "I'm not angry with you, Renesmee. I am beyond happy that you are alive..... we can discuss the rest later. I'm angry at this.....mutt, for hitting you," he said as he rubbed the spot lightly. That wasn't even the half of what he'd done to me.

Dad's eyes grew huge. He had reached a level of anger that left him speechless as he listened to my thoughts, something I had never seen happen before. His body started shaking as he could not break his eye contact with me.

"What?" Jacob asked after he switched back to regular him. My heart ached at the sound of his voice, pushing the broken peices back together again. He looked at my father for an answer, but Dad sat down where he was on the floor.

"What did he do to you, Renesmee?" Jacob whispered as he stared at my father. He shifted his gaze to me, but I did not want to discuss this openly. It had been horrible enough in private. I shook my head no slowly.

"Please Nessie. You don't have to say, you can just show me," he pleaded as he took my hand. I closed my eyes and let him see what Jerrick had done to me with his lack of self control. Jacob's expression went blank as tears rolled down his cheek. He sat down on the floor just like Dad had.

"What?" Mom asked as her head flipped back and forth between Jacob and my dad. She finally paused on me. "What did he do to you?" she growled angrily.

I looked away from her. I could not think about those moments anymore.

"He almost raped her, Bella. Twice, as far as she knows," Dad said in a pained voice. My mother ran to me and swept me into her arms, crying tearless sobs for me. I was still wondering what he had meant by as far as I knew.

"He was considering it again as we got here. He was watching you change and may have gone through with it that time, but I did not know what he had already done," Dad growled. He kicked the pile of ashes and bone on the floor beside him.

"I'm glad I killed him for you, Nessie," Mom crooned in my ear. Jacob glanced at me, then quickly hid his head again. I was once again reminded of the new life inside of me. Dad shot me a questioning glance.

I'll tell them later. Please, please just take me home.

"As you wish, Renesmee. Let us get your things together so we can go." He started to pick up my clothes that were strewn on the floor, but stopped when he heard me wanting him not to. I did not need reminders of the time I'd spent here.

I glanced at the missing door. How had no one come to see what was going on?

"Someone pulled the fire alarm," Dad answered. He packed my mp3 player then waited for Jacob to stand so we could go.

"Jake...." I whispered. I wanted to hug him and kiss him and tell him how much I loved him, but it didn't feel right now. He might not see me the same way as he had before I'd let him see Jerrick's controlling of me. He might not even want me anymore. My heart cracked open again at the thought, and I regretted showing him first hand.

"He doesn't think that way, Renesmee. He's never loved you more than he does right now, he's just extremely upset for letting this happen to you," Dad said as Jacob's head snapped up and held onto my eyes.

"Letting it happen!!!! NO!!!!! No one let this happen, except for psycho wolf over here," I said, kicking the dust across the room. "Everyone tried so hard to protect me, and it's nobody's fault he still got me! He had preservation......"

"What?" Jacob and Mom said in unison. Dad only looked at me and waited for me to explain it to him silently.

"That answers so many questions....." he said as he heard it all. He turned and quickly described the special power to Jake and Mom. They both nodded in understanding, finally having figured out how this all really happened.

Jacob took two steps and crushed himself against me, making my heart explode with joy. He kissed my face where the bruises were, then kissed all over my face and head. He picked me up off the ground and squeezed me as tightly as he could.

"Umm, Jacob, you might want to be a little careful with her," Dad said. He knew I was pregnant and was trying to help without giving me away. I gave him many silent thank you's.

Jacob loosened his grip but still held me to him. "I'm so sorry, Renesmee. I swear I'll never let anything bad happen to you for the rest of your life. I love you so much." There was clear pain in his onyx eyes.

I pulled my face up and kissed him softly, wanting more than ever to see my sunrise again. The light beyond my closed eyes turned red, and I was in Heaven again. "I love you so much too, Jacob. I can't ever be away from you again." I could not help but cry into his chest, both from my joy and my pain. And the fact that I wouldn't even have the chance for things to calm down before I dropped a bomb on him.

"Would you two like to take your own car back?" Dad asked after he heard my thoughts. It was time...... there would not be any other time better or worse. He jingled the keys at Jacob who held out his hand for them.

"What will you guys drive home?"Jacob asked speculatively.

"We'll rent a car, there's a dealership just a few blocks over," he amended quickly. I gave him many more silent thank you's.

Jacob drove back towards Forks holding my hand. I needed to tell him what was going on, but had no idea how to approach it. I racked my brain until I came up with probably the best I was going to get.

"Ummm, Jake?" I started quietly.

"What is it, Ness?" he glanced at me for a moment, bringing the fear back. I pushed it aside - there was nothing to fear here. Even if he was upset at first, I knew this would be okay.

"Do you remember the day, after my parents had come home.... and you asked me if I would be okay to have kids with you?"

He seemed a bit taken aback but still unsuspecting. "Yeah, I remember. What about it?"

"Well, what about you? Would you want to have kids with me?"

He chuckled lightly and kissed my hand. "Renesmee Cullen, it would be a pleasure to have babies with you. They'd be the most beautiful things alive if they looked one bit like you."

I liked his response but still had no idea how my next words were going to be received. "Well, Jacob.....I....am.....kind of......pregnant."

Jacob kept his eyes on the road as they grew to about three times their normal size. His mouth dropped open, then closed, then opened again, then closed. I waited for five minutes on him to say something.

"That smell....." he remembered. I was so releived as a smile filled his face. "We're going to have a baby?!?" he said excitedly.

I laughed at his happy reaction. "Yeah, we are."

He pulled the car to a stop on the side of the road abruptly, scaring the living crap out of me. He had at least seemed excited a moment ago. He pushed his door open, then mine opened a second later. He pulled me out of the car, hugging me and spinning around in a circle. He kissed all over my face and buried his head into my neck.

"We're gonna have a baby!!!!!!!" he yelled again. I was so happy the news had been received this way. I knew he would love to be a father.

We stood there for over twenty minutes, hugging and kissing and laughing as we jumped up and down. My world felt perfect in this moment, and nothing in the real world could ruin it.