(Disclaimer- I own nothing.)

hey. new chapter. leave reviews, please. the end is drawing nearer.

Tick, Tock (Horrible title.)

Edward stood entirely motionless just two feet from where Jacob now crouched. I could feel my breath struggling, stuck inside my mouth, my eyes attempting an escape from their sockets. The rain came down in slants, pelting, pelting, pelting my skin and shaking my hands. The sky around us was an angry shade of violet; even the trees seemed livid as they pitched in the wind.

Alice's head slowly turned back and forth, looking from her brother to Jacob, her brother to Jacob.

Jacob's countenance was beautiful. His nostrils were flared like tiny, brilliant bat caves. His black eyes were locked and intense on mine, full of hatred for the arms and hands that held me still. His posture was that of a feral wolf, even as he stood before me completely human, and his pants were on backwards. He looked as though he would bite if we got too close, as though he would rip and tear and bite.

"Jacob," I whispered to him.

He unleashed his fiery glare on Edward, let out a small snarl. "I said get away from her," he barked. "Are you stupid? Let go of her! She's shivering; you're making her colder!" His dark eyes fell down to my face and they were scared, just a little scared.

I blinked and Edward looked down at me, watched me shake and quiver with chill. His arms slipped away from me and I was on my feet. Jacob snatched me within seconds and I was standing on The Other Side with The Other Team.

Jake's skin was pleasurably warm so I snuggled into him, terrified and content. His arms were tight and constricting and absolutely wonderful. I wanted to bury myself inside of the sun that was Jacob Black, disappear from the world of vampires and Kyles and danger.

"What's going on?" I whispered to him, my face warm against his chest.

He looked at me, his body tense and protective around me, and his eyes were warm and carefully tranquil. He looked a little like Sam here, and I realized absurdly that I preferred the feral monster he was just a moment before. His hand smoothed my hair, his eyes darting to Edward, and kissed my cheek. It would have been sweet and comforting if he hadn't really just been claiming property.

"The tracks were some kind of diversion, and they had absolutely no scent," he murmured back, only to me. I bit my lip.

"Kyle?" I suggested, remembering that Jacob hadn't been able to smell him last time.

"Probably," Junior answered. Both Jake and I looked at him, and slowly I became aware of the fact that the whole wolf pack was standing behind me. I shivered with the next blow of wind and Jacob hugged me closer, his eyes tight and frustrated. "Dad, we need to get her out of here. It's freezing."

"I know," Jacob told our son.

"Why would Kyle need a diversion?" I asked, looking hesitantly over at Edward and Alice, whom I'd been ignoring for the past three minutes. The both were standing quite still, Alice's face one of disappointment and Edward's one of stone. His eyes were empty and mine were full. On no matter which side I stood, I felt like a traitor.

Jacob squeezed me, feeling the slight weakening in my limbs. He'd grown used to my body language, almost to the point of danger. I hated that he must have known what I was thinking, so I hid my face. Fear, risk, confusion, self-hatred, denial, sadness, guilt. These things flooded me too often, and now was no exception.

"I think he wanted me away from you, so you'd be alone," Jacob answered without further hesitation. That was something that Edward would have tried to keep from me so I wouldn't fear it, I was sure. I tried to keep it in mind, to remember all of the things that Jacob did that Edward did not, the things about Jacob that I loved.

While I was doing that, Rosalie cut into the conversation with a clear, sharp voice, sneering slightly at Jacob. I hadn't realized she was there. She came out of nowhere.

"Well, you're in luck then, aren't you? If Edward and Alice hadn't come in and found Bella, who knows where Kyle would be, what he'd have done to her?"

"Rose," Alice quietly reprimanded, giving her a look that said "don't scare the human."

"You should not have left her alone," Edward intoned, staring through Jacob with emotionless eyes. His arms were loose at his sides and he looked a little sleepy for someone who couldn't sleep. I felt the sudden urge to run to him and hold him for a while, sing him my lullaby and calm him into a nap. My ears were ringing.

"You don't dictate what I do," Jacob snapped, throwing me backwards a bit, readying himself. I grabbed at his arm, trying to pull him back to me, eyes wide and breath quick. I couldn't find any traction on his slippery skin and my hand fell away, empty and freezing in the pouring rain. I felt alone despite the multiple wolves and vampires that clouded my vision.

Junior latched onto me, pulling me into the heat of his skin. Hushing me, he gently smoothed my hair, keeping his eyes on Jacob and Edward the whole time.

"I do when it comes to Bella's safety. You may have won her affections this time—"

"Both times, actually, leech," Jacob cut in, grinding his teeth and leaning forward. Edward winced slightly. I bit my lip. That was a low blow. Jacob wasn't playing fair.

"Very well," Edward said quietly. "But none of that matters. If you're going to play havoc with her safety, I'll rip her from you without one ounce of consideration for either of your wants. She will be safe, whether she likes it or not, and you will not have a say in it."

Jacob snorted, livid. I could see the tremors growing and growing, rolling down along his arms, twisting into his spine and curving him into a more animal form. "If that's what you think, that I want her dead, then you've gotta be confused. I've been told that I have a pretty good memory, and if that stands correct, then weren't you the one willing to take her life?" Jacob paused, waited for Edward to disagree, for anyone to argue, but there was not a sound. His fingers stretched and curled, making a fist. "If anyone here wants her dead, it's you, you stupid, hypocritical piece of—"

"Jacob!" I scolded. There were tears in my voice. I hadn't realized that I was crying, but when I glanced down, I could see that the part of Junior's arm that should have been dry beneath my chin was suddenly wet.

Alice stepped forward and placed a hand on Edward's forearm as though to hold him back, though he hadn't moved and he looked like he never would again. He was entirely somber, expressionless.

