Alright so all your patience has paid off, I'm updating with a nice, long, eventful chapter. Although, with the release of Breaking Dawn, I'm sure you didn't mind all that much. That would have to be the reason this took so long. I got caught up in the excitement too, and I must say, the book was amazing, as always, but very surprising. I shall say no more. But anyways, here it is! And sorry if I missed anything editing, I have yet to find a beta and I figured I'd kept all y'all waiting long enough. Read and review!

Oh, and I am continuing this story, despite the events in Breaking Dawn. Nothing in my story has changed and I will continue of course. Edward is still not the father. I can't say much more in case people haven't read it. I don't want to be a spoiler. But don't go assuming anythingabout my story because of the book. Technically, I'm disregarding it, as I am most of NM and Eclipse.

Disclaimer: Of course they're Stephanie Meyer's characters and such. I only play with them a little.

Two weeks had come and gone in the blink of an eye. I had finally gotten Charlie back into the house, once the bathroom was installed. Mr. Kings was true to his word and had everything done in two days, with the help of his men. As soon as he finished, Jacob helped me move Charlie back in. Charlie seemed happy to be back at home, but he was always restless, hating not being able to move very much or not without help. He practically lived on the couch, doing nothing but watch games. Somehow there was always one on and he never got too bored. At least he was able to get into his wheel chair and go to the bathroom himself now. But he was having trouble talking. He knew the words, but it was getting his mouth to cooperate that was the problem. Moving around was still a hassle, but it was coming along better than the talking, since Charlie was never one for many words.

If he wasn't busy staring at the television, Charlie would stare at me. There were two different stares. The first broke my heart because he would try so hard just to talk, and then just give me a look that broke my heart because he couldn't get it right. I hated seeing him like that. He also looked at me like that because I knew he had missed me. I think me leaving had caused him to fall apart a little, since he didn't know what to do with me when I was such a mess.

The second stare was one that burned a hole right through my stomach. I don't think he could get over just how irresponsible I had been. But, being Charlie and now with being impaired, he never said a word. I think that having me home with him beat out that.

Charlie slept a lot these days, so I was able to get out when I needed to. At first, I mostly stayed at home, but that proved difficult since my memories always seemed ready to burst. So I often drove to places in town, especially since I needed to find a job. With Charlie not working, I had to find a way to support us. I had graduated from college with a degree in English and in education, meaning the logical place for me to work would be at Forks High School. It took me awhile to get the courage to even go there to see if they were hiring, because that held almost as many memories as home did. But my options were low, and so was money, so I had no choice but to inquire for a teaching position. Luckily enough, my old teacher was had recently retired, so they had an opening for me. After a meeting or two and the necessary paperwork, I was hired. I would teach a summer course on the Victorian era at a nearby community college until the school year started. The course would last two weeks and start in August. Since it was the middle of July, I figured Charlie and I would be okay until then, since he was receiving some kind of pension for not being able to work and there were only two of us to support for the time being.

With the rest of my free time, I usually went down to La Push to see Jake, since Charlie liked to go too and visit with Billy. They couldn't fish yet but they had just as much fun watching sports. I spent all my time with Jacob. We would do various activities, but mostly I liked to watch him fix his cars. He had put together a total of five now, and sold three of them for a good amount of money. When he wasn't building cars he was fixing them. He worked at the auto shop in Forks. He had sped through college in three short years and was now earning a good living for him and Billy.

Today, Jacob wanted me to meet all of his friends. I had protested at first, thinking of how they would just stare at me, but he wouldn't let me refuse and eventually I caved. He said everyone was meeting up at Sam and Emily Uley's house for dinner and that I was included. He said he told Emily they'd get there early so I wasn't overwhelmed with meeting everyone all at once. We were in the car on our way over when Jacob said, "I think you'll really like Emily. She's the nicest person ever, well after you of course." I turned pink at that and protested, "I am not Jacob. I bet I could find plenty of people nicer than me. You're just biased."

