Chapter 16: Whisper

(Song: E.S. Posthumus - Vorrina Pi)

Charlie Swan shocked the hell out of both his family and the Black family when he suggested that they should all rent a cabin together in the North Cascade Mountains for the Christmas holidays, instead of staying home in Seattle. So for the week leading up to Christmas day plus a couple of days after it, the entire Black-Swan family drove from Seattle to Winthrop, Washington to stay in a four bedroom, two story cabin adjacent to the Sun Mountain Lodge Ski Resort.

The inside of the cabin was paneled wood with stone accents like a gas fireplace, plus three bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs. One of the upstairs bedrooms was actually a loft area that was open with a view of the living room downstairs, but there was a sectional couch that could be made into two twin-sized beds. The other two upstairs bedrooms had doors for privacy, but only one of them had a bathroom to itself. The second upstairs bedroom and the loft area had to share a common bathroom that was upstairs right next to the stairs.

The bedroom downstairs had to share its bathroom with the downstairs area which included a full-sized kitchen, dining room and living room. All bedrooms had full-sized beds except the upstairs master which was king-sized. Billy and Sarah took the bedroom downstairs, letting Charlie and Renee have the master while Bella got the other bedroom with the door. Jacob would be sleeping in the loft area because even though Charlie was finally okay with him dating Bella, he was still not okay with the idea of them sleeping together under the same roof as him.

Since they were going to celebrate Christmas there, they had requested a Christmas tree for the cabin. Upon arriving there, they found the tree already set up in front of the large picture window in the living room. The furniture had been rearranged so that there was a great view of both the tree and the fireplace that was built into the adjacent wall. There were only a few decorations on the tree, which was fine since both Sarah and Renee had packed their own decorations as well as all of the ingredients they were going to use when making the Christmas dinner.

The first things they all did was unpack the cars, put their suitcases in their rooms, then put all the kitchen stuff away as well as placing the presents and Christmas decorations near the tree for later. They had arrived in the afternoon, so they just made sure all of the perishable food was put away before they relaxed for a bit in their rooms.

It wasn’t until after they had rested, then gone to have dinner in the dining room at the Lodge, before they returned to the cabin to spend the evening decorating the tree and most of the living room as well as the dining room. While the cabin had a large front porch with a seating area, the only thing Sarah and Renee put outside was a wreath on the door and a welcome mat with snowmen on it. Other than that, the tree was very visible through the large picture window.

Once they were done decorating, all six of them spent the evening in front of the fire sipping on hot chocolate, talking about the things they wanted to do while there as well as anything else they fancied. They knew they would have lots of time to relax since there were no phones, televisions or internet services in the cabin which meant there would be no talk of work for the entire holiday.

That first night they all went to bed early, the excitement and the long day of traveling and unpacking having finally caught up with them. Even Jacob didn’t seem to be too upset about going to the loft without Bella despite the fact that he had grumbled about their sleeping arrangements when they had first arrived there.

Over the next several days leading up to Christmas Eve, the families took advantage of all of the activities that the resort offered, sometimes as a whole group or sometimes in smaller groups. There were days they spent skiing down Little Buck Mountain at the Loup Loup Ski Bowl, then took breaks in the lounge to either relax or grab a bite to eat.

Other days, they ventured into the Western themed town of Winthrop to do a bit of shopping together. A few other things they usually did as a whole family were dinners in the cabin where Sarah, Bella and even Renee cooked the meals, then Billy, Jacob and Charlie would do the cleaning up afterwards. If they didn’t have dinner in the cabin, they would go to the dining room in the Lodge, or go to the Wolf Creek Bar and Grill which was also situated on the Lodge resort grounds. Some evenings were spent in front of the fireplace playing board games or other such activities together, or they would venture to the activity center at the Lodge to participate in the various games or other evening activities that went on there.

When they decided to each do their own thing, Jacob would take advantage of the exercise room at the Lodge resort while Bella enjoyed the library they had there. Sarah would spend time sitting out on the porch with some hot chocolate and her knitting, while Billy spent time in the Lodge’s activity center playing cards with whatever group he could find. Renee would spend more time shopping on her own while Charlie took advantage of the wireless internet in the Lodge’s library.

Of course, when they broke up into smaller groups, they found things to do also. For example, even though it was winter with heavy snow covering the ground, Charlie and Billy managed to find time to go fishing at the lakes and rivers in the area for a few days while Renee and Sarah usually went to the Lodge to indulge in some spa packages. Jacob and Bella went ice skating at the pond behind the Lodge or took sleigh rides around the resort.

Even when they broke up into couples, they actually found time to themselves in their cabin while everyone else was out and about. Sometimes Billy and Sarah had some time alone in the cabin or Charlie and Renee managed to get some time to themselves. Even Jacob and Bella were able to be alone at the cabin while their parents were out.

Of course, Jacob and Bella usually took advantage of their alone time to make love to each other even though Charlie had insisted that they have separate bedrooms. Bella was of the mind that what her father didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, so she and Jacob were always very careful to make sure Charlie didn’t walk in on them. They wanted to have that time together since they knew how limited their time together would be once they returned to their last semester of school and work.

Two days before Christmas Eve, there was a huge snow storm which dumped even more of the white powder than there already was on the ground. The following day, the Blacks and Swans spent their time out in the snow building snow men, having snowball fights and creating snow angels until the coming night with chilly air drove them back inside to warm up in front of the fire once more.

That night Billy and Sarah even broke out the marshmallows, chocolate bars and graham crackers to make s’mores over the fireplace even though they knew it wouldn’t taste as good as it would if it was over an outdoor fire. Still, they enjoyed themselves as one big family, laughing and joking amongst themselves until sleep began to catch up with them.

Renee and Charlie were the first to go to bed, followed by Billy and Sarah, leaving Jacob and Bella curled up on the loveseat together. Bella was actually leaning back against Jacob’s side as she faced the fireplace with her legs draped over the arm of the loveseat. He had an arm around her waist while his legs were stretched out with his heels on the coffee table in front of him.

They sat that way in silence for a while, simply enjoying the quiet of the cabin. Every once in a while, Bella would run her fingers over Jacob’s forearm or Jacob would nuzzle the top of her head. Eventually, Jacob began to place a random kiss on her head, her temple or her cheek until the kisses became more plentiful. Soon he was making a trail of kisses from her temple down to her neck until Bella tilted her head back so that he could plant one on her lips.

When his lips brushed over hers, she buried a hand in his hair to keep him there so that she could deepen the kiss. Like wildfire, the kiss turned hungry and urgent, making Jacob pull her fully into his lap until their mouths seemed to be feeding off of each others.

Bella turned her body slightly so that she could press her chest against Jacob’s while wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He groaned into her mouth before trying to maneuver her body so that she could straddle him. However, before he could succeed, Bella pulled away from him, taking huge gulps of air as she tried to speak.

“Jake, we can’t. Dad’s…”

He leaned down to give her lips a quick kiss before he whispered huskily. “I know. How ‘bout we go change into our swimsuits and go to the hot tubs?”

Bella arched an eyebrow. “Right now?”

He nodded. “Yeah, it won’t be busy at this time of night and I’m not ready to go to bed. Are you?”

She bit her lip as she thought about it. She wasn’t ready to go to bed either, but she wasn’t sure about making the trip to the Lodge where the hot tubs were located.

Jake sighed as he nudged her cheek with his nose. “C’mon Bells,” he whispered, his hot breath against her neck sending chills down Bella’s back. “It’ll help us relax more and give us some more time to be together.”

Her eyes fluttered shut as he nipped at her earlobe, then kissed the sensitive spot behind her ear. She swallowed as she finally nodded. “Okay.”

He smiled at her before helping her to her feet, then took her hand and led her quietly upstairs. They parted just long enough to change into their bathing suits with terrycloth robes over them. Then, with towels in hand, they met downstairs to quietly exit the cabin together.

