-Bella-

I wake up and for the first time in two weeks, Jacob is laying next to me still snoring from the night before. I stretch my sore body and go to quietly get out of bed. Jacob's arms tighten around me for just a moment and then he released me. I sneak off of the bed and tip-toe across the room. My muscles are sore and my lungs feel like they've been set on a scorching pan. The scratching in my throat is manageable but still annoying. I head to the kitchen, digging through the fridge until I find what's left of the groceries. Bacon and eggs it is. I start to cook, and pretty soon I the whole house smells like breakfast. I'm going to have to go grocery shopping if Jake lets me. I'll probably wind up having to have Seth tag along. I finish making the eggs when I hear a faint knock on the door and Seth's mopey face comes walking in. "Hey, you. Want some breakfast?" I shove a plate towards him, already knowing the answer. He sits down and starts scarfing down the food. "Yeah, figured. What's up with you today?" He glances up from his already half-eaten plate.

"Sam yelled at me for not watching you better yesterday."

"I'm sorry, Seth. I didn't mean to get you in trouble. I thought that I would be fine."

"Well, you weren't fine, Bella. You almost died. Do you have any idea what Jacob would have done to me if he couldn't get you breathing again?" He looks down at his plate. "I failed and I'm never going to live it down. If something happened to you I wouldn't be able to live with myself. You're family now. We're supposed to protect each other."

"Seth, I'm sorry. It won't happen again, okay?" I set a plate down on the counter for Jacob. "I promise on Charlie that next time I will listen to you and I won't do something stupid like that again." I head down the hallway to Jacob's room. "Hey, wake up." I gently nudge his arm, watching him sleep. He looks so peaceful, not like somebody who is going to turn into a giant wolf any second. I reach down to touch his arm again and suddenly I am laying against him. "Jake!" His arms wrap around me as he nuzzles his face into my hair. His warmth spreads through me as my body is pressed against his, and I let out a content sigh. Being with him is easy. He makes me feel safe and warm. He's like my own personal sun.

"Goodmorning, Bella." His husky voice vibrates against my neck. My stomach suddenly feels like I captured a thousand butterflies.

"Goodmorning to you too, Jake," I reply, my face pressed against his warm chest. "You know normally you give somebody a warning before you attack them." I giggle.

"Mmm. I missed that sound." He smiles against my hair.

"What sound?"

"Your laugh, Bella. I feel like I haven't heard it in so long."

I press my hands against his chest, lifting my head up to look at him. He's right, I haven't laughed in what feels like a long time. "Come on, I made breakfast." His eyes fly open, and he sits up with a grin on his face.

"Careful, I might not bring you back to Charlie if you keep this up."

"Haha, very funny." I swat his arm as I head towards the door. "Get up and come eat." I head into the kitchen, only to notice that Seth is gone. Where did he go? Is he hiding from Jacob? I sit down and start to pick at my plate. Jacob comes sauntering into the room, still looking half asleep. "You look like hell. You should get some more sleep."

"Actually, I was thinking that we could do something today. I know that I haven't been here much, and I feel bad that you're here by yourself." He starts digging into his plate. "This is amazing, Bella. Thank you for this."

"I'm not by myself, technically your Dad is here, well sometimes." Jacob's eyes drift down to the third plate on the table.

"Was he here this morning?"

"No, Seth stopped by."

Jacob's jaw tenses for a moment. "Oh."

"Jake, he's just a kid you can't be mad at him for something that I did. It's not his fault.'

"I can be mad at him, he was supposed to keep you safe, yet yesterday I had to pull you almost dead from the water."

"Jake." I reach across the table and put my hand on his arm. "It's not his fault. I told him that I wouldn't do it. He trusted me not to. Trust me, he made it very clear that you would kill him if something happened to me. But, he's just a kid Jacob. I was the one who broke that trust, not him." Jacob doesn't say anything for a moment, just staring down at his plate.

"I guess you're right." He mumbles, grabbing his plate and Seth's. He stands up and starts to do the dishes while I finish eating.

"I can get those."

"I got them. You just relax, you do enough for us around here as it is."

I snort. "Like what, just make things more difficult? I got bored and decided to go cliff jumping. You're out there running yourself ragged trying to make sure that I am protected and I go and do something stupid like that." I shake my head and hand Jacob my plate. "I'm going to get changed. We should go into town and get groceries." I walk back to the room and change into jeans and one of Jacob's T-shirts. I hear his soft footstep down the hallway as he pauses by the door.

"Bella?" His voice is soft and full of hesitation.

"Yes?" I let my hair down, yanking a brush through the tangled mats. He opens the door and smirks at me. "What?"

"Nothing, just wear my clothes anytime you want." He leans against the doorframe watching me struggle to brush my hair. "Do you want help?"

"Are you seriously offering to brush my hair?" I look at him dumbfounded.

"Yes. I used to do it for my sisters all the time." He reaches for the brush. I pause before handing it to him and turn around. He gently starts to brush my hair, his fingers combing through the wavy locks. His hands brushing lightly across my neck at times giving me goosebumps. Finally, he sets the brush down and starts to braid my hair.

"Are you braiding my hair?" His hands are steady and fast as he finishes the end, tying a band around the end.

"Yes." He steps back and stands against the frame again. "I want to take you somewhere today."

"Oh?" I look at him quizically. He reaches his hand out to me, and I grab it. We walk to his car together, my truck would be too noticeable to Charlie thinking that we're out of town still. Surprisingly he hasn't shown up here yet, but I used Quil's phone to call him off a number that he didn't know to make it seem like we were out of town. "Where are we going?"

