~A/N Sorry for the delay, hope to be back on track with posting on this one. So excited to find out Humans was nominated for best other worldly and risque fic (blushes) in Fanatic Fanfics Awards 2015. More info on my profile.

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

Chapter 15: The End of the Beginning

Jacob opened his eyes to the best sight in the world. He was looking into his wife's big, brown eyes. She was awake and she looked a hundred and ten percent better than she did when they went to sleep clinging to each other for comfort a few hours before.

His hand reached up to stroke her face, "Hey honey, how you feeling?"

"Better. I wish it was all a nightmare, but I've been awake for a little while. It really happened, didn't it?"

"Yeah, but we're still here together and you're safe. Let's focus on that."

Leah interrupted their moment, barging in to check Bella's vital signs. She'd been in several times during the night. She said if Bella would sit up and take in some sustenance by mouth, she'd remove the IV. She promised she'd try. Jacob held a straw to her lips and she drank cool water down before trying anything else. He said he needed to use the restroom and wash up and then they'd share some breakfast.

"Go on, she's fine for two minutes without you."

"Uh, could you maybe look away a sec, Lee?"

"Seriously, you're both buck naked under that sheet aren't you? Your wife was almost comatose and you still had to strip her down."

"Shut up, you know it's about the contact, it wasn't for sex."

"Get the fuck outta here, Black. I've seen your junk before."

He laughed, but Bella frowned, "Not in front of me, so be a good sis and close your eyes." Leah squeezed her eyes shut and Jacob jumped out of bed. He grabbed his pants off the floor and stepped into the adjoining bathroom.

He heard Leah yell, "Nice ass," as he shut the door.

By the time he walked back out to check on Bells, Leah had helped her put on some pajamas, the IV was out and she was sipping some juice.

Leah stated Bella and baby seemed to be in tip-top shape. Her recommendation was he not leave her side for a few days. They shared a tray of food. Bella's appetite had returned since not eating for almost twenty-four hours. She eventually wanted to talk about it. He told her exactly what happened, just leaving out exactly how gruesome it was.

"So, how do we know that the letter opener was the only evidence he planted?"

"We don't." He hoped the Cullens took care of that most damning thing. They hadn't contacted him yet, but sure enough one of the officers already called. He should probably call back right away, so that he seemed cooperative. She felt strong enough to get up and around. They grabbed a shower together and joined the rest of the family.

Jacob asked some advice from Charlie before calling the police. If he was a suspect and it was pretty obvious, he was, then he wondered how much digging the police would do. He said any DNA matches would be the biggest hurdle. Of course, the police probably had already done a full search of her apartment. Edward, obviously knew his way around Jacob's office. Just as Bella had worried, planting and fabricating evidence was something they should all be concerned with.

"They could subpoena your phone records. In fact, I'm almost certain they will."

"Holy shit, Charlie. Do you know the kinds of things the guys and I say in our texts? Mine are probably full of mentioning ripping the fucker to shreds and burning the body. We say things about bloodsuckers and going wolf. How the hell am I supposed to explain that?"

Rose called later in the day and assured him no one would ever find that letter opener. It no longer existed. Embry also stopped by and let him know his boots were burned and he cleaned out his car. The Cullens wanted to know the exact time and place when Jacob was returning to give more of a detailed statement.

"Trust us, we have a plan."

"Where's your brother?" That's all he really wanted to know. The police shit and Avery's murder were big deals, but Edward on the loose was his biggest worry.

"She keeps trying. He's found a way to block her. Once, we know you're in the clear, some of us are traveling to see if we can track him down."

"I want to go."

Bella looked at him with alarm. Rose asked at the same time, "What about
Bella?"

Leah slapped him in the back of the head. "What did I say? You can't leave her. I hate to say it, but I agree with the leeches for once, they're going to have to handle that overseas expedition solo."

