Blast from the Past

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

Part One-A Shocking Surprise

It was the last call of the day. Jacob was just about to lock up the garage and head home when it came through. His boss yelled out to him that a woman was stranded by the side of the road, halfway between Port Angeles and Forks and needed rescuing.

"Can't Karl do it?" Jacob complained, wiping his hands clean on an old rag.

"Nah, he sneaked out early. Looks like it's up to you," Jim Dowling gave him a smirk and threw the keys to the pick up truck over in his direction. Jacob caught them easily, twirling them around his fingers as he wondered what stupid female had just ruined his evening. He had plans for tonight.

"What's the woman's name?" He asked Jim reluctantly. He hated working for Dowling, but with jobs becoming scarce on the reservation and with the current economic downturn he considered himself lucky to be in employment at all. He had always hoped to run his own garage one day, but his dreams had crashed and burned as his dad had become increasingly unwell over the years; his medical bills escalating as a result.

"Bella something or other, I didn't quite catch the surname. She sounded quite anxious. I told her I would send the best. She has a young kid with her so it would be a good idea to watch your language." Jim told him.

Jacob inhaled deeply at the mention of the name Bella. Even after all these years hearing her name still had the power to make his chest hurt and his heart beat erratically. There was no way it could be her, she had left Forks and his life six years ago. She was not even alive anymore, she had been hell bent on ending hers so that she could live an eternity with that damn bloodsucker. Jacob shoved the thought of his first love out of his head. He had fallen apart when she left after stomping all over his heart, there was no way he was going to waste another moment of his life thinking and yearning after Bella Swan again.

"Well you better get a move on," Jim prodded him, pulling Jacob out of his reverie.

"Yeah," he muttered. "I'm going."

Jim shook his head as he watched the tall, muscular figure of his best employee stroll out of the garage. It wasn't easy working with such a moralistic young man. Jim had never always kept to the right side of the law when dealing with his customers. Young Jacob Black had butted heads with him over the years pulling him up on his actions. Even though Jim deeply resented the young man for it, he had to grudgingly admit that Jacob had increased his clientèle tenfold since he had started working for him. People trusted Jacob and as for the women. Jim smiled to himself. He had never had so much eye candy coming to his business in his life. All of the young girls brought their cars for regular servicing just so they could engage Jacob in conversation and flirt with him, not that the idiot ever showed much interest.

Jim was interrupted in his musings as the phone rang. He gave a heavy sigh and answered the call.

XXXXXX

Jacob sighted the old Chevalier parked up by the side of the road. He could see smoke pouring from the opened hood of the wreck as he pulled up behind it. He noticed the kid that Jim had warned him about standing to one side of the car clutching onto a small bear. He could be no more than three. The woman was hidden behind the raised hood of the car and he could only see the barest glimpse of the top of her head. He swallowed thickly when he saw she had the same colour hair as his Bella. He cursed himself for thinking of her again. He just wanted to get this over with and get home.

He opened the door to the pick up and jumped down easily from the high seat, slamming the door behind him. He didn't even take one step forward when a familiar scent hit him like an arrow to the heart. The woman emerged into view, bending down quickly and picking up the young boy as she did so. She raised her head and looked over at him with her beautiful brown eyes, her long silky hair framing her pale face. The smile that she had in place to greet him fell from her face as she realised just who her rescuer was.

"Jacob," she breathed as she stared at him in shock.

"Bells," Jacob managed to gasp out as he stared right back at her, his heart hammering in his chest.

XXXXXX

"Momma, what's that?" The young boy in Bella's arms fidgeted as he looked up at the tall man staring at his mother with a funny look on his face.

"It's not what's that, it's who is that," Bella chided the boy softly. Her own eyes were still riveted on Jacob's as she clutched the young boy closer to her chest. "His name is Jacob."

The boy's face brightened at this piece of news. He gazed at the tall man with much more interest, his eyes the exact shade of Bella's, studying Jacob intently. "You a copycat," the boy said after a while.

"Huh," Jacob felt lost for words. He was still stunned by the fact that Bella was here, still a living breathing human and with a child no less, who was obviously not Edward fucking Cullen's. A flash of jealousy tore through him as he wondered what man had fathered the boy. It seemed that Bella's protestations that the bloodsucker was her one true love were just bullshit.

