~You all make me so happy by giving this a try. I just had so many ideas running through my head for this particular pair and I wanted to continue their story. This chapter comes with some warnings: it's emotional, it's downright brutal and might crush a few of your hearts. Sorry, but everything happens for a reason.

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Copyright disclaimer: Twilight and all recognizable characters are sole property of Stephenie Meyer.

Chapter 2: Loss and Gain

She ran as soon as her feet hit the deck, merely a blurred streak across the ground. Red lights glowed, moving at a swift speed down the driveway. Bella briefly thought, follow, but when the scent exploded her senses; she ran towards him instead. Jacob, her Jacob was bleeding. He was bleeding a lot. He was spread out on his back in an awkward position near the trash drums.

"NO!" She shrieked into the darkness. "Jake, no..." Bella's hands explored him in search of how bad it was. So much blood, more than she'd ever encountered despite her status as a blood drinker. She looked, listened and felt attempting to utilize any minimal training she'd received from Carlisle. Two large entries were on his torso. One on his stomach, the other straight over his heart. Bella ripped the front of his t-shirt. They had to have been large bullets but only small amounts of blood still trickled from the holes. The volume of blood was underneath. She rolled him to his side to find that nothing was gushing, but the exit wounds were savage. She knew why they weren't pumping out blood, because she'd never heard one beat of his heart since she got outside. There was no breath as well and it was so obvious...he was dead. She knew it had been instantaneous, but she still begged. "Heal...heal...please, goddammit! I know you still can heal quickly."

Nothing happened. She should attempt CPR, but from judging the blood on the ground, he'd bled out. She couldn't resuscitate a heart without blood. She entertained a bite, but it wouldn't work. They knew that to be true before, unless he was human enough, but she stopped...he'd never want that and she knew it. Bella was lost for those few moments, not able to believe what was in front of her. Then the sound of a squeaky brakes altered her focus.

The car was still on their property. There was no way they should get away with what they'd done. Maybe they were turning around, that it had been their desire to rob them and Jacob startled them. None of the reasons mattered, all that was on her mind was that she carried out her revenge. Seconds ticked by and she was upon them as they stopped near the end of the driveway.

Two hearts beat inside the vehicle...not much longer. Bella jumped onto the trunk, reached through the back glass and lost herself in what she truly was. The car started moving again off the path. The driver's foot, no doubt slipped off the brake with what he was enduring. She'd never harmed a human. Never desired it. Bella woke up with complete control when she transformed, but these two; she was hurting them in the worst of ways. Jacob's dead played in her head like a mantra, so there was no way to stop once she started. It was pure instinct. They'd killed Jacob for no reason, her husband, her everything was dead on the ground. Mercy didn't exist in that car. Jacob's heart had been pierced by their bullets, his skin ripped and his vessels torn apart essentially spilling his entire life-force into the soil. She made sure to rip both their hearts out simultaneously. The rest was a viscous frenzy. The whole ordeal was less the three minutes long.

When she retreated from the back of the car that she'd opened like a can of sardines, it was obvious a tree had halted the car for going any further, but the engine still ran. She hated the way it sounded, because it reminded her she had that moment's hesitation when she could have been out there saving him instead. Bella peeled back the hood and pulled the wires she knew would disable the car. Her body was drenched in their blood and filth. There was nothing pleasing about the red liquid, she would have never tasted them. The lake called to her, she plunged the surface of the water to rid herself of any tangible reminder of them.

Reality started to set in when she made it to his side. He was so pale, nothing had ever seemed so wrong. Jacob was never pale. Bella fell to her knees again. "We were supposed to get 100 years. You promised me at least 100 years! Why did you stop? I told you not to stop!" She was scolding him like he could have controlled the outcome in some way. She wasn't sure if the phasing would have made a difference or not. They had no way to foresee such a random act of violence.