"There's a bigger problem here than your ego, Jacob Black," she said in a small voice. "The Volturi are looking for Bella. We need to get her away from here, now." Her big, golden eyes peered up at her brother and sister through the fray of dark, wet lashes for just a moment. Then she was walking into the woods.

Just as I was about to ask where she was going, she returned with the rest of the Cullen family in tow. Each of them filed past me to stand behind Edward. No one looked, no one touched, no one came near me except for Esme, who reached out and stroked my slick face in the rain. Junior flinched back when her hand came close, and his nostrils curled up from the smell. I wished I could have smelled something other than their sweet brilliance, something that would have repelled me to begin with, something that would have made this whole situation unnecessary.

I smiled at Esme, a small and hollow smile, and settled closer to my son when she walked away. The movement was meant to reassure him, but I don't know that he noticed it at all. His eyes were still rigid on Jacob's back, which, too, was rigid. I could hear their measured breathing through the rain, and I knew that they were trying to calm themselves.

A boom of thunder pounded the earth and a crack of lightning lit the dark purple sky pink for just a moment. I let out a little shriek at the piercing noise and caught Jacob's attention. His eyes met mine and he seemed to wake up a little, the dazed anger seeming to drain out of his eyes slowly, through a pinhole. He walked over sluggishly and replaced Junior's arms with his own, securing me in a blanket of russet warmth.

"Thank you," I heard him mutter to Junior.

Then he turned to Edward, serene, the calm before the storm, and regarded him with nearly apologetic eyes. The expression was fake, and I wondered what his thoughts were really saying.

"What is he thinking to you?" I asked Edward quietly, watching for signs of life in his dead face. Edward looked at me and held my stare for a minute. His expression was so entirely poker-faced that I had no way of telling what he was feeling. There was no pain, no loss, no anger, nothing. It was blank, normal. Anyone who saw him would think nothing of this expression. It was the same that he would wear walking into a store, a movie-theatre, a library, his own home. It was so perfect, so normal, that I silently began to cry.

It was the saddest thing I'd ever seen in my life.

No one noticed my tears in the rain, and Edward didn't answer.

"I was strategizing, Bells," Jacob told me in a strained voice. "I was thinking that we could take care of you on our own. We could deal with this Kyle kid, and they could…kindly…explain to the Volturi that you have absolutely nothing to do with them. Or maybe they could pretend that you're not the same person? That you're not reincarnated?" He looked at Edward, his face questioning and a little hopeful.

"Impossible," Jasper answered for him. Everyone turned to look at him, slightly astonished that he had spoken a word.

"How come?" Junior inquired impatiently. I glanced at him, noticing for the first time that the whites of his eyes were bright red. How much sleep had he been getting? This wasn't healthy. He needed rest.

"Jacob." I pulled on the pocket of his pant-leg. He looked down at me, distracted. "Look at him," I said, pointing at Junior. "His eyes are so bloodshot he looks like he could be from the Volturi. He needs sleep."

Jacob pursed his lips, considering. "Yeah, Bells, but there isn't time right now. We could all use a little sleep, but it's hard to rest when you're being tracked by some vampire clan, you know?" His voice was low, speaking only to me, but the conversation around us seemed to wait for him anyway.

"It's impossible because Aro will demand to read one of our minds, and he'll see the truth. He'll know that we're lying," Alice finally answered for her mate.

"Read your minds? Like him?" Embry asked, jabbing a finger in Edward's direction.

"Yes, like me, except, rather than just have thoughts on demand, he needs physical contact for his ability to work. Once he gets the contact he needs, he can read every thought you've ever had throughout your entire existence."

Junior's mouth dropped open with a little popping sound. "That's crazy," he remarked, staring at Edward in some sort of boyish awe.

I looked at each of the people around me, measuring their expressions. Some were tense, frustrated, angry, impatient. Others were worried, sad, scared, and anxious. I wondered absently what my own face looked like, what the others saw when they stared at me. I was currently on the hit list of the single most frightening thing I could imagine, surrounded by friends and foes, foes and friends, in the middle of a would-be hurricane, held into place only by Jacob's strong hands. I could see trees and hair and clothing whipping around all over the place, slapping people's faces and catching the wind. I could hear the furious rolls of thunder and see the threatening streaks of lightning that marred the purple sky like tears down a face.

It seemed as though I'd been standing in this place, in this hell, for a lifetime. Realistically, I knew it had been maybe only ten minutes. And yet, still, I could sense that I had little time left.

"Jacob," I whispered. I was terrified suddenly, my insides seeming to consist purely of Elmer's glue, my eyelids fluttering strangely to conceal tears. I was so afraid, so afraid, that this would be the last moment I would be here with him, and I wanted to make the best of it. I wanted to tell him that I loved him, that I always had. I wanted to tell him how much our son looked like him, how beautiful they both were. I wanted him to know how happy I was to be a part of his family, to be a part of him. I just wanted him. I wanted him now and always, no matter how stupid and ignorant he could be.

"Jacob," I whispered again, looking up at him looking down at me. By his expression I could tell that he knew what I was feeling. His eyes were warm and his lips were close. He looked very sad, very tired. His eyes matched Junior's in color.

"I love you," he murmured to me, and I kissed him.

For a second, the rest of them weren't there. They didn't exist. But then Alice gasped and Edward's face was strained and he was listening to the thoughts of someone drawing nearer.

"Crap," Jacob muttered, anxiously. He looked from Alice to Edward and back. "What? What is it?"

"They're coming," Edward said just as Alice said, "They'll kill her."

My mouth fell slack.

"What?" Junior and Jacob demanded in unison.

Edward's eyes met mine through the rain, and in them, I saw pain. So much pain.