"You a copycat," the boy said again, pulling Jacob out of his dark thoughts.

"Why do you say that?" Jacob asked huskily, finally regaining the use of his vocal chords.

"That my name. Momma why has man got my name? Did he steal it?" The boy frowned in annoyance. His resemblance to his mother astounded Jacob once again.

"Hush, J. No the man didn't steal your name. I called you after him. This is Jacob Black, my best friend in the whole world. You remember me telling you about him, right." Bella kissed the top of the boy's head as she peeked up at Jacob from under her long lashes.

J beamed at this piece of news. He clapped his small hands in delight, dropping his bear in the process. "Super Jake to the rescue." He said in a pretend deep voice.

Despite the surreal situation, Jacob found himself grinning at the boy. He strode forward and bent down to pick up the bear and handed it to J. The small boy took it and hugged it tightly to his chest. "See Billy Bear, super Jake saved yer." He babbled.

Jacob's eyes travelled to Bella's anxious ones. He had never dreamed that he would be standing so close to her again. "Have a drink with me?" He found himself asking.

The anxiety left Bella's eyes and her shoulders relaxed. "Yeah, I would like that. J is due something to eat anyway." She confessed.

Jacob just nodded. He gazed at Bella for another few tense seconds before returning his attention to J. "Hey, have you ever ridden in a pick up truck?" He asked him.

"Is it the trucky thingy that turns into a airyplane, Super Jake?" J asked him eagerly.

Jacob raised his eyebrows as he glanced sideways at Bella. Just what sort of stories had she been telling her son? He saw her give him a wistful smile. "No J," she said. "That truck is at Grandpa's house. It's the red Chevy remember?"

"Red Cheffy, I hate red." He grouched.

This bold statement made both Bella and Jacob laugh. Their eyes met briefly, and just for a moment, they were Jake and Bells again.

XXXXXX

Forks diner was quiet at this time of day. The lunch crowd had dispersed and it was still another hour before the regulars appeared for their evening meal. Bella recalled that her father used to frequent this joint. Until she had returned home to live with him at the age of seventeen, Charlie had never eaten a home cooked meal. She looked around with interest as she slid into a private booth. Not much had changed, the décor was still the same and she smiled when she saw Cora, the waitress who had a crush on her dad, still waiting on tables.

"What are you smiling about?" Jacob asked her curiously as he sat opposite her. J had insisted he wanted to sit next to his storybook hero, so he was wedged into Jacob's side, looking up at him in awe, waiting for him to do something spectacular.

Bella shrugged. "Just remembering," she replied softly.

Jacob didn't ask her anything further. He picked up the familiar menu and pretended to study it. "Do you want the usual?" He said unthinkingly.

"Yeah," Bella felt like she was eighteen again, sharing a meal with her best friend in the whole world; the boy who had saved her.

"And what about you J? What would you like?" He turned to look at Bella's son. He took a deep breath at this thought. He still couldn't wrap his head around it. She was a mother. As much as he wanted to resent the kid, he couldn't. J reminded him so much of himself at that age. He pondered why Bella had named him Jacob. He glanced at her left hand. She wasn't wearing a wedding or engagement ring. Relief washed over him, so she wasn't married then. His eyes lingered on her slim fingers as they flipped through the menu. He nearly gasped aloud when he saw a flash of silver as the bracelet he had given her all those years ago slipped out from under her shirt sleeve. The small wolf charm dangled from the chain.

"You still wear it?" He couldn't help asking.

Bella's eyes locked onto what he was staring at. "Yes, I have never taken it off since the day you gave it to me." She revealed.

Jacob reached out and took the small charm in his fingers, stroking the smooth wood. He unconsciously let his fingers wander onto the skin of her wrist for a brief moment, running his thumb across the palm of her hand.

"I wanna burger and lotsa frees," J announced loudly, interrupting the moment.

Jacob snatched his hand away, placing it in his lap. "You want fries, huh?" He said absently.

"Frees," J crossed his arms and glared up at his hero. "Momma, Super Jake don' know words."

