I want purity, i must have it here right now. [But don't you get me started now. ]
[Five times you laughed and one time you cried]
i. She doesn’t play peek-a-boo like most children and dolls hold little interest for her but she loves hide and seek. She tilts her head back, craning her neck so that she can look in Jacob’s eyes. Her curls almost brush the ground with her head at this angle. Jacob is holding an iPod in one hand and he’s got the ear buds for it draped over his shoulder. He’s just barely restraining a laugh.
“Turn the music up loud, no phasing and no breathing!” Nessie instructs sternly. Her hands are on her hips and if she weren’t so tiny, she’d be quite intimidating.
“Nessie, I have to breathe,” he says as he crouches down so that she doesn’t have to look so far up.
Nessie considers this, lips pursed and brow furrowed. “Okay, but no sniffing.”
His chuckle bleeds into his words. “Alright, no sniffing. I’ll count to twenty-five.”
“100,” Nessie says, her arms crossing over her chest.
Jacob shakes his head. “You can get too far away with 100 and that makes me worry.”
Nessie sighs insufferably and rolls her eyes. “Okay. Thirty.”
“Thirty,” Jacob nods and sticks the ear buds in his ears. “Go!”
She runs but not too fast, not too far. She’s put a no phasing rule on Jacob and in human form he can’t run so fast or so far. She hides in a tangle of underbrush near the river with her back against the tree. Her hands are over her eyes and she listens so hard that she can hear her own heartbeat thrumming in her chest. A twig breaks and she knows its Jacob because she can feel him nearby.
And he’s almost there.
Almost there.
She’s holding her breath as big hands reach in to grab her, wrapping thumbs to index fingers all the way around her ribcage as he lifts her out and up, up, up. She can feel the breeze on her face and the unexpected sun makes her squint. Her breath comes out in a riot of giggles that shake her whole body and she’s breathless with them, tears rolling down her cheeks as he wraps her in his embrace. He’s chuckling, his own laughter deeper and centered deep in his chest. It takes her a full minute to stop laughing and when she does, she’s still breathless with it. She puts one hand on his cheek, communicating what she wants.
“Again?” he asks and she nods. He sets her back on the ground, stuffs the ear buds in his ears. “Okay, go.”
ii. There are some things that Alice will only do for Nessie and there are things that Emmett will only do for Nessie and Alice. It’s a combined effort and one of the many things Nessie and Alice work for together.
“Alice…no.”
She smirks at him, rolls her eyes and laughs a little. “It’s cute when you try to pretend I don’t already know you’re going to say yes.”
“Alice-“ Emmett starts and glances over at Nessie who is pouting, her bottom lip quivering and he’s pretty sure he can smell salt in the air. “Oh fu-“ Alice’s arched eyebrow stops Emmett mid curse. “Fine. One cup of tea and then I’m going to watch football.”
Nessie leaps from her seat, little hands clapping and races to her room. The party is already set up because Alice told her she could. By the time Alice and Emmett get into the room, Nessie is sitting primly at the table, hands in her lap. She is wearing a large pink, organza hat that would fit in perfectly at the Kentucky Derby. Her dolls are sitting in chairs next to her but there are two child sized chairs waiting for Emmett and Alice.
Alice flits across the room, sitting lightly in the chair, knees a bit close to her chest but overall, fitting quite well in the chair. Both of the girls look expectantly to Emmett who grumbles and plods like the great bear he is over to the tea set. He bends at the knees, hovering awkwardly above the chair, looking over his shoulder as if he is trying to figure out a way to make this work. He ends up sort of crammed in the chair, sort of hanging off of it and Nessie’s giggles have already started. Alice is biting the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing outright.
“You have to wear a hat too,” Nessie informs Emmett. Alice is currently straightening the black circle hat atop her head. She looks like Holly Golightly except the grin on her face is thoroughly evil. The hat in front of Emmett’s place is a jester hat which Emmett meets with a grumble-growl worthy of a pissed off momma bear. It doesn’t dissuade Nessie in the least from plopping the hat on his head, bells tinkling as she does.
Alice is unsuccessfully trying not to laugh as she sets cookies that only Nessie will eat onto the saucers while Nessie moves from adjusting the hat on Emmett’s head to pouring her cup full of tea. She only fills Emmett and Alice’s halfway then clasps her hands together, looking from Alice to Emmett (who is still scowling). Alice reaches across the table and flicks one of the bells on the hat, sending it tinkling again and eliciting a growl from Emmett.
