Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight and there will be some parts in here you recognize that I tweaked a little. I do not mean any copyright infringement.

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Edward's POV

After Jasper returned from his phone conversation and he filled me in, we sat in companionable silence. He turned the television on eventually and we spent the rest of the day and all of that night waiting and hoping for signs that Jacob was recovering. Nothing changed. He had not moved or made a sound and fear gripped me every so often that he would be this way until his body finally gave in and he died.

I wanted desperately to talk to him, to understand the things he was thinking and feeling that had led him here. Did he hate me so much that he would rather death? I knew that imprinting on a vampire must have been a horrible embarrassment for the shape shifter, but I could not help but think that maybe he had a problem with who I was, besides my obvious flaw. It annoyed me that I was being so self conscious. Why did I care what this wolf thought of me?

I knew why I cared so much though, it was because I cared about him. Jacob may have his moments of immaturity, but for the most part he was beyond his years. I had come to see him as very intelligent, giving, caring, strong-willed, determined, brave, and not to mention handsome among other things. I found myself drawn to him the more and more I spent time with him and the night we spent watching over Bella in the tent had been very enlightening.

As Jasper, Jacob and I headed back to Forks through the woods the next morning, I recalled the night in the tent and attempted to pinpoint when exactly I realized my feelings for him were changing.

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Jacob and Bella arrived on the snow covered mountain-top looking sullen. Jacob let her down and she came over to wrap her arms around me. I returned the gesture. Their quiet attitudes told me something must have happened between them on their trip up here. I looked inquisitively at Jacob and attempted to search his thoughts. They were mixed and unreadable just as they had been for some time now. He was getting very good at that.

I chose not to comment on the awkwardness that had clearly arisen between them. Instead I said, "Now we wait for tomorrow." Bella went into the tent as the icy cold wind picked up bringing snow with it. I watched Jacob walk off into the trees to phase before turning to follow Bella inside. He was looking very tired and ill even. The thought of a sick Jacob fighting against an army of newborn vampires did not sit well with me. But I gave the boy the benefit of a doubt deciding that maybe it was the light, weather, or lack of sleep that was affecting him.

When Bella lay down to sleep a few hours later, the temperature had dropped significantly, and her clothing and sleeping bag were not sufficient enough to keep her warm. Her teeth chattered and she shivered violently. I was worried for her. I could hear Jacob making noise outside and then the tent was unzipped and the young shifter quickly stepped in trying to bring as little wind and snow with him as possible.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I can't stand to listen to her teeth chatter anymore. It's driving me insane. So I'm going to warm her up." he replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Like Hell you are." I scoffed. There was no way I was going to sit here while the two of them snuggled up together.

"You want her to get frostbite or freeze to death?" was his reply. I shook my head. He had a point. "Didn't think so."

"There has to be another way." I said more to myself than to anyone else, but nothing practical came to mind.

"It's ok g-g-guys. I'm f-f-fine." She shuddered and I shook my head while Jacob sighed loudly. I relented. First of all, there was no stopping Jacob if he set his mind to something and second I was not going to let Bella suffer just because the situation would make me uncomfortable.

Jacob moved toward Bella and she stopped him saying, "No I don't need you Jake, I'm not that cold. I'll be f-f-fine."

"Please Bella. Pinocchio can lie better than that." Jacob replied. He went over to the sleeping bag and unzipped it. Climbing in and zipping the bag back up, he wrapped is large arms around my girlfriend. "Oh man, you're colder than I thought." He rested his cheek on the top of her head and Bella visibly relaxed and appeared to be warming up already.

I did not feel as jealous and annoyed as I thought I would at the sight of the two of them. I felt envious and longed to be able to give or feel the warmth they were sharing. We sat quietly while Bella drifted off to sleep. I could hear the wind howling around the trees and whipping in to rattle the nylon walls of the tent. Bella's gentle breaths met my ears but were often drowned out by Jacob's loud heavy breathing. It did not seem to fit the swift, agile, and stealthy behavior he had gained in his transformation into a shifter which made me wonder again if he was feeling well because he honestly did not look or sound well.

