Jacob climbs the stairs three at a time, practically flying as he made his way to his bedroom. He pushes open the door to see Edward laying with Bear pressed against his chest, body turned towards the wall like he's trying to hide her from the world. Quil and Seth are posted up in front of the bed, still in dog form, but he can tell what they're thinking without words. He could feel it too. The scene in front of him felt like watching a panicked mother defend her baby. It's so strong that their instincts keep them rooted to their spots. They don't head for the door until Jacob's on the bed. He slowly moves Edward until he's pressed up against him, cautiously wrapping his arms around the man's waist before peering over his shoulder to get a good look at the both of them.
Bear looks as if she'd been crying at some point, tears brimming in her eyes as she stares back at him. He wonders if she'd gotten scared during the initial chaos or if it was Edward's reaction getting her all worked up. She's fine currently, content with being held. Edward, on the other hand, looked to still be frazzled by the entire situation. He's not breathing erratically, not saying anything concerning, but Jacob can still tell. He can tell in the way he's still holding Bear when he usually refrains from doing so when she didn't particularly need it. He didn't want to coddle her, but right now, she seems to be the only thing keeping him calm. He's pretending to be calm for her.
Jacob's not even sure he's ever seen the man break a sweat, let alone panic. Even when he was being pulled out of a crushed cop car, he had about one thing on his mind and that was keeping Bear safe, but he didn't seem frightened or unnerved. Maybe it was the concussion, but Jacob could tell that he, at least, understood that everything would be okay. Jacob, on the other hand, felt like his world had been tilted on its side. As the EMT checked Bear over in front of him while Edward watched, it felt like Edward was the one keeping him calm.
"Hey, it's okay." He mumbles into Edward's hair before leaning down to place a kiss to the same area he chosen earlier.
It'd be a lot more effective if they were bonded, that is, if the bond had the same type of effect on Edward. It'd allow Jacob to help him calm down. All he can do right now is pull Edward into a sitting position, watching as the man clung to Bear like she was his lifeline. He tucked her in close even as Jacob pulled Edward over to sit in front of him. He tries to maneuver him until his back is reclining against Jacob's front, legs entangled into one another. Once he's situated, Jacob brings up a hand to run gently over Bear's head from where she's resting on Edward's shoulder. Edward must be relaxing a bit because she's comfortable enough that her eyelids are drooping.
"She's okay." He reminds Edward, running a hand through Edward's hair as they both watch her eyes close.
He lays there, knowing that it's going to take at least an hour for Edward to want to put her down, despite the ache that's undoubtedly running through both of his arms at this point. He waits patiently, and about an hour and a half later, he's able to scoop her up and put her back in the bassinet.
Once she's settled, he climbs back onto the bed, only slightly surprised when Edward goes back to resting against him. Jacob runs his hands up and down his sides and over his arm as he waits for him to speak.
"How'd they know someone was here?" Edward's hoarse voice mumbled as his eyes glance toward the window.
It's not the question he's expecting to hear. A lot of weirder things have happened tonight. Though, he can hear Leah's voice as she explains the situation.
"They could hear the sound of grass rustling as he ran by, smell his scent, hear your heartbeat, the sound of your footsteps, the sound of Bear's heartbeat..."
Bear's heartbeat which had undoubtedly sped up once she was awake and aware of Edward being distressed.
All of those factors together tend to spell out trouble.
Edward lets out a quiet, unsteady hum of acknowledgement before he closes his eyes. They stay closed for a solid ten minutes before he speaks again.
"Can they hear us right now?" He asks, face scrunching up as if he detests the idea.
"Yeah, if they wanted to, but they're most likely outside." He informs Edward, confused himself as to where this conversation was going.
He understands if Edward feels vulnerable and doesn't want them listening in to his every breath. It's not something he has to worry about. Jacob's pack understands that he's here now and it wasn't uncommon to allow some distance when these types of things happened. Adrenaline was running high, everyone was a bit restless, and someone relaxing their mate could take on many different forms.
