Bella and Jack loaded her belongings into her rental car and hugged each other goodbye. Leah was returning to sit with him as he waited for his cab while Bella headed over to Paul's. It was still dark outside, and she hoped she didn't wake Jamie with her arrival. She wanted to talk to Paul first.

The house was dark as she pulled into the driveway, and she quickly cut the headlights, knowing they would shine directly into Paul's bedroom window. The front door was unlocked, and she stepped inside, immediately heading for Paul's bedroom.

Finding his bed empty, Bella peeked into Jamie's room. The boy was sound asleep right where she'd left him, in almost the same position. She quietly left the room, wondering where the Hell Paul was, knowing he wouldn't leave Jamie home alone.

As she checked the spare bedroom, Bella spotted lights in the shed behind the house. She smiled as Paul passed in front of the window, wondering what he was up to this early. Bella quietly shut the front door behind her and walked around the house to the shed to greet him.

As she neared the door, it flew open, startling her as an equally surprised Paul looked up and gasped.

Each smiled at the other after a second and chuckled as she said, "Hi."

"Hey. You're here much earlier than I expected."

He sounds exhausted. Reaching for him, Bella asked, "Have you slept at all?"

Paul put up his hands to keep her back as he laughed. "Wait, wait… I'm covered in paint, babe. And no, I haven't."

He stepped back so the light could illuminate his bare chest, arms, and hands so she could see the paint splatters in the dark. She laughed as she realized there were even speckles of splattered paint on his face.

In her peripheral, however, a specific blend of color caught her eye, and she turned to gape at the large blue and yellow canvas. Shades of brown and black created the finer details rather than green, the edging to each leaf and blade of grass precise. In the center was Bella, as if painted through the wolf's eyes from a hiding spot on the forest floor. The foliage surrounded the view of her like a frame as she stared over her shoulder, searching for something behind her.

It was incredibly done and still wet.

Besides the massive canvas were many other paintings stacked, leaning against walls and shelves. Many were depictions of tribal art, a few also drying, as though he'd worked on several paintings within the last few hours. Most of the canvases, however, depicted wolves… and Bella. Paints covered every spare available surface in between. An old wardrobe hung open, stuffed with supplies and blank canvases in one corner.

Paul chuckled nervously as she slowly took in the larger-than-anticipated space and dozens of paintings of herself. He stepped back to allow her inside. "Might as well look closer since you're already here. Watch your step. I'm messy with the paint."

"I see that." She chuckled as she looked down at the speckled floor and walked inside. She tilted canvases toward her to see the ones hiding behind them, finding older paintings of herself in their youth. Each painting contained incredible detail and was handled with such delicate care that she felt her heart might burst from the love poured into them. Bella could practically feel the heartache poured into some paintings, the tone of each easily discernable from the vibrant colors and expression on her face.

But, the nagging voice in the back of her mind asked. If Paul loved you so much, why didn't he come and find you?

Jacob once told her that when a wolf imprinted, they would be whatever their soulmate needed. For a decade, Bella had convinced herself that she needed distance. To be left alone. She believed the wolves didn't want her to come home, even if she wanted to - and she'd been too ashamed to face them.

And now, viewing her surroundings, Bella understood Paul had submerged himself in paint the way she'd drowned herself in wine, avoiding each other and the inevitable, precisely as she wanted.

As she turned to face him, teary-eyed, he shut the door to reveal paintings she had yet to see. In front was one of Bella sitting at the bar in her fancy red dress while Paul sat alone at a table, watching her from across the room. It was odd, viewing the scene from the outside, though she had no doubt it was entirely accurate (minus the crowd of people and the empty seat where Mike should sit beside her). It was as though she and Paul had been the only ones in the room as he raised his shot glass in the air at her, and he'd captured that moment well.

His side of the picture felt dark and brooding, while hers was almost dream-like. Overall, it appeared Bella was a figment of his imagination, as though he were toasting a memory.

Beside it sat one last canvas, delicately covered with a paint-splattered sheet. Bella met Paul's amused gaze as he carefully walked over to uncover it. As the material fell away, she gasped at the picture of herself, entirely naked and fast asleep with her long blonde hair spread out around her in messy tendrils.

"Oh my god, Paul," she choked out as her cheeks filled with heat.

