Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. She messed up the story when she made Jake imprint on Nessie. Fortunately for us there's always the world of fanfictions.
Disclaimer(2): The expression "mini-alpha" belongs to Anne Sullivan.
Author/Note: This is a Leah/Jacob story with all the normal pairings and the events in Breaking Dawn never happened, because just like my cousin said, Breaking Dawn shouldn't even be considered a book.
Translation to English of O Nosso Amanhecer 2. This version was subjected to a few changes from the original in Portuguese.
This translation was a request by FantasyLover74.
I'm not a native English speaker so I'm sorry for my grammar and spelling. Thank you for reading and thanks the people who reviewed: FantasyLover74, She-Wolf Heiress, brankel1, Chick, Piper9004, Jo Harv, JacobLeah, CallyGreen, Mariaxxx, RobertForLife, Darkmaster of the arts, BenitaxoxoCastiel, mehr03, AllieBlack16, ItsCuzOfTheFame, brezzybrez, teamtorettosupporter, running with wolves, Blackwater Crazziii, DressageQueen14, Krizglass, akira m, bvc17, blackwater-forever, cyrusnjonas, Ketaaa15, roxymari.28, Sassy1515, locacicada, cryselle, 31EliZAbeTH919, nickjonas inspires, J. B. Lionsgate, Team Seth-Leah and Jake, amylolo, YoGurlB, cinnamin, BlacksWerewolfa, the one and only, Charlize-Xaviere, hothothotforlautner, goodbeans, lola, Cracker679, morgiekins4295, grl2wolf, megagenie, karji, Teagann, cherrybomb25, Chica219, jblc77, ArwenEvenStarX, Cherryx3Cat, ZeroGamer, runs with myths, randomreader, sam caraway, As Clear as Black.
Alert: the characters in this story curse a lot.
Our Dawn
Part II
Leah Clearwater
42. Never letting you Down
Waking up in Jacob's arms made me believe there was a heaven on Earth. It also made me realise that I was his and he was mine. I slowly untangled myself from him and after picking up some clothes, I headed to the bathroom.
He kept sleeping and since it was still early I decided to let him rest a little more. Because I wanted us to go pick up the twins at Charlie's house together, I went downstairs to prepare us breakfast, so that after eating a decent meal, we could leave.
It didn't take him long to smell the food I was cooking.
"Hey…Good morning." He said.
"Good morning…" I stopped what I was doing for a moment to take a good look at him. "Is that some kind of a new fashion or something?" I almost burst into laughs.
He was wrapped, waist down, in one of my purple sheets.
"Ha ha…very funny. Can you please get me some of Seth's clothes?"
I kept laughing.
"Unless…you want to pick up where we left off last night…Round four, I believe?" He mischievously suggested with a grin.
I felt my face heating up a bit. Last night had been pretty intense and he was insatiable to say the least. Thank the Spirits that I didn't have close neighbours.
"Maybe later, Oh-Mighty-Alpha." I said pulling him with me up the stairs. "You can take a shower before breakfast if you like."
Jacob took my brother's cut-offs from my hands and kissed my cheek.
"I'll see you in a minute." He informed going to the shower.
I was trying not to act like a fucking teenager in the morning after the "first time", but with him acting like that was completely impossible. I was setting the table when he entered the kitchen with a bright smile on his perfect features. It was good to know that I could make him happy.
"I guess we need to have a talk, Jacob." I stated while eating a piece of toast. My tone was serious and he noticed it.
"I guess…" He sat up straight.
"Why did you leave?"
"I don't know. I was scared as hell that you wouldn't wake up and I would be alone with the kids…"
"Was that the reason why you left our children with Bella and the mind rapist?"
"I guess…Bella assured me they would have a good life with them, at least while they were young."
"Were you planning on leaving permanently?"
"At first I thought about it…I couldn't focus on anything else but the pain of losing you. But then...I realised I had to man up and I came back yesterday. I was going to talk to the Cullens and take the kids."
"I'm going to be honest with you Jacob. When the leeches told me the truth I wanted to kill you." I hesitated a little. "I understand that you were confused but…you bailed out."
