[Title] Followed The Waves

[Pairing(s)] Jacob/Jasper, implied future Alice/Renesme

[Summary] Time stops, forever starts. Takes place during "Breaking Dawn", except Jasper and Alice have never met. Jacob meets Jasper first and imprints on him.

[Word Count] 6,529

[Rating] R

[A/N] First Twilight fic, and I have only read the books once so I apologise if I mess up with some of the details. But since I have changed a major part of the story I'm sure mistakes regarding little things are pretty inconsequential anyway, right? I also apologise for any spelling/grammatical errors, it was not beta'd. But, please read?

Alice knew there was a man moving towards her future. A vampire man. She saw glimpses of him, and she wondered if maybe he was meant to be her mate. Her visions were inconclusive. When she tried to look deeper into their futures, there were gaping black holes.

When Alice had first arrived at the Cullens, Esme had thought she was meant to be with Edward. But she had known that both of them were destined for other people. She was sure that she would be close to this blond man in her visions, she just didn't know if that closeness would be romantic.

Alice put it out of her mind as best she could. She realised that it wasn't something she needed to focus on. She had much bigger things to think about… like Bella's imminent vampirism, the Volturi… and most importantly Bella and Edward's wedding. It had to be perfect and Alice was planning on making it so.

~*~

Jacob had just come back from the "wedding" and he was filled with rage and sorrow and regret. He sat on the beach, back at La Push, and stared out into the grey waves. They seemed to reflect his mood mournfully, and he felt the urge to immerse himself in them. Drown himself in them.

Just as his foot stepped into the cold water, he was distracted by a remnant of sun that had pushed its way through the clouds, lighting up something that was moving towards him. Jacob noticed that it was a man, a glittering man and suddenly, everything changed.

It registered in the back of his mind that he had just imprinted on a vampire, but he didn't have time to think about it because he sensed his pack was near, and they were clearly after the rogue vampire that had just wandered onto their land. Jacob threw himself in front of the vampire. He had to protect him, no matter what.

"STOP!" he screamed, just as an enormous black wolf, the alpha, came charging at them. Sam halted, his eyes expressed pure fury and he was panting menacingly.

"You can't hurt him," Jacob said.

Seth was the last wolf to run onto the beach, and clearly, the least angry, because he shifted back to his human form. "What's going on?" he asked Jacob.

Jacob suddenly realised that the man hiding behind him was clinging to his shoulders in fear, with frozen hands. "I imprinted on him," Jacob confessed.

Seth's jaw dropped, and there was a rumble of incomprehension amongst the wolves. "What?" Seth demanded. "How… How is that possible? He's a bloodsucker."

The vampire's hands tightened on Jacob's shoulders. He still hadn't said a word and Jacob guessed he was probably very scared and confused. Jacob sighed, "I don't know how it's possible, but I know it happened okay?"

"But… he's a guy. It doesn't make any sense!"

"Seth! I know I imprinted on him, okay? I don't know why!"

Finally, Sam must have calmed himself, because he shifted into his human form. "There must be a reason for this," he said solemnly. "We have to find out why this happened. What is your name?" he asked the man cowering behind Jacob.

"Um, it's Jasper. Please… what's going on?"

Sam ignored him. "His eyes are red. He's not like the Cullens, he's very dangerous."

"You're not doing anything to him," Jacob said, his jaw clenching.

"He can't stay here Jacob."

Jacob's blood was boiling, hotter than usual. "Fine, I'll take him somewhere else."

"How about the Cullens?" Sam asked.

Jacob's hands formed two fists. "No way."

"Jacob, I don't want you going off alone with him. I order you to stay here; we need to figure this out."

"No."

Sam's eyes widened. "What did you say?"

"I won't follow your orders."

"But…"

"I won't."

Jacob turned to the man, Jasper, and offered his hand. Jasper looked at it hesitantly, and then he looked up to Jacob's eyes. He must have seen in them that he could trust Jacob. He could trust Jacob more than anyone else. He took his hand and Jacob led him into the woods.

After walking for several minutes, the vampire asked, "Where are we going?"

"To the boundary. Do you want to run?"