Since the lodge was about a mile away, they took the Black’s SUV to the building that housed the hot tubs then went in search of one of the smaller tubs in the hopes that one of them would be unoccupied. When they found one, Jacob pulled Bella into the room, placed the occupied sign on the door, then shut and locked it so that no one else would invade their privacy.

Bella didn’t even wait for him to finish locking the door to take off her robe, setting it on a nearby table along with her towel. She stepped out of her sandals before sitting on the edge of the tub to wait for Jacob. She giggled as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her while he removed his own robe and shoes, then joined her at the tub.

(Song: Lady Gaga - Christmas Tree)

Jacob slid into the tub, then turned to help Bella in. In no time at all they were settled in the tub, enjoying the heat and bubbles that frothed around them. For a while, they talked about the Christmas Eve dinner they were going to make for their parents the following evening since their mothers were going to make the Christmas dinner the next day. From there, they moved on to trying to guess what each got the other as presents, until Jacob tried to tease his gift out of her through a combination of tickling and kisses.

Just like everything with them, things naturally moved from the light teasing to the more serious, heated make-out sessions they usually had. This time, Bella did make it onto Jacob’s lap, straddling him as he reclined back against the side of the tub. Her fingers were buried in his hair since she always loved the feel of it against her skin while her mouth mated with his.

His tongue swept into her mouth, sliding against hers in such a way as to make her feel weak. She felt as if she was floating away with the whirling water as his hands moved from her hips to her back to undo her bikini top. He let it float off of her as his hands moved back around to palm both of her now sensitized breasts. Her nipples were tight buds against his work-roughened hands, but when he brushed his nails against them, she let out a gasp as her thighs suddenly gripped his own in a vise-like grip.

Jacob’s mouth moved to suck the pulse on her neck as Bella’s hands roamed down his flexing biceps, until suddenly her fingers were pushing beneath his swim trunks. When her fingers curled around his growing arousal, his hands reflexively squeezed her breasts as he growled against her neck. Bella didn’t let that stop her from stroking the length of him until he was hard and thick in her hand. By that time, he had given up sucking on her neck, throwing his head back against the rim of the tub again.

Bella lifted off of him long enough to tug his trunks down, grinning when Jacob managed to lift his hips to give her some room. As soon as he was sitting down again, Bella took him back into her grasp with one hand while she used her other hand to push her bikini bottom to the side. As she lowered herself, she guided him into her body, eliciting pleasurable moans from both of them.

As soon as she could feel him deep inside of her, she began a slow ride on his lap. First gyrating her hips in small circles to get used to his girth before she began using her leg muscles to lift her body up. She would only lift enough so that the tip of him was barely inside of her before she sank down again. Keeping a steady tempo, she continued to lift her body over his, thus teasing both of them with the easy rhythm.

Before long Jacob was biting his lip, trying hard not to rush her but soon gave up when the torture became to much for him. Leaning forward, he captured one of her creamy wet mounds in his mouth where he began to lap at the water with his tongue. It wasn’t until he sucked the tip a little harder than usual that a moan escaped her as her hands griped his head.

Holding him to her chest, Bella picked up the pace, every pull of his mouth making her hips jerk against his. When her movements became too jerky, Jacob stopped teasing her breasts so that he could lean back slightly while his hands rested on her hips. Using his hands to guide her, he began thrusting his own hips up towards hers as his hands pulled her down onto him.

The feel of his thickness pounding deep inside of her, as well as the undulating waves of water against her skin, made her grab hold of his shoulders for dear life. Throwing her head back, she bit her own lip to keep from screaming out loud, not wanting to let the other hot tub occupants in the building know what was going on.

Jacob didn’t back down from his plundering of her body, only increasing both the tempo and the strength of his thrusts until her body finally reached the point of no return. Just like the water that gushed over the side of the hot tub, so too did her passion spill out of her as her walls clamped down on his throbbing shaft.

She managed to stay quiet through her climax, sacrificing her now bloody lip to do so. The awareness of said blood finally came when she felt Jacob shudder against her body even as he moaned into her chest. Apparently he was also trying his best to keep the volume to a minimum.

Bella couldn’t help but smile as she wrapped her arms around his head and shoulders, holding him to her while they basked in the afterglow of their lovemaking. The heated water continued to swirl and bubble around them, effectively washing away all evidence of their tryst.

Jacob smiled against his girlfriend’s skin as he heard her soft chuckle as well as her whispered words. “Someday, I want to buy my very own hot tub so I can have more Christmases just like this one.”

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(Song: Enya- We Wish You a Merry Christmas)

Despite the heavy blanket of snow that still covered the ground, Christmas Day dawned bright and clear. Sure, there was a distinct chill in the air, but the Black/Swan cabin was toasty due to the heavy cooking and baking going on in the kitchen.

Sarah and Renee had gotten up earlier than everyone else to begin preparing the Christmas meal, but Bella wasn’t far behind since she wanted to learn her own traditions for when it was her turn to one day host her family. Since there was a small radio in the living room, Bella took her Ipod full of Christmas music and plugged it into the radio so that the music could softly float throughout the cabin. In the end, the three woman bustled around the kitchen while the men took their time waking up, then bundled up enough to make the trip up to the Lodge to watch some games on the televisions in the bar.

By mid-afternoon the meal was done, prompting Sarah to send Bella up to the Lodge to retrieve the wayward men. They all groused and complained good-naturedly as Bella dragged them back to the cabin, but became all smiles when Sarah and Renee greeted them at the door with cups of hot cocoa and sugar cookies.

As soon as everyone had put away their coats, scarves and other cold-weather coverings, the entire Black/Swan family sat down to finally enjoy a very fulfilling Christmas dinner. While platters, baskets and various other food containers were passed around, lively conversation filled the air along with the delicious scents of the food.

Even though everyone was hungry, no one dove in until Billy and Charlie said a blessing over the food. Once that was done, the light conversation resumed as they all began to enjoy the spread that the women had prepared while Christmas music continued to provide a background to their chatter.

They took their time eating, knowing that not only did they have the main course to get through, but also the desserts that were chilling in the refrigerator. Still, over an hour later there was plenty of leftovers which were neatly contained and placed in either the refrigerator or oven where they would sit until someone was hungry again.

Once the dinner area had been cleaned up and everything put away, the family moved to the living room where they got settled comfortably. Bella turned down the music a bit so that it was only barely there as Jacob got settled on the floor by the tree. He and Bella had been chosen to pass out the gifts this year, so they got right to it once everyone was ready.

In no time at all, all of the gifts had been passed out which meant everyone could now open them. Bella and Jacob remained on the floor as they began to open their gifts. Jacob, like his father, tore into his gifts like there was no tomorrow. Renee and Charlie were a bit more composed, but they were not as meticulous as Sarah and Bella who opened their gifts carefully then folded the wrapping paper and ribbons into a neat pile.

Soon a chorus of oohs and aahs filled the room as everyone showed off their gifts while thanking the person who gave it to them. Needless to say, everyone got what they wanted that year, from new fishing equipment to new kitchen supplies, as well as some coveted electronic devices or jewelry.

The family remained in the living room for a few hours enjoying the laughter and closeness of being with each other. It wasn’t until later that night when Jacob led Bella upstairs to the loft area where they could be alone for a while. He had a second gift to give her which he didn’t want to do in front of the others.

As Bella got settled on the couch, Jacob retrieved the box from one of the drawers in the room. Sitting next to her, he took her hand and smiled.

“I know I gave you that leather bound notebook you’ve been wanting, but there is something else I wanted to give you.”

“Oh, Jake! You really didn’t have to! You know I wanted that!”

He chuckled. “I know you did, but this one’s a surprise and I just wanted to give it to you since you love them so much.”

He set the flat medium-sized jewelry box in her hand as he whispered. “It reminds me of you so much.”

