If you got any e-mails about updates to previous chapters, you can ignore them. There was format details that I felt compelled to fix and nothing in the story has changed.

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Bella's POV

I was walking around my room collecting dirty clothes and discarded shoes while Alice sat on my bed reading a magazine. I was thinking up a plan to get information out of her. There was something Alice was keeping from me and I knew it involved Edward. Still, no matter how hard I thought, I could not come up with any plan clever enough to weasel information out of the tiny vampire. I settled on the straight forward approach for now.

"Have you heard from Edward or Jasper? That hunting trip seems to be taking longer than usual." I was pretty sure Edward was not on a hunting trip. Alice avoided looking at me, appearing very interested in whatever article was covering the current page of her magazine, but her golden eyes were unfocused. She was not reading.

After a few minutes where I sat watching her intently, but patiently, she sighed loudly and looked at me with a 'please forgive me but I had to' look. "Okay, Bella. You win. I'm not supposed to tell you this, but Edward and Jasper did not go hunting." She visibly relaxed as if this information had been a terrible weight on her shoulders. But it was information I had already guessed and I told her that with a look. She went on, "They went looking for Jacob."

Now I was thoroughly confused. That had not been anywhere near what I was expecting. Why would the two of them go looking for Jacob? Wasn't he back in La Push where he was supposed to be? Ignoring me because my engagement upset him?

"Jacob ran off when he got the wedding invitation in the mail. He was sick so they went looking for him to make sure he was alright." She paused and gave me a guilty look, "They got back two days ago."

I wondered why Edward would not tell me he was going to look for my sick best friend. I had never sent Jacob an invitation because I was afraid of hurting him. Edward must have sent it and felt guilty when it did hurt him so he went after him to fix the mistake he made, although I could not really see Edward doing that. I started pulling on my shoes as I ran through a million possible answers my boyfriend might give me for his actions. I was going to get answers and it was going to be today.

"Where are you going?" Alice asked.

"Don't you already know?" I replied maybe a little too curtly.

"Edward is going to hate me for this," she said, shaking her head, "But I'll drive you."

We walked out to the car and rode to the Cullen house in silence. When we arrived I asked, "Where will I find Edward?"

"In his room." was her answer.

I got out and walked through the house, past all of the curious Cullen's, up the stairs, and straight through the bedroom door. I stopped in my very determined tracks when I found a very pale, unconscious Jacob lying in the bed and Edward sitting stiffly in a chair next to him. I went to the bed and sat next to my very sick best friend hating myself for not knowing he had been getting so sick. I also made a note to be angry at Alice for not warning me that Jacob was here.

"What happened?" It was the only question I could think to ask.

"He got very sick when he ran off." Edward answered.

I took Jacob's hand. It was warm like always but felt clammy. "How is he doing? Is he getting better?" Edward sat quietly for longer than I would have expected, staring at nothing in particular before he looked at me with a kind of sadness I had not seen before.

"He's in a coma. Carlisle doesn't know when he will wake up, but he is positive that he is slowly recovering although I have not seen any changes to indicate that." His brow furrowed. Edward was worried about Jacob. A sudden realization came to me.

"Have you been sitting here with him since you got back?" He nodded. It had just dawned on me that Jacob was in Edward's room and not in Carlisle's den where the Doctor could take care of him in a more hospital like setting. It did not bother me because really Edward's bed was the only one in the house that was never used, but it did raise some other questions.

I sat quietly for a few minutes watching Jacob's chest rise and fall slowly trying to take everything in. It seemed like time dragged on and on and Edward had been doing this for two days? I suddenly felt trapped in the room as if all the air was being sucked out taking hope and happiness with it. "Let's go for a walk." I said abruptly. It was not good for him to sit here like this. He shook his head.

"I can't."

"It's okay. Jacob will be fine for an hour or so."

"No Bella. I have to stay with him." This was getting weird. In a normal situation I would have expected Edward's tone to be annoyed or regretful, but it was determined and commanding. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow waiting for an explanation.

His hesitance was a little unnerving. He sighed loudly, "Bella, there is something you don't know. Jacob is sick because he fought against an imprint."

"He imprinted on someone?" I asked slowly.

"Yes, and he was less than thrilled about it. He tried to fight it and he got sick. It got worse when he ran off and he almost died."

"Why would he do something that stupid?" I said more to myself than to Edward. Jacob knew how special and important an imprint was. Who could he have imprinted on that would make him resist so strongly?

"Well, the imprint was kind of unexpected and I don't know his actual reasons for the way he reacted. I can only guess." He was looking at me with that you-must-understand kind of look but there was something I was missing.

"Who did he imprint on?" That would probably clear up some things for me.

"Me." was all he said. I felt my breath leave my chest and I choked on nothing. I might have even gone blind for a millisecond. Jacob and Edward? Had I heard him correctly? "W-What?" My voice was so quiet I could barely hear it myself. I shook my head several times. He never elaborated or explained. He waited for me to catch up.

"I need some fresh air. Can't we go for a little walk?" I was afraid if I spent too long with Jacob, I might do something irrational.

"I can't Bella. Jacob is only alive now because I showed up to get him and he is only going to get better if I stay here with him." He answered.

"You're going to sit here next to him until he is completely healthy again?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I hope I don't have to sit here that long. But right now, he's just too sick for me to risk it. I won't let him die because of me."

I exhaled loudly. "Edward, this isn't your fault and if Jacob had died, it still wouldn't be your fault."