“Kay, you have to drink tea otherwise it’s not a tea party and you do it like this,” Nessie said firmly, looking directly at Emmett. She placed her hand on his cheek, showing him a picture of her picking up the tea cup by the handle, pinky finger sticking out to one side. “No gulping,” she warns him verbally as she removes her hand and picks up her tea cup, a mirror image of the picture she’d shown Emmett. Alice smirks and copies Nessie.
“God da-“ Emmett starts, stopped abruptly by Alice’s arched eyebrow. He rolls his eyes and mutters under his breath about tea parties and football but he takes a sip without further urging. He shifts in his chair and there’s a creak just before the entire chair shatters, sending Emmett sprawling on the ground.
“Fu-“
“EMMETT!” Alice shouts but it is riddled with laughter.
“Son of a bi-“ he bellows, stopping his words just short of a curse as the tea cup in his hand shatters and he’s covered with tea. The jester hat is sitting askew on his head and Nessie is laughing so hard she’s turning colors.
iii. “That was a home run and you know it.” Rosalie has her arms crossed over her chest and she’s giving Jacob a look that would curdle milk.
“You didn’t make it to home plate. Sorry, Blondie. Leah got you at least two feet before you reached it.” There’s a smirk loping across Jacob’s lips.
“She tackled me!” Rosalie protests. There’s a large, light grey wolf sitting next to her with a baseball in her mouth. Both Rose and the wolf are covered in mud but it’s quickly washing away in the near torrential downpour. There’s a crack of thunder that overshadows the argument for a moment.
“Since when do we play by Ice Princess rules?” Jacob asks, taunting Rosalie. Edward is trying very hard not to laugh from where he stands behind Jacob, confirming everyone’s belief that there’s a lot of telepathic trash talking going on between Jacob and Edward.
Esme and Nessie are the referees and they confer for a moment, Nessie’s hand on Esme’s cheek. “Alright, Jacob’s right. Leah tackled Rosalie before she got to homeplate.”
Rosalie’s eyes go wide and she huffs then shakes her head. “Fine.” She holds her hand out for the ball and the wolf drops it delicately into her hand. “Ewwww, there’s wolf drool all over this.”
“What you’re afraid of a little spit now, Blondie?” Jacob asks as he picks up an aluminum bat and situates himself at home plate. Nessie is behind him to play ‘umpire’ while Jasper winds up for the pitch. Jacob misses the first one because he’s making silly faces at Nessie and Esme grabs the ball out of the air when Nessie is giggling too hard to catch.
“Come on, Pup, pay attention to the game! The storm will be over pretty soon,” Emmett yells.
There’s a ringing, metallic thunk as Jacob hits the ball and then drops the bat to take off running. He’s not as fast as the vampires in human form so he has to react faster. He’s rounding second on his way to third when Emmett tackles him around the middle. They both go tumbling across the field, a tangle of limbs slick with mud. The others join in, all trying to get the ball when finally Emmett emerges, hand held high, baseball clenched in it. He’s crowing and jumping around like an idiot and Nessie is laughing.
vi. “Okay, Ness, now push the clutch in and just nudge it into first gear. You don’t have to force it.”
The rabbit jumps and stalls for almost the dozenth time. Nessie lets her head hit the steering wheel and Jacob chuckles, reaching over to run his hand through her hair.
“Don’t get frustrated. You’ll get it,” he promises. “Try again.” He’s been nothing short of saintly in his patience thus far.
There’s another jump and a stall and Nessie lets out a growl of sheer frustration. “I’m hopeless, Jacob. Daddy is right. I’m never, ever meant to drive. I’ll have to get a Rolls and let you drive me around. It’ll be like that movie except I won’t be old.”
Jacob shakes his head, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. “You’ll learn to drive. I’m not worried about that. I just have to figure out exactly how to teach you.” His eyes light up after a moment. “Start the car back up.” He put his hand over the gear shift. “Now put your hand on top of mine and listen to me breathe. When I exhale, let the clutch out along with that.”
Nessie looks at him, one eyebrow arching. She pauses then shrugs and rests her hand on top of his and cranks the car back up.
