AHHHHH! I'm back! Holy cow! I know you guys have been waiting for this, or at least I hope so. I write for all those who have followed me or will follow me. Now, these stories are tricky for me. However, I have decided to write all the pregnancy stories(PS's for short) before the kids' stories. That way, we won't get confused, because I know I would have. I really hope you enjoy these. And any errors that I've made regarding pregnancy, I apologize for. I have never been pregnant, and I've done a little research but, as you know, shit happens and I get things wrong.

*Disclaimer*

Please Enjoy!


January

RPOV

I was pretty sure that I was dying. One month pregnant, and I was ready to give up eating for the rest of my life. Except for the crackers and the blood. Carlisle had said that the morning sickness should die down in a few months, but not anytime soon. And at least I could keep something on my stomach. Our fridge was stocked with blood. Not as good as fresh, but it would do.

"Ness, baby, if it bothers you so much, stop. I can make my own food."

I shook my head, swallowing hard. "Not a chance. I am still your wife and fully functional. This baby just needs to quit being stubborn."

"Sounds like someone else I know," Jacob said dryly.

Over my shoulder, I tossed him a glare.

He held his hands up in surrender with a laugh. "I'm just sayin'. Cereal is perfectly fine with me."

"Anyway," I said, completely ignoring what he'd just said. "You're going down to the shop today, right?"

He dropped the subject of me being a pain in the ass. "Right. I gotta tell Frank that we're expecting so he knows what's going on. But also he's letting me train Xavier there so I can get some work done and teach him."

I smiled. "You really like him, don't you?"

"He's a good kid. Kind of reminds me of myself at his age. Too much responsibility thrown on him. Plus, someone has to teach him to deal with women."

Snorting, I turned to look at him. "You're going to teach him about women?"

"Hey! I've learned a few things over the years. Just because I'm a one-woman man doesn't mean that you don't teach me things."

After putting everything on his plate, I set in front of him and kissed him. "Happy I can help."

Once he started digging in, I grabbed a package of crackers and poured a glass of blood. Sitting beside him, I threw my leg over his like always. His hand stroked my calf and shin as he ate, playing over the scars that I'd probably have the rest of my life.

"Are we still going to get the ultrasound after we eat?" I asked before taking a sip of blood.

"We can if you're feeling up to it. I told Xavier to meet me at the shop at around one, so we have time."

I grinned at him. Ever since I'd told him we were pregnant, he'd been doting on me, constantly asking if I was okay or if I needed anything. We still hadn't had our first ultrasound. Well, not one where I wasn't freaking out. Carlisle had barely been able to find the baby the first time because I'd only been about three weeks pregnant. Now, I was a month and a week according to the time line. Jacob and I were still kind of in disbelief that it was actually happening, and we wanted that moment of seeing our baby for the first time.

That first ultrasound, I hadn't watched. I couldn't. I'd been terrified that if I was pregnant something would be wrong seeing as how I'd been in a battle for my life against the Volturi and had gotten thrown around a week before taking the test. Besides, that had been to make sure that I was, indeed pregnant, that the home test hadn't lied to me. Seeing the baby without Jacob was just not an option for me.

"I think I'll be okay. Plenty of places to stop and throw up along the way. Besides," I said, stroking a hand up his arm, "we need this. We need to see the baby."

He lowered his fork. "I'm...surprisingly nervous about this."

Still stroking his arm, I smiled. "I know. Me, too. This is pretty big stuff. I kind of never thought it would happen to me, you know? This is one of those things that I always hoped for but figured that it was suited for other people."

Jacob squeezed my leg, comforting. "You're going to be a great mother, Ness. I've watched you with all the kids. They love you."

"Yeah but this is my kid. It's kind of different."

Taking his hand off my leg, he reached across the table to squeeze my fingers. "I definitely know what you mean." Looking back down at his plate, he set his fork down, and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "I think my stomach is empathizing with yours."

That made me laugh. "Queasy?"

He nodded. "Oh yeah."

Smiling, I got up to clean out my glass and put up the crackers. My tummy was now happy...ish. Well, better than it was before. Unfortunately, they needed to rename morning sickness to all-day sickness, especially for me.

Behind me, Jacob's phone chimed.