"But if I were to walk away now, knowing what would happen? It would be my fault then." He retorted. I knew Edward and arguing with him about this was pointless.

"I…what are you going to do? What's going to happen to us?" I asked.

"I've had about five days to think about this. I need time to work things out with him. See where we stand and what's going on in his head." he looked away, but I could tell there was something else he wanted to say. When he spoke again, it was very quiet, "I have feelings for him, Bella. I have for a while. I just didn't realize it, for whatever reason, until he was gone."

"You're…you're breaking up with me for Jacob Black." I was stunned.

"No Bella, I don't want to break up with you. I just want to postpone the wedding while we figure things out. I can't marry you until I put this behind me." His voice sounded pleading as if he were asking me not to dump him. "I know this sounds ridiculous. But I owe him and myself the opportunity to fix this."

"Edward, this is Jacob we're talking about! Your enemy! How is anything good going to come of this?" I came here to see my boyfriend and found my sick best friend. I had no idea my soon to be perfect world was going to be turned upside down. There were a million things running through my head, all accompanied by emotions I could not exactly comprehend. I did not want to hate the two of them because these things were uncontrollable, especially with an imprint involved, and I found myself going numb. "Well, I guess if you love him…"

"I don't love him, Bella. I care for him. I want him to be healthy and happy." He interrupted.

"But you will love him, Edward. That's how imprints work." I had seen it before. "I guess that makes me the Leah in this whole thing. You don't want to break up with me because you love me, but your feelings for him are different, stronger even. You're afraid that if you end things with me and then things with Jacob don't work out, you'll have no one. I understand, but you can't put me on a back burner in case you need me again one day."

He reached his hand over the bed for mine but I pulled back never letting go of Jacob. I was holding his hand too tightly, but I doubted it hurt him and I was afraid I might beat the crap out of his unconscious body if I let go.

"I'm sorry, Bella."

"I know you are." I stood and placed Jacob's hand gently back on the bed. Bending down, I kissed Jacob on the forehead. Somehow, I knew the gesture would bother Edward and although I could not hate him for this, I could be angry enough to hurt him a little.

"I need to go. I'll talk to you later." Before he said anything, I turned and walked out the door. What I really wanted was for him to stop me, apologize, and say he would never love anyone but me. However, as I made it to the bottom of the stairs, I knew he wasn't coming.

Walking past the living room, four sets of golden eyes watched me. I looked at them all. They looked apologetic and understanding. "Alice, can you give me a ride home?"

"Yes, of course."

I walked out the door toward her Ferrari and she followed quickly after. The drive back was completely quiet for almost ten minutes. I was surprised that she waited that long.

"You took the news extremely well."

"Why fight over something no one can control. Edward can't help that he has feelings for Jacob and Jacob certainly can't control an imprint. Look what happened to him when he tried. He's lucky Edward's feelings for him grew or he would be dead by now." Alice nodded.

"Yeah but Edward could still turn him down."

"I won't marry Edward if his heart is even partially with someone else. I can't spend eternity with someone who doesn't or can't love me one hundred percent." I returned.

"Well, you're a better person than I am then cause I would fight for Jasper until I knew for sure that it was over." I did not comment. Alice did not understand imprinting. She had not seen Sam and Emily together and did not know the Quileute's beliefs. An imprint was a special and supposedly rare thing that a wolf experienced and is meant to be taken very seriously. There was a connection between Edward and Jacob and I knew that no matter how hard I tried, I would never win against it.

"You know, I could almost feel it, I think." I spoke after a few quiet minutes.

"Feel what?" She asked.

"His drifting away from me. Both of them actually. Jacob wasn't as determined to get me to be with him. I thought maybe he was starting to realize it would never happen. And Edward, he grew more and more distant especially after the newborn battle. I figured he was feeling nervous about the wedding or about turning me. I guess I should have known." I was beginning to feel angry at myself for not picking up on the changes happening in Edward. But I understood that Edward had not even noticed the changes in himself so there was no way I could have.

"No, Bella. How could you have guessed this?" She parked the car outside of my house and turned to face me. "You could still fight for Edward."

"No. It wouldn't be fair. The Quileute believe an imprint is a connection between soul mates and that there could never be a relationship with more happiness or love than that. If you had seen Sam and Emily together you would believe that too. It's…beautiful. I can't deny Jacob or Edward that."

I opened the car door. "Thanks for the ride, Alice." She did not say anything. I got out of the car and walked inside the house, up the stairs and straight to my room. Charlie would still be at work for about another two hours. I kicked off my shoes and lay down on the bed. I wanted to cry. I felt like I had just lost everything, but a part of me knew that wasn't true. I did not have to lose Edward or Jacob, but could I being friends with them? Could I handle seeing my best friend and ex-fiancé together? And if things did not work out between them, would I go back to Edward? Would I have to choose a side? Or should I just remove myself from the whole thing, go back to Arizona or to Florida and try something different?

I knew that last question was a big "no." I was part of the supernatural world that these two men existed in and I felt like they would need me in the future as much as I had always needed them. I had to stay and I had to learn to deal with me own issues about their relationship so I could be there for them. I owed them both my life after all.

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A/N: So I know that Bella is kind of OOC here, but the way I picture she would really have reacted did not fit well with my story and I did not relish writing something so annoying. so I made her less selfish and more understanding because this story isn't really about her.

Let me know what you think! Oh and just to let you know Jacob won't be in his coma for too many more chapters but I don't want to ruin any surprises so I won't tell you how many just hang in there!