~These long chapters stress me out for editing, but this is what my readers ask for.

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

Chapter 32: Changing Circumstance

Bella rolled over. She was alone in her bed. It took a few minutes to gain her bearings. Jacob brought them inside just before six in the morning. Barry had gotten up to take a few aspirin and found her messages. He was super concerned, so he made sure she and Atticus were fine before he left her room to try and get a little more rest on his couch bed. She was up every hour at first, but then the baby gave her a three hour stretch of sleep. She was ready to climb out of the bed when he awakened most likely for the day around 11:30, but Barry took him. He told her to rest a bit longer. He could give him a bottle and take care of him. She only planned to rest fifteen, twenty minutes. She glanced at her phone. Holy hell, it was two in the afternoon.

Bella stepped out into the living area. Barry and Leah were eating at the table. Atticus was asleep in the swing. Wow, her friends were great. She saw an apparatus on the counter. "Hey, is that the nebulizer?"

Barry answered. "Yep, Poppa dropped it off just after 8. He waited for the medical supply shop to open." Jacob must have skipped trying to get any rest. "He's at work, not sure what he's accomplishing. He calls or texts every 20 minutes to check on you and the little prince."

She didn't respond outwardly, but on the inside, she felt an overwhelming tug at her emotions.

"Did you use it?"

Leah answered, "Yeah, we gave him a treatment because he got a little more congested after his bottle."

"Is he okay? Should I call the doctor? How'd you know how?" Bella hadn't even read the instructions.

Leah said he seemed fine after the treatment. He was happy, playing in the swing and then fell asleep only about thirty minutes ago. "When in doubt, Mom knows best. I called her and she walked me through it step by step. I'll show you when he wakes up."

"Gee, thanks so much, Leah. I need to call Mom and Dad. I bet they're worried."

"We've been keeping them updated. They said they'd come up if you need them. Jake had food sent over. I promised him you'd eat, so here's yours." Bella opened the containers. Good gracious, did Jacob think she was a lumberjack? There was a grilled chicken pasta, a giant Caesar salad, bread and a side of grilled vegetables. "There's cannolis too. Don't worry, I blocked this guy from his third one."

"Don't listen to her, B. This one's shifty. She ate like a horse, no idea how she keeps that svelte figure." Bella's lips formed a smile. It was nice to see them getting along. She was feeling closer to Leah every time they crossed paths even if they hadn't said much since the day at the clinic.

"I'm sure I have plenty. I'm starved but there's no way I can even eat half this stuff." Bella walked closer and started to make a plate. Barry stood up. He let her have his spot. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. He apologized for not being lucid for her. "It's fine. You couldn't have known. It all happened so fast."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I feel like poo. I should've never drank so much, but that hot, beefy man makes me nervous." Leah snickered from across the table. "I'm going out for a run. I need to purge the rest of this alcohol via sweat. You two beauties have a nice chat."

Once Barry left, Leah started talking. "We never got to know each other too well, because let's face it, I hated you back then. However, you've come a long way, but from what I've observed, it still sucks to be you." She grabbed another slice of garlic toast and started chewing.

Bella paused a few seconds, but agreed wholeheartedly, "Um, yeah, sounds pretty accurate."

"Damn Swan, how did you end up here? I really want to know. I've been out of the loop so long because let's be honest, it sucked to me for a long time as well. I'm stuck here now and that's pretty much all your doing, so I'd really like some answers."

Bella chose to eat more than talk. Leah didn't beat around the bush and she was making her a little apprehensive. "I'm not really sure what you want me to say. Of course, I'm grateful to each one of you for the sacrifices you're making. I'm so sorry about your job and the entire upheaval you were forced to endure."

"No, don't do that. I asked how did you end up here? Where's the woman from the clinic? She seemed to know what was up."

Bella looked around for some stupid reason. No one else was there. Leah meant her, that much was clear. "I... I'm not following."

"You're second in command. You're his equal, not his subordinate. Speak up, you're not that mousy teenage wimp anymore. No one's dazzling you. Come on, why are you here?"