Bella turned back to look at their home, the place they'd designed and built together. In such a short time, those walls held countless good memories. She'd had breakthroughs with a pack of wolves who all, once again, accepted her. Her father had welcomed her in his arms and taken her back after she shredded his heart. Jacob had carried her over the threshold when they'd returned from their honeymoon. He'd built up her confidence and helped her with a career, they made love within those walls almost everyday. It was now obvious, she was definitely damned; first her only child and now the love of her life.

There was only one thing left to do. They'd never formulated their plan, but she told him whenever she found out he'd age that when he went, so did she. Edward had once told her it couldn't be done unassisted, but she doubted everything he ever said was the absolute truth. He might have been too weak to act on his suicidal tendencies, she was not. If she succeeded, would she be with him? He told her to have faith, and that is what she intended to do. Bella had to be strong one last time for him. Exactly how, eventually came to her so she returned to the house. She got what she needed from the storage room. She would use an accelerant, they had plenty of lighter fluid. She carried more than one igniter: matches and a butane lighter.

The memories beckoned her so she took one last look around. It was all so overwhelming. The quesadilla sat there on the counter, all put together, just waiting to be cooked for him. Damn her stupid tidiness; she'd made him take out the trash. It could've waited until morning. Why did she ask him to do that? Her eyes studied some of their photographs. She had to explain herself or they would all wonder how and why and it would forever haunt them.

Bella grabbed one of her notepads and poured out her words. She wrote quickly but it was legible. The note was left on the bar.

Billy, Charlie, Sue, Rachel, Rebecca and all the pack:

I love all of you, Jacob loved you all so much. I don't know why, but men came...they shot him. I tried, but there was nothing I could do. I can't...I just can't be without him. The house is for all of you, important papers in are in the bottom drawer of the desk.

Goodbye, Bella

The best place for her to do it was next to the lake, so she sat the items on the grass. Next, she had to go get Jacob. She brought him to their final resting place. He was already so cold, same temperature as she was. Bella took a final moment to look at him, she positioned herself close to him and pressed her mouth against his cheek. "Wait for me, please wait...I'm coming to find you Jake. I love you so much."

She popped the lid to the lighter fluid and poured some on both their legs. The pungent fuel smell filled her nostrils and she was ready to continue when a whole other scent permeated the air. A misty fog moved off the lake and surrounded them. She was alarmed: wolf, but not one that she knew.

Bella hissed before she visualized the unknown shifter. "Get out of here."

And almost as if he came from nothing, the large man was right in front of them.

"Calm down, cold one," she was in no state of mind for the intruder, but she couldn't help to take him in. He was large, broad shouldered with silky black hair. She was use to the pack in cut-offs and gym shorts. This man looked like he'd been on a movie set: deerskins pants, furs over his shoulder and feathers intertwined in his hair.

She was confused, but stayed frozen next to Jacob's body on the moist dirt.

"The true alpha is dead."

"I know, but I swear...I did not do this. He's my husband." Maybe she should not act so apologetic, and let him end her thinking she killed a human.

"Yes, I know who you are."

How? She'd never heard of Jacob speak of another shifter, perhaps from another tribe. How did he know Jacob and seemed to know who she was. She wondered why he didn't act aggressive towards her. "Please, just leave us. I hurt the men who did this and now I only want to be alone with my husband."

"Your foolishness changed the course...this was never supposed to be as such. The tribe will suffer far greater than they could ever imagine without their leader."

She'd had enough. She knew in some ways she was to blame for his fate. He made the sacrifices to be with her. This man knew he should have been the alpha, but he wasn't and living a normal life brought nothing but death to him. Hearing this stranger make her face her own selfishness was too much to bare. "I said leave," she growled it out like a wild animal. Jacob wouldn't have wanted her to hurt a fellow wolf whether he knew him or not. Her mournful, darkened gaze and inflamed tone seemed to have no effect on him. He was seeing past her and only staring down at Jacob.

