Dappled sunlight through the treetop canopy and danced in the early morning air. Birds sang from their nests and branches. Edward watched the world around him shiver and shake off the last signs of night, embracing the light and life of day. It was peaceful, quiet and calming.

He stood, wearing only a pair of slacks, leaning against an outer wall of the house. Jacob was still inside, asleep on the makeshift bed of comforters. Every now and again, Edward would hear Jacob through the walls, muttering to himself in his sleep.

Edward had spent time in many different places. Huge cities, solitary mountain tops, small islands. But nothing had ever felt more like home than lying next to Jacob in this small cottage.

The wood against his back was wet with morning dew, and Edward could feel the moisture against his bare skin. It was the same beneath his uncovered feet. Moss and dirt clung to them, adhered to them with water in a way that only made sense early in the morning.

He didn't know how long he sat there, only partially aware that time was running out. Time always seemed to be running out. Sometimes it wasn't fast enough, sometimes, like now, it moved far too quickly.

Jacob was stirring in the house behind him, noisily pulling the blankets off and cursing softly as his feet hit the cold stone floor. Edward smiled as he heard a series of noises that could only be Jacob jumping around in an attempt to find something to clothe himself.

When the window next to Edward swung open, the vampire didn't flinch. He'd heard Jacob making his way through the house, muttering to himself as he crossed the cold floors, and switching on the kettle on his way to partially brave the cool outdoors. The kettle was the only currently functioning facility that the house offered someone with human appetites.

Jacob leaned out of the window, staring off in to the woods with the same awe as Edward had. Edward felt a great weight lift off his chest. All of the time yesterday he'd been afraid that Jacob wouldn't like the house, or wouldn't be able to feel comfortable in it. Now he saw his own contentment echoed on the tall man's face.

"Good morning."

"Morning."

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm good. You?"

"Yeah, fine."

The noise of the forest stormed back in to claim the silence.

Edward was glad that they'd moved out here. It gave them the chance to forget what was happening, even just for a short while. It was all natural stillness and cold floors. It was beautiful.

Edward almost heard Jacob's mind working, early morning making the cogs turn slower and more laboriously than usual. Jacob in this state was wonderfully and terrifyingly unguarded.

"How was…I mean it was alright, wasn't it?" Edward smiled at the hesitation in Jacob's voice. They were too old to be acting like uncertain post-virginal teenagers.

"Yeah. It was great."

"Yeah." Jacob didn't turn away from the scenery, but Edward saw the smile on his lips.

"It's amazing out here. It's so quiet. You don't notice it when you're in the big house."

"Aren't mornings like this at your place?"

"No. I don't know, maybe. Maybe it's not the silence."

"What could it be then?"

"You." Jacob answered simply.

They continued to stare at the scenery. No matter how much he hoped that it would, the densely wooded forests couldn't keep out their demons for long. Edward could feel Jacob starting to worry beside him. And it wasn't even nine o'clock yet.

Jacob had turned his gaze away from the trees and was studying his entwined fingers. With every twist of his clasped hands, Edward could feel a part of his serenity come crashing down.

"Do you think we did the right thing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Staying here. In Forks. Do you think it was the right thing?"

Edward paused. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't regret this morning, and wouldn't have given it up for all the safe places in the world. But that's not what Jacob needed to hear.

"Jacob, do you?"

The wolf was silent. Again the woods moved in to claim their rightful space between them, enforcing silence. Edward couldn't help being reminded that the real world was still out there, trying to push its way into the life they'd lived for a brief few hours. They'd have time again when all this was over, but it wouldn't be this. He knew that things were going to change, and he didn't have enough self-worth to see the change working out well for him.

And just maybe that was okay.

(...)

They hadn't had enough time to figure out the best way to do this. They'd moved back up to the big household. As the time of his family's arrival drew closer, Edward grew more and more nervous, finally pushing Jacob out of the house and telling him to come back later. It was his job, and his alone, to tell his family about what had happened. He didn't want an audience. If he could do this on his own, maybe it would prove something.

Jacob disappeared into the woods without another word, returning the patience Edward had shown him when he was figuring things out. Edward had a right to try this his own way.

Edward sat completely still in the big house. He wished he could just be back in the cabin, with Jacob, curled up as they had been as the early morning sun filled their small room and heated his cold skin. He'd hated to remove himself from that haven, feeling that everything was changing against his wishes.

