Babies, Babies, Babies

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

A/N-thanks for the kind reviews, Nikki.

Part Ten

Jacob had the pack spread out all over the property searching for little Jet. No one had any idea how long she had been missing for. Solomon seemed absolutely clueless and the language barrier wasn't helping. Jacob felt like hitting the guy, and it was only Sam ordering him to keep his cool which stopped him acting on the impulse. He called Rebecca on her cell but it went straight through to voice mail. Jacob left her a message demanding she come straight home. Seth picked up Jet's scent leading from the twin's old room where Solomon was supposed to have been watching her, it then led toward Billy's bedroom, but Billy hadn't been in there since he had woken. Jet's scent then petered out, the window's in Billy's room were open and the wind was blowing through. They all felt frustrated and made a mad scramble to try and locate it again.

Paul was the next to pick it up. There was a faint trace in the hall, but as Jet had travelled back and forth there throughout her stay it was hard to tell if it was old or not, but he diligently followed it anyway. Outside Embry and Quil were both using their senses and also calling out for Jet. Jacob was searching through the garage just in case his niece had made it that far, although he thought it unlikely, she was only eighteen months old, but he tried anyway. He heard Leah and Bella calling out for Jet, they had joined forces immediately which had surprised Jacob a little. Leah was not Bella's biggest fan normally, but something had drawn them to partner up. Perhaps it was a nurturing thing. He didn't know, but amidst all the worry over Jet's safety it heartened Jacob to see it.

Paul called Jared over to help him, he was sure he could smell the little girl's scent near the front door but the fresh air wafting in was making it difficult to capture. Jared ducked down and joined Paul. They exchanged a worried glance. If Jet had managed to get outside it didn't bear thinking about. They tried their best to trace her but it turned into another dead end.

"Hey, did you hear that?" Leah grasped Bella's arm a little too firmly as she stopped in her tracks. Bella winced but didn't say anything as she shook her head. Leah let go and put a finger to her lips. They were at the rear of the property just by the back entrance. It was so windy outside it was making it hard for Leah to smell anything specific as any scent was blown awry. She ducked down and used her sensitive ears instead as Bella joined her. "I'm sure I heard a cry." Leah whispered in frustration. She crawled along on all fours as she followed the dips and curves in the ground. There was a lot of old junk piled in the back yard and she had to negotiate around it.

"Anything?" Bella pressed as she followed closely behind Leah.

Leah hushed her. There it was a faint sob. Just in front of them was an old wooden chest. It had been used in the past to keep the chopped wood in during the winter months, but now it was just abandoned to rot outside. Next to it was a pile of old logs, effectively making small steps for an inquisitive youngster to climb up. Leah stood up and hurriedly lifted the wooden lid and almost at once she saw a pair of dark frightened eyes peering up at her. Little Jet began to cry in earnest.

Bella quickly joined Leah when she heard the little's girls cry. "Oh, baby." Bella instantly reached down to pick Jet up but Leah stopped her.

"I think she's done something to her ankle. Look." Leah pointed to Jet's left leg. When Bella looked closer she could see that Leah was right, Jet's ankle was twisted at an odd angle. "She must have fallen awkwardly. I'll pick her up." Leah leaned down and very, very gently picked up the distressed child in her arms. "You run ahead and tell the others we've found her. We're going to need to take her to the hospital."

Bella nodded, she pressed a soft kiss to Jet's forehead before running off to alert the others.

Sue went with Billy and her daughter to the hospital to get Jet's ankle x-rayed. Just by feeling carefully Sue could tell that bones had been broken. The look she threw Solomon, who still seemed in a daze, should have shrivelled him on the spot. Sue immediately noted the pupils of Solomon's eyes, they were larger than normal. He had been smoking something, although she couldn't put a name to it. No wonder he seemed out of it. She felt nothing but disgust and wondered what the hell Rebecca was thinking by marrying the man. She pushed all this to one side as she could see how distressed Billy was. He was blaming himself, although it was not his fault in the least.

Jacob was sitting on the front porch with Bella. He was furious and was having a hard time controlling his anger. Bella stayed by his side, she was worried that if he came across Solomon he would do something he would regret. She had heard Sam warning the others not to approach Rebecca's sorry excuse for a husband. It wasn't just Jacob who wanted a piece of him. His recklessness had angered the whole pack. Bella wondered how Sam was keeping a rein on his own temper. She could see by his eyes that he was livid.

"Where the hell is Becca?" Jacob muttered as he ended yet another call to his sister. He had left her at least ten messages now. His arms shook and he nearly crushed the phone in his strong grip.

Bella eased the cell out of his hands and put it to one side. "Focus, Jake. I know you're mad. I am too. But you have to stay calm for the children. Marley's sleeping but he could wake soon." She gripped his hands in her own and looked at him pleadingly.

Jacob stared back at her as he inhaled sharply. He had never felt so angry in his life, not even when he had first phased. He wanted to kick Solomon's ass so badly, but he knew doing that would only give him temporary satisfaction. "Some people do not deserve children." He ground out.

