Renesmee groaned as she pulled herself from Rosalie's oversized bathtub. It took all her strength to do so and she didn't have much left. Bella had just left her a few moments ago and Renesmee was tempted to relax in the warm water for a while, but she was sleepy and she had no time for that.

She wrapped herself up in an oversized towel and began drying her hair. When she pulled the towel from her head, she saw her own reflection in the mirror. It was so bad, she could cry...if she had any tears left.

She ran a brush through her hair roughly, yanking on knots as she did. Her eyes were dull and sad, dark circles had formed underneath them like she hadn't slept in days. Her skin looked pale and lifeless. She looked as bad as Jacob had and she hadn't even been in an accident.

Renesmee dressed quickly, finding the outfit Alice had chosen. She was afraid it would be some fancy party dress since her aunts still acted like she was some little doll. But instead she chose light blue jeggings and a deep purple peplum top with the shoulders cut out. She shrugged, thought it was cute enough but not something she would've chosen.

She opened the bedroom door slowly, not wanting to talk to anyone. No one noticed her as she slipped down the stairs. She listened at the medical room door, but it didn't sound like Jacob was in recovery yet. Renesmee paused and wondered if she sneaked out the front door and went around to the back patio, could she see what was happening through the glass doors.

No one had discovered her yet, so she decided to go for it. As she made her way around the house, she smelled a bonfire and heard several voices. Then she saw them. It was all of the wolf pack, speaking in low voices and looking more solemn than she had ever seen before.

Seth turned and saw her approaching, a wide smile formed as she crossed the clearing. At first Renesmee longed to run to him, let him hold her and soothe her fears, but as she closed the distance, anger set in. She set her jaw and her gaze narrowed. When he was within reach, he held his arms out to but she ignored them and shoved hard against his chest instead.

He barely moved, but his expression changed. He was no longer happy to see her, instead concern and sadness took over his face. He wasn't angry with her, even when she flattened her palms against his chest and pushed him again.

The pack approached them now, but he waved them away. Seth didn't want anyone to touch her, no matter what she did to him. Renesmee crinkled her brow, upset that he wouldn't even fight back. "You should have told me!"

Seth's expression softened again, immediately understanding where her anger was coming from. "Nessie," he began, still reaching to comfort her.

She grabbed fistfuls of his shirt in a vain effort to shake him, but she no longer had the strength. "If I had known he wasn't phasing, I could have done something, Seth! But you didn't give me a chance," she paused to look at the rest of the pack, "None of you did. You just let him..."

"You weren't even speaking to him then, Ness," Paul reminded her.

"We had strict orders to never tell you," Jared added softly.

"We never agreed with what he was doing. Never," Quil admitted.

"But you never tried talking him out of it? Just stood by and kept your mouths shut?" she spat angrily.

The normally quiet Embry now spoke up. "No! We all talked to him, all the freaking time...we never stopped trying and hoping he would change his mind."

"He did change his mind," Sam's thunderous voice reminded her. "And we're not giving up hope."

She glanced at Seth now, her fists still balled up and gripping the front of his shirt. He pulled her hands away slowly, "We are all here for you, Renesmee. Jacob would want that. We are all here for anything you need and we're not going anywhere."

A pained expression took over her face now. Everything she thought was wrong. This was her family too and they loved her, flaws and all. The thought of that shamed her. Because she loved them too, flaws and all.

Seth smiled sadly and pulled her hands around his own waist. He was already sensing her oncoming breakdown, he knew her that well. He was truly her best friend. And when he wrapped her up in his arms, she pressed her forehead to his chest and began to shake.

Renesmee had no more tears to spare, but she sobbed just the same. Then she felt the warmth of the pack surrounding her. Giant hands rubbing her back, shoulder squeezes, gentle fingers smoothing her hair, all in an attempt to calm her down.

It was all so comforting and even though she didn't feel she deserved them, she accepted their embraces. They passed her around, each hug made her feel closer to Jacob...and caused an ache that made her miss him even more.

He's not dead.

She resolved to stop crying, stop feeling sorry for herself. He wasn't gone. There was still time. She didn't care how long he needed to recover, she vowed to spend every single moment for the rest of the time they had together, just loving him. Really, really loving him.

"Renesmee!"

Her head jerked toward the sound of her father's voice. It was so unlike him to shout. She ran toward the deck and bounded up the stairs. The pack hung back, all silent and shoulders tense with concern.

