Edward seemed genuinely happy to see Jacob and Jake responded by pulling him into a hug. When they finally released the embrace, both wore sincere smiles.

"Come with me, Bella," Jake said reaching for my hand again. "I want you to meet my son."

"If you think you're going anywhere involving children, I had better be invited." Rosalie said sharply.

"Sure, sure," Jake smiled at her.

Jasper and Alice took their leave, to act out some of those private visions I had seen flashing through their minds earlier. I clamped onto Edward's familiar grasp before taking the hand Jacob still offered me.

It took no time before we arrived at the small house I once considered my own home. He didn't hesitate an instant, opening the door to lead us inside.

Billy sat in his chair in the middle of the modest living room. He looked up from the television as Jake entered followed closely by three vampires. He smiled instead of screaming in terror as I expected. "Well, well, well," he said, voice strong as ever. "Look what the wolf dragged in."

Jacob joined Billy and chuckled. "Billy!" He called toward the other end of the house..

There was a crash of toys and a small boy bounded from the back bedroom. "Dad!" He began to shout, but stopped as soon as he took in the visitors. Immediately slowing his pace, he studied Edward, Rosalie and myself closely. The little brown nose wrinkled as if he smelled something terrible. The boy's black eyes rested on mine.

"Aunt Bella?" he asked quietly.

I gasped and looked to Jacob. He smiled hugely. "We spend a lot of time with Uncle Charlie, don't we?"

Little Billy's face fell. He could only be two, maybe three years old, but his bright eyes dulled perceptively at the mention of my father. I could instantly sense that they had been very close. Charlie had probably acted as a surrogate grandpa to the boy, just as both Billy and Harry would have done for any children I might have had.

"Yes, I'm Bella," I answered him softly. His little face lit up again, and I was surprised at the charisma that radiated from him. It was impossible to ignore. He was truly his father's son. Little Billy bounded into me hard and wrapped small arms around my knee caps. The embrace was short, as he pulled back and shivered.

"You're cold," he said inhaling slightly. "You smell cold, too."

I laughed aloud. "You are too much like your daddy."

The boy moved his gaze to Edward and Rosalie. "I'm Aunt Rosalie," Rose said bending low to see him at eye level. "It's so wonderful to meet you!"

Edward held out an icy hand to the boy. "And I'm Edward."

Little Billy shook Edward's hand briskly with wide eyes. I could see he was familiar with the name, but I could tell Jake had only ever spoken good things about him to his son. It made my smile wider, and I shot a dazzling grim at Jacob, which he returned with the brightness of several suns.

"William Edward Black, William Edward Black, William Edward Black," he chanted in a small voice that remarkably only had the soft lisp of a toddler.

Jacob's face looked flushed. Edward's eyes flashed with shock. "After everything, I felt like I owed it to you," Jacob explained the choice of his son's middle name looking directly at my husband.

Edward looked as if tears should be slipping from his eyes, as his face crumpled. Jacob placed a hand on his slumped shoulder when Edward reached upward to pinch the bridge of his nose. "I owe you much more," he whispered.

Little Billy watched the interaction between the two and smiled brightly. "Friends!" He shouted, ripping the men from their personal moment. They chuckled together. The sound was sweeter than any I had heard before.

Though it was much later than a two-year old had the right to be awake, Little Billy followed us outside. Rosalie grabbed the boy's hand and ran toward the dark forest, Billy laughing wildly as they disappeared.

"He would have been Isabella, if he was a girl," Jake said as we sat ourselves around a small patio set.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm sure Leah would have appreciated that."

"It was her choice," he answered lightly. "Just as Edward was mine."

I reached across the small glass table to take his hand.

"I'm curious." I said then hesitated. "Meaning no disrespect, but I was under the impression that the pack felt a consensus of animosity toward Leah."

Jacob looked the opposite of angry at my words. He laughed aloud. "She was every bit as stubborn as another woman I know." His dark eyes looked into mine, leaving no question as to who that might be. "She was worse, though." He winked.

