Chapter Two: Out of Wedlock
The courtship (if you could really call it that) between Jake and Ness began not long after her sixth birthday, which Carlisle deemed to be closer to her 17th given her rate of growth and level of maturity. Edward and Bella gave their blessing to the budding romance after realizing that their baby girl had ceased to be a baby some time ago. Of course it was a sticky situation all around given the style of group parenting that seemed to rule much of Nessie's short-lived childhood. As a group of vampires, the Cullens were used to moving through the years a decade at a time but the speed of Nessie's growth was the type of thing no one could ever get used to. However, seeing how drawn to one another Ness and Jake were made it fairly obvious that little could be done to slow the pace of their growing amourous attractions to each other. Bella and Edward tried to impose some boundaries and basic dating rules, but they were newlyweds themselves. They as much as anyone could realize the futility of trying to stem the flow of a true love and couldn't bring themselves to come between the pair with anything more than a decent curfew.
Like any teenager in love, Ness tried to keep most of her relationship away from the eyes of her parents. But having a father capable of reading your mind forces you to take further precautions. Ness was actually very good at hiding her thoughts from her father, something which likely had a lot to do with her own particular talent. Her ability to recall absolutely every sight she'd ever seen, including those she'd only imagined, meant her mind was quite "full." For this reason Edward always had a difficult time trying to distinguish anything she didn't purposefully show him herself. As long as Ness managed to keep Jake away from her father, the two of them were able to keep each other's confidences on one or two matters just like any normal teenage couple. And just like any normal teenage couple, being hopelessly in love, they definitely had a secret they wouldn't want anybody knowing about.
Ness, in particular, had a secret she couldn't tell anyone. Belonging to a family of vampires meant Ness hadn't gone to school like other kids but it didn't mean she was dumb. As a matter of fact, her accelerated growth and literally photographic memory meant she had the capacity to learn at an astonishing rate as well. Where it had taken her father years to master the piano and to begin composing his own songs, Ness had become a virtuoso before she was even a year old. Of course after a while Nessie started to see just how unusual her progress was in everything she learned and she decided it might be better to hold back a little. Eventually a little turned into a lot, and as she grew older she began learning all kinds of information from the extensive Cullen libraries unbeknownst to anyone else. Her favorite subject was science as it seemed to grow just as rapidly as she did. She particularly favored biology and anatomy given the insight those subjects were able to offer her when it came to the nature of her own unprecedented existence.
With everything she'd gleaned from Carlisle's immense personal library and his extremely detailed notes about her, she was more of an expert than he was, in barely half the time. Thus, it came as no surprise that she was able to notice the slightest changes in her own body and appearance long before anyone else. When she noticed changes in her appetite and her thirst, she was sure to keep them to herself. Her eyes being just as, if not keener than those of her relatives, Ness could even see a change in her complexion before anyone else. She was also the only one to recognize when her hair and nails began growing more rapidly than they ever had in the past. Each of these slight differences led Nessie to believe that something major might be happening, that she might even be pregnant.
The day that Ness came to the realization of this possibility was the most shocking of her short life. She happened to have awokenearly that spring morning to find that her parents had not yet returned from their hunting trip. Upon one glance in her bathroom mirror the truth simply hit her and she knew enough to understand that her response had to be immediate. She dressed quickly, throwing on a new pair of blue jeans and cream colored cardigan courtesy of her aunt, Alice. Taking advantage of her parent's absence, Ness ran to the pharmacy in town to purchase a pregnancy test before anyone else in her family came looking for her. As she ran through the woods, Ness was thankful that her rapid growth and homeschooling over the past six years would serve as a great advantage as it meant nobody in town would recognize her or think anything of this less than prideful purchase.
Rather than risk the chance of someone in her family coming across any hint of the pregnancy test in the trash, Ness opted to use a public restroom in town and thus was utterly alone when she received the confirmation of her suspicions. Anticipating the reaction her father would have upon finding out she was no longer a virgin and, worse yet, pregnant out of wedlock, Ness saw only one course of action. She had to get married. And even more importantly, she had to hide every visible sign of her pregnancy from every single person she knew because not a mind existed that was entirely safe from the searching probes of her father.
