Chapter 15: all good things must come to an end, but the best things go on forever.

Jake POV

Nessie's hand was pressed against her freckled nose. I frowned, "You don't want to tell your parents," her hand gently fell into her lap.

"Wait…"

Her train of thoughts had gone right to where I thought they would, "Are you ashamed of me?"

"Jake, no! Of course not! I was making a joke—a really bad one, apparently—but… ha ha, just kidding! I just—" her tense face dropped and she slouched, "you and I both know that Daddy is not going to react pleasantly by any definition. There will be yelling involved, possibly some throwing of expensive electronics, threatening, hand clenching, the terror alert level might have to be raised. It's just not going to be pretty."

I kissed her turned-up nose and kept my face close to hers, "I'm just giving you a hard time, Nessie."

"You're a dirt bag," she shook her head, but behind her full lips was a smile waiting to either come out or be kissed out. I tucked a curl behind her ear, her hair had frizzed out a bit in the way that it used to when we ran through the trees in Forks. We hadn't done that in such a long time, perhaps a weekend trip was in order. 'Course with the current changes in our relationship there was no way in hell Eddie would ever let us be anywhere unchaperoned ever again.

Edward would want to change a lot of things that he had put up with before. Before this the late night movies snuggled together in a bed or on a couch had meant very little, it meant a lot more now.

"I might be a dirt bag, but I'm the dirt bag that you love, so what does that make you?"

Nessie thought, she cocked her head and bit her lip, that pretty smile trying to make it's way through again. Her eyes were putting fairy dust to shame with all the sparkle and shine going on in the mischief in them.

"Charitable."

She was going to keep me on my toes. And I was going to love every moment of it.

*

Nessie picked out a movie for us to watch on TV. It was some dramatic romance that I couldn't get into because of the cool body in my arms. When the screen faded to black the front door slammed shut.

"So, out of the fire and into the frying pan?" I looked down at her, she hadn't really moved from her position even though the credits were rolling and her family had returned.

"Let's be raw vegetarians," she suggested. The thought made me gag. Ness and I were carnivores if I ever knew one. I pulled her up off the bed and over to the doorway.

"What are you so afraid of, Nessie?"

"Their reactions. I don't know. I guess it is kind of silly. What are they gonna do—kick me out?" She was joking, but suddenly her face dropped as if she was seriously thinking that anyone in the house would even want to kick her out. Me, maybe, but never Nessie. This entire family would revolve around Nessie if they didn't know she would resent it.

Her hand reached out to the doorknob, it looked like she had lost more pigment in her skin since the last time I had really paid attention. She twisted the door and opened it in to the room.

Her entire family stood outside the door.

Nessie POV

"Whoa! Creepy vampire stereotype much?"

Alice was being held down by Jasper, she would have been bouncing off the walls like rubber ball in a closed box if he didn't have his hands on her shoulders. Emmett and Rose were both standing coolly in the background, Rose looked a little disgruntled by I knew she really was happy for me. Mama and Papa were also standing with Rose and Emmett, looking happy and but remaining calm. Then there was my mom and dad. Mom had a smile on her face; that was a relief. Dad on the other hand was seething and grinding his teeth.

I was beginning to wonder if vampire teeth could be worn down and if so, would they grow back or something…

Mama noticed Daddy's anger just as Jasper did. "Perhaps we should leave them alone you guys?" She carefully maneuvered everyone but Mom and Dad away from the door and back outside.

"Hey," I said, trying to break the silence with anything. "Hunt anything good?"

"Jacob, I'd like to talk to you. Privately, please." My father's voice was grim. Jake squeezed my hand, kissed my forehead—which made me blush as hard as I could now with the change so close—and left with my dad.

I hoped this wasn't the last time I saw him.

"So?" My mother asked in the kind way that she must have gotten from Mama.

"So…a needle pulling thread…"

"You and Jake made up?" It was a both a statement and a question. The question was really about whether Jake and I were in a relationship.

"Yes. We made up. I'm glad. I'm happy, for the first time in what feels like forever."

"And your date?" Oh yeah. That. That was a lot harder to explain. I think I'd rather take a time machine back five minutes ago and open that door a million more times than have to explain that date again.

"It was really bad." Would it be dishonest of me to not tell her? Was it important that I did? Sure, Zac tried something, but he didn't do anything. I looked away from Mom. The way her eyes were shaped just like mine and the similar shape of her lips… somehow, it could make me reveal anything to her. "He tried to…" I grimaced. "He tried—"

"He tried to have sex with you?" She looked shocked and disgusted. Was she upset with me? I thought so and went back into my room, shutting the door. Why couldn't she just be like Jake? Just forget about it. The wooden door not being much of a deterrent for an angry mom who happened to be a vampire, she opened the door and walked into the room and sat down next to me.