"I'm sorry. It really wasn't one of my best decisions. I'm not proud of what I did."
"This is it, Jacob. You need to take a stand now. No more running away, no more going back. I'll accept whatever you decide but you have to stick to it. Either you're in or you're out. You can't be with me and the boys one minute and then decide that you don't want to be a father anymore. If I'm going to face another rejection then I rather do it now."
I got up from my chair to put the dishes on the sink not to pressure him too much. I didn't want him to make his decision based on my emotions and I was absolutely sure that if he looked into my face he would notice my tears.
"Wasn't last night clear enough for you to understand my decision?"
I felt his hands surrounding my waist from behind and I leaned back letting my head rest on his sculptured chest.
"Don't be so rush, you may regret it." I said.
He made me turn around to look into his eyes.
"I won't regret it. Now that you're here…I'm ready for this."
"There are too many people expecting us to fail. Some think that we don't belong together, others think I'm just a bitter slut that tricked you, some think you're too young for me, others are jealous and still want to own us."
"I know…And I promise they won't see us fail because I'm not letting you or the boys down again."
The way he said those words, so confident, so sure of himself, made me melt completely.
"I can't give you or the boys the life that the Cullens could but if you give me a chance I promise I will make you happy."
I pulled his face for a kiss and I had to think about our children at my mother's house to stop round four from happening in the kitchen.
"Jacob, we need to go and pick up the kids." I said breathing heavily.
"Now?" He asked.
"Yes."
"It's still early…" He said pushing me against the sink.
I winced when my back made contact with the cold metal structure not because he had pushed me too hard but because my body was still a bit bruise and sore from last night.
"I'm sorry…" He apologised immeditalely. "I guess I was a bit rough last night…"
"I'm fine. I'm a wolf too, remember? Last night was perfect."
"Maybe we should go to Charlie's…"
"Yes, I think it's better." I agreed.
In that moment we both felt someone coming in.
"Wolf in the house." My brother yelled. "Are you decent?"
"In the kitchen, Seth." I replied.
Seth joined us and looked suspiciously at us. Then he noticed that Jacob was wearing his clothes.
"What the hell! I told you to stay out of my bedroom." He pouted.
"Unless you wanted to see me naked having breakfast in your kitchen, with your sister, you shouldn't complain." Jacob grinned.
"Eww…Gross…You're disgusting. You can have the cut-offs and shirt."
"Nice. I'm kind of short on clothes right now."
"What's up Seth?" I asked.
"Council Meeting." My brother answered.
"Is everyone back already?" I was surprised to hear from the Council so soon.
"Yep."
"What's this all about?" Jacob questioned.
Seth shrugged.
"All I know is that you two and Sam have to go to Old Quil's house now."
We had no idea what was going on and we were surprised to see Carlisle's car parked outside Old Quil's place. Usually vampires weren't allowed to come so close to our people inside the Reservation. We had our meetings by the border and only on special occasions were they allowed to gather with the Council.
"What's going on?" I asked my mother. "Where are the kids?"
"They're with Charlie."
I frowned. Didn't Charlie send Bella away with her mother because he couldn't handle a child?
"Actually Renée left him and took Bella." The mind rapist said.
"Whatever."
"The babies are fine. This will only take a few minutes." Edward explained. "By the way…It's nice to see you Jacob."
"Thanks." Jacob gave Edward a quick handshake and then Old Quil told us to sit down.
"Thank you for accepting to see us today." Carlisle said politely and Old Quil nodded.
"I've send Sam to get Billy. They must arrive soon."
"It's alright, we'll wait." Carlisle smiled to the old man.
When Billy arrived, Jacob went to open the door for him and despite a few glares between him and Sam, he kept smiling to his father, who was now much more happier after seeing his son was back for good.
"Is there a problem?" Billy asked Carlisle when all the Council members were ready to begin the meeting.
"No. Actually, we came to ask your permission to return to Forks."
Carlisle's words were received with surprise and he decided to explain better.
"It won't be a permanent staying and we'll be constantly travelling…at least some of us. I'm still going to work in Dawson and so is Esme."