Coming to this conclusion in that dingy ladies room of the town diner admittedly wasn't one of her finest moments but Ness wasn't the type to wallow in self pity. After gathering herself and putting on a brave face, Ness left the bathroom of the busy diner she had taken refuge in and proceeded to the department store down the road for some much needed supplies. Once there, she picked out a foundation that would cover up the extra color she had been noticing in her complexion and some clothes that she hoped might help disguise any weight gain. With her purchases in hand Ness decided to move on to the next phase of her plan and run to Jacob's house.
Ness slowed down to barely a jog as she approached Billy Black's familiar home. The woods surrounding his house were usually teeming with wolves and it never boded well to surprise a wolf. Moving amongst the trees, Ness had her mind set on her plan and couldn't pay much notice to the natural beauty brought on by spring and the warmer weather that signaled the coming of summer. As she stepped up to the barn red colored house with it's worn wood front door, Ness combed through her long mahogany brown hair and hoped she looked at least halfway decent after the 15 mile run.
She didn't bother knocking because she knew Billy was off fishing with her grandpa Charlie and that her Jacob would still be sleeping. She opened the door before silently pulling off her boots to better creep across the creaky hardwood floors. Walking straight back to his tiny bedroom, Ness squeezed past the door that had been left slightly ajar and crawled into Jake's too small bed as quietly as possible. She lay there silently, beneath the blankets Jake had kicked off in the night, with a few rays of sunshine coming through the window panes to set her face aglow. As she listened to the long and deep breaths that corresponded to the rise and fall of Jake's chest, Ness rehearsed in her mind exactly what she would say.
When she thought she had it down and could stand the wait no longer, Ness kissed Jake. First on his warm forehead, next on his dimpled cheeks, then on his neck and collarbone before planting one right on his lips. Apparently Jake had woken somewhere between the pecks on his cheeks because he kissed her back without hesitation before grabbing her up in his arms in a great bear hug that completely undercut the romantic wake up call Ness was trying to conduct. "Good morning Jake," greeted Ness as her boyfriend began to relax his grip and smile widely. "Good morning to you too Ness, what are you doing here?" he asked in a pleasantly surprised tone as he playfully raised one eyebrow. Catching his meaning, Ness giggled as she replied, "Oh, nothing like that now, I just wanted to see you..."
Content to stay in bed with Ness for the rest of the day, Jake made to lay back down as he admitted, "Well no matter what you came here for, I loved waking up to you like that. At first I thought I was just dreaming but I'm glad I wasn't." Sensing the perfect opportunity Ness asked in a quiet voice, "How would you like it if you woke up next to me every day for the rest of our lives?" Jacob, having just closed his eyes in the process of snuggling up next to Ness, snapped up with his eyes wide. "What are you saying?" was his only response. "I'm saying," began Nessie quite slowly, "that I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
As the pair of them stared into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity, they both began to smile. Finally, Jacob recovered his ability to speak and said, "I love you too Renesmee Carlie Cullen and would be honored to spend the rest of my life with youfor however long that might be." Seeing a small tear in the corner of his girlfriend's eye Jake added a question he'd been waiting to ask for a time that felt like it had lasted longer than his entire life. "Will you marry me?" he proposed as a genuine concern that he might actually be dreaming began to loom in the back of his mind. When Nessie said yes, it was all Jake could do not to pinch himself but the kiss he received from Nessie was enough to assure him that everything was indeed real.
As a matter of fact, when the kiss ended Jake was sure that everything was more real than it ever had been before, that reality was being completely rewritten in the seconds it took for Ness to kiss him again. They stayed like that for hours, kissing, smiling, and laying in each other's arms between breaking into fits of excited laughter. Eventually Ness noticed the sunshine had left the room and that the evening was approaching. Also aware of the time, Jake checked his cell phone to find that he had three missed calls. As he moved to get dressed he asked Ness if she had any opinions on how to break the news to their families. Having already anticipated Jake's desire to share such a great development, Ness was ready with her response. "I was thinking that maybe we could keep it quiet for a little while. At least until your dad gets back from his trip. Besides, you know how my family gets at the thought of a party: half of them start blowing up the balloons and the other half look ready to faint."
