"So I chose option three. Which turned out to be the worst mistake of my very long life, as you know. I chose to take myself out of her world, hoping to force her into the first alternative. It didn't work, and it very nearly killed us both.
"What do I have left but the fourth option? It's what she wants - at least, she thinks she does. I've been trying to delay her, to give her time to find a reason to change her mind, but she's very . . . stubborn. You know that. I'll be lucky to stretch this out a few more months. She has a horror of getting older, and her birthday is in September. . . ."
"I like option one," Jacob muttered.
Edward didn't respond.
"You know exactly how much I hate to accept this," Jacob whispered slowly, "but I can see that you do love her . . . in your way. I can't argue with that anymore.
"Given that, I don't think you should give up on the first alternative, not yet. I think there's a very good chance that she would be okay. After time. You know, if she hadn't jumped off a cliff in March . . . and if you'd waited another six months to check on her. . . . Well, you might have found her reasonably happy. I had a game plan."
Edward chuckled. "Maybe it would have worked. It was a well thought-out plan."
"Yeah." Jake sighed. "But . . . ," suddenly he was whispering so fast the words got tangled, "give me a year, bl - Edward. I really think I could make her happy. She's stubborn, no one knows that better than I do, but she's capable of healing. She would have healed before. And she could be human, with Charlie and Renée, and she could grow up, and have kids and . . . be Bella.
"You love her enough that you have to see the advantages of that plan. She thinks you're very unselfish . . . are you really? Can you consider the idea that I might be better for her than you are?"
"I have considered it," Edward answered quietly. "In some ways, you would be better suited for her than another human. Bella takes some looking after, and you're strong enough that you could protect her from herself, and from everything that conspires against her. You have done that already, and I'll owe you for that for as long as I live - forever - whichever comes first. . . .
"I even asked Alice if she could see that - see if Bella would be better off with you. She couldn't, of course. She can't see you, and then Bella's sure of her course, for now.
"But I'm not stupid enough to make the same mistake I made before, Jacob. I won't try to force her into that first option again. As long as she wants me, I'm here."
"And if she were to decide that she wanted me?" Jacob challenged. "Okay, it's a long shot, I'll give you that."
"I would let her go."
"Just like that?"
"In the sense that I'd never show her how hard it was for me, yes. But I would keep watch. You see, Jacob, you might leave her someday. Like Sam and Emily, you wouldn't have a choice. I would always be waiting in the wings, hoping for that to happen."
Jacob snorted quietly. "Well, you've been much more honest than I had any right to expect . . . Edward. Thanks for letting me in your head."
"As I said, I'm feeling oddly grateful for your presence in her life tonight. It was the least I could do. . . . You know, Jacob, if it weren't for the fact that we're natural enemies and that you're also trying to steal away the reason for my existence, I might actually like you."
"Maybe . . . if you weren't a disgusting vampire who was planning to suck out the life of the girl I love . . . well, no, not even then."
Edward chuckled.
"Can I ask you something?" Edward said after a moment.
"Why would you have to ask?"
"I can only hear if you think of it. It's just a story that Bella seemed reluctant to tell me about the other day. Something about a third wife . . . ?"
"What about it?"
Edward didn't answer, listening to the story in Jacob's head. I heard his low hiss in the darkness.
"What?" Jacob demanded again.
"Of course," Edward seethed. "Of course! I rather wish your elders had kept that story to themselves, Jacob."
"You don't like the leeches being painted as the bad guys?" Jacob mocked. "You know, they are. Then and now."
"I really couldn't care less about that part. Can't you guess which character Bella would identify with?"
It took Jacob a minute. "Oh. Ugh. The third wife. Okay, I see your point."
"She wants to be there in the clearing. To do what little she can, as she puts it." He sighed. "That was the secondary reason for my staying with her tomorrow. She's quite inventive when she wants something."
"You know, your military brother gave her the idea just as much as the story did."
"Neither side meant any harm," Edward whispered, peace-making now.
"And when does this little truce end?" Jacob asked. "First light? Or do we wait until after the fight?"
There was a pause as they both considered.
"First light," they whispered together, and then laughed quietly.
"Sleep well, Jacob," Edward murmured. "Enjoy the moment."
It was quiet again, and the tent held still for a few minutes. The wind seemed to have decided that it wasn't going to flatten us after all, and was giving up the fight.
Edward groaned softly. "I didn't mean that quite so literally."
"Sorry," Jacob whispered. "You could leave, you know - give us a little privacy."
"Would you like me to help you sleep, Jacob?" Edward offered.
"You could try," Jacob said, unconcerned. "It would be interesting to see who walked away, wouldn't it?"