CHAPTER ELEVEN
(JPOV)
Bella and I talked most of the night, going over the many unanswered questions from our time apart and when morning came, Sarah was wide eyed bright and early and eager to start the day at dawn.
"Mama, it's time for breakfast." She happily told her with a sleepy grin in place. "I want pancakes please."
"Pancakes?" Bella tiredly yawned. "This early?"
"Yep!" Sarah giggled. "With syrup!"
"-and chocolate chips, too?" I added, trying to keep my eyes open as Sarah climbed into Bella's lap with us there on the floor. "Can't forget those."
"Nope, we can't!"
It was then that Sarah spied the play kitchen set all assembled, her eyes lighting up as she hugged Bella and ran over to it.
"Mama! My kitchen!"
Bella rubbed the sleep from her eyes and peered over at me with her heartfelt response.
"Jake helped put it together. Couldn't have done it without him."
Sarah clapped her hands in delight, exploring her newest Christmas toy with excitement as she opened the many small compartments.
"I love it!" She soon exclaimed, her rich dark curls bouncing as she unexpectedly ran back toward us. I stood and helped Bella up from the floor just as Sarah wrapped her arms around my leg and held on tight. "Thank you!"
"You're welcome." I managed, swallowing back the emotion that loomed in my gaze from her show of affection.
"Wanna play with me!?"
"I'd love to." I told her while she took me by the hand and led me back toward the play kitchen.
Bella watched on as Sarah set up a toy tea party, her eyes glossy like mine while I hunkered down and played with my daughter for the first time.
"Tea?" Sarah asked, eagerly holding up the small plastic tea pot with her infectious grin to me. "One sugar or two?"
"Two please." I went along. "What kind of tea are we having today?"
"Um- breakfast tea!" She giggled in return. "It will be good with pancakes."
Bella laughed and kissed the top of Sarahs head before she started to leave the room in order to cook breakfast.
"I'll get right on that, Sarah. Pancakes sounds pretty good. Do you want me to come get you when I'm ready to stir in the chocolate chips?"
"No, I wanna play tea with Jake."
"Alright, have fun." Bella told her with a final wave before she slipped out the door and headed downstairs.
For the next hour, Sarah and I spent time together. Her elaborate world of make believe was impressive to say the least.
"I can be the princess and you can be the prince!" She giggled after breakfast was finished.
"Okay, what's my name going to be?"
"Jake! I like your name!"
Oh, alright then. Sounds good to me." I chuckled.
By lunchtime, we'd played every make believe game imaginable and I couldn't remember the last time my heart had felt this full or warm.
Bella tended to Charlie, making sure he got his meds and served up some turkey sandwiches for lunch. I could see that having this time of togetherness had already done wonders for Charlie's countenance. Love was good medicine as any for the soul.
Sarah took the last few bites of her half a sandwich and asked Bella for more apple juice when there came a knock to the front door.
Charlie paused his reading in the recliner and tried to get up to answer it.
"Hey- I got it. No worries, Charlie." I assured him, heading for the door with Sarah hot on my heels.
"I come, too?" She asked, reaching her tiny arms up for me. "Please?"
"Course you can."
I lifted her with ease and opened the door to find Sam there with Billy. My skin heated as his gaze met mine, and I struggled to keep my voice even and steady for Sarahs sake.
"Sam, what are you doing here?"
The two of them could only star at Sarah in my arms with widened gazes of disbelief.
I guess hearing and seeing the proof were two very different things.
"Jake, please- I just want to apologize to Bella and Billy wanted to come to see Sarah, Bella and Charlie."
I felt Sarahs arms tighten around my neck in unease and I chose to keep my mouth shut then as I swung the door open wide for them with a silent gesture to come inside.
Charlie was truly happy to see my father, the two of them hugging once they were within arms reach.
"So good to see you again, old friend. Did you have a good Christmas?" Billy asked.
"The best one in a long time." Charlie sincerely replied.
Bella rounded the corner then, her steps halting when she saw who we had in her fathers living room for company.
My own father became emotional at seeing her again, his voice trembling some when he reached for her hand.