"Carlisle said he's ready for us."

"Okay. I'm ready if you are."

We bundled up and headed out. Shelby, Seth, and Brayden met us at the head of the drive. The dirt road wound around the lake to stop at their cabin across the way. Seth, after having been killed in a fight saving Jacob's life and brought back by Shelby, looked better than he had in weeks. Shelby was a werewolf, a member of the Children of the Moon, an infected type of werewolf. The infection was called lycanthropy, and was what had brought Seth back when Shelby had mixed her blood with his. He'd been having difficulties dealing with the side-effects of the disease, and was learning how to cope with the help of Caden and Calahan, two alpha males who belonged to that type of werewolf.

Brayden was nearing three months old and was growing a little every day. He was sitting up on his own, and had even started trying to roll over. Shelby had sent me videos. I couldn't wait for my own memories.

"Hey," Shelby said, hefting Brayden in her arms. He was hanging onto her shoulder and looking around, wide-eyed at all the snow. "What are you guys up to?"

I shook Brayden's outstretched hand and made faces at him. He grinned and laughed up at me. "Hey, big boy," I said in a baby voice. "You like that snow, huh?"

"Oh, yeah," Seth said. "He loves it. Especially hitting me when it lands on my skin."

Jacob laughed. "Hey, the world's still new to him. At least he doesn't have much strength yet."

"That's true," Seth agreed. "So, where are you two headed?"

"Carlisle. We're getting our first ultrasound and a shot of reality," Jacob said. "Let me tell ya, I'm still having issues believing this."

Shelby and Seth shared a look and a smile.

"It's pretty powerful," Seth said. "I didn't really believe it either, even with all the symptoms, until I saw that ultrasound. Of course, it'll make more of an impact once the baby gets bigger and actually has shape to it instead of just a little speck."

Brayden reached for me, and Shelby let me take him. He had his little hat on with the points on each side. It had started to snow again, and he tilted his head back, squinting at the brightness of the clouds. When a flake landed on his pink nose, he sneezed. We all laughed.

Shelby walked over to adjust his hat. "So, in a month or so you can find out what it is. Are you going to or do you want to be surprised?"

Jake and I exchanged a look. He shrugged.

Laughing, I said, "I think we're just trying to wrap our heads around the fact that there's a baby at all. We'll probably decide when the time comes. But, personally? I'd like to know. It would be nice not to call my baby 'it' the entire pregnancy."

Jacob's brows pulled low as if he were thinking about it. And then he nodded. "Good point. I agree."

Seth laughed. "Decision made, then."

"Apparently. So what are the three of you up to today?" I asked, bouncing Brayden as we started walking down the drive.

"I'm on my way to meet up with Caden and Calahan," Seth said. He used to say that with shame, but after seeing our support, he realized that it was just a thing for him to do, a way to help himself. We were all proud of him that he'd admitted to a problem and was seeking help to get better.

"Brayden and I have a lunch date with my dad and Audrey. I think they're going to tell me that they're getting married. Which would surprise nobody. So, back to you," she said.

I rolled my eyes.

"Shut up. I'm excited," she said. "We're going to be moms together. Our babies are gonna be about the same age."

"Almost a year apart."

"I said 'about'. Anyways, what do you think it's gonna be?"

Taking the question seriously, I thought about all those months ago when I kept having those weird dreams. The one about the kids kept popping up. The eldest had been a boy, then a girl, and I'd been pregnant with the third in the dream. And Cricket, Aunt Alice's actual niece, had said something about our "first born son".

With Brayden playing in my hair, I shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I've always had an image of a boy."

Jacob snorted. "That's what your mom said about you. Look how that turned out."

Turning to him, I punched his arm. Brayden giggled in my arms. "And aren't you glad she was wrong?"

Rubbing his arm, he gave me a look. "Well, yeah. That would have been awkward."

As I rolled my eyes again, Seth and Shelby laughed.

"What about you, Jake?" Seth asked, still laughin. "What do you think?"

He shrugged, but was thinking about it, clearly remembering the same things I had. "It could go either way, I guess. I don't really have a vision of it or anything."

Seth clapped him on the back. "You will once you see that ultrasound."