He smiles at me, that big lop-sided grin, and starts the car. "You'll just have to wait and see."

-Jacob-

This is hard. It's hard not just leaning over and kissing her, not scooping her up in my arms, and keeping her here forever where I know I can keep her safe. She keeps blaming herself, telling me and everybody else that she isn't worth it. I don't know what I am going to have to do to convince her that she is, that she is more than worth it. That I would do anything for her. She falls asleep in the car on the way to where I'm going and an hour and a half later I am waking her up. "Come on." I offer her my hand and she takes it. I lead her through the forest until we come to a clearing and I know that we are only about five minutes away from where I want to go. She eyes me curiously.

"Where are you taking me, Jacob?"

"Somewhere almost as beautiful as you." I keep walking behind her, and I hear her snort at my comment.

"Really? That was so cheesy, Jake." She keeps walking. "I don't know where I'm going." She declares, throwing her arms up before resting them at her side again. As she turns to look at me she crosses them over her chest in an ever defiant way. I smile at her.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing. Here." I grab her hand and lead her through the treeling until the sound of falling water fills our ears. I stop in front of the waterfall. The cliffs surround it as the waterfalls into a small open lake. Trees surround it on all sides, making it easy to miss if you weren't out there looking for it. I glance at Bella and watch as she walks towards the small lake, running her fingers across the surface.

"This is beautiful, Jake. How did you find this?" She turns to look at me, her face lit up as she smiles back at me.

"I was searching for Victoria, I followed her smell this way. I was tired and thirsty and when I lost her scent I went looking for something to drink and here I was. I pause for a moment, listening to the sound of the water and the silence of the trees. I could stay out here with her forever at this moment if I could.

"Is it safe to be out here right now?" She wrings her hands together, fidgeting with the ends of her fingers.

"Bella, you're always safe with me. I won't let anything happen to you." I step closer to her, smelling her sweet smell. She peers up at me through dark lashes. Suddenly, she's smiling.

"I have an idea. But, you have to close your eyes."

"What are you going to do?"

"Just trust me." She smiles at me and, unresisting of her Siren behavior I close my eyes. I hear the soft splash of the water as she calls for me to open my eyes. There she is, in the lake in nothing but her underwear. I gulp as my mouth suddenly goes dry. I raise an eyebrow at her.

"Isabelle Swan are you suggesting that I strip down and get in the water with you?"

Her eyes gleam as she replies in a nervous voice, "It won't be any different than what you usually go running around in." I laugh and pull my shirt over my head, and step out of my shorts. I suddenly felt so exposed even though she was right, I basically run around like this all the time it's not generally in my boxers and definitely not in front of her. I slowly wade into the water, never taking my eyes off of hers. She watches me, and I don't think she has any idea how alluring her eyes are. She grins a mischievous smile and suddenly splashes me.

"Are you serious? You want to start this war?" I grin at her. Suddenly I am charging at her scooping her up in my arms and she is laughing. Full laughing that I feel like I haven't heard in years. The sound goes straight to my chest. She squeals and grabs onto my back as I throw her over my shoulder. "You're going to get it now, Bella." I splash her lightly as I gently toss her back into the water. She resurfaces, giggling.

"I guess that serves me right trying to start a war with a Wolf." She eyes me, her smile painted across her face.

"You're so beautiful, you know that?" I watch her cheeks flush as she casts her eyes downward. I swim over to her and lift her face up to meet mine. "Bella, can I-" I stop and shake my head. Turning away from her.

"What, Jake?" Her voice is shaky.

I turn back towards her and meet her eyes. And suddenly I can't stop myself. I grab her face in my hands and lean down until my lips meet hers. She wraps her arms around my neck after a second and sighs into my lips. I pull her closer, not being able to get enough of her. I press my hand against her hip and back as I kiss her. Softly at first, and then I pull away panting. She reluctantly pulls away as well. Her soft breathing against my cheek. "Bella," I whisper against her forehead. And I know there is no turning back for me. This is what I want. This is who I want for the rest of my life.

"Jacob." She presses against my chest as she pulls back to look at me. "I don't know what this means, but I-I'm not ready for this yet. I don't want to hurt you."

My heart stings a little as though I was just slapped. "I know, and I will wait until you are." And I know that I will. I will do anything for her, I know that I would be there as a friend or anything that she needed me to be. That's what happens when you imprint. You would do anything for them. Nothing else matters. I pull back and glance towards the forest, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. I grab her hand and lead her towards the edge of the water.

"Bella, put your clothes on. Hurry. Grab mine, please." My eyes scan the edge of the forest looking for any sign to match with the god-awful stench of Vampire.

"Jake, what's going on?" Her voice is laced with fear as she scrambles to get dressed.

I watch the forest until she is ready and then turn to look at her. "I am going to phase, I want you to climb on top of me and hold on, okay?"

"What?" She looks flabbergasted as she stares at me like I just told her I had three heads.

"Just do it, Bella. I have to get you out of here and that's the fastest way that I can think of." After a moment she nods at me. I turn towards the forest and phase, my boxers ripping to shreds behind me. I turn to look at her and lean down so that she can climb onto my back. She carefully climbs onto me and holds onto me. I run, tearing through the forest not knowing if the Vampire is following me or who it was. All that matters is that I get Bella home safely. I can come back and follow the stench later.