He knew they were right. Bella proved the day before, she was in a delicate way when it came to separation from him. Worry sent her into a downward spiral. It was bad for her and their unborn child. Edward, unleashed in Europe didn't make him feel safe no matter how far off he appeared to be. He worried he went there for a reason that would come back to haunt them all.

Jacob and Bella were sitting in a small, square room. One wall had large mirrored windows. He imagined there were other observers on the other side. Charlie advised them only to go in with a lawyer by their side, but Jacob said something about the Cullens begging him to trust them. They had saved his ass so far, so he and Bella were there together to answer any questions they could about Avery's last hours alive. Three detectives came inside and introduced themselves. He only recognized bad cop from the night before, the other two were new faces. They asked how Bella was feeling, first off and told her to let them know whenever she needed a break. He postponed the meeting until the end of the week because he told the officer that kept calling his wife was having some bad days with her pregnancy. She didn't really look pregnant yet, but they all apparently knew her condition.

Ruiz, was bad cop and he asked Bella first if she disliked Ms. Hammond.

She was nervous, he could feel it in his chest. "No...I mean, yes, I didn't like her."

"Why?"

"I thought she was trying to get my husband's...actually, Jacob was my boyfriend the first time I met her. She was trying to get him to notice her."

"So you two had a jealousy thing going on or a competition."

"No, not at all. There was never any competition. Jacob was with me and I knew that, but what woman likes another woman pushing her tits in her man's face. I didn't like her at all."

Jacob wished Charlie would've talked to Bells like he did with him. She was giving too much information and he had no way to shut her up. They were watching them and he couldn't poke her and kick her under the table. One detective, Martin, made the suggestion they split up. Shit...he regretted not talking to a lawyer. He didn't want to be in separate rooms. Bella didn't realize how she was digging a hole. After a few questions, she seemed like the guilty one.

He was about to ask for a private moment with her, not caring what it looked like, when Blondie barged in.

"Detectives, you aren't getting started without me, I trust."

"Who are you," Ruiz asked.

"Rosalie Cullen, Mr. Black's attorney," she gave Jacob a fake ass smile. Was she serious? They could figure out the whole thing was bogus and then he'd really be screwed. If that's what they meant by trusting them, he was definitely not on board.

Martin and Ruiz stood up and mumbled a few things at the door. Jacob thought he understood some of it. They excused themselves and left them for a little while with the other guy, Grimes.

Ruiz came back in with some papers. "Haven't practiced in a while, have you Ms. Cullen?"

"Nope, but I'm sure you checked, I've kept my license current."

"Oh, yeah, of course, but we couldn't help but notice. Mrs. Black is a former Cullen. Doesn't that pose a conflict of interest?"

"I'm only Mr. Black's attorney. Mrs. Black has her own representation." Bella looked at Jacob and mouthed, I do?

He had no idea what bloodsucker was going to come out of the woodwork next and say he was Bella's lawyer. He had lived at the Cullen's for years. Bella had even longer and no one ever said Rose had a law degree, much less was licensed to practice in the state of Washington.

The officers let her know they would prefer for separate interviews. Rose said that was fine as soon as Bella's attorney arrived. "Could I have five minutes to speak with my client to catch up on what's taken place so far?"

The detectives all left the room, but kept the door open. Bella was eager for answers. "What the hell, Rose? I feel like we're making a spectacle of ourselves."

"Calm down, and you look so...so human. Wow! Okay, back to you, dog. Have they asked for a sample?"

"What?"

"A DNA sample."

"No, not yet..." she shushed him from saying anything more.

"Volunteer."

"Huh?"

"Trust me, volunteer for it and you'll take a polygraph too."

The detectives filed back in one by one announcing Bella's lawyer had arrived. She and Jacob looked at each other curiously. He couldn't hide a chuckle. Mike "Marshmallow" Newton joined them in the small room. Blondie had been up to some crazy shit apparently. Mike and Bella left the room with Ruiz which made Jacob nervous. He was the pushy one, but if Newton was really an attorney, then he should keep the questions contained.