Jacob hadn't exactly had this experience before, usually being one of the ones who'd have to go and stand in the yard, find something to distract himself, maybe do a couple of rounds until it was time to return. He always thought, when he did find himself here, he'd be type to just hold onto them, talk to them, maybe ask that someone bring them something to snack on or eat.
So, he's not expecting the first kiss.
Edward turns, Jacob assumes to look at him because that sometimes helps, but then he's climbing onto his lap. It feels almost urgent, like Edward can sense something that Jacob can't.
It's chaste and just their lips pressing up against one another. So, it shouldn't feel as significant as it does. Jacob's placed filthier kisses onto other parts of Edward in public, but this one actually leaves him a little stunned. It's a bit stiff, but the next one is like they've been doing this forever. Edward fully relaxes for the first time since Jacob had stepped into the room, his body almost slack as he presses up against him. Edward allows him in like he's been waiting and they lay there for what could've been minutes, could've been hours, sharing lazy kisses.
Jacob has to go to work the next day. They'd just found another body and the case was somehow heating up even more. He gets dressed before helping a resigned Edward get ready, chuckling as the man stared into space with a toothbrush shoved in his mouth. Bear's the last one ready, looking just as unhappy as Edward as they climb into the car and head towards the diner.
Darlene gets them seated before running off to get them their usual choices. While she's doing that, Edward's talking to a wiggling Bear.
"Honestly, maybe we could get you some ear muffs. I'd get you some noise-canceling headphones, but I don't think they make them small enough." He casually converses.
Bear doesn't seem particularly impressed by this, huffing as she continues to wiggle out what little energy her tiny body has. The little tantrum doesn't last very long, her small body slumping on Edward's shoulder before Darlene could even return. She's asleep in her car seat before they even get their food.
Darlene allows Jacob to get one bite of his eggs before she speaks.
"I heard about what happened last night," she says, and she has this look on her face that Jacob knows all too well at this point.
She'd been eyeing him up since Seth had slipped up and told her that Jacob hadn't marked Edward. She'd, no doubt, interrogated him after the accident. Darlene looks at Jacob before her eyes flick over to Edward. She looks over him like she's expecting him to be all scratched up or wounded beyond the broken arm he was sporting.
Jacob gets that it looks bad.
He'd have known before the rest of his pack if Edward felt scared or anxious if they were bonded. He would've been able to get them there sooner. She thinks they have a baby together; bonding seems like a natural step when that type of thing happens. He'd have to threaten Seth to keep his mouth shut or soon Darlene would know everything about his personal life.
"They're okay." Jacob informs her and watches as her gaze finds him again.
"That's good. Can I speak with you?" The lack of excuse about some imaginary ex-husband automatically strikes fear into Jacob's heart before he can even think to stand up from the table.
So, this wasn't a friendly talk.
He's ushered into a corner, bracing himself against the oncoming rant.
"Does he not want to be marked?" Is the first question she asks when they're away from the Edward.
He doesn't know, he's never asked. Honestly, until yesterday, he hadn't even thought of it as a possibility. Jacob opens his mouth to give an answer only to be cut off.
"'Cause someone who willingly has your baby seems like someone who'd want to be bonded to you," she says in an admonishing tone, "though, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm just a little too old fashioned."
She pretends to think on it.
"D, we just haven't had the time..." Jacob excuses, and immediately realizes his mistake when Darlene shoots him a glare.
"You mean you haven't made time?" She accuses, crossing her arms and eyeing him as if he's about one wrong answer away from getting smacked in the back of the head.
"He has three jobs, D. I'm a cop. We get busy -" He tries to explain.
"Not too busy to have a baby." She interjects.
It was a solid argument. He's not winning this fight. He's not even sure why he's trying to argue his case.