Bella’s eyes went wide as she opened the box, then she gasped as she saw what the gift was.

Inside was a hand-carved grey whale attached to one of the finest thin silver chains she had ever seen. As she took the little whale into her hand, she couldn’t get over just how detailed it really was. It was even somehow tinted in a color similar to the grey whales she knew frequented the waters of the Pacific Northwest waters.

“Wow! Jacob! It’s so beautiful! And so life-like!” she gushed.

He gave her a shy smile. “Really? You really like it?”

“Yes!” she exclaimed, so glad that he knew of her love of the whales. “Where did you find such a great reproduction like this?”

She looked up to see a hint of a blush on his cheeks. “Um, actually, I made it myself.”

She stared at him in awe for a few moments before she threw her arms around him. Hugging him tight, she continued to gush.

“Oh my gosh! I love it! I love that you made this for me!”

Pulling away from him, she fingered the tiny charm once more. “Oh Jake, it’s so beautiful! Thank you so much!”

He reached out to take the chain as he said, “Want me to put it on you?”

She nodded excitedly before turning slightly as she lifted her hair so that he could drape it around her neck. He finished latching the clasp together, waiting until she turned around to get a good look at it on her.

As she looked down at it, he smiled. “It looks good on you.”

She beamed up at him. “Oh Jake! I love it! I love you!”

She leaned into him, pressing a kiss to his lips, sighing as he returned it.

When they finally pulled away from each other, Jacob looked into her gaze and whispered, “I love you too, Bells.”

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(Song: Evanescence - Whisper)

Billy parked the SUV in front of their house without looking at the man who stood uneasily in front of their door. Only Sarah glanced at the man before looking at her husband, while Jacob gathered up his duffel bag from the seat next to him. Once Billy shut the car off, making the locks disengage, Jacob was the first one out of the car.

Not waiting for his parents to get out of the car, Jacob walked up to the man while trying to keep a stoic look on his face.

“Riley,” he greeted with a nod.

Riley glanced from Jacob to Billy and back again before saying. “Forgive me for intruding, but it’s been a couple of days and I couldn’t wait much longer to come see you. I need help, you see.”

Billy smiled at his wife before saying, “Go on inside, honey, Jacob and I will get the luggage.”

Sarah nodded, knowing that whatever this was, it would be handled by the men. It was really not any of her business unless they said so.

As soon as she was gone, Billy looked back at Riley. “Just what is it that you need, son?”

Riley ran an agitated hand through his hair before blurting it out. “Vanessa skipped town with our daughter. No one knows where she is, not even her parents!”

Jacob and Billy exchanged frowns at the news. Both of them knew that two and a half months ago, Vanessa had given birth to a baby girl despite the fact that she had believed it would be a boy. The results that Jacob had given her the day he had left her, hadn’t informed them what the gender was but she had insisted it was a boy. Even when the doctor had finally informed Riley that it was going to be a girl, Vanessa was still in denial, claiming the tests were wrong just like she had always done before.

“I’ve tried looking every where for her, but she’s not even answering her phone and her apartment has been empty for a few days. Her parents have finally put out an APB on her, but I don’t think she’s even in the city anymore. I don’t know where else to look or what else to do.”

He took a deep breath before going on. “Please, I thought I could come here and ask you to help me find my daughter. I thought maybe you have other ways of finding her that the police haven’t thought of.”

Jacob sighed. He truly understood how Riley felt, but he really didn’t want anything else to do with Vanessa, she had already nearly ruined his life before. Getting involved with her again was not something he looked forward to especially if it had the potential to come between him and Bella.

Before he could say anything, his father spoke up. “You may be right Riley. I’m sure I can get my lawyers to figure out how to track your daughter down. Why don’t you give me an hour to get settled back into my house, then I’ll contact my lawyers and have them meet with us at my office. You remember where it is, right?”

At Riley’s nod, Billy continued. “Okay then. Meet me at my office in an hour and we’ll go from there.”

Riley let out a sigh of relief as he held out his hand to Billy. “Thank you so much Mr. Black, I really appreciate this.”

Billy shook Riley’s hand as he smiled at him. “It’s not a problem, son. I’d want to find her too if she was my daughter. And I did say we’d be here if you needed help for something involving her.”

“Okay, thanks again. I’ll see you at your office in an hour. I’ll bring all the information that I have collected since her disappearance.”

Billy nodded. “That’ll be good. See you in a bit.”

Jacob and Billy watched as Riley left the premises. Waiting until Riley was well out of sight, Jacob finally turned to his father.

“Dad, I…”

Billy held up a hand to stop him. “It’s okay Jacob. I know what you’re going to say. Truth is, I’ll handle this with the lawyers, okay? You don’t have to worry about getting involved with any of this.

You got that? The lawyers and I will help Riley take care of everything. All you have to focus on is work, school and Bella. I’m gonna keep Vanessa as far away from you as I can, understand?”

Jacob gave his father a grateful look. “Okay, I understand. Thanks dad.”

Billy squeezed his son’s shoulder. “You’re welcome, son. Now come on, let’s get unpacked so I can go take care of business.”

As the two of them went to unload the luggage from the back of the SUV, Billy glanced at Jacob.

“By the way, how’d she like the gift?”

Jacob couldn’t hide the beaming smile from his father. “She loved it.”

Billy chuckled, “I told you she would, didn’t I? You are really too hard on yourself sometimes.”

Shrugging, Jacob replied, “I just wanted to make sure it really looked like the whales she loves. She said it did. Best representation she’s ever seen, were her words exactly.”

Billy nodded. “I have to agree with her there. You really did a good job, son.”

“Thanks dad.”

As the two of them finished taking the luggage out of the SUV, Jacob let his mind wander back to the last few days that his family and Bella’s had spent up at the cabin for Christmas. All in all, it had been the best family holiday he had ever had before. Of course, a lot of it had to do with the fact that he had spent almost all of it at his girlfriend’s side, but he was truly glad Bella had liked the necklace he had given her.

In fact, the way she had personally thanked him the day after Christmas, when they had been all alone in the cabin, was definitely one of the highlights he would remember for years to come. It had been two hours of non-stop loving with absolutely no interruptions of their parents making an unwanted appearance. Those two hours had actually made him wish that he and Bella had their own place to share.

A wish that he suddenly realized he’d been making a lot lately.

Author's Note: If you've never heard Christmas Tree by Lady GaGa, I suggest you do. It's funny as all get out. I couldn't stop giggling even when writing the part that it goes too. I'm sure you'll understand why as you read the part.


Also, the Sun Mountain Lodge Ski Resort and its cabin are real. If you want to see what it looks like here are the links:


Sun Mountain Lodge

The cabins

Floor plan

Chapter 15: You

(Song: Within Temptation - Our Farewell)

Charlie couldn’t stop pacing the length of Billy Black’s home office no matter how many times his friend tried to get him to. He’d gone over to talk to Billy because he had finally had enough. Not only was he worried about losing his daughter to Billy’s son, but he was worried about all of the time she seemed to be spending with the boy. Since school had started again, the two of them seemed joined at the hip which wasn’t a good sign to Charlie.

From his seat behind his desk, Billy sighed. “Charlie, really, there’s nothing for you to worry about! Come on now, stop wearing a hole in the carpet and have a seat or Sarah’s going to have my head!”

Charlie stopped in front of the desk and shook his head. “I can’t help it Billy! This is not like Bella at all! She is rarely away from your son these days! And I’m worried that she will slack off on her studying! You know this is her last year at the University and it’s an important one!”

Billy understood Charlie’s worries, he had them too about Jacob, but he was just better at hiding it. Still, he felt like he had more confidence in both Bella and his son than Charlie seemed to have in them.

“Look, you know better than that Charlie! Bella is an amazing woman with a great head on her shoulders. She wouldn’t let Jacob steer her wrong even if she is in love with him. After all these years, spending all that time with him in the past, do you really think she would let him influence her in a bad way? She’s never done it before, I really doubt she would start now.”

