Odd Breed

Despite all the problems I'd faced during my pregnancy, I wouldn't change a single thing. Kevin was what I'd always dreamed of having with Jacob. Like Jacob and me, Kevin was a curious little thing. He didn't mind being held by others as long as either me or Jacob were close by. If we both left the room, he would get nervous and start crying. So I was always sure to be close.

I was especially thrilled that Jacob and Kevin were already so close. Jacob would play with Kevin all the time, playing little games with him and even changing a diaper or two for me. It was too soon to ask momma to babysit him, so I took him with me to work, which no one at the shop argued over. They thought Kevin was cute and he never bothered anyone. Kevin was usually sleeping most of the time anyway. Alice took a picture one time of Jacob and Kevin taking a nap on the couch together and that picture was now on my desk and I looked at it all the time. When their faces were close together, it was obvious how much Kevin looked like Jacob.

Rachael ended up having Maxi a month after I'd had Kevin, making his birthday January 2nd. Kevin was a little less than a month older being born December 14th. He got plenty of Christmas presents since everyone was already expecting him to be borne by then. He slept through most of unwrapping gifts, but that's okay.

Jacob wanted me to stay home for a while when Kevin was born, so for the first few weeks, Rachael and I would spend the days together while our boys took naps in our arms. When I started going to work with Jacob again, I always took Kevin with us. I wanted Kevin with me so I could feed him when he needed and so I would always know how he was doing. I wouldn't be able to do this for long, so I wanted to take advantage of it. I was relieved that Kevin seemed to be growing at a normal human rate, so that gave me more years to look forward to.

"So how're you doing?" I looked up from my computer and saw Jacob standing in the doorway smiling at me and Kevin, who I was holding.

"Pretty good. I'm relieved to get a chance to get some work done." Jacob smiled a little more and closed the door behind him before walking over to me and kneeling so he was face to face with Kevin, who was wide awake at the moment.

"How about you, Kevin?" Kevin didn't say anything, but he did smile and that made Jacob happy. "I take that as a good thing?"

"You could probably say that." Jacob chuckled and took Kevin in his arms and bounced him a few times for Kevin's entertainment. Kevin's smile stayed bright, even without his teeth, so Jacob kept up the gentle movements.

"You know, you'd never know he was such a grump in the womb seeing him now."

"I know. Maybe it was just him taking advantage of the comfort as long as he could." Jacob chuckled.

"Probably. He's adorable, though."

"He is. He looks just like his daddy." Jacob chuckled.

"Not just like me. He's got plenty of you."

"Not much. He has my hair sort of, but that's about it." Kevin's hair had gotten darker in the past few weeks. It was still a color similar to mine, but Jacob's black hair was in there too, making his hair almost look like a reddish brown now. But his eyes were still green, and that was nice.

"He has your smile, Nessie."

"Maybe."

"Definitely." I smiled and watched Jacob play with Kevin for a few more minutes before he sighed and handed Kevin back to me. "I need to go back to work."

"We'll be here when you come back." Jacob smiled and bent down to kiss me, then he kissed Kevin's little forehead, said he loved us both, then left the office to go back to the garage.

I managed to get work done, but I gave most of my attention to Kevin and entertaining him. Thanks to Kevin's little gift, we could have conversations together that, with the exception of daddy of course, only he and I could hear. It was a special connection that Kevin and I shared and it made us closer. I was teaching him the name to things through our mental conversations and he was learning fast. He couldn't verbalize anything yet, but he could now mentally put a word to things. He could tell me and Jacob, 'I'm tired', 'I'm hungry', 'I'm dirty', and 'I'm bored, play with me please'. Jacob certainly enjoined it when Kevin did that.

Later that night, I was putting Kevin to bed for the night while Jacob was starting his shower. I remembered that Kevin was now two months and eight days old. Carlisle had recommended to me and Jacob that I wait to heal before we tried being intimate again. He'd said two months to be safe. It was past two months, and I was tired of not being with him. When Kevin was tucked in, I kissed his head and turned on his little turning nightlight of stars and planets and left the room. Kevin liked the stars and planets nightlight. The moving stars and planets relaxed him and helped him sleep.

I heard the shower from the bathroom when I walked into the room. I took the baby monitor with me while I made my way to the bathroom. I could hear Kevin pretty easily through most noise, but I liked having the baby monitor as a form of reassurance. Before walking into the bathroom, I stripped down bare, then opened the door and left the baby monitor on the counter before walking into the shower. Jacob had heard me come in and was already looking at me when I walked in.

"How's Kevin?"

"He's doing good. I think he'll sleep through most of the night without much interruption. I'm so glad we got him that rotating nightlight."

"Me too. He's been sleeping so much better since we got him that." I smiled and walked over to Jacob and grabbed his bar of soap and cleaned him off. Jacob did the same and lathered a small palm full of my body wash.

"So guess what?"

"What?" I looked up at Jacob with a smile.

"It's been two months." Jacob looked up at me now with a bit of a smile.

"Has it, now?" I nodded.

"Yes it has." Jacob and I smiled at each other for a few moments while still lathering each other with soap. Jacob bent his head down to mine after a few seconds and we started kissing.

He deepened the kiss by licking my lips, asking for entrance. It was the first time in months that Jacob and I could share a truly passionate kiss. I dropped the soap so I could wrap my arms around Jacob's still soapy body and Jacob moved his hands over my body tenderly. As Jacob's hands traveled over my body, they eventually went between my legs and he forced two fingers inside me, making me moan.

"Has it really been seven months since we've done this?" I nodded. "It feels like longer."

"Doesn't it?" Jacob chuckled under his breath before returning to kissing me lovingly.

His fingers moved around trying to make me wet and desperate. It wasn't long before I was and I was tightening my grip on him to bring him closer. Without taking out his fingers, Jacob brought his other arm around my waist and lifted me up so I was at the same level as he was and his fingers had easier access to me. I felt Jacob start moving, and kept kissing him, not wanting to ruin the moment. But then I felt Jacob jerk backwards and land against the stone walls of the shower and I looked at him surprised. Jacob started laughing.

"What happened?"

"I slipped on the soap." I smiled and started laughing with him, resting my head on his shoulder. Then I felt Jacob's fingers leave me, and the water from the shower stopped. "We should get out of the shower. We're clean enough."

"We didn't break the wall or anything did we?" Jacob bounced me once to make sure his hold of me was secure before he turned to look at the stone wall. It was a little bit cracked but nothing that couldn't be fixed.

"We'll only tell them I slipped in the shower." I giggled.

"Good call." Jacob smiled and walked out of the shower with me still in his arms and we made our way to bed. Before leaving, Jacob grabbed the baby monitor for me and put it on the nightstand before placing me down under him.

