Troubleshoot

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.

The End

Jacob gazed down at Bella lovingly as she began to stir sleepily in his arms. He smiled and breathed deeply. He could get used to waking up beside her. She murmured something, her lips accidentally brushing against his bare skin, her breath tickling him. Jacob held himself still, Bella was so soft, so delicate, so tiny…

And he loved her so much.

He watched as she flexed her fingers upon awakening. He could cover her fist completely with his hand. Her skin, pale and translucent in contrast to his, seemed to glow in the morning light seeping through the window. As she moved, stretching her arms above head, her lips parting as she yawned, her hair like tangled silk fanned out over his bare torso.

"Jake?" Bella opened her eyes slowly, looking up at him blearily. "You are here. I thought last night was a dream."

Jacob laughed at her disorientated expression. "It was real."

Bella's answering smile was wistful. "I had such a pleasant dream."

"You did?" Jacob dared to touch her face. He couldn't help but grin when she rubbed her cheek against his bare palm. "What was it about?"

"You…me…us."

"Us?" Jacob felt a choking sensation in his throat.

Bella was oblivious to the catch in his voice. "Yes. I was dreaming about the times we spent in the Taj. Me sitting in the Rabbit…you fixing the bikes. It was so peaceful. Such happy memories during my darkest time."

The choking sensation had turned into a lump. Jacob gazed down at her; his eyes cautious. "Yeah, they were good times. I miss them. Things were so much simpler back then. So much easier."

"I miss them too." Bella admitted. "You know I used to always think of you as my replacement sun. Your warmth, your good humor, you brought me back to life again. I don't think I ever really thanked you properly for that."

"You don't need to thank me, Bella." Jacob said huskily. "Our friendship worked both ways. You coming over after school most days brightened up my life, gave me something to look forward to, relieved the monotony. It could get lonely in the house with just me and my old man."

Bella rolled onto her side, leaning on her elbow. She rested her cheek in the palm of her hand, looking at him enquiringly. "You never told me that before."

"I don't know." Jacob shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. "I suppose the subject never came up."

"Because I was too self-absorbed back then to see, you mean." Bella's tone was heavy with regret.

"You were in a bad place back then, Bella."

"Don't make excuses for me, Jake." Bella pleaded. "I was selfish. Only thinking of myself, determined to wallow in my unhappiness. You were so patient with me, all the time. You gave so much of yourself…and I…I gave nothing."

"Bells, honey, that's not true." Jacob stated passionately. "You seem to forget you were there through one of the darkest times of my life. When I turned wolf, I thought that was it, that my life was essentially over. I was heartbroken, thinking that I would never get to see you again. But you never gave up on me…even after I pushed you away…you came back. You fought for us, for our friendship…and most of all, you accepted the monster inside of me."

Moisture welled up in Bella's eyes at the memory. "It wasn't your fault, Jake. Sam ordered you to stay away. And you fought too, remember? You defied him, finding a way to work around that order so you could come and see me. That took guts and a hell of a lot of determination."

"Well, we have that in common then." Jacob chuckled quietly. This conversation had taken a turn for the unexpected. What would it be like, he wondered again, to wake up like this every day? It would be like heaven.

"You're thinking awfully hard, Jake." Bella whispered.

"About you." Jacob grinned. "I've never been so happy to wake up."

Bella's cheeks flushed a faint pink. "Me too." She confessed. She bit her lip, eyes everywhere but on Jacob. Then he moved closer with those dark eyes of his that looked so deeply into her own.

"Hey, it's just me."

Bella's breathing softened, her pensive look melting into a smile as soft as the morning light. Her body squirmed just a little as her muscles relaxed. There was something about that gaze of his she knew she would never find in another, as if in that moment their souls had made a bridge.

"Jake and Bells." She whispered.

"Yeah." Jacob echoed. "Just Jake and Bells."

Silence descended, broken only by the rhythmic passing of cars on the street outside.

"I suppose I better go. Charlie will be awake soon." Jacob said reluctantly. He stood and headed for the window.

"I suppose." Bella sighed, clambering off the bed. "Use the door. Charlie's not going to catch you."

Jacob nodded as he turned for the door. As he passed Bella he hesitated, staring at her like something was stabbing him. He held one hand out, pleading.

Bella took his hand, and suddenly he yanked her – too roughly – right off the bed so that she thudded against his chest.

"I'll see you soon." He muttered against her hair, holding her so tightly she could barely breathe.

"Can't breathe." Bella gasped.

Jacob released her at once, his eyes full of apology, he backed toward the door. Opening it quietly, he disappeared through it. Bella listened for him to hit the squeaky step in the stairs, but there was no sound.


Charlie had already left for work. Bella was just tidying away the breakfast dishes when she felt the odd sensation of being watched. She glanced over her shoulder warily, her breath catching in her throat when she observed Edward sitting silently at the kitchen table.

"Some warning would have been nice." She chided, turning to face him. "How long have you been there?"

Like it had been for the last couple of days, his expression remained remote. Bella was beginning to lose patience. It was hard to even remember the reason for all this mess. If only Alice would come back soon, before this got any more out of hand.

