Bella and Sam sat in stunned silence as they heard Annabelle run excitedly around the living room.
"God, Bella I'm so sorry. That was not at all how I wanted that to go" Sam sighed.
"No Sam, I'm sorry, I can't believe…" both of their heads whipped towards the other room as Sam's front door flew open. Bella's heart nearly stopped when an all too familiar voice boomed. "My little Bella! What's got my favorite niece so excited?"
Rounding the corner Bella swallowed as her eyes landed on her once best friend. Though physically he had changed, his sunny smile still lit up the room, and a sad small part of her was jealous that it wasn't directed at her. His eyes drifted in their direction and she watched as his mouth dropped open and he stumbled backwards.
"Bella" he rasped. He quickly set Annabelle on the floor before darting across the room to pull her into his signature bear hug.
"Hey Jake" she smiled and hugged back as tight as she could.
When he pulled back his eyes darted over her, as if she might disappear any second. "I can't believe.. Bella, are you really here?" he whispered and pulled her into another hug.
Annabelle's voice pulled him away "Unka Jake, dats my new mommy!" she said excitedly while wrapping her arms around Bella's legs. Jake's eyes grew 6 times bigger than normal as he whipped his head from Bella, to Sam, and down to Annabelle. Finally they swung back to Sam and Bella was astonished at the awe shining through. "Did she… Sam, Annabelle just talked to me!" His body was nearly vibrating in excitement and he quickly bent down to pull Annabelle into his arms, tossing her in the arm before catching her again. His laugh filled the room and Bella just didn't understand. Everyone seemed so surprised that the girl was talking, but she had spoken so openly with her.
Their joy was interrupted as a wolf howled and Bella jumped at how close it sounded to the house. Both men glanced in her direction and she caught Sam shaking his head slightly at Jake who frowned. Sam cleared his throat. "Bella, I'm sorry I totally forgot I had a meeting with this guy, do you think you could watch Annabelle for a while? I shouldn't be gone long." Bella smiled down at Annabelle and nodded. "Of course, what else are nanny's for?" she chuckled and Sam smiled. Jake glanced briefly between the two before he once again pulled Bella into his arms. "You'll be here when I get back right?" he whispered and he sighed when she nodded. "Good, cause I'm gonna need an explanation about the whole 'new mommy' thing" he said, smirking as he and Sam made their way out of the house. Sam threw one last look at his daughter before following.
Bella released a breath she didn't know she was holding as silence fell. She glanced down at Annabelle, now smiling brightly up at her and smiled. "Alright little lady, how about the two of us pick up some of those toys and then you can help me whip up some dinner?" she asked and her heart filled as Annabelle smiled even brighter before nodding.
After cleaning up a near endless amount of toys, Bella made her way to the kitchen to see what they could make. After settling on spaghetti Bella found a step stool pushed into the back of a closet, and wiped off the dust before checking how sturdy it was. When she found it was still in good condition, she dragged it over to the kitchen counter and helped Annabelle to climb up. She guided the little girl in salting the water for noodles, before she began to peel tomatoes for a basic sauce. Annabelle eyed her every motion with interest and Bella found herself excited about the thought of doing this with her own child. When the sauce was finished and the noodles cooked Bella helped the young girl to set the table and checked her watch. She had left a voicemail for her dad explaining the situation and she was hoping he'd call her back soon.
Bella was just finishing making a plate of her own food when Sam walked back in the house. He stopped in his tracks as he saw her in the kitchen. "I'm sorry, I hope you don't mind. I thought you'd be hungry by the time you got home." Sam shook his head and smiled sadly, "No, I don't mind at all, it's just… we don't use the kitchen much. I was never much of a cook." Bella could see that there was more to the story, but she decided not to push.
"Well, it's nothing fancy, just some spaghetti…" Bella blushed.
Sam looked at the pans on the stoves and cringed, "Ah, I'm sorry, I can make something else for Annabelle, she doesn't eat tomatoes."
"Oh God, she's not allergic is she?!" Bella gasped as she rushed to the dining room where she had set Annabell up with her own plate of food.
Sam followed slowly behind her, "Oh no, she's just incredibly picky. She won't eat tomatoes. Hates em" he said and he stopped dead in the doorway. He watched in confusion as his daughter stuffed noodles into her mouth, not even bothering with her fork anymore. Her face and hands were covered in red pasta sauce and she smiled brightly when she saw Sam.
"Daddy! I made s'ghetti!"
Sam's wide eyes turned Bella who was still smiling fondly at his daughter. "How…where.. I am so glad you're here." he finally said and Bella turned a surprised smile to him before looking back at the little girl. "Yea, I am too." she whispered.