The only other sound I heard over the wind was the muffled hums and buzzes that were his thoughts. That jumbled mess that I was forced to listen to thanks to my "gift" was beginning to get to me. I wondered if there was something he was trying to keep from me or if it was a habit he had picked up after joining the pack.

"Why do you do that?" I burst out in a whisper. I did not want to wake Bella and I knew his enhanced hearing would not miss anything.

"Do what?" he replied turning his head to look at me.

"Keep your thoughts so mixed up and unreadable. It must take a lot of work.

"It does, but that's better than letting you or my brothers know everything I'm thinking. I know you can't help it, but I'd still rather not share." he said.

"I understand." He must have something to hide, I concluded. It would not be worth it otherwise. His brothers have learned not to pay too much attention to each others' thoughts just as I have. I doubted his privacy was being severely breached.

Since I had started conversation with the wolf, I decided to continue. "You must be loving this, you over there and me over here with nothing to do but watch." He shook his head.

"I'm past all of this fighting over Bella stuff. I can't do it anymore. Bella and I will never be together and I am content being her best friend." He was so calm about it. He did not sound much like the Jacob I had come to know. The Jacob I was acquaintances and enemies with was a fighter and as far as I knew, he never gave up. I felt a little suspicious.

"What is there something wrong with her?" I asked, humor glazing every word. Jacob caught my joke and laughed, his smile brightening the entire tent. Bella was right, his smile was like sunshine.

He shook his head, still smiling. "No, I just realized that even if she did choose me, she would never love me as much as she loves you. I don't want to be a last resort, the one she chooses because she can't have you. I want to be chosen first not last." He shrugged. His admission struck me. I was glad to see him being so mature over this, but I could tell just by looking at him that he was hurting.

"Jacob, forgive me for being so cheesy, but someone out there is going to choose you first. And I actually think that if we were in a weird triangle with any other woman, she would choose you over me. Bella is just kind of strange that way." He looked straight into my eyes. He was searching for something and I wondered what. Still his thoughts were blocked from me as he clearly chose not to comment on my statement. He turned away and muttered thanks so quietly that only my superhuman hearing caught it.

"You know," I continued. Leaving the conversation as it was made me a little uneasy. "If we weren't natural enemies and you didn't despise my very existence, I think we would be friends."

A small smile graced his face again. "Well, if you weren't a bloodsucker bent on turning my best friend, I might…" he paused as if he were building up the courage to say something he did not want to say. "no not even then." he finished. I had to laugh because I somehow knew he was joking. In a different life, under different circumstances, we could have been very close. He lay down, his face disappearing behind Bella's head and I let him sleep. He had a battle to fight and he was going to need all the rest he could get.

I spent the rest of the night humming a tune to myself and coming up with scenarios as to Jacob's secrets. None of them were very good, but I had to give myself points for creativity. I tried listening to his dreams, or more like watching because Jacob was a very vivid dreamer, but even though his defenses were down, his dreams were uninteresting and not very informative. They centered around possible outcomes to tomorrow's battle. He seemed very confident that everything was going to turn out well.

When the sun began to warm the tent and light shone through the walls, Bella stirred. She smiled at me and looked around at Jacob who continued to sleep. "Do you think he'll be okay? He doesn't look well." she said wiggly out from the sleeping bag.

I admit, I had been concerned for the same thing. Jacob looked tired and worn and there was a good chance he might not be at his sharpest for this battle, but I gave him the benefit of a doubt. "If Jacob thought his health would jeopardize the fight in any way, I'm sure he would at least warn everyone." She raised an eyebrow at me and then shrugged. We both knew, in all actuality, that the young warrior would never say anything if he thought Sam would stop him from fighting.