"Yeah," Shelby said, taking Brayden from me. "The one we're keeping you from."

To my surprise, we'd made it all the way down to the house. I'd been too busy thinking about Shelby's question to really pay attention. They said their goodbyes and took off in different directions in the woods. Looking up at the house, I breathed in deep. Jacob took my hand and in we went.

Surprisingly, the kitchen was quiet. Usually, Esme was in here cooking up a storm for the wolves that would stop by to check in. But it made sense that not many wolves came around. The patrols had died down, become relaxed, since the danger was over. Any patrols nearby would be heard by my dad, so there really was no need for them to stop in.

Mom was lounging on the couch, reading. Dad was on the piano for the first time in months, playing Mom's lullaby. Aunt Rose and Uncle Emmett were talking about another wedding. Aunt Rose wanted another, but Uncle Emmett was wondering why. Uncle Jasper was breaking in his new glass chess set with Trey, Cricket's boyfriend. Aunt Alice was channel surfing.

"Hey, baby," Mom said with a smile as we walked into the living room.

"Hey, Mom. It's quiet around here again."

"Sure is. I kind of miss the wolves coming and going."

Jacob chuckled. "I could arrange something, Bells. I'm sure they miss your and Esme's cooking."

She grinned at him. "You might just have to do that. We don't see them anymore."

"I'll see what I can do. Now, we," he said, putting his hands on my shoulders, "have an appointment with the doc."

"Oh, right. Ultrasound day," she said excitedly. "You'll have to show me the picture."

I gave her a look. "Mom, it's gonna be a speck."

Narrowing golden eyes at me, she said, "True, but it's my grandspeck, and I wanna see it."

Shaking my head, I rolled my eyes.

"Ah, my patients!"

We looked up to see my grandfather grinning down at us from the staircase.

Jacob looked back to Mom. "So, Bells, how does it feel knowing you're gonna be a grandmother at twenty-something?" A giant Jacob-y grin stretched his lips.

Mom threw something at him, which he ducked. "How does it feel knowing you're going to be a dad?"

He shuddered, but in a good way. I knew because I'd had quite a few of those. "Freaking weird."

Everybody laughed.

Carlisle grinned down at us. "What do you say we go get a glimpse at Baby Black?"

Okay, now excitement coursed through me. "Baby Black" was totally cute, and kind of made it more real to me. Reaching back, I gripped Jacob's hand and started pulling him toward the stairs.

He chuckled. "I take it the morning sickness and jitters have subsided."

"For now." I turned to look at him as we went up the steps. "Let's go see our baby!"

Carlisle was waiting for us at the door to the trauma room. "So you can still keep down the blood and crackers?" he asked as we walked in.

The machine was in the same spot it had been a couple weeks ago, and the band that was used to hear the heartbeat was still out.

After peeling off all my layers, I nodded and hopped up onto the bed. "Yeah, so far, so good."

Jacob stood to the side while Carlisle did his preliminary exam. When he was finished, Jacob said, "So, Ness is healthy, right?"

Carlisle smiled at him. "She's fine. Pulse is strong. From my tests of her blood, all her levels look good, strong. She can keep some nutrition down. Maybe we can start introducing light stuff to her diet." He looked at me. "But overall, you are one healthy momma."

Just hearing him call me that made me grin and tear up a little.

He smiled gently. "Now, let's check on baby, shall we?"

I laid back against the bed, rolling my shirt up. Jacob came to stand beside me while the machine was firing up and Carlisle put that cold goo on my stomach. I gripped Jacob's hand as Carlisle positioned the wand over my lower belly.

"Ready?"

We both nodded.

"Alright, this will be cold."

He spread the goo (I jumped at the cold) around on my belly, evening it out, eyes searching the screen as he did so. Last time, the baby had been on my lower left side, but Carlisle didn't stop when he hit the spot. Instead, he kept going, slowly, over everything else. It was so weird to see inside my own body like that. I'd seen pictures and stuff on tv with the machines, but this was a whole new ball game, especially knowing we were looking for something.

After a few minutes, I was starting to get worried.

And then, "Aha," he said just like he had the first time. "Sorry. Sometimes, it's hard to see the fetus so early in a pregnancy."

"Something's there?" Jacob asked.