Our lips finally met again and we were kissing for several minutes, dueling our tongues together and sucked each other's lips and ran over our teeth with our tongues. As we kissed, I started feeling dizzy and tightened my hold on Jacob while his hands traveled over my body with tender care. AS we were kissing, Jacob's right hand traveled down between my legs and pushed in two fingers inside me while his thumb tickled my nub. As he did so, I moaned his name through our kiss and Jacob groaned when I started moving my hands around his back, gently running my nails against his skin.

Wanting to mimic what he was doing to me, I took my left hand and brought it to his member and wrapped my fingers around him and started stroking him, trying to get him even harder. When I started doing that, his fingers that were inside me moved faster and more relentlessly. I forced my lips away from Jacob's so I could breath and turned my head to the side as I started moaning, trying not to be too loud so I wouldn't wake up Kevin.

When we were no longer kissing, Jacob started kissing along my jaw and down my neck, then back up again until he reached my ear. He took my ear between his lips and sucked and bit my ear, making me gasp as his fingers increased their movements yet again. Not long after, Jacob pulled his fingers away from me and replaced them with his shaft. I moaned his name when he entered me having missed him being with me like this for so long. I was scared that having a baby would've made this feel slightly less pleasurable. I wouldn't lie that I wasn't as tight as I had been, but it still felt wonderful. When he was inside me and started moving, he started whispering to me.

"Does that still feel good, Nessie?" I nodded and moaned.

"Yes, Jacob. It still feels good. Go faster." I felt Jacob smile against my ear as he followed my orders and moved faster. When he did that, it felt even better and I wrapped my arms back around his neck, digging my nails into his skin. Jacob started sucking on the skin of my neck and my ear.

After a few minutes, Jacob opted for a new position and turned on his back so I was on top. I gasped a little at the change and Jacob's hands went straight to my hips and began moving my hips the way he wanted. Once I had his desired pattern in mind, I started moving on my own, though Jacob's hands stayed on my hips, mindlessly going with me as I moved. I rested my hands on Jacob's chest to stay balanced and I was getting dizzier the more I moved. Eventually, Jacob decided he wanted a faster pace, so he sat up and took my wrists in his hands so he could place my arms around his neck.

Then Jacob kissed me as his hands went under my arms and he lifted me up and down repeatedly at a speed that he liked. About a minute in, Jacob took his lips away, letting me breath, and turned his attention to my chest where he kissed and sucked my breasts, making me moan a little louder. I didn't want to wake Kevin, so I bit Jacob's shoulder to stay silent. The slight pain from my bite made Jacob groan and his hands squeezed under my arms. I giggled from it tickling me and Jacob gave my breast one last kiss before he changed our position again.

This time, Jacob put me on my hands and knees, then wrapped his left arm around my chest so my back was against him and he entered me again once his right hand had a hold of something. My eyes were closed, so I didn't see what it was. Jacob began to thrust with more vigor and gave me a kiss before he brought his lips to my neck and sucked greedily, his hand making work of my breasts. I tried biting my lip so I wouldn't be so loud with moaning, and thankfully, it helped a little

We weren't in that position long before I started to feel like I was about to climax. One of my hands reached behind me so I could turn a little to look at Jacob. I started saying his name, but he didn't notice I wanted his attention. When I licked his ear and said his name again, he turned to look at me and stopped a moment.

"Go faster, Jacob." I barely said the phrase and Jacob fused his lips with mine and did as I asked and went faster than he had all night.

As he increased his speed, his grip tightened on me and it wasn't long before I was on the verge of coming undone. I told Jacob I was close, so he brought his other hand to my nub and rubbed it vigorously to help me along. It wasn't long and I was high in the sky clutching Jacob like he was my only link to stay grounded. When I finally came, I lost my grip on Jacob and fell forward a little, letting Jacob be the one to hold me up with my hand resting on his forearm. Jacob came shortly after me and when he did, he fell to the side, taking me with him. We laid together for a few minutes catching our breath before we finally said anything.

"I needed that so bad." I giggled and turned to look at Jacob.

"Me too. Was it as satisfying for me as it was for you." Jacob chuckled and kissed me.

"You have no idea, Nessie. You have no idea." Jacob pulled me closer to him and gave me a kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him tighter when our kiss ended. "You don't think this'll be rare because of Kevin do you?" I smiled and shook my head.

"Only if we let it, Jacob." Jacob chuckled and tightened his hold of me a little more and we fell asleep in each other's arms.

Early in the morning, I heard Kevin crying through the walls and monitor and got up to tend to him. When I got up, Jacob was still fast asleep. I wasn't sure whether to be mad or think it was funny. Either way, I needed to tend to Kevin. I went to the closet really quickly so I could put on my robe before going to Kevin's room. He was in his cradle crying and the moment I picked him up, he started crying slightly less. Mentally, I asked him what was wrong and he pushed the thought, 'dirty, hungry' in my mind.

I brought Kevin to the changing table and cleaned him off quickly. I was sure to be lenient on the baby powder. Kevin loved the smell of it and it relaxed him whenever he was crying. When he was clean, we sat in the little chair in the corner of the room and I pulled one side of my robe away so Kevin could breast feed. This was one of those things that I loved, but hated at the same time. I enjoyed that breast feeding Kevin would make us closer in the long run, but it still hurt to do it. Emily and Kim assured me and Rachael that it would get a little better the more we did it. Emily compared it to working a muscle and I had to agree with the comparison.

And of course, Kevin was a greedy little thing. If I ever tried taking Kevin away when he wasn't done, he would have a fit. So I always let him drink until he was completely done, which could take several minutes at times. But it kept Kevin happy, so I didn't complain. Several minutes later when Kevin was finally finished eating, I pulled my robe over my breast and rested Kevin on my shoulders and started gently patting his back so he would burp. When he did, I bounced him in my arms once and praised him before taking him back to his crib and giving him a little kiss on his forehead.

"Night, night, Kevin." Kevin didn't respond in any way. He just closed his eyes and went to sleep. I smiled and looked at him for a few minutes. He looked so much like Jacob, though he had a little bit of daddy in him. His hair was darker because of Jacob, but I could see the bronze in there that he got from me and his green eyes screamed daddy.

When I was done looking at him, I went back to my room and saw Jacob still fast asleep in bed. I went to the closet to hang my robe before going back to bed, not bothering to put on any pajamas. When I got to bed, I fell asleep instantly and I didn't wake up until the next morning when I felt Jacob kissing my neck with one of his hands on my leg.

"Morning to you too, Jacob." Jacob smiled against my skin and moved on top of me.

"Believe it or not, I woke up early." I looked over at the clock, which said 7:30.

"Wow, you did. Maybe it's because you didn't get up in the middle of the night when Kevin cried." Jacob looked at me with a guilty smile.

"I kind of was. I just didn't want to get out of bed, so I stayed put and tried to look like I was still asleep."

"You mean I could've went right back to sleep and made you take care of him at two in the morning?" Jacob kept giving me a guilty smile. "Next time, I'm waking you up and making you do it."

