Chapter 1

Late

Forks, Washington never felt warmer. I don't mean literally, because the weather is quite freezing and wet. What I mean by the phrase it never felt warmer is that I had never felt happier and more loved than I have while living in Forks.

Bella and Edward have been joined at the hip ever since we rescued him on Spring Break. Granted, I am also joined at the hip with Embry Call when he isn't running patrol or we're both not in school. Amy has been so happy to have so much love in her life. Rosalie and Emmett pick her up every day after school, take her on some spoil-filled-adventure and bring her home by five. Esme and Carlisle are over often as well. After hearing about the pregnancy, Esme can't help but cook all of my dinners and talk baby with me. Carlisle, by default, wanting to spend all his time with Esme, comes over and reads or does work until Esme leaves.

I think Alice is suspicious about my pregnancy. I'd love to tell her, especially because I need some major help going shopping for maternity clothes and baby furniture and baby clothes. Normally, Alice tends to go shopping and Jasper goes with her, but they both come over around dinner time to show off all of her purchases, which is why she hasn't over-heard about the baby yet.

Embry stays over all afternoon when he isn't running patrol. He tends to spend nights with me too, unless he has a test the next day or his mom is starting to worry about him. Bella always eats dinner with Charlie and Edward, who naturally sits there awkwardly because of his "special diet." Honestly, I know Charlie thinks something is "funky" with Edward and the Cullen family, but he won't say anything for Bella's sake.

The pregnancy is moving along and I am in some serious need of new clothes. I'm surprised no one at school has mentioned anything about my abnormally large belly. Neither has Bella or Alice or anyone really. I'm afraid one day it will just slip out or something because I'm too tired to keep my baby a secret any longer. That's also the hardest part too, because I want to scream at the top of my lungs that I'm having a baby. He or she, no matter how unplanned, has been my source of joy ever since the minute I found out that Embry and I were having a baby. The even more awkward part would be explaining to everyone that we were bright enough to use multiple types of birth control, they just happened not to work so well. That very first night we made love was the night Jr. was conceived, because not only did the condom break, but I had also forgotten to take my pill that one day out of the entire two years I've been on the pill. Embry and I joke about the two of us being the most fertile people on the planet for us to conceive a baby in just one night. Granted, we had sex after that night, but that was the only night our protection didn't quite work properly.

Now that the baby is on the way we couldn't be happier. Embry's proposal to me is a story for another time, but in short he asked if I wanted to get married this summer, before the baby came, not in a rude, un-planned way, but the way with flowers, a ring, and romantic moonlit dinner. I said I would happily marry him this summer but that I wanted to wait a month before we started telling anyone. His mom knows, especially because she legally has to approve of our marriage because Embry is underage. We decided that we will start publicizing the wedding and the baby in May. It's the perfect time because the weather will warm up and I won't be able to hide a baby bump under my clothes any longer.

Its mid-April and raining, as usual. Embry kissed me awake and disappeared out the window to go to school, telling me that he'd see me for dinner tonight. Fridays had become the barbeque nights at my house with werewolves and vampires alike. Although only the werewolves and humans ate, it was the perfect time for socializing, bonding, and easing the tension between the two groups that had long been established as enemies. Esme, Emily, Bella and I would cook, the boys would talk, wrestle, or watch sports on the high-definition, flat screen television Emmett insisted he buy for the house if he was going to be spending so much time here. The other girls would socialize with us as we cooked.

Before leaving, Embry did give me a quick update about who would be coming tonight.

"Do you remember Leah and Seth Clearwater? Harry's kids?" He asked skeptically.

"Of course! Are they coming too?"

"Not exactly," he fished for the right words. "A few weeks ago, they started shifting after losing their dad. Sue is shocked by the news. Leah is freaking out because she thinks that she's a genetic dead end because girls haven't been known to shift, and Seth thinks that being a wolf is the coolest thing on the planet."

I sat there, taking in the information. Two new werewolves, one of which was not happy about the situation. "So what do you need me to do?"

"Sam is convinced that you could talk some sense into Leah, like you do everyone else. Leah won't let Sam or Emily go near her because of what happened with the imprinting and she frankly despises the entire male race. Sam just wants you to talk to her today to try and get her to calm down. She won't stop shifting because she gets so enraged all of the time."

"What makes you think that she'll listen to me? I'm after all friends with a family of vampires, who are the beings that make her change into being a werewolf."

"Because that is your only downfall. Leah is a logical person, she knows you have never caused her any harm, nor have you ever caused anyone heartbreak. She hates people who cause heartbreak."

"Remind me never to break your heart." I kissed him on the cheek as he sat half way in the house, half way out, resting on the window sill.

"Sounds like a good idea to me." He stole a kiss too. "So you'll try to talk to her?"

"Yeah, I'll go after I get out of school. Everyone won't be coming over for a few hours after that, so I'll be fine on time. Where is she staying?"

"Sam's place," he replied.

"Well, that's the dumb."

"Why?"

"Because she obviously isn't over Sam, and even if she was, being in his house that he now shares with Emily would just constantly poke at her emotions. I'm surprised she hasn't torn the house down. Does she need any new clothes? Never mind, I'll bring her something anyway, chances are she's tiered of wearing rags." I kissed Embry one more time before insisting that he needed to leave before we were both late for school.