"Well, you know how the story goes from the beginning. Jake needs to know his son his safe at all times."

"He'd be safer on the reservation."

"But Jake lives here. He has no choice."

That only made Leah laugh which in turn started to piss Bella off a bit and she was certain her face reflected it. "Stop, I don't know what's so funny. Nothing about this is amusing."

"Now we're getting somewhere. That's the fire I saw before. You're going to need that and then some to get this situation turned on it's ass. Don't settle for this. He doesn't belong with the property princess. We all need to get our asses back to reservation until we finally figure out what your creepy stalker intends to do."

"What about Jake's job?"

"He hates it."

Bella never heard him say that. She never had talked to him much about why he became an architect or if he was doing what he really wanted. Leah added Seth and Amy were moving back as soon as she graduated in the spring.

"What about Collin?"

"Well, he has something he wanted to propose, but Jacob told him to wait. There are other options being talked about."

Talking. That's what she and Jacob really needed to accomplish, the sooner the better. Leah passed Bella a cannoli. "Oh wow, that's good. I haven't had one of these in forever." She wiped the excess cream from her lips and gave Leah permission to take the last one. She was barely going to be able to finish the one she had.

"Better than sex, eh?"

Bella blushed, not exactly so she kept mum.

"Speaking of sex, good thing you held the manwhore off. You don't need that complication." Leah spoke of Mack like she knew him.

"Wait, is this from Jake or you talking from experience?"

Leah said she unexpectedly attended Jacob's wedding which pissed the bride off. She never RSVP'd. "Cousin MacDick tried his damnedest with me, but I didn't take the bait. He was fresh off one of the bridesmaids when he started circling me like a damn shark. I didn't have my superior senses then, but I could spot skank pussy a mile away and he was covered in it. I saw them coming out of one of the tents. That guy's trouble. I know you don't want to go there, so kudos for holding out."

Bella never thought a second about being with Mack, marked or not. She had taken his friendship offer at face value, but Leah's honesty made her think twice. Jacob said he had a list and she accused him of just being jealous or ridiculous. She hadn't even heard one word from him since he left her in the driveway. He didn't even walk her up.

The sweets gave her the boost to say what Leah was fishing to hear. "Yeah, Mackenzie's irrelevant. I guess you're not going to stop until I say it. I can't leave Jacob. It's hard enough to tell him no about anything, but I need to be close to him. I think things are about to change, we're going to start a new course."

"Don't think, give him an ultimatum. Tell him you won't be used, that you and your son come first, not that bitch he shackled himself to as penance." Bella thought that sounded a bit selfish and Leah insisted this wasn't the time for selflessness. "You never had problems before, quit trying to be the fucking martyr."

She went onto to say she went from hate to respect and back to hate again when she realized how Jake dealt with his imprint. It made her wonder why Sam couldn't even muster up a tenth of that strength to fight his imprint to Emily. "Jacob was allowing you the choice while Sam pushed Emily from the start. He dropped me so fast, I bounced."

Bella corrected her. "Jacob thought he was giving me a choice, but I didn't have all the information. I don't see how that enabled me to make sound decisions. It's obvious, I didn't."

"That's true. It's not black and white like we all thought. See, we all struggle to make sense of it, even when we aren't directly involved."

Bella asked Leah if she was okay, like really okay with how her life had turned out. "Yeah. In all honesty, I can't picture myself with Sam. I'm not the girl he dated in high school anymore and Emily is so much better suited for him. I don't even have hard feelings anymore. I know that's what they all thought because I stayed gone, but there were other reasons. I stayed over at their house the other night, hung out with the kids. Emily and I drank a bottle of wine and made a pan of brownies."

"I'm never cooking with Kaleigh."

"Hell no, I wouldn't let you. I think we can all agree, the situation is quite different and she doesn't belong in our group. He picked the polar opposite of you to try and fight his heart's desire. It's a good thing you two got together and forgot that sex makes babies. I feel like that sweet little boy there was the only thing that was ever going to stop you both from your complete and utter destruction."