Again Charlie shook his head as he collapsed into one of the chairs in front of Billy’s desk. “This is different Billy! Haven’t you seen the way they are when they’re together? They can’t take their eyes off of each other! And they’re always pawing at each other too! They’re supposed to be studying together, yet when I look in on them, all I see is them studying each other!”

Billy quirked an eyebrow as Charlie went on.

“And if we thought she was always so busy before, now she has absolutely no time at all! Not even to have lunch because she’s always running off somewhere with him!”

Billy tried to hide the smile that threatened to cover his face. Oh, he got it now. This wasn’t about Jacob corrupting his precious daughter, nope, this was about Jacob replacing him in his daughter’s life.

As if that would ever be possible, thought Billy.

When Charlie remained silent for a few moments, Billy composed himself and spoke up. “Charlie, I need you to listen to me, okay? I mean really listen and don’t fly off at the handle at what I’m going to say.”

Charlie glanced at him for a moment before looking down at his hands that gripped his knees. “Okay, go ahead.”

Billy leaned forward, elbows at the edge of the desk with his hands clasped in front of him. He gave Charlie a serious look as he continued.

“Your daughter still loves you. She will always love you no matter what, after all, you had a hand in raising her. That’s what you have to always remember, that you raised her. And it’s because of that, that you have to believe she will not do anything to destroy what she has accomplished so far.

She’s your daughter Charlie, a lot like you in so many ways and I believe that all the lessons you have instilled in her through the years will help her achieve what we all know she will. I’m confident that she will make you proud. Not only that, but she will make sure that you know about it and she’ll credit you for it too.

Above all, you need to realize that she is a woman now. She’s growing up, but she’s not growing away from you. Nothing Jacob can do will ever make her turn away from her father, she respects you too much to do that. So does Jacob for that matter!

You know Jacob would never try to purposely take her away from you. Believe me, if he tried, not only would I have words with him, but so would Sarah! We are all family Charlie, always have been, so nothing has changed except that our children have grown even closer to each other.

Still, I have faith in both of them. I know they’ll be all right. Bella’s always been the more level-headed of the two of them, so I know she’ll keep Jacob tamed. She won’t let him get out of hand and she won’t let him deter her from her goals in life.

She’s not going anywhere Charlie. She’ll always be just around the corner, just like she has always been.”

Charlie knew his friend was doing his best to reassure him that there was nothing wrong with Bella being with Jacob. He really wanted to believe Billy’s words, but he couldn’t seem to feel as confident as Billy was. If he were honest with himself, it wasn’t that he didn’t have confidence in his daughter, it was that he didn’t trust Jacob to do right by his daughter.

He had never had a problem with Jacob before, but that was when Jacob was just a friend to Bella. Now, she was investing her future in the boy and that scared Charlie shitless. If anything went wrong between the two of them, he was sure it not only would affect the two of them, but the ripples would expand outward to affect everything that their lives touched.

That was something he didn’t want to have to deal with. He and Billy had worked too hard to secure the livelihood of their families’ future that he didn’t want to see it all destroyed with one wrong move between Jacob and Bella. He knew the repercussions of a fight between those two, it wouldn’t be pretty and it would be felt for years afterwards.

Still, he didn’t want to make Billy worry nor offend him by disagreeing with him. Instead, he finally nodded his head.

“You’re right. I know, you’re right. She is still my daughter and she always will be. I just have to keep reminding myself of that.”

Billy gave him a reassuring smile. “Got that right, old man.”

Charlie grunted in response, trying to muster up a smile. “Who you calling old man, old man?”

Billy’s smile grew wider, sure that he had succeeded in calming his best friend’s fears.

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(Song: Flyleaf - There For You)

Bella spread her work over the bed and chewed on her bottom lip as she tried to figure out what to tackle first. She was now two weeks into the Fall semester of her last year at U-Dub, but things had been hectic from the get-go. She was glad that she and Jacob had managed to go out on a few dates before the summer was over, in between working with their dads of course. They had even been able to sneak in some intimate moments alone without something or someone interrupting them.

Taking a deep breath, she psyched herself up for the long night ahead of her, then picked up the first assignment of the evening. Throwing herself into her studying, she worked diligently, only stopping long enough to have a few bites of dinner before diving right back into her work.

Soon, it was almost midnight yet she knew she still had a few more assignments she needed to get done before she could get some sleep. She finished up the one she was working on, set it aside and was about to start a new one when she heard the soft swish of the sliding door on her balcony.

She looked up in time to see Jacob quietly closing the door as he gave her a smile. As soon as he was certain it was closed, he walked over to the bed to lean down, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“Hey Bells,” came his husky whisper, “thought I’d come study with you since neither of us seems to be getting any sleep tonight.”

She sighed, “Jake, you shouldn’t have come over. I told you to stay home tonight.”

He pouted, “I know, but I’ve missed you. Besides, we did say we would study together didn’t we?”

“Yes, but…”

“So, here we are…studying,” he finished for her.

She looked at him for a moment before nodding. As he settled himself on her bed, spreading out his work around him, she went back to her own assignment. For a little while, they both were silent, working on their own without disturbing each other.

Jacob was the first to finish his assignment, so he put the work into his backpack then slowly slid closer to his girlfriend’s side. She was still too engrossed in her work to notice what he was up to. It wasn’t until she felt his lips against her neck that she was jarred out of her concentration.

“Jake…what…” she squeaked.

He chuckled against the skin of her shoulder. “Thought we could take a break.”

She shifted her body, under the guise of turning to look at him when really, she was trying to get away from those distracting lips of his. “I took my break when I ate dinner Jake, I really need to finish this or I’ll never get any sleep tonight.”

He reached up to brush an errant stand away from her face. “Is all of this really due tomorrow, honey?”

Her silence was his answer. He knew she never waited until the last minute to finish her work. Bella was the type to start assignments, be it school or work, weeks in advance. That being said, he knew what she was working on didn’t have a deadline of either tomorrow or within the next few days.

Giving her a sweet smile, he brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. “Come on honey, let’s put this all away and just get some sleep, okay? You’ve worked hard enough today, save some for tomorrow.”

She sighed as she wrapped her fingers around his wrist, effectively stopping him from teasing her lips. “Jake, you know I won’t be able to sleep if I leave things this way. It’ll bother me all night.”

“Maybe I can do something about that,” he leaned in to give her a kiss but she backed up.

“No Jake, that won’t help.”

He arched an eyebrow at her. “It’ll get your mind off things.”

She bit her bottom lip. “It’ll just distract me, not get my mind off it.”

He chuckled. “Sometimes a distraction is good.”

She huffed. “Um, no. You are definitely not a good distraction.”

He blinked. “What?”

This time she smiled, even as a blush stole up her neck and over her cheeks. “Every time you distract me, I can never get my focus back. It takes too long,” she giggled, “and then I just get more frustrated.”

He couldn’t help the grin that spread over his face at her confession. “Is that why you’ve been cutting back on the time we spend together?”

She gave him a shy nod. “Yeah, I’m finding I can study much better and get things done much quicker when you’re not around distracting me.”

His grin just widened. “Wow, I’m that good huh?”

This time she shoved him until he leaned back on the bed. “Oh stop it Jacob! As if you need your ego stroked anymore! Ugh! Sometimes I don’t know what I’m going to do with you!”

He laughed as he reached for her, pulling her onto his lap. “Mm, but it’s not my ego that likes to be stroked by you.”

“Jake!” she mock chastised.

Again came his soft laughter. “What? I’m only being honest.” Sighing he buried his face in her hair. “I love you, Bells.”

She melted against him as she slid her arms around his shoulders. “I love you too, Jacob.”

They held each other for a little longer before Jacob pulled away to look into her eyes. “I’m going to head on home okay? Do you still want me to pick you up for class tomorrow?”