“Ready?” he asks and she nods as he takes a deep breath. She glances over at him and listens, letting the clutch out as he releases his breath. He slides the car into first gear and she giggles.
“I felt it. It’s like when my teeth go in your wrist. They fit just right.” The smile on Nessie’s face would put out the sun if the sun had been shining in Forks.
Jacob tilts his head, thinking about it a moment before he nods. “Yeah…I didn’t think about it that way. Now, hit the brake, slide the clutch in and this time you can try by yourself.”
Nerves dance across her features and he takes her chin in one hand, turning her face so that her eyes meet his. “You can do this, Nessie. You do much more amazing things every day.”
Her cheeks flush red and she looks back to the road. She takes a deep breath, trying to push the clutch in with it. She exhales as she lets the clutch out, her hand sliding the gear shift into first. The car moves forward smoothly without even a shudder. Nessie squeals in excitement, her entire face lighting up. Without thinking she lets go of the wheel and throws her arms around Jacob’s neck. He’s grinning and hugging her back and then he tenses, his eyes going wide.
“Tree! Nessie!” He shoves one leg over into the driver’s side floorboard and slams on the brake. The car shudders, dying then there’s the sound of metal crumpling and Nessie is sitting in the driver’s side, shock written all over a face that is whiter than usual. A grin spreads over Jacob’s face and his laugh fills the tiny car.
“I needed a reason to start working on the Charger.”
Jacob’s words coupled with his laughter chases away the shock and Nessie is laughing with him.
v. “You aren’t counting to ten!” Nessie’s words are laced with giggles. Jacob wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her off her feet, crushing her against his chest.
“So?” he teases, dipping her head to kiss her. The kiss is brief more playful than sexy and he’s setting her back on her feet. “Your turn,” he tells her as he pushes off the ball of his foot, darting away and disappearing into the trees.
“One, two, three, four, five,” Nessie counts allowed, patience trailing off with each number, “sixseveneightnineten,” she says in a jumble of words as she skips out from behind the tree, weaving through the forest to find Jacob crouching in some underbrush. She tackles him, hands going to his shoulders as he tips over backwards, his arms going around her to pull her down with him. She falls on top of him, giggling as his fingers dance over her ribs. She wiggles and kicks, squirming to get away from him. She ends up on her back with him hovering over her as he leans into a kiss. He bites her bottom lip sharply and she lets out a sound that’s half squeal, half giggle.
“Hey! There’s no biting in kissing,” she laughs.
“You didn’t count to ten.”
[And one time you cried]
It’s not hard to find her tucked away in a clearing several miles from home. He can smell the salt of her tears and hear the hiccup of her breaths. He nudges her at first, wet nose against the nap of her neck. She reaches back, her fingers curling around his muzzle for a moment before he slips away, dipping into the woods. He returns a few moments later dressed in the cut off sweat pants he’d had tied around his leg. His arm slides over her shoulders, pulling her against his chest.
“What’s the matter, Ness? Who hurt you?”
She looks up at him, eyes wet and wide. “No one. Nothing.”
He’s confused and still pissed off as he rolls his eyes. “Just tell me, Nessie. Did Emmett say something stupid?” Because Emmett was known to do that.
“No. Emmett didn’t say anything,” Nessie tells him as she leans against him, one hand resting on his chest over his heart. Her fingers tap out the thrum of his heartbeat.
“Then why the tears?” Sometimes he can guess what’s going on with Nessie and sometimes he has to ask. She presses her palm flat against his heart as he closes his eyes to watch the images she floods him with. He’s still not entirely up to speed about what’s going on. “That’s not going to happen to us. It’s a movie.”
“I know that,” Nessie says, her tone bleeding frustrated teenager. “It’s just…he fell from Heaven for her and then she just died. She didn’t want to leave him but she couldn’t help it.”
Jacob sighs, pulling Nessie all the way into his lap. He kisses the top of her head. “I’ll stay off bicycles and abstain from buying pears.”
She smacks him with one little fist, making him wince slightly and chuckle. “I’m serious, Jacob. You’re not allowed to die. Ever.”
“You’ve got to stop crying then. I don’t do the handkerchief thing well,” Jacob teases her as he smoothes one hand over her back. “I don’t wear enough clothes.”
“Then you have to promise, no dying,” Nessie prods again, tears slowing to a stop as she watches him. He grins and reaches out to swipe the tears off her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs.
