Here it is! The sequel to my first story, Not A Dream.
Now, the good news is you can still pick this up cold and understand it, unless you don't want to be spoiled by my first story- which, then, I would suggest reading that first. ;)

This story follows the years of Emma's life, who is the daughter of Bella and Edward, and how Jacob plays a role in it-since he has imprinted on her. It'll show how she grows up, and eventaully, grows to love Jacob from friend to more than just a friend. So this story should run pretty smoothly...except for a possible twist I might throw into it somehwere in the middle. (Ah, I cannot resist the twists.) Anyway, Jacob is 21 years old (and will stay 21 and a wolf until Emma grows up) for those of you reading for the first time, and Emma is 6. It'll also switch POV's between Emma and Jake quite often. It's going to be rated "M" just in case for what might happen in, eh, later chapters...when Emma gets older. xD PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! I loved every single review I got last time, and I hope for more! :)

DISCLAIMER: Today I was playing pretend. And I pretended I was Stephenie Meyer. I don't own Twilight/characters.

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"Emma!" I could hear mom shouting from up the trail. I could tell that we had to go home by the way her voice sounded. I wasn't ready to go home yet, though. I was having too much fun on the beach. Maybe she and Jacob could talk for just a little bit longer while I played…

"Emma, it's time to go home!" She shouted again. I stuck out my lower lip. I wasn't done building my sand castle yet. I picked up my shovel and slapped some more wet sand onto my castle, trying to smooth it out on the top. Then I grabbed a stick from behind me and began to circle a moat around my castle. It was going to look so cool when I finished.

Suddenly a crab popped out of the sand where I was digging my moat. He was a small crab, with a weird spirally shaped shell that was a pretty blue color. Blue was my favorite color. I decided to name the crab Hermy, 'cus he looked like a hermit crab.

"Hi, Hermy." I greeted him as he scuttled around my castle. I tried to grab him, but he was moving too quickly away from my grasp. "Hermy, where yah going?" I asked, sad that he wouldn't let me pick him up. He was getting farther away from me now, moving towards the water.

"Herrmmyy!" I whined, wanting so badly to pick him up and look at his pretty blue shell. I pushed myself off of the ground, and ran towards Hermy. He was pretty fast for such a little crab. I sprinted after him, my legs getting sloshed by the waves. The water was so cold today. I followed him farther, watching as he floated on top of the waves.

"Gotcha!" I smiled with delight as my fist grasped the tiny crab. I couldn't wait to show mommy. Maybe we could keep him as a pet. Just as I was about to turn around, I was pulled down by the wave. Whoosh. I heard the air escape my lips as I was dragged to the bottom and thrown back up to the surface again. I spat out the water, coughing on choking on the icky, salty taste. I was all wet, and up to my shoulders in the cold water. Oh no. The beach looked so far away now. Maybe I could swim back…

Just as I started to move my arms another wave caught me and carried me back even further. I couldn't even touch the bottom now. I was sucked under again, swallowing so much water I thought I might burst. I needed to get back to mom and dad, but I couldn't breathe; I couldn't even see! My head broke the surface and I coughed out a bucketful of water, the waves swirling all around me, trying to pull me under again. I couldn't even see the beach anymore. This was very bad. I took one deep breath and yelled "Help!" as loud as I could. I hoped someone heard that, because I was being pulled under water again, tossed and turned like I was in the washing machine back home. I couldn't tell which way was up or down, and I couldn't hold my breath much longer. My thoughts were becoming cloudier and cloudier. I wondered if mom will be upset that I never came to her when she called…

-

"Emma, it's time to go home!" Bella shouted towards the beach, our view of Emma obscured by the cluster of forest pine trees that held the trail to the beach.

I laughed as she rolled her eyes. "Count on Emma to be the one to do what she wants, when she wants it." Bella laughed.

"Hey, you can't blame her for inheriting her mother's independence." I joked with her, leaning against the side of her truck next to her as we waited for Emma. I was surprised the truck had managed to last all of these years, but certainly not disappointed.

"So, are you sure he's okay with it?" I asked her, changing the subject. That was the whole point of her and Emma's visit today. Bella had decided to finally break the news to Edward that I had imprinted on their daughter. He was a little disgusted at first-and that I could understand. We'd never really reached the whole "best friends" basis with each other. Heck, we hadn't even really reached a friends basis. But we were good acquaintances, through Bella, of course. I was sure he still thought of me as a "dog," just like I had trouble with remembering him as a bloodsucker, even though he was human. After he had thought about it for a while, and Bella had high-lighted all of the positive points of my imprinting, he finally accepted it. Not that I really needed his approval. I scoffed to myself at that last thought, knowing full well that when Emma was old enough I would still be there, waiting for her.

