Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer and do not own any of the Twilight Series characters; I'm just a fan having fun. No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter 35

Nessie's POV

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was the pain, pulsating through my whole body. The second thing I noticed was Jacob's scent, strong, far too strong for him to be dead. With a jolt I opened my eyes and got up, realizing I was lying in Leah's bed with Jacob right there next to me.

He had bandages all over him and his face was scratched and bruised, but he was healing, I could tell. I hesitantly put my hand over his naked torso and was relieved when under it I felt warm skin and his heart pulsating. I took in a deep breath and held it in, because I was on the verge of sobbing. He was alive… Jacob Ephraim Black was alive.

It had been so close; those minutes when his heart stopped beating where the worst in my life, I hadn't known agony like that ever before, never known true pain until I couldn't hear the life pulsating through him. But now here he was, alive. I closed my eyes hoping to stop the waterworks but there was no stopping it, my face was wet and my tears were dripping like a fountain all the way down my neck.

"Baby?"

With surprise I opened my eyes and as soon as I looked into his, I couldn't hold it in anymore. I started crying, sobbing, bawling. He took my face in his hands and pressed it to his neck all the while shushing me. I cried with relief and happiness and even a little dread from the thought that I'd nearly lost him. It was amazing to press my face in his neck and take in his scent, feel the warmth he was radiating, hear the pulse of his veins. After the longest time I knew I needed to stop, because I was wasting precious minutes by crying.

When I pulled back I realized he had tears in his eyes as well.

"Ness… I'm… I'm sorry, so sorry." – His voice was really hoarse and he seemed to have a hard time speaking.

"What? Why are you sorry?" – I could barely get the words out because I was still crying.

"I wasn't there for you… I wasn't strong enough, I failed… I mean, look at you sweetheart, just look at you." – He took my face in his hands and began to kiss every one of my recently healed wounds, making his way toward my shoulder and torso and abdomen, sweetly kissing every area that had been beaten and cut and damaged by the werewolves.

"I'm fine… I feel fine… it doesn't matter."

"How can you say that? I almost got you killed." – He shook his head in disapproval of himself.

"You didn't do anything… I was the one who came looking for you even when you told me not to, and I don't feel sorry about it, because if I hadn't you'd…" – I couldn't finish, instead a sob made its way to my throat. Jacob looked pained by my incessant crying and pressed me closer to him, kissing my face with all the tenderness I was sure he could muster.

"No… no, no… nothing can take me away from you… stop thinking that… we're safe, ok baby? Please don't cry anymore or I will."

I couldn't help but let out a little laugh when he said this, because for some reason it had sounded funny. He pulled away to look at me and smiled back, running his hands through my messy hair. A second later he stopped smiling and got a serious look on his face.

"You saved me Ness… when I was the one who was supposed to save you. I'm sorry for ever making you feel weak or feeble or unfit to fight… you're better than all of us."

I shook my head, suddenly feeling embarrassed. I'd never heard Jacob praise me for my fighting abilities, it was… amazing.

"I only sucked the venom out of you… that's all…"

"No baby… you fought to keep them away from me… I saw you get slammed and crushed and bitten but you still kept going, still kept fighting… I was so weak all I could do was watch… I don't deserve how amazing you were."

"Yes you do."

He smiled and kissed me. He was still a little cold, not as warm as he usually is, but I knew pretty soon he would heal completely and go back to being the strong wolf I know. I was enjoying kissing him so much, after all the heartache I'd been through minutes before, that I'd completely forgotten about the impending situation… the Volturi and… my family.

I reluctantly pulled back.

"My family… I have to find out what happened."

He turned to the side just as Leah entered the room. She was carrying a tray with two glasses, one that looked like it had some sort of medicinal drink and the other blood. She didn't bother saying hi or getting emotional over the fact that we were both awake and healing.

"Take this, it will give you strength. Mom made this one for you Jacob; it's an old Quileute recipe, women used to make it for the warriors before and after battle."

"You're not trying to poison me, are you Leah?" – He was joking of course, but she didn't find it funny, instead she made a face that implied he was being "insensitive" and handed the glass to him with an attitude. Only when she handed the glass of blood to me did I see a trace of relief in her eyes, I suddenly realized she had been worried for our wellbeing.

"Thank you Leah... do you… do you know anything about my family."

"Yes… they're hunting down the last of the Voltury… it appears some of them were able to escape."

"You mean they're all fine… we won?"