Jake chuckled at Nessie's answer but understood her concerns so he agreed to keep their impending marriage a secret for the time being. He figured this might at least buy him some time to shop for a ring without any vampires offering their opinions on size, cut, or clarity. "I suppose I could steer clear of the Cullen house and your dad for a few days but I don't know about keeping it from the pack. As soon as I phase they'll all know about it," Jake explained as he pulled a black t-shirt over his head. "I'm not sure how long I can go without phasing before somebody starts thinking that something's up," he wondered aloud.
"I guess it's a good thing Leah's off at school since she's usually the first one to call you out on anything, huh?" Ness asked as she put her boots back on. Jake nodded in agreement as he remembered all the times Leah had called him out for his needless worrying about how his imprinting might have been affecting Ness. Jake actually missed Leah a whole lot, given the shaky ground on which their friendship had started, because running a pack without your second in command just wasn't the same. "Yeah," Jake agreed, "but she'll be home for the summer real soon," he reminded Ness. They both considered this fact and just how difficult it might be to keep their engagement a secret before Ness finally got up to leave. "My parents probably know I'm here but that won't stop them from grounding me if I get home too late, I didn't leave a note or text or anything," she worried quietly. Jake went to kiss her goodbye before grabbing up his cell phone and jacket as he headed out the door behind her.
Ness ran the few miles home through the forest just as the sun was beginning to set and felt quite pleased with herself for the progress she had made that day. As Ness figured it, all she would have to do is convince her Jake that they should elope before Billy, Leah, or her dad could guess or figure out that they were engaged and before anybody had any clue she was pregnant. Ness just hoped beyond hope that her child would be more like Jacob than herself; that it wouldn't grow at the same alarming rate she had when her mother was pregnant, and that she would have enough time to pull off her plan. As Ness got closer to her parents cottage she decided it might be a good idea to stash her purchases in the woods as opposed to keeping them any place where Alice might come across them in the weekly spruce up of her niece's wardrobe. Ness found one of the hollowed out trees she had used to hide in during games of hide and seek when she was smaller and stuffed her bag into it before walking up to the humble little home.
She could hear a fire roaring in the living room and her parents chatting in relaxed tones so she supposed she was in the clear for now. Walking through the door she put on a happy face, "Hi mom! Hey dad! How was your trip?" she asked with as much interest as she could muster. "Did you catch anything good?" she added, knowing her dad wouldn't be able to resist an opportunity to tell a good hunting story about her mom. Edward was always so proud of his wife and how well she had taken to being a vegetarian vampire, as the rest of her family jokingly called themselves. Ness was proven right as Edward immediately launched into a suspenseful tale about his wife tracking a bobcat without even glancing once at the clock on the mantelpiece.
The next day passed in the same relatively peaceful manner wherein Ness distracted her parents and the rest of her family by reminding everyone of her father's upcoming 111th birthday. The planning (and dread, as displayed by Edward himself) that ensued was terrifying to behold considering the occasion was only days away. Apparently the date had snuck up on everyone given how Edward hated to celebrate his birthday and wasn't overly fond of parties that weren't in honor of his beloved daughter. While this at first seemed like a brilliant means of keeping everyone's gaze averted from Nessie's predicament, it soon became clear that Edward's birthday party would be an event that Jacob could by no means miss. Because of this Ness had to discuss her desire to elope with Jake much sooner than she originally anticipated and that conversation obviously went less than according to plan.
Jake had taken her into Seattle the day before Edward's birthday to pick up the diamond ring he had purchased for her. He had hoped that Ness might want to tell her family about their engagement at the party considering everyone they cared about would already be there to celebrate. During the drive into the city Jake mentioned this possibility, clearly eager to share his joy about the thought of marrying Ness with everyone else. Ness genuinely smiled when she realized how excited Jacob was to marry her and almost felt bad for rushing him into it without him even knowing it. She clung to the hope that he would come to understand her reasons for manipulating the situation and continue to love her afterwards. As they followed the highway through the Olympic National Park in Jake's new car, Ness changed the subject.