Jasper frowned. "I'll be too fast…"

"No you won't," Jacob said. He let go of the other man's hand and stopped to take off his clothes. He couldn't look at Jasper as he did this, he didn't want to know if Jasper was watching him or not. He transformed into a wolf.

Jasper was shocked. "You're a wolf too?" Jacob bent his head. "You don't smell like the others," Jasper said. "You smell… nice. But not in a way that makes me want to… you know."

Jacob shook his head, not wanting to think about that. Jasper seemed to think Jacob was telling him to stop talking, and he stared down at the ground. It was then that Jacob realised that he could not hear the thoughts of any of his pack members. He knew many of them still would have been in wolf form, Paul especially, and he couldn't make sense of it. Until he remembered something Bella had said about him being the rightful Alpha. He had disobeyed Sam's orders. He was the alpha of his own pack now. Although it wasn't much of a pack, he was the only member.

She started running. He only wanted to think about the speed, so he focused on pushing his paws forward as fast as he could. When he finally stopped, he was slightly surprised to find that Jasper had followed him the whole way, he was right there, looking to Jacob for direction.

Jacob phased back and dressed. He stared back at Jasper. He really didn't know what to do or say. He was panting from the run and when he inhaled deeply, Jasper's scent hit him. He realised that the vampire smelt good to him, as well. Nothing made sense any more.

Jasper suddenly spoke. "Please, can you explain to me what happened? All I know is that when you look at me… I see something in your eyes. It's like… you love me. And it's strange but… I like it."

Jacob buried his face in his hands. "I imprinted on you. We – werewolves – sometimes do that. When we imprint on someone, it sort of means they are our soul mate… or something."

"Really?" Jasper asked. Jacob thought he sounded almost hopeful.

"Well, that's what people think. But no one has ever imprinted on a vampire. Or someone of the same sex. It's totally bizarre. Of course it would happen to me though," Jacob said. He kicked a rock by his foot.

"Maybe it's not that bizarre," Jasper said.

Jacob looked at him questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"Well, if the truest meaning of imprinting is that a person finds the person they're meant to be with, then nothing else is relevant."

"You really think you and I are… soul mates?" Jacob asked. The thought scared him immensely.

"Well, I don't know," Jasper said. "It's a possibility. Listen, I can altar people's moods. Maybe I could calm your friends down enough for them to listen to you rationally."

"Rationally?" Jacob asked. "None of this is rational. How can I try and explain to them something I don't understand?" He could feel himself getting worked up again, but suddenly his mood changed. "Did you do that?" he demanded.

"Sorry, I just didn't want you to turn back into a wolf again. And I don't want you to be upset."

"No, it's okay. Um, thanks. That's a pretty cool gift you have."

Jasper shrugged, "It doesn't make up for the fact I'm not human."

Jacob couldn't reply to that. It would be a whole lot easier for him if Jasper was human. He shook his head. "I just don't understand it. It's not just that you're a vampire. I've never been, you know… gay. I love Bella. At least, I thought I did."

"Who is Bella?"

"She's… She just got married."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"You know… it actually doesn't hurt so much now. I only just realised. But the pain I felt over her choosing him is… gone. It must be because of the imprint."

They were quiet for a moment, until Jacob started chuckling to himself. "I guess Bella and I are even more alike now. More even than I thought we were before."

"How so?"

"Well… she married one of you."

"A vampire?"

"Yes."

"She's human?" Jasper asked with incredulity. Jacob nodded. "I've never, ever heard of that. Then again, I've never heard of this either," he said and gestured to the both of them.

"Things are definitely strange around here," Jacob said.

~*~

Jacob and Jasper grew fairly close over the next few days. Jacob was surprised that he felt so at ease when he was around the vampire. It wasn't because Jasper was altering his mood either, he just instinctively felt comfortable with him. He noticed that Jasper was very willing to befriend him, and he appreciated that. He was sure not many other vampires would be so accommodating.

When Jasper told Jacob about his life, Jacob felt so sad for him. He wanted to protect him from the hurt so badly. He promised himself to not let anymore hurt come to him. He knew that meant giving Jasper whatever he wanted, and that scared him, but he knew deep down that he would do anything.