After another hour of statements which were recorded, they thanked him and told Jacob a tech was coming in to swab his cheek. Then, as soon as the examiner was all set up, he'd take the lie detector test. He was confident his acute senses would help him breeze through that as long as Bella stayed calm during her lengthy interview. Jacob was still a little concerned about them studying his DNA. He knew they might find it under Avery's fingernails, but that should be it unless Cullen had done something they didn't know about.

Grimes stopped at the door to speak to someone, Jacob already had a whiff of who was out there.

"Who are you?" the detective inquired.

"I'm filling in today."

"Where's our regular tech?"

Carlisle said he had no idea, the temp agency called him to work. He brought his tray inside and explained to Jacob how he'd obtain a sample. He was finally accepting that the Cullens were covering all the bases. It was no accident, Carlisle would be in charge of his sample. He needed for the entire day to be over and be on the way back home with Bella, so he could breath again. Jacob kept pulling at his dress shirt, wishing he could rip the damn thing off.

Fucking Newton was outside with Bells when he left the police station going on and on about how fabulous she looked. Of all the people, Blondie could dig up, why him? Jacob made himself play nice, since he seemed like he was there to help.

Mike told them both, everything so far was just routine, and the cops had nothing, especially on Bella. He added if the DNA wasn't a match, which Jacob knew it wouldn't be, then the investigation would move in another direction.

"Nice to hear you guys ended up together. Cullen never deserved you in my opinion. Sorry, we had to meet again under these circumstances. It's a tragedy, but Rose filled me in. You two were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Remember what I said though? No more interviews without your lawyers." He shook Jacob's hand and gave Bella big hug. "Seriously, over ten years and you still look eighteen. Jess is going to so jealous."

"Oh, you're still in touch," Bella hadn't mentioned Jessica in a long time.

He held up his hand to show off a shiny, silver band. "Yep, she married me, second year of law school. We live in PA. I wasn't even aware you stayed in the area. We all should get together for dinner one night."

Bella politely said, "Sure."

Rose told them both to meet her at the house. He wasn't planning on that detour, but they probably needed to go over all the details. So much had gone on and they were still clueless about most of it.

Bella sat in Jacob's lap when they made it home. She was exhausted and said all she wanted to do was sleep for a week. He heard from work. They wanted him come in on Monday and discuss what had happened. Gavin insisted he wasn't fired or on mandatory leave. Carlisle explained the DNA sample would've been confusing because there was a variation the wolf gene causes. Jacob remembered a similar conversation way back when Bella was pregnant the first time with Ness.

He made sure the regular lab tech was safe and sound. Alice was proud to announce they didn't kill him or anything dire. Apparently, they'd slipped him something that made him chained to the john for twenty-four hours was all. Carlisle was in the position to swap out Jacob's sample with a mental patient he treated. The guy had been institutionalized most of his adult life. There would never be a chance of a match. They'd already found out nothing substantial turned up at Avery's apartment search. Jasper had even hacked into surrounding security footage. He and Emmett wiped several things clean that showed Jacob on the street walking towards the warehouse. It seemed like they covered all the loose ends. They also asked for all the pack's numbers, since Jasper knew how to toy with the records, if it ever got that far.

The last part of the conversation was all about Edward. Jacob finally explained what had happened in full detail the night he and Bella were resurrected together. They told them what their private investigation turned up. He had to trust them, more than he wanted to. They planned to search for Edward as soon as they knew he and Bella were cleared of any involvement with Avery. Alice was constantly trying to see something, anything, but so far nothing. All they knew was Edward took a flight to London and he truly did get on that flight, but after that, he disappeared.

Jacob knew he'd planned the first attack on him for two years and then the backup plan with Avery was only months away. He wanted to move on with Bella and welcome their child into the world without a dark cloud hanging over them, but his gut told him, it wasn't over. His worst fear was it had only just begun.

~Thanks so much for reading.

Seriously, the other chapter is near completion, and the ideas are flowing. Let me know what you think.