"So do you miss the old rabbit at all, Jake?" she asked as she fiddled around with the glove compartment and seat controls in Jake's Hyundai. Jake frowned a little as he thought about his first car, the one he had built from scratch years ago and finally had to trade in for something with "better gas mileage." Ness suspected that Jake wanted a car that looked nicer after having to park next to the Cullen's armada of luxury vehicles everyday but refrained from mentioning it when Jake bought the fully loaded black Santa Fe turbo. Apparently Jake had gotten a great deal on the car and Ness was actually proud that he had been able to shop around for something that was just as good as most of the cars her family drove at almost half the price. "Well," Jake finally responded with a grin, "this car is quite a bit faster." And with that he opened up the throttle and cut the three and a half hour drive down to just over two.
Once they got off the ferry in Seattle they picked out a place for a late lunch and spent an hour talking wistfully of married life. Ness only really enjoyed her steak but Jacob devoured both his meal and all the sides that accompanied Nessie's so that nothing was wasted. After they'd finished eating, Jake took Ness to the quaint little jewelry store he'd ordered her ring from. He had first tried looking in Port Angeles but wasn't able to find the perfect one at any of the chain stores he'd visited. He did, however, get a recommendation for a family owned business that specialized in custom and handcrafted engagement rings. While this store didn't have a website, Jacob was desperate and called up Johnson's Jewelers of Seattle to describe to them the ring he envisioned. Thinking it might cost a small fortune to have something made at such short notice Jake was shocked to hear the jeweler inform him that they had just such a ring in their showcase. After receiving pictures of the one carat brilliant cut diamond, Jake was sold.
As they walked into Johnson's Jewelers, they found a small shop completely covered with green silk wall coverings, numerous glass cases and lit up by a golden chandelier as well as two large bay windows. Stepping up to the counter, Jake became plagued with an incredible nervousness he couldn't remember having experienced before. It was all he could do to hope that Ness loved the ring he'd picked for her as the owner pulled it out for them. The diamond was indeed brilliant as it made the afternoon's light glimmer throughout the narrow showroom. It was set in a delicate white gold band and intricately surrounded by two rows of smaller pear cut diamonds forming the shape of a crystalline flower. As Ness reached a hand out to the open case, Jake beat her to the punch and placed the ring on her finger with steady hands. It fit as if it had been made just for her and Jake couldn't believe his luck at having guessed the right size. Ness was silent.
"Do you like it?" Jake asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "Because if you don't we could try on others or even find another store if you don't see anything you like here," he began to ramble as her silence continued. "Or maybe you don't want to wear a ring after all, I know traditional isn't really your style, so I hoped this might be different enough..." he finished with a sigh. Ness still stood as statuesque as any of her relatives, barely breathing as she gazed at the ring on her hand. Eventually, she looked up and locked eyes with Jacob who stared at her pleadingly, and said "I love it." The worry lines that had formed on Jacob's forehead disappeared and he smiled with complete abandon like a kid at Christmas as he scooped Ness up in his arms while proclaiming loudly, "And I love you!" The owner of the jewelry store, Mr. Johnson himself, chuckled as Jacob spun around with Ness in his arms, kissing her unabashedly.
He'd seen his fair share of loving couples in his old showroom and felt that the joy they brought made it a much grander room. Mr. Johnson was not, however, accustomed to what happened next. Out of nowhere the young lady exclaimed, "Let's get married right now!" The customers who typically paid the high price of owning one of Mr. Johnson's pieces didn't usually rush into marriage by having hasty weddings or elopements. No, his clientele was of the type to plan much more elaborate nuptials and in fact he was quite sure this was the first time he had ever heard a bride suggest anything else. Mr. Johnson, however, said absolutely nothing and quietly excused himself from the showroom in order to give the young couple their privacy.