Everything was changing too fast, and it was too far beyond his control. It was impossible to forget the threat posed by the Quileutes. He'd lain awake for hours, watching the slow rise and fall of Jacob's chest. He'd enjoyed the eye of the storm, fool heartedly believing that the worst could be behind them.

Now he had to brave the tempest again.

At least Jacob smelled different to the way he had all those years ago. They wouldn't recognize it immediately. If he were lucky he would have enough time to pre-empt their questions.

He didn't want to think about how his family would react to the news. He didn't want to think about the next few hours at all.

The first car pulled up in the driveway and disappeared into the garage, closely followed on the road by two more.

Edward wished that he could fill his lungs, just to distract himself from the nervous energy pumping through him.

Alice was the first through the door, bounding towards Edward with her usual energy and grace. Edward rose to embrace her, tuning out her enthusiastic thoughts. He'd forgotten what it was like to have his head full of other's thoughts.

Jasper was not far behind. He nodded at Edward as he put their bags down and came forward to greet him as well.

And then his daughter. Reneesme followed closely behind Jasper, looking almost exactly as she had when Edward had last seen her. Edward rushed forward to embrace her. Reneesme let him hug her, but as she pulled back she rested her hand against his cheek. Edward smiled at the rush of memories, as she showed him everything that he had been missing.

He missed her far more than he had realised.

Edward welcomed each person back into the house, one by one. Carlisle smiled warmly at him and clasped him close. Esme almost refused to let go. Emmett punched him in the arm and tried to take his feet out from under him. Rosalie approached cautiously, hugged him and then retreating.

Edward fell back in step with his family easily. It was like a piece fitting into a machine, it just clicked. It was easy to forget the fifty years spent grieving and then sulking, when he was surrounded by laughter. Edward regretted what he had done to make them need to push him away.

When they had all settled back into the house Edward was still trying to find the right moment.

Edward could tell that they all knew something was up. They were all thinking about it, thinking about the way the way the house smelled, and the new Edward, trying to figure out what had happened while their brother and son had been absent.

They were concerned, and Edward knew that it was within his power to set their minds at easy, but he still hesitated. They'd accepted much worse about him, he didn't want to doubt that they would accept this.

Edward hovered around the living room, watching and waiting as people came and left. Slowly, as the moving in neared completion, each family member joined him. When they were finally settled down, there were still two missing. Edward couldn't hear them throughout the house.

"What happened to the others?"

"Emmett and Jasper decided to go hunting. It was a long trip, and they weren't serving our kind of snacks on the flight."

Edward sighed in relief. His brothers were his greatest point of deliberation. The others he could cope with, but he worried about what they'd say, or what they'd do. With them out of the house, maybe he could take it in steps. Small ones.

Everyone was looking at him, mouths shut but minds buzzing with curiosity.

And he couldn't do it.

(...)

All bets were off the table. Edward had decided that the only reasonable option was to get Jacob and leave for Australia, that very day. It seemed like the only plan that made sense.

He had a perfect grasp on just how ridiculous he was being. He understood that it would only take a few words. His family loved him unconditionally.

So why was it so hard?

His brothers still hadn't returned from their hunting trip, but Alice had seen them deciding to return, so it couldn't be too long now. Rosalie had taken Reneesme out, hoping to see the others on their own hunting trip.

Edward had lost his grasp on the situation. His family were too worried about him to ask him directly and he was finding it increasingly difficult to bring up. He didn't understand why Alice hadn't seen it yet. He felt like he was going to say something eventually, and his seer sister should be able to see that future. But she hadn't. So maybe he didn't do it at all.

The only downfall of having a telepath and a psychic in the family was the inevitable self-fulfilling prophets-

Edward froze.

If his heart was still operating, it would have beating ten times faster than usually advised.

They all heard the sounds of Emmett and Jasper coming through the woods towards the house. And everyone heard that they weren't alone.

Edward was the only one who recognised the scent of the visitor.

"Look who we found creeping about alone in the forest. It's the big bad wolf." Emmett's voice boomed as he entered the room, dragging Jacob in tow.

The Cullen's looked around startled, trying to reconcile the new scent with the familiar face. Carlisle was the first to recover. Edward was starting to get frantic.

"Jacob. It has been a long time. You have not changed at all."

"Exactly. I mean, this is strange right? I thought dogs were supposed to age like seven times faster than humans."

The joke was good hearted, not meant to sting, but it cut Edward to the core.

What had he been afraid of again? Oh yeah.

"Please, Emmett." Edward was grateful for Carlisle's attempt to quiet Emmett, but it went unanswered. Emmett continued to blindly mock Jacob. It seemed that he was oblivious to Edward's reaction.