He let out a husky laugh and said to me, "Well maybe I am a little biased, but you're still pretty nice. Give yourself some credit, Bells."

I gave him a small smile, something which was rare in my case. I hardly ever smiled since he left, but I noticed that I had been smiling a lot more when I was with Jacob. It seemed to be easier around him.

We finally pulled up in front of Sam and Emily's house. I was very nervous even though Jacob kept tell me I shouldn't be. As we got out of the car, we were met by a very beautiful, very pregnant woman. Emily greeted us with a half smile. It was until we got closer that I noticed the three dark red lines that covered the one side of her face. I would have to ask Jacob how she got those later. But looking past them, I saw the flawlessness of her light brown skin and the kindness in her warm brown eyes.

As we reached her Jacob introduced us. "Hey, Emily. This is Bella, and Bells, this is Emily, Sam's wife. Clearly she's about to become a mother too."

She smiled at me and said "Bella, it's so nice to finally meet you. Jacob has told us all so much about you."

I blushed. "Thank you, it is nice to meet you to, and congratulations on your baby."

"Actually, it's babies. We're having twins. But I've still got three months to go," Emily said proudly.

"Wow, that's great." I managed another smile. "I'm only having one, and I have two months to go."

"That's wonderful, Bella. Oh sorry, where are my manners? Please, come inside. I've got dinner almost ready for everyone. They should be here soon."

We followed Emily inside. Her home was bigger than Jacob and Billy's but not too much. It had a very homey feeling to it, with warm colors decorating the walls, and bright paintings on the walls. The place was squished with two couches and several chairs in the living room, then a long table that took up the dining room and part of what seemed to be an office area that contained a small desk supporting a laptop and cluttered stacks of paper. The only other furniture was a small bookshelf overflowing with books. I took notice of the Jane Austen books. Emily caught me looking and smiled.

"I just love getting lost in a good Jane Austen book, don't you?" she said to me.

"I do, she's one of my favorite," I retorted.

"I heard you're an English teacher at the high school, yes?"

"I am. I love books. I get lost in them. They let me forget."

She looked at me with a puzzled expression. "Forget what?"

It felt like my stomach had dropped to my feet.

"Forget life, of course," Jacob said for me. He caught my hesitation and recovered for me.

"Of course," Emily said. "I completely agree." And with that, she excused herself to the kitchen to check on dinner.

I failed to mention to her that I stopped reading Jane Austen and any other romance novels five years ago. I couldn't handle them.

I looked up at Jacob. "Thanks," I whispered. He smiled and said, "Anytime." I loved how Jacob just knew, and I didn't have to say anything.

Shortly after, everyone else arrived at the house. I met Jacob's friends, Quil and Embry who came in together. They were followed by Jared and his wife Kim, along with Paul and his fiancée Rachel, who also happened to be Jacob's sister. I had met her before when I used to visit Charlie in the summers, but it had been a long time since I'd seen her. Then Seth Clearwater, son of Charlie's late best friend Harry, who had died four years ago, came in. He seemed younger than the rest of the guys. He said his sister Leah and their mother, Sue, went out for the day and hadn't come home yet so they weren't coming. There wasn't enough room for anyone else, so Billy and Charlie had opted to stay at Billy's place and order a pizza. Besides, Charlie wasn't in the best shape for large crowds just yet.

I was quickly introduced to everyone, but apparently they already seemed to know a lot about me, or at least the men did.

Quil gave me a smile at my surprised look. "It's ok Bella. It's just that Jacob talks about you a lot. We feel like we know you."

Jacob grinned sheepishly. "It's true, Bells. I can't help it. I wanted everyone to meet you."

I blushed furiously at this and Quil let out a laugh. Still, I already liked him. But he had this far away look in his eyes, like his mind was somewhere else all the time.