She gave him a grateful smile. “Yes, I do.”

He nodded as she leaned in and covered his lips with hers. They kissed slowly, languidly, as if the kiss was going to help them remember each other while they were apart. Just as slowly, they leaned away from each other, locking gazes once more.

Bella cupped her boyfriend’s cheek as she whispered, “Thank you, Jake. For understanding.”

He smiled as he lowered his forehead to meet hers. “You’re welcome. You know I’d do anything for you. Whatever you need, Bells, I’ll be there for you.”

She sighed and hugged him tightly to her, “I promise I’ll make it up to you Jake!”

He gave her another kiss before gathering his stuff up. Winking at her as he headed to the balcony, “Don’t worry about it honey, I love you no matter what.”

As he opened the door, he smiled. “Good luck with your work and have a good night. Love you!”

She waved to him as he stepped out. “You too! Love you, Jake!”

Jacob returned the wave, then closed the door before heading home to his lonely bed.

***********************************************

(Song: E.S. Posthumus - Moonlight Sonata)

Bella lightly tossed her finished paperwork into the ‘out’ bin on her desk as her father knocked on the office door. She looked up with a grin, motioning him in with a wave of her hand.

Charlie walked over to her side, leaning over to peck her cheek with a kiss, then smiled at her. “How’s it going today?”

Bella nodded. “Great actually! Just finished the Loren account, so I figured I’d take a lunch break now.”

Charlie did his best not to scowl. “Ah, so where are you and Jake going for lunch today?”

His daughter leaned back in her chair, looking sheepish. “Actually, I was going to ask if you wanted to go to lunch today.”

“Oh? You and Jake aren’t having problems are you?” He tried not to sound hopeful.

She rolled her eyes. “Really dad, Jake and I don’t always do everything together.”

“Could have fooled me,” he mumbled under his breath.

Bella simply stared at him for a few moments before she sighed. “Dad, I don’t know how much more clear I can be about this. Jacob and I are adults and we know what is at risk if things go wrong between us. We also know how to delegate time to spend with each other, even if we want to be with each other all day, we know better than to slack off in other areas of our lives. School, work, family…whatever it may be. So, you need to stop grumbling about it. You know I’m on to you!”

This time he looked sheepish as he hung his head. “Sorry, Bell, I’m just…”

“Yes, I know, you’re being a dad. But really, I’m not as naïve as you think I am okay? And Jake is much more of an understanding gentleman than you give him credit for. So please, for me, lay off the threatening glares when he’s around?”

Charlie didn’t think he could feel more like a heel than he already felt, but Bella was proving him wrong. His daughter was much more observant than he had given her credit for. Obviously she knew what was going on in his head and heart even though he had never voiced his concerns to her the way he had to Billy.

Finally nodding in defeat and compliance, he glanced up at her. “Okay, I’ll try to be better, sweetheart. I’m really sorry, um, maybe I can start by taking you out to a great lunch?”

Bella chuckled, obviously not as upset with him as he’d thought she would be. “Yes, daddy, lunch would be great.”

As they left the office, she looped her arm into his while he guided her to the stairs. His smile was wide as he looked down at his daughter with pride.

“So, not that I’m being nosy, but everything is okay with you and Jake, right?”

She nodded. “We’re fine. We just decided not to crowd each other so much any more. Plus, he understands that sometimes I need to do things without him next to me. Like homework…or spending time with my daddy.”

As she squeezed his arm, he chuckled at her lighthearted banter. Granted, he was happy that she was going to lunch with him, but deep down inside, he was also glad that his daughter wasn’t joined at the hip with her boyfriend like he had originally thought they were. Maybe she was right, maybe he was being too hard on them instead of simply supporting them while letting them figure out things themselves. After all, no one had dictated his relationship with his wife either.

Finally deciding to make an effort to let Bella handle her life the way she saw fit, trusting her to always be honest and level-headed, he relaxed in order to enjoy a wonderful lunch with his only daughter.

***************************************

(Song: Evanescence - You)

Jacob tossed his phone on his desk with a low growl before glaring at it.

“Jake?” came Bella’s soft voice from the direction of his balcony.

The scowl on his face quickly disappeared when he took in the sight of his girlfriend walking into his room wearing a grey trench coat and red stiletto heels. He tried not to gape.

“Hi Bells, what are you doing here?”

She gave him a coy shrug. “Oh, nothing,” came her low, husky voice.

“Nothing, huh?” he murmured as he stepped closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

Lifting a hand, she trailed a finger along his jaw line as she whispered seductively, “Well, I just thought that with work going so well and two of my projects got perfect grades, I should celebrate with you. A reward for all of our patience and hard work, you know.”

He swallowed as his eyes left hers to trail down to the edge of the trench coat, trying to get a glimpse of what she had on beneath it, alas, there was no cleavage in sight.

“Um, what did you have in mind?” he croaked.

She grinned at him, stepping out of his embrace to undo the ties of her coat. Jacob waited patiently for her to undo the ties, watching as she slowly trailed her hands up the lapels until she was leisurely pushing the coat off of her shoulders. Little by little, the coat began to reveal the lacy red teddy she wore beneath it.

As the coat fell to the floor, Jacob tried not to drool over what Bella was wearing. The floral pattern of the lace left little to the imagination and the two large satin ribbons that held the whole front together only intensified that.

Bella smiled smugly at the hungry look on Jacob’s face as she began to turn around slowly for his perusal. This time Jacob really did drool when he caught sight of the thong back and the two thin straps across her back as the only objects obscuring all of that lush, pale skin of hers.

Suddenly, he felt way too overdressed.

When she was facing him once more, she stepped closer to him with a coy smile. Running her fingers down his chest, she whispered to him.

“So, are you ready for our reward?”

He reached for her, pulling her into his arms before taking her lips in a hungry kiss. Bella responded in kind, never once hesitating. She proved she was just as hungry as he was by quickly divesting him of his clothing before she pulled away from him and pushed him back onto the bed.

Straddling his hips, she gave him a mischievous grin as she began to undo the satin ribbons until he lifted his hands to bat hers away.

“Let me,” he growled.

She giggled, but sat still as his hands quickly undid the ties, then pushed beneath the lace to run his palm over her skin. They both groaned when his hands cupped her breasts, as if it had been ages since the last time he had done that.

He locked gazes with her as he groaned, “God, honey, I don’t think I’m going to be able to go slow.”

She leaned into his hands. “It’s okay, we have all night, I’m sure we’ll be up for a second round later.”

With that, he flipped them over so that she was lying beneath him. Grinning lasciviously, he teased. “Hold on Bells, it’s time for our reward!”

Giggles soon turned to serrated moans and heavy panting as the two of them celebrated their love of each other.

***********************************

Jacob felt Bella’s sigh as she curled up closer to his warm body. He responded with a smile against her hair and tightened his hold on her.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Mm hm, wonderful!” she mumbled into his chest.

He glanced around the darkened room, spotting her teddy barely hanging off the edge of his desk chair from where he’d flung it earlier. He couldn’t help the grin that spread over his face as he remembered just how quickly things had heated up from the moment she had revealed the lacy number to him.

When she had told him she wasn’t interested in going slow, he couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have her in his life. She understood him so well, they were always so in sync with each other.

Their lovemaking had been hot and heavy, but he was glad she had been right there with him all the way to the end. He didn’t even have to worry about her needs because she had taken the initiative and even growled to let him know she was more impatient than he was.

Within seconds of sheathing himself inside of her, she had experienced her first orgasm of the night. Then moments later, when he finally reached his end, she had joined him for her second one. He knew he could be a guy and feel smug about it, but he wasn’t thinking of that. Instead, he was humbled that a caring, independent woman like Bella Swan even gave him the time of day. The fact that she couldn’t keep her hands off of him was just the icing on the cake.