Carlisle chuckled. "Yes. Your baby, Jacob."

He swallowed hard. "Where?"

Pointing to the screen at a small dot that I hadn't noticed, he said, "Right there. That is your baby."

Through my emotion, I laughed. "That's what's been getting me sick?"

Jacob cleared his throat, his own eyes glassy. "He's so small. How did he survive the fight?"

I smiled up at him. "'He'?"

"Guess Seth was right," he said smiling, still staring at the screen.

I laughed.

Carlisle grinned. "As I told Nessie before, her body is much more durable than a human's. And, if she remembers right, she didn't get hit in the vicinity of her stomach. Granted, the being thrown around could have caused a miscarriage, but I've heard the heartbeat myself. And the fact that she's still getting sick is a good sign."

"Can I hear it?"

"Of course. Let me print off a few copies of this little guy, and then we can get started."

I looked up at him while Carlisle went to work. "Jacob, you hear it all the time when you go to sleep with your ear to my stomach."

He met my gaze. "I know. I just want to hear it amplified, just to know."

"You can hear it when you're close to her?" Carlisle asked as he wrapped the band around me.

Jacob nodded. "I think so. But only when my ear is pressed to her stomach. Other than that, I don't know. I can't differentiate between hers and the baby's."

Nodding, Carlisle hooked up the machine and said, "I think that might be why we didn't know before this. Leila's heartbeat could be heard at three weeks according to Sam. Maybe, after this, you will be able to tell." He adjusted a few things. "Okay, ready?"

We nodded again. He pressed a button.

And then the room was filled with that fluttering sound.

Jacob positively melted.

Swallowing hard again, he asked, "How do you know that's the baby? And is it supposed to be that fast?"

Expecting the first question, my grandfather held up a finger and then readjusted the band, moving it up over my chest. The frantic fluttering was replaced by a deeper version of the same rhythm.

"Hear the difference?"

We both nodded.

"But you didn't do that before," I said.

He shook his head. "Didn't need to. I've been listening to your heart for as long as you've been alive. Once I heard the baby's heartbeat, I could tell the difference in the pitches." He looked to Jacob. "And to answer your second question, yes, it is supposed to be that fast, but I think you know that. You could hear Leila's heartbeat in Emily, right?

He nodded. "I wanna hear it again," Jacob said eagerly when Carlisle handed him the ultrasound picture. All he did was stare at it.

Once the band was moved back to my stomach, the pitch changed back to the higher one. Jacob just closed his eyes, and listened.

"My baby," he whispered.

Carlisle and I shared a grin. It was beautiful. I had a little piece of Jacob growing inside me. It was a magical thought. I'd always thought pregnancy was a special thing, to be able to grow something in your body. A life that took sustenance from your body in order to grow all that it needed to survive outside the womb. And now, I was part of it.

Jacob opened his eyes and looked down at me. Leaning over me, he pressed his lips to my forehead. "Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you so much for this."

Okay, now I started crying.

Stroking his face, I brought his lips to mine. "You're welcome. And thank you. We did it. We're starting our family."

Finally.

JPOV

I just couldn't believe it. I was hearing my child's heart beat from inside of Nessie, from where he grew. My brain had issues trusting my eyes and ears, but the photo was in my hands and the fluttering sound was still echoing in the room.

Seth had been right. One, it did seem more real now. Two, I had a gut feeling it was a boy. That this little speck was going to be my son.

My son.

Two words I never thought I'd actually think or say. But there they were.

"Jacob? Are you okay?"

I looked down at my wife and remembered that I was one lucky bastard. She was beautiful as she stared up at me with both worry and utter joy.

Reaching forward, I brushed some of her hair out of her face. "Yeah. I'm very much okay. Seth was right, though. This makes it much more real. I now know how he feels."

She laughed, stroking her hand up my arm. "Yeah, I know what you mean." Holding her own picture up, she traced a fingertip over the spot that Carlisle had pointed out. "This tiny little dot is forcing me to upchuck every morning, all day. But I will happily deal with it."

Sinking down in the chair just behind me, I realized that Carlisle was so longer in the room. He'd left us to have a family moment.

"What are you thinking?" she asked quietly as our baby's heartbeat kept echoing in the room.