"I can't feed him, Nessie."

"No, but you can change him. You need to do that. You've never done that mind you."

"The idea just freaks me out."

"Oh yeah, Jacob, and handling infant waste sounds just divine to me." Jacob chuckled at my sarcasm and kissed me.

"You can get back at me tomorrow night when I'm not on patrol." I sighed.

"Good enough." Jacob smiled and kissed me again, and this time I kissed him back and wrapped my arms and legs around him to bring him close to me. I used that opportunity to push erotic images of us in his head, and he was hard in an instant.

Jacob and I made love again for most of the morning until it was looming on nine and we needed to get ready to go to the shop. I dressed as quickly as possible so I could start getting Kevin ready to go. He was still sound asleep when I got in and he refused to wake up while I was getting him dressed. He whined in discontentment a few times, but for the most part, he didn't wake up. When he was ready, I went downstairs and waited a minute for Jacob to get down.

"How's Kevin doing this morning?" I smiled while Jacob walked over to us and leaned down to look at Kevin.

"Still sleeping." Jacob smiled and looked up at me.

"What I wouldn't give to be able to sleep like that." I giggled.

"I know what you mean. No matter what, he wouldn't wake up."

"I wouldn't either if I didn't have anything to do."

"He could always talk to me." Jacob chuckled and kissed my cheek.

"I wish I could do that with him. Whenever he pushes his thoughts in my head, it's always one sided."

"I know. He wishes he could hear you too. He wishes he could hear everyone, honestly. He gets bored with just talking to me." Jacob smiled and looked down at Kevin.

"How can you get bored with talking to your mother?" Then Jacob looked at me again. "Let's get going, shall we?" I nodded and followed Jacob outside to the car. He got in the driver's seat and waited for me to get Kevin strapped into his little car seat and he drove off when I finally took my spot in the passenger's seat.

"By the way, Jacob."

"Yeah, Nessie?"

"While I'm thinking about it, Aida said she was coming over today at the shop. She wants to meet Kevin."

"I thought she hated kids."

"She does. But since it's my baby, she'll meet him." Jacob chuckled.

"I'm not sure I trust her around my kid."

"Jacob, stop. She won't do anything to him." Jacob shrugged with a smile.

"It's the principle of the matter, Nessie. Why don't you explain the devil thing to me again for the umpteenth time before I let her near my child." I giggled and swatted Jacob's arm.

"Stop it, Jacob, she's not that bad and you know it. Besides, I think she'll like Kevin, even if only a little. She'll think his telepathy is interesting at least."

"What time is she coming?"

"I think sometime around one."

"Alright. Just warn Steven, okay. He'll just send her away and you know as much as I do that Aida isn't going to be polite to him."

"I'll warn Steven." Jacob smiled.

"Thank you, Nessie."

When Jacob and I got to the shop, he went straight to the garage while me and Kevin went to the office in the back. Before going in, I told Steven that I was expecting someone by the name of Aida around one and to not be alarmed if a woman with dark, multicolored hair walks in seemingly unannounced. He laughed a little and said he would keep his eyes peeled for her.

Once in my office, I took Kevin out of his little carrier and held him in my arm while I worked on a few things. Kevin stayed asleep for the most part until he got hungry again and started whimpering and pushing the thought, 'I'm hungry'.

"Steven, could you close the door for me, please?"

"Sure thing, Mrs. Black." Then Steven closed the door for me and once it was closed, I undid my blouse and pulled away my bra so I could feed Kevin.

I glanced at the clock to make sure it wasn't one yet, I still had about an hour before Aida was supposed to show up. That was plenty of time to feed Kevin. Once Kevin got situated, he helped himself and I bit my lip, still trying to get used to it. I finally understood why some women refused to breast feed. It was pretty painful. I was surprised that it wasn't healing closed, but according to Carlisle, that wasn't how breast feeding worked.

'Are you getting full Kevin?' I thought to him.

'Almost.' I smiled, knowing this was a recent word he'd figured out. It wasn't quite yes and it wasn't quite no either, and that was good enough for him.

'Would you like me to sing to you, Kevin?'

'Yes.' I smiled and tightened my grip on him slightly and affectionately.

'What song?' Kevin didn't give me an answer right away. I remembered he didn't know the songs names, he only knew the tone so far. So when he picked one, he played a little of it in my head so I would know what he wanted.

'That.' I smiled and caressed his face while he kept drinking and started humming the song daddy had written for him. He'd affectionately named the song, Oddity. It was an upbeat little piano piece that always made Kevin smile.

I hummed the whole song before Kevin decided he was done drinking and let go of me. Once my clothes were properly rearranged, I kept holding Kevin and got back to work. Kevin was playing with my hair while I was working and would occasionally show me what he was looking at asking me what it was. This was how Kevin had started learning new words, he would show it to me, I'd tell him what it was, and he'd use it whenever he could, even if it didn't make sense. That was the best part about it. He might know what the word was for those object, but he still had no idea what it meant. To him, they were just things.

I ended up getting engrossed in what I was doing and lost track of time. So it was one before I knew it and I heard the tell tale sign that Aida was here when I heard her voice. Steven, having been warned, told her I was in the back room and warned her to knock first. Before she walked in, I took the time to button up my shirt and never let Kevin out of my arms. When Aida walked in and closed the door behind her, she slightly smiled.

"So this is the little monster I heard about." I smiled, knowing she was speaking affectionately, and nodded.

"Yep, this is Kevin."

"I have a hard time believing that this little thing was kicking you so violently."

"I know, right. But yes, it was him."

"I can't even tell who he looks like. Who in your family has brown hair?"

"No one. It's bronze. It was just darkened a little because of Jacob's hair color. And he has green eyes because of daddy." This did surprise her.

"No shit? That's unique."

"Yeah. And he has a gift like mine. He can push thoughts into people's heads, but he can do it from a distance. And, as daddy put it, you can only hear what he wants you to hear."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means daddy can't hear his thoughts unless one of us is hearing it or if he pushes the thought to daddy specifically."

"So he's a shield like your mom?"

"Yeah."

"Bitchin. Can your mom hear him?" I shook my head.

"That's the sad part. Momma can only hear him if she has her shield up. Otherwise, Kevin can penetrate her mind, so to speak."

"That kind of blows." Aida walked over and kneeled down to look at Kevin. "You know, now that I really look at him, he looks a lot like Jacob."

"Yeah, he does. He looks just like him with just enough of me to make him different." Aida shrugged.

"I don't know, Jacob's pretty hot. It wouldn't be so bad if Kevin looked exactly like him."

"I never said that. I'm just saying he looks a little different from Jacob is all."

"I know what you're saying, Nessie." Aida looked at Kevin a few seconds before speaking again. "Can I hold him?" I was a little surprised, but I nodded my head.

"Sure you can. I didn't think you would want to."

"There's something about this kid I like. I'm sensing a future bad ass." I shook my head.