Their little cuddle session was suddenly interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. He had not turned off the ringer when he’d tossed it on his desk in frustration earlier.

Bella picked up her head, turning to look at his desk. “Want me to get that?”

He shook his head. “No, I’m sure if it’s important, they’ll leave a message.”

She shrugged before settling against his chest again. “Okay.”

He kissed her temple. “Where did you get that teddy, if you don’t mind my asking.”

He could feel her smile against his skin. “I actually got it last year, but never had the chance to wear it. So, when I was rummaging through my drawers looking for something to wear over here, I saw it and thought now was a good time to put it to good use.”

Jacob laughed. “Really? Got anymore outfits in your drawers that you haven’t worn yet?”

Bella lifted her head to grin at him. “Hm, well, continue to be a good boy and maybe you’ll find out.”

He chuckled as he lowered his lips to hers, only to be interrupted by his cell phone again. When Bella slid off of him to go get it, he groaned.

“Just ignore it Bells.”

She shook her head. “No, if they’re calling in succession like this, it’s got to be important.”

She picked up his cell and looked at the screen, frowning. “It’s an unknown number.”

He rolled his eyes. “Told you to ignore it.”

She looked up at him. “Are you still getting calls from unknown numbers? Is that why you looked so frustrated when I first got here?”

He nodded as he ran his hands through his hair. “Yeah, and it’s always the same. I finally answer and it’s silence on the other end.”

She glanced down at the number. “How many times is this one?”

“The third one.”

“Geez, Jake, you think maybe it’s the same person?”

He shuddered. “Gosh, I hope not!”

Suddenly the phone went off again. Bella locked gazes with him for a moment before pressing the send button. Jacob rolled his eyes as he listened to her answer it.

“Hello?”

She seemed to wait for a few seconds before saying, “Hello? Is anyone there?”

Again she waited. Then, “Can you hear me? Hello?”

Jacob reached for the phone. “Just hang up, honey. No one’s going to say anything.”

Bella swatted his hand away as she spoke into the phone again. “Listen, I don’t know who this is, but if you’re the same person who’s been calling this phone using different numbers, you need to stop! This isn’t a game!”

“Bells!” Jacob hissed, “Hang up and come back to bed! We have better things to do than gripe at silent prank callers!”

She finally did as he asked, making sure to put the ringer on silent before tossing it onto his nightstand. As she slid into bed next to him, she bit her bottom lip.

“Um, Jake, forgive me if I sound rude, but do you think maybe it’s Vanessa calling you?”

He widened his eyes. “What makes you think that?”

She shrugged. “Well, you did say that the one time she called you when you had to take her to the hospital, her phone showed up as an unknown number. Riley did tell you that the doctor said she was fine, that they couldn’t find anything wrong with her physically. So, maybe….oh, I don’t know! I’m just grasping at straws here.”

He tugged her into his side, holding her tight. “I don’t know, Bells. I mean, I would’ve thought she would have other things to worry about considering she’s almost eight months pregnant now. But I really shouldn’t put it past her, should I? I think I’ll make a note of all three numbers and see if I can trace them to an owner or something.”

Bella nodded. “Yeah, that would be the best thing to do, Jake. At least it would give us some kind of answer.”

“Mm, okay.”

They sat silently for a while before Jacob spoke up again. “So, your birthday is coming up soon, any idea what you want?”

Bella giggled against his chest. “Nope, I already have what I want.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Besides me, honey.”

She sighed. “I’m serious Jake, I can’t think of anything else I want right now.”

“Okay, well then, I’ll think of something.”

She laughed. “Fine, you can make it a surprise, but in the meantime…” She lifted her head to bat her eyelashes at him. “…there is something that I want right now.”

“Hmm, I wonder what that could be?” He groused.

Bella brushed her lips against his. “I’ll give you some hints…slow, sensual…euphoric.”

He moaned against her lips as he tugged her body flush with his. “Yes…those are my kind of words.”

Once more their mouths and bodies came together, but unlike the first time…this time would last for hours.

Author's Note: Bella's Teddy

Chapter 14: Listen to the Rain

(Song: E.S. Posthumus - Ebla)

Jacob grinned as he read the text message Bella had just sent him.

Thanx 4 the stationary pack. Whales r adorable! :D

He quickly sent her a message back. Knew u’d like it! Miss u!

As he waited for his office computer to shut down, she sent him another text.

Miss u 2! Can u come 2nite?

He sighed, wishing he could. No, dad & I r working in shop late.


K. Call me when u get home no matter how late.


Will do. Luv u!

Luv u 2 Jake!

He finished closing up his office before he left the building and headed to his car. As he drove to meet his dad, he tried to think of other small gifts he could leave on Bella’s bed for her. He knew she liked how he had been leaving those gifts from time to time over the last month since they had returned from their vacation.

It wasn’t an everyday thing, he just liked to surprise her every once in a while. He was glad she wasn’t complaining since he enjoyed finding cute things like stationary or pens and pencils…something he knew she would use or collect anyway.

It didn’t take long before he was pulling into the nearly deserted parking lot of his father’s boat workshop. It was there where Billy created the prototypes for the boats that were sold through the company he owned with Charlie. The workshop was a small non-descript building built right on the shores of Puget Sound. It was the original building Billy had brought before he and Charlie had gone into business together.

Now that the boats were manufactured in a much bigger, state-of-the-art warehouse further down the way, Billy had simply kept the little workshop as the place he went to whenever creativity struck. However, the majority of the time Billy worked from his office that was above the showroom where the boats were sold to the public. It was also where the offices for Charlie and their kids were. Almost all business transactions were done at the offices above the showroom, thus keeping everything in one area except for the actual building of the boats.

Tonight Billy had asked Jacob to join him at the workshop for an hour or two before he went home. He said he had a new idea that he wanted to run by Jacob, plus it would allow him to teach Jacob some more things about building boats. In all actuality, the time Jacob and Billy spent at the workshop was one of the few times they had to simply be father and son.

It was a welcome respite for the both of them.

Jacob walked inside to see Billy sanding down a plank of wood that had already been shaped into an arc. He simply picked up another piece of sandpaper from the nearby supply table and joined his father. Billy acknowledged his son with a nod, but said nothing else. Together they worked in companionable silence until Billy deemed the wood smooth enough.

Jacob helped him set it aside before following his father to a graphing table where several sheets of boat diagrams and notes were laid out. Billy smoothed one of them out and gestured with his hand.

“You’re better with machines than I am, so what do think of this?”

For a few minutes, Jacob studied the ideas his father had drawn out and jotted down on the sheets. He knew his father meant what he said. While Billy was better at working with the wood and other materials that formed the boats, Jacob was better at the mechanics that went into them. It was because of that, that Billy often deferred to his son’s opinions when it came to anything mechanical.

He finally nodded at his dad. “Good ideas, they just might work, but I think we might have to tweak a few things.”

He went on to show Billy what he thought needed to be changed in order to produce the boat Billy had been aiming for. It was another half hour that the two of them spent discussing the plans even as Billy jotted down notes from their talk. Soon, they called it a night, but as Billy rolled up the sheets, he started another conversation with his son.

“So, how’s Bella?”

Jacob looked up at his father with a smile. “She’s fine. Probably asleep by now.”

Billy chuckled. “I doubt that! She’s probably waiting for you to call her.”

Jacob shrugged. “I told her that I would be here with you.”

“Ah, let her down easy, eh?”

Laughing, Jacob shook his head. “Dad! You know she’s not clingy like that! If anything, I’m usually the one suffering withdrawals.”

Billy snickered. “Can’t say I feel sorry for you. Took you long enough to notice her!”

“What?” exclaimed Jacob, in mock outrage.

“Oh come on! That girl pined over you for years and you never noticed!”

“Ugh! Why is it that no one ever said anything! We could have avoided all the bad stuff and been together a lot sooner if someone had said something!”

Billy put away the last of his materials before turning to give his son a serious look.

