a/n: there are some errors in this chapter due to wattpad not saving any of my editing. this will be fixed later.

Jacob's not the type of friend to say sorry, not directly anyway. He was more of the "apologize through actions" type of a guy, which is how he finds himself sitting across from Mike at Carver's. He's not hungry. He doesn't have much of an appetite as he watches Mike basically inhale a burger whole. He's just here to show that he's not mad. 

"Leave it up to you to almost get me in the doghouse for something you did," Mike says in between chewing his fries, "at least let a guy know when you plan on macking on your boyfriend in the middle of the station."

Jacob rolls his eyes, taking a sip of his water, before letting out a sigh.

"Now, Ricky thinks I'm keeping vast secrets from him. Thinks I wouldn't even tell him if I knew where Atlantis was." Mike says before taking a long swig of his beer. 

Mike's a little tipsy somehow  and Jacob knows that this conversation is going to suck.

"It wasn't like that." Jacob mumbles, looking at the patterns on the table as if that was going to be enough of a distraction to take him out of this conversation.

Mike only quirks an eyebrow, too busy chewing to give a verbal response.

"I just...I was in a bad mood." He huffs, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms like a disgruntled teenager. 

He was upset. He seemed to think he had every right to be considering the position that the case was in due to the Chief and her decisions. She'd completely derailed the entire investigation and a lot of jobs were now resting on his shoulders. He let out a sigh, closing his eyes.

"You were in a bad mood because you'd rather be in bed with your man," Jacob opens his mouth to interject, but Mike steamrolls him as if he wasn't even there, "That's understandable, but a lot of us have been working hard at this, Jake."

This statement was the most informal thing that Jacob has ever heard Mike say in a public setting while still donning his uniform. 

It was almost disrespectful, even as a friend, the way he eyed him as if he was some lackey complaining about desk duty. 

"Is that so?" He can hear the irritation in his own voice despite how much he was restraining himself. He had to remind himself that this was supposed to be an apology.

"Yes, despite the lack of progress, we never stopped trying to find a suspect." He all but spits across the space between them.

"What do you want from me? Oh, sorry I was kicked off of the case? Sorry I got sick? Sorry I got hurt?" Jacob says sarcastically, trying his best to keep his temper in check as he drums his fingers on the edge of the table. 

Maybe he should've given this a little time to simmer down first, but they'd be expected to be at their best on Tuesday and he didn't need bickering to slow the team down. They were behind already. This was a petty squabble anyway. All he has to do is not make it worse.

Easier said than done.

"None of that has ever stopped you before," Mike says, accusatory tone ever present as he eyes Jacob up and down, "nothing has ever stopped you before. What was so different?"

There is clearly an underlying message there as he widens his eyes and pointedly stares at Jacob. This was honestly ridiculous. Mike was the one who insisted he talk to Edward in the first place.

He was annoyed, that was understandable. Jacob shouldn't have gotten upset with him in the first place, but this felt like it was morphing into some kind of joke or worse, an actual fight.

"Let's be honest, you couldn't handle the Doc and the case at the same time because you don't trust us. That's why you kept him a secret for so long, trying to control your weird little double life. If I hadn't been there, would you have told me about him?" Mike finally gets to the crux of his anger as he glares at Jacob like he's been holding this one in for a while. 

Jacob stares across the table at his friend. His friend who'd told him enough over the years for Jacob to grasp what was going on in his life at any given moment. His friend who was an open book anyway because he wore his heart on his sleeve. His friend whose mouth runs like a fucking faucet. His friend who'd talked to the Chief without telling him anything about it.

Maybe he should've at least given it a day. Maybe he should've asked Mike to meet him for breakfast, because he's not in the right place to think with his fucking head. He should be saying whatever he can just resolve this, just make it go away.

He can feel a knot forming in his throat as he stares down at the table, slowly shaking his head no. 

H doesn't feel guilty at the admission. It was honest. He doesn't think he'd trust anyone. It wasn't anything personal, it was just how these types of relationships went in a pack. His own cousin hadn't disclosed that he was in a serious relationship until he had to because these types of things can be devastating, especially if you've imprinted on someone. He didn't need anyone getting a front row seat to him being  humiliated. His prior symptoms would've seemed like a walk in the fucking park. So, no, he wouldn't have told a soul until he was sure.

"It was new." He says with a shrug.

 It seems like a logical enough answer. A responsible mom doesn't bring a man she just met home to meet her kid without making sure he's going to be sticking around. No one tells their mom and dad about a one night stand. These are just things you didn't do. He hadn't expected Edward to stick around longer than he needed to get Jacob back to feeling himself. Even now, he's a little shaky. Even with the bite, he's still so unsure. The bite just made the thought of rejection that much more soul crushing. He was fucking terrified.