Right then, Sam came home. Everyone acknowledged him with some sort of respect. I guessed because it was his house. But Sam only had eyes for one person: Emily. He made a beeline for her, wrapped his arms around her from behind, and placed a kiss tenderly on her neck, and then on her cheek. She turned to put her arms around his neck so he could kiss her on her lips. Watching them envelop each other in their love caused me to almost break. I wrapped my arms around my stomach in hopes to hold myself together. Suddenly, Jake was there, putting his arm around me and hugging me to his body. The warmth of him seeped through me and I could bear it. I still turned away from them as he knelt down do that he could put his ear to her belly and rub the spot where he felt a nudge. But with Jacob there, I didn't feel like I was falling to pieces. It was a little easier to breathe.

Dinner was served after that. I don't think I've seen anyone eat the way those men do. Emily made enough food for more than thirty people, yet it was gone in a flash. Of course, the girls did get their fair share, but the boys were pigs. There was no other word for it. I almost let out a giggle when Embry tried shoving three hotdogs in his mouth at the same time directly following a large amount of baked beans, all because Jacob had challenged him by doing it first. After a delicious dessert of blackberry cobbler and several homemade pies, the boys ran outside with a football and began a game, while the women stayed inside to help Emily clean up, but not before gushing over both her and me.

"Oh Bella," Rachel said, "Do you know what you're having? Do you mind if I…?" She motioned her hand towards my stomach.

"You can. He or she kicks all the time. And I don't know what I'm having. I guess I'm going to wait until he or she comes out to know."

"Oh, I couldn't wait another second," Emily said. "And Sam and I were ecstatic when we found out we were having twins. One boy, one girl."

Her face was lit with expectant joy. She was glowing with that sort of happiness pregnant women get before they lose all sleep from having a newborn. As much as I already loved and wanted my baby, I don't think I could ever glow. Not like I was. But I put on the face that hopefully covered all my scars and wounds up while the women took turns feeling Emily's and my stomachs. Rachel knelt down to put her ear to my belly and looked down so that all I could see was her midnight black hair next to me. My heart stuttered and I slipped, imagining Alice pressing her ear to my belly instead. I could see her looking up at me and smiling, almost as if it were his child. Two impossibilities. And I couldn't handle it.

"Excuse me," I mumbled, doing my best to keep my tears at bay until I got out the door. I walked as fast as I was able but it wasn't enough.

"Bella?" Rachel and Emily said together, with confused and worried expressions decorating theirs and Kim's faces.

I hurried down to First Beach without managing to fall somehow, since it was hard to see through the blinding tears. I made it to mine and Jacob's log before I completely fell apart. I sat there sobbing dreadfully, not caring if anyone saw. I barely noticed when a pair of warm arms pulled me into their embrace.

Jacob gently kissed the top of my head and stroked my hair.

"Shh, Bella honey, it's going to be alright. I've got you, I promise."

I hiccuped loudly and my breathing hitched several times, but I believed him, and then I slowly started to put myself back together as much as possible, and with Jacob, that was much more possible then I ever imagined.

Jacob and I stayed on First Beach until the stars made their appearance. The sky looked like someone had scattered infinite amounts of glitter in it. It was beautiful.

We were sitting on our log. Jacob had his arm around me and I had leaned my head on his shoulder. The tears had finally stopped coming and I felt more relaxed. Jacob was warm, despite the chill in the air. I had my hands pressed against my stomach, feeling the gymnastic display my baby was putting on. I gently took Jacob's other hand and placed it on my stomach so he could feel too.

"Wow, Bella. That's incredible. It must drive you crazy with all that kicking."

"It keeps me up more than I like, but I don't usually mind it," I said with a slight smile.

It was quiet for a minute, until, suddenly, I could hear a loud howling that seemed to be coming from somewhere nearby. I jumped a little and Jacob's head snapped up to attention as his arm tightened around me. I turned to look at him, his eyes alert and his eyebrows furrowed. I followed his gaze toward the woods nearby. I could hear a movement, and it was close. Jacob jumped up and pulled me up from the log.