"No way. Not my baby." Aida smiled.

"All mothers say that, Nessie."

I didn't say anything else, but I still didn't think Kevin would end up like that. I lifted Kevin up so Aida could grab a hold of him. Kevin looked a little upset that I was handing him to someone other than family, which surprised me. I never thought Kevin would be a selective type. But when Aida grabbed a hold of him, he looked at her hair and, so we could both hear, told her he liked her hair. Aida grinned.

"He's got good taste." I smiled.

"And at such a young age." It was a little awkward, but Kevin looked comfortable enough. He was occupying himself with Aida's hair and she was looking him over.

"He's adorable, Nessie."

"He is."

"So how's Jacob doing?"

"He's good. He's out in the garage, but he'll come in to say hi soon enough. He usually comes in the see me and Kevin a few times a day."

"Sounds cool." I smiled and Aida handed Kevin back to me, who wrapped his little arms partly around my neck, telling me he thought she was nice, in what few words he knew at his age, and then closed his eyes ready to take a nap. "How often does he sleep?"

"Whenever he can. He's a lot like Jacob in a few of his mannerisms, such as his eating and sleeping habits." Aida laughed.

"Care to elaborate?" I smiled and patted Kevin's head.

"He decides when he's done eating for starters."

"Do you breastfeed?" I nodded.

"Yeah. It just seems appropriate."

"I hear it hurts like hell."

"It does at first. But I've started getting used to it. And if I try to make Kevin stop eating before he's done, he'll start crying and throw a fit, so I just let him eat what he wants. When he's done eating he takes a nap."

"Does he sleep through the night?"

"Usually. Sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night when something's wrong, but he's asleep when that problem is solved. And I'm working through the day, so he usually sleeps through that."

"If you had to put it in hours, how long do you think he sleeps a day on average?" I thought about it a moment.

"If I had to put it in hours, I'd say he generally sleeps about seventeen or eighteen hours a day give or take. It depends."

"That's one sleepy baby." I smiled.

"I know. He likes sleeping."

"So how old is he now?"

"He's about ten weeks old."

"So two months?" I nodded.

"Yep." She smiled.

"So wasn't your sister in law pregnant too?"

"Yeah, she was. She had Maxi about four weeks ago." Aida smiled.

"Maxi?"

"His full name is Maxwell, but Paul prefers to call him Maxi."

"So are either of you planning on having more kids?" I nodded.

"She definitely is. They want three kids and Rachael wants to get the pregnancies over with, so she wants to have the three of them within the next four or five years."

"You mean she wants three back to back pregnancies?" I nodded.

"That's the gist of it. And Paul's not complaining."

"You're not planning on doing that are you?" I shook my head.

"No way. Having Kevin was excruciating and I still remember how much so it was. I'd like to forget how painful it was before I think of having more kids."

"I doubt all your kids are going to be a kicker like Kevin was."

"That wasn't what I was referring to specifically, but now that you bring it up, that's something I'd rather forget about before getting pregnant again. I was talking about the birthing process itself."

"Oh yeah, that. That sucks balls too. I'm glad I'm never having kids." I shrugged.

"You never know, Aida, you might. I'm not saying you will, but you might."

"Not if I can help it. I don't want kids."

"I know, Aida."

"So does Leah talk to you about Hailey?"

"She talks to Jacob who tells me. Why, did something happen?" Aida shook her head.

"No, nothing's wrong. He's two, walking, talking, and a terrible toddler. Not that Mrs. Stanley would know much about that since she leaves Leah to babysit for her most of the time."

"Isn't that a good thing for Leah?"

"Yeah, but at the same time, she has a job too. She can't keep taking the baby whenever Mrs. Stanley is sick of handling a toddler."

"Well, think of it from her point of view. She shouldn't be having kids now. She should be having grandkids. Which reminds me, have Jessica and Mike had any kids? Mom doesn't really talk to them, so she doesn't know."

"I don't talk to them either. But as far as I know, they have a six month old or something. It's a girl."

"Do you know her name?" Aida shrugged.

"Becky or something, maybe Brenda, or Bianca. It started with a B."

"That's descriptive."

"It's what I know, Nessie. I prefer not to talk to Hailey's illegitimate siblings."

"You're one of his illegitimate siblings."

"I know. But I can't avoid myself, Nessie. That would be paradoxical." I was silent a moment.

"I guess it would be. So Hailey's doing fine?"

"He's a happy toddler if there ever was one. He's happier with Leah than he is with his own family, you'll be happy to know. Although, I'm concerned Hailey won't think of Leah as a lover after being cared for by her the way he is. What if he never thinks of her as anymore than a mother?"

"It's too soon to worry about that. Let's not jinx them." Aida nodded and pulled the chair that was across from me at my desk so it was right next to me and we started catching up on a few more things.

"One more semester and I'll be a registered nurse."

"That's great news. Don't you have class today?"

"It was this morning. I'm done for the day. It's Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays that are my busy days."

"I see. Do you already know what hospital you're going to apply for a job at?" Aida nodded.

"Yep. The college has a program where they help us find jobs and the General hospital in Seattle already accepted me and two other nurses as new employees. And Coralline is doing really good at her job."

"That's good news. So she's doing well?"

"She's doing great. She has this new boyfriend and he's pretty awesome. He's really clean and no tattoos, but he's awesome." I giggled.

"I see cleanliness isn't a trait you hold in high regard."

"It's not that. It's just that when I first met him, he looked like a prick, but he proved me wrong."

"That's a relief. First impressions aren't always right, Aida."

"Yeah, I guess. So now that Kevin's born, does that mean you and Jacob can do the nasty now?" I was wide eyed at Aida a moment. She just smiled and I laughed a little after a moment.

"Yes, though it's none of your business."

"Just remember to use protection again. Nothing gets a woman pregnant faster than, 'I didn't think one time would do any harm'."

"Yes, Aida. Thank you for your concerns. We won't have any kids for a while. I went back on the pill when Kevin was born."

"Are you still bleeding from that?" I shook my head.

"No. I managed to heal from it pretty quickly. Rachael's still bleeding, but it's not bad. It's kind of like having her period. I was bleeding for a few hours after I had Kevin, but I stopped after that."

"That's good news." As Aida and I were talking, Jacob opened the door to my office and walked in, smiling politely at Aida.

"Hey, Aida."

"Hey there, Jacob. How's life?"

"Good. How about you?"

"Awesome. Kevin's adorable. I can tell you're his daddy." Jacob smiled a little and walked over to me, taking Kevin in his arms.

"He's sleeping again, huh?" I nodded.

"Yeah. He fell asleep after Aida held him for a bit."

"That's a shame. I wanted to talk to him a bit." I smiled while Kevin, still sound asleep, rested his head against Jacob's shoulder. Kevin had grown a bit since he was born. He's already gained two pounds and he was a little longer than before. He was growing too fast, and I could already tell. I wanted to savor the time I had before he would end up six foot plus like Jacob.