They stayed out in the woods together for several days. Jacob hunted raw, but when he asked if Jasper wanted to come along, the blond man shook his head. Jacob didn't much like to think about Jasper's appetite so he let it be. After a while, however, Jacob noticed Jasper's eyes getting darker, and his behaviour grew odd.

One day, when Jacob woke up, from where he had fallen asleep talking to Jasper, he noticed the other man pacing the area before him. "What's wrong?" he asked groggily.

"I need… blood," Jasper whispered, and before Jacob could register what was happening, Jasper was gone.

When Jacob finally tracked him down, he was on a cliff of rocks several miles along the coast. It was a gruesome sight. Jasper had fed on a lone fisherman. Jacob thought that at least the man looked older, so he had already lived the majority of his life, but it was still a terrible thing to behold. "Please," Jasper gasped. "Don't look at me." He hovered over the body, blood dribbling down his chin.

Jacob knew that if it was anyone else, he would have instantly wanted to kill them, but he couldn't feel that way towards Jasper. "It's okay," he whispered.

"I'm sorry," Jasper cried. Jacob could tell his regret was worsened knowing that Jacob had seen him in disgrace.

"Come on," Jacob said, holding out his hand for Jasper to take. Jasper was speechless; he was clearly shocked that Jacob hadn't turned his back on him. He took his hand and held on with a grip that could have broken anyone else's hand. Jacob couldn't help but think maybe they were made for each other, since they were both practically indestructible.

They walked to a phone booth and Jacob called the police, telling them he came upon a dead man while he was going fishing. He told them the location and then hung up before they could get any more details. Then the two of them ran away as fast as they could.

Jacob hated the Cullens. Not simply because Bella had chosen Edward over him, but it was because of their existence that he had become a wolf. It wasn't a life he would have chosen for himself, not at all. But, he realised that he needed their help.

Jasper killed humans and the Cullens did not. After seeing the pain Jasper was in, Jacob desperately wanted him to be like them. He ran in the direction of the Olympic Coven's home. Jasper followed.

~*~

There was a knock at the door of the Cullen household, and for the first time in her existence Alice was surprised to hear it. "Who's at the door?" Emmett asked on his way past her room.

"I don't know," she responded. He gave her a curious look, and then continued down the stairs. She followed him.

"Oh. Wolf. That's why you didn't know," Emmett said as the smell of the shape shifters filled the air.

Carlisle opened the front door before Alice and Emmett reached it. Although they knew a wolf would be on the other side, they did not expect a wolf to be standing there with a vampire. The very vampire Alice had been having visions about.

"You're the man!" she declared excitedly.

"What man?" Carlisle asked, turning to look at her.

"I've seen him. I've had visions."

"What visions, Alice?"

She didn't answer him. "But… I didn't see you coming here. I don't see you now. And you're with Jacob… which must mean… why are you so tied to him?"

"I imprinted on him," Jacob said.

Carlisle turned back to the young shape shifter. "Imprinted? But he's a…"

"A vampire. Yes."

"How is that…?"

"I don't know, but I can assure you, it happened."

"Amazing," Carlisle said, which Jacob made a face at. "I thought your tribe imprinted so you could carry on the line… I guess there are other reasons for it as well."

"I'm sure they're all trying to figure it out right now. But I haven't been back there since it happened. Anyway, we came here because… I need your help. Jasper, he's not like you. You can see his eyes are red."

"Does Jasper want our help?" Carlisle asked, looking at the nomad vampire.

The two young men glanced at each other, and Jasper said, "Yes. I don't want to be like this anymore."

Alice stepped forward. "I feel like I know you. I've seen you and I know we're meant to be friends. Of course we'll help you."

Carlisle nodded. "Come in."

~*~

Jacob and Jasper ended up moving into the Cullen house. Rosalie made it known she was not happy about it, but no one really paid her any attention. Jacob wasn't that fond of the idea either, but Jasper didn't want to be left there alone, and Jacob just had to do what Jasper wanted him to. But all the other vampires, especially Alice, welcomed him with open arms, and Jacob felt guilty for always thinking such terrible things about them.