"Jacob! What's the matter?" I said in a panicked voice. I could tell that something was wrong.

"We have to get out of hear Bella. And fast."

His tone scared me. I didn't know what was going on, but I knew that I couldn't run, at least not very quickly.

"Jake, I can't run. Look at me!" I said as he started to pull me along.

He looked at me and said, "Sorry, Bells, I forgot. Come on I'll carry you!"

I looked at him with an incredulous expression. "Jake you can't…" I started but he had already placed his arm behind my back and was using the other to support my legs. He had me cradled against his chest and started running like I weighed nothing at all.

"Jake, how can you…"

"I can't explain Bells. Just trust me, I'm okay. We just need to get out here now."

"Jacob!" I said a little more loudly. Fear colored my voice. "What is going on?"

"Something's happening. And it's not so good. I can't say much more…unless you know about…them."

"Them?"

"Yes, them, you know exactly who I'm talking about. They're why you were crying. I know."

My heart stuttered and my voice wouldn't work. I just couldn't believe he knew. And he never told me. I was speechless, my face paler than usual.

Jacob had suddenly gotten fierce and angry. "The bloodsuckers," he said with a snarl.

My mouth dropped and my heart stopped.

"The what? I…I don't know what you're talking about," I stuttered.

He rolled his eyes. "Bella, we both know that you're a terrible liar. I know you know what they are. Don't make me say their name, because I know you don't like it."

I closed my eyes. How could Jacob know, and how could he read me so well.

I tried to form words. "Jake, I…"

"I know, I know, it wasn't your secret so you couldn't tell. I get it. You still probably won't admit it, but I know. But right now I need to get you out of here now!"

But now was too late, because we turned around and saw a huge animal come out of the woods. I gasped.

"Jacob?!"

It was as big as a horse, but covered in thick brown fur. It stopped as soon as it saw Jacob and me. I froze, thinking I was going to die. The huge creature let out a low growl and a snarl, and then turned back into the woods.

"Well Bella, now you know my secret," Jacob whispered.

"Your what??"

"My secret. Bella, do you know what that was?"

"Clearly not." I was afraid to know.

"Bella, that was a werewolf. Actually that was Quil, and he didn't mean to do that. He's going to be in an awful lot of trouble with Sam for that. But at least I can tell you now. It's what I am. What we are."

I was rendered speechless once more. I also hadn't realized that we'd still be running. We made it back to Sam's house. Seth ran out to meet them.

"Jacob, Sam says to get her home then come join us," he said.

"No," Jacob said fiercely. "I'm running around her house. I won't let her get hurt."

Seth shook his head. "It's orders, Jake. We need you. She'll be fine. Well, maybe. What's wrong with her?"

Jacob grimaced. "She saw Quil. I mean really saw him."

"Oh no. Sam's going to be so pissed."

"Yeah tell me about it."

I finally came to my senses. "Jake, I can drive myself home. Really. Don't worry about it. Go do…well, what you have to." I wasn't about to say go become a werewolf. I could barely think the word.

Jacob gave me a worried look. "You sure Bells? No you won't be. Bloodsuckers. I can't take that risk."

I was taken aback. "What do they have to do with anything?"

"Jacob," Seth whined.

"I can't now, Bells, but let's just say we take care of them. I'll explain more later, I promise. Call Emily or Billy if anything happens, and I'll be there."

The only thing I could do was nod as he ran off with Seth. It had all happened so fast.

Before I knew it, I was home. I just wanted to collapse into a deep sleep and forget everything I just learned and everything I had ever known about mythical creatures. I dashed upstairs to my room shut the door behind me.

When I turned around, my heart stopped, and then picked up at lightening speed. I couldn't feel my body and my head was light. Suddenly it seemed as if the world had stopped. My heart was whole, but I couldn't breathe.

Edward Cullen was standing in my room.

There I got Edward back for you. Happy? Hee hee. Reviews reviews!