"Yeah, he's fine with it." Bella said, tapping her fingers on the side of the truck. She laughed. "I mean, it's just a little shocking to him-that's all. That and he's only finding out six years later."

I laughed with her. "Yeah, sorry I was a little late with that. But I never said that you needed to wait to tell him when I told you three years ago."

She shrugged. "Ah well. Better late than never, I suppose."

I nodded my head. "So…does she know about, you know, the rest of the Cullens?" I asked, very curious about whether or not Emma was informed about the true nature of her father. I knew that the Cullens were only allowed to visit Forks once every ten years, and they were due back in a mere three. Emma would be nine by then.

She shook her head. "We're trying to keep that from her…for a while."

I grimaced. "You know, she'll have to know about me…eventually. It's going to seem odd when she gets older and I keep looking the same….same applies with her aunts and uncles."

"I know, I know." She sighed. "I was thinking maybe on her eighteenth birthday? She'll be an adult then…we'll let her make of it what she will."

I sucked in a breath. That seemed so long from now, but it seemed reasonable. "I understand," I said, and I did. As soon as she was an adult she would know the truth. That day seemed so far away.

I was about to ask her how Emma was adjusting to school, when something made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. My head whipped around towards the direction of the beach. I had heard a faint "help!" call from far away- my super-sensitive hearing picking it up. Bella was staring at me, and I turned my head to lock eyes with her. She was reading my reaction, and her eyes grew wide with fear.

"Emma." We both whispered at the same time, and we took off sprinting down the trail. I was already far ahead of her, reaching the beach in no time. I left Bella on the beach, ripping off my shirt and running into the waves.

I dived into the water, swimming a powerful freestyle against the waves. I caught sight of a small shoe bobbing up from the surface about twenty-five yards from me. I sucked in a breath and dove down, kicking my legs breaststroke style, propelling me towards the bottom. My hands grasped around her tiny waist, miraculously finding her in the darkened and cloudy sea, and I kicked us towards the surface. As I slung her over my back and swam quickly back towards the beach, I was hit with a wave of déjà-vu. Hadn't I been here before? Long ago, with a different girl than the one on my back? The odds of the chance that it was happening to me again almost made me want to laugh, but I shrugged off that emotion and focused on getting back to the beach. Emma was my first priority.

As soon as I was close to the beach, Bella came running out into the shallow waves to meet us. She took Emma from my arms and we jogged to the dry sand, where Bella sprawled out Emma underneath her. She wasn't breathing. "C.P.R" I said, more of a command than a statement as Bella pinched back Emma's nose and began breathing into her mouth.

Within four tries, Emma's head began to loll around, and she began to cough up water. Bella sat her up as I patted on her back, encouraging her to spit out the salty sea water, relief radiating off of Bella and I in waves.

"Emma?" She asked softly, as Emma began to open her eyes. I was cradling her head in my hands as Bella hovered over her. "Emma, sweetie, can you hear me?" Emma opened her eyes slowly and stared at me, a look of confusion on her face. Then she turned to look at her mother.

"Huh?" She breathed, her voice sounding raspy. "I lost Hermy." She croaked, as I cradled her against my side, trying to warm her up. She looked devastated about losing "Hermy," but at least she was going to be okay physically.

I shot Bella a confused look, and was returned with one of the same. Then we both started laughing. It must have been the hysterics. I couldn't even begin to imagine how close Emma was to death. Seconds away, possibly. I was going to have to watch her carefully; I couldn't bear to lose her. Emma was going to be alright, and all I could think was how grateful I was that she was going to live.

"Wow, Jake, you have a knack for rescuing people from this ocean at just the right time." Bella smiled gratefully at me, both of us recalling that memory from many years ago. I laughed lightly at the coincidence.

"What can I say…" I sighed, both of us so relieved that the little girl between us was still breathing, her heart still pumping with life.

I smiled at Emma as she looked up to me again, the sparkle already returning to her eyes. "I lost Hermy." She repeated again, and I smiled sympathetically.

But at least I haven't lost you.