Chapter 45: Date Night

They finally started talking. Jacob truly didn't want to keep her up all night. She wanted to know how the pack was doing, what was really stressing him out so bad.

"Other than the obvious, you really want to know?"

"Yes, of course. I want to share everything with you, good and bad. I know things are crazy, but I told you we need to see you. I meant everyday. I want to take care of you on your down time. Instead, I hear Emily is the one feeding you most of the time and Rachel says you barely sleep on the couch a few hours each night. I'm feeling useless, like you can't rely on me."

"You're not, honey. You're anything but useless to me and far too patient for putting up with my attitude lately. I'm an idiot. I don't want to let you down and when we're together, I've been reminded how often I do just that. I'm not even talking about the bloodthirsty vamps right now. That's a whole other level of failure, but you should know the pack is ten times better in just a week."

Bella grabbed his hand. "I know, Jacob, I trust you."

"Seriously, I can't stop thinking about us the other night either and not for the obvious reasons, but we were really moving forward. I never planned to rush you. I had a much better plan, but I got swept away by how things went as soon as you visited me in the garage."

"Jacob, I was there. We were both swept away that day. It was new and exciting, but at the same time, familiar and expected. I was pretty clear with my feelings. I threw myself at you, actually took off my clothes. You didn't misread my signals, so don't backtrack and think you were rushing me. I hate that we were interrupted for about a thousand reasons actually."

Jacob needed to tell her more about the night of the attack, but he was honestly tired of reliving it. He decided to talk about happy things so he told her how much he missed leaving her presents in the mornings. She admitted she did too even though he didn't have to do those things to prove his love. Bella yawned in the middle of a sentence. He gave his word no more hiding out. He told her to get a good night's sleep and he'd be there early to talk more. "You could come to bed with me, get some real sleep too. Pretty please."

Jacob leaned in to give her a sweet kiss. He missed her mouth, he missed everything about her. "I have to go check on the guys, I'm on the next shift, but that sounds like a outstanding plan. Rain check? I'll talk to Sue and Charlie, make sure it's okay for me to stay over."

Bella said they wouldn't care. She was also debating telling him something important but said the morning was probably a better time to discuss it. He walked her back to the bedroom. Jacob kissed her goodnight there, because if he went in the room with her, he would have a hard time not staying and he really did have a shift less than hour away.

He made it early like he promised. No one else seemed to be around. Ace was playing in the gated off area Bella created for him on a colorful play mat. Jacob went straight for him. He'd seen him briefly several times over the last week but hadn't done much interacting with him.

He lifted him high and tickled his belly. "How's my big boy? Daddy missed you." His son squealed in delight with every word he said to him.

Bella stuck her head around the corner from the kitchen. She had her morning coffee in her hands. "Good morning." Jacob kept their son in his arms, and walked the surprise over.

"I brought you a scone, Mommy."

She giggled. "Nice, I've been craving one of those again. Did you get one too?"

"Nope, I grabbed a cinnamon muffin. I tipped extra since Brit closed up shop for days, but then she was in no place to work after Zane."

"Oh, how are those pups? I can't wait to meet all of them."

"All are doing pretty well. I might let them go back to school in another week."

"I feel like there's more to the story. You're not telling me everything. How's Quil?"

"In need of therapy."

"Want me to talk to him?"

"Maybe, eventually. I need a woman's point of view and honestly Kim and Emily are too close to it all. I know he'd rather not divulge everything to them."

"Understood. I'm here for my pack."

"I know and we are all better because of it. I'm sorry, Bells. I should have done better at telling you how proud I was of you. You were made to do this with me. We talked about it and the pack would like you to sit in on some meetings occasionally."

She smiled and said she'd be honored. Jacob made small talk with her. They had the house to themselves which was nice. He balanced Ace on his good leg, the other one was still a bit sensitive and he wasn't sure why. He swore he still had this gimp to it which was starting to bug him, but they were all going to the Cullen's soon so he'd ask the vamp doc about it later.

"I just remembered, last night you mentioned you have news?"

She acted very nonchalant, "Oh, yeah, it's no biggie... just that you got the job and your sign-on bonus is in the mail."

"What? How? When?"

"Well, you're always gone and I assumed you left your phone so I couldn't contact you so I answered it. Mr. Um, what's his name again?"

"Mr. Thumying."

"Yeah, he called. He has this idea I'm your fiancée. I told him you were caught up in a family emergency so he gave me the good news. Congratulations."