"I'm sure he wasn't working for the entirety of that pregnancy, was he?" she asks, looking like steams about to start coming out of her ears.
No, he wouldn't have been, that wouldn't make any sense.
"He's laid up for nine months, having a particularly difficult pregnancy, and you don't think to mark him? You don't think to offer him that protection?" Honestly, he's glad she decided to have this particular conversation in the middle of a busy restaurant, because he doesn't think he'd survive this tirade at full volume.
Jacob just stands there looking defeated.
"Now, he's getting into car accidents and some stray is roaming around your house and you still haven't given it to him?" She looked like she would throttle him if she didn't have a shift to work after.
Of course, she doesn't wait for a response.
"Get it together before something bad happens to them." She hisses, and then she's back to slapping on her bright smile and asking the table a couple of feet away from them if they needed refills.
Jacob thinks he's escaped the wrath of a woman, despite feeling his tail curl between his legs, right up until he's called into Chief's office as soon as he steps into the station.
She doesn't even bother with any greetings, any complaints, or even a bit of yelling. She looks at him, face stony, begging him to put up some kind of fight.
"Dr. Cullen will stay with you today while the autopsy is done." Her voice sounds like she's about one wrong word away from ripping his throat out...
and honestly, you'd think Jacob would be smart enough to keep his mouth shut.
"May I ask why?"
It was a genuine question. The station was a particularly safe place for him to be without Jacob looming over him. He was surrounded by his brothers and Jacob could hear every page he turned, every diaper he changed, and every ridiculous argument he got into with Emmett. What's changed?
Her head tilts to the side, eyes narrowing.
"I go to the same diner you do, Black. Keep him with you."
So, Edward sits in the back of the room watching Bear while the team goes over the current state of the case. They've got four bodies and only two of them have been identified. There was little to no evidence left around the crime scene. Though, they did know that the killer seems to be targeting one family in particular. Jacob allows Angela to lead the glorified brainstorming session while he flipped through each folder from each victim. The woman who died in between Young and Uley must be a pack member along with the young male they found yesterday. The only issue is that lips were locked at the Uley household. Not because they were guilty, it seemed, but because they were scared. Jacob understood the fear, but he had a feeling that they knew a bit more than what they were saying even if they weren't the guilty ones. The team had gone down the route of enemies, but the Uley's didn't seem to have any prominent ones. They needed to figure out who was in the pack before they could answer any of the questions they had. If the killer wasn't an outsider, they may know who it is but can't say.
"We need to get a list of all of the previous members of Uley household. The person doing this may not be someone who currently resides within the house, but they may be someone who got ousted recently. We figure out who they are, we figure out where they're going and who they intend to target next." He informs the team.
"Angela, you get the list. Jessica, you cross that list with the victims we have. Mike and Eric can use that list to figure out who's the black sheep and where they're headed."
Bailey serves them at lunch. She's not as vocal as Darlene, but he can feel her staring at the side of his head even as Edward orders fries and a drink.
"You wanna tell me what's going on with them?" Edward inquires while entertaining Bear's little game of holding onto his finger for dear life.
He lets out a sigh, knowing that the moment would come eventually. He'd been glancing at Jacob since Darlene pulled him into the corner this morning.
"They are just a little annoyed with me over...personal matters." He mumbles, knowing the answer wouldn't suffice.
Edward's eyebrows raise.
"Keeping you safe." He explains and watches as a couple of emotions flit across Edward's face.
Jacob can't quite place any of them, but Edward doesn't push the subject further, focusing all of his attention on poking at his fries.
The rest of the day is spent cooped up in his office, both Edward and Bear perched up on his desk. There is no point in trying to find a motive because they haven't even pinpointed a suspect. That leaves him to wander about the second victim. If maybe she was killed to hide the fact that the actual targets were Uley and his fiancée. If they were the targets, why? The only major event that had happened to the couple recently was them expecting Bear. Also, if the timeline was correct, Sam may have been the one to drop Bear off on Edward's doorstep because Emily would've already been deceased. Why would Sam drop his baby off on a stranger's doorstep?
