Being There

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

A/N-thank you for the lovely reviews on the last chapter. Nikki :)

Part Forty Seven

Bella parked the car outside the house and got out. She ran around to the other side and unclipped her sleeping son from his car seat. Being careful not to wake Brandon, she carried him into the house. Once inside she found Jacob in the hallway patching up a hole in the wall. He stopped what he was doing when he saw her and frowned. "Where have you been?" He asked, his voice cold.

"I've been with mom and dad." Bella told him.

Jacob flicked his eyes to his son. "Put him in his cot, we need to talk." He stated bluntly before heading off into the kitchen.

Bella stared after him in shock, she had never heard Jacob speak to her that way before in all the time they had been together. She quickly walked into the nursery and placed Brandon gently in his cot. She watched him for a while as she tried to compose herself. Something told her that she was about to get into a fight with Jacob and she wanted to be prepared. After a moment she took a deep breath and kissed Brandon gently on the forehead before leaving the room.

Jacob was in the living room pacing back and forth when she returned. She sat down on the couch and looked at him. "What's going on?" She asked him, trying to keep her voice calm.

"What's going on is that you just lied to me, Bells." Jacob stopped pacing and glared at her.

"Lied to you?" Bella questioned in disbelief. "I told you where I had been."

Jacob tapped the side of his nose. "You forget, Bells," he said sarcastically. "I have enhanced senses. I can smell Embry on you. I know that you've been with him."

Bella gasped, her fingers dug into the couch cushions as she tried to keep a tight reign on her temper. "You are unbelievable. How dare you? I did not lie to you, I have been with my mom and dad. I saw Embry on the way back and gave him a lift home."

"Lift home? Why, he's a freaking wolf? Why would he need a lift? You were supposed to be staying away from him." Jacob seethed, his irrational jealousy was getting out of control.

"I have been." Bella retorted. "But I saw that he was drunk and I was worried about what he might do, so I decided it was best to see him home safely. He had been drinking the strong stuff. He is our friend, Jake. I can't believe you are acting like this. You disappoint me."

Her words made Jacob stop in his tracks, he took a couple of deep breaths and saw the raw honesty shining from her eyes. He had done it again, let his jealousy cloud his judgement. He could guess why Embry had been drinking after their earlier confrontation. Bella could see that Jacob was trying to get himself together, she gave him a moment to do so, leaving to get a drink of water from the kitchen.

XXXXXX

Bella was standing at the sink, an empty glass in her hand when she felt Jacob come up behind her and slip his arms around her waist. He kissed the back of her neck softly. "I'm a jealous idiot. I'm sorry."

"You can't keep doing this to me, Jake. I hardly recognise you when you get like this. What sparked it off?

"Embry didn't tell you?" Jacob asked quietly.

"No. He was pretty much out of it. He's lonely Jake, he thinks his life is at a standstill while the rest of us are moving forward. What happened between you two?" Bella twisted around in his arms so she could see him.

Jacob put his hands around her waist and dropped his eyes away from hers. He was feeling incredibly guilty about lashing out at her. "I had a run in with Embry earlier." He confessed. "He came to see me to try and talk. I just lost it."

Bella put her hand under his chin and forced him to look at her. "We've spoken about this before. Whether Embry has feelings for me or not should not make you act this way. He is no threat to us, or shouldn't be. What's really behind all this, Jake? Why don't you trust me?"

"I do trust you." Jacob tried to pull her against his chest but she resisted.

"No you don't otherwise you wouldn't be acting like a jealous idiot." Bella said sadly. "I don't feel like I know you anymore."

"Bells, please..." Jacob tried to kiss her but she turned her head away.

"I need space, Jake. I'm going to stay at my dad's for a few days." Bella began to walk away.

"Bells no. I told you I'm sorry." Jacob began to panic. He couldn't believe everything was crumbling so quickly.

"Just leave it, Jake." Bella retreated to their shared bedroom. She began opening draws and piling clothes on the bed to take with her.

XXXXXX

Jacob put his hands in his hair as he tried to think of what to do. He did trust Bella, didn't he? Her words made him pause as he tried to sort through his turbulent emotions. It had been hard lately, work and the constant patrolling had impacted heavily on their lives. Some days they were barely together for more than an hour a day, if you didn't include the time they spent in bed sleeping. All of this had taken it's toll on both of them. Bella had been extremely patient with him; she knew what a heavy burden he carried, but the truth was he missed her so much when he was apart from her. Added to the fact that Embry had revealed his true feelings for Bella and it had pushed Jacob over the edge making him act territorial and irrational.

He quickly sped into their bedroom. Bella was sitting on the end of the bed, her shoulders shaking as she cried. Jacob knelt in front of her and pulled her into his arms, this time she let him. "Honey, I'm so sorry. You were right when you talked about trust. It's not you that I don't trust, it's me." He admitted.