Swallowing hard, I looked down at my own copy. "I'm thinking that I'm scared to death. I mean, I am excited. Really, I am. It just feels like, in the story of our life, this is a whole new book rather than just a new chapter. New books mean more dangerous stuff. And I wasn't all that great at protecting you the first time around. Now, I'm going to have two to protect."

Close enough to reach out, she stroked my cheek with the backs of her fingers. "Oh, Jacob. You're right in one way. So many things could happen. But you're not the only one responsible for this child. I am, too. And that means that I need to do what you told me to do: remember that it's not just me. Protecting my baby is of the utmost importance to me. This changes the game, Jacob. Even after the baby's born, it wouldn't just be my life I'd be risking. All the bad things that have happened to me were not because you couldn't protect me. They happened because I didn't listen to you. I didn't take care of myself. But after what happened in December, and with this baby growing inside me, I understand how idiotic I was. When you promised me that you were going to be a better man, you meant it. And you are amazing. Now, it's my turn to be a better woman. I'm going to have a new title, and it's a title that I have to learn to respect before I take it on when the baby gets here. You never put me in danger, ever. It was always me being stupid. Don't ever think that you can't protect us. I've never thought that. I know you can. Every decision you make is to protect me. I know that now. And I'm sorry that I let you down."

Leaning forward, I pressed a kiss to her forehead. This woman was amazing.

"Nessie, you made me proud on that field, facing Aro. And killing Jane. I will admit that I had my doubts, that maybe you've always been too well-sheltered. But the bravery you showed that day told me that I was wrong, that I had vastly underestimated you. I love you. And...I already love this baby. We'll raise him to be as brave as you, as smart as you."

She choked out a laugh through her tears. "You really think it's a boy, huh?"

I nodded. "Gut feeling and all that."

Her thumb stroked under my eye. "We should probably get Carlisle back in here."

Clearing my throat, I said, "Yeah. Probably." And then I called for him. "Doc, you can come back in. We're done being emotional."

He chuckled as he came back in almost immediately. "Babies make everyone emotional," he said as he took off the band around her stomach. "I think the next ultrasound can wait until March. Maybe by then, the baby will be big enough that we can decipher the sex. That is, if you want to know."

"We do," I said immediately.

Smiling, Ness nodded. "We do want to know."

"Excellent." He shut off all the machines. "Well, that's it for today. I'm very happy to announce a healthy baby and a healthy mother."

"And a freaking out dad," I muttered, still wanting to shiver whenever I called myself that.

Both Nessie and Carlisle laughed.

Ness squeezed my hand.

"Jacob, I'm confident that the freaking out will subside once you have some time to get used to the idea or until after the birth. Either way, you'll be phenomenal."

"Thanks." Even though I didn't feel it right now. I felt chaotic.

"So," Nessie said, rolling her shirt back down and sitting up, her legs hanging off the side of the bed. "Do we have a due date?"

"Ah, yes. You said you more than likely conceived the week after Thanksgiving?"

She nodded, taking my word for the feeling I'd had the morning we'd made love so slowly it had been painful. I'd felt something spark between us that morning, and was thoroughly convinced that that was the day we'd conceived.

"Then I will say the last week of August or the first week of September. Give or take."

When he said it like that, it seemed far far away. But just saying it in the number of months made it seem like it was next week.

A thought occurred to me, the counting reminding me of something. "Doc, any chance of the gestation speeding up like Shelby with Brayden?"

Carlisle gave me a look like I'd done something interesting. "That is an excellent question. I want to say that that is very unlikely to happen. Taking Emily's pregnancy for example. Leila was born nine months after conception. It doesn't seem like your kind of wolf has the same genetic code when it comes to pregnancy and gestation. I expect a full nine months with this child, though Nessie's vampire genes could kick in. However, if you feel the need, we can have an ultrasound every month. I wouldn't mind in the least."

"You think that would be a good idea?"

He shrugged. "It definitely wouldn't hurt."

Walking forward, I held my hand out. "Thanks, doc."

He took my hand. "My pleasure. Anything for family."

Family. That word had taken on a whole new meaning after today.