"What made you change your mind?" My mother asked.
"For two months Bella and I took care of Harrison and William." Edward said. "We still have their custody but we're going to give them back to their parents, because that's the right thing to do."
I looked at him and he winked. I had no idea how he had been able to convince Bella to do that.
Carlisle gave me the papers signed by Bella and Edward returning the twins' custody to us.
"But this doesn't mean we wish to cut our bonds with them. Rose and Alice want to see their godchildren growing up. So if you don't mind we'll stay around for a little longer." Edward finished.
"Will that affect our people?" Old Quil asked. "I mean will more of our boys turn into wolves?"
"We don't think so. The packs are completely functional with their current elements. The outburst of young men changing into wolves in the past was caused by the coming of the Volturi army. There's no danger now." Carlisle explained.
"In that case…I guess you can stay, but the whole issue regarding the Clearwater twins is not in our hands. Leah and Jacob have to decide if they want you to be a part of their children lives." Old Quil informed.
"We know. I'm sure we'll have a lot of opportunities to talk to them about that." Edward said getting up. "We'll leave you to talk about other businesses."
The leeches left and I sighed in relief. Finally I had my children's custody.
"What is there more to talk about?" I asked. I wanted to go home to celebrate.
"Well, now that Jacob is back…we thought about getting the packs together." My mother announced.
"No." Jacob and Sam said at the same time.
"Leah and I aren't going to stop phasing, especially now that the vampires are staying around." Jacob said. "She's my beta and I don't see any benefits in joining the packs. Ask Seth, Quil or Embry and I'm sure they'll tell you they want things to remain like this."
Translation: Jacob didn't want me anywhere near Sam Uley.
"I don't want to be in his pack either." Sam said sternly. As if we wanted him in our pack.
"Fine…I guess we'll have to keep on having two packs." Billy said smiling at both me and Jacob. "Leah…tonight dinner is on me and bring my grandchildren, will you?"
xxxxxxxxxx
To have dinner at Billy's with Rachel and Paul wasn't as bad as we thought. It ended up being quite…interesting. Rachel finally announced she was three months pregnant. The revelation almost took Paul to the ground. Billy was absolutely delighted and Jacob was happy for them, as much as he could be happy about having a mini-Paul or mini-Rachel running around freely.
Paul had to stop joking with Jacob about being a young father because his "pup" was on the way as well. Rachel made quite a scene when Paul told her that his great-great grandmother had triplets and Billy got really excited about that possibility. The old man had always wanted to have a house full of grandchildren.
Rachel was a bit scared when she realised all the work that two children involved, especially when it was time to feed them and change diapers. That was usually the time that Jacob would pretend to have something to do. After fed and cleaned, their "helpful" father would come around wanting to hold and play with them.
Jacob was a natural with kids and he was really proud that Harry and William looked so much like him. When we arrived at my place that night, after having dinner with Billy, Rachel and Paul, and I saw the way Jacob put the kids in their cribs and kissed them goodnight, I realised that I was completely and totally in love with him.
Even if sometimes he acted like a fucking idiot, I didn't care as long as he stayed with me. But things with Jacob were never easy.
"What are you doing?" He asked coming into my room.
"Thinking…"
"About me?"
"Cocky much, aren't we?"
"Why are you doing that face?"
"What face?"
"The 'if-you-mess-with-me-I-will-kill-you' face."
"I was thinking about the Cullens…about us…about the kids. You still want to be friends with Bella, right? I mean you left the kids with her, so you must trust her a lot."
"Don't start this. We're allies with the Cullens…friends even, I'm Bella's friend but you're my kid's mother. Nothing will change that."
"Will you ever forget about her?"
"I don't love her, Leah. I love you."
"Would you send her away if I asked you to?"
"Do you want me to send her away?"
"No…" What good would it make to make her leave? It would only show how jealous and petty I was. "I want you to stay with me. I want you to be a good father for Harry and William."
"I will be. I've told you before…just give me a chance and I'll make you proud."
"Alright…You have one more chance. Don't screw it up."