Leah simply smiled and nodded. I inhaled and then exhaled in relief; everything had turned out fine, just like I'd hoped.

"Which ones escaped?"

"They're all leaches to me." – Leah's tone was harsh, as if her sympathy for me was slowly drifting away. Jacob cleared his throat, making Leah blink and give him an irritated expression.

"Quil was the one who went to find your family… you should ask him." – She turned around and exited the room. Automatically Jacob and I exhaled.

"They're fine!" – I was so happy it was hard to keep the tears in. Jacob laughed and kissed my face all over, obviously feeling just as giddy as me.

"You're alive, they're alive… the stinky Volturi are goners… what else could we ask for?" – He was grinning profusely, looking so adorable my heart ached at the thought that hours ago he'd nearly died. The idea made me curious about something.

"Jake… when you're heart stopped beating… did you see anything? I mean, I know it sounds sort of cheesy but, was there something on the other side?"

Jacob stopped smiling and looked up, squinting his eyes and concentrating.

"Um… I don't… I don't really remember… there was whiteness and…" – He was looking at me but not really looking at me, looking past me, as if his eyes were seeing the memory. – "Did you? Did you project something?"

"What?" – I was more than a little shocked by his answer, had he actually seen what I'd projected when he was dead?

"I'm not sure… but I think I saw you and…" – He paused, frowning and looking down, still trying to remember. He then looked up at me with a start, his eyes wide in expectance, placing his hands on my tummy.

"Are you… Ness, are you pregnant?"

I blinked twice, unsure of why he was asking this.

"Wha… what?"

"When we said goodbye, you showed me our kids, and then again… when I was dying, I saw them. You projected didn't you?"

"Yes but, it was just a dream, a fantasy… I mean, I don't remember projecting that when you died… but then again, I was so messed up. But it was just a vision I had… it's not… real… is it?" – Suddenly I wasn't sure if maybe my dream was actually a vision, a premonition. The thought that it could be made my stomach dance with butterflies… was I pregnant?

"I don't know… it felt real when I saw it." – Jake had a grin from ear to ear, something I hadn't quite expected. Was he ready to be a father? He still looked so young, even though he was much older, and he still behaved like a teenager sometimes; could he actually take care of a baby? And then of course, was I ready to be a mother? The idea was freaky considering I'm only 5 years old and look 17, but somehow, no matter how freaky it could seem, a part of me was thrilled with the idea of bearing Jacob's children. I could only imagine how wonderful they could be, how I would love them knowing they're his.

We were grinning like idiots when Quil poked his head inside the room.

"Come in."

"Hey, how are you guys feeling?"

"Good… really good." – Jacob smiled at him and reached over to shake his hand. – "Thank you for taking care of us."

"Well, we didn't have much choice did we?" – Something about the way Quil said it seemed more resentful than lighthearted, like there was a double meaning in his words. Jacob noticed it too because he let go of his hand and gave Quil a quizzical look.

"You wanna tell me what's going on?"

"Yeah I do. Do you actually think you need to order us to take care of Ness? After everything we've been through, after we've all shown you loyalty… after we protected her against our better judgment when we didn't even know her… after all that, you still think it's necessary to throw out the Alpha card?"

"Shit." – Jacob covered his eyes with his hand and looked down, obviously regretful. When he looked up at Quil again I could tell he was embarrassed.

"Dammit Quil, I'm sorry… I panicked; I didn't even notice it was an Alpha order until I said it… I was so afraid and pressed for time that I asked you guys to do it in desperation, and I guess it came out like that. You have to understand the circumstances… I didn't think."

"Yeah, I guess you didn't." – Already I could see Quil's anger subsiding, as if all he truly wanted was to hear Jacob apologize. I knew Jacob had already been forgiven the minute he hurt his feelings, Quil loved him too much to hold a grudge, but I guess he just wanted to prove his point and point out Jake's mistake.

"Can you forgive me?"

"Sure man… but… can you take it off? I've been dying to go see Clair but I can't leave Nessie's side… no offense Ness but, I'm sick of it."

Both Jacob and I laughed, as he spoke out "I withdraw my previous order." I saw Quil sigh in relief and mock saluted Jacob as he quickly headed for the door.

"Quil! Wait! Tell me about my family? Why haven't they come down here? Which of the Volturi escaped? Tell me everything you know."