TriciaPOV

Mom and I both squealed over my ring. I'd narrowed my choices down to two and let Embry make the final decision. It was absolutely perfect. White gold band with a dip in it that looked like a mini ice-cream scoop had taken it out. In the center of it sat the diamond.

"Oh my god, it's gorgeous!" Mom squealed over my hand. Then she looked up at Embry. "You are a marvelous man."

He choked on air. "Uh, thanks. She picked it out, though."

"Did not. Well, kind of. I picked out the ones I really liked and narrowed them down to two. Embry made the last choice, so I was still surprised."

Mom grinned and sighed. "So, tell me."

I frowned. "Tell you what?"

"How he proposed, silly."

Embry and I shared a look. I grinned. "The usual. Flower petals, candles, pizza."

"Pizza?"

I couldn't help the snort as I laughed. "It's an inside type of thing, Mom."

"That means we don't want to know, June," Dad said from the living room.

She scowled at the door before turning back to me. "Is there a date yet?"

Again, he and I shared a look. "We were hoping for sometime this year. Maybe in the summer when it's a tad bit warmer out."

"You want it outside?" Now, she looked at me like I was crazy.

"Not necessarily. It's just Embry likes to be outside."

He smiled. "I'm perfectly okay with inside. Wherever she wants it. It's her day."

There was a loud humph from the living room as Dad rustled the pages of the newspaper. I glared in the direction of the living room. Gritting my teeth, I gently pulled away from Mom to stomp into the living room. Standing in front of him, I crossed my arms over my stomach and tapped the toe of my shoe until he looked at me.

When he lowered the paper, I raised my eyebrows. "You could be a little more supportive, Dad. I'm excited. And I love Embry. I'm getting married. You can't stop that. So, please, try to get along with him. You don't have to like him, but at least be civil."

Watching me, he folded the paper and set it aside. "Tricia, I'm glad that you're happy. But don't you think it's moving fast? You just moved in with him two months ago, and now you're engaged, wanting to marry this year."

"Yeah, and?"

"You're not pregnant, are you?" he asked bluntly.

Gritting my teeth, I threw my hands in the air. "Doesn't matter if I am or not." When his eyes widened, I continued. "And no, I'm not. Not yet anyway. But if I were, I'd still marry him. I love him. There is never going to be anybody else for me. Period."

Behind me, Embry cleared his throat.

Dad rolled his eyes. I kicked his shin.

Embry came to stand beside me, his arm wrapping around my waist. "I think it's time I be perfectly clear," he said, tone telling Dad not to interrupt. "I am in love with your daughter. There will never be another woman. Ever. And I don't appreciate the fact that you treat her like a child. She's not. If you would take the time to get to know your own daughter and see past the age, you'd find that she's incredibly smart, sweet, very independent, and in need of the proper affection. All of this, I have come to learn in the past few months of being with her. Things you should have known in the eighteen years you've been her father. So don't tell me that we're moving too fast when I know her better than you ever could."

They just stared at each other for a long moment.

Embry continued. "I don't know why you don't like me. Frankly, I don't care. But you will not continue to disrespect her the way you have, treating her like she can't make her own decisions when she's told me that you raised your children to think for themselves."

Now Dad stood up, facing Embry. It was hard to hold back the smile because Embry towered over him.

"Are you threatening to keep my daughter from seeing us?" he demanded in a low voice.

Embry shook his head. "No. I'm telling you that every time you disrespect her in front of me, I'll remind you that if she stops coming to visit you, it's because of how you treated her. I would never put chains, literally or metaphorically, on her to keep her from those she loves."

Beating back the smile that threatened to surface at the chains comment, I stepped into his body and nodded. "He's right, Dad. If I stop visiting you, it's because of you. Not Embry. Remember the holidays? We were civil and you two seemed to be getting along. Dad, you knew this was going to happen. Hell, Mom even kept asking when Embry was going to put a ring on my finger. He did it. You should be happy because you know that I'd never stay with a man who would hurt me. Embry is perfect. He always puts me first, even when it drives me crazy." Letting go of Embry, I walked up to my father and placed a hand on his arm. "Please, Daddy. I don't know why you don't like him, either. Maybe it's because you don't want to like him. But no matter if you do or don't, I'm still marrying him. You can't change my mind."