Jasper was having a hard time adjusting to "vegetarianism", but he was trying very hard. Jacob could tell it was mostly for his benefit and it warmed his heart. It sometimes seemed to Jacob as if Jasper was happier with the imprint that he was.

Jacob missed his dad, and his pack. He didn't feel like he could go back though. He knew his life wasn't normal before, but it had definitely been turned upside down when he imprinted on a vampire.

When Jacob slept, Jasper often lay with him. Jacob liked the cold of Jasper's skin against his, and he liked the way Jasper held him close and sighed in contentment. But he couldn't say that out loud. Maybe Jasper knew though, because he never stopped doing it.

Still, they hadn't taken their relationship further than just holding each other. Part of the reason was that Jacob was scared of rejection. As much as he had gotten to know Jasper, the vampire could still be unpredictable. Yet Jacob knew Jasper cared for him. Jacob was Jasper's centre of the universe as much as Jasper was Jacob's.

~*~

One day, Alice decided to check up on the futures of Edward and Bella, since they were still on their honeymoon. She instantly realised that she couldn't see anything. As much as she tried, she couldn't, and it hurt to try.

Suddenly, the current drama of the Cullen family – Jacob and Jasper – took a backseat. Because Bella was pregnant. After that there was so much anxious activity in the house that Alice didn't even notice that her own future had developed black holes.

She also didn't notice that when Edward and Bella arrived home that Jacob and Jasper avoided them by staying up in the room they were sharing. However, when the two of them came down the stairs looking awkward, and saying they had an announcement, she paid attention.

"Um, we've been thinking that maybe we should go," Jacob said. "We don't want to intrude on your family… stuff."

"No!" Alice said. "Please stay. Please can they stay?" She turned to the others.

"Of course they can," Esme said. "You two are family now."

Jacob glanced at Edward and Bella who were sitting closely together on the couch.

"It's not just that," Edward said. "He feels weird being around the two of us."

Jacob frowned. "Stay out of my head."

Jasper spoke up, "Are you sure you want us here? I don't want to cause any more trouble for you than you need right now."

"You don't cause any trouble, Jazz," Alice said. She took his hand. "Stay."

Jasper looked to Jacob, his eyes pleading. Jacob sighed, he turned to Bella. "Bella, how do you feel about us being here?"

"I want you to stay Jacob. You're my best friend."

He nodded, then inhaled deeply before he turned to Bella's husband. "Edward?"

"I want you both to stay. And I appreciate you asking me Jacob."

"Is anyone interested in my opinion?" Rosalie asked irritably. "I, for one, do not like living in a house that smells like a wet dog."

"Oh be quiet Rosalie," Edward said.

She gave him an evil look. "Traitor," she said before storming off. He just rolled his eyes.

~*~

Although they knew that they were accepted as part of the family, Jacob and Jasper still spent a lot of their time in their room. Jacob still felt awkward around Bella, he had been so in love with her, now he and his soul mate, a man, were living with her and her husband. It was weird. The fact she was pregnant with a mutant baby also made him uncomfortable.

He preferred to be alone with Jasper, where he always felt calm.

They were lying down on the enormous couch (there was no bed), and Jasper was stroking his hands along Jacob's back. They didn't feel freezing to Jacob, they simply felt pleasantly cool against his hot skin.

"I love the warmth of your skin," Jasper said quietly.

Jacob turned to face him. "I like the cold of yours," he said.

"Really?" Jasper asked.

Jacob smiled, "You sound surprised."

"I guess I am."

"Well, don't be. I do like it. And I like how you always lie with me when I go to sleep, even though you don't sleep yourself. And how I know you haven't moved, because I always wake up in your arms."

"You really like those things?"

"Of course I do."

Jasper reached out and ran his fingertips along Jacob's cheek and down his jaw. "You're beautiful," he said. Jacob vaguely remembered Bella once telling him the same thing, but this time he really believed it.

"I know when it happened you felt like it was a curse," Jasper said. "But I sort of felt the opposite. I've been searching so long for my soul mate, and I really didn't think it was possible for me to find him. I had nothing to live for before I met you, Jacob. Now I have everything to live for. I've never been so happy to be me."

