Renesmee slowly awoke, her hands reaching for Jacob, but he wasn’t next to her.  Suddenly she wondered if last night had been just a dream.  When she rolled over and buried her nose in the pillow next to her, she knew he had been there, his scent was unmistakable.

She sat up slowly, her body was stiff and sore, most likely from sleeping so soundly in one position all night long...in his arms all night long.  Her plan went horribly awry when she allowed him to comfort and hold her.  It was selfish because she just couldn’t imagine sleeping and not feeling those arms around her.

When she heard voices in the kitchen, she went to the mirror to see her hair was a tangled mess.  She had gone to bed with wet hair and it was hopeless now.  Renesmee pushed it away from her face at least and went off in search of Jacob.

“Are you sure?” Jacob asked incredulously.

“Absolutely.  Come back to the house when you’re ready and we can talk more.”

Renesmee rounded the corner to find Jacob talking to Carlisle.  “Morning, Grandpa,” she gushed as he wrapped her in a hug.

“Good morning, darling,” he replied as he released her.  “I’ll see you later,” Carlisle told Jacob as he pointed at him.

Nessie shrugged and grinned at Jacob.  “What was that about?”

“Breakfast?”

She nodded and he pulled a chair out for her, urging her to sit.  “Coming right up.”

He lifted the lids off of several pans on the stove and her nose was assaulted with all the wonderful smells.  “Eggs?” he offered.

“Sure.”

“Sausage?”

“Okay.”

“Pancakes?”

“Jacob!” she gasped when he set a heaping plate in front of her.  “You made enough for an army.  And why are you cooking for me?”

He shrugged as he sat in the chair next to her, his body facing hers.  His arm was draped over the back of her chair, reminding her of all their driving lessons.  “I thought you might be hungry.”

She narrowed her gaze at him, trying to figure him out.  “But seriously, why did you do this?”

Jacob shrugged, stealing a piece of bacon from her plate and munching on it.  “I got a lot to make up for, so I’m starting with this.  Enjoy it.  I love you.”

She watched him get up and leave the table.  She shook her head quickly and followed him out, catching up to him before he could reach the front door.  “Wait…” she grabbed his hand and pulled him close to her.

He stood impossibly close to her, his gaze boring through her, his mouth open and tongue peeking out between his teeth as a smile began to form at the corners of his mouth.  He looked down at their hands and chuckled.  “I thought you said no touching.”

“I can touch you,” she explained, her face emotionless.  When she pulled her hand from his grasp, he pressed his other hand to the small of her back and pulled her to his chest.  The look on his face dared her to challenge him.

“I gotta go,” he breathed.

“Why?”

Jacob smiled widely, thrilled that she even cared.  “I’m being released today.  You’re free, Nessie.  I’ll be out of your hair later on today.  Happy?”

Her face fell.  He kissed her cheek and released her and he was out the door before she could say another word.
……..
Jacob had received a clean bill of health from Carlisle and was told he could go home whenever he was ready.  His ribs were nearly healed and the only thing he hadn’t been cleared for was phasing or riding motorcycles.  Jacob had packed the few belongings he had there and waited for Nessie to arrive.  It was almost dinner time and he hadn’t seen her since breakfast.

He began to second guess the way he had spoken to her this morning.  He knew that she had already decided to stay with him if he went home, but did she still feel the same way now?  He couldn’t stand to wait another moment wondering, so he exited out to the deck and ran right into Bella.

“Where’s the fire?”

Jacob furrowed his brow seriously.  “I just need to see Ness.  I’m leaving soon.”

“She’s not here or back at the cottage.  She’s been gone all day.”

His shoulders slumped.  “She’s not even gonna tell me bye?”

Bella shrugged her shoulders.  “She asked me to give you this.”

Jacob took a gift bag from Bella, his curiosity was piqued. “What’s this?”

“I don’t know!  Just open it, you dork,” Bella exclaimed.

Jacob laughed and peeked inside the bag.  He found new jeans, a soft black v-neck t-shirt, underwear, socks, and a new pair of boots.  Then he saw the note.

Jake -

Although I’ve enjoyed the last few weeks seeing you in nothing but pajama pants, I thought maybe you might want to go home in some real clothes. Enjoy …

Love, Your Ness ♡ ♡ ♡

P.S. - good luck

Jacob read the note three times, each time feeling a little sadder.  Was this goodbye?  It couldn’t be, he needed her so badly.

“Just tell me where she is, Bella,” he demanded.  “I gotta tell her something...please.”

“Honey, I really don’t know.  What’s wrong?”