"I don't understand." Bella wiped the tears from her eyes as she looked at him.

"I love you so much, Bells. The thought of losing you scares the hell out of me. With life being so pressurised at the moment I just haven't been handling it that well. Sometimes I don't trust that I'm good enough and that you could find someone so much better. That's partly why I lashed out at Em. I felt threatened and handled it badly." Jacob said honestly.

"Oh, Jake." Bella put her arms around his neck and hugged him close. "That's all I wanted you to do was tell me the truth."

Jacob put his head on her shoulder, hiding the tears that were leaking out of his eyes. "Please tell me you're not going to leave me, Bells." He begged her.

Bella ran her fingers through his hair, feeling the silky strands tickle her skin. "I'll never leave you, Jake, ever." She promised him. She felt him relax in her arms. They stayed there for a while, just holding each other for comfort.

XXXXXX

Embry sighed when there was a rapping on the front door. He hadn't moved from the couch since Bella had left, he just didn't have the energy. He ignored the knocking at first, hoping that whoever it was would just go away, but to no avail, the knocking became more persistent. He finally got up from the couch and opened the door, he was shocked to see Jacob standing there.

"Hey, Em."

"Jake." Embry watched his friend warily.

Jacob rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Can we talk?"

"Talk? I tried that before and you weren't having any of it." Embry said tiredly. "What's different now?"

"The difference is I've finally realised what an ass I've been. We've been friends for years Em and you're right, I can't blame another guy for falling for her. She's beautiful, kind and loving...and for some bizarre reason she loves me." Jacob finished quietly.

"She does love you a lot, I see it every time she mentions your name." Embry admitted. "I envy you, Jake. You have it all."

"I know and sometimes, Em, I'm scared that I'm gong to lose it all." Jacob looked at his friend and held out his hand. "Can we start again?"

Embry gave him a wry smile as he took his hand and shook it. "You better come in then."

Jacob returned his smile and followed Embry into the house.

XXXXXX

Bella was just serving dinner when Jacob returned from seeing Embry, his dad and Jared were already tucking in when he joined them. He nodded at Bella as she glanced over at him, giving her a secret signal that he had settled things with Embry. She gave him a relieved smile as she placed his plate in front of him, leaning down to give him a quick kiss on the head.

"Hey, no PDA while I'm eating." Billy said with his mouth full. "I've had enough of it at Charlie's house. Ugh I tell you, Bella, your mom and dad are acting like love's young dream."

Jacob glanced up at Bella. "What have I missed?" He asked in confusion.

"My dad proposed to my mom today." Bella smiled at the memory. "She said yes."

Billy chuckled at his son's surprised expression. "They might actually beat you two to the alter."

"No way." A determined light shone in Jacob's eyes. "I think it's time we set a date honey." He said to Bella.

She smiled indulgently at him as she sat down with her own plate of food. "I think you're right."

Billy and Jared laughed at the two of them. "I can smell wedding rivalry in the air." Jared quipped.

"Oh yeah." Billy agreed as he winked at his son and Bella.

XXXXXX

Bella and Jacob lay side by side in bed, looking at each other. It had been quite a day, full of angst and upset, but as always they had worked through things in their own way. Jacob gently touched Bella's face, tracing his fingers along the curve of her cheek and the bridge of her nose.

"You're so beautiful." He said huskily. "How did I get so lucky?"

"I'm the lucky one." Bella moved forward and kissed him on the lips, cupping his cheek as she did so. "You've saved me in so many ways."

"That goes both ways honey, you saved me too." Jacob smiled as he leaned in for another kiss. "My life would be empty without you and Brandon."

Bella smiled back at him, tenderly stroking his face. She loved him so much, she hadn't thought it would be possible to feel so much for one person. "I love you so much, Jake." She whispered, her voice full of emotion.

"I love you too, honey." Jacob gently wrapped her in his arms, pulling her close to his heated body.

Bella revelled in the warmth, she never needed to wear much to bed lying next to Jacob because he was so hot. She snuggled closer to him as he began to kiss down her neck, teasing the skin along her collarbone with his tongue. Jacob smiled as she moaned softly as he began lifting up her tank top, sliding down her body so he could kiss the sensitive skin along her stomach, then tracing a path up her body with his tongue until he reached her breasts. Bella's hand clutched at his hair as she moved, tugging him closer as he continued to caress her breasts with his lips and tongue.

"You're so good at that." She moaned.

Jacob grinned as he suddenly flipped them over so she was draped across him. "I love you." He said again.

"Make love to me, Jake." Bella asked him softly.

Jacob cupped the back of her head as he kissed her again. "I thought you would never ask." He said huskily as he pulled her down on top of him.

A/N-thanks for reading!