“That would have been the easy way to do it, yes, but not exactly the right way, son. A good relationship is based on what the two people involved bring to it. Had any of us stepped in and told you to be with Bella, then it wouldn’t have been your own decision. A relationship is what you make of it, so even if it took this long, at least you and Bella know it is all your doing. Just you and her and no one else.”

Jacob sighed as he sat down and ran a hand through his hair. “I know dad. It’s not that I’m not grateful for the fact that this is all Bella and me, it’s just that I knew I was interested in her since the beginning of high school and I found out it was the same for her. We just never knew it then because we never said anything to each other. Sometimes I think of that and wonder what things would have been like if we had been together back then. You know, all the missed opportunities.”

“Well, no use in dwelling on the past and what might have been. Just be glad you two found your way to each other now, the way the rest of us are. Plus, you two are best friends and all grown up, that has to make things easier, doesn’t it?”

Jacob grinned. “Hm, there’s nothing like loving your best friend and having her love you back!”

Billy simply grinned back at his son’s words for a few moments, then the smile faded to be replaced with a serious expression. He placed a hand on Jacob’s shoulder.

“Look, I know I don’t have to say this, but I feel I should since your mother and I consider the Swans as family. You and Bella are best friends and now, she’s your girlfriend. I know how both of you are and I know what she means to you. All I ask is that you do right by her. Don’t do anything that will make it hard for our families to remain as close as we are. Understand?”

Jacob looked into his father’s eyes as he nodded. “Yeah dad, I get it. I don’t want to mess up what all of us have either.”

Billy patted his shoulder. “Good. Now we’re done here for the night. You go on home, I’ll lock up here.”

“You sure?”

“Yep.”

Jacob nodded as he got to his feet, then made his way out to his car. As he cleared the front door, his phone began to buzz, making him reach to pull it out of his pocket. He frowned at the unknown number that flashed on the screen. Shaking his head, he put it back in his pocket and continued to his car.

(Song: Dido - White Flag)

What is it with unknown numbers calling my cell? He thought to himself.

He had reported the last unknown number and gotten it blocked from his phone as soon as he had gotten home from California and there hadn’t been any unknown calls since then. Now there was this one, which he knew wasn’t the same number as the last because he’d practically memorized it from dealing with getting it blocked in the first place.

Unlocking his door, he began to open it when his phone vibrated again. Pulling it out with a scowl, he saw that it was the same unknown number from a few moments ago. Tossing his phone on the passenger’s seat, he got in the car and started it up. Taking a few breaths to calm himself, he then strapped himself in and put the car in reverse.

Just as he was about to turn onto the road, his phone buzzed again. With a growl, he picked it up and glared at the unknown number. Whoever it was, was obviously determined to talk to him and not his voicemail.

“Hello?” he answered crisply.

At first there was nothing but what sounded like heavy breathing. He was about to snap when he heard a soft whine and then…

“J…Jacob?”

He froze. That was a very familiar voice. One he had hoped to never hear again.

“Vanessa?”

A sob came from her. “Jacob…please…I’m so scared! Please…help…me!”

Fear ran down Jacob’s spine at her words and tone. There was no way she was faking this.

“Vanessa, what’s wrong? Where are you?”

“I…don’t know! Hurts! Oh God…my baby!” She was crying fully now, making Jacob’s protective instincts kick in.

“Okay, okay Vanessa? I need you to tell me were you are. I’m coming to get you, okay?”

There were only sobs for a few moments before she spoke again. “Um…I was at the convenience store…near my condo…I’m outside…”

Another sob broke, so Jacob answered, “Okay, I’m driving there right now. Just stay on the line with me.”

“O…okay,” came her broken reply.

Jacob was glad that the store was only about ten miles away but he did his best to drive as fast as he could without attracting attention. As he drove, he tried to talk to Vanessa to keep her calm.

“Vanessa, where’s Riley?”

“I…I don’t know.”

“Did you call him?”

“He…he didn’t…oh God…help me!” she wailed.

Jacob tried not to panic in response  to her words. “It’s going to be okay, Vanessa, I’m almost there.”

“H…hurry! Please! H…hurts so much!”

Jacob pulled into the store lot and looked around for Vanessa.

Not seeing her, he spoke into the phone. “Vanessa, I’m here. Where are you?”

“Out…outside.”

“I don’t see you!”

“The…the side!”

Jacob maneuvered his car towards the store, looking at the side of the building that faced the street, but she wasn’t there. He drove to the other side, which was a long, narrow alleyway. It was dark and full of all kinds of debris.

He threw his car into park and scrambled out towards the dank alley. A putrid odor hit him as he reached the entrance. It smelled of rotten eggs, stale beer and dirty socks. Trying not to gag, he searched the darkness for Vanessa.

“Vanessa? It’s Jacob, are you in here?”

A faint rustle came from a few feet ahead to his left. “Here,” came the sob.

He scrambled towards her voice, using his phone as a light. Finally, he could see her in a crumpled heap on the ground, surrounded by broken bottles and other trash. With the little light he had, he could see that she was curled over with her arms around her now six months pregnant belly.

Shoving his phone into his pocket, he bent down to gather her in his arms. “Okay, I’m going to carry you to the car, then take you to the hospital.”

“ ‘kay,” came her faint reply.

He slid an arm under her knees and braced her back with the other one as he maneuvered her to rest against his chest. She weakly moved an arm to drape over his shoulders and leaned her head against his shoulder. As soon as he was certain that she was secure against him, he rose as quickly as he could without jarring her, then made his way to his car.

Settling her into the passenger seat, he took stock of her appearance. Her clothes were slightly rumpled, but otherwise okay. Her hair was damp with sweat and her face was fraught with pain and worry. He touched her forehead to find that she was a little hot, but not alarmingly so.

“Vanessa, are you bleeding?”

She weakly shook her head.

“Okay, let’s get you to the hospital,” he said, as he looked down at her legs. There was no evidence of blood on her clothes, so he hoped that everything really was all right. He quickly buckled her in, closed the door, then went to the driver’s side.

He drove her to the nearest emergency hospital that he could think of and pulled into the receiving bay. Turning the car off, he got out and ran to the other side to get Vanessa out.

“Vanessa, are you sure you don’t know where Riley is? I thought he was staying with you?”

She opened her eyes and sniffed. “He’s…but…not…home.”

Jacob nodded. “Okay, let’s get you inside then.”

Taking her into his arms, he carried her through the emergency doors where the nurse behind the counter caught sight of them and stood up. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” replied Jacob, “She called me, in pain, so I picked her up and brought her here. She’s about six months pregnant.”

The nurse nodded. “Yes, I can see that. Can you bring her over to the stretcher? We’ll take it from there.”

Jacob laid Vanessa down on the stretcher that the nurse had indicated, then began to back away until Vanessa grabbed his arm. Looking up at him with tears in her eyes, she pleaded with him.

“Please! Stay with me? I’m so scared…our baby…I can’t lose…our baby!”

The nurse’s eyes snapped to his face, “Are you her husband?”

He shook his head, trying not to scowl at Vanessa’s words. “No, she’s not married, but the baby’s father stays with her sometimes.”

“Jacob! Please…don’t…leave me!” Vanessa cried as she dug her fingers into his arm.

He gently pried her fingers off of him and answered her in what he hoped was a calm voice. “I’ll be right here in the waiting room, okay? Let the nurses and doctors take care of you and the baby.”

Vanessa nodded erratically as they wheeled her away. Jacob stood there until they disappeared behind the doors, then pulled out his phone as he walked outside. He was going to call Riley and get him there as soon as possible. He knew the man would want to be there for Vanessa and their baby. He would have wanted the same thing if it had been his.

Fifteen minutes later, Riley came barreling into the waiting room where Jacob sat. “Jacob! How is she?”

Jacob stood up to greet him. “I don’t know, they haven’t said anything yet.”