Renesmee's eyes were wide with anticipation. "How's he doing?"

Edward gave her a look of pity, but she wouldn't accept it. She shook her head slowly, pushed past him and yanked the glass door open. She rushed to his side, noticing they had replaced the table with a real hospital bed. His body looked stronger now, even though his eyes stayed shut.

There was only a tiny space next to him, but she didn't care. She pulled back the sheet and climbed in next to him, careful not to touch him or hurt him. She inched into the crook of his arm, pulling his hand around to rest in her hair, her cheek barely pressed against his chest. She slid her hand up to his face, placed her palm to his cheek, and flooded his mind with every possible memory she could muster about their lifetime together.

Renesmee tipped her head back slowly, aching to connect with him. She watched his face as the memories continued to flood in, some she hadn't thought about in years. "Please come back to me, baby."

His mind was filled with visions from the last few days with him. All the sweet hugs and kisses and intimate moments between them filled her thoughts and she sighed as she willed him to see them too.

Jacob's breathing increased just a bit and his eyelashes fluttered against his cheeks. "Jacob..." His eyes opened slowly, still heavily lidded as he focused on her face. She gasped as he smiled down at her dreamily.

"Oh God, Jake! Please stay with me...I love you," she paused when his eyes began to droop closed. "No, Jacob...don't leave me..."

Carlisle stepped closer now, checking his pulse. "He's fighting, Renesmee. I don't even know how he was conscious with all the morphine we gave him."

"Do not lose hope, sweetie," Edward encouraged. "He will come back to us."

Edward glanced at Carlisle, reading his thoughts and hoping what he just told his daughter was true.
........
Renesmee raised her head slowly. She blinked quickly and tried to focus on her surroundings. She smoothed her hand over Jacob's chest, felt his strong heartbeat and nodded.

She carefully pushed off from the bed, cautiously avoided touching him. She rested on the edge for a moment, noticing the quiet. No wolf pack, no vampires, no Billy, and no doctors. It was just the two of them.

Before she shoved off the bed, she glanced back at Jacob. Everytime she left his side, she double checked that he was really still out. She always hoped he would feel she was gone and reach for her. But no such luck. He was still unconscious.

Renesmee padded to the restroom directly off the medical room. For the past three days, this was as far as she would get from him. Her family had stopped asking her to go upstairs to shower. They left her plates of food, knowing she wouldn't eat it. After the first three times, they stopped carrying her out of the room when she fell asleep in Jacob's bed.

In the rare times she left his side, she left the door cracked open, only when absolutely necessary. Otherwise the door was left wide open. She needed to see him and let him see her in case he opened his eyes. And she never gave up hope that he would.

Renesmee washed her face, brushed her teeth, and tried to do something with her hair. The dark circles under her eyes were improving, but only because she had spent so much time sleeping next to Jacob. It wasn't restful sleep, because every little movement or sound would send her bolting straight up.

She moved across the room, pausing at a plate left for her by Esme. She debated eating something, opted for an apple slice and three grapes. It made her feel guilty. She promised to eat more once Jacob could join her. Her family knew she should be hunting too. It would keep her strong, but she still wouldn't leave long enough to do it.

Renesmee sighed when she paused at the edge of his bed. She smoothed his sheets, ran her fingers through his hair, and cradled his face in her hands. Like she had done countless times before, she begged him to return to her. "I need you, baby. You promised to never leave me." Her lips sneered angrily as she gulped back a lump in her throat. "You promised!"

Renesmee swiped furiously at her tears when she heard the glass door open behind her. She didn't have to look because she already knew who was coming in. The temperature rose slowly as the wolf pack filed in. Normally, they only visited two at a time, but tonight most of them came. Sam and Leah were the exception of course, as well as Collin and Brady, because there needed to be someone left to run patrols. But this was the original group, Seth, Jared, Paul, Embry and Quil.

She remembered that this was a Friday night, the night they normally spent on the beach having a bonfire. She suppressed a small smile when she realized they wanted to spend the evening here with her, watching Jacob sleep. She tried not to feel bad, their love and understanding continued to amaze her.

Seth sidled up to Renesmee first, wanting his hug. The rest of the pack was used to this by now. They knew that Seth was her best friend and there was no reason to suspect anything more. Their friendship continued to give her strength because Seth understood her. He never lost his patience or got angry with her regardless of what she put him through.