He laughed as he replaced the covering. "That's what the sheet is for. No one gets to see that painting but me… and now you. I plan to hang it on the back of my bedroom door."

She wanted to laugh about that idea but was too stunned to do so. "They're beautiful," she muttered, at a loss for other words as she glanced around the room.

"Well, I had a pretty damn beautiful muse throughout the years," Paul said proudly, walking toward the door. He pulled it open and gestured for her to step outside, then flipped the light off on their way out the door.

"I don't know what to say," she admitted as they carefully crossed the grass toward the house. The sun was just rising, providing just enough light for her to see clearly.

"Well… I'll say this." He stopped and turned toward her. "Painting helps me cope. It helps me remember and focus. It's been a tremendous comfort to me over the years. That's why I do it. I never thought it would make me successful at anything. I love it, though. And that is what I would turn to when I was missing you. That's why there are so many of you."

Bella frowned, unable to meet his gaze as his revelation flooded her with guilt. He'd been painting her, missing her, openly caring enough for her that Jamie had instantly known who she was upon hearing her name alone.

And what about Jamie? Was he aware of how much his father loved her? Could that be the reason he'd gotten attached to her so quickly? Was that why Jamie wanted her to stay with them, too? She couldn't help but wonder how different Paul was when she wasn't around and if Jamie could see the difference. His comprehension at three amazed her. He was precisely the type of child she would have hoped to have had she chosen to have one.

As though reading her thoughts, Paul said, "I know you think you don't belong here, baby. But you do. With me."

"I came here early to talk to you about that, actually," she admitted, finally looking up at his face.

"Come on," he ushered, resuming their walk toward the door. "I'll make us some coffee before I hop in the shower and wash all this paint off."

The thought of him in the shower sent a rush of heat through her limbs as she grinned. "How about the shower first?"

Chuckling, he opened the front door for her. "Why? You want to help me?"

"I could assist," she teased.

Paul reached for her hand as he carefully shut the front door behind them and tugged her toward the bathroom.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. After they showered and redressed, Paul made breakfast for everyone. Their conversation had to wait until Jamie returned to his bedroom to play.

Jack called to let her know his cab had arrived, and he was sending Leah over to talk to them about their conversation the night before. By the time she arrived, Bella filled Paul in on what she already knew. Paul seemed thrilled for Leah over the imprint, even if they both technically hated imprinting itself. Bella couldn't help but admit that despite the rush of their newfound relationship, Jack and Leah could be good for each other.

Leah could not describe how it felt to finally find her person after a decade of being alone, aside from the occasional date or short-lived relationship.

Despite her brave outward facade, Bella could sense the same fear of the future in Leah that she felt. Jack had barely been gone for an hour, and Leah already looked like she might crawl out of her skin.

"By the way." Bella stood to refill her coffee cup. She frowned as she found it empty, and Paul snickered as he stood to make more, taking her cup from her. Bella returned to her seat and asked, "When were you planning to tell me you imprinted or whatever?"

Leah laughed. "Bitch, it's been two days."

"No," Bella said, watching Paul add coffee to a new filter. "I meant Paul."

He froze mid-scoop and asked, "Huh?" He finished putting everything together, saying, "I don't know what you mean, Bells."

"The scar on my thigh. It's some kind of mating mark, right?" She met Leah's mischievous gaze, and both grinned.

Paul waited until he'd refilled the water reservoir and turned on the coffeemaker to answer. As he returned to his seat, he sighed.

"My wolf did that, Bella. After we got married, I guess he felt he had the right. I truly don't remember doing it, but I feel it's mine."

"Well, I don't remember a few things from that weekend. We drank entirely too much that night." And it was true. Despite the return of some memories, many remained blurred by Tequila, sex, and dopamine. "But I remember the bite because it hurt like a sonofabitch. And then… suddenly, it didn't." Her cheeks tingled as she blushed, trying not to grin.

Leah muttered, "Get a room, Swan."

Paul laughed, nodding. "My wolf really loves you, Bella. I mean, so do I, of course. But my wolf does, too."

"I know. I love you both, too." She smiled as he took a deep breath and grinned back.

"That… made him extraordinarily happy." Paul dropped his eyes to the tabletop, absently tapping his fingers. He was on his feet suddenly as someone knocked on the door. Bella frowned suspiciously, hoping it wasn't Karrie.