But she couldn't count on that. Bella decided that, if she couldn't talk to Edward today, really talk, then she was going to see Carlisle tomorrow and ask for his advice on how to handle Edward when he was in this mood.

First, she would try and tackle Edward on her own, and force him to be honest with her. She wasn't accepting any excuses. She didn't deserve to be treated this way.

Taking a deep breath, Bella said. "Edward, we need to – "

"Talk…yes…I know." He finished for her glumly.

Bella felt the usual stab of anxiety hit her right in the chest. His expression, his tone, it was all terrifyingly familiar.

"Come for a walk with me." He suggested in the same unemotional voice, whilst reaching for her hand.

Bella didn't answer. It was like her vocal cords had seized up, preventing her from speaking. She didn't like this. This is bad, this is very bad, the voice in her head repeated again and again.

Edward didn't seem to expect an answer. He led her out of the house, toward the east side of the yard, where the forest encroached. Bella followed unwillingly, trying to think through the panic. This is not what she wanted. She wanted a sit-down conversation at the table, enabling her to be the one in control, the chance to talk it all through.

But again, the protests were all in her head, her voice wouldn't obey her.

Panic continued to choke her. They had only gone a few steps into the trees when Edward stopped. They were barely on the trail – Bella could still see the house- her breathing quickened as she looked around, suddenly realizing this was their break up spot.

Edward leaned against a tree and stared at her; his expression unreadable.

"Okay, lets talk." He said first.

Bella tried to quell her panic, her chocolate brown eyes wide and staring as she glanced around. She swallowed thickly, trying to dislodge the lump in her throat.

"Why bring me here?" She croaked.

Edward looked confused. "What's wrong with here?"

Bella took a deep breath. In. Out.

"You can't be that oblivious, surely?"

"What do you mean?" The same confusion colored his voice.

"Or are you just intentionally being cruel?"

Edward sighed theatrically. "Bella, I can't read your mind. So, you are going to have to explain what you mean."

Bella stared back at him coldly, finally understanding that he wasn't intentionally being cruel, he was genuinely oblivious.

"You unimaginable bastard." She whispered.

Edward stared at her aghast when the epithet left her lips. He took in one of his fake breaths, his mouth twisting the tiniest bit. His eyes became harder-like the liquid gold had frozen solid.

"And you say I'm the cruel one?" He accused. "I never thought I would hear such curse words fall from your lips. You've been spending too much time in Jacob Black's company. His bad manners are beginning to rub off on you."

Bella shook her head back and forth mechanically, trying to clear it. Edward waited for her response without any sign of impatience. It took Bella a few minutes before she could speak.

"We're done here."

There was a pause as Edward seemed to repeat her words in his head a few times, as if sifting through them for their real intent.

"When you say we're done?" He tried out the words, confused by the way they sounded, placed in that order.

"I mean exactly that." Bella reaffirmed.

Edward gazed, uncomprehending, into her eyes. Bella stared back at him without apology. His eyes were like topaz-a mixture of bewilderment and fear. She felt like she could see into them for miles and miles, yet nowhere in their bottomless depths could she see an understanding of his casual cruelty, by bringing her to the very spot where he had crushed her spirit and sent her spiraling into depression. He really was oblivious to it all…and that was the saddest and most soul-destroying part of all.

Bella looked away into the trees. She couldn't even find the will to summon up any tears. "Of course, I'll always love you…in a way." She said, throwing the words he had used to break her heart back at him. "But what you've just done, the way you've been treating me the last few days, made me realize its time for a change." She looked back at him, and the icy planes of his face were not human. "I've let this go on much too long, and I'm sorry for that."

"Don't." Edward's voice was just a whisper now, awareness beginning to seep through him, trickling like acid through his empty veins. "Don't do this. Not like this."

"You're not good for me, Edward." Bella added, turning his own words to her back on him, signaling the final death knell to their relationship.

Edward opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it again. He waited patiently; his face contorted in agony.

"Is…that what you really want?"

Bella nodded once.

Edward gasped like he was being strangled.

"I would like to ask one favor though, if that's not too much." Bella continued; her face wiped clean of all emotion.

"Anything." Edward vowed in a faint whisper.

"Don't do anything reckless or stupid, please?" She asked. "Do you understand what I'm saying? No running off to the Volturi. Promise me, Edward?"

Edward's eyes cooled, his former distance returning as he managed to compose himself. He nodded his head in confirmation.

"I'm thinking of your family, of course. They need you. Take care of yourself – for them."

Edward nodded again. "I will." He murmured.

The enormity of what she had just done finally caught up with Bella. Her knees started to shake, the trees around her felt like they were wobbling. She needed to get away before she collapsed at his feet.

"Goodbye, Edward." She managed to say, grateful that at least her voice sounded steady even as her body betrayed her. She turned back around, keeping her fraught gaze focused on her house, knowing that if she looked back, even once, she might be in danger of taking it all back.

"Take care of yourself, too, Bella." Edward breathed, cool against her skin.

There was a light, unnatural breeze. The leaves on a small vine maple shuddered with the gentle wind of his passage.

He was gone.

A/N-thanks for reading!