Bella watched her son rock back and forth in the swing. Rescuing his two stubborn, slightly misguided parents was a tall order for such a tiny baby, but maybe there was some truth to Leah's assessment. She often thought of that phone call and all the times she'd watched it go to voice mail. The last time, the day before they conceived Atticus, it almost felt like an invisible force ignited in her body and moved through her until her fingers had no choice but to answer. Life had only be livable for so many years and no matter how fucked up everything was at the moment, it was honestly the happiest she'd been. She almost added for ten years, but actually it was in forever. Having their son made her happy, strengthening friendships with the pack and reconnecting with her parents made her happy. Being around Jacob, even if it was only five minutes was one of her favorite parts of the day.

He knocked about an hour later. Bella was sitting on the couch feeding Atticus. He was sounding so much better than he had in the night. His breathing was barely congested. Leah had gone for a run around the perimeter and Barry never came back so she wasn't sure what he was up to. Jacob went straight to the fridge and pulled out some of the leftovers.

"Did you eat?"

"Yes, tons, but there's still plenty. Warm up whatever you want." Jacob started a plate heating in the microwave. He walked over to them, leaned over and kissed his son's head never even blinking an eye that he was at the breast. They were so laid back and casual now when they spent time together, just the three of them.

"No more fevers."

"None that I can tell. He's doing really great. Thanks for getting the nebulizer so early."

Jacob brought his food over and sat in the chair. She continued to nurse the baby who appeared to be catching up for not having much of an appetite the day before. She asked if Kaleigh was still working.

"Yeah, she and her realty group are celebrating tonight. They are going out for dinner and drinks."

Atticus finished up eating about the same time as Jake. Bella passed him off so father and son could enjoy each other. Jacob held Atticus's hand up for a high five. "You beat that virus in record time. That's my boy." Bella told him how the morning went and how he was with Leah and Barry.

"You caught up on some rest."

"Yes, I got more than I imagined, but you didn't."

"Naw, but I'll catch up tonight. Do you feel like talking?"

She did. It seemed more than necessary. Bella merely shook her head up and down. She spread out the baby's quilt. He should be content playing and rolling while they spoke. Bella wasn't sure what to discuss first. It seemed he had the most weighing heavily on his mind.

Jacob blew all the air out of his lungs. He looked back and forth to her and their son a few times. "He's such a good baby. I'm glad he's too young to know what a fuck up his father is."

"Jake, that's not even true. You're the best father he could ever need. We're human, well... you know what I mean. We've made mistakes, both of us."

He said he really needed to hear what transpired during that visit from Selene. Bella told him how she didn't waste much time before offering up the check. She kept the pieces. She jumped up to pull them from a drawer in the kitchen. Jacob pieced them together in his lap and looked disgusted.

"I refused, Mom showed up. She was rude and insulting, a rich, hateful bigot. She doubled the offer as she was leaving. You know I'd never take money and run away. I mean, I already ran once, but I would never do something so reckless with our child."

"I know. Can you tell me anything else about her? How'd she look?"

"Huh?"

"Did she seem alright physically, I mean. I haven't seen her since the birthday party. I keep asking Kay about running by. This is the longest she's ever gone without dragging me over to her parents' place. Bells, there's stuff going on. Kaleigh's acting out, so to speak. I have to shoulder some of the blame for my betrayal, but I can't live like this."

Bella had no idea what he meant. She explained things he must already know. Selene obviously took care of herself. She wore expensive clothes and accessories. She wasn't sure what else he was interested in.

"She had cancer a long time ago, before I knew Kaleigh."

"Oh."

"Kaleigh says it's back but no one's supposed to know. I'm 99% sure she's lying."

"About cancer?" The first question in Bella's mind was, who does that?

"I couldn't let myself believe it at first either, but Embry agrees with me now. The others disputed it from the start, we were the last two holdouts."

"Oh, wow. That's wrong and crazy and unbelievable and a bunch of other stuff I can't wrap my mind around. Why Embry? I thought he was a big supporter."