Riley nodded. “What…happened?”

Jacob sat back down and motioned for Riley to sit next to him before he told him everything that had happened. He went silent once he was done with the whole recounting of the night’s events. When Riley sat back and closed his eyes, Jacob turned to look at him.

“You okay?”

Riley nodded. “Yeah.”

Jacob looked down at his hands. “When she called me, I asked her if she knew where you were and if she tried calling you. She was…vague.”

Riley sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. “I was at my house for the night. She said she was fine and wanted to be alone, so I went home.”

“Did she call?”

Riley pulled out his cell and scrolled through his call log. He looked at it for a moment before holding it up so Jacob could see it.

“No.”

Jacob frowned. “I think she still believes the baby is mine.”

Riley sat forward and turned his head to look at him. “She does.”

Jacob closed his eyes as Riley continued. “Sometimes, she talks to me as if I’m nothing but a friend of hers…telling me that she’s waiting for you to come to your senses. That you’ll want to be with her and your baby soon. When I try to tell her that it’s mine, she gets angry and tries to force me out of the house. Other times, she’s perfectly fine with me and acknowledges that it’s our baby.”

Jacob knew what that meant. No wonder she had called him instead of Riley, then said those things to him before they took her away. Riley’s next words confirmed it.

“I tried talking to her parents, Jacob, but they won’t listen to me. I know she needs help and I tried to get her some, but she won’t do it and her parents refuse to help me. They claim there’s nothing wrong with her…that she’s not…delusional.”

Jacob sighed. “Yeah, I kind of figured that’s what was going on. I wish I could help, Riley, but unless she or her parents consent…”

“She won’t get help…I know,” finished Riley.

They were silent for a few moments until Riley’s soft voice said, “You should go on home, Jacob. I can take it from here.”

Jacob looked at him. “You don’t need me to wait to hear what the doctor says?”

Riley shook his head. “No, it’s okay. I can handle it, but I’ll let you know what the doc says.”

Jacob finally nodded, grateful that Riley wanted to take responsibility for her. Vanessa may have called him first, but she had no right to. He had told her to stay away from him and he had meant it. Vanessa was now Riley’s problem. So, he said goodbye to Riley and left the hospital.

Once inside of his car, he immediately called Bella, hoping she was still awake.

“Hello?” came her sleepy reply.

“Bells! I know it’s late…”

“Hm, it’s okay. I told you to call.”

“Yeah…listen Bella…is it okay if I come over now?”

There was a moment of silence before she said, “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“I’ll tell you when I get there. Please, honey?”

“Okay, I’ll be waiting.”

*********************************************

(Song: Within Temptation - All I Need)

Bella was waiting in her balcony door when Jacob climbed up. She took one look at his face and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. He wrapped his own arms around her and buried his face in her hair, taking a deep breath. Bella could feel the tenseness in his body as she slowly let go of him to take his hand in hers.

Leading him inside, she pulled him down besides her on the bed, but never let go of his hand.

“Tell me,” she whispered.

He did.

He told her about Vanessa’s frantic phone call and the words she said. Then he told her about picking her up and taking her to the hospital. He told her everything…all the way down to the conversation he’d had with Riley right before leaving the hospital. When he was done, he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.

Bella waited for a few moments before speaking. “It’s okay, Jake. You did everything you could. Riley’s right, he can handle it now.”

Jacob shook his head and turned to her. Squeezing her hand for emphasis, he spoke his fears.

“The way she is, Bells, I just think she’s going to do something bad. I don’t know what it will be, but with the way she still thinks that we’re going to be a family, that the baby is mine. Something’s going to happen. I just feel it.”

“Okay, then we’ll just have to keep our eyes open. We just need to be careful and be aware of our surroundings. Don’t worry, Jake. We know she’s unstable, so we’ll just try to be prepared for anything. You know your dad will do his best to have someone keep an eye on her.”

He sighed in frustration as he ran a hand through his hair. “I just wish she could get help! Her being a loose cannon just scares the shit out of me.”

“I know it does, it scares me too.”

“God! What is wrong with her parents? Don’t they see she’s not just a danger to others, but to herself and the baby as well?” he snapped.

“I have no idea what’s wrong with them. Come on Jacob, there’s nothing we can do about any of this right now. Riley has it covered for now. You did your part and tomorrow, we’ll inform your dad about what happened and go from there, all right?”

He finally nodded. “Yeah, all right.”

She gave him a smile and a hug. “Good. For now, you want to try to get some sleep? You look like you could use some.”

He looked up at her with his puppy dog eyes, making her smile widen.

“You can sleep here, if you’re too tired to make it to your house,” she said softly.

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her like she was his lifeline. “Thanks Bells, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“I know,” she whispered as she kissed his shoulder. “Come on, let’s go to bed.”

Moments later, the two of them were under the covers of Bella’s bed. Bella had tightly wrapped herself around her boyfriend’s body, giving him all of the comfort he needed to finally fall into a worry-free sleep.

*****************************************

(Song: Evanescence - Listen To The Rain)

Charlie grinned proudly at his daughter as she finished the last of the paperwork that had been in the pile for that day. They had spent the morning in her office working together, although Bella had done most of the work while he watched her. He was only there just in case she got stuck on something, but that hadn’t really happened, so he had mostly chatted amicably while she worked.

He couldn’t believe how much she had learned in the last month, but he was sure that by the end of the summer, she would be ready to handle her share of the workload without any help from him at all. Of course, he hoped that would really be the case and that Bella wouldn’t let anything interfere with that.

Not even that boyfriend of hers.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like Jacob, who was like a son to him. He just didn’t like Jacob with his daughter.

Bella set the last of the paperwork in the outbox then looked at her watch, but before she could say anything, Charlie piped up.

“You did a good job today, Bella! So good that I want to take you to lunch to celebrate!”

Bella bit her bottom lip and gave him an apologetic smile. “Oh dad, I’m sorry but I already made plans to have lunch with Jake.”

Charlie did his best not to scowl as he said, “Can’t you cancel? It’s not like you don’t see him every day!”

She chuckled. “No I can’t, but we could have dinner together instead. How’s that?”

He sighed. “Fine! I’ll see you for dinner then.”

Bella walked over to him and kissed his cheek. “Thanks, dad. What time should I be ready to go?”

“About seven.”

She nodded her head as Jacob knocked on her door and poked his head in.

He smiled at her. “Hey honey, you ready for lunch?”

“Yeah,” she replied as she retrieved her purse. “I’ll see you at seven, okay dad?”

He waved her away with a pout, making her chuckle again as she kissed him on the cheek once more, then joined Jacob at the door. Charlie stood up and followed them out, closing Bella’s office door behind him. Stopping at his own office door, he continued to watch the couple walk towards the stairs as they held hands and smiled at each other.

He knew they had always been close growing up, best friends and all that. Yet, watching them now, they seemed to be even closer than before. Everything seemed so easy with them. Their laughter, their banter and even their hand holding.

Shaking his head, he went to sit at his desk and picked up one of the picture frames that littered the bookcase behind him. It was a photograph of Bella as a child, looking up at him with a face full of love, awe and respect. Nowadays, she looked at Jacob Black like that.

Back then, Charlie had been her whole world and she had worshiped the ground he had walked on, as if he had hung the moon for her. Now, that reverence was given to someone other than him and he knew there was nothing he could do about it.

As he ran his fingers over her photo, he knew he had to face the ugly truth. His baby girl was growing up and she was in love with Jacob Black…and Jacob loved her back just as fiercely. Although Charlie tried to ignore it, it was plain for all to see.

It was evident in the way they gravitated towards each other without being aware that they did that. It was also in the way their faces lit up when the other one walked into the room and it was in the way they often finished each others sentences.

He gave a sad sigh as he set the picture frame back down on the shelf, knowing that it wouldn’t be long before his only daughter would leave the only home she had ever known.