"I won't." He said holding me tightly. "What does this mean exactly?"
"It means we'll take my mother's old bedroom and we need new furniture."
"So I'm moving in?"
"If you want to."
He showered me with kisses and lifted me up in he air.
"In that case…" Jacob let me go and kneeled in front of me. "Will you marry me?"
I thought for a minute about what to say to his second proposal.
"Jacob…This is not a no, but it's not a yes either."
He got up and frowned. I knew we would end up fighting again. This was a vicious cycle.
"Enlighten me please." He said.
"Maybe in a few years we can get married, but not now."
"Why not? You're not fat anymore. We love each other and we have two kids. What's the problem?"
"Marriage means commitment and neither of us is ready for that."
"I see…So you still don't trust me because I might still like Bella or imprint, right?" He said visibly upset. "Or maybe it's because I just finished High School, I don't have a job or money to support you and the kids."
"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked surprised to see that he was also insecure about my feelings for him. Either that or he was a major asshole.
"Maybe you'd like Harry and William to have someone else for a father. Like Sam? Or James, Jay or what the fuck his name was?"
I raised my hand and tried to hit him but Jacob caught my arm half way and pinned me against the wall.
"See? It's not nice to be accused to have feelings for someone when you are clearly over that person, is it?" He asked angrily. "I know that I messed up, I know I made mistakes…but so did you."
If he thought he had me restrained, he was sadly mistaken because although my right hook was legendary, my left hook wasn't totally useless. So I used my left arm and punched him in the jaw.
"At least I never left my children with my ex-lover!" I half yelled when he let me go.
"I did that because I missed you too much. Because I wasn't thinking straight…But I'm not the one running away anymore. You are."
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are. You're running away from me and I can't stand that."
He let his body fall into my bed and put his hands on his face.
"I want to try this Leah." He said more softly. "Please…"
"Jacob…If we keep going like this, we'll kill each other."
He pulled my hand and I sat down on his lap.
"What do you want to do about this Leah? Do you still want me to move here?"
"I don't know. I want to be with you, I want us to raise the boys together."
"Ok. Let's start by not fighting all the time. Deal?"
I nodded.
"Does it hurt?" I asked brushing my hand on his jaw.
"A bit."
"Good. Remember that the next time you think about leaving the kids with Bella Cullen." I said and I went to check on the kids. He remained silent. I guess he was trying to respect our latest deal.
xxxxxxxxxx
Next morning I woke up alone and his scent was fading away rather quickly. I checked on the twins and noticed he had been there tugging them in their cribs. It was nine o'clock in the morning and usually Jacob liked to stay in bed until eleven. Where the hell was he?
I called his cell phone and I noticed he had left it in my bedroom. Great. Maybe last night's fight had been the last straw for him. Maybe he thought about it and realised he didn't want to be with me.
Fortunately my brother chose that exact moment to come home after spending the night at Embry's again. He had told me he wouldn't sleep in our house if Jacob was here too.
"Can you stay here with the boys while I go out for a couple of minutes?" I asked.
"Why? What's wrong?" Seth asked.
"I need to talk to Jacob."
"Oh…Are you going to the Cullens then?"
"The Cullens?"
"Embry and I were patrolling earlier and we saw him going over there."
I was surprised to hear that. Was Jacob there to talk about the babies or about pack related stuff? Maybe the Cullens had seen a leech in our lands?
"Did you see anything unusual while you were on patrol?" I asked.
"No. Everything's fine."
In that case Jacob was there to talk about personal matters which made me even more curious.
"Can you stay with the kids?" I insisted.
"Sure."
"I'll be right back."
I left the house and phased immediately running at full speed over to the border. At the sound of Jacob's voice I stopped. I could see and hear him although he was about two miles away from me.
Jacob was talking to Bella near the Cullen's mansion. He had his hands in his pockets and Bella was looking at him intensively. She didn't look happy.
"Are you sure about this, Jake?"
"Absolutely. I should've done this while Leah was still in the Hospital but…"
"Fine, you don't have to explain. They are your kids after all, it's only normal to give them your surname. But you do realise what that means, right?"