He's not pregnant and they aren't married. As much as the mark binds werewolves, it might not do the same for vampires. Edward might leave at any time and Jacob would be left to pick himself up and bounce back. What they have wasn't as secure as what Quil and Embry or even Mike and Eric have. 

He can feel Mike's eyes on him. Maybe he's waiting for a response to something he said, but Jacob doesn't say anything as he all but rushes for the nearest exit. 

He almost manages to get into his car before he falls apart and doesn't bother to pull himself together before he makes it home.

"You really need to take a week, Jake, even if it's working from home." Quil says as he waddles around his room. 

Jacob doesn't give any form of response as he buries himself further into the pillows around him.

"After mating you're supposed to give yourself some time with your mate or you're going to be in a constant state of distress." Quil reminds him as he slowly makes his way over to settle himself on the edge of the mattress.

"I have to go out with my team tomorrow." He sighs into a pillow, ignoring the way his stomach lurched at just the thought of returning to work. 

"Fine, but try to come home early and work from home on Wednesday." Quil mumbles with a sigh, patting the pillows where he thinks Jacob's shoulder might be before leaving him to sulk until Edward gets home. 

Tuesday is admittedly awkward. It's uncomfortable in a way that Jacob can't quite explain as he gives orders and watches Mike bristle with each new task. He's clearly trying to talk to Jacob, have some kind of conversation in between getting warrants and collecting more evidence, digging through dumpsters, and questioning random civilians. He's frustrated he can't get a word in, but Jacob doesn't want to talk.

He wants to get through most of today and head home to look over what they've found. 

Edward's at home. He's at home, in bed, waiting and Jacob's asking a shop owner about some grainy footage that's just going to provide him with a blob floating down the sidewalk for his troubles. 

"I didn't tell her anything." Is the first thing he hears when he slides into his car. Mike is cooped up on the passenger's side with a crate full of whatever they found in the dumpster. It smells awful. 

"What?" He asks, not really caring for Mike to elaborate as much as he just wants him to get the fuck out of his car.

"I didn't tell the Chief anything. She asked me a couple of basic questions about shit Uley told her and I just gave generic answers. You can trust me." Mike says, eyes clearly pleading with Jacob to believe him.

"Okay." He mumbles, ignoring the way his stomach churns at the smell wafting from the crate. 

"Okay? We're good?" Mike asks, hope clear on his face. It was a big shift from his mouthing off in the restaurant, but Jacob was too busy trying to breathe fresh air to question it. He lets down in his window but only gets it about half way down before his stomach cramps and he's throwing the door open to spill his lunch in the parking lot. 

"Oh, my bad. I think I went nose blind like an hour ago. I'm just gonna..." Mike climbs out of the car and shuts the door.

Jacob attempts to head home at 3:00 PM. 

He informs his team that he'll be calling them if he has anything to offer and he almost gets through the door before he's being summoned.

"Leaving early?" The Chief asks, crossing her arms, stern look already in place before he can even sit down.

"I'm not feeling well." He informs her. 

He watches as her face contorts into something he'd almost classify as sympathy. 

"I know I brought you back at a fairly tumultuous and yet delicate time, but this case needs to be solved before anyone else dies." She says in a fashion that he would almost deem soft.

Tumultuous and yet delicate time?

"I will still be communicating with them and sending and receiving updates." He informs her, shifting in his seat.

He's missing something. He can tell by the way she's looking at him like she's trying her best to be empathetic. She'd never been understanding during times like this, because she'd never had to be. He was always working whether he was healthy or not. This was new for both of them. Though, there was something more than that. The way she was choosing her words so carefully and watching his expressions as he was going to lash out any moment.

"As someone who has gone through morning sickness and is currently helping a loved one through a particularly rough case, I understand if you need to leave early, but I expect a significant update by Wednesday." She concedes.

What? Morning sickness?

He blinks a couple of times trying to figure out what that has to do with him.

"A rookie, Crowley, informed me that you got sick while out in the field." 

Crowley. She'd sent up a small team of rookies to help them carry all of the evidence back to the station and he'd been among them, driving one of the police vans. Why was he reporting Jacob's overall health back to her? 

"I can't have a pregnant detective getting hurt on the job." She answers a question that he didn't realize he was supposed to be asking. So, this is about image. She can't have more going wrong while she's in charge and apparently everything Uley ever told her was considered fact. 

"Hopefully you'll feel better tomorrow."

He crawls into bed like a man crawling towards water in a desert, climbing almost on top of Edward as he plops down into the mountain of pillows. Edward only hums, pulling him closer. He'd struggled to even get out of bed this morning. He was going to have to pull an all-nighter to come up with something of significance by the end of Wednesday, but that was future Jacob's problem. Current Jacob just wanted to enjoy this. 