“Never, ever, Nessie. I’ll stay with you forever.”
i. She doesn’t play peek-a-boo like most children and dolls hold little interest for her but she loves hide and seek. She tilts her head back, craning her neck so that she can look in Jacob’s eyes. Her curls almost brush the ground with her head at this angle. Jacob is holding an iPod in one hand and he’s got the ear buds for it draped over his shoulder. He’s just barely restraining a laugh.
“Turn the music up loud, no phasing and no breathing!” Nessie instructs sternly. Her hands are on her hips and if she weren’t so tiny, she’d be quite intimidating.
“Nessie, I have to breathe,” he says as he crouches down so that she doesn’t have to look so far up.
Nessie considers this, lips pursed and brow furrowed. “Okay, but no sniffing.”
His chuckle bleeds into his words. “Alright, no sniffing. I’ll count to twenty-five.”
“100,” Nessie says, her arms crossing over her chest.
Jacob shakes his head. “You can get too far away with 100 and that makes me worry.”
Nessie sighs insufferably and rolls her eyes. “Okay. Thirty.”
“Thirty,” Jacob nods and sticks the ear buds in his ears. “Go!”
She runs but not too fast, not too far. She’s put a no phasing rule on Jacob and in human form he can’t run so fast or so far. She hides in a tangle of underbrush near the river with her back against the tree. Her hands are over her eyes and she listens so hard that she can hear her own heartbeat thrumming in her chest. A twig breaks and she knows its Jacob because she can feel him nearby.
And he’s almost there.
Almost there.
She’s holding her breath as big hands reach in to grab her, wrapping thumbs to index fingers all the way around her ribcage as he lifts her out and up, up, up. She can feel the breeze on her face and the unexpected sun makes her squint. Her breath comes out in a riot of giggles that shake her whole body and she’s breathless with them, tears rolling down her cheeks as he wraps her in his embrace. He’s chuckling, his own laughter deeper and centered deep in his chest. It takes her a full minute to stop laughing and when she does, she’s still breathless with it. She puts one hand on his cheek, communicating what she wants.
“Again?” he asks and she nods. He sets her back on the ground, stuffs the ear buds in his ears. “Okay, go.”
ii. There are some things that Alice will only do for Nessie and there are things that Emmett will only do for Nessie and Alice. It’s a combined effort and one of the many things Nessie and Alice work for together.
“Alice…no.”
She smirks at him, rolls her eyes and laughs a little. “It’s cute when you try to pretend I don’t already know you’re going to say yes.”
“Alice-“ Emmett starts and glances over at Nessie who is pouting, her bottom lip quivering and he’s pretty sure he can smell salt in the air. “Oh fu-“ Alice’s arched eyebrow stops Emmett mid curse. “Fine. One cup of tea and then I’m going to watch football.”
Nessie leaps from her seat, little hands clapping and races to her room. The party is already set up because Alice told her she could. By the time Alice and Emmett get into the room, Nessie is sitting primly at the table, hands in her lap. She is wearing a large pink, organza hat that would fit in perfectly at the Kentucky Derby. Her dolls are sitting in chairs next to her but there are two child sized chairs waiting for Emmett and Alice.
Alice flits across the room, sitting lightly in the chair, knees a bit close to her chest but overall, fitting quite well in the chair. Both of the girls look expectantly to Emmett who grumbles and plods like the great bear he is over to the tea set. He bends at the knees, hovering awkwardly above the chair, looking over his shoulder as if he is trying to figure out a way to make this work. He ends up sort of crammed in the chair, sort of hanging off of it and Nessie’s giggles have already started. Alice is biting the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing outright.
“You have to wear a hat too,” Nessie informs Emmett. Alice is currently straightening the black circle hat atop her head. She looks like Holly Golightly except the grin on her face is thoroughly evil. The hat in front of Emmett’s place is a jester hat which Emmett meets with a grumble-growl worthy of a pissed off momma bear. It doesn’t dissuade Nessie in the least from plopping the hat on his head, bells tinkling as she does.
Alice is unsuccessfully trying not to laugh as she sets cookies that only Nessie will eat onto the saucers while Nessie moves from adjusting the hat on Emmett’s head to pouring her cup full of tea. She only fills Emmett and Alice’s halfway then clasps her hands together, looking from Alice to Emmett (who is still scowling). Alice reaches across the table and flicks one of the bells on the hat, sending it tinkling again and eliciting a growl from Emmett.