"I… I didn't know that," Jacob said. His heart started to beat rapidly.

"I want to kiss you," Jasper whispered. "And I want you to kiss me. I know that your instinct is to give me what I want, but I really only want you to kiss me if you want to, not because you have to. I don't want to use the imprinting thing to force you to do something. I mean, I don't love you because you imprinted on me. I love you for you."

"You love me?" Jacob asked; he tried not to choke on the rising tears.

Jasper nodded. "I do. I love you."

"I… I think I love you too. No, I do, I do love you. And I do want to kiss you. Because you're you. Not because I imprinted on you," Jacob said.

Their first kiss was the most exciting thing Jacob had experienced. It was unexpectedly tender, tasted so sweet and yet was simultaneously electric. Jacob thought that the only thing that could be better than kissing Jasper, would be making love to him, and that's exactly what he did.

~*~

Even Bella's human ears had heard the sounds of bliss that had echoed throughout the house. When Jacob and Jasper came into the living room later in the afternoon, everyone made sure to let them know they knew exactly what had been going on.

Emmett laughed at them; Rosalie wrinkled her nose and said "gross"; Edward smirked (he'd probably heard even more than the others); Esme smiled coyly, and Bella blushed furiously. Jacob did the same when he saw everyone's reactions. Jasper took his hand and squeezed it lovingly and reassuringly. He held his head up proudly.

Alice skipped over to the couple and kissed them each on the cheek. "I'm so glad you two finally got together!" she declared.

Jasper actually laughed at that. Jacob blushed harder. "It is impossible to have any privacy in this house," he said, faking annoyance.

"You live with a coven of vampires, get used to it," Emmett said.

~*~

That night, Jacob found himself alone with Bella and Edward. They were in front of the television, but it didn't seem as if any of them were that interested in what was on.

"So," Bella said, "You don't love me any more Jacob?"

It sounded as if she intended it to be a joke, but Jacob couldn't take it that way. He suddenly felt very angry. "What? I'm not allowed to love someone else? I'm just supposed to be infatuated with you for the rest of my life? Even though you don't want me? No one else can have me?" he exploded.

"No! It's not that at all…" she replied, looking flustered.

"Yes it is, Bella. You're jealous of Jasper." Jacob had risen from the couch and was now standing over her, looking down upon her accusingly.

"Jacob," Edward said in a warning voice, "Please stop upsetting her." But it was half hearted, as if he knew what Jacob was saying was true.

"Jacob, it's just that… I said no one would ever be good enough for you. And Jasper… I just can't believe he is meant for you."

"Well get used to it. Because I'm in love with him. We are never going to be apart."

Bella looked as if she was going to cry. Jacob softened; he didn't want to hurt her. And of course he still loved her, just not in the same way. "I guess we were always meant to be family," he said. "It just didn't happen the way I thought."

"Yeah," she mumbled.

Jacob sat down again. "I just realised something. I have to visit my dad. I've been avoiding my family and the pack, but I need to see them. I need to tell them what I just told you."

Bella patted Jacob's hand. "Billy loves you. It'll be okay."

"I hope so."

~*~

Jacob waited until morning. His dad probably would have gone to bed, and he needed time to prepare anyway. When he woke up, his stomach was in knots, but instantly he felt it wash away. He turned to the man in his arms. "Thanks."

Jasper kissed him. "Do you want me to come with you? Maybe I could help."

Jacob wanted to say yes, he would feel so much better if he had Jasper by his side, but he knew he should do it alone. He shook his head sadly and hugged Jasper close. "I'll try not to be gone too long."

"I'll miss you. You realise since we met we haven't been apart? Well, except for that one time…"

Jacob ran his hand through blond hair. "Shhh. Yeah. I'll miss you too."

~*~

Jasper stood at the edge of the woods watching Jacob transform. "I'll miss you," he said again. His expression was the saddest it had been in a while.

Jacob whined in response, and then ran off through the trees as fast as he could. He hadn't been in his wolf form for weeks and it took him a moment to realise that the voices of the pack were gone. He remembered that he had left them, and it felt very strange to be all on his own.