That was amazing news. He'd been so caught up in the mess, he practically forgot about the job, not really, but it wasn't at the top of his list of worries. Bella said she thought they should celebrate and that reminded Jacob of one more way he failed her.

"Why so glum? I thought you'd be giddy right about now."

"Jeez Bells, I lead a pack of wolves, I don't do giddy, but there was something I really wanted to do with you and because of all the chaos, I can't."

She had this weird expression and kind of looked back and forth at him. He finally caught onto how that sounded and started laughing. "No, not that, well... that too, but I meant a date, Bells. I had these grand plans to take you on a real date. I was going to go all out, no way was I going home without getting to second base." He winked at her.

"Second? You don't say. Sound pretty sure of yourself, don't you think?"

"Yep, I already talked to Renee and Charlie and they were going to watch Ace. I was picking you up in a special car we have at the garage and then we were going to great French restaurant where I planned to wine and dine you." He paused a second. "I'm doing good so far, aren't I?"

"Yes, keep going. So far, I'm impressed, then what?"

"I was planning on looking into what was currently the worst movie showing and taking you there next. You know how I am about recreating memories? I would hog the popcorn, Newton would be nowhere near us and you would definitely hold my hand. Who knows the movie would probably be so bad, we'd have to start making out just to get through it."

Bella sighed. "French food, bad movies and impromptu make outs, that sounds like the best night ever, Jake. I'm practically swooning."

"I'm not done yet. Brit was making a special, out of season treat just for us. You have no idea how much thought I put into this date night. We skipped all that normal stuff in case you hadn't noticed. We've done our entire relationship ass-backwards."

"Yeah, I noticed. By the way, our son is drooling all over your arm." She wiped up his mess. He was definitely working on cutting his first tooth. "What else?"

He licked his lips and gave her the eye. "The goodnight kiss, that's what."

She giggled. He was enjoying the build-up of this story. They were having fun. "So I was going to allow a kiss even though it was only our first date?"

"Yeah, you wouldn't be able to resist me. It was sure to be a hot one until Charlie opened the door on us with a typical dad move."

"Wow, it all sounds so romantic and sweet. We would have had an amazing time. I think I know why you're bummed. I guess you don't trust being out and about just yet but we can make it happen one day. I'm sure of it. Maybe Alice will get some visions or Carlisle will hear some chatter and we can all relax a little."

"Alice? Are you kidding? She finally saw a glimpse after we were ten minutes into an attack. I don't have much faith in her."

Bella's face fell some. The grim reality that their lives were somewhat on hold was revived in their thoughts.

"Well, it truly sounded like a special date, Jake. I agree, you put a lot a thought into it and what they say is true 'it's the thought that counts.'" She finished up the last bit of her scone. Jacob didn't mean to make her sad but she was definitely not as happy as before. The disappointment weighed heavily on his mind. He had planned on asking her this weekend, but he'd canceled the reservations two days ago. He was telling her all about it instead of actually doing it which kinda sucked. Jacob walked Ace back to his play area. He kissed his cheek and negotiated a few minutes of quiet time with his mother.

Bella was tidying up the kitchen and Jacob moved in behind her. He rested his head on the top of her head as he rubbed up and down her shoulders. "You're right, Bells. We'll get back the normal times again soon. I'll make it happen."

She leaned into him. He'd made a huge mistake staying away from her. He already felt much better just by spending a few hours with her again. Jacob pushed her hair to one side and kissed under her ear. "I left out the best part. You want to hear how the date would end?"

"I thought I did, it ended with an epic goodnight kiss."

"Nope. I was planning on coming back once Ace went to sleep. I would climb up the tree and you'd let me in through the window, like old times."

Jacob kept his hands on her. He couldn't stop touching her or rubbing his nose across her sweet skin. "I'd probably step in behind you just like this and kiss you right here." He kissed her close to her mark and Bella's knees buckled slightly but Jacob had a firm grasp on her. "I think you can guess what would happen next and there would absolutely, without a doubt be no interruptions."

Bella wiggled her body against him and Jake groaned because he obviously aroused himself talking about all the what ifs. She turned around and faced him. He was happy to see her blush, he'd gotten to her. "You are way over-confident if you think I would've slept with you on the first date. I'm not that kind of girl, buddy." She playfully pushed a finger into his chest, but Jacob didn't budge, he pulled her into his arms and kissed the heck out of her. Bella got into it pretty quick.