"You're giving up? Won't fight for him or yourself? What would your daughter think?"

That was it, he'd intruded on her private mourning, insulted her and had the nerve to mention Renesmee which she still had no idea how he knew so much. She jumped up and charged. He pushed forth a flattened palm and like he had some sort of spell over her, she halted right in front of him.

"How do you know I had a daughter?"

"I know everything...that's how I know this is all wrong. This is a facade; break it and be who you were meant to be. It's why I'm giving you both one more chance to make it right. Don't destroy this opportunity."

He turned around and said nothing else. She looked back to Jacob's lifeless form. When Bella looked back for the mystery man, he was gone. There was nothing but a strange mist where he'd stood. Was he even real? Had her grief made her mad in her final moments? She didn't believe ghost existed no matter what reality she was aware of.

She was back to his side again wishing she could have shed one tear for him and their brief time together. It hurt when she couldn't cry for Renesmee and this burned her just the same. Bella held his face again and pleaded again in her mind to be able to join him. Just ending and not existing was not good enough, but Jacob said to have faith.

"I believe," she said out loud.

And then another breeze blew through except she was overwhelmed with familiarity: sweet pea mixed with watery pears and plums; just a hint of Madonna lily. "Renesmee," wafted from her lips. She looked every which way but couldn't see her. She could feel her though. The cool breeze moved her hair and a soft tickle, almost a butterfly kiss touched her cheek.

"Baby, are you with Jake? I'm almost there. Both of you wait for me."

The wind whistled again and the sensations started to wan, but for a split second she saw a vision. Renesmee surrounded by vibrant colors and things she didn't even know how to describe. She was more certain than ever she could carry out her mission.

Her baby was slipping away, the scent barely lingered but just before it completely disappeared, the tiny voice uttered again for her to hear. "Stay..."

No, she couldn't stay after the glimpse she was allowed. She was more determined than ever to be reunited to her family. Bella ignored the liquid, they already reeked of the petroleum fuel. Her hand went to the lighter instead. She couldn't stop herself from reaching out to touch his marred chest again. "Oh Jacob, I love you. You go, I go...we promised each other."

All noise from the wind had ceased. The night was perfectly still and quiet but one splash echoed in her ear. It couldn't have been in the lake, it was closer than that, like right in front of her. Maybe it had begun to rain. She'd need to hurry with her plan in case a downpour began. Bella held her fingers on the trigger of the lighter again and then the sound, the splash occurred a second time. It took her a moment to realize it was from her. Trails of water were freely flowing down both sides of her face to where they landed on Jacob directly over his heart.

I'm crying, was the impossible thing she said to herself. Her fingers reached up to her eyes and confirmed she wasn't imagining it. Then she felt a heaviness on her chest. Her head started to spin. She swore she felt as if she was drowning, but how? She wasn't in the water. Vampires didn't need to breath, vampires didn't cry, but after as many minutes as she could stand had ticked by; two distinct gasps erupted. First came an audible intake of air and then breathy releases. In and out, simultaneous breathing. For the first time in almost a decade, soft chocolate eyes found a piercing, anthracite gaze boring into them; his eyes.

Bella desired to speak, felt like screaming but couldn't. Her voice was lodged somewhere, like her vocal chords were paralyzed. Jacob moved. His large hand reached for her and covered the center of her chest. Awe, confusion and bewilderment were all expressed on his face.

He spoke, his voice cracked with emotion, "Bells...your heart's beating?"

She issued a slight cough and cleared the way for her own shaky voice as her hand copied his movement by covering his heart with her palm, "So is yours..."

~Thanks for reading.

Breathe...just like Jacob and Bella. So, I totally just did that, didn't I? It was bad, but lots of good stuff coming. Of course, he'd found true happiness with her despite her being a vampire, but I'm weak; I wanted even more for them. Bella served her penance in my opinion. Show me love, tell me I'm crazy, anything: just let me know what you think.