He ran into La Push apprehensively. He didn't know what had been happening since he left, or what to expect. For all he knew, they could be planning to attack him if he ever came home. But he made it to his father's house without meeting anyone on the way. When he walked into the kitchen his father dropped a mug of coffee in shock. "Jacob!"

"Hi dad," he said shyly.

"Son… I've been so worried. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Sam told me you've been living with the vampires."

"He's been checking up on me?"

"Of course. He wants to know that you're alright. The whole pack does."

"Sure, sure," Jacob said dismissively. "They probably think the Cullens are doing something freaky to me."

Billy Black looked as if he was going to ask if the Cullens were doing something freaky to him, but Jacob gave his father a scathing look, so the older man said nothing. Instead, he asked how things were going with Jasper.

"Good," Jacob said. "Really good actually. Um, that's kind of why I came. I want you to know that… I love him. We love each other. I want you to be okay with the fact I imprinted on him. Because I'm more than okay with it."

Billy looked surprised. "Are you really?"

"I know it might seem hard to believe, but I've changed a lot. For the better, I think. Jasper's the reason why. He makes me happy, dad."

"Well… if you're happy. I suppose that's all that matters."

"That's right," Jacob said. "And you can tell that to the rest of the pack. Um, and thanks dad. I thought you might be angry."

"I can't be angry with it, Jacob. Imprinting happens for a reason."

"Yeah, well, I still can't figure out what that reason is. Though, I don't care that much anymore."

"Jacob, the other boys say that your thoughts have disappeared. Have you separated from them?"

"Yes."

Billy nodded. "I had a feeling that was possible."

Jacob wanted to say that he didn't need a pack any more anyway. But he didn't want to hurt his father's feelings. He suddenly felt guilty that he had abandoned his real family for a group of vampires. "How are you doing dad?"

Billy smiled. "I'm good. Your sister looks after me just fine. You don't need to worry about me. Charlie comes around a whole lot too."

"Charlie… how's he?"

"A bit lonely, I think. He really misses Bella."

"Well, you should tell him that she's doing just fine. Everyone's looking after her."

Billy raised his eyebrow. "What are you talking about? Isn't she still on her honeymoon?"

Jacob immediately regretted what he had said. Obviously no one else knew about Bella's pregnancy.

"Where is she Jacob?"

"Um, well, she's at home with Edward…"

"She's home? Why hasn't she told her father?"

"She can't. He can't see her."

"Why not?"

Jacob hung his head. "She's pregnant," he mumbled.

"Bella's pregnant?" Billy asked, his eyes widened in shock.

"Yes but, she's okay! She's fine."

"How can she survive with this monster inside her?"

Jacob fidgeted. "Well, she sort of, uhm, to feed it, she, er, drinks blood. Doctor Cullen got it for her."

All the colour left Billy's face. Jacob wanted to get out of there so badly. He just had to ruin it, didn't he? "I should go," he said abruptly.

"Wait! Jacob, I don't know if you should be living there…"

"I'm not leaving Jasper. Are you suggesting I bring him to live here?"

Billy looked away. "No…"

"I didn't think so," Jacob snapped. He sighed, "I'll be okay, dad. Just believe me. I have to go."

He desperately needed to see Jasper after that confrontation. He knew that when he saw the blond vampire his heart would feel so much lighter. However, when he got back, there was a strange vibe around the house and Jacob instantly noticed that Jasper was missing.

"What happened?" he asked the group of vampires sitting in the living room.

"Jasper…" Esme said, reluctant to answer his question.

"Where is he?"

"He took off," Emmett said.

Carlisle stood beside Jacob and laid a hand on his shoulder. "He just needs some time to calm down."

"What happened?" Jacob repeated. He should have never left Jasper's side.

"When we brought out some blood, for Bella, Jasper smelt it and he lunged at her… Edward pushed him out of the way. Then he ran outside," Carlisle admitted.

"You should go and find him. Tell him that no one's upset with him, okay?" Esme said.