"What happened?" she placed her cold hand on mine, trying to be all motherly.

"I don't want to tell you! You're just going to get angry at me!"

"Honey! I'm not going to be mad at you! It's not your fault. I'm angry at that dumb boy. I'm mad that I couldn't protect you. I'm not mad at you. I couldn't be. I wasn't mad at you when you tried to make Barbie dresses out of my wedding dress—"

"Auntie Alice was."

"Okay, bad example," she smiled and leaned back on to my bed. "Nessie, you're my daughter. I love you, no matter what you do or will do. No matter what happened or what happens to you. It's unconditional."

"You're gonna make me cry, Momma." I hadn't called her Momma in such a long time.

"Cry while you can, sweetie. You'll miss it some day."

I leaned down next to her and she wrapped her arms around me. We stayed there for quite some time, just enjoying the silence. I wasn't sure if she could hear Jake and Daddy talking, I knew her hearing was much better than mine though. I asked her and she denied being able to hear them, though I didn't know if she was telling the truth or not.

It felt like forever before Jake came back into my room, Mom left to leave us alone. "I'm gonna go running tonight."

"Let me go with you. I want to run next to you!" I got up to put on a new pair of running shoes, there were a few dozen pairs as I went through them so quickly. Everyone in my family did.

"Actually, Nessie, you should go talk with your dad. I'll be back when you're done."

I frowned, but complied. I stretched as I got off the bed and Jake watched. I couldn't help but smile. I was going to like this new thing between me and Jake. Before leaving Jake kissed me very quickly and jumped off the balcony window, shredding his clothes as he changed in mid-air. Alice complained about him constantly ruining clothes, but I think she secretly like it though since it meant she was able to shop more frequently.

I walked over to the library Mom and Dad shared. It was a musty room, not just because the house was old as dirt but because of all the books. There was no ventilation system that could really compensate for the heavy load of old books those two kept on hand. It was simpler than the other libraries only because Mom and Dad had said it would be fine for Esme to focus on other projects in the house, good ventilation and shelving were really the only things important when it came to housing books.

Dad was the only one in the room, he was sitting in a huge leather chair in front of a carefully lit fire. The fence was high on it, protecting him from any flame or ember that would try to pop out from the hearth.

"Hey Daddy," I pulled the ottoman up next to him and sat down.

"Hey Nessie," he was still staring in to the dangerous flames.

I sat there, waiting for him to be the first to speak. To say something, anything. I would have been happy with him telling me that Jacob was a terrible person for me and that he was incredibly disappointed in me for being in love with him. I just wanted to him to talk. I wanted to know what he was thinking.

"Daddy, do you hate Jake?" I asked once I was fed up with the silence.

"No," was all he replied with. So not helping.

"Then why are you so angry? Did he run over you dog?" I stumbled over the last sentence once I realized what I was saying. "Seriously, Dad. Why do you have such a grudge against him."

He looked at me for the first since I entered the room. "I don't hate him. And he didn't run over my dog," he gave this exasperated look that was only reserved for me. "He's taking my daughter away from me. I don't get to be your protector anymore and that's hard for me. Sometimes I feel like I got gypped with you growing up so fast."

I held his hand and lifted up my shield. I still spoke out loud but this way he knew I wasn't bullshitting him. "You'll always be my daddy. No one can take me away from you. I'm sorry, but you're stuck with me. And I haven't needed protecting in a very long time," despite last night this was all very true, "I think I can really take care of myself now. Of course, the first time Jake does something stupid you can totally kick his ass."

"Don't swear, Renesemee."

I rolled my eyes and he finally smiled. I really still am your little girl. I'll always be your little girl. Even when I'm seven hundred years old. I'll still be the little girl you built a model town for and played tea party with. Jake isn't going to change any of that.

"I love you, Nessie."

"I love you too, Daddy."

Ignoring how ridiculous it looked, I climbed into his lap and we sat and watched the fire until it died, just like how we used to when I was little.

Things would be different from now on, that much I knew, but not everything had to change. Some changes were for the better… and anything bad? Well, that had to lead to something good. I just wasn't seeing it yet.

AN: I'm a terrible person, blah blah blah. Work and school took up a lot of time. When classes cause a 19-year-old to curl up and cry, writing has to take a second priority. As a consolation prize for a (oh, geeze) three-month gap in chapters I have two Nessie ficlets in the works right now. One with a baby Ness and one with the whole family. I hope to have those finished soon. I'm just happy to have this one done.

I had fun writing this. I liked getting to write in a smart-ass narrative for a change. I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did!

Much love,

Samantha