"Ok… when I went to find them the battle was over; a few of the good leaches were missing an arm or two but since those freaky things are re-attachable, it shouldn't be a problem. Your clan wasn't there though, they all went tracking to find and kill the rest."

"Who? Which ones?"

"Um… the leader…"

"Aro?"

"Yeah, and the other one… Caius I think… plus the scary brother and sister…"

"Jane and Alec?" – Quil nodded, making my insides churn. I didn't like the fact that those two sadists were still out there.

"… the one who's always touching the old guy…"

"Aro's shield, Renata?"

"Sure, her… and like three other guards I know nothing about. But don't worry, they're outnumbered; I'm sure Bella and Edward will get here any minute, so relax and rest. I gotta go."

And with that, Quil rushed out and left me with a whole bunch of unanswered questions. I guess what would have really put me at ease would have been to see my family alive and well for myself, because no matter how well things seemed to have turned out; there was still a lingering uneasiness in the pit of my stomach.

"Jake, we have to go find them."

He took my face in his hands and pressed his forehead to mine, inhaling and then looking at me.

"Why do you have to make things so hard on me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you were almost killed, and now you want to go looking for Volturi vampires?"

"We can help them… since when do you shy away from a good fight?"

"Since my possibly pregnant wife almost got killed trying to save me… I think we've had enough for one day."

"I'm not pregnant."

"You're not?" – Jacob raised one eyebrow while giving me his teasing smile. Suddenly I wasn't so sure of myself. I looked down at my stomach, as if just by looking at it I would be able to tell if I was. Everything felt normal in there, but then again, there were the recurring dreams of two small Jacob-looking children.

"I… I'm not sure…"

"Listen, if it will make you feel better, I'll go find them." – Jacob got out of bed but the minute he placed his feet on the floor, his body wobbled over and he lost his balance. I reached over and kept him from falling, pulling him back toward the bed.

"Are you ok?" – My voice came out frantic, as I examined his pale face.

"I'm still weak… some of the venom must still be in my system."

I felt like an idiot for wanting to go find the Volturi, after everything we'd been through, after almost dying, that was definitely not a smart plan.

"I'm sorry Jake, I don't know what I was thinking… we'll stay here and wait for them. Drink what Leah gave you."

"You drink your blood." – He pushed the glass toward me. – "You look really hurt baby, have you seen yourself? God, I want to kill myself every time I look at you."

"It's not that bad… I feel fine." – I wasn't sure if I was lying or not. I definitely felt better than a couple of hours ago, but my body still ached all over and I still felt really cold. – "None of this is your fault by the way, they're the ones who attacked me… you did everything you could do."

"It still wasn't enough." – His eyes looked sorry as he ran his thumb along the bruised part of my face. I knew it was bruised because his gentle touch made the tender area throb with pain, but I kept still, not wanting him to stop touching me.

He stopped caressing my face once he noticed the desire in my face, this was no time to be thinking about those things, and ordered me to drink the blood as he chugged down the weird looking beverage Leah had prepared.

"Any good?" – I asked, when I saw the disgusting face he put on once he finished the last drop.

"Leah is trying to poison me… or at least get even for the Alpha order… yuck."

We both laughed.

"I can't believe I almost lost you." – I reached over and took his hand, still feeling more than a little sentimental.

"I'm sorry I let that happen." – He smiled and scooted closer to me, giving me a soft kiss. I relished in his taste even though the kiss lasted very little. I thought it lasted so little because maybe he was afraid of hurting me, but the minute I saw his face when he pulled back, I knew that wasn't it. He was looking to the side as if listening to something; I was so tired and drunk with his closeness that I heard nothing.

"What?"

He turned back to me with a huge grin on his face.

"Bella… and Edward… they're here."

I jumped off the bed, gathering all my strength to walk across Leah's room and out the door. Jacob followed, wincing every time he took a step. I was half way through the hall when the front door opened and my parents walked in. I immediately felt my eyes flush with tears as I tried desperately to close the gap between us.

They were at my side before I knew it, hugging and kissing me. Their presence was the last reassurance I needed that things had gone well, that we had been victorious and that our troubles with the Volturi were over.

I was so relieved and happy that it was hard to put it in words, so I just kept hugging them and crying, feeling how their cool comforting skin graced me and made my heart dance with joy. This was all I ever needed, my parents and Jacob.

"Darling, what happened to you?" – When we finally stopped hugging, dad appraised my bruised and beaten condition.