Bella smiled lovingly at J. "Sweetie, they are called fries, not frees."

"Frees," J protested stubbornly.

"Fries," Bella repeated.

"Frees,"

Jacob had to smile as Bella and her son bantered back and forth. It sounded like a familiar argument between them. After a while Bella caved in and agreed that they were called 'frees' and not 'fries.' J, happy again now that he had got his own way, began to babble at Jacob telling him all about his stuffed bear, asking him if he could borrow his cape.

XXXXXX

The food had been eaten and J was lying against Jacob's side, drinking in his warmth. His thumb was in his mouth as he dozed. It seemed the long day and meeting his storybook super hero had worn him out. Jacob and Bella had ordered coffees and now sat in awkward silence, wondering how to kick start the conversation now that J was not awake to act as a buffer between them.

As always it was Jacob who made the first move. "What happened? How come you're even alive and," he glanced down at J, "with a son."

Bella dropped her eyes from him. She focused on her coffee, stirring it quickly with her spoon, her panic making her hand shake. Jacob saw her struggling and reached out, catching hold of her hand. The warmth from his touch shot up her arm and she raised her eyes back to his, reassured when she failed to see the anger that she had been expecting.

"It's a long story, Jake, and not one I want to divulge here in a public place." She whispered.

Jacob could understand that. Talking about vampires and werewolves like it was a part of every day life was not something to be discussed with prying ears. "I understand," he conceded. "But you can at least answer me this, are you still legally married to Cullen?"

Bella shook her head. "No, it was annulled years ago."

Jacob felt relieved at this news. The constriction around his heart eased. "Is he or any of them still in your life?"

"No, I haven't seen any of them since my mom got sick." She admitted.

"Renee got sick? Charlie never said..." he replied in shock. "Is she okay?"

Tears welled up in Bella's eyes. "My mom died three years ago after giving birth to J. She found out she was suffering with cancer when she had her first scan. Phil had already left her by this point. He never wanted to be a father. My mom couldn't cope, so when I found out, I immediately went to help her. I ended up staying. She was a mess, the pregnancy was difficult, she was losing weight and constantly being sick. It turns out she was suffering with more than just the morning sickness like we thought." She whispered sadly.

Jacob was stunned. He had not expected this at all. So little J was not Bella's son but her mothers. "I am so sorry Bells. I wish you would have called me. I could have helped." He told her gently, squeezing her hand.

Bella gave him an odd look. "But I did call. Your dad told me that you didn't want to speak to me and to leave you alone."

Jacob felt his chest tighten, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I never even knew that you had called me. He never told me anything." He tried hard to contain the anger that was welling up in his gut.

"Oh, I'm sorry Jake. I could understand where your dad was coming from, I..."

"He had no right," He seethed. J stirred beside him at his raised voice. He took deep breaths to compose himself. "I'm sorry, Bells." He muttered.

Bella took his shaking hand between her own. "It's alright. I'm alright. I adopted J after my mom died. I have raised him ever since. He thinks I am his real mother." She said quietly, looking at J fondly.

"I always knew you would be a great mom," Jacob said sincerely.

"I never knew that I wanted to be. He is the best thing that ever happened to me." She declared proudly. Jacob thought how beautiful she looked as she said this. She had matured into a stunning woman.

"Why did Charlie never mention any of this to me?" Jacob asked after a while.

Bella sighed. "That was me. I begged him not to. After what your dad told me I decided it was best that I made sure to stay out of your life permanently."

Jacob rested his head on their joined hands. So much time had been wasted. He wanted to know everything, but they couldn't talk in the diner. J was beginning to wake up.

"Are you staying at Charlie's?"

Bella nodded. "Yes, I don't usually. But as J got older he was begging to see where Grandpa lives. Normally dad comes to me."

"Can I come back with you so we can talk some more?" He pleaded with her.

Bella gave him a small smile. "Yeah, I was hoping you'd ask. I've really missed you Jake." She admitted.

"Me too honey. Me too." Jacob gave her one of his sunny grins before gently picking up a sleeping J in his strong arms and leading the way out of the diner; Bella walking close by his side.

A/N-Thanks for reading. Do you want more?