Skin & Bones ↠ Jasper Hale ✓

05 | Suffocating

"No," Carlisle argued. "You need to use your last bit of strength to protect Bella. She needs you more than any of us right now. You have to be strong, Rory." He glanced back at Jacob. "We have no choice, Jacob. If there's anything we can do to save her, we have to try."

Jacob looked at the vampires in shock. "You'd risk your lives for her?"

"Of course we would," Esme answered without hesitating whatsoever. "Bella's a part of our family now."

"Yeah," Jacob bitterly mumbled. "I can see that. This really is a family... as strong as the one I was born into."

Rory gave Jacob a sympathetic glance, to which he responded with a small, hardly noticeable smile. Deep down, Jacob knew that he cared for Rory like a sister. All their years as childhood friends meant something to him, and he was sure that Rory felt the same way. Jacob considered Rory family.

Keeping this in mind, he looked back at Carlisle and Esme. "I have an idea."

○ ○ ○

Later that evening, Rory was thankful to find that Esme, Emmett, and Carlisle made it out of the forest safely. Jacob had used what he learned from Rory's many years of manipulation into distracting Sam's pack for his new... acquaintances to feed.

Rory met Jacob in the hallway as he had been approaching Bella. "Hey," Rory greeted him. "I just wanted to thank you for what you did for my family."

Jacob stared at her with a blank face. "Did they get out alright?"

"Yeah, they're alright," she told him. "You know, you don't need to be so angsty with me. I know you're going through a lot, but I'm here for you. Just like you were for me when we were kids."

Jacob just sighed and gave her a small smile. "Thanks, Lor."

Rory returned the smile before the two headed into the living room where Rosalie, Jasper, and Alice were giving Bella some company. She had been doing better on her blood-diet, but she still wasn't strong enough to ensure that she'd survive giving birth. Rory tried to not think about it too much.

As the two emerged from the staircase, Rosalie wondered aloud, "Can't we come up with something a little more classic?"

"Aw, c'mon, Rosie," encouraged Rory, joining the blonde and wrapping her arm around her shoulder, "I'm sure Bella's baby names aren't that bad." She eyed Bella and her physique. Bella just gave her sister a little smile. "Hey, you think this is weird, too, right?"

Bella lightly laughed. "Yeah. Definitely," she admitted. "It's like we switched roles." Alice aided her in standing up while Bella asked Jacob, "Are you okay?"

Jacob gently smiled at her while Edward stepped into the room. "It's not like I'm the one carrying a demon."

Rory rolled her eyes. She had never thought about it before, but she and Jacob were a lot more similar than she realized. For example, the two were keen on making inappropriate jokes at inappropriate times. Maybe it really was obvious that they grew up together.

Rosalie stepped forward and suggested, "This is pretty important, Bella. Why don't you tell Rory and Jacob what you've decided?"

"What now?" complained Jacob.

Rory shot him a look. "Why do you always assume the worst?" she asked him before thinking about it. "Never mind, I see where you're coming from."

"Rose is trying to talk Bella out of her baby names," Jasper explained with a little laugh.

"She hates them," Bella added, rolling her eyes.

"Well, then, I'm on your side no matter what you picked," Jacob supportively told the human with a smile. Rory made a gagging face at his sweetness, to which Jacob responded with gently shoving the girl to the side.