"She fought five werewolves." – Jacob stepped closer, obvious pride in his tone and face. Things could definitely not get any better.

"Seven actually… I killed two on the way to rescue you." – The three of them looked at me astonished.

"Wait… rescue Jacob? You rescued him?" – Mom seemed truly surprised about this, looking from Jacob to me. I could tell she felt like crying, but obviously couldn't.

"You don't know what happened?"

"No… we thought you were here with Seth… Rosalie and Emmett came to help us and they said Seth had been badly hurt and that they'd left him here, with you, after defeating Felix and the others. You mean they lied?" – Mom looked positively appalled by this.

I couldn't understand why Aunt Rose and Uncle Emmett would not tell the truth or better yet, why they hadn't preferred to go find me than to go help the others.

"Not really." – Leah came out of the kitchen, holding a beverage much like the one she'd given Jacob, I was sure her next victim was Seth, whom I could hear in his room snoring.

"When they finished killing the lee… vampires…. they brought Seth back here and came to find us, the pack. They wanted help tracking Nessie and didn't want to tell you anything because apparently the blonde felt guilty for losing her. So Colin, who's our best tracker, went with them and after an eternity of looking for Ness and coming up short, we got the message from Jacob that they were both about to get killed. We were closer to the campsite than the blond and the big guy so we told Colin to phase and let them know that we were on it. Colin says that after learning that we'd saved Nessie, they ran toward were you guys where, to help out."

"I don't believe this! You mean you were fighting while we knew nothing? Rose is getting a beating once I see her, how could she lie to us? And what do you mean "that they were both about to get killed"?" – Mom was positively furious and panicked, her lovely voice rising high and chiming like a bell. Her last question was directed at Leah, who simply rolled her eyes at her in annoyance and left toward Seth's room without another word. No matter how long I've known her, her bad manners always catch me off guard. When mom realized she wasn't getting her answers from Leah, she turned her anger toward Jacob, completely unjustified.

"What happened?"

"Love, you need to calm down… remember Jacob is also a victim here." – Dad as always remained cool and collected, while mom appeared to be losing it; I'd never seen her this discomposed. She looked down and took in a deep breath; now she really looked like she was about to cry.

"I know… we almost lost you." – She walked toward Jake and wrapped her arms around him tightly. Over her shoulder he gave me a look as in "your mother's crazy", making me smile and throwing away any jealousy that was slowly making its way into my heart.

"Everything's fine Bells, we're ok."

She pulled back to look at him.

"When I heard they'd taken you… I… I just couldn't…" – She turned to look at me, extending her arm toward me so that I could take it. Now she had us both in her grasp.

"Baby, if I'd known you were also in harm's way…" – She shook her head and looked down.

"Nessie doesn't need protecting; she kept Jacob alive by fighting off five werewolves, by herself." – Dad was smiling and apparently reading our thoughts, because I couldn't feel mom's shield anymore and because there was no way dad could know the things he continued to state. Mom turned to look at him, still holding us tightly but drawn to his voice. Whenever dad spoke, mom always listened.

"This was of course after fighting with two werewolves, whom she killed skillfully… she was badly hurt though." – Dad looked from my shoulder to my leg and I could see sorrow in his eyes; Jacob was also looking at me, with more than sorrow in his.

"She continued to search for Jacob despite her injuries… she was so brave." – This time dad directed the comment to mom, smiling at her as if this were a beautiful story he wanted to share with her. – "He was dying when she found him and still she gathered hope to carry him away from the werewolves… but they caught them."

"I'm sorry I didn't protect her Edward." – It was so bizarre to me that Jacob was actually apologizing to dad, sweet but bizarre. He had nothing to apologize for, at all.

"No Jacob, you sacrificed yourself to keep them from killing her… I can see, in your head, how weak you were, how broken; if not for the love I feel for Bella, I would not understand how you gathered strength to phase and push them away from her. As always Jacob, you exceed my expectations. And so do you my darling."

I felt my face grow hot and red, just as Jacob's hand found mine and squeezed it. His hand was warmer, which meant he was feeling better.

"It was close, if not for Nessie's quick thinking about sucking the vampire venom out of Jacob, he would have died, in fact, he did."

Mom stopped looking at dad and turned her attention to Jacob, her eyes wide with the idea that it had gotten so close.

I waited for dad to continue with his retelling of the events, fresh off both our brains, but he didn't. He was squinting as if trying to read a confusing or foggy thought.