When outside, Jacob phased and followed Jasper's scent. When he found him, sitting on a tree stump, he didn't change back. He sensed that Jasper wasn't ready to talk about it. Instead he nuzzled into Jasper's side playfully until he cracked a smile. Jasper moved onto the ground and wrapped his arms around Jacob's wolf body, and buried his face in Jacob's fur. They sat like that for a long time.

~*~

A few days later, Bella went into labour and Edward had to turn her. While she was transforming, the rest of the family looked after Renesme. Jacob quickly dubbed her 'Nessie'.

But the joy a baby brought to the family was promptly interrupted when Jacob realised wolves were very close by. He wasn't the only one who noticed – Edward came down the stairs from where he had been sitting with Bella looking anxious. The two of them went outside to meet Sam, Paul and Jared.

"We know about the… baby," Sam said.

Uh oh, Jacob thought, he had completely forgotten about that with so many other things on his mind. Edward looked at him. "You told your father. How could you?"

"I'm sorry, it was an accident!"

"You did that on purpose!" Edward yelled, turning on him. Before Jacob could respond, Jasper was suddenly there, standing protectively in front of him.

"I did not!" Jacob yelled back, from behind Jasper. "You know I didn't."

Edward was not satisfied that he couldn't accuse Jacob of intentionally spilling the secret, but before he could berate Jacob further, Sam spoke up. "We can't allow this creature to live."

"You can't allow it?" Edward asked manically. "It has nothing to do with you!"

"If it's hurting Bella, then yes, it does."

"It's not hurting her anymore… something else is," Jacob said.

Edward glared at him, then turned back to Sam. "Our daughter is born," he said.

Sam looked surprised. "And Bella? She survived?"

"She's becoming a vampire," Jacob said.

"Stay out of this Jacob!" Edward yelled.

"You bit her?" Sam asked. "You can't do that."

"I didn't, I injected her with my venom."

Sam looked very angry, and Jacob knew he had to speak up. He stepped around his protector and stood facing his former pack mates. "Look Sam, I'm part of this family now. Please don't hurt them. Please… so much has changed, I think the treaty should too."

Sam sighed, "You might be right. We've been thinking about that. We think maybe the imprint happened so that we would form a truce."

"But, why then did Jacob imprint on Jasper? We didn't even know him when it happened," Edward said.

"Well, we don't know. But obviously you were meant to meet. And Jasper shows that what we are doesn't rule the way we behave. We understand you more now."

"So, you're not going to… punish us? For breaking the treaty?"

"No. But that doesn't mean you can go and turn anyone you like into bloodsuckers."

"You know we won't do that… Thank you," Edward said.

Sam nodded. He looked to Jacob. "And Jacob, Jasper is allowed past the boundary any time he likes."

"Um, Thanks," Jacob was clearly surprised at the turn of events.

"Also," Sam continued. "You are welcome to come back to us."

"The pack?" Jacob asked. "I don't think that's possible. And I'm sorry, but I don't want it."

Sam nodded, but his expression was anything but understanding. He turned around without saying another word, and the other two shape shifters followed him into the forest and out of sight.

~*~

"She stopped herself. She actually stopped herself from killing a human," Edward said proudly. He had just taken his wife hunting for the first time. He stared at Bella in awe, as did everyone else.

Jacob felt Jasper tense beside him, and then the blond vampire stormed off into the trees. Jacob gave Bella a dirty look. He knew he was being unfair; she couldn't help it if she was naturally good at being a vegetarian vampire. But he also knew that Jasper was upset that she was immediately so good at it and he was still having a very hard time.

He was sure that if Bella could blush, she would have. Jacob sighed and walked in the direction Jasper had gone. He didn't change into wolf form this time, just walked slowly in the direction he guessed Jasper would be. Sure enough, Jacob found him in the same place where he had run to the last time he was very upset.

"Jazz," Jacob said, using the nickname Alice had given him.

"I'm sorry," Jasper automatically responded.

Jacob sat beside him and put an arm around his waist. "You don't need to be sorry. I understand why you're upset. I think Bella does too."

"I shouldn't be so… angry at her. I really have no reason to be. But… I'm just so jealous. Why can't I be like that?"