"No seriously. The pup doesn't look a day older than when we left. What's his secret? Maybe he's born with it. Maybe it's Maybelline." He laughed at his own dumb joke, not caring that no one else joined it. "So what are you doing around here Jacob?"

Jacob stared at Emmett for a while, and then turned to Edward. Edward frowned at him.

"You mean you haven't told them yet?"

"I haven't really had a chance yet."

"Not one chance in two hours. Right. Should I leave then?"

"No, Jacob, please stay. It is truly lovely to see you again. We just returned today." Esme cut in conversationally, smiling at Jacob and moving forward to usher him further into the house. Edward considered panicking but decided that it probably wasn't the best option. Australia was still looking good though.

"Edward, can I have a word with you?" Carlisle had taken a step forward, addressing Edward directly. Trust his adopted father to be the first to realise that Edward was getting just a little bit distressed by what was happening. Edward took a deep breathe. It was truly now or never.

"Carlisle, there is really no way we can talk without the rest of the house hearing, and they need to know anyway."

"What are you talking about Edward?"

"Yes, can somebody please tell us what's going on? You've been edgy ever since we got here."

"Jacob and I...reconciled our differences."

"We assumed that much from the lack of fighting and killing." Emmett said, completely oblivious to what Edward was trying to say.

"Fair assumption there. Very little fighting and killing. No killing at all, actually. And, actually, there has been a fair bit of… not fighting?"

"God Edward, shoot me now and put me out of my misery," Jacob sighed dramatically. "I can't take all the awkward."

"Shut up, you're not making this any easier."

"Oh."

They all turner towards Alice, who's exclamation made her sound as if she'd just figured out the winning answer to a quiz show. She was staring at Edward in wide eyed amazement.

"No way."

"What is it Alice?" asked a concerned family member. Edward was too focused on his sister to see which family member it was.

Alice stood in silent wonder for a second longer, seemingly irrelevant and unconnected facts fitting together in her head like a strange puzzle. Then a smile broke out across her features. Edward had no power to stop the answering sheepish smile on his own features.

"Okay, great, one down… the rest to go. I just came in to tell you that Jack called. They're found out about Sam and they're all coming here. Today. I think they want to help."

Edward dragged his mind away from the supportive thoughts of his adopted sister rustling enough to focus on what Jacob was saying.

"No. They can't come here."

"I know that. But they're insisting. I've stalled them for a while, but since they truly care they don't want to take no for an answer."

"They'll have to."

"Excuse me, are you their alpha?"

"Is there some trouble we should know about?" asked that concerned family member Edward had never gotten around to identifying. Or perhaps another concerned family member.

"Not right now. But I need to borrow Jacob in the other room, please." Alice answered them, moving gracefully forward and grabbing Jacob's arm. They moved away, leaving Edward to face the rest of his family alone.

He didn't have time to worry about what embarrassing information Alice might be able to coax out of Jacob, he was faced by four concerned vampire relations.

"What is going on Edward?" asked Esme, reaching forward to place a comforting hand on Edward's arm.

"Start from the start if that's any easier." Carlisle supplied. Edward tried to consider where exactly the start might be.

"Okay then. From the start. When I came back Jacob tried to kill me," Edward felt Esme's hand tighten slightly on his forearm but continued anyway. "Then decided against it. Then he came back and saved me from my own attempt to finish what he'd started. Then we became friends. Then we made out a few times. Now Sam, the old alpha from Jacob's pack, turned out to be a homophobic jerk and is trying to run me-us out of town. So, basically, Jacob and I are… something."

(...)

Jacob heard Edward's attempts to explain to his family in the other room, but without much empathy. Edward had a family that would love him regardless, even if they didn't understand. Alice was proof of that.

When Alice had pulled him aside, she'd said nothing about him and Edward, other than she knew what was going on between them.

"I don't really get it. I can't see it ever making much sense to…anyone really, but he's happier than I've seen him in a very long time." She'd said as she too half listened to Edward in the other room. "So remember, if you send him back where he was, you will have to deal with me." She smiled at him, a smile that would have been pleasant if it didn't show off just a bit too much tooth.

After that she'd insisted on knowing what was going on with the wolves. While she couldn't see anything where his pack, or Jacob himself, was involved, Sam hadn't been a wolf in so long that she could see futures where he was involved. Jacob had been surprised to know that that wolf power wore off.