"Edward?" – Mom's voice distracted his concentration and made him focus his eyes back to us and then almost immediately to my abdomen.

"No? Are you…?"

I glanced with the corner of my eye at Jacob, who was smiling his most brilliant widest smile. He looked positively giddy and elated, making me want to kiss him like never before.

"We don't know." – Jacob answered.

"What?" – Mom turned back to Jacob. His giddiness was rubbing off on her because she was already smiling even before he'd answered her.

"We think Ness might be pregnant."

"What?" – Mom let go of Jacob but kept her hold on me. – "How do you know? Are you sure?"

"Relax mom, it's probably nothing… I've just been having some dreams, dreams of me holding twins. Jacob is reading too much into this." – I tried to sound nonchalant but really inside I was crazy excited and hopeful.

"I had dreams too, before I knew I was pregnant. We need to find out." – She turned toward dad who nodded.

"Hey, hold up, let's not get carried away ok? First just tell me, is everyone alright?"

"Yes darling, many of our friends have parted already and the remaining are back at the big house."

"So no one died? Everything's fine? We won?" – I wanted to hear them say the words.

"Apparently."

"So you found the others? Aro and Jane and Alec?"

Dad's face went stone cold, with no expression visible on his perfect features; that was never a good sign.

"We don't need to worry about them."

"They got away?" – Jacob took a step closer to dad and placed his hand across my chest, in a protective manner. Mom gave him a look because his action forced her to back away from me.

"That's not good Edward. They'll come back, they're the strongest ones."

"Hardly; with Bella their powers are worthless. It's only a matter of time before we find them."

"No Edward, we need to find them tonight! I'm not risking them getting farther away!"

"It's not that simple Jacob."

"What's the complication?"

"Without the Volturi there is no vampire law, things could get out of hand, something we don't want. As horrible as this might seem to all of us, they are necessary. Therefore, Carlisle is working to contact them and have a civilized reunion; he believes we can come to an understanding."

"Are you fucking kidding me? They came after us! After Nessie! We defeated them so they'll want revenge! Do you actually think they'll agree to do things your way? As soon as they're powerful again, they'll kill us!"

"Aro is no fool, he'll honor a deal if it means he gets to keep the throne."

Jacob was fuming, looking at dad with a murderous rage. I couldn't help but agree with him; this was not a good idea.

"Bells, are you letting this happen? Do you agree with this?" – Jake looked at mom, knowing she was his only chance to get to dad and possibly revert this terrible decision.

"No, I don't… but I trust Carlisle."

"Don't give me that! Edward, this is the time to end this, while they're weak!"

"No, this is the time to make things better, to go back to the way it all started, when the Volturi did things the right way."

"They're bloodsucking human killing leeches! What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Nothing is set in stone, if Carlisle speaks to Aro and things don't go as planned, we'll end them. Calm down Jacob, we will handle this."

"Well excuse me for overreacting after my wife just barely made it out alive after those leeches sent their dogs after us and tried to kill us!"

"This isn't easy for us either, but we can't be vengeful like them, we have to consider the greater good."

"I can't believe you're saying this… just because it wasn't Bella the one they were after!"

"That's not fair Jacob and you know it, I love my daughter."

"That's not good enough… "– Jacob paused and after a quick glance at me spoke again. –"Fine, if you won't kill them, my pack will."

I immediately turned to look at him, afraid he was serious, and he was. The last thing I wanted was for him to fight the Volturi; not after almost losing him. His pack was strong, yes; but without the help of my family, the Volturi would surely win.

"Jake, please… don't." – Mom took Jacob's hand in hers, her eyes pleading.

"We're long past due the time you could influence me Bella." – His voice sounded bitter, so unlike him it hurt. Maybe mom had no way of convincing him otherwise, maybe she no longer had any sort of influence over him, but I was sure I did.

"You're not doing this Jacob… I trust dad."

"Ness…"

"I'm not letting you lead your pack into a slaughter; let's just wait to see what happens… killing them is still not off the table… right?" – I glanced at dad.

"Right. Believe me, if anyone wants them dead, it's me… but we have to be rational and do things right."

Suddenly, Jacob let go of my hand and walked forward until he was face to face with dad. There was so much tension it was hard to bear. Jacob's jaw was tight and clenched when he spoke, making his voice sound terribly intimidating.

"If you're wrong… if this goes bad and they hurt her… I will kill you."

"Jacob, if that happens… I'll be begging you to."