"Leah was a vicious creature. Acid burned her thoughts for so long, but, you see, she was just trying to hide. Sam's imprint on Emily left her feeling rejected. She responded the only way she knew how. Even when sharing the pack's thoughts, she hid her true feelings behind the bitter ones, that none of us could see past. She made our lives as wolves miserable."

Edward laughed, and we looked to him. " 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.' "

Jacob joined him again, the wonderfully harmonic sound filled the air.

"Remember when I disappeared before your wedding?" Jacob asked wiping tears from his smiling eyes.

I nodded.

"I had no control of myself the night I read your letter-"

"Letter?" I interrupted.

"Sure, sure, in the invitation, Bella. Keep up."

"Really?" My eyebrows raised as I took in the faces of both men. Jacob merely looked amused that I had no clue what he was talking about, and Edward looked like a deer caught in the headlights, aside from his crooked grin playing on his lips.

"Really, Bella," he sighed, laying a firm hand on my thigh. "This is a story you'll want to hear. Don't interrupt."

I became aware that I couldn't hear Jake's thoughts as I could earlier. That was confusing in of itself, but the second I thought about not hearing them, a rush of images assaulted my senses. I had to shake myself free to clear them from my mind.

Jacob began speaking again, keeping me from delving deeper into the mysteries of my power.

"So, I ran. It was the only thing that held me together." The dark face looked momentarily pained as he reminisced. "Not that it worked all that way, but as wolves we fell emotions much differently. I didn't feel so broken.

"I ran North for three days, until I was sure none of the pack's thought penetrated mine. I dug a hole in the snow, phased back, and crawled in to die."

"Jacob, no!" I gasped.

He laughed again. I realized how much I had missed his unyielding happiness.

"Two days after I buried myself, Leah stuck her big old nose right into my crotch as I slept."

This brought on another round of laughter, but this time I joined in. The image of Leah's black nose, shoving roughly into Jacob's private places, and scaring him half out of his wits was too sharp to ignore.

"I kept pushing her away, but she kept biting me. Any part she could reach was torn by her teeth. I naturally healed quickly, but I'm not going to lie. It hurt like hell." His smile was still wide though he was clearly recalling something painful.

"I phased back, ready to tear her apart. At that moment I would have, and probably never regretted it, either. That is, if I hadn't been able to see her thoughts again. Leah had left her guard down. She was pissed that I had ran away from the pain, while she had endured hers unwaveringly for almost two years. It was the first time I saw her for what she truly was. Leah was every bit as broken and alone as I was.

"After seeing it, I ordered her to phase back. She tried to refuse, but had no choice."

I remembered faintly that the wolves had to obey direct commands from both Sam and Jacob.

He seemed very reluctant to continue and I couldn't help but allow myself a glimpse at his memory.

Instantly, I saw Leah rise to stand, her sleek naked body shone in the pale Northern light. Tears slipped silently from her green eyes. Jacob burst from his own alter ego, and faced the beauty, reaching out for her. She gazed in to his eyes, and they stepped toward each other, entwining their brown fingers together. I made the realization that Jacob also stood in his birthday suit. Embarrassed, I pulled away from the memory before I could see the final act.

Jacob seemed to be blushing as I focused my eyes on him again. "I was so angry at first," he whispered. "Angry that I could so easily betray you. I wanted to phase back for good, never to let my human self hurt any one ever again. But when I did phase, Leah was in my head, replaying our intimacy over and over." He paused for awhile.

"She wasn't as mad as she should have been. There I was, making love to Leah one minute, and wishing it had been you the next."

Jacob looked up and shot an apologetic glance at Edward. I watched as Edward's body tensed. I tried hard to concentrate on Jake's words, and not slip back into his mind. I could only guess at what thoughts pounded through his mind by Edward's reaction, and I assumed it was nothing I wanted to see firsthand. Jacob stared off into the forest for a long time. When he spoke again, it was very soft.

