Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N:

So the next three chapters are really 1 chapter but I broke it down because they were running kind of long. Now as being what this story is all about...this is an emotional roller coaster of a ride.

Also all Twilight characters belong from SM

For the love of . . . (Part I)

Her bare feet slightly lost her footing as she stepped away from Jake and his sympathetic stare. Her hand was still pressed against her chest, it felt hollow.

No heartbeat.

No heartbeat.

No heartbeat.

He removed his hand and hugged her. "Whatever it is, we'll figure it out."

She nodded but felt desperation in her throat.

"Are you hungry?" she whispered.

"Honestly, I'm kind of starving," he admitted.

"Let me—"

"Bells, I can do it. Why don't you go sit down and ask Manny to put on some TV for you."

She furrowed her brow.

"Manny, start season 1 of Battlestar Galactica."

The TV turned on.

"Starring Edward Olmos?" Manny asked.

"Yes please." Jake replied.

"Battlestar?" Bella asked.

"You used to love it, we never got to finish the show. Thought it would be good to start from season 1. I know you'll love it."

Bella stared at him for a moment and then smiled, "Oh yeah, you had a thing for Starbuck?"

"Well yeah, she was fracking awesome," he said.

A smile broke on her face and she laughed. "Did you ever get the action doll you wanted?"

He snickered. "Action figure. Now, go. I will bring you some popcorn."

"You didn't answer my question," she said as she walked to the living room.

"You're missing the show."

After he ate, he cleaned everything up and put everything away and went to the living.

"Enjoying yourself?" he asked.

She nodded and cuddled next to him.

"Hand me the popcorn?"

Two hours passed by and it was as it had been before. They discussed the characters and storyline.

"I still can't believe that Xena is in this show. She's so amazing."

"You remember Xena?" Jake laughed.

"What? She was the best female warrior of ALL time," Bella claimed.

"Sure, sure," he said. "Hey where are you going?"

"Just need to—go brush my teeth," she said. "Be right back."

But it was more than a few minutes and he soon realized that she was going to be gone longer when the shower turned on.

There was a knock on the door.

Jake got up and went to answer. It was Connie.

"Hi Uncle Jake," she smiled. Connie smiled.

Jake smiled.

"Hi Connie bear," he said and gave her a big hug. She was Seth's granddaughter. And just like Seth she was kind and sweet. But she wasn't little anymore, in fact she was in her late 40s, no longer the little baby girl that he had carried around.

She grinned. "I'll never get tired of hearing that."

"What brings you hear?" he asked.

"Sorry for bothering you but Sarah and Dean filled me in. And I thought your guest would need a few things."

She rolled in a suitcase.

"I've been meaning to donate these to charity," she said. "But I've been really busy. Who says working from home is the best?"

Connie worked as an analyst and worked from home for a global company. She was the primary bread winner and proud of it.

"So thoughtful as always."

"Hmm, grandpa always said he like her. And if you're letting her stay then she must be trust worthy."

Jake felt the weight of his decision again. He would need to find another place for Bella and him soon.

"I also brought you this," she said. It was a picture from the beach a whole life time ago. It had everyone in there, the whole pack and even Bella.

"Where did you get this?"

"I cleaned out grandpa's place with mom last week and I found a bunch of stuff, and when I saw this I thought you would like it."

Jake touched the picture. "Thank you for bringing this."

"Sure, sure," she said and looked around the large open space. "Is she around?"

"She's in the shower," he said.

"Is it true, then? Is she human?"

He took a deep breath. "I don't know."

"Dean said you want to go to archives."

Jake nodded. Connie was always the direct type. "That's right. I'm just trying to find any—"

"I know the story, you know," she said. "And I can tell you it involves the cold ones. My great grandfather and your dad, they both transcribed the story. It's about our family you know."

"Our family?"

"Yeah, you didn't know we share an ancestor?" she smiled softly. "It's the storyteller, our very great grandpa wrote down. I actually went there to see if I could find the book but I had no luck finding it. I think it might be in the basement."

"So it is real?"

"Wolves are real," she said before she looked at her watch. "Do you know the story?"

"I know about the woman that is in the stone mountain, and that her partner goes to find her, and digs her out of the stone brings her back."

"There's a lot more to that but, yes. You're on the right path." She looked at her watch. "Well I should go. The boys and Sarah are all home and the oven is done cooking dinner. You would think they would know how to serve themselves. Then back online to wrap up a presentation. Anyway, let me know how it goes, okay?"

"Thanks again," he said. He heard the door open and close from the bathroom.

She gave him a hug. "When you have a chance maybe you can come over and pick up the keys," she noted. "See you soon. And don't be a stranger."

As he closed the door behind him he heard Bella.

He turned around, she was wearing a towel over her head and one of his shirts.