They stood side by side in silence now, watching Jacob's sleeping figure. They asked her for updates, but there were none. Carlisle did extensive testing that provided no reason to believe Jacob wouldn't regain consciousness. It was just a matter of waiting.

Some of the tribal elders believed that ancient spirits were warring for his soul. But Renesmee didn't know what to think. She was just tired of waiting.

Renesmee listened absently as his friends told stories about Jacob. It was their favorite past time these days. She laughed lightly as Quil talked about how awkward Jacob had been with the girls in school. She could barely imagine him like that. He always seemed so smooth to her.

Paul sauntered over to her now, pulling her from Seth's protective arm around her shoulder. "Remember when Jacob attacked me because Bella punched me and I phased in front of her?"

Renesmee pressed her lips together, always feeling strange when people discussed Jacob's relationship with her mother. She tried not to make too much of it, knowing that they were like her and Seth were now. But she hated to hear how much he loved her, because she despised being jealous of her own mom.

Paul noticed the awkward silence and suddenly felt bad for her. "Sorry, Ness...I didn't mean to..."

Renesmee waved off his concern and turned to give him a hug. Paul smiled widely when she did. He spun her around once and dipped her back, cradling her head with one hand and gripping her waist with the other. He leaned in slowly, eyes opening expectantly as she laughed. "Paul..."

Quil chuckled. "God, do you know how hard Jacob would kick your ass for that?"

Jared commented wistfully, "I wish he would."

Paul's eyes brightened and his lips curved into a devilish grin. "Maybe I'll do it, Jacob. Better wake up and stop me," Paul paused, leaning closer to Renesmee.

Renesmee furrowed her brow as his lips inched closer. "Paul, come on..."

"I'm gonna put it on her, Black. My kiss is gonna blow her mind...better hurry," he teased.

Renesmee wondered how far he would actually go. She hoped she wouldn't have to hurt him. The entire room held their breath, eyes trained on Paul, probably making mental bets about how this would all turn out.

"I call bullshit."

Paul nearly dropped her when he heard the voice cut across the room. All eyes went to Embry, completely shocked that he had said anything, let alone that.

Embry stood and crossed the room with a purpose. "You won't do it, Paul. You would never betray Rachel like that. Jacob knows that."

Paul finally brought Renesmee to an upright position. He swung around to face Embry, who seemed to be determined to carry out this fight, which she found ridiculous. This was just a joke. She couldn't understand why Embry was taking this so seriously.

"You need to step aside, Paul."

Paul sneered as Embry stepped closer. "Since when are you the playboy of this group?"

Embry chuckled. "Do you realize I'm the only one of us that hasn't imprinted yet? I'm the only one who can take care of her when he's gone. So step aside."

Paul laughed. "I'm not letting you touch her."

"Guys, this is stupid. Why are you fighting?" Renesmee finally interjected. She turned to look at Jacob, shaking her head at how far his friends would go to bring him back.

She felt her anger bubble up when Paul and Embry started shoving each other so close to Jacob's bed. She stepped between them and seethed, "Take it outside!"

"Just get out, Paul," Embry ordered, elbowing Paul, and pulling Renesmee to his chest and leaning in for a kiss.

Now Renesmee had to get ugly. She smacked him...hard. Then she shoved him and similar to what happened with Seth earlier, her force did nothing to move him. Renesmee stumbled back onto Jacob's bed and stared up at Embry, her eyes revealing an anger he was lucky enough to have never seen before.

Embry's eyes were still trained on her and when Jacob's shaky hand slid around Renesmee's waist and pulled her gently closer, he noticed. "What the..."

Renesmee looked down and saw his hand too, hardly trusting this was real and whirled around because she couldn't believe it. Even before his eyes started to open, they heard his throaty growl.

"I'm...Not...Dead...Yet."

Renesmee blinked furiously and brushed his hair back with her hands. "Jacob..."

His eyes opened slowly and Renesmee gasped. He focused in on Embry immediately. Jacob bared his teeth and growled again. "Did you hear me?"

Embry's displayed a huge smile as he nodded happily. "I heard you. We all heard you. You're back!"

The entire pack began to whoop and howl. No one had to tell the Cullens because they heard the wolves and when Edward and Bella rushed through the door, they found Jacob reaching for Renesmee and kissing her gently. And neither one of them had ever been more relieved.

.....
A/N: this was probably most favorite chapter so far. I hope you enjoy it too. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!