"Did you know Emily Young?" Jacob asks, staring down at the folder, "Were you her doctor?"
Edward blinks a few times, clearly surprised by the unexpected questions.
"No, I've never seen her." He says with a shrug, placing Bear back into her car seat and rolling up the diaper in his hand.
Jacob tries to remember the last time he'd seen either of them. Maybe they'd mentioned a doctor to someone he also knew before they died. The memory he manages to dig up instead is an event the police department held last Christmas.
Uley hadn't retired yet so he was there with Young by his side. They're chatting it up with the chief and Jacob's entertaining some weird conversation that the rest of his team is having.
Edward's there.
Edward's there and he comes over to grab a drink off of the table Jacob's standing in front of. Jacob's also reaching to grab something off of the table, eyes glancing over his shoulder, not paying attention to where his hand is going. Their hands brush up against one another and Edward clumsily apologizes. Jacob says something, not really focusing on the conversation too much, just trying to get back over to his team before Mike starts chugging whatever is in his cup and embarrasses the rest of their unit. Jacob turns away from the table to see Young looking directly at him. It had been a little weird at the time, but not so weird he dwelled on it for very long. He'd forgotten about it by the end of the night.
Though, he was a little curious.
"Did you talk to her at the Christmas thing last year?" Jacob asks, biting a toothpick he'd grabbed after lunch.
Edward looks like he has to dig through about a thousand memories to figure out what Jacob is talking about. He guesses that's what happens when you don't sleep.
"Chief introduced us," He finally comes back with, "she just randomly introduced us."
He looks like he'd completely forgotten about it.
"You don't think..." Edward starts before trailing off, his eyes slowly finding Bear.
She must've already been pregnant. Chief must've known about it. If Uley's pack was like most packs in the area, she would've seen a doctor within the pack and given birth at home. She might not have known that.
Jacob replays the night in his head one more time.
He finds himself staring at Mike looking at him. It's not his usual beaming smile that he would've given him around this time, it was a bit sadder. He then turns back to look at Edward who's talking to Emily about something he can't hear to save his life.
She glances at him again. What's going on?
"Jeez, Jakie, if you stare any harder, your eyeballs are going to pop out of their sockets." Jessica teases somewhere in the swirl of everything that's happening around him.
"You got a crush on the guy or something?" Eric asks, chuckling as he snakes Jacob's drink and starts sipping from it.
He remembers Uley's eyes finding his, giving him this look that was trying to be nonconfrontational. Jacob had just assumed it was because he was taking over his team. No hard feelings and all of that.
"What did you say to her that night?" Jacob asks, shaking his head to bring himself back to what was happening currently.
Edward looks at him for a moment before looking towards the floor.
"Family came up...I was telling them about how excited I was about...", he looks around like he's trying to escape Jacob's gaze, "the baby. My ex was pregnant, she lost..."
Jacob reaches out and grabs for his hand, brain on autopilot.
"Did they know about her?"
Edward shakes his head no.
The events flash in front of his eyes yet again. He remembers it so clearly this time that he can see Darlene handing out little treats the diner had made to give to the guests. He could see her patting Edward on the shoulder, excitement clear on her face before she did the same to Young. Jacob can remember her sidling up to him, waving one of bags in front of his face to get his attention.
"What's gotten into you?" She mumbles, looking back over at Emily and Edward.
"Jake's got a thing for the Doc." Jessica answers her as if it's obvious.
He hadn't thought anything about any of it. His team teased him about all kinds of dumb shit.
The way Darlene had looked at him, the surprise in her eyes morphing into glee...
A man who couldn't even trust his own family would probably want a cop's help.
Uley dropped his kid off on Edward's doorstep because he thought they were together just like everyone else, apparently.