Impasse

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Jacob's Confession

"You have the right to remain silent. If you give up the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney and to have an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided to you at no cost."

Bella watched as Charlie calmly read Edward Cullen his rights and led him in handcuffs toward the police cruiser. She was so proud of her father. He had immediately regained his poise once she had revealed the truth of what had happened. He put aside his role of the angry father, quickly falling back into the familiar position of police chief of Forks.

"Will you be alright here while I head to the station, kiddo?" Charlie called over his shoulder once he had settled Edward in the back seat of the cruiser. "You will need to come down to the station at some point to make a statement. I just want to get him processed first."

"Don't worry about me, Dad. I'm going to call Jake." Bella called back.

"Good idea." Charlie looked relieved knowing that his best friend's son would be the one looking out for his little girl while he got on with doing his job. "We'll talk soon. Bye."

"Bye, Dad." Bella gave him a small wave as she watched him climb into the driver's side, slamming the door a little harder than normal when he glanced back at Edward sitting rigidly in the back seat.

So far Edward hadn't uttered one word in his own defense. He actually looked a bit shellshocked, his frozen expression making appear him more like a marble statue than ever. Bella's unexpected actions had shattered his delusion, revealing the truth of how she really felt about him, leaving him completely devastated.

"You're in a lot of trouble, boy." Charlie told him unsympathetically. "You were warned repeatedly to leave my daughter alone but you never listened. Now you're gonna have to deal with the consequences of your actions. There is no wriggling out of it this time."

Edward averted his gaze, staring out of the side window, his eyes fixed on Bella standing in the driveway. He kept staring until her figure got smaller and smaller in the distance and then disappeared completely when the cruiser turned a corner.

Jacob wasn't home when Bella rang, but Billy promised faithfully he would get an urgent message to him once she filled him on the frightening circumstances behind the frantic phone call.

Bella sat anxiously waiting in the living room for Jacob to arrive as she tried to stop the fear center of her brain from incapacitating her completely. It was all coming crashing down on her now, the enormity of what had happened. She had been lucky to escape unscathed. One wrong move, or one wrong word might have proved the end of her. She had no real idea of what Edward's true intentions had been when he ambushed her in the school parking lot and drove her to the meadow. If she hadn't had the sense to go along with his delusional train of thought and pretend that she was eager to renew their relationship - who knew what the outcome could have been?

Her anxiety ridden thoughts were akin to driving around the block over and over, faster, and faster. Pointless. Instead, she focused on escaping the hurricane of her morbid thoughts, concentrating on the positive and rejecting the negative analysis of Edward's words and actions. She was alive. She was breathing. That was all that mattered.

Faster than she anticipated, Jacob burst through the back door, and raced into the living room to find her. He wasn't wearing a shirt which meant he must have been patrolling. He immediately scooped her up into his arms, lifting her up from the sofa and squeezing her tight. His skin was burning hot as Bella rested her head gratefully on his bare chest.

"Oh, Bells." Jacob whispered anxiously. "I'm so thankful your safe. If that fucking leech had hurt you…." He left the rest unsaid, his body shaking with tremors as he tried to control the wolf inside of him.

Suddenly, it was just more than she could handle – it felt like her whole world was crashing around her en-masse. She was so brutally tired that she might collapse right at his feet if he wasn't holding her up.

When Jacob placed her gently back on her feet, she swayed unsteadily, and struggled to remain upright.

"Bella?" Jacob asked, worry creasing his forehead. He caught her elbow as she swayed again, and steered her back to the sofa. Her legs gave out when she reached the edge, and she plopped into a limp heap on the cushions.

"Hey, honey, are you okay?"

Bella looked up him, tears collecting in the corners of her eyes as she shook her head. "Not really, Jake. I've never been more frightened than I was today. It could have all gone so differently if I hadn't kept my head."

Anguish crossed Jacob's handsome face at what could have been if not for her quick thinking. He was already blaming himself for not being there to protect her. But there was little he could have done. She should have been safe in school. Edward Cullen had violated one of the few safe spaces she had left.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. I should have been there."

His apology was so sincere and full of self-blame that it about broke Bella's heart.

"Oh, Jake, please don't do that again. Don't blame yourself for something that was out of your control. There was no way you could have known." She said wearily. "I have to be able to protect myself."

"Well, you sure did today, honey. I couldn't be prouder of you if I tried." Jacob agreed with a small smile. He sucked in a deep breath to help quieten the wolf inside of him that was baying to break free. He shuddered with the effort to keep calm. He was dying to go down to the police station and tear Edward limb from limb for what he had done to Bella.