"That's a pretty cool gift he has, Jacob."

"Yeah it is. I just hope he won't rely on it and take longer to learn how to talk. He can't use this gift with anyone but his family….and you in light of your awareness of the situation." Aida smiled at Jacob's annoyed tone that he added at the end.

"Don't get too mad about that, Jacob. It's not like I told anyone about it. Even Coralline and Zeppelin don't know."

"Good. The last thing we need is the town finding out about us. So hey, Mrs. Stanley doesn't know about Leah and the fusing does she?"

"You mean the wolf thing? No, she doesn't know. You think Leah would trust her with that sort of shit? Please, you guys would be exposed in a second. Hailey accidentally told her once, but she didn't believe him thankfully. He's two, so it wouldn't be beyond him to make things up with that little overactive imagination." Jacob sighed.

"I'll still need to talk to Leah about that. Hailey can't keep saying that to Mrs. Stanley. It won't be long before she starts believing him."

"I doubt it, Jacob. Who takes a toddler seriously these days?"

"It's not his toddler years I'm worried about per se. If he keeps saying it, she's going to wonder why he's making the accusation in the first place. She might not find out our secret, but it could still get Leah in trouble and I don't want to do that to her. She's been through enough in that department as it is, I don't want to set her up for something like that again."

"Don't worry, Jacob. If it makes you feel better, she thinks he might be schizophrenic." Jacob and I both looked at her wide eyed.

"He's schizophrenic?!" Aida held up her hands.

"I said he might be. And come on, his father is over fifty and his mother is pushing fifty. We're lucky the kid doesn't have Down syndrome."

"What makes you guys think he's schizophrenic?"

"Well, when he talks, he'll sometimes mix up his words, and he often talks to himself and sees things."

"What makes you think he's seeing things?"

"Because he looks around while he's talking to himself."

"Oh come on, he's two. Two year olds act that way."

"Not really."

"He's a two year old, Aida. And Leah never said anything about it or thought about it."

"It's a recent thing." Jacob sighed, then looked at me.

"Do you think Edward could diagnose something like that?" I nodded.

"I don't doubt it. And if he does have schizophrenia, then he'll need meds for it. Schizophrenia's dangerous if it's not treated."

"It can kill a person? I thought it was just a mental disorder." I nodded.

"It's a serious mental disorder. It could be harmless where he just talks different and walks oddly, but worst case scenario, he'll hear and see things that scare him, voices will tell him to do things, he'll suffer extreme paranoia and then you get a kid that comes to school with a sawed off shot gun. That can be avoided with therapy and medication."

"I'll tell Leah to bring him to Carlisle next time she's babysitting him. No one will give you a better diagnosis than Carlisle and Edward."

"That should do. They're planning to take Hailey to a doctor this weekend anyway, but as far as I know, Leah's babysitting him today after work." I smiled.

"That's good news. I guess we'll see her at the house tonight. Does she have patrol tonight?" Jacob shook his head.

"No, she doesn't. She usually goes on patrol on different nights than me."

"Okay, good. Better yet, I'll call her right now." Jacob nodded.

"Yeah, thanks Nessie." Then Jacob looked at Aida. "It was nice seeing you again, Aida."

"Likewise, J-dog." Jacob gave her a weird look, then shrugged and walked over to me and handed Kevin back to me, patting his head before walking out of the office to go back to work. When he was gone, I picked up the phone and dialed Leah's work number. Aida waited silently while I did so. When Leah answered, she sounded businesslike and strong.

"Johnson and Bowers attorney at Law, this is Leah Clearwater. May I ask who's speaking?"

"Leah, its Nessie."

"Nessie? Hey. Is something wrong?"

"I don't think so, but I think it's only good to be safe. Aida came to visit me today and she told me something about Hailey that concerned me." When Leah spoke, it was in a controlled panic voice.

"What's wrong with Hailey? What happened?"

"Nothing happened, Leah, don't worry. It's something that his parents are suspecting that I think you should know about."

"Okay, and what's that?"

"According to Aida, Mrs. Stanley thinks Hailey might be schizophrenic."

"It runs in my family so I'm sure that could be part of the reason for her suspicion." I glanced at Aida, but kept listening to Leah.

"Schizophrenic? What makes her think that?"

"He talks to himself, she says he's seeing things, he talks in word salads. That's what she told me." Leah was silent a moment as she thought about it.

"He's a little kid. It's too soon to make such a bold statement."

"I know. I'm only telling you because it's a serious thing to think. And Aida says that schizophrenia runs in her family, not to mention Mr. Matthews is over fifty, so he's that much more likely to have it. I've never heard of it appearing this young, but it's better to be safe than sorry." Leah was silent a moment again.

"I didn't know that was even a possibility."

"Neither did I. I'm calling because Mrs. Stanley wants to take him to a doctor to have him checked for it."

"There's a way to check it?"

"Not through blood work or anything if that's what you mean. She'll probably get a diagnosis based on the symptoms. That's why I'm calling you, because since you have him tonight, you could bring him to the Cullen house and have daddy monitor him for a few hours."

"Edward would know what to look for?" I nodded.

"You'll never get a better diagnosis than from someone who can hear everything Hailey's thinking."

"That's true I suppose. I'll bring Hailey over as soon as I have him."

"See you then, Leah."

"So Leah doesn't know about this?" Aida shook her head.

"Nope. She probably thought the same thing Jacob did if she saw it. Honestly, I think the same thing. He's a toddler with a big imagination."

"I hope that's all it is." Aida nodded and looked at Kevin again.

Aida ended up staying for about an hour before she needed to leave. She had the night shift at her job today. Jacob had called Leah earlier, letting her know what was suspected and she agreed to take him to daddy and Carlisle as soon as he was with her. When Jacob and I left work that day, we went to the house so we could be there when the diagnosis was made. That and I think everyone wanted to see Kevin. He was adored by everyone. The Denalis and several of our other friends haven't met Kevin yet, but the Denalis were planning to come as soon as possible to see him. Other than that, our immediate family had already seen Kevin, even grandma. She thought it was extremely odd that I was grown already, but she didn't question it too much. As far as she knew, I was still only Edward's niece technically, so she couldn't find anything odd about her twenty seven year old daughter already having a grandchild.

When Jacob and I got there, Carlisle was already home, but Leah and Hailey hadn't arrived yet. It would take them a little time to get to the house since Leah lived further away in Seattle. The longest she'd stayed in Forks since she moved was a week when she was down for Seth's wedding. Although I do think she misses the quality time with her brother, though I'm sure she would never admit to it.

"Did Aida tell you what symptoms he had to make them think this?" Jacob nodded at Carlisle's question.

"She said he talks to himself and sometimes he says he's seeing things no one else does and when he talks, it doesn't always make sense."

"Like a word salad?" Jacob nodded.