"Sorry, one thing lead to another," she said looking uncomfortable before she noticed the suitcase.

"Connie dropped off some clothes for you," he answered.

"Oh, ooh that's great," she said as walked over to him. "Who's Connie?"

"She's Seth's granddaughter."

"No way," she said. "Seth's granddaughter? How many grandchildren did him have?"

"He has 18 grandkids actually," he said.

"Really? Oh wow."

"Well, he had six kids," he began. "Fell in love when he turned twenty and just went from there." The funny thing is, Seth had never imprinted, nor had Leah.

Bella pulled the suitcase towards his room and opened it, sorted through it and pulled out a few things.

Minutes later she stepped out to the living room again and saw Jake staring at a picture. His thumb caressed the image. She sat down next to him.

"Comfy?"

"Extremely," she admitted. "Haven't worn anything this comfortable in a long time. What are you doing?"

He handed her the picture and she looked over all the faces and smiles.

"When was this?" she asked.

"It was a few days before the newborn battle," he said.

She thought for a moment, "With Victoria."

"Yes."

She looked over all the faces.

"They're all gone now," he added. "The only ones left are you and me."

"Did they have good lives?"

"Great lives," he said. "They all had so many kids. I could barely keep track."

She turned to him and pondered why he never had gotten married. Even to be honest in never occurred to her that he could have a family. And in a way she found that odd, to think that he wouldn't settle down when he had been such a good man.

"Are there more pictures?"

He thought for a moment, "Yeah, definitely. I have a few albums."

He got up and went to his bookshelf, filled with architecture, science, sustainability, travel and meditation books.

"You like architecture?" she inquired.

"I studied it," he said. "Well I studied sustainable architecture. I actually built this place. With help but I designed it. It's pretty self-sufficient."

"Wow," she was thoroughly impressed. "Where did you attend?"

"Washington State," he said. "It was an accelerated program and I also did a lot of stuff online."

"That's amazing Jake, you did a lot for yourself," she said.

He handed her the album.

She opened it and immediately there were pictures of his home, his father. And then as she turned the pages she found one of her and Jake with mud pies in their hands. She smiled, they had been so small once. So innocent.

When she turned the page again. It was a picture of Mr. Black with Jake by his side and Bella next to her dad.

Her fingers hovered over Charlie's face.

"So this is what he looked like," she whispered. "I—I look like him."

"You do."

Her lower lip pouted slowly, "Daddy," she whimpered in the tiniest of voices.

She swallowed and turned the page and there were more family gatherings and events. More years, to add.

"Your hair was so beautiful," she noted. "Still is. Just shorter."

"I prefer it short. Even though I have grown it out and donated it."

"Really? Do you have any pictures of it grown out as an adult?"

"Sure," he turned a few pages and there he was with his long locks.

"Any girl would envy such gorgeous locks," she said.

"Jealous," he teased.

She turned to him and said, "Absolutely."

She turned back to the Album and could see how everyone aged except Jake.

"Why did you stay the same?"

"The guys stopped shifting," he said. "I didn't. By that point, there was only a sighting of a vampire every few months and eventually we got one once a year. So no new recruits."

"When was the last time?"

"Nearly two years," he said. "And before that another two."

She turned the page again. "Oh my God, Seth grew a beard?"

"And a mighty beard it was. His wife hated it. We had to beg him to take it off."

They both laughed.

"But you can still see that baby face," Bella noted.

"I think that's why he grew the beard in the first place. To make himself appear older."

They continued to look and talk.

Leah had married a guy she had met in Denver where she had gone for school. They had three girls, all as passionate and strong willed as their mother Jake noted.

Sam had started the work on the museum and archive for the tribe. Got funding and set to build. It was actually a bit of tourist attraction that got lot of notoriety.

Paul had started an online gym class, where he would coach people interested in fitness. And Seth had started a small business with his wife.

Bella continued to peer at their faces and see them grow and age. They did have great lives. And she envied it a bit.

She flipped through the pages, looking for more of Charlie. But no pictures of him aging or growing old.

"How did he—how did he take me being gone?"

Jake didn't want to answer at first.

"He didn't really get a chance to miss you," he finally said.

"What do you mean?"

"He died a few weeks after your last phone call," Jake explained.

"Fishing?"

"He was hiking up to go fishing with some of the guys and he slipped and broke his leg. That wouldn't have been too bad but he got pretty badly cut too, and it exposed him to an infection. A strong infection. The antibiotics couldn't save him. He died, a week afterward."

Bella had always known that her dad was gone but actually hear how brought so many more emotions.

"Did he suffer?"

"No," Jake lied. "They had him on the good stuff. And he was mostly asleep. He passed away in his sleep, peacefully."

Bella closed the album. She had always known that this would be part of the costs of her choice but how she regretted it, not living amongst them all.

