A/N: I wasn't planning on updating this one, but I got sudden inspiration with Molly & Jacob. My muses are playing tug of war over who gets to come out and play. Jacob and Molly won this afternoon.

Chapter 23
Apologies

"So what exactly did you two fight about?" I asked Jacob later that night. We were sitting on his bed after dinner and he had avoided this conversation long enough.

"It's complicated."

"Complicated?" I laughed shortly. "You make everything seem complicated, Jacob Black." I watched him carefully, he really did not want to talk about this, but I wasn't going to back down this time.

"Molly," He rubbed his eyes.

"Just tell me,"

"You won't get mad?"

"I can't promise you that." I replied. "You're lucky I kept my promise back in the woods."

"You are so stubborn," He sprawled out across his bed.

"You love it." I leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss.

"That I do," He pulled me closer.

"Now tell me."

Jacob sighed heavily and stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom, "Well she asked me who you were." He paused. "I told her you're my girlfriend." He had told her that on the phone. I remembered that specifically. I didn't say anything, just simply nodded. "She asked how we met, so I explained. She wasn't too pleased that we met when I was running away from her." He rubbed his eyes tiredly.

I stared at him, laying on my side now so I could see his handsome face.

"Then she asked me if I was in love with you," I felt my stomach tighten. When did it become any of her business if Jacob loved me or not? "I told her that I did." He met my gaze. "She told me that it was too quick, that I fell too fast. Just like I had with her." He snorted and I stared at him, my insides were starting to clench tighter. "I explained to her that you were my imprint. I thought her head was going to implode…"

I stared at him and he laughed a little bit at his own words. I wasn't finding the humor in what he had said. None at all. This girl was way too nosey for her own good and I voiced my opinion to Jacob.

"And that's why I told her to mind her own business, because she fell in love with Edward just as quickly." I didn't really know how to react to all of this. All I knew was to be defensive when someone attacked your relationship, to be angry if someone was threatening it. "She said that she and Edward were different, and I replied saying that so are you,"

I smiled a bit at this. That made me feel good, my defense went down and the anger levels subsided just a bit. I was hoping this was the end of it, but by the pensive look that crossed his face I knew it wasn't.

"Then she said you weren't my type," He scoffed at the thought. "And that you were too old for me..."

I would have snickered at that but I was too pissed off. I felt my temper flair up again. Who was this Bella to tell Jacob who his type was, or who was too old for him? What did she know about me? What did she know about our relationship?

Nothing.

God, I would love to have heard this so I could slap the taste out of her vampire-kissing mouth.

"She said some other things, but I won't say them..."

"Why not?" I asked annoyed with him.

"They'll just piss you off even more..." He smiled a little.

"Too late, tell me..."

"She also said that you seemed too moody to be my type, since I'm so laid back..."

"I swear to all that is Holy Jacob Black, if I see that vampire-marrying trash-talking klutz again I will slap her—maybe even kill her."

"Calm down, Mols" He laughed. "Why are you so worried about her anyway?"

I stared at him as if he had lost his mind. Why was I worried about Bella? The girl that was his first love? He continued to look at me as if he were genuinely confused.

"I saw the way you looked at her Jacob. " I said after a short pause. "I'm not stupid."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You still have feelings for her."

Jacob stared at me blankly, like I had just revealed his big, dark secret. Maybe I had.

"Molly," He stared, his tone was different than it had been. It was a mix of apologetic and hurt.

I stared at him, mulling over the situation, "I understand." I whispered to him.

And I did. It was scary, but I understood. Even after all of the terrible things Donovan had done to me, I still felt something for him. My situation with Donnie was hardly anything like Jacob and Bella's situation.

I knew I was overreacting; I had been since we got to La Push. I was out of my comfort zone; I was in some place strange. My life was being threatened by a mythical creature; one that could easily kill me without trying.

"You are it for me," He pulled my face in to his large hands.

"I'm sorry for freaking out." I sighed heavily.

I felt like an idiot. Though, I still disliked Bella with a good portion of my being, I could be the bigger person I knew I was. I had to be more mature about this.

"It's ok; I just don't want you to feel like…" He paused searching for the right words to say to me. "… You know like she's a threat or something."

"I know," I pursed my lips together. "I just feel kind of insecure."

I didn't feel ashamed to admit this. It was the truth.

"You have nothing to be insecure about, Molly…" He pressed his lips to mine. "Nothing will ever make me leave you,"

His words were so sweet. They made me relax just a little bit more there in his warm embrace.

I placed my hands on either side of his face and deepened the kiss, letting my hands tangle in his messy black hair. I felt one of his hands leave my face, tracing down the side of my body, the warmth causing my entire body to react to him.

He pulled away slowly, "Are we ok?"

I smiled at him, wrapping my arms around his neck, "Of course we're ok…"

--

That night Jacob insisted that I sleep in his bed. He had agreed to run his routes during the day so that he could sleep with me to protect me. I felt like a fragile doll that would break if it was left in the wrong hands.

He instructed Seth to stay with me when he was running his routes. I don't know if I liked that idea but I liked Seth, he was adorable and fun to be around. He made you feel young.

Jacob stirred next to me and I watched as his beautiful brown eyes slowly opened. I gave him a small smile; he returned it running those warm fingertips over my cheek.

"Sleep well?"

"Couldn't have slept better if I tried." I remarked and his smile grew.

"Good to hear," He pressed his lips to my temple. "I should get up; I've got to run my patrol in a little while." He was glancing over my shoulder at the clock by the bed.

"Do you have time for breakfast?" I asked him carefully.

He sat up, leaning on his elbows, "I definitely have time for breakfast."