Edward's kneading at his lower back as soon as he's comfortable. He takes his time trying to work out the knots from where he's being buried underneath Jacob and his meticulously placed pillows. Edward's hands eventually tug at Jacob's shirt and pull at his pants, nimble fingers working up to his shoulders before they eventually find themselves hovering over the curve of Jacob's ass. His pants only last a good minute before they're being pushed down to settle somewhere between his thighs and ankles. 

Jacob should probably be helping out, but he's so exhausted that his limbs feel like noodles as Edward separates his legs. He can only manage a quiet sigh as he allows himself to be positioned correctly. 

"I'm gonna need you to stay quiet for me, okay?" Edward whispers into Jacob's ear.

Truth be told, there was not a chance in hell. There was no chance that he was going to be able to keep quiet. The bond was so strong for him that it felt like he'd just spent the last two days alone, which was fine on any other day, but this was two days after they'd mated and so it felt like Edward was genuinely gone for good. 

So, now that he was seemingly back, it felt almost euphoric.

Jacob buries his face in Edward's chest and hopes that's enough to keep him from getting too noisy.

He was fine having one finger worked in and out of him. However, as soon as he inserted a second finger, all bets were off. Honestly, it's not even Jacob's fault, Edward's pulling out all the stops as if he'd planned his movements before hand. Edward's chest can only muffle so much, so on a particularly quick crook of his fingers that presses right up against Jacob's prostate, he's sure the fucking neighbors hear him. 

Edward tilts Jacob's head up with his free hand, pressing their lips together in an attempt to keep him quiet, but eventually they have to separate for air. 

That's when Edward thinks it's an opportune time to add a third finger.

"Shhh, c'mon I know you can do it, baby." Edward whispers right up against his ear as he slowly begins to pump his fingers.

He can't do it. Jacob's not sure who lied to Edward and told him that Jacob could, but he, in fact, cannot. 

He's trembling with the amount of effort it takes to keep from alerting his entire house. Though, they were probably already aware, he didn't really want to think about that. 

Edward's naked. Has apparently been naked since Jacob got home and only takes a second to yank down the covers to lube himself up before he's directing Jacob, using his hips, to lower himself down onto his dick. It was a brilliant move in hindsight, but also the worst thing he could've done in terms of keeping Jacob quiet. He needed the couple of minutes of Edward fumbling with his button and fly to collect himself, without that, he's like a muffled foghorn against Edward's mouth.

"You're doing such good job for me, Sweetie."

He's lying through his fucking teeth, but Jacob appreciates the gesture.

Jacob doesn't go completely silent until he's fully seated on Edward's lap. For a moment he truly is quiet as he nuzzles his nose into Edward's neck. He smells like clean laundry and lube on top of his cologne. He can feel Edward's hands settle on his waist, a couple of fingers languidly stroking at Jacob's belly. He finally felt a little peace. 

Though, he doesn't get to relish in that for long as Edward opens his mouth.

"If I'm gonna put a baby in you, you're going to have to stay quiet for me." He hisses into Jacob's ear and Jacob feels like he can physically feel his thoughts putter to a stop. He can feel his thighs falling open further, but his mind is too busy reeling from Edward's words to stop the reactions of his own body.

They've never spoken about this, they've only talked about what came with mating. He'd never even, not even in his sex-addled mind's ramblings, spoken about even his body's incessant want to get pregnant. Jacob almost believes he's mocking him, but Edward has this look in his eye like he's making Jacob a promise.

His body is on autopilot as his legs lift him up off of Edward only to quickly, a little too quickly, lower him down and only the piercing pain his hand, snaps him out of whatever trance he's in. He'd bit down so hard on his fist that he was pretty sure he'd broken skin, but he couldn't bring himself to care as his hips sped up with really no help from the rest of him. 

He's not even surprised when he doesn't last long, breath coming out in sputters as he tries his best to keep himself quiet, trembling through an orgasm so intense that it leaves him feeling boneless as he drapes himself ungracefully across Edward.

"Holy shit." Edward whispers against Jacob's temple.

He can feel the itch temporarily scratched. 

Jacob works from home the next day. He sits at his desk, pouring over piles and piles of evidence, looking for the piece that connected this hulking mass together. The common denominator was clear. There was a blonde man stalking this woman, who'd apparently done the same to Bella. He was in every freeze frame over every CCTV footage she'd ever found herself captured in. There was only one particularly good image of him and Jacob had a feeling he wasn't going to find him just waiting in a system somewhere. There was something about him that screamed "ancient evil". 

Jacob doesn't even bother speaking, he just rolls over in his chair and holds the image up to Edward, hoping he had some kind of idea. He's expecting maybe some vague memory or maybe some old nickname or even a last name. 

What he isn't expecting is to have the image slipped out of his fingers as Edward stares at it in disbelief.

"I know him, that's James."