Jacob shrugged. "So it's harder for you to learn, I'm sure that will eventually just make you stronger. That's an opportunity Bella will never have. I think your determination is a much better quality than basically just having a gift."

Jasper's lips curled in a hesitant smile. "You really think that?"

"Definitely."

Jasper stood up and took Jacob's hand, helping him up. "Let's go back."

~*~

When Jacob and Jasper got back to the house, everyone had congregated in the living room, as usual. Bella was holding onto Renesme, and even though her eyes were red, they were full of unconditional love for her daughter. She looked up when they walked in. "Hey guys," she said tentatively.

Jacob smiled at her reassuringly. "Hey Bells. Hey Nessie!"

"Nessie? You came up with that name Jake? Ooh, you're dead!"

Jacob looked shocked, he seriously wondered if Bella was going to attack him, but then she laughed. Everyone else joined in too. "Oh, very funny. Anyway, she likes it!" he said. Renesme smiled in agreement.

Jasper sat down beside Bella and put his hand on the baby's head. Bella flinched, and Jasper quickly removed his hand. "You're afraid I'm going to do something to her, aren't you?" he asked.

Jacob cringed. As if there needed to be more tension between those two.

"I'm sorry Jasper, she's my daughter," Bella said. "I'm always anxious about what could happen to her."

Jasper seemed to understand that. "She actually smells a lot like Jacob to me. Nice, but not tempting," he said.

Bella's expression was a mixture between relief and apprehension, and Jasper chuckled. Jacob sat down beside him, and smiled. He was glad to see that Jasper seemed happy. Just then, Renesme reached out to Jacob. Bella passed her over Jasper's lap.

"I think she really likes you, Jacob," Jasper said.

Bella nodded. "Yeah, she does."

For that moment, everything was good.

~*~

Alice had visions of the Volturi coming to Forks, and then the Cullen house was in a frenzy again. Everyone put everything they had into preparing for the Volturi's unwanted visit. Jasper helped to teach friends and family how to fight, while Jacob asked for help from his former pack.

Alice went searching for vampire-human hybrids. It was her way of helping. But she also wanted to find out as much about Renesme's future as possible. She wanted to know, because she was sure their futures were intertwined somehow. Her own future still had holes in it, and they were getting larger every day.

She had wondered if perhaps she would become involved with a werewolf, as Jasper had. But that seemed unlikely, as her lack of vision seemed quite in tune with Renesme's rapid growth. She had tried to decipher some kind of bond between her and the child, but there was nothing. She had to assume that that bond would happen later in Renesme's life and that brought Alice to the conclusion that Renesme was going to be her mate.

She had made sure not to let Edward hear these thoughts, which meant she spent a lot of time avoiding thinking about them. But when she was on her own, searching for hybrids, she seriously considered that her assumptions were right. It wasn't what she expected, but the thought still made her happy.

When she finally found a hybrid that told her how his life had been, how he had grown quickly into an adult and then stopped aging. Alice was convinced. Her life then depended on saving the girl, and that's exactly what she did.

~*~

After all the drama seemed like it was finally over, Jacob and Jasper decided to leave the Cullens' house, for a while at least. They knew that they would come back, because the Cullens were family, but Jasper was getting used to his vegetarianism, and they really wanted some time to be alone together.

Jacob sent a letter to his dad telling him he was going away, in case anyone went looking for him at the Cullens. He still didn't know how he felt about all the people he used to call family. A part of him missed them very much, but then he would think of Jasper, and he didn't want to put him through any more stress.

All he wanted was for the both of them to find some place where they could be totally comfortable, where they didn't have to worry about anything going on around them. They set out to find that place, and Jacob thought that even if they never really found such a paradise, the search would be just as good.

the end.

[Playlist]

Mind Dependency – Blindspott
Followed The Waves – Auf Der Maur
Ashes to Ashes – Faith No More
Silver And Cold – AFI
Do You Feel The Same – Silverchair
The Last Remaining Light – Audioslave
Right Where It Belongs – Nine Inch Nails
Agoraphobia – Incubus
I Caught Fire – The Used
Strip My Mind – Red Hot Chili Peppers
Endlessly – Muse
A Place Called Home – PJ Harvey