When the two finally parted, he smugly stated. "I think you are that kind of girl with me, Bells. Don't deny it."

Bella turned around and asked him to have a seat. She lowered her voice. "Even though we're joking around, I need to tell you something serious."

"Okay, why are you whispering? No one is here but us."

"Well, it's about the other night... when we were, you know."

Of course, he knew exactly what she was referring to from the blush on her cheeks, but Jacob teased her a little, "No, I don't know. Why don't you make yourself a little clearer, Bells?"

Finally, she spit it out. Bella said she had a conversation with Sue and it turns out she needed to edit some information she'd given Jacob. "The exclusively breastfeeding thing isn't completely reliable for birth control, so I needed to clear that up. Sue recently took care of a mother having her second baby exactly one year apart from her first, so I guess I should've researched that a little more. Sue laughed at me."

"No worries, Bells. I got us covered. You're cute. Already a mom and still blushing about birth control and sex."

"I'm not a prude."

"I'm well aware of that," he winked.

She said he had no idea how open and free Renee had been about sex. Bella decided at a young age she was never going to embarrass her kids like her mother had embarrassed her. "I'm happy she is confident and comfortable with her sexuality and that she's proud of her vagina but it isn't a great topic of conversation to bring up during a young girl's first sleepover attempt. Needless to say it was my last also."

Jacob gave her a hug and kiss on the cheek. Crazy Renee did a number on her, it was a wonder she was as normal as she was. He reassured her again, he wouldn't be unprepared next time.

"Sure, I figured that would be your response. I really don't want to go on hormones right now even though there are options for breastfeeding mothers."

Bella stiffened a bit. Had he missed something? "Bells, honey, talk to me. Did I upset you with my teasing?"

"It's nothing. It makes no sense. I mean, I'm not making sense. Life is still so crazy and you're waiting for a divorce finalization and I'm a hunted woman and Ace is too young and... "

He put a finger over her lips to shut her up. "Do you want to try again?"

"No, of course not. That's crazy. I was just thinking how you missed everything before because neither of us had our heads on straight. It would be nice to do things the right way, share all of it together from the beginning, but we have a lifetime. I'm being weird."

He assured her she wasn't and maybe they should just see what happens, not try but not really prevent it either.

"You mean it?" She suddenly got excited again. He assured her he did, now they just needed to find a moment alone sometime. He still wanted to treat her special before they hopped back in the sack. Bella started bouncing up and down in front of him. "I just had a brilliant idea."

"What?"

"We're having this date, I'm going to make it happen and it's going to be tonight!"

"Honey, I want to but like you said, I don't feel comfortable leaving the reservation with you so soon. Even if we take several of the guys, I won't be able to relax."

"I know, that's why we're staying here. I have some planning to do and you really need a nap, so head into my room and actually go to sleep in a real bed. Trust me, I'm taking care of everything."

Bella talked too fast when she got excited. He told her to slow down. The date was something he'd planned to perfectly execute.

"Trust me, I've proven I can take the reigns. You've given me the idea, now I'm going to see it through. Don't worry, I won't leave the res and I'll take whomever is on patrol around with me while I do my preparations. Your job is to sleep." She kissed him quick and pointed to her room. Jacob had no idea what she had up her sleeve but he truly did need some real sleep. If they were somehow having a date tonight, he wanted to be wide awake for whatever she had planned.

Hours later, he woke up to Bella putting Ace in the crib next to the bed. "Hey, I hope you don't mind but I need to do the final planning without distractions. He should nap a couple of hours, so you don't have to get up yet." She told him there was a bottle in the fridge if he needed it. Jacob was still so out of it, he didn't even respond other than nodding and rolling back over. Sleeping on Bella's pillow had been the best rest he'd had in a week. Her scent enveloped him and gave him the comfort he needed to let all his worries evaporate.

He was still dozing off and on, but Ace didn't sleep a full two hours. Jacob had to get up and take care of him after only an hour or so. He warmed up his bottle and fed it to him. Once he realized his son was still tired, he decided to lie back down with him and take a nap with Ace on his chest. He'd never done that before and it was probably a dad's rite of passage. Jacob loved how his tiny son felt in his large hands. He finally let the words sink in that he had the contract and now he knew it was possible to make his family a home. He was getting the ball rolling Monday morning. The Realtor already had all the preliminary info from him. They were only awaiting some earnest money to start the contracts.