"He was. He was doing just that last week when he had watch. He had dinner with her in the house." Bella remembered. Most of the guys ate with her and Barry, but Embry turned them down. "He listened to her side to everything, tried to be a friend because he's always cared for her, but she did something that changed his mind."

"Like?"

"She made a move on him, kissed him."

"No way, poor Emb. That must have been confusing. He's trying to do that right thing, she's using him."

"We know. I mean, he knows now. Of course, he stopped her and told me that same night when we went over the patrol report."

Jacob said he wasn't even jealous. He was just angry that his brother was caught in the middle of his drama. Part of it made sense he guessed. "Maybe that's what people that get cheated on do. I hurt her, she hurts me."

Bella realized fairly quick Jacob hadn't confronted her yet. She helped Atticus out of a jam like he was used to getting into when he rolled as far as he could go. She kissed his head and started him in the other, unobstructed direction. She resided with her son mere feet from Kaleigh who only hours before seemed genuinely concerned for his well being. However, this description given by Jacob made her sound like a crazy person. Barry had an appointment for them to visit a townhouse later in the week. She thought that was for the best.

Jacob started telling her a little more about his lawyer appointments. "At first, he advised me not to abandon the property. I was looking at everything from a financial standpoint, but I hardly care now. Kaleigh has been spending money we don't have. I'm not sure how many credit cards she's ran up. I helped design this house, but nothing materialistic seems important now. I just want to let it all go back, cut my losses. My job is very political. I'm not suited to be at firm like this. It's not what I had in mind at all. We're not going to make much on the house if we sell it so soon. I'll be responsible for half these bills."

"Jacob, why are you telling me all this?"

"I don't want you to worry. I'll figure something out. I'll work two jobs if I have to, but she's probably wrecking my credit as we speak."

Bella hardly cared about Jake's credit. "I know you will and I'll keep working, I can take the car back. Bar and I can share."

"No, you like the Jetta. It's not that much. I'll sell my car before I make you give yours up. I never liked it. She picked it out."

"Yes, well it's kinda boring for a car buff like yourself."

"Definitely. Bells, we need to go back to the res. I mean I know you'll probably go to Charlie's which will be way easier on the pack than what I'm asking of them right now. I put my notice in this morning. I literally have until tomorrow to break it all to Kaleigh. Mack will find out soon enough."

Bella brought up Collin and Barry and the townhouse they were hoping to move into. Jacob told her Collin had an idea that he wanted to bring her in on, something he always wanted to try on the reservation. Jacob offered to pay for Barry to move wherever he wanted to go, but Bella was thinking he might really be enjoying Washington now. They'd argued several times the past month about her staying in Seattle, finding her own place or going to Charlie's. She didn't know what all was going on exactly, but she didn't feel like arguing anymore. Leah had said it earlier and now Jacob was saying it. She agreed, "Okay, I'll call Dad and give him the news tonight. Hopefully, Mom's working on a plan for herself." The thought of the four of them under one roof seemed a bit too much.

"Okay? That's all you have to say?"

"Yes. Would you rather me call you names and pitch a fit?"

"Maybe. That's what feels normal."

"Tell me the truth. How are you feeling about this whole Kaleigh situation? Was she faking at the hospital? You want to divorce her, you don't sleep in the same room and yet last night she wanted to be romantic? That strikes me as odd. Does she know?"

"I think in some way she does. I honestly cared for her once. It was never enough to warrant marriage. I admit that now. She can't handle defeat. I'm not sure if she's ever lost at something. Do I trust her at all anymore? No, I don't think so. However, I think her concern was genuine, she loves children and let's face it, our kid is quite lovable. I don't think she wants to be acting this way, but once she started, she can't stop."

"She feels bad. Edward said so."

"Wait, what? The tick?"

"He read her. The lie."

"What lie ?"

"He knew she was lying, just not about what and he said she struggles with it which meant she wasn't all bad. It must be the story about her mother."