I felt a shiver go up my spine, because the vision was horrible: me, dead on the ground, as Jacob rips my dad apart, limb by limb, and mom screams in pain. That would never happen, would it? I couldn't imagine Jacob hurting dad, much less mom in that way.

"Hey!" – Leah came out of Seth's room. – "I don't want any fights in my house, if you're going to kill him Jake, please do it outside."

I wasn't sure if she was joking or not, or if she just felt compelled to break the drama and the tension. Whatever her intentions, I was thankful. Jake seemed to respond to her voice and turned to look at her; she gave him a look I couldn't quite read and I immediately felt jealous for their closeness. They could speak without saying a word.

Jacob nodded to her and turned around back to me.

"You should both get some more sleep, you're wounds are still not healing as rapidly as they should." – Dad seemed calm even after Jacob's confrontation and threat. –"We'll come back later."

"Don't bother." – Leah spoke under her breath, low so that a normal human wouldn't understand but high enough that all of us, even Seth locked away in his room, heard it. Neither mom nor dad responded to her unfriendly comment; they simply smiled at me with reassurance and walked towards the door. I could tell momma didn't want to leave, I even saw her glance at dad, the kind of swift glance a human would miss, as if asking him to do something so she didn't have to let go of me; but Jacob was still fuming so dad, being the wise man he is, took hold of her hand and lead her outside. I didn't want them gone and I certainly didn't want to stay in this house, not with the jealous feelings I was experiencing toward Leah at the moment.

Once they were gone, Jacob turned to look at me. His eyes were still full of angst and anger, an intensity that if not for the fact that it was caused by my parents would have otherwise seemed sexy.

"I'm sorry." – Jacob broke my inner thoughts. – "I didn't mean it."

"I think you did."

He didn't respond, because deep down inside he knew he did too. We stayed quiet for a while; I could smell Leah's scent all over us, from having slept in her bed. I hadn't minded it before but I certainly did now, especially when it was Jacob who smelled like her.

"I don't want to be here."

"You want to go to the big house?"

"No, I want to go home."

"I think we better stick around the others, just in case. I still don't feel strong enough to protect you if we're alone. We have Leah here and your family over there."

"I don't care… I want to go home."

"Babe…"

"I just need a break, from everything… I just need to be with you, alone… to forget about the Volturi and everything that just happened… please." – I knew Jacob would crumble under any request I could make of him, and this was no different; as soon as I finished my sentence, he scooted me up into his arms and started walking toward the door.

"I'm taking your car Leah!" – He called out. I distinctly heard her say "whatever" followed by "about time you left", her tone was acid as usual although I could tell she really didn't mean it.

As we were heading out the door we watched Embry park just in front of the Clearwater house, stepping out of his car with a bag full of Mexican food. The simple smell made me want to puke.

"Hey, you leaving?"

"Yeah, we need some alone time."

"Dude, I don't need to hear it anymore than you need to hear about Leah and me."

"Shut up Embry, that's not what I'm saying."

Embry laughed and I suddenly noticed how unlike Leah and Quil, he didn't seem to be even a tad offended by Jake's previous Alpha order.

"My baby girl wanted takeout… so needless to say, I had to go make a run. You don't want to stay and eat a little?"

"No, we're fine, thanks Embry." – I smiled at him despite the urge to gag at the food's stench.

"Sure Ness… I'm glad you're feeling better, you too buddy." – Embry patted Jacob on the shoulder and stepped out of the way so he could continue to carry me to Leah's car.

"You don't have to carry me you know."

"I know; it just seems more dramatic." – He laughed at his own joke. – "As if we need more drama in our lives."

He put me down, opened the passenger door for me and ran to the other side to get in. Leah's car was not in the best condition but at least it worked. I was tempted to suggest we go get Jacob's new car from the big house, where we'd left it, but kept my temptations to myself because I couldn't wait to get home; the sooner the better.

OMG! Your reviews have been so nice! I've gotten really good and long reviews for this past chapter, it really makes me happy. I'm sorry I can't thank each one of you personally but know that I do read each one and jump up and down with excitement. Sometimes I'm really busy but once I get your reviews, I'm motivated to keep writing, so thank you!

I'm hoping to write an outtake in Bella's POV about the fight with the Volturi, after Jacob was taken. I'm kind of apprehensive about it because I doubt I'll capture Bella the way Stephenie did, but I'll try to do my best. So watch out for it.