“Kay, you have to drink tea otherwise it’s not a tea party and you do it like this,” Nessie said firmly, looking directly at Emmett. She placed her hand on his cheek, showing him a picture of her picking up the tea cup by the handle, pinky finger sticking out to one side. “No gulping,” she warns him verbally as she removes her hand and picks up her tea cup, a mirror image of the picture she’d shown Emmett. Alice smirks and copies Nessie.
“God da-“ Emmett starts, stopped abruptly by Alice’s arched eyebrow. He rolls his eyes and mutters under his breath about tea parties and football but he takes a sip without further urging. He shifts in his chair and there’s a creak just before the entire chair shatters, sending Emmett sprawling on the ground.
“Fu-“
“EMMETT!” Alice shouts but it is riddled with laughter.
“Son of a bi-“ he bellows, stopping his words just short of a curse as the tea cup in his hand shatters and he’s covered with tea. The jester hat is sitting askew on his head and Nessie is laughing so hard she’s turning colors.
iii. “That was a home run and you know it.” Rosalie has her arms crossed over her chest and she’s giving Jacob a look that would curdle milk.
“You didn’t make it to home plate. Sorry, Blondie. Leah got you at least two feet before you reached it.” There’s a smirk loping across Jacob’s lips.
“She tackled me!” Rosalie protests. There’s a large, light grey wolf sitting next to her with a baseball in her mouth. Both Rose and the wolf are covered in mud but it’s quickly washing away in the near torrential downpour. There’s a crack of thunder that overshadows the argument for a moment.
“Since when do we play by Ice Princess rules?” Jacob asks, taunting Rosalie. Edward is trying very hard not to laugh from where he stands behind Jacob, confirming everyone’s belief that there’s a lot of telepathic trash talking going on between Jacob and Edward.
Esme and Nessie are the referees and they confer for a moment, Nessie’s hand on Esme’s cheek. “Alright, Jacob’s right. Leah tackled Rosalie before she got to homeplate.”
Rosalie’s eyes go wide and she huffs then shakes her head. “Fine.” She holds her hand out for the ball and the wolf drops it delicately into her hand. “Ewwww, there’s wolf drool all over this.”
“What you’re afraid of a little spit now, Blondie?” Jacob asks as he picks up an aluminum bat and situates himself at home plate. Nessie is behind him to play ‘umpire’ while Jasper winds up for the pitch. Jacob misses the first one because he’s making silly faces at Nessie and Esme grabs the ball out of the air when Nessie is giggling too hard to catch.
“Come on, Pup, pay attention to the game! The storm will be over pretty soon,” Emmett yells.
There’s a ringing, metallic thunk as Jacob hits the ball and then drops the bat to take off running. He’s not as fast as the vampires in human form so he has to react faster. He’s rounding second on his way to third when Emmett tackles him around the middle. They both go tumbling across the field, a tangle of limbs slick with mud. The others join in, all trying to get the ball when finally Emmett emerges, hand held high, baseball clenched in it. He’s crowing and jumping around like an idiot and Nessie is laughing.
vi. “Okay, Ness, now push the clutch in and just nudge it into first gear. You don’t have to force it.”
The rabbit jumps and stalls for almost the dozenth time. Nessie lets her head hit the steering wheel and Jacob chuckles, reaching over to run his hand through her hair.
“Don’t get frustrated. You’ll get it,” he promises. “Try again.” He’s been nothing short of saintly in his patience thus far.
There’s another jump and a stall and Nessie lets out a growl of sheer frustration. “I’m hopeless, Jacob. Daddy is right. I’m never, ever meant to drive. I’ll have to get a Rolls and let you drive me around. It’ll be like that movie except I won’t be old.”
Jacob shakes his head, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. “You’ll learn to drive. I’m not worried about that. I just have to figure out exactly how to teach you.” His eyes light up after a moment. “Start the car back up.” He put his hand over the gear shift. “Now put your hand on top of mine and listen to me breathe. When I exhale, let the clutch out along with that.”
Nessie looks at him, one eyebrow arching. She pauses then shrugs and rests her hand on top of his and cranks the car back up.
“Ready?” he asks and she nods as he takes a deep breath. She glances over at him and listens, letting the clutch out as he releases his breath. He slides the car into first gear and she giggles.