"Yes. I'm not letting her down anymore and that's why I'm here."
"What do you mean?"
"We need to set things straight between us Bella."
"I thought we're good."
"You're going to stay here a while longer…And I'll never forbid you to come to Forks because this is also your home and your father lives here…but there's something you need to understand."
"I know Jake. I'll respect your decisions, I'll accept that you and Leah are going to try to make this work and I won't interfere."
"It's not that simple. I want you to understand that our friendship has changed. I don't depend on you or your happiness. I fell in love again and you know that I'll do everything I need to protect and stay with the ones I love. In that particular aspect we're the same."
"I know."
"If your presence here stresses Leah…I'll have to take a stand."
"She asked you to do this? She asked you to convince me to leave?"
"No. And that's not what I'm doing, Bella. I'm just saying that you can never think for a second that you're better than her or that you can replace her. My children only have one mother and it's Leah. When I asked you to take care of them I was not in myself and you took advantage of that."
"It was never my intention to…"
"I know that." Jacob cut her off. "It was my fault, not yours and at the time you were helping me. But that won't happen again. I know I'm probably sounding a bit ungrateful but right now I need you to know that I chose her because she's the one."
"Is she? Are you absolutely sure? Because if you imprint, you'll kill her."
Was Bella worried about me? That was fucking creepy.
"I'm sure Leah is the one for me. I never questioned that and besides…to imprint doesn't take away your feelings. So do you still want us to be friends even knowing that from now on I'll lash at you if you hurt Leah and I'll always choose her over you?"
Bella was quiet for a while. The truth in Jacob's words sinking in into her brain.
"Yes." She finally said. "I'm not going to enjoy the new Jacob as much as the old one, but I guess that from now on we're only friends, right?"
"Yes. Thanks for understanding and tell Alice and Blondie that they can call us when they want to go see the kids, ok?"
Bella nodded and I ran back home so that Jacob wouldn't find out I was listening to their conversation.
I thought I could reach the house before he could phase but I was wrong.
'Were you spying on me, Clearwater?' He asked amused.
'No…I was just curious to know what you were doing at the Cullens and when I saw you with Bella I decided not to disturb you since you looked so cute together.' I mocked.
'You're jealous.'
'Fuck you, Black.'
'How much did you hear?'
'Enough.'
'Enough for what?'
'For letting you ask again.'
'Ask what?'
'Phase back, meet me and ask the damn question again Jacob.'
I phased back as soon as I reached my house and put my clothes on quickly. When I finished he came out of the woods in his cut-offs and in less than five steps he closed the gap between us.
"Leah Clearwater will you marry me?" He asked holing my waist.
I smiled when I noticed he had understood my intention.
"Yes, I will marry you Jacob Black…but on my terms.'
"Whatever you want Leah."
We kissed passionately until we almost ran out of oxygen.
"You better get me a ring before I change my mind." I warned.
"You better send your brother away before we scar him for life." He grinned.
"Leah! I know you're here! They need to be changed now!" Seth yelled from upstairs.
"Well…Let's break up the news, shall we?" Jacob suggested.
"Sure. Let's the fun begin."
A/Note (2): See? Jacob was coming home to his kids. He was about to make amends even without knowing that Leah was back. It was just a momentary breakdown and don't forget that at his age, whit his baggage, mistakes are bound to be made…a lot. Bella was trying to look out for him (the wrong way, of course) as for Sam he'll be around next chapter. For the ones who are worried about Jacob imprinting: Personally I hate imprinting so there's like 99.9% of chances that in this story that will never happen. :D
By the way I'm sorry to announce that Bella won't die in this story. That wouldn't be fair on Edward. Even though I like the Pack more than the Vampires, I like Edward because he's a freaking masochist who chose to put up with Bella Swan for eternity. Either he's really brave or totally stupid. But he's an awesome character to work with, that's why I like him.
I really enjoyed your reviews on my last couple of chapters. I always laugh when someone tells me to kill Sam or Bella (because sometimes I really want to do that) and I really enjoy the fact that you're also enjoying the story. Thank you so much.
Karisan