"Leah convinced me to come to wedding. She told me that it might help if I saw you before you left forever, to have closure on this page of my life. I didn't want to go, Bella, but I followed her anyway. I felt like I owed it to her for using her like I had.

"I came alone, and you had already become man and wife when I arrived. In a way, I was relieved by that. I might have added another mistake to the long list of wrongs I'd done against you both. But this time it meant I would hurt Leah too, and I shrank away from that possibility with all my being."

It was hard not to be filled with Jacob's love, even without the help of Jasper's ability. "Oh, Jacob," I cried and brought his dark hand to my mouth to kiss his palm. "That's wonderful! You have no idea how guilty I've felt. I wish I had known."

"We didn't spread it around. Leah was pregnant right away, and she was so sick. The chances that neither would survive were high."

The night around us was thick with silence. From somewhere far off, I could hear Rosalie softly singing a lullaby to Jacob's son. Edward and I sat motionless, listening to the sound of Jacob's heartbeat echoing in his chest. For awhile it seemed to beat in a slow and resigned way. Eventually, it picked up speed again, brightening every part of Jake's soul. He smiled again.

"I married her, Bella. Not because it was the right thing to do because she was pregnant, but because I wanted to. I knew she was the only one left with the power to make me happy." He paused, pulling his gaze from the trees to look at Edward and I. "And I am happy, Bella. Even if Leah was ripped away far too soon, I'm still more happy than I have the right to be. Never doubt that. Don't you ever feel guilty for me again. My life is complete. I have you...both of you to thank for that."

Edward stared intently at him. "When you put it that way, you are right." He said.

"What way?" I asked, completely clueless to the thoughts Edward was picking out of Jacob's mind.

Jake grinned brightly. "Think about it," he said. "Say mythical beasts were purely fairy tales. When we met at First Beach, we would have never gotten to know each other. Those two years might never have happened, and I might not have ended up with my happily ever after."

I had the time to wonder how truthful he was being with us. Happily ever after but alone?

Jacob's mind opened for me again. I saw that he was not alone at all. Images flashed behind my eyes as I looked at Jacob's peaceful face. I saw Billy and Leah. Running wild with the pack. Romping with Quil and Embry. Emily. Paul, Seth, Jared and the other pack members. No, Jacob was far from alone. He was truly surrounded by an army of support, and I was filled with an overwhelming sense of love. Had I still had a heart, it would have broken under the pressure of Jake's unerring adoration for his family and friends.

Finally Little Billy's face was in his mind as I saw from the corner of my eye, Rosalie step from the trees, cradling the child her arms. She lovingly pondered his every feature, not removing her eyes as she walked the boy toward the house.

"Yes," her voice was soft and sweet. "If we didn't exist, you would have ended up married to Mike Newton."

Both Edward and Jacob growled at her words. I laughed wildly at the reaction to a name that had completely slid from my memories.

As the giggles subsided, and Rose disappeared into the house, Edward's velvet voice cleared my head.

"Luckily for me, we do exist," he said.

Edward was staring into my eyes and smiling my favorite crooked grin. Once again, I was struck by incredibly beautiful he was. I reached and grabbed his hand where it still rested on my thigh.

With each of their hands in mine I searched for the perfect sentiment to savor our sweet reunion, but was drawing a blank.

Edward's voice cut over my thoughts again. "I still won't share her, dog!"

Then, they were laughing, holding their sides as they shook from the release of emotion. The sweet sound echoing through the night said more that I ever could. I smiled widely at their amusement.

He was so different and yet so much the same. Jake was no longer the bratty teenage werewolf from my memories. He was a strong, intelligent man; the protector of all his people even those of future generations. Jacob had been born to play this role, and had finally accepted his place in this world And now, after all the time that had passed, he had healed enough to let me back into it, too.

Fin

A/N: Thanks to the three of you who reviewed! I really enjoyed writing this story. I hope you all check out my other work in progress, Anticipation. I'm gladly seeking comments and suggestions on that one.

Book-Luver-Girl, this update was for you!