Jamie came running down the hallway, and Paul scooped him into his arms before swinging the front door open.

Through giggles, Jamie said, "Hi, Charlie."

"Hey, Jamie. How are ya, buddy?"

"Good. You gonna take Dad to jail?"

Charlie stepped inside and shut the door behind him as he laughed. "No way, kiddo." He was in uniform and, despite the smile he wore for Jamie, did not look happy. He lightly tapped one palm with the stack of papers he held in the other.

Paul set Jamie down. "Do you need anything, Jamie? Or did you just want to answer the door?"

"Door," Jamie said as he darted around Paul toward the kitchen. Spotting Bella, he slowed to a walk, approaching her carefully. "Are you staying the night, Bella?"

She grinned as she reached for him and pulled him onto her lap. "Uh-huh."

He beamed at her before turning his radiant smile on his father, and Paul smirked. "She'll be here all week, buddy."

"I don't know," Bella teased them both, frowning. "I might be here much longer. You might get sick of me."

Paul walked toward the kitchen, all humor gone from his face as he said, "Don't fuck with me, Bella."

Jamie's eyes widened, his expression clearly saying, 'Uh-oh' despite his uncanny silence.

Bella scoffed. "Why would I tease about that? After everything we discussed this morning, knowing what I know… how am I supposed to go back to Florida after that?"

Bella wasn't even sure when she had decided to stay, but it was useless to keep fighting the inevitable. And now that she knew what she would do, Bella felt much lighter. That relief and the look on Paul's face were all Bella needed to know the right decision was made. Despite the risks and everything that came with them, she wanted him. Her husband, Paul. She couldn't bear the thought of leaving him anymore, nor Jamie.

Butterflies erupted in her stomach as Paul rushed toward her. She held tight to Jamie as Paul pulled her to her feet and wrapped his arms around them both. He buried his face against her neck and sighed as he hugged them tight.

"Dad," Jamie complained after being squished for too long. They laughed as he finally released them, and Bella put Jamie on his feet. As soon as he moved out of their reach, Paul wrapped his arms around Bella again.

Charlie got their attention by clearing his throat from the doorway and sat beside Leah, grinning. "Well, now that I know you've finally come to your senses, we have some other things to discuss."

Paul and Leah laughed as Bella harrumphed and went to refill her coffee cup.

"Jamie, buddy, go play in your room. We gotta talk about some dumb big people's stuff."

Jamie's little face scrunched up as he said, "Thass no fun, Dad."

"No, it isn't. You and I will play a game later or something. How does that sound?"

"Good!" Jamie darted from the room and down the hallway at full speed.

Paul shook his head. "Maybe you can convince him houses are just enormous bees, Bells."

"I'll figure something out," she said, returning to her seat with her coffee. "Give me time. I think the kid might be smarter than me already."

Leah asked, "So what's up, Charlie? You looked pretty serious a minute ago."

"Well…" Charlie handed the stack of papers across the table to Paul. "First, if I'd known Bella would decide to move back to Forks, I would have told the Circuit clerk's office to shred your damn divorce papers."

Paul's eyes went wide as Bella laughed. Tentatively, Paul asked her, "Do you want to stay married? I mean… we don't have to be. I only filed for Jamie's sake."

"I know," Bella said, nodding. "Like you said before, though. It's just paper. I'll let you make that decision. We still need to call the lawyer's office."

"About that…" Charlie interrupted them. Paul began looking through the stack of papers as Charlie explained, "I need to hurry because I gotta get somewhere, guys. Now, look. I called an acquaintance of mine with CPS, and this is important. If Karrie shows up here again, for any reason, you call the cops."

Holding up a section of papers, Paul asked, "New adoption forms?"

"Just…" Charlie waved his hand at the papers, dismissing them. "Look at those later. You gotta fill them out, anyway. Especially if you decide to petition together. Now, listen! Karrie doesn't work for CPS anymore. She hasn't in almost six months."

What? "How is that possible?" Bella asked as her temper instantly flared. "Why would someone make that shit up?"

