Rising Sun

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

A/N-thank you for the awesome reviews, Nikki.

Epilogue

Despite the upheaval and the traumatic events that led up to Phil Turner's arrest, life carried on in its own way. It wasn't easy for Bella in the first few days after her tormentor was put away, for one thing she had no choice but to open up about what he had done to her and that he was in fact Petey's biological father. At first Phil denied everything, but a simple DNA test proved Petey's true parentage beyond a sliver of doubt, then there was the matter of what had happened to Renee. Bella had fled with Petey when her mother had gone missing. She had come home to find that the house was a wreck, as if some kind of fight had taken place. She had frantically tried to contact her mother but got no answer. Without Renee to hide behind Bella knew she couldn't stay in the house where she and Petey had been abused for years by their stepfather, but in the end that had turned out to be a lie, they were never officially married at all. This was a shock to Bella and just another thing that rocked her already fragile world. If it hadn't been for the care and attention from Charlie and her close friends she might have gone under, but they wouldn't allow her to, and after a few weeks had passed, and the knowledge that Phil could no longer contest what he had done to her and his son, she relaxed. Her greatest fear had been having to face her tormentor in court and be forced to explain what had been done to her, but thankfully to get a lighter sentence he had pled guilty. As for Renee she was deemed a missing person.

Bella had opened up to Jacob about her past, she had not gone into details, but had given him a general idea of the extent of abuse she had suffered. She hadn't been able to look at him as she spoke as she felt dirty and ashamed. She confessed that she had no idea that she was pregnant at first, in that respect she had been very naïve, it was only when her abdomen began to expand and she felt something moving inside that Renee had finally noticed. Her mother had been horrified and stricken that her young daughter was pregnant. Bella finally confided in Renee about what had been going on with Phil but her mother had refused to believe her, instead insisting she was trying to break up the family they had created. Renee hatched a plan to pretend that the baby was hers and not Bella's. Bella was hidden away and made to give birth at home with only her mother for assistance. The whole thing had been frightening and surreal, and Bella had been so traumatised by the whole thing that she had willingly gone along with the whole charade. She had managed to convince herself that the little boy she had come to love was in fact her brother and successfully blocked out that she had given birth to him for years, it was her only way of coping.

Jacob had listened in silence as it all came tumbling out, he didn't interrupt or ask questions, but just held her hand until she was finished. "Does this change how you feel about me?" Bella had whispered, still unable to raise her eyes to him.

"Never, I love you more than ever. You are the bravest person I know." Jacob had gently cupped her chin in his hand and raised her head so he could see her properly. It about broke his heart to witness the pain in Bella's beautiful brown eyes. He so wanted to make it all go away, but only time could do that.

"You mean it? You love me?" Bella was having trouble believing that this kind, handsome boy could really be in love with her, but he had said it, it had just naturally tumbled out of his mouth and when she allowed herself to look into his dark eyes, she could see the love there, shining bright and true. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest as she dared to lean forward and peck his lips with her own. The surprise on his face made her laugh nervously, this was such a big step for Bella, but she had come to trust Jacob implicitly. "Sorry."

"Don't ever be sorry for that." Jacob grinned at her as he carefully inclined his head toward hers and kissed her softly.

One year later;

It had taken a long time for Bella to write the letter to Petey. It had been Charlie's idea. Someday the little boy would have to be told of his true relationship to Bella, but for the immediate future she would remain his sister. Charlie was now Petey's permanent guardian. Bella thought it would be difficult to write the letter to her son, but when she put pen to paper the words flowed onto the page. She never showed the letter to anyone when it was finished, instead she sealed it up and gave it to Charlie, who put it away some place safe for when it would be needed. As for Petey he was flourishing at school and had made plenty of friends, although none of them would ever replace Max as his best, best friend. He now referred to Charlie as his dad and no one corrected him after the first time he came home from school with a painting he had done of his family. There was Bella, Charlie, Max and Petey himself all drawn in a line holding hands, and best of all they were all smiling under a clear blue sky with a bright yellow sun glowing above.

Bella pulled up outside the Black's house. She was meeting up with Jacob. He had been very mysterious on the phone when he called. He told her he had something important to tell her, but he wanted to do it face to face. He had sounded so serious on the phone that Bella was worried about what it was he intended to reveal. He was waiting on the front porch for her. As soon as she shouted a greeting to Billy, Jacob caught her hand in his and led her away from the house. He didn't speak and every moment that went by increased the tension. Bella had fallen into her old habit of nervously biting her lip as she waited for him to say something, anything.

Finally she couldn't stand it any longer. "Do you want to break up with me?" She blurted out.

Jacob's face was aghast as he stared at her and shook his head. "Oh my god, no way, no, no way, although you might want to break up with me after you hear what I've got to say." His expression turned heartbreakingly sad and it hurt Bella to see her sunny Jacob look so downcast. Now that he had confirmed he wasn't ending things she relaxed.

"Jake, I would never want to lose you. Just talk to me." She begged.

"I've wanted to tell you forever, but the time was never right, and I didn't want to shove more on you when you were already coping with so much. But I don't want to hide anymore; I want you to know everything about me, everything…" Jacob hesitated as he looked at her pleadingly.

Bella looked back at him as she tried to think what had him so worried, and then suddenly she knew. She burst out laughing as he shot her a bewildered glance. "Is this about the wolf thing?"

"YOU KNOW? HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY KNOW?" Jacob's mouth fell open in shock. He couldn't believe it.

"Billy told me over a year and a half ago when we first began to date. He said you couldn't tell me as you were bound by tribal laws but he wasn't. He said it was only fair that I knew everything before I committed myself." Bella smiled at him as comprehension set in. "We decided not to tell you about it as we didn't want you to worry about me knowing."

"I don't believe it. I just don't know whether to be pissed at the old man or damn grateful." Jacob couldn't stop the relieved grin crossing his face. "So you're really okay with the whole wolf thing?"

"I have my own personal sun as a protector." Bella's face turned serious as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him softly. "You are my saviour Jacob Ephraim Black, and I'll love you forever. The spirits were smiling down on me the day you came into my life."

"Ditto, honey." Jacob wiped the tears that had begun to flow down Bella's cheeks. "Ditto."

The End….

A/N-thank you for following this sad story, I really appreciate you coming on the journey with me, hugs. Nikki