Jacob saw Jared and Paul walking up and he nodded to them.  “I’m gonna go change.  They’re my ride home,” he explained when Bella gave him a strange look.
……
When Jacob climbed the stairs and walked out the front door of the Cullen house, he was greeted by the whole family, all wanting to wish him luck on his recovery.  He thanked them all for their hospitality and gave Esme a giant hug for keeping him fed.  “You’re welcome here anytime,” she gushed.

Edward even made an appearance, shaking his hand and wishing him luck. Jacob decided that he looked too happy, meaning Nessie wouldn’t be coming to stay with him, which made him sad.  He glanced toward the cottage one last time, in hopes that she was just late and was still coming to at least say goodbye.  But she never appeared, so he climbed into Paul’s Bronco with Jared and said goodbye one last time.

The three of them rode in silence for a while until Jared said, “Kinda weird that Ness never showed up, huh?”

“Jared...do you ever know when to shut up?” Paul groaned.

“What, Paul?  Shit, you were thinking it too!”

Paul scowled and then nodded.  “Okay, maybe I was, but I would’ve been smart enough not to say anything, bonehead.”

“Just cuz you feel guilty about grabbing Nessie’s ass last night, you dirty dog!  Wonder what Rachel’s gonna say when she finds out…”

“I swear to God, Jared...when I get out of this car…”

“Stop,” Jacob grumbled, never tearing his eyes away from the scenery.

“So...you slept in Nessie’s bed last night...how did that go?” Jared asked, a little too eagerly.

Jacob chuckled.  “We just slept, pervert.  She’s really mad at me.  She doesn’t even want me touching her...let alone...that.”

“Damn, Black.  You’re never gonna get any at this rate,” Paul teased, giving Jacob a sideways glance.

“Shut up!” Jacob punctuated with a swift punch to Paul’s bicep.

“Damn, dude, just chill,” Paul grumbled as he rubbed his arm.  “At least it seems like you’re getting your strength back.”

That made Jacob smile for a moment.  “I don’t really care about anything other than getting Ness back.  That’s all that matters now.”

“You probably should’ve thought about that before you sent Embry after her.  Seth said he walked in on them about to kiss…” Jared reported.

“Oh, shit, really?” Paul gasped.

Jacob scowled.  “You guys gossip too much.  And she wasn’t gonna kiss him.”

“How do you know, Jake?”

Jacob sighed, his face contorted painfully.  “She showed me,” he reluctantly admitted.

“Oh, burn!” they both exclaimed in unison.
…..
Jacob breathed a sigh of relief when they pulled up to his cabin.  It looked smaller somehow, but it still made him happy to know it was all his.  “Home sweet home, Jake,” Jared said happily.

Jacob nodded as he got out of the Bronco and stretched.  “It’s good to be home.”

Paul slapped him on the back and took his bag from him.  “You bet it is!”

When the door opened, Jacob grinned uncontrollably.  The scent of fresh flowers and candles and clean laundry filled his nostrils.  His small home was clean, vases of roses sat on every flat surface.  He smiled when he walked into the kitchen and found the refrigerator fully stocked with all his favorite foods. 

He sauntered back into the living room and gushed, “This is amazing…” he paused when he saw his Nessie standing near the fireplace, he couldn’t even breathe.

When he crossed the room to be with her, she sighed, appreciating the way his new clothes fit his body perfectly.  “You look good,” she announced, pressing her lips together in an effort to suppress a smile.

Jacob glanced back at Paul and Jared as they stood in the doorway, grinning like idiots.  “You guys good?  Or…”

They laughed, stumbling over each other to get out of the way.  “Yeah, we’ll just go...somewhere…” Jared joked as they rushed out the door.

Renesmee laughed softly as Jacob sunk into his favorite chair and she stood in front of him.  He pressed his lips together as his eyes scanned her body appreciatively.  He lifted his hands slowly, fingers flirting with the bottom edge of her short sundress.  He stared up at her innocently, but she knew better. He was up to no good.

“No touching,” she reminded him, feeling the warmth radiating from his hands and he hadn’t even touched her skin yet.

“So…” he began as he stood slowly.  “You’re gonna show me all this skin and not let me touch you?”  He dragged his fingertips over her hips, up her arms, his touch so featherlight, she wondered if it was real.  Renesmee gasped when he hooked his fingers around the straps of her dress and let them fall over her shoulders.

Jacob’s gaze was wildly intense.  “You didn’t answer my question.”

“I...I...was wondering what you thought of how we fixed up your house,” she stammered as he continued to stare.

“We?” he echoed.  “Who’s we?”

“Well me, of course and Grandma Esme, and my mom helped too,” she explained, struggling to think when Jacob twisted his fingers through her hair and flashed her a killer smile.