There would be countless opportunities for naps with his son, special dinners with Bella, actually sleeping with her every night, no more lost opportunities to make love with her whenever they felt like it. He could visualize their life and his future never looked better. Bella walked in on them. "Oh my gosh, that's precious. Hold still, close your eyes, Jake. I want a picture of you two. I'm so in love with this moment."

Bella captured their nap with her phone camera. She reminded him the guys were expecting him. He was having a brief meeting with them, but if he and Bella were going to have an evening to themselves, that meeting was going to be even more important. Everyone needed to be doing their jobs and they also better be able to handle all the responsibilities on their own. He was pretty curious what she lined up. The res wasn't known for fancy restaurants and he didn't much want to have picnic in the woods at the end of October. He was going to take whatever he could get. She seemed to have a plan and the overall secrecy was only getting him more and more excited.

Bella gave him a list of explicit instructions about the time and how to dress. They were going to make it classy. She left off the meeting place to preserve the mystery. A couple of the guys would direct him where to go when the exact time arrived.

He kissed her goodbye and told her he couldn't wait. The hours couldn't pass quick enough. She told him dinner had to be on the late side because she wanted to assure Ace would be going down for the night.

"Are you saying, you're leaving our son for the entire evening? I find that hard to believe."

"I'm not going to lie and pretend I'm not anxious about it, but Dad and Sue are here. Embry and Leah have gotten really good with him as well. They all have assured me he will be well taken care of. I think it's important Ace's parents have some quality alone time occasionally. Won't that makes us better parents?"

"I'm sure it will. Okay, you've got yourself a date. Give me a kiss, I've got to run, but I'm looking forward to seeing you this evening."

Jacob stepped out of his father's house. Lahote had done something right for a change. He made a specific request and Paul ran to town for him and got an arrangement of wildflowers just before the florist closed up for the day. They were lucky she had something on hand. He dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a v-neck gray sweater. Now he needed to find where in the hell Bella was. He stepped outside and was greeted by Embry and Quil. They both looked like they were about to burst with excitement.

"You both seem overly happy about my date with Bells?"

Embry clapped him on the back and said, "No, we're both thrilled you're finally going to get laid, then maybe you'll stop being such a hardass nonstop."

Jacob wasn't completely sure about the getting laid part, but even if he did, that would hardly make him ease up. He told them only Aro being exterminated would bring that change. Their faces fell some. "Okay, so where do I go?"

Quil pulled out a long strip of fabric. "First, we blindfold you and then we'll take you there."

Jake grabbed him by the arm. "Don't you dare. The first guy that tries to blindfold me is getting punched in the nuts."

"But, Bella said."

"Quil, I mean it. Don't."

"Fine, spoilsport." He promptly stuffed the blindfold in Jake's back pocket. "I bet if Bella wanted to blindfold you, you'd let her."

"Hmmm, let me think about that. You're not Bella and I would never do any of the things I want to do with her with the likes of you so there's no comparison. Tell me where to go and stop wasting my time before I'm late." They all knew their posts for the night. Embry and Leah would be with his son. Sam was Jacob and Bella's watch because he could trust him to hang back far enough not to disrupt their privacy but still be on guard. Brady had Canyon and Zane on patrol. Jared and Collin were doing some work with the other new pups, Lucas and Rory and Quil was supposed to steer clear of Zane for at least a five mile radius. He didn't want any distractions or else.

Embry spoke up, "Okay, I guess it's fine to tell you now. You know where Mr. Cameron owns that row of houses?"

"Yep."

"Go there. I forget the exact address, but as soon as you get there, you'll know which one she's in."

"Seriously, how'd she manage that?"

"Bella's tenacious and very resourceful. You're in for so many treats tonight, I'm jealous," Quil admitted.

He was about to get in his car but he told them thanks for everything and they assured him one more time, they had everything covered.

The rest was up to him and Bells and he was feeling pretty confident they were going have the perfect first date.

~Thanks for reading.

Before you all say, "What? Why are you stopping there?" I have news. There is 5,000 word chapter waiting to be released. I have worked hard recently to deliver these long chapters. If my loyal readers chime in on this update, I'm pretty sure we'll hit 1,000 reviews. I'm thanking you ahead because I never imagined I'd have that many reviews ever. My first story barely went over 300 and I jumped for joy.

I have one spoiler for you about the next chapter. This is not a drill, no teasing and no interruptions. I wouldn't do that to you again. Bella will show Jacob what kinda girl she is with him. ;)