"Bella...-"
"Hi, Billy."
"You look wonderful. Healthy and happy. Missed you so much around here."
Bella wordlessly reached for Sarah and knelt down with here there in front of my fathers chair.
"Sarah, do you remember I told you about the nice man from the reservation? Your other grandpa? Grandpa Billy?"
"Yep...-" Sarah smiled.
"Well, this is him honey. This is your grandpa Billy."
Sarah peered up at Billy in curiosity for a few moments before she waved.
Billy waved back with tears in his aging eyes and looked my way before addressing her.
"Hi there, Sarah. Sure is nice to meet you."
Sarah's dimpled grin was hard to ignore. She seemed to captivate everyone around her, even dissolving some of the rife tension between Sam and I when he came to stand next to me, his words nothing but heartfelt when he whispered them low enough so only I could hear.
"She's beautiful, Jake. She looks so much like you. I'm so sorry."
"I'm not the only one you need to be apologizing to." I huffed quietly back. "I need some time. Just- just give me that, alright."
"You got it. Take all the time you need." Sam obliged, as Sarah turned her ever wandering gaze on him.
"What's your name?" She innocently asked.
Sam seemed to struggle at first, before he finally answered her.
"I-I'm Sam."
"Sam...-" Sarah repeated, trying the name out herself. "I'm Sarah!"
"It's nice to meet you, Sarah."
Bella tensed some at this, the two of them sharing a loaded glance from across the room that made it hard not to notice the awkward environment.
After a few more minutes, Bella excused herself into the kitchen to collect herself better and Sam followed after her. I didn't keep my distance, I wanted to hear what he had to say to her and I didn't hide that fact.
Bella tried to keep busy by scrubbing the china patterns clean off her fathers mismatched plates when we came in behind her.
"Bella, I know I'm probably the last person you want to see right about now, but I only came here to apologize. It's been something I've owed you for a long time. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. For lying, for interfering. All of it. I have more regret than you know."
Her hands stopped scrubbing and she turned to face him at this.
"I know all about regret and what that feels like, Sam. Truth is, as much as I blame you for the way things went down back then, I also blame myself in equal parts. I played with Jake's feelings and his emotions for months before my wedding to Edward, and that caused a lot of hurt and hardship on both him and the pack. It's something I live with for regret every day and had I been less of a coward, I would've never left Forks to begin with. It was wrong. He gave me everything he could, you all did, and I discarded it like it meant nothing. I can only imagine what that must have looked like to you."
I sat down in the vacant kitchen chair upon hearing her words.
She was owning far more than I ever thought she would. This surprised Sam as much as it did me.
"You had your reasons for doing what you did, and I want you know that as along as you're here, you and Sarah will always be protected from the Volturi. If they decide to show, we'll all be here waiting for them. You're like one of our own, Bella. I'm truly sorry if my actions from the past made you think otherwise."
"Thank you. I really appreciate that, Sam. More than you know." She countered. "I plan to be here for a long time."
"Can you forgive me? Can we maybe start over?" Sam hedged.
"Yes, I do forgive you and yes we can."
Bella did the unthinkable then, she crossed the kitchen and hugged Sam Uley, the embrace appearing genuine in forgiving nature.
"Good to have you back home, Bella. Sarah is beautiful."
"She is and it's good to be back. Please give Emily my best when you go back home? I'll have to pay her a visit soon. Miss seeing her."
"She would love that, Bella. I'll be sure to give her the message." Sam agreed, turning to go with a final nod my way.
Once he'd left, Bella looked my way again, her doe eyes sincere when she approached me.
"I was hoping- maybe-... with some time-... you and I might be able to find our way back to each other? Before I screwed everything up. I hope there's still room for me in your life cause I'd really hate to lose you, Jake."
I stood and took her hand in mine, drawing her in for the first real hug we'd shared since she came back home.
"There will always be room for you in my life, Bells...-always."
Standing there with her back in my arms, I felt more whole than I had in a long time. She was where I wanted to be.
A/N: Thanks for reading this update and please review. HAPPY READING!