"Wait. Whaddya mean, 'right now?'" Jake asked, pure confusion flooding his face. "Well not this very second," Ness qualified, "but tonight. Here in Seattle, even." Jake's face fell, "It's already after one o'clock Ness, I'm sure your family and the wolves could all get here fast enough but what about Billy and Charlie? They would have to drive and neither of them is exactly a speed demon," Jake rationalized as his euphoria was swiftly replaced by concern. A part of him wanted to give Nessie everything she wanted but the other part of him couldn't help but feel like she deserved so much more than unoriginal vows in a courthouse surrounded by strangers. "Wouldn't you rather wait to get a gown at least, we're not at all dressed for a wedding," he added.
"I would rather not wait another minute, Jacob," Ness answered as Jake placed her feet back on the ground and grasped her hands instead. "I'm anxious to marry you too Ness, I would do it right here in this very shop if I thought it was the best decision but I know we would regret it later," he explained. "When we tell our kids or grandkids about our wedding day I want to have pictures to show them, and I want to tell them about how beautiful you looked coming down the aisle and I want them to hear about how Emmitt embarrassed you with his favorite bad dance moves," Jake rattled off with a smile. "I know you'll want those memories later on and I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I let you pretend otherwise right now."
Ness was touched by the amount of thought Jacob had given to their wedding day. She thought only girls dreamed about this type of thing and couldn't believe that he knew her so well. It was true, she would be missing out on a lot if they eloped but Ness honestly saw no other way to keep her pre-marital pregnancy a secret and avoid embarrassing her family and her fiancé. But with the points Jacob raised Ness had no other choice but to acquiesce and return home with him to Forks. Ness wasn't sure how long she would be able to hide the signs of her pregnancy or how soon she would be able to arrange a wedding but she figured that she might be able to use the later as a cover for the former and hope to buy herself some time. Thus during the car ride home Ness and Jacob came up with a plan for telling their loved ones about the engagement towards the end of Edward's birthday party the very next evening.
When the time came, however, and Edward was at the piano playing a song to thank his friends and family, he happened to glance at Jacob at precisely the moment when Jake was picturing the ring he held in his pocket. Edward instinctively slammed his hand down on the ivory keys instantly turning six or seven of them into dust. The crowd all went still and stared at Edward even more intently than they had been during his performance as he stood up from the piano and swiftly crossed to room to where Jacob stood dumbstruck. "Are you planning to propose to my daughter tonight without even the courtesy of asking me first?" he whispered into Jacob's ear completely ignoring the wolves and vampires all intently listening for a response. Jacob shook his head no but said nothing as Edward clearly received all the facts he'd needed straight from Jacob's mind as he recalled Nessie's proposal.
Edward simply sighed as he realized the truth. His little girl was ready to become a married woman and had taken the matter into her own hands just like everything else she'd ever wanted. He couldn't be surprised as it was a trait he'd always loved about her and worked hard to encourage, although he did wish more of his traditional values would have stuck. But as that was not the case it was all Edward could do to announce to everyone that his daughter and her boyfriend had "something they wanted to share." And thus everyone came to learn of how Ness had proposed to Jake and he had bought her the most fitting ring any of them could ever imagine. Bottles of champagne were brought up from the wine cellar and toasts were made all around as everyone celebrated the good news and Alice fumed silently in a corner for not having been able to see all of this coming and plan more accordingly. For the rest of the night she could be heard muttering, "we could have thrown an engagement party," between incoherent grumbles and scowls.
And as the days passed, they turned into weeks and eventually a years' worth of wedding planning had been completed before Forks even warmed up to the idea of summer. Alice and Jake argued, Ness threw a hissy fit the likes of which had only ever been seen during Bella's human years, and the Cullens allowed her to cool off out on the reservation in the hopes that none of it would spoil the upcoming wedding. Of course, Ness knew her tantrum didn't pose a threat to the wedding at all but instead insured that it would go off without a hitch. Ness just needed a little space between herself and the perceptive eyes of her relatives to keep them off the scent of her secret though she was sorry it came at the expense of her fiancé. But, as Jacob healed and Nessie's aunt Rosalie acted as medium to finalize the last of Alice's arrangements, the wedding date finally approached.
End of Chapter Two