In Another Life: A Jacob and Renesmee Story

AU where Jacob and Renesmee don't meet until 40 years after Renesmee was born.

Chapter 1 - First Sight

Renesmee

The Warren G. Magnuson Dog Park was a picturesque park that sat, lakeside, on 8.6 acres of land in eastern Seattle. I took my dog there every evening at 4pm after my shift at the UW Northwest Hospital had ended. It was the perfect time for Dracula to go to the park because it was full of dogs at that time and, despite his ominous name, he was very friendly and very social. I had named him Dracula in part because of my own private joke, but also because it suited his all black fur and bat-like ears.

Unfortunately, 4pm was not as perfect a time for me as it was for my dog. It was full of people — many of them single, looking for other single dog owners with whom to bond and eventually fall in love, or at least fuck. Well, that didn't work when you were a half-vampire who could accidentally scratch a man's back open with the slightest increase in pressure. Sure, I'd tried sex with humans before. It was easier with women, where the instinct to be gentle came more naturally. But with men, I found myself falling as limp as possible and becoming rather bored. So, after 40 years or so of adulthood, I had stopped trying. Besides, the aftermath of a one-night stand was never worth it anymore. The phone calls had to be ignored, the place we had met had to be avoided. Worse was when I completely reciprocated their feelings, when the ache for a human connection almost overpowered me into wondering… could I? But then I think of my father and how he talked of my mother's human years. The fear, the constant worry over the Volturi. I knew I could never risk it.

I sat on a bench and watched Dracula romp and run with the other dogs, every so often stopping to have a pissing-contest with four other males on one tree. The entire park was awash with a thousand different pheromones bringing the same message — mine or sometimes, more simply, hello. Dracula, who was part German Shepherd, part black lab, generated equal amounts of mine and hello. My family thought it was hilarious that I had a dog. They rolled their eyes at my inability to feed on wolves, bears, and mountain lions. For me, they were too similar to Drac, who was the love of my current life, like his predecessor Frank, (short for Frankenstein). I preferred deer and, more than anything, I preferred to eat like a human, usually ordering rare steaks. This was a moral preference, really, as there really was nothing quite like fresh blood. But I also never felt more like a monster than when I took down the innocent doe, who had never stood a chance against my speed and strength.

"Well someone has to kill the cow that you order at restaurants," Aunt Rosalie said to me, once. To this, I had no real logical retort.

As I sat on my bench and watched the dogs, thinking of my family who I had not seen since Christmas three months before, I noticed a tall, dark man watching me. I sighed quietly to myself. I had really liked this park and didn't want to have to avoid it until this man forgot about me. Perhaps it seemed vain that this was my first thought, but it was not-for-nothing that I was a hybrid human/vampire. Perhaps I was not as beautiful as my mother or my aunts, but I was much more approachable. As a doctor, this was a good thing. As a female, it was mostly annoying.

I ignored the man, but I could still feel him staring at me. Curiosity getting the better of me, I glanced at him. His brow was furrowed with… what? Concern? Slowly he walked over to me. I leaned forward in my seat slightly, getting ready to make an excuse to leave.

"Excuse me, miss?" said the man, rather awkwardly. "Are you feeling all right?"

I looked at him, confused.

"Um, yes?" I said, bewildered by his question.

"Are you sure," he said, sitting on the bench beside me. "Your heart rate is high."

"What?" I laughed, wondering if this was some lead into a cheesy pick-up line. "How on earth would you know that?"

"It's just — I can tell. You're flushed," he said, quickly.

I stared at him. He had russet skin, silky dark hair, and black eyes — Native American, perhaps? He was, admittedly, very handsome in a roguish sort of way.

"You can't know someone's heart rate just from their complexion," I said.

"How do you know? Maybe I'm a doctor," he said, giving me a crooked smile.

"I know, because I am a doctor ," I said. "And even the best doctor can't tell a heart rate just by looking at a person."

"Well, you got me there," he said. "You promise you're all right?"

"Yes," I said, firmly. "And you promise you're not a doctor?"

He laughed and it sounded more akin to the barks of the dogs around us.

"No, I'm a mechanic," he said. "Science was never really my thing."

"There's science to being a mechanic," I said. "I open people and take them apart, you open cars and take them apart. Same thing, different object."

The man snorted. "Jeez, I hope I never have to be on your operating table. Object."

"You know what I mean," I said, rolling my eyes. Suddenly I realized that I was talking to this stranger like I'd known him for years and I felt embarrassed.

"So which one of these monsters are yours?" he asked.

"The black one with the big ears. Dracula," I said.

"An actual monster!" he said, raising his eyebrows in mock horror.

"He'd like you to believe that, but the black lab in him means he'll turn into a puddle of mush for attention. Which one is yours?"

"The tan one with the blue eyes. Her name is Luna," he said. "She's a mutt, but I think she's got some husky in her."

"She's beautiful," I said.

He didn't say anything, just continued to watch our dogs, who were now playing together. I wondered how he knew my heart rate was fast. As a normal human man, he shouldn't be able to hear my heart rate. He certainly wasn't a vampire. I could smell his blood pulsing throughout his veins easily. Although, his heart rate was a bit speedy, too, now that I really listened. Not as fast as mine, but a definitely faster than average. I tracked it for a minute 124 beats per minute? 125? Mine was closer to 140 bpm.

"Well, I should probably get her home and feed her supper," he said, rising from the bench. "Hey, I didn't catch your name."

"Vanessa Hale," I said, using my fake hospital name and holding out my hand for him to shake. "Yours?"

"Jacob Black," he said, looking warily at my hand.

I was used to people noticing that my skin was hotter than normal, but since I worked with sick hospital patients, they were usually cold and clammy and everyone felt warm to them. The handshake was automatic, but this man seemed scared to take my hand.

I was on the point of lowering it and apologizing when he grasped my hand in his. I gasped. I couldn't help it. There wasn't a degree of difference in the temperature of our skin.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Jacob asked, the furrow between his brow back again. "Maybe you should go see a doctor."

Our hands were still clasped.

"I am a doctor," I said again. "I know I'm fine. How about you? Are you okay?"

"Yes," he said, finally lowering his hand. "Well, it was nice meeting you."

"Yes, it was," I said, feeling slightly out of breath. "It was really nice meeting you."

"Luna! Here girl!"

I watched Jacob leash up his dog, my hummingbird heart going even faster, if it was possible. He looked at me with genuine concern and could see him chewing on the words "are you okay?" again. I was okay. I felt truly okay for the first time in my life.

"Do you want to go get dinner with me?" I blurted.

"I — sure. Yeah. Let me just get her home, okay?" he said, looking confused and yet, dazed, like a cartoon character hit over the head with a metal pole.

"Yeah, okay," I said, knowing I probably looked the same way.

"Where?" he asked.

"Where what?"

"Where do you want to go for dinner?" he said, his confusion breaking into a smile.

"Anywhere — um, La Villa? It's a Mexican place on 55th street."

"Okay. Yeah. I know it," he said, still smiling with that dazed look in his eyes. "When?"

"As soon— um, 6:00?" I amended, trying not to sound desperate.

"Perfect, 6:00. See you there," he said.

But he did not turn around. He continued to stare at me, as though he could not take his eyes off me. I was reluctant to take my eyes off him, too. Afraid he was a delusion of my lonely mind. Finally, I looked away.

"Drac! Come!"

Obediently, Dracula ran towards me with the bullet precision of a German Shepherd to its mistress. I leashed him up and walked back to the parking lot.