He looked down at me and then back to Embry. "My daughter is safe in your hands?"

"Always."

The house was quiet as we all waited for what he'd say next. His jaw clenched and unclenched multiple time. Fists doing the same at his sides. He and Embry never broke eye contact as if they were having a silent conversation.

And then, blowing out a breath, he let go of some of the tension. "Alright. You have my blessing."

Squealing, I threw my arms around him, burying my face in his chest. "Thank you so much!" Pulling back I looked up at him. "You'll walk me down the aisle, right?"

A small smile played over his lips as he wrapped his arms around me. "Of course. Have you told your brother?"

"No, but I'm sure he's guessed."

Behind us, Mom sniffled. "Both my babies are getting married."

Turning, I smiled at Embry. He'd pulled my mom in for an awkward hug as she wiped at her eyes. Walker and Christa were working with Alice Cullen to round up a small wedding set for March. Nothing huge and definitely not all of the packs. Theirs was going to be outside, though. Christa insisted on it. No doubt all the wolves not seated with the guests would be in the woods, watching.

I really wanted ours outside as well, but Mom would want to help with the planning. Not sure how she'd feel about Alice, but I liked the pixie vampire and her tastes. I also knew that I wanted the wedding behind Embry's -our- house. There was more than enough land to pull it off. And Alice loved the idea.

Mom had also been helping Christa. The werewolf wanted to get along with her in-laws and did as much as she could to involve Mom in the planning, but had so far kept her from meeting Alice.

We chatted for a little while. Dad and Embry had gone outside to have man to man talk. Mom and I kept watching them. When they shook hands, without tension, I breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe, just maybe, I could get Dad to like Embry. But my soon-to-be husband also needed to calm his aggression. He always went into defensive mode when around my dad. That needed to stop if they were to get along.

But for now, that handshake gave me a little bit of hope.

"Trish?"

Looking up, I found Embry in the doorway.

"We gotta go, babe. I promised Jake I'd be at the shop today. He's training Xavier."

"Shop?" Dad asked.

"Mechanic down on the rez," Embry answered. "A bunch of us work there. The owner took us in as apprentices when we were younger. One of my good buddies, Jake, is the assistant manager now. Frank will probably pass the shop to him when he retires. We're trying to expand to a place up here in Forks. The shop here is just too expensive."

"Amen to that," Dad muttered.

Mom and smiled at each other. Finally. They were trying.

Embry held his hand out to me. I went over and took it.

"What are you going to do today?" Mom asked me.

"Well, I'm rearranging the house and we're getting new furniture. Everything is his mom's and she wants it back."

Dad frowned. "Where is she?"

"The Makah rez up north. That's where she's from," Embry said. "I was born here so this is my home. My dad was Quileute, and I have a half-brother down here."

Dad nodded. "Sounds reasonable." He looked at me. "Do you need someone to come stay with you while you get the furniture?"

I smiled at him, really touched that he was trying. "Yeah, sure. I'd love some company. You can help me move stuff around." I looked up at Embry. "Is that okay?"

He grinned down at me and kissed my forehead. "It's your house now, too, sweetie. Whatever you want."

"Great, let me get my jacket. I'll follow you down."

"Uh, Dad, we walked. We don't have a car."

"Oh," he said, slipping into his coat. "Well, I guess you can ride with me. But you should really look into a vehicle, especially with this weather."

Embry and I shared a look.

I shook my head. "Nah, we're good. It doesn't bother us. When kids get involved, we'll look into it. But for now, we're pretty okay."

Mom and Dad shared a look.

"Do Walker and Christa have a car?"

"Uh yeah. The Cullens are loaning them a truck."

"Cullens?"

Embry cleared his throat. "Yeah. Jacob is married into the family. We're all pretty close."

"Wow. Well, that's nice of them."

"Yeah, they're good people."

Dad grabbed his wallet and keys. "Shall we?"

We piled up in his SUV while Mom waved at us from the front door. Embry had Dad drop him off at the shop. After we kissed goodbye, I showed Dad how to get to Embry's -our-house. I was really going to have to work at saying that.

When he pulled into the drive, he whistled. "This is nice. Lot of land."