"Yeah, of course I don't view her as evil, but I'm not going to raise my son anywhere near someone like that. I barely know her now or at least that what it feels like."

Bella's phone vibrated across the tiny side table. Barry had gone to the clinic. She smiled after reading his texts. Collin wanted to show him something and he wondered what that meant. She typed out a quick response to ask him. She didn't know either. Bella added she and Jacob were having a "big talk." He sent one more message and told her not to take off any articles of clothing during said talk.

LOL! I won't.

I mean it, not even a sock. Stay fully clothed. You two can't be trusted.

Jacob watched her. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, I think Collin and Barry might end up being a thing."

Jacob grinned like he knew something she didn't, but then he said they'd have to wait and see. "And stay out of it, because we've got our hands full with our own problems."

"Yeah, I'll stay out of it, even though he's never done the same for me."

Her phone vibrated in her hands that time, but it wasn't Barry. It was another notification. The one she'd been avoiding for a while now.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"No, I saw your face. What's the matter?"

"I... I said something that was only partially true recently."

He took that sort of parental tone with her, "Bells, come on. I thought we weren't going to do that anymore. What is it?"

She chewed her lip, Jacob was going through so much personal shit, why did he always have to have supernatural baggage dropped on top of that? "I said Aro had only chatted me up once, but what I actually meant was, I only listened once. I keep getting messages he's on and wants to talk but I haven't opened my laptop in weeks."

Jacob picked up Atticus and strapped him in the bouncer. "Where is it?"

"My room."

He walked over and took her hand. "Come on. I'm ready to stop this once and for all."

"He can't see you or know I'm with you."

Jacob pointed out Aro already knew he existed, so there was no reason to hide. He always said he wasn't afraid of him, but Bella knew better. He should be. He wanted to let him know, she was under guard now. Bella made excuses, that he might not be available. There was no chance of changing Jake's mind. He was going to listen to how Aro interacted with Bella.

They had a seat on the bed and waited for her laptop to boot up. She never wanted to be close to the baby while she spoke with the ancient vampire. As soon as she got the page opened, it was obvious, he was waiting. She was finally reading all the missed attempts.

"Where are you Isabella?"

"Don't change our agreement?"

"What's preventing you from answering me?"

"Should I send help?"

"I'll send a legion, you're worth that much to me."

"Where's the wee one?"

Bella saw Jake's wolf make an appearance. She was adept at recognizing him now even without the shift. Her hand reached across the distance between them to hold his hand. "It's okay, Jake. I know how to get him to back down. He just needs to see me, hear my voice. You be quiet and still."

He didn't answer her which wasn't reassuring but Bella sent out her excuses. She told Aro she was busy with a new job and her laptop hadn't been working properly. She'd used similar excuses before. A few seconds later, Aro appeared in front of her. He pretended to take a deep cleansing breath for dramatic affect.

"Such relief. I was beginning to fret. I was prepared to come to America and you know how much I detest that dreadful place."

Bella couldn't look over at Jacob, but that wasn't easy, so she squeezed his hand tighter. She told him there was never any need to overreact. "I've gone many weeks before without contact before."

"Yes, correct, even months but never after the fact we established you're in the company of wolves."

"I never said that."

"I didn't need you to say it, I already knew."

Bella acted indignant. "I can't believe you had me followed. You said we had a gentleman's agreement."

"I can't believe you're willing to risk everything and break our agreement. From now on, I'm going to need to hear from you daily."

She didn't have a chance to stop him. Jacob snatched the computer from her. "Change of plans. From now on, Bella never speaks to you again and you will never contact her either. Also, don't ever mention my son from your disgusting lips... don't think about him... forget he exists. If you send another spy, they'll meet with the same fate as the other two you had on my tail. I'm not alone anymore, bloodsucker. Bella has known about you over a decade, it's obvious she can be trusted to protect your secret. She is no longer available for your amusement, so fuck off!"

"Isabella, Isabella..." was all they heard as Jacob shut the laptop slowly.

"You shouldn't have done that. He'll come for me now."