Jacob had told her all that had happened between the older Sam and Edward, as well as his own run in with his former alpha. She had listened patiently, all the while smiling whenever Jacob would mention her brother affectionately. Jacob wouldn't be surprised if he was blushing.

Well, love certainly does change people. He thought, letting it slip through his mental defences. He heard Edward falter in the other room as the telepath picked up the thought.

After he had finished talking, he turned to listen to Alice.

"Sam has considered going to the Volturi. I don't know what he's going to say, since there is no crime, but all they need is an excuse, even if it's not a good one. He hadn't made a decision yet, so we may have time, but this could get pretty serious.

"The best option is still probably leaving. I know that you might not want to go, but in a way we're powerless to stop Sam. We can't kill him and he knows that. You say there's no possibility of reasoning with him?"

Jacob shook his head. As much as he opposed the idea of leaving, he didn't really see any other option. He suddenly understood why it was so easy to run vampires out of town in legends and fairy tales. All you needed was a pitchfork and a mob and you could kick up enough of a fuss to give them no other choice.

Jacob was about to agree with Alice when she seemed to space out. Jacob knew that she must be having some kind of vision, because she felt a little… vacant. It was more than just the way she looked, it was an actual feeling that made Jacob felt odd sitting next to her.

She recovered quickly and Jacob waited impatiently for her to clue him in.

"Okay, forget my suggestion. We don't have time to go, Sam has decided to come now."

"What's he going to do?"

"I don't know. My vision is still pretty hazy where he's concerned. I think it's an ultimatum."

Jacob held back his worry but couldn't keep his concern out of his thoughts. He needed to tell Edward, now.

He burst into the other room, Alice following him.

Sam's headed this way.

Edward turned to him, looking resigned. Jacob understood what would happen if Sam walked into the hornets' nest and started making threats again. The Cullen's weren't only ruled by their pact with the Quileutes, there were other laws to be abided.

That's not all.

Edward cocked an eyebrow.

The pack is coming.

"What? How?"

"You're thoughts inadvertently called your cavalry." Jacob said aloud, indicating the full room of vampires. "Mine did the same."

"How long until they get here?"

"About five minutes."

Edward nodded, still frowning, and turned to Alice.

"How long until Sam gets here?"

"About the same."

Jacob frowned at Alice. He'd expected her visions to give them a little more warning, he must have already been on the road when she saw him coming. Alice caught his look.

"I told you. Fuzzy."

"Are you sure there's nothing we can to do prevent it?" Carlisle asked.

Alice nodded. "It's going to happen eventually. If not today, then tomorrow."

"What do we do now?"

"We wait."

(...)

Under the circumstances, Jacob was pretty calm. Considering he was about to watch an old friend and kind-of-boss get killed by a pack of bloodsucking vampires, one who happened to be his boyfriend, after just coming out to his family, he'd say he was very calm.

There was nothing they could do. Humans weren't supposed to know about vampires, and Sam was threatening too much.

The minutes passed slowly. Jacob could feel the pack getting closer, but he couldn't stop them. They'd latched on to his distress call and used it as a shield against his current orders. He was annoyed and proud that they'd somehow figured out how to do that,

A confrontation was unavoidable. Jacob wished that he could just tell Sam that he was being an unreasonable and stupid jerk. But he doubted that would do the trick.

Time was moving too slowly to grant them any relief in watching it pass. Tension in the room was increasing as seconds ticked by. To Jacob it felt like someone had fired two heat seeking missiles and thrown him into the line of fire. It was just a question of which would get to him first.

No one spoke. He didn't know what they were all thinking about, and he didn't envy Edward his insight. What a day.

Suddenly Edward stiffened. In response everybody in the room did likewise and turned towards him. Whatever he'd heard Jacob had yet to hear, but slowly each of the Cullen's caught the sound and started to relax. Jacob kept his eye on Edward, who was looking at him likewise.

The first sound they heard was a small laugh. It sounded oddly like wind chimes. The door behind Jacob clicked open and he heard people coming inside.

As the two newcomers crossed the threshold into the tense atmosphere the laughter stopped.

"What did we miss?" asked a voice Jacob recognised as Rosalie's. He felt his hackles rise, an unfortunate reaction leftover from a less pleasant time.

Edward shifted his gaze too look past Jacob. He smiled. Jacob was filled with an inexplicable urge to turn. It was so strong that it reminded him of when he'd been a beta under an alpha's orders. Almost as if he would be crushed if he didn't turn as soon as he could.

He turned.

He caught sight of a pair of familiar brown eyes.

And his entire world exploded in white light.