“I love it.  It feels so good to be home,” he lowered his gaze at her, his eyelids heavy with desire.  “You feel so good to me too, Ness.”

Renesmee couldn't hide her smile.  She had made everyone lie to him about where she was and it was torture to spend the whole day apart, but it was worth it to see how happy he was to be home.  Now she hoped he wanted her here just as much.

When Jacob dropped his lips to her bare shoulder and began kissing his way up to her ear, her knees nearly gave out.  She tilted her head, capturing his mouth between her shoulder and cheek, effectively cutting off his kissing trail, but that only encouraged him further.

“Let’s go,” she demanded, sliding her straps back up her shoulders as she moved toward the open front door.

He reached for her, but she slipped through his fingers, bounding down the front porch steps.  When Jacob caught up to her, he caught her around the waist with one hand, his other hand pulling her hair away from her neck.

“You really don’t seem to get the whole ‘don’t touch me’ thing, do you?” she asked, casting her gaze over her shoulder.

“Maybe I do,” he began, pausing to spin her around slowly to face him.  “Maybe I just don’t care,” he murmured, his eyes gazing at her so intensely.  He lowered his hands to the back of her knees, never breaking eye contact as he slid his fingers under her dress, up over the back of her thighs and her ass, pausing to squeeze and jerk her forward and against his body.  She began panting as he added, “Or maybe you just look like you need me...to touch you.”

He immediately dropped his hands and told her, “But I could be wrong.”

Renesmee scowled at him, her knees nearly giving out when he released her.  He was too good at this game.  “Come on,” she ordered, making her way around to the back of his cabin.

He rushed to catch up to her, reaching for a long hanging branch from a tree by his kitchen window and holding it out of their way.  She smiled up at him, constantly amazed by his kindness.  “Close your eyes,” she ordered as they neared the backyard.

Jacob squeezed his eyes shut and sighed, his mouth poised for a kiss.  For a second, she was tempted to press her lips to his, especially when he had that adorable look on his face.  She leaned in and whispered, “Hold that thought.”

She wrapped both arms around his bicep and encouraged him to press on. “Keep your eyes closed...I have a surprise for you.”

“Oh yeah,” he nodded, grinning like an idiot.  “I hope it’s a hot tub,” he murmured.

“Not exactly,” she laughed, guiding him a bit further and pulling on his arm when they had arrived at his surprise.

“Not a hot tub?” he pouted, his eyes still closed as he buried his face in her neck and breathed, “But I wanted to get you naked again tonight.”

His voice was so low, she was sure there was no way anyone else could have heard him, but when Jacob heard a chuckle, his body stiffened.  “Open your eyes, baby,” she coaxed gently.

Jacob raised his head slowly, eyes opening even slower.  He looked around to find his friends gathered around him, most holding back from howling with laughter.  “Ha, ha,” he commented sarcastically.  “What are you all doing here?”

“It’s your surprise,” Quil gushed, wrapping his arm around Jacob and ushered him over to the small garage the pack had built behind his house. “It was my idea...well me and Embry.  We thought you could get back into working on cars again.”

Embry approached him now, eyes narrowed and face serious.  “Here’s your share of the money we made on those repairs at Billy’s,” Embry offered him a white envelope filled with cash.  When Jacob didn’t reach for it, he thrust it into Jacob’s hand and uttered, “Just take it.”

Jacob scowled as he inspected the money, more than what he had expected.  “It’s too much, man.  I can’t take that.  I didn’t even do the work.”

Quil shook his head.  “Take it, Jake.  Those were all your customers.  We just finished them up for you.”

When Jacob hesitated, Quil added, “Take it!  You gotta little wifey to take care of now.”

Renesmee scoffed as she walked away from Kim, Emily, and Rachel.  “Who are you calling ‘wifey,’ Quil?  We almost broke up yesterday.  Nobody’s walking down the aisle here.”

“It’s a term of endearment, Cullen.  Geez, you need to calm down,” Quil teased as Jacob pulled Nessie against his side.

“Actually,” Rachel began as Paul wrapped his arm around her waist and they joined the group.  “Paul and I are getting married...so dust off your suits, boys.  It’s gonna be a beach wedding.”

The girls squealed all taking turns hugging Rachel and inspecting her ring.  The guys celebrated as only the pack could, shoving each other and attempting head locks on each other.

Renesmee sighed as she watched them.  She noticed Leah watching them too.  “Do you think they’ll ever grow up?” Ness asked lightly.

Leah cracked a small smile and shrugged.  “God, I sure hope not.”

Renesmee chuckled, catching a glimpse of Jacob smiling.  He mouthed, I love you.

Renesmee smiled wider and nodded.  Me too. So much.