"He already was, Bells. We know that much even without the pixie's spotty visions. Why do you think I rarely sleep? You have no idea how much better the guys are, how hard we train and that I hoped for a new pup or two, but I've got five boys at the high school that are showing signs of phasing. The Cullens are working with us to make sure that happens sooner rather than later." Jacob put the laptop behind him, scooted closer and wrapped his arm around her back. "There's no point to play his games, get yourself worked up pretending that you can appease him. All that does is stress you out. He's been playing you the whole time."

"So Aro was always coming back for me?" She'd never let herself believe that. Bella always thought he was satisfied with their little chats and if she kept them up, he would let her live out a quiet life in peace. She knew he deeply regretted allowing her to leave Italy the first time they crossed paths, he'd said so in a roundabout way, but he also said 'no one can change the past, I can only influence the future.' Now she wondered what that meant.

Jacob rested his head against hers. "I'm going to protect you. I'm letting go of everything else." His wife, his life in Seattle, his job, she knew he was giving it all up for them. "Stop over-thinking, Bells. I know what you do."

"I can't help but wonder where my first misstep was and if I could have changed something."

He made her look at him. "Stop, there's no point. I wasted years having similar thoughts." He was so intense, the way he stared at her, she looked away.

Funny, how they were back in her room, even on her bed, actually touching, but she had to get it off her chest. "Jake, we need to talk about last night."

"I know, my timing sucks as usual, but I'm not sorry even if I should be."

"We can't get carried away like that again. There's so many unresolved issues. I'm not as sorry as I should be either, but I need you to respect my boundaries. You're about to go through a divorce, but that doesn't mean we'll end up together immediately by default. Also, don't touch that mark again, don't look at it, breathe on it, don't even think about it, Jake. You know you're not playing fair when you do."

He couldn't hold back a chuckle. "Okay, Bells, but honestly is it fair to tell me what I can or can't think about?"

Bella shoved him. "I knew it, dirty bastard. You do it on purpose."

"No, not exactly. Look, it's no secret," he motioned his hand back and forth between them, "the physical part is not our issue. Okay, scratch that, I know we have a mountain of problems to sort out, and for me, my physical need for you clouds my judgment that I rarely get to say what I mean, what I want to work on first. Are you similar?"

She nodded her head. She knew exactly what he meant.

"Bells, I feel like I almost need to pretend it's all brand new, like what if I looked at you right now and realized you were my imprint, but the two of us had absolutely zero history. I know that's not being realistic, but I'm going to try to a certain extent. How would I act if that was the truth?"

She tried to imagine it as well, but it seemed impossible. "Our history's important though."

"I know, even the bad parts. It's time I learn from them instead of feeling so much resentment." He paused a few seconds before he finished the rest. "I'm going to be the man you deserve. It won't happen overnight, but I've been trying even if it doesn't seem like it yet."

"It does. I'm trying too."

Atticus started crying from the other room. Jacob noted the time. He wanted to get some rest and let them get settled down for the evening. He changed a diaper for her, even volunteered when they realized it was a stinky one. He offered to give him a bath as well. Bella squeezed in the tiny bathroom with them because she loved watching how Jacob handled bath time. She thought back to the first time he did so back in LA and how sad she was realizing they'd never be a real family. She was wrong.

The room echoed with splashes, a squeaky toy that Jake poked into Atticus's belly every few minutes and tons of baby giggles. They truly were a family and nothing could steal it away from her: no psycho vampires, crazy exes (Edward included), a bunch of supernatural craziness, not even a painful past. She vowed to keep moving forward, no more dwelling on past mistakes. They were going to start fresh. Their history couldn't be erased or forgotten, but they could rise above it if they tried. Once Jacob carried her up a mountain, now she was strong enough to take his hand so they could climb it together.

~Thanks for reading.

I know I changed the frequency of updates. I appreciate your patience. These next few chapters are really a turning point of the entire story.

I posted a one shot in my holiday group, Silver Bells. If you want to read something different and a little dreamy, check it out. I won a contest for most original plot.