"No, they don't." Bella agreed. "But luckily for Jet and Marley they have an amazing uncle and an amazing grandfather who love them to bits and would do anything for them." She gripped his hands tighter. "And they have the pack too." She added.

"And you." Jacob choked out as he pulled Bella right onto his lap and wound his arms around her. Normally she would have protested at being so close to him, but she felt he needed to feel her against him. She was learning that her presence calmed him down when the stress got too much. "They have you too." Jacob pressed his lips into her hair before resting his chin on top of her head.

"Yes, they have me too." Bella said sadly, but for how long? An image of Rosalie on the day she had told Bella about her past entered her mind's eye. She recalled how devastated the normally cool blonde was when she talked about not being able to have children. For the first time since that day Bella felt what Rosalie must have felt. To long for something that you could never have. Esme had tried to replace her lost chance at having a family by throwing herself into loving her adopted one. But Bella guessed Rosalie would never be able to do that. She wanted her own baby, hers and Emmet's. Bella gulped a few times as tears pricked at her eyes. She didn't want Jacob to see, so she hid her face in his broad chest and bit down hard on her bottom lip so they wouldn't fall.

Jet was brought back home. She already seemed over her ordeal. She was smiling broadly and enjoying all the fuss and attention she was getting from everyone. It was only the adults who seemed unable to move past what had happened. Billy seemed utterly worn down. He was still shouldering the blame, angry at himself that he didn't see the little girl wander out of the opened back door. He was a fool not to have kept it shut. No matter what anyone said to him he wouldn't be comforted.

Rebecca still hadn't come home and it was nearing six o'clock. Jacob had chucked Solomon out of the house. He couldn't bear the sight of him. He had packed all his clothes in a bag and slung it out after him. He didn't care what his sister said when she finally returned. It was time for her to re-think her priorities. Her husband was a waste of space.

Bella was in the kitchen with Leah. The two of them worked together silently as they began to cook for the whole household. The pack was still hanging around, none of them felt like leaving. Some innate sense of brotherhood bound them together; this was a crisis, even if it was more of an emotional than a physical one. They wanted to stay and support Jake and his family. Leah emptied the cupboards and along with Bella they selected the items easiest to cook and make a sort of buffet meal, so everyone could take bits of what they wanted. Sue took charge of Marlon, while Jet was perched on Billy's lap, her left leg was strapped up, but she was happily playing with one of the toys Bella had bought for her.

Everyone gathered together when Bella and Leah laid out the food. The atmosphere in the house was sombre. No one spoke much. Billy was almost mute, he only responded when Jet smiled at him or tried to get his attention. Jacob kept shooting worried glances at his dad, and he saw Sue do the same. This had hit the older man hard; he just wouldn't allow himself to see where the blame truly lie. Jacob took Jet from Billy so he could give her a light snack before he put her to bed. It was getting way past her bedtime, but she was fully awake and alert and anyway none of them wanted the little girl out of their sight. Seven o'clock rolled around and there was still no sign of Rebecca. She had been gone since eight that morning when she had left to supposedly search for a job.

Jacob felt Bella sit beside him, she had Marlon cradled in her arms. As usual the infant had gone right to sleep after his feed. Jacob saw that there was kind of a glow about Bella as she gazed down at the little boy. He couldn't quite put it into words, but he thought she had never looked more beautiful. "Thank you." He whispered. "For today, I don't know what I would have…"

"You don't need to keep thanking me, Jake." Bella smiled at him wistfully and he felt his heart speed up in his chest. He loved her so much. They looked at each other for a long moment, both of them talking with their eyes, neither of them felt able to voice the words aloud which were in the deepest recesses of their hearts.

The phone rang making them both jump. Leah, who was nearest to the phone, answered it. Her expression became grim when she spoke rapidly to the person on the other end. "Selfish bitch." She snarled.

"Leah!" Sue reprimanded her. "Give the phone to me." She took it from her daughter and turned her back on everyone as she continued the conversation in a low voice.

"Who is it?" Bella asked curiously. She could see that Jacob already knew, he would have been able to hear every word. He looked angry again, although he was trying his best to school his features into a calm expression so as not to alarm Jet.

"It's Rachel." Leah muttered. "Guess who turned up at her college today?"

Bella felt her heart constrict. "Becca." She said tonelessly.

"Yes, it seems dear Rebecca wasn't seeking work after all." Leach continued bitterly. "She fled to her sister, she says she can't cope right now, she needs her space apparently…." She made air quotes with her fingers at the word space. "Ignorant, selfish…"

"Lee." Bella warned her as she glanced meaningfully at Billy and Jacob. Billy looked like he had been punched in the gut. "Can you take Jet?" Bella wanted Jacob to be able to go to his father. Leah nodded and gently took the little girl from Jacob. He went straight to Billy and put an arm around the older man's shoulders as he began to cry silent tears.

A/N-thanks for reading! Sighs!