I was in the kitchen of my and Jacob's house, cooking with Emily. I was currently peeling apples for an apple streusel cake I was making to go with dinner tonight. The pack was coming over for dinner as a housewarming party; Jacob and I had finally gotten the house put together and all our furniture was moved in. Emily was over here every day to help me while Jacob worked on his school work upstairs in our office. Truth be told, though, I think Emily just missed having another girl in the house. I placed my hand on my now-round belly; it was small, but it was blatantly obvious that I was pregnant. I put down my knife and picked up the bowl of sliced, peeled apples as I stood up and went over to the sink to rinse off my apple.

It was close to three weeks since the wedding, and Jacob was down at the beach taking a break from his school work when Sam called the pack together. It seemed Seth had heard from Charlie that Bella was back, and she was sick. Jacob automatically assumed she had been turned, and his temper flared. He wanted revenge, but Sam denied him that. So Jacob went off to confront the Cullens.

This had me worried; I hoped he wouldn't let his temper instigate a fight he couldn't win on his own against all of them. I rubbed my stomach gently as I stood there in front of my sink, looking out into my back yard and hoping Jacob would come trotting out of the trees.

"Any movements yet?" Emily's voice brought me out of my worried thoughts.

I turned and leaned against the sink, placing both hands on my belly. "No, but the doctor said it could be closer to 20 weeks before I feel anything since this is my first pregnancy."

Emily smiled and came over, placing her hand on my belly as well. "Is Jacob still excited?" I knew she was trying to distract me with happier thoughts.

"Yes, very much so. He wants a little girl, but I want a little boy. We'll be happy with either, but yeah, he talks to the baby every night when we go to bed. It's rather sweet." I smiled.

Then I froze: I could hear Jacob's thoughts coming back into my mind. He was furious; this was worse than we had originally thought. Everyone in the pack started talking at once, and it was making my head hurt. I walked back over to the table and sat down with my hand to my head.

"Is that Jacob?" Emily asked, walking over and kneeling in front of me.

"Yeah, along with everyone in the pack, all at the same time," I said, trying to focus on what was going on. They were talking about destroying Bella and the baby, just because they didn't know how