Jacob found it difficult letting the law handle it. There was no punishment in his mind that they could serve that would ever equal the enormity of the crime Edward had done today. The leech was a danger to every human he encountered. He had a sinking feeling that no matter what charges Charlie brought against Edward, that he would somehow worm his way out of it Scot-free. With his money he would be able to hire some fancy lawyer to get him off the hook. After all it was Bella's word against his. Jacob was fearful that Bella's prior relationship with the leech would be brought up and used against her in some way.

The only thing going in their favor was that Edward's name would be in the system. He would no longer be able to live under the radar like he had been – not in Forks anyway. His cover had been blown in a way. Once the news started to spread of his arrest, innocent or not, his reputation would be tarnished. The coven relied heavily on their ability to mingle with the humans undetected, but with Edward's newfound notoriety that would be impossible. So even if he got off the charges, they would be forced to move on. Either way, the leech's actions had violated the treaty, meaning the whole coven was done for anyway. They couldn't remain in Forks after this. Good riddance!

Even through her exhaustion Bella was aware of what Jacob was thinking. Mostly because she was thinking along the same lines. She twisted her head to the side – too tired to hold it up for much longer – to see his expression. Jacob's eyes were darker than normal, his teeth clenched, his forehead wrinkled with effort.

"Jacob, what's wrong?" She asked.

Jacob exhaled heavily, and Bella realized he had been holding his breath, too. "I'm struggling, Bella." He confessed, frustrated. "I can't do it."

"Do what?"

Jacob ignored her question. He stood up, looking down at her apologetically, and her thoughts immediately jumped to the correct conclusion.

"You want to kill him."

"Yes." Jacob stated through gritted teeth.

"And you're having trouble controlling the wolf."

"You know me so well." Jacob said grimly. His eyes tightened and he shook his head as if trying to clear it. "You're the only thing stopping me going down to the police station right now and ripping his head off." He sucked in another breath as he ducked down in front of her so he was more on her level. His face shifted from hopelessness to blazing intensity in a second. He stared fiercely into her eyes, and his voice was fast and eager. He spoke the words right into her face; his breath was as hot as his skin.

"I've been keeping a secret from you, Bella." He admitted. "Not intentionally. I just needed space to wrap my own head around it, but its time I told you the truth."

Bella blinked twice, trying to clear her own head. She was so tired. Nothing he said made sense.

Jacob took in her blank expression, and then his face tensed with effort again. He looked like he was in pain. His fists were clenched as well as his jaw. He shuddered and took in another deep breath.

"This whole thing is especially difficult for me, Bells." He continued huskily. "Not just because of what you mean to me – I think you know that part already." His added meaningfully.

Bella's resulting blush was pink perfection under the weight of his earnest gaze. "I know." She whispered.

Jacob took her face in his hands. His palms were burning with the same intense heat as the rest of his skin. He was so much hotter than usual, a sign of his trepidation she supposed. Jacob stared into her eyes while he whispered, as if to communicate something besides the words he spoke.

"You're my imprint, Bella, honey."

Bella took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on what he was saying. "Imprint?" Her cheeks were growing warm under his palms, but he wouldn't notice, hot as his skin was. "I don't understand, Jacob. What's that?"

Jacob closed his eyes and then opened them again. His next words were tense, fervent, like he was on the edge of trying to make her understand something vital. He spoke slowly, making each word distinct.

"Its how a someone like me finds their mate."

Even in the half dark Bella was aware that Jacob must be able to see the change in the color of her face. "Mate as in….?" She paused.

"Soulmate, yes. Well…kind of." Jacob inhaled deeply, struggling again. "It's not like love at first sight, really. It's more like… gravity moves… suddenly. It's not the earth holding you here anymore, she does… You become whatever she needs you to be, whether that's a protector, or a lover, or a friend. It is a profound, intimate phenomenon that exists among the Quileute shape-shifters. And it's supposed to be rare…. I guess I'm the lucky one."

Bella nodded mutely as she slowly took it all in.

A period of silence followed this declaration and Jacob began to worry.

"Are you mad that I didn't tell you before?" Jacob asked anxiously.

Bella's heard churned. As much as she was glad that he was being honest with her, she still didn't really understand what it all meant.

Jacob mistook her continued silence for rejection. He let go of her face and stood up. He pressed his fists against his forehead and breathed fast and hard. "It's too much, isn't it? I was an idiot to think otherwise."

"Jake? Jake, please, I'm exhausted. I can't think straight right now. Just give me time…"

Jacob took a steadying breath and nodded. "Of course, I'm sorry, Bells. There's no pressure. I promise. Take as long as you need. I just needed it to be out there. I was tired of keeping it to myself." He plunked back on the sofa beside her and put his arm around her. "I want you to know that however you feel about me, I will always be here for you. You know that, right?"

"I know." Bella took his hand with her good one and pressed it against her cheek. "I really don't know how I'd survive without you."

"Right back at you." Jacob said, blessing her with one of his sunny smiles as he pulled her back into the safety of his arms.

A/N-thanks for reading!