"That's what Aida told us." Carlisle sighed.

"He's two, for heaven's sake. Thank you for telling me about this, you two. I'd rather Hailey be properly diagnosed with a problem without having countless medications shoved down his throat."

"What kind of medications would he need if he's actually schizophrenic?"

"It would depend on his symptoms. I'm hoping, if he does have it, that he only has the odd speech impediment. Either way, I would recommend either Stelazin or Trilafon. Both would improve his mood disorders; relieve him of suspiciousness and social awkwardness, paranoia. Either way, he'll need something to treat his speech impediment." We were quiet a moment and Ryan, who had walked in on the conversation, asked the uncomfortable question.

"How bad do you think this could get?" Carlisle sighed.

"Very bad. If he is schizophrenic, he'll need to take his meds, go to therapy, need support from his family, all those things. Especially if one of his symptoms are paranoia or delusions. Schizophrenia can be relatively harmless if the person only suffers from speech impediment and odd walking behavior. It's when they see things, hear things, suffer from paranoia and delusions, is when it gets serious." Jacob groaned.

"So he'll think we're all out to get him or something?"

"That's often the case." In an attempt to lighten the mood marginally, Ryan spoke.

"Hey, at least if he is schizophrenic, at least he'll always love Leah, right?" To my surprise, Carlisle shook his head.

"Unfortunately, some schizophrenics suffer from something called the flat affect. That's when they have a reduced ability to express emotion. He would most likely still love her, he would just be distant, cold, quiet, uncompassionate without even meaning to be, several things. Schizophrenia's a very serious condition, so I desperately hope Hailey doesn't have it, for everyone's sake."

"Is there a lab test you could do to be sure?" Jacob asked. Carlisle shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. I'll have to rely on what Edward tells me is going on in his head. That's how schizophrenia is usually diagnosed. The patient tells us the symptoms and we diagnose them from there."

When Carlisle was done talking, we all heard a car pull up outside and we waited in anticipation of telling Leah what was going on. I wasn't sure what exactly Jacob had told her, so I was extremely anxious about this. Daddy went to the door before she could ring the doorbell and walked her in without a word. When she got in, she was holding Hailey in her arms, who looked like he was sound asleep.

"Jacob told me Hailey might be schizophrenic?" Jacob nodded.

"Aida told me about his family's suspicions and I figured it was better to be safe than sorry."

"And with Edward reading his mind, we can find out if it's actually schizophrenia and not just a toddler being a toddler."

"He's two. When he talks to himself, it's just him playing." Jacob stood up next to Leah.

"How many questionable things have you seen?" Leah thought a moment and shrugged.

"He tells me about things that I can't see and sometimes he mumbles to himself. And he doesn't like Mike. He thinks Mike is trying to steal his toys because he's always trying to play with him." Carlisle sighed, then looked at daddy.

"Do you need him to be awake for this?" Daddy nodded.

"Yeah. And it will be a few hours before I can say for certain."

"That's what I thought." Then Carlisle looked at Leah. "Could you wake him up at all?"

Leah looked reluctant to do so. She just stared at Carlisle a moment, a little nervous. I think she just didn't want to admit there might be a problem. She finally finds the one who one day will be the man she loves more than anything, and then she finds out there might be something seriously wrong with him. I didn't blame her for being defensive. But after staring at Carlisle a moment, she started bouncing Hailey on her shoulder, whispering to him gently. Hailey took a moment to wake up, but when she finally got him up, he was a bit cranky.

"You need to wake up, Hailey."

"Why?" His little voice was thick with sleep and he rested his head back on her shoulder, refusing to wake up. I was surprised how much Hailey had grown in just two years. He was already 3'3" and his brown hair was really thick and his face reminded me a little of Aida. I'd never actually met her dad, but Hailey made it pretty obvious that they looked like Mr. Matthews.

"Mr. Cullen wants to watch you play for a few hours. Do you want to play."

"I'm sleepy."

"I know, Hailey. But it's only for a little while, then you can go back to sleep." Hailey whined a little and rubbed his face in Leah's shoulder. "I promise, Hailey, Mr. Cullen is very nice and lots of fun."

"Nap first." Leah sighed and ran her fingers through Hailey's hair soothingly, then looked at daddy.

"Sorry. He's not usually this stubborn." Daddy shook his head.

"It's alright. He'll be fine after about an hour. Let him nap on your shoulder and he'll be full of energy soon." Leah smiled a little, then looked back at Hailey. She looked worried. I didn't blame her.

Leah took a seat next to me and kept Hailey in her arms, letting him sleep. Kevin was currently wide awake and Esme had taken him to smother him with affection. Kevin never minded that. I think he liked the attention honestly as long as I was around. Momma put Kevin on his stomach to see that he could now lift his head on his own. As happy as I was to know he was growing, it still seemed to be too fast. Even Jacob thought it was too fast.

Leah and I caught up a bit while Hailey took his nap. While we were talking, my head started hurting pretty bad. I was about to ask for some Advil, but daddy beat me to the punch and held a glass of water and two Advil in front of me. I smiled at him and took the pain killers hoping they would work soon. Jacob saw me take the Advil, and he walked over to me and sat next to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

"You alright, Nessie?" I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a headache." Jacob smiled and kissed my forehead, then looked at Leah and Hailey.

"Do you think he'll wake up soon?"

"He probably will. It's been an hour, so I think he'll wake up soon. I just want Edward to tell me he's fine so I can stop worrying." We were silent a moment, then I spoke again.

"Do you think, if he doesn't have it now, that he'll get it later? Aida said that schizophrenia runs in her family."

"I hope not. I don't want Hailey to go through that. If he does, there's no way I can help him." As she spoke, Leah started getting chocked up and teary eyed. "What if he has paranoia and becomes suspicious of me? What if he never trusts me again?" Jacob shook his head.

"That won't happen, Leah. Hailey relies on you more than anyone else. He already thinks so highly of you." Leah smiled, but she still looked concerned. Schizophrenia's a serious disorder that can be unpredictable. She knew that, as did we all.

Another hour went by before Hailey finally woke up. When he was awake, daddy walked over to him and asked Hailey if he wanted to play with a few of Ryan's old toys. Since he was still a little tired, he was a bit unexcited at first. But once he woke up a bit more and Leah started joining him in his playing, he was enjoying himself like he would, were they his own toys.

Daddy watched Hailey intently while he and Leah played. So far, nothing seemed odd about his behavior. When he was talking, he had a few misused words, but that didn't seem too odd. But it started becoming odd when it was happening repeatedly. At one point, Hailey was looking at the wall blankly, then moved closer to Leah and looked really nervous about something. Daddy spent four hours observing Hailey and his behavior, as did Carlisle.

I ended up falling asleep while they were watching Hailey. I woke up in the morning when Jacob nudged me awake and kissed my forehead. I groaned while I was trying to wake up. I was really tired and didn't want to get out of bed.