They were quiet for the lifetime that had passed. But Jake would not let the day end like this.

"Come on," he encouraged her feeling a bit more relieved that he had a project that would distract them both. He took her hand and helped her up. "Come with me."

He led her to the shack where he had been earlier, trying to forget everything except mindless work.

"Hope you still remember how to be my number two," he said.

"Huh?" she asked.

"I've got a pair of bikes in there that need some love and elbow grease," he said.

"Not what I had in mind," she said honestly.

"It can be fun," he said.

They entered the garage and removed the blanket from a pair of bikes that looked ready to go to the junkyard and she laughed. Indeed it was like old times.

"How often do you do this?" she asked.

"A couple times a year," he answered.

She looked around and noticed another bike in the corner, it had been the bike he had been working on earlier but that was all, no other bikes in site.

"What do you do with them?"

"I sell them, or ride them" he answered. "It's what I do aside from creating draft drawings of buildings. It's how I make my income and how I can afford to travel in luxury."

"Travel?" Her eyes shined with amusement. "Where have you traveled. Please tell me what you've seen."

He spent the next two hours going over his trips across the country, Latin America and Europe.

"You've been around," she teased one afternoon as they were finally putting together the final pieces.

"Yeah, I guess I have. It's been a while though."

"I can't believe that you actually braved going into the catacombs in France. Haven't you ever heard the stories of how people get lost in there? Plus, I would just get claustrophobic."

He pointed to his nose. "Yeah, well they don't have my sense of smell, it provides a great sense of direction."

They smiled.

"You know France, really wasn't my favorite place, nor any other part of Europe. I think I was more into places like China. I think you would have loved China…" he continued. "The mountains over there are surreal, the people are very accommodating and there are so many things to see. I didn't get to do half of the things I wanted but what I did get to do was amazing. I remember just walking around the small villages and wishing I could settle down on a plot. You would have loved all the scenery, the food was delicious, oh man their duck is the best. And the festivals, the colors are intense, the reds and oranges are beautiful. It was like a totally different world and the way they think is in some ways so different and others so similar to our own. Oh and another place you would love, New-New Orleans…I really want to take you there someday, best city in the country." He smiled, he was excited.

Her giggle interrupted his daydreaming. He turned and watched her eyes dancing with amusement.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

She smiled. "Nothing. I just like how you describe it all. I would love to see what you've seen," she said as she passed him a different wrench.

He tightened a bolt on the bike.

I want to show her what she's been missing out on, he thought as he stared at his old bike. I just hope one day I can.

"I'm going to the store tomorrow," he told her. "Would you like to come with me?"

She said nothing at first and whispered, "Do you think that's a good idea?"

He sighed. "You're right."

"I do need a few things," she admitted. "Like a toothbrush, hair brush. Can you get that for me?"

"Yep. Ah that reminds me, we also need to get you a chip."

"A chip?" she frowned. "Don't tell me we all have trackers and are being tracked by the government."

"It's more like a digital ID," he pointed to a spot in his arm. "But you wouldn't believe the trouble it has caused.

Jake spent the next 30 minutes explaining the grid that was used throughout big cities and how chips were used by advertisers and the police force alike.

"Big Brother goes digital," she said.

"Yeah, every couple of years, I have to get a new chip. But don't worry I have good contacts."

They laughed and smiled and for a moment she thought he would kiss her but nothing. Instead, he touched her and caressed her but made no effort to kiss her except for her forehead.

Kiss me, her eyes begged. The whole day that's all she had waited for but nothing. He had made no move.

Jake shivered as though he was trying to shake something off.

They went back inside and clean-up before they made it back to his bedroom.

"You look tired," he noted.

"I'm fine," she said before she yawned and sat down on his bed and pulled a pillow.

"What's happening to me?" she finally whispered. The whole day since they had spoken, they had avoided the topic. "I can cry and bleed. I feel hunger. and think I'm warm."

He touched her arm, "You are. And your soft. You don't feel like stone," he said as his fingers caressed her upper arm.

Goosebumps appeared on her skin.

"But no heartbeat," she murmured.

"How did you turn others human?" he asked before he sat next to her.

"I don't know. How does one see the future, read minds, manipulate emotions or elements? I can just feel it, a life force that calls me." Her fingers curled as though she were holding onto an invisible force. "Life begs to be brought to the surface and humanity never leaves the supernatural, it's just hidden deep within layers of stone, waiting to be uncovered. I don't know any other way to describe it."

"Have you felt that pull inside you?"

Her eyes glanced towards him. "This feels different, this feels like—" coming home. She reached out and touched his cheek. "More."

Now it was his skin that prickled. She brought him closer and he didn't fight it. She leaned up and kissed his neck.

"Bella," he whispered.

"I want to feel alive, Jake," she whispered. "Make me feel alive."