I smiled and pulled myself out of bed, but I was snatched quickly and tossed back on to it. I let out a roar of laughter as Jacob's fingers attacked my sides, tickling mercilessly. I tried to fight him off but I couldn't. He was too strong.

"I give," I shouted and he stopped, stooping his head down to capture my lips with his in a long, warm kiss.

"Can I just have you for breakfast?" He grinned against my lips.

I laughed back, our lips still touching, "You're terrible!"

"A man can dream, can't he?"

I pushed him off to the side of the bed and rolled to look at him, "Behave yourself Jacob Black." I grinned, pecking his lips before getting off of the bed and heading out of the room.

I didn't have to see it to know he was smiling ear to ear. I walked in to the living room, feeling a little more comfortable in my surroundings. I heard some commotion behind me and glanced over my shoulder to see Rachel and Paul leaning out of her bedroom, small banter going back and forth.

I smirked; she must have sneaked Paul in to her room last night. I couldn't help but laugh. Billy reminded me of my own father with his double standards. It didn't bother him if I slept with Jacob, but if Paul even thought about staying in the same room as Rachel, it was a big no-no.

I walked in to the kitchen and looked around trying to feel it out. I wanted to make breakfast, but didn't know what the Black's might have available. I was looking through cupboards for a few minutes when I heard Rachel's voice behind me.

"Molly! Hey…" She sounded nervous.

I turned around and smiled seeing Paul trying to duck down behind her. I laughed and shook my head, "Your secret is safe with me," I mumbled glancing around. "Only if you can help me find what I'm looking for…"

Rachel's frightened look fell and she followed me in to the kitchen, but not before giving Paul a quick kiss as he snuck out of the front door. She came in, hands on her narrow hips.

"What are you looking for?"

"I was going to make breakfast, but I don't know where everything is…" I admitted glancing around a little confused.

"All the pots and stuff are down here," She pointed down to the bottom cabinets. "You know, just in case Daddy needs to make himself something…"

I nodded; I should have figured that out. I grinned at her and looked around, "Wanna help me?"

"Sure," She winked at me and we started cooking.

I was really glad that Rachel and I got along. I was so worried that she wouldn't like me. Part of my insecurity. She had me laughing the entire time we were making breakfast; it felt so natural like we had been doing this our entire lives.

Just as we were finishing up Jacob came in to the living room, he yawned loudly and stretched out his long limbs. He smiled seeing us in the kitchen together; he was halfway to the us when the front door flung open.

"Are you ready for your patrol?" I glanced up at the young woman's voice a little weary and saw Leah Clearwater standing in the doorway.

"I was gonna eat and then meet Seth…" Jacob stated pointing to Rachel and I who were in the kitchen getting out plates.

"There's plenty here if you want to eat with us, Leah." I invited giving her a small smile.

Leah's eyes narrowed at me for a moment, and then she snapped her attention back to Jacob. He gave her a knowing grin and she put a hand on her stomach.

"She's staying," Jacob announced.

"You are…" Leah started through gritted teeth, but then she stopped when Jacob rose an eyebrow to her. She looked back to me and forced a smile, "That would be great, thank you Molly."

I didn't like the way that her smile was forced. I was hoping that Leah and I would get along. She sounded like a pretty cool girl from what Jacob told me about her, I wasn't expecting to be shunned by her right away.

I smiled back and went back to making plates for everyone; Jacob walked in to the kitchen and placed his hands on either side of me, leaning close to my ear.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"She doesn't like me." I stated firmly.

Jacob snorted, "That's Leah, she doesn't like anyone…" he said loud enough for Leah to hear.

I blushed; a little embarrassed that he would say it that loud. I didn't really want everyone in the house to know that I was worried about Leah not liking me. I gave him an elbow in the ribs and scrunched my face up when it hurt me more than it probably did him.

"Don't hurt yourself babe," He grinned pressing his lips to my cheek and grabbing the plate from my hands.

I rolled my eyes and started making another plate for Leah. I piled on a decent amount of food and brought it in to the other room, handing it to her. I gave her a small smile and ducked my head, going back to the kitchen.

I still couldn't believe that Jacob had said what he did so loudly. Rachel and I made our plates and took a seat in the living room with Leah and Jacob. Jacob was already digging in to his food, no doubt in a hurry to get his patrol over with.

Things were abnormally silent between us and I was feeling my comfort level slip down to very uncomfortable again. I sighed and pushed my food around my plate. The clinking of a fork to an empty plate made me look up and see Jacob stand.

"Breakfast was great," He murmured leaning down to kiss me.

I smiled and blushed a bit, "Glad you liked it,"

"I'll be back before you know it," He whispered before putting his plate in the sink.

He gave us all a wave before shutting the door behind him. I stood up and walked in to the kitchen, done with my breakfast. I started to wash the dishes from breakfast when I felt a presence behind me.

"Uh—Molly," Leah's voice startled me, I was expecting Rachel.

I turned to look at her, she was holding out an empty plate. I smiled and took the plate from her, but she kept a slight grip on it.

"Breakfast was really good, thank you for asking me to stay…" She bowed her head a little.

I nodded my response and turned back to the sink to wash her plate. She hadn't moved, or I hadn't heard her, but she was standing next to me seconds later.

"Look, I'm sorry about being so…" She paused to find the right word. "Standoffish." She pursed her lips together. "I just…"

I smiled and shook my head, "You don't have to explain anything to me, Leah." I gave her a short glance and went back to doing the dishes.

"Do you need a hand with the dishes?" She asked, a short silence had fallen between us.

I gave her a sideways glance and nodded my head with a smile, "Sure, that'd be wonderful."

R E V I E W because it makes me happy! :)