"We'd better get to work, Nessie."

"I know, Jacob." I pushed myself out of bed until I was sitting upright and watching Jacob get dressed. "So what did daddy say about Hailey?" Jacob sighed.

"He and Carlisle want to observe Hailey few more times before they come to any conclusion. Edward says that Hailey had different voices in his head and saw something in the corner, but for all we know, that could just be Hailey's active imagination."

"How are daddy and Carlisle going to know otherwise?" Jacob shrugged.

"If it keeps happening and his observations get worse, then they said they would know for sure. And Carlisle's already setting up an appointment with a Psychiatrist so he can get the medication he needs if he does really have the disorder." I sighed.

"He has it doesn't he?" Jacob was silent a moment.

"They want to be sure, but so far, yeah, it looks like it. What's worse is that normally, it takes years for a sufferer to show symptoms. With Hailey, the nasty side effects are already showing up."

"How's Leah taking it?"

"She's worried."

"Did she tell daddy that Hailey was having social problems of any kind?"

"According to Mrs. Stanley, Hailey doesn't get along well with the kids at his preschool. She thought Hailey was just shy, but he's told Leah that he doesn't like them. Whenever she asked him why, he never said more than, 'I just don't'." I sighed.

"Will medication help him socially?"

"Maybe. Time will only tell I suppose." I groaned and looked towards the door.

"Is Kevin still asleep?"

"He's awake. He's waiting for you to feed him." I sighed. "I changed him for you so you wouldn't have to worry about that."

"Thank you, Jacob. I'll feed him when I'm dressed." Jacob smiled and took my hand to pull me out of bed and I walked to the closet to get dressed. I wore a pair of khaki pants and a black t-shirt and walked to Kevin's room.

When he saw me walk in, he reached out to me and was pushing, 'hungry, hungry', in my head for a few seconds.

"I know, sweetie. Mommy's coming." Kevin reached out to me impatiently as I walked to him and he grabbed a hold of my shirt when I had him in my arms and lifted him up out of his crib. I took a seat on the chair near his crib and lifted my shirt and part of my bra so I could feed Kevin.

He latched onto me immediately and took his time with his breakfast. I was beginning to get used to it so it didn't hurt as much when I fed Kevin. Carlisle had suggested that I start trying to introduce different food into his diet. He'd promised to give me some baby food that he thought would be best to feed him and that would be healthiest for him. I wasn't quite ready to stop breast feeding Kevin, though. I liked the bonding that it gave us. It was when Kevin and I had some of our 'conversations'. He was learning words because of them. All that was left was for him to learn how to verbalize them. He was already laughing, which was a good sign.

"How's he doing?"

"He's in a good mood this morning. He addressed you as daddy." Jacob grinned and walked closer.

"Did he really?" I nodded.

"Yes, he did. He wanted to know where you're going every other night." Jacob smiled wider and took a seat next to me on the floor and looked at Kevin, who was still suckling away.

"Well, Kevin, me and a few of the other tribe members turn into large wolves. Its part of being Quileute and a descendant of Taka Aki and his sons. We go out at night to patrol our lands and make sure the village is safe from any dangers." When Jacob had explained, Kevin pushed a question into our minds.

"Dangers?" Kevin was asking two things at once. What did danger mean, and what was out there?

"Danger is something bad. Like a nomad vampire for example is dangerous."

"Grandpa? Grandma?" He was thinking of my side of the family in general, but they were the ones that stood out the most to him. Momma and daddy were wonderful with Kevin. Daddy played the piano for him and momma would tickle him and play with him on the floor or while he was in her lap and she helped him with the object permanence concept by playing peek-a-boo with him.

"Grandma and grandpa are different, Kevin. They're no danger to humans because unlike most vampires, they don't drink human blood. They drink animal blood. But when vampires that aren't family and that are a danger to the tribe wonder in, the pack and I either kill them or chase them away and they never wonder in again."

"I see?" Kevin was asking if he could see Jacob shift. Jacob smiled and patted Kevin's head gently while he suckled.

"I have patrol tonight. You can see then." Kevin smiled, then turned his full attention back to his breakfast. Jacob smiled and looked at me. "You're alright with that?" I nodded.

"Of course I am. It's good for him to know these sorts of things." Jacob smiled and lifted his face to mine to kiss me.

"Thanks for being so understanding."

"Do you think it'll happen to Kevin?" Jacob nodded.

"I wouldn't doubt it, to be honest with you. We believe that the presence of vampires is what triggers the gene in the first place and with your family so close by, threat to us or not, the trigger still applies. He'll probably turn into a wolf when he's old enough, just the same as the others. We'll have a large pack for a very long time, assuming that the Cullens stay here in Forks."

"I suppose by that logic, it's inevitable."

"Would that bother you? He could always give up his wolf." I wasn't sure how to answer him. I honestly didn't know what I felt about the matter.

"I don't know, to tell you the truth. He'd be in danger, and that bothers me. But if he wanted to do that, I wouldn't stop him. Especially when I know you'll be there for him the whole way."

"You know I will be. I would never let anything happen to him." I smiled.

"I know that."

Jacob smiled back at me and reached up to kiss me again. When we kissed, Kevin let go of me and burped a little, letting me know he was done with his breakfast. Jacob took Kevin from me so I could arrange my clothes back in order. I couldn't wait until I was able to wear my pretty bras again. I didn't want to risk ruining them by getting milk on them, so I wore plain bras with little pads on the inside. It did a world of good for my shirts.

Once I was ready, Jacob and I walked downstairs with Kevin and put him in his little carrier and went on our way to the shop. Kevin stayed asleep through most of the work day, waking up only when he was dirty or hungry. Kevin didn't like watching me work. He thought it was boring. So he preferred to sleep until something more interesting happened. At the end of the work day, Jacob and I went to Paul and Rachael's house for dinner. Rachael and I had become pretty good friends when we were pregnant. It gave us something to bond over and we discovered that we actually had a lot in common.

Rachael and I also wanted to make sure that Kevin and Maxi were bonding. The idea of them being close made us feel better and that they would at least have each other as friends when they started preschool in three or four years. But I wasn't really thinking much about school at the moment. I didn't want to think of him growing up too fast. Kevin and Maxi usually just stayed in our arms and would stare at each other for the most part, but that was fine. Kevin was even pushing thoughts into Maxi's head and was teaching him words he learned through the day. Rachael and Paul appreciated the help.

When Jacob and I got home that night, Jacob took me and Kevin outside so we could watch him shift into his wolf. When Kevin saw him do that, he clapped his hands while giggling a sweet child's giggle and that made me smile. Jacob gave him a wolfy grin and nuzzled his cheek with his nose. Then Jacob gently licked my face and I kissed his nose before he went off on patrol for the night. I was looking forward to tomorrow. It was a weekend, so Jacob and I would be able to have some real time together with Kevin. When I got back in and tucked Kevin into bed, I went to my room and called momma.