We left Jacob sleeping and went out for some fresh air. A layer of snow covered the ground but the sun was quickly warming up. Seth was resting under a tree a few feet away. I had heard him arrive about an hour ago. He had wondered where Jacob was, but quickly concluded that he must be in the tent so I did not have to explain anything to him, he understood. We left him resting and veered off to the left side of the tent.

"I'm glad to see that you and Jacob did not kill each other last night."

"We are learning to be very civil." I replied. After a quiet pause I continued, "I think you should tell Jacob of our engagement."

"I will but not now. This fight is going to be dangerous and I don't want his mind to be somewhere else. He can be reckless when he is angry." she said.

"I think he'll take it pretty well." After our conversation last night, I honestly believed he would at least appear indifferent to the news. He probably saw it coming.

"Oh please. He will not and I do not want to take the risk. I will tell Jacob about our engagement when…" She stopped and looked over my shoulder. I turned to see a very hurt and ill looking Jacob staring at us.

"Jacob." Bella and I said in unison.

The young man reminded me of a deer in headlights. He stood motionless staring at us as if things would change the longer he waited. His face seemed to clearly state that he was not pleased with the news. Even though Jacob said he would not fight for Bella anymore, I knew he still loved her and this news was like another nail in an almost sealed coffin. He seemed to come out of his shock. He shook his head, turned, and stalked into the woods.

"Jacob!" Bella called. She moved to go after him, but I stopped her. Jacob did not need an explanation from her right now. For some reason, I felt that was my job.

"No, I will go." She gave me a questioning look and started to say something but I was gone before she could. I did not run in my vampire speed, knowing that Jacob could not have gotten far and I did not want to startle him. I saw him jogging through the woods and I called his name. He did not stop.

"Jacob, stop please." At my plea, he stopped but did not turn around to face me. I walked up and stood facing his back allowing him the privacy of the emotions I knew would be playing across his face. "I'm sorry." was all I could think to say.

He reeled around to stare at me. The emotions I read on his face were a mix of hatred, anger, and pain. His eyes, though fierce, were red and swollen and tears glimmered on the cusp of his lower eyelids. He looked down and away.

I had an urge to comfort him, but I stayed where I was. "Jac…"

"Don't Edward." He interrupted. "It's fine. You and Bella have every right to get married. You love each other right?" He nodded, answering his own question. "I just overreacted is all. No big deal." The last word came out in a choked whisper and it hurt me.

"We did not want you to find out like this. I love her, Jacob." I saw him flinch and thought maybe he had been lying about moving on. "And I will take care of her. I swear."

"I know you will, Edward." My name from his lips was gentle and sweet. "I trust you."

He looked at me with the same searching gaze I had seen before. I wanted to answer his questioning eyes but I could not understand the question and I was surprised that I was not shocked by his admission. There was nothing I could say.

After what seemed like minutes, he turned and started walking again. "I'll see you after the battle." was all he said as I watched him disappear behind a group of trees.

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I ran silently through the woods as my reverie ended. My feelings for Jacob had definitely shifted that night, but I could not pinpoint any one moment. Maybe my feelings had been changing slowly all that night and even before then, but one moment stood out the most in my perfect memory. "I trust you." he had said. I never really thought he was referring to taking care of Bella but I was certain now that he had been referring to something else.

As we skirted around Forks and came very near our home, I sped up. It was late afternoon and I was getting anxious to get Jacob to Carlisle and hear the words of encouragement from the rest of my family members that the boy was going to be fine and that things would work out for the best.

I ran through the open door and right up the stairs. Breezing into my bedroom on the third floor, I placed Jacob gently on the bed I had erected for Bella. Looking at the unconscious man lying there as Carlisle moved to examine him, I realized it did not matter when my feelings for him began. I just wanted to get past this so we could see where they were going to go in the future because that was the biggest question.

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A/N: Yay Chapter 5! Just so you know I have no idea how long this story is going to be, but I will try not to drag it on too long. This chapter is by far my favorite so far so PLEASE tell me what you think!