"Karrie has the hots for Paul, right? Well, she's using her former position to mislead Paul. Apparently, this kind of shit is why she got fired. She's been trying to hook up with every male foster parent in the area, and there are lots of complaints about her behavior. She's lied to families about their situations and purposely tried to intimidate them. It looks like she was scheming to confiscate one family's so-called adoption fees, and I suspect she planned the same for Paul. That kind of money is the only real, plausible motive since most of these men are happily married. Either way, she sounds like a fucking sociopath to me. Now, CPS needs you to sign those papers, Paul. No one knows where the ones you already signed are. Karrie probably shredded or hid them somewhere, but it doesn't matter. You sign those papers, I will drop them off at the fucking health department for you, and you should hear from someone right away. There is no reason Jamie can't legally be your son within the next few weeks. "

"Are you serious?" Paul glanced toward Bella, looking as though he might cry. "Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome," Charlie said sincerely and cleared his throat as he ignored the sentimentality of the moment. "Oh, and your real upcoming visit from CPS is Wednesday because they want to discuss this situation with you since they're building a case against Karrie over all this nonsense. Now, as far as Karrie goes… I'm about to arrest her dumbass for impersonating a government employee over the last six months."

Leah cackled at that, making Charlie grin as he stood. "Oh, I'd love to be a fly on the wall for this one."

"Well, come on, then. You can be my 'ride along.' But you have to stay in the car and mind your mouth!"

Leah clapped her hands in excitement as she stood. "Deal! Just keep the windows down so I can hear everything."

Charlie scoffed as he stepped around her to hug Bella. "I'm glad you're moving home, kid. It'll be good for you. You'll see. Oh. Hang on a second." Charlie reached into his back pocket to remove a long, thin envelope and handed it to her.

Bella glanced at the front, addressed to her at Charlie's address with no return address. "What's this?" Who would send her something to Charlie's? She was afraid to turn it over and look for some stamp or seal, hoping it wasn't bad news.

"Your guess is as good as mine," he said, shrugging. "It's the first time mail for you has come to my house in nine years ."

Leah waved goodbye at them as she followed Charlie out the door and to the cruiser. Paul stood at the window, laughing as he watched them leave before returning to the table to examine the papers again.

"Well, I guess there are two things I can tell the lawyers to forget about today."

Paul beamed at her. "What. Did you consult them about the divorce?" Teasing, he added, "Gonna ask 'em for alimony?"

"No. I was offering to pay alimony to you, actually." Bella took a drink from her coffee.

Paul frowned at her, incredulous as he asked, "Why?"

"To help with Jamie. But this is fine. Now I can just be his 'stedmother' and spoil him rotten, I guess."

Grinning, he growled as he lunged toward her, pulling her from her chair and into his lap. Bella laughed as she slid her arms around his neck, then sighed as she leaned into him.

He stretched over her, reaching for the envelope on the table. "You gonna open this thing, or what?"

"I'm afraid to," she admitted, staring at the offending envelope. "Open it for me?"

Paul chuckled as he forced his thumb under one corner and tore it open. He pulled out what looked like a flier for a car warranty service and laughed.

"Junk mail?" He moved to set it down.

As something in the lower left corner caught her eye, she yanked it from his hand, shouting, "No, wait!"

At the bottom, in fine print, sat the Cullen crest with the caption, "Stay safe with unlimited Coverage until 2156."

Bella released a deep breath and muttered, "Oh, my God."

Suspiciously, he asked, "What is it?"

Bella pointed out the crest to him, and he took the paper from her trembling hands. She shuddered in relief. "It's from Alice. It has to be."

"Stay safe until 2156?"

Bella nodded. "The Volturi. They won't remember to check on me until then."

Instantly relieved by that news, Paul yelled, "You'll be long dead of old age by then, baby! Hot damn!"

She shrieked as he dipped her back in his lap before pressing his lips to hers. Bella slid her arms around his neck again, hugging him close as she closed her eyes and parted her lips for him. He buried his face against her neck when they finally broke apart, each gasping for breath and both feeling overwhelmed.

She was safe from the Volturi. Somehow, Alice had answered her plea. Bella could be with the man she loved, with her family, without waiting for some mass-murdering vampire royalty in the rafters, waiting to pounce. It felt too good to be true. And when Jamie darted around the corner and carefully climbed into both of their laps, Bella knew they would be happy.

With almost every threat to their relationship conquered, how could they be anything else?