"Hey, Nessie. How was your day?" I smiled at momma's happy voice.

"It was fine. Kevin got to see Jacob shift into his wolf before he went on patrol today. He enjoyed that." Momma laughed lightly.

"I'm sure he did."

Momma and I talked for about an hour about things we'd done for the day and how we were doing. Momma and daddy went hunting today, and that was the extent of what I wanted to know on that subject. They were still in that, couldn't get enough of each other, stage even though they'd been married for seven years now. But I didn't want any details. But then momma brought up part of the reason I'd called in the first place. Hailey.

"So did daddy and Carlisle come to a conclusion about Hailey?" Momma sighed.

"I'm afraid they've confirmed it. Hailey's schizophrenic and pretty seriously so. He has hallucinations, delusions, he's doesn't get along well with people except Leah, he's got flat syndrome, you name it. He's superficially charming with his mother and constantly lies to her about things, poor behavioral control, he doesn't have any friends at his school, dysphoria, he's really aggressive, he completely disregards all authority figures except for Leah, and he's persistently rude to others. And he has schizoid personality disorder. It's a common thing to come with schizophrenia."

"What's the difference?"

"The difference is that schizoid personality disorder is mostly a social disorder. It's coldness, solitary behavior, lack of interest in relationships and secretiveness." I groaned.

"How's Leah handling this? Is there anything we can do about it?" Momma sighed.

"She's devastated. She cried for hours after we told her what was going on. Hailey has an appointment with a psychologist tomorrow, but he won't tell her what she doesn't already know. The only ones finding out anything are the Stanleys."

"Do you think we should involve Mr. Matthews so he can help with his medical expenses?"

"As tempting as that is, honey, we can't. It's not technically our business and Mr. Stanley doesn't know about the affair. I don't think Hailey can handle any other form of instability right now."

"So what, he's not going to help at all? It's his side of the family that's giving Hailey all these problems."

"I know, honey, but it's still not our business to interfere. It's interfering enough as it is making Edward Hailey's unofficial psychologist. It only makes sense seeing as Edward can read his mind, but Hailey's parents might not see it that way."

"Daddy makes more sense than anyone else. He would be able to understand Hailey more than anyone and might be able to figure out a way to help Hailey get over this."

"That's the problem, honey, this isn't something that one can just overcome. Schizophrenia is a really serious disorder. We can treat it with medication, but that's about it. It can't be cured, just treated."

"You don't think Hailey will get in a lot of trouble do you?"

"Only time will tell. So far, he hasn't seriously injured anyone or himself, but that could change. We all just need to keep a close watch on him. And maybe Edward will be able to help Hailey overcome a few of his symptoms, but that's still for time to tell. That's something that we'll have to find out after years of therapy and observing."

"I just don't want to see Leah go through anymore painful things."

"Neither do any of us honey. We'll do what we can to make sure Hailey's healthy. That's all we can promise to Leah for now."

It was hard to talk about anything else after a discussion like that, so momma and I called it a night and I went to bed after a shower. I was really worried. I wasn't sure how much more Leah could take. I just hoped daddy would be able to help her and Hailey through this. They both deserved that much. The next morning, Jacob was in bed with me.

"I'm assuming Bella or Edward told you about Hailey?" I nodded.

"Yeah, they did."

"Leah was really upset about it. She can't go with Hailey to the psychologist today, but she's waiting for them to tell her what the doctor said."

"Daddy will do his best to make Hailey alright."

"Leah knows that. It doesn't make this any easier on her though. She wants Hailey to be happy and healthy and she knows that this disorder will make it that much harder for him."

"So basically, we've got a human version of Titus Valerius." Jacob was silent a moment.

"You know, I never thought of it that way. But now that you put it that way, it makes sense."

"More or less. If you ask me, I think Titus has a form of Anti-social disorder, but that's me. It's a little weird that he would hold Nicoleta in such fond regard, but other than how he treats her, he fits the bill. Blatant disregard for authority, emotions and well being of others, cold disposition, superficial charm, the list goes on."

"I thought becoming a vampire would heal a mental disorder." I looked at Jacob.

"Think of Professor Del Toro. Think of Titus Valerius. Think of Dorian." Jacob stiffened when I brought up Dorian. "They had mental disorders without a doubt. Becoming vampires didn't change a thing."

"You have a point I guess. I guess him becoming a vampire would never help anything, not that I'm honestly suggesting that." I shook my head.

"No way, Jacob. Hailey becoming a vampire would be like putting a death sentence on society signed by the Devil himself."

"That's why I wasn't honestly suggesting it."

"I know. Try to never think about that with Leah around. That would probably upset her more."

"It would."

Jacob and I ended up going to my family's house for the day. I wanted to be around when Leah would call to let Carlisle and daddy know what Hailey's doctor said about the situation. We already knew what needed to be done, but the problem was that daddy was trained as a psychiatrist and psychologist, but he wasn't licensed. He'd taken the college courses, but he never went for a license. So daddy or Carlisle wouldn't be able to prescribe Hailey the right type of medication he needed legally.

When we finally did hear from Leah, she was just as upset as ever and told us that Hailey was prescribed the needed medication and would start seeing a psychologist regularly. She still wanted daddy to see Hailey, though. She trusted him more than the man that was assigned to Hailey and thought daddy was much more trustworthy. Jacob and I were silent on the way home with Kevin. Kevin was asleep in the back seat and Jacob and I weren't in the mood to talk. But I got us talking once we were home and Kevin was in bed.

"Let's be grateful this was caught so early." Jacob shrugged.

"I'm not sure how early its caught will have much of an effect on how it's treated."

"You never know, Jacob. At least this way, his teachers will know about it and they'll be able to do their part about taking care of Hailey when Leah can't."

"That's the thing, though. From what I was told, Hailey only trusts Leah. That's good for their relationship, but what about the outside world? Leah can't protect him from everything."

"I know, Jacob. But we need to have a little faith that Hailey will be okay. And I'll talk to Aida and see if she can't get her dad to agree to help out."

"I thought they weren't talking to Aida because of Zeppelin."

"I think that's her mom talking. Her dad strikes me as the type that doesn't really care too much."

"Then why bother asking him for help in the first place?"

"Because Hailey's his son and it's his responsibility to care for him." Jacob sighed and laid down in bed. I walked over and took a spot next to him.

"Let's drop the subject. It's making us both upset." I nodded.

"For now." Jacob looked at me a moment before he grabbed a gentle hold of the back of my neck and pulled me down so he could kiss me.

When Jacob and I made love that night, it was more for the sake of us trying to forget the week and how hectic it had been. I didn't want to think about it anymore and neither did he. We could usually forget about those things when we were in each other's arms. We would have to worry about it again, but at least for now, we could let it go. I didn't end up waking up the next morning until one in the afternoon. I groaned at myself and was grateful that it was Sunday.