“I felt it. It’s like when my teeth go in your wrist. They fit just right.” The smile on Nessie’s face would put out the sun if the sun had been shining in Forks.
Jacob tilts his head, thinking about it a moment before he nods. “Yeah…I didn’t think about it that way. Now, hit the brake, slide the clutch in and this time you can try by yourself.”
Nerves dance across her features and he takes her chin in one hand, turning her face so that her eyes meet his. “You can do this, Nessie. You do much more amazing things every day.”
Her cheeks flush red and she looks back to the road. She takes a deep breath, trying to push the clutch in with it. She exhales as she lets the clutch out, her hand sliding the gear shift into first. The car moves forward smoothly without even a shudder. Nessie squeals in excitement, her entire face lighting up. Without thinking she lets go of the wheel and throws her arms around Jacob’s neck. He’s grinning and hugging her back and then he tenses, his eyes going wide.
“Tree! Nessie!” He shoves one leg over into the driver’s side floorboard and slams on the brake. The car shudders, dying then there’s the sound of metal crumpling and Nessie is sitting in the driver’s side, shock written all over a face that is whiter than usual. A grin spreads over Jacob’s face and his laugh fills the tiny car.
“I needed a reason to start working on the Charger.”
Jacob’s words coupled with his laughter chases away the shock and Nessie is laughing with him.
v. “You aren’t counting to ten!” Nessie’s words are laced with giggles. Jacob wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her off her feet, crushing her against his chest.
“So?” he teases, dipping her head to kiss her. The kiss is brief more playful than sexy and he’s setting her back on her feet. “Your turn,” he tells her as he pushes off the ball of his foot, darting away and disappearing into the trees.
“One, two, three, four, five,” Nessie counts allowed, patience trailing off with each number, “sixseveneightnineten,” she says in a jumble of words as she skips out from behind the tree, weaving through the forest to find Jacob crouching in some underbrush. She tackles him, hands going to his shoulders as he tips over backwards, his arms going around her to pull her down with him. She falls on top of him, giggling as his fingers dance over her ribs. She wiggles and kicks, squirming to get away from him. She ends up on her back with him hovering over her as he leans into a kiss. He bites her bottom lip sharply and she lets out a sound that’s half squeal, half giggle.
“Hey! There’s no biting in kissing,” she laughs.
“You didn’t count to ten.”
[And one time you cried]
It’s not hard to find her tucked away in a clearing several miles from home. He can smell the salt of her tears and hear the hiccup of her breaths. He nudges her at first, wet nose against the nap of her neck. She reaches back, her fingers curling around his muzzle for a moment before he slips away, dipping into the woods. He returns a few moments later dressed in the cut off sweat pants he’d had tied around his leg. His arm slides over her shoulders, pulling her against his chest.
“What’s the matter, Ness? Who hurt you?”
She looks up at him, eyes wet and wide. “No one. Nothing.”
He’s confused and still pissed off as he rolls his eyes. “Just tell me, Nessie. Did Emmett say something stupid?” Because Emmett was known to do that.
“No. Emmett didn’t say anything,” Nessie tells him as she leans against him, one hand resting on his chest over his heart. Her fingers tap out the thrum of his heartbeat.
“Then why the tears?” Sometimes he can guess what’s going on with Nessie and sometimes he has to ask. She presses her palm flat against his heart as he closes his eyes to watch the images she floods him with. He’s still not entirely up to speed about what’s going on. “That’s not going to happen to us. It’s a movie.”
“I know that,” Nessie says, her tone bleeding frustrated teenager. “It’s just…he fell from Heaven for her and then she just died. She didn’t want to leave him but she couldn’t help it.”
Jacob sighs, pulling Nessie all the way into his lap. He kisses the top of her head. “I’ll stay off bicycles and abstain from buying pears.”
She smacks him with one little fist, making him wince slightly and chuckle. “I’m serious, Jacob. You’re not allowed to die. Ever.”
“You’ve got to stop crying then. I don’t do the handkerchief thing well,” Jacob teases her as he smoothes one hand over her back. “I don’t wear enough clothes.”
“Then you have to promise, no dying,” Nessie prods again, tears slowing to a stop as she watches him. He grins and reaches out to swipe the tears off her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs.
“Never, ever, Nessie. I’ll stay with you forever.”