"Yeah. Embry's mom just left it to him when he refused to move back up with her. She's still paying for it as far as we know. She might be angry with him, but she still loves him enough to give him a home. She's living with a friend of hers, so she's not paying for another house."

"What about his dad?" he asked me as we got out of the car.

I shrugged, pulling the key out of my pocket. "Don't know where he is. Embry told me he was kind of a player. Who knows how many half brothers and sisters he has? But we do know about Sam, who is also Quileute. He lives on the other side of the rez with his wife and daughter. The guy took off before Embry was born so he never met him. Not sure he wants to either from the way Sam talks about him."

There was furniture on the spacious porch, making room inside for the new stuff coming in today. Embry and I had moved it out this morning. I got the front door open and escorted Dad inside.

He whistled again. "This is really nice. More space than I thought." His voice echoed on the bare hardwood floor. "How are you guys paying for the furniture?"

"Over the years, Embry saved up everything he ever got. Plus, the one good thing his dad did was open up a trust for him before he was born. There's quite a bit of money in there that he'd put into it. And credit cards." I patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, Dad. We're okay. And he's working at the shop. They make some good money, and we're putting a good chunk away."

Dad looked down at me, his hand coming up to pet my hair. "Your momma's right. You and Walker have gone and grown up on us. Baby, I'm sorry about how I've been with Embry. I just feel like there's something that you two aren't telling us."

Taking a deep breath, I gripped his hand. "That's because there is. But, it's not that we don't want to tell you. It's that we can't. And no, I'm still not pregnant. That, I would tell you. This is bigger than that. Maybe someday, we can tell you. But not until you and Embry start actually getting along."

He studied me for a moment. "Does this something have anything to do with how fast you two are moving?"

I nodded. "In a way, yes. He told you that he and Christa are different from...normal people. That's true. They are. There are a lot of people down on the rez that are like them. A...side effect of that difference helps to move relationships fast. Listen, Dad. I know you think that I'm just hormonal. I kind of am. I'm eighteen. But I'm not lost to it. I still listen to my brain. Both my brain and heart are in sync with this decision. Embry is the man I love. I'll never look at another man. Ever. And he does take incredible care of me. I know he's aggressive with you, and I'll talk to him about that. He probably doesn't even realize it." I hugged him. "But for me, please, Dad. He makes me happy and I want more than anything for you to get along. You have more in common than you think. Just talk to him."

Wrapping his arms around me, I felt his chin rest on top of my head. "He really means that much to you, doesn't he?"

I nodded. "He's my everything. And he knows my story. He won't abandon me like my birth parents because he knows what it's like to be left behind. He'd never do that to me, or any kids we may have. I trust him."

He took in a deep breath and sighed it out, hands rubbing up and down my back. "Okay, baby. Okay. The more I get to know Christa, the more I like her. Maybe Embry and I can work something out."

"Thank you," I whispered through the lump in my throat.

And then the doorbell rang.

Pulling away from him, I wiped at my eyes. "Furniture's here."

"Alright," he said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. "Let's get this done, shall we?"

Grinning up at him, I went for the door. "I love you, Daddy. Thank you for helping."

"Anything for my little girl."

The rest of the day was spent exchanging all the furniture. The truck was set to take all the old stuff back up to Embry's mom. Dad and I spent the afternoon moving it all around trying to find the right places. Eventually, Mom came down with lasagna for when dinner rolled around, having asked for directions at the flower shop to get here. She helped us arrange the house.

When Embry came home, his eyebrows rose. He was greasy and sweaty, but helped out Dad as we tried to decide what look we liked the best. Mom and I stood off to the side telling them where to move everything.

They both muttered about women under their breath. Eventually, Mom and I took pity on them and made them stop. Embry went to take a quick shower before we all sat down to dinner.

For once, it was a civil affair. Dad started conversations with Embry about the house and work. Mom and I started talking about the wedding.

Over all, it was a good start to family time.


Month numero uno! How do we feel about it? Please let me know. As I told one of my reviewers, I do read each and every review. Sometimes you guys say stuff that inspires me and you think I'm reading your mind! Nope! I'm taking inspiration from your thoughts, so please review! They really are helpful! Love you guys! xoxoxoxoxo