Babies, Babies, Babies

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

AN-thanks for the kind reviews, reading them has cheered me up a little. I have lost more work than I thought, I never backed up all my files and it seems that more than The Alpha Wolf chapters have been wiped, sighs…Nikki :(

Part Five

Rebecca sat across from Bella while she was waiting for Jacob to finish helping Billy into bed. "I want to just say thanks, you know, for the toys and stuff. It was kind of you to donate them." She said as she smiled at Bella engagingly.

Donate? Was this girl for real? She had just used her savings because Rebecca and her husband were practically destitute and were dragging Billy and Jake down with them. Bella just about stopped herself from rolling her eyes at Rebecca's naivety, or was it just plain selfishness, she couldn't tell. She didn't want to start a fight so she smiled back at Jacob's sister. "You're welcome."

"You are a cool chick, you know that? Solly and I both think so. I can see why Jake loves you. Perhaps you can get my little bro to chill?" Rebecca confided. "He's turning into my dad. He's done nothing but lecture me since I got back." She sighed heavily, acting as if the whole world was against her.

Bella bit down hard on her lip as she forced herself to swallow the rebuttal she felt like throwing Rebecca's way. She inhaled sharply and kept the false smile on her face as Rebecca rambled on about how she met Solomon and their past adventures. "I miss those carefree days." Rebecca continued wistfully. "Surfing on the beach by day, partying all night, we used to lie on the beach until the sun rose." She laughed softly. "Can't do that around here. I think Solly is going to find it hard to adjust that he can't get his surfboard out and ride the waves."

"Well I am sure he realises he has other priorities. Jet and Marlon more than make up for everything, right?" Bella kept her tone polite but she could see that Rebecca had finally caught on that perhaps Bella wasn't her great ally like she assumed.

"Of course. Yeah. The kids are cool." Rebecca agreed faintly. "It's hard though."

"Of course." Bella forced another smile on her face. "What are you and Solomon going to do for work? I mean he is going to need to learn English."

"Chill girlfriend." Rebecca shook her head and frowned. "All in good time."

"But…."

"You ready now, Bells." Jacob's voice made both girls jump. Bella kept forgetting how silently he could move. Rebecca was trying to turn the charm on her brother as she smiled brightly at him, but Jacob would not be won over by a friendly smile. "Your husband doesn't seem to want to get up and feed Marlon. I've warmed the bottle already, either kick him up the ass or I will." He snapped.

"Solly still has jet lag." Rebecca hissed as her smile disappeared. "I'll feed my son, thank you." She snatched the bottle out of Jacob's hand and stormed off.

"Let's get out of here, honey." Jacob begged as he held out his hand toward Bella.

"Can't wait." She agreed as she curled her fingers around his and let him lead the way out of the house.

"I really thought when Becca came back with the kids that she had changed." Jacob felt defeated. "And as for that husband of hers…"

"Solomon is very um…laid back." Bella finished for him.

Jacob had to smile at her description of Solomon's laziness. "That guy is so laid back he is practically horizontal."

"Well that's how Jet and Marlon were made I guess." Bella began to laugh as she realised what she had just said. Jacob began to laugh too, her slip lightened the mood and they strolled along hand in hand talking about the children. Both of them had such distinct personalities. Jet was a bundle of energy and quite wilful when she wanted something. Marlon on the other hand seemed to have inherited his father's love of sleep; it seemed to be his favourite occupation. Bella had never known a baby who had to be woken for a feed before. The evening was drawing in; it had to be past nine. She supposed she had better head home before it got too late. "I didn't realise the time. I should get home." She saw Jake's amusement disappear to be replaced with melancholy. "What's the matter?" She asked worriedly. She hated seeing that expression on his face.

Jacob wouldn't look at her directly. He stared at their joined hands and used his thumb to rub the palm of her hand. "It's easier when you're here. I don't want you to go."

"I'll see you tomorrow." Bella stopped walking and stood in front of him. He still wouldn't look at her. His distress was infecting her and she felt her heart speed up in her chest. She wasn't used to being the strong one. That was Jake's role. He was the eternal optimist, not her. She didn't want to see him this way. She felt his pain as if it was her own. "Hey, come on, things will work out. I promise. Have faith."

"Faith?" Jacob let go of her hand and finally raised his head to look at her. "I can't have faith anymore, Bells. Real life keeps chipping away at it. Everyone expects me to be strong and eternally happy all the time. I can't do it twenty four seven. It's all an act anyway, always has been. I've been putting on a big smile since mom died and the twins left me to take care of dad on my own. Then the whole wolf thing happened…" He reached out and cupped Bella's face in his hands. "You came into my life and made it bearable. I was so damn lonely before, and then you came back to live with Charlie. I never got to see you much at first, but when I did, it was just amazing. I was happy for the first time in forever. You made me happy. Then the whole Cullen thing got in the way. I love you, Bella. I really love you. I don't think you realise how much I rely on you to shore me up when it gets too much. You did it when you brought the bikes up for me to fix, I don't think you knew how much I loved spending those days in the garage mending those old pieces of junk. You did it when you accepted the wolf inside of me and you're doing it now…"

Bella was stunned; she had never heard Jacob talk like this before. In her head it had always been one way. She would take and take and never give him anything substantial in return, but perhaps she had been wrong, perhaps amidst all her selfish actions she had given Jacob something, even if it was just being there when he felt low, even if there was really nothing to make the situation any better, just her presence eased his burden. "I'm here, okay. If you want me to stay, I'm here." Bella wrapped her arms around his waist and held him tightly. She felt him kiss the top of her hair as he hugged her back just as hard.

With little room in the house, Jacob and Bella camped out in the garage. He dug out some old sleeping bags and rolled out a mat on the floor so they could lie across it. He managed to nab a couple of pillows and some candles too. It was quite cosy in the garage; the candles gave out a warm glow as they lay side by side. Jacob hadn't bothered with his sleeping bag and Bella was buried under both to keep warm. Jacob was always hot, any chill never bothered him.

"You snug under all that?" Jacob teased as he stretched out beside Bella. He rolled onto his side and propped his head up on his hand as he looked down at her.

"I am as snug as a bug in a rug." Bella declared as she pulled the sleeping bags right up to her chin. "Chez Taj Mahal have the best facilities."

"They sure do." Jacob laughed at her comment. Happy memories assaulted him; Taj Mahal was their private nickname for the old garage which had become like a sanctuary for them. Before the newborn battle, whenever life got crazy, they would hide out inside, shut the door and keep the darkness at bay. "Perhaps I should start charging admission. I could put a sign over the door."

Bella giggled at the thought. "Yeah, come one, come all…" She deepened her voice as she spoke. "Come to Chez Taj Mahal, try out our stone age facilities. Go to bed on a hard floor, try out our dusty old sleeping bags, take advantage of the candlelight and sleep among the rusty old bangers…"

"Hey, classic old bangers, thank you." Jacob interjected as he grinned down at her.

"Classic?" Bella snorted with laughter. "Deluded as ever, Black."

"You're cute." Jacob reached out and pinched one of her cheeks.

"And you're an ass." Bella responded. "And will be minus one hand if you pinch my cheek again."

"Oooh I'm scared." Jacob pretended to appear panicked.

"You should be." Bella yawned suddenly. She smiled at him sweetly before rolling onto her side so she was facing away from him. "I know Karate."

Jacob's smile faded. He remained silent as he sensed that she was falling asleep. It had been a long day for both of them. He sat up and crossed his long legs in front of him as he gazed down at her sleeping form. "I am scared, Bells." He whispered. "I'm scared of losing you." Moisture welled in his eyes and he wiped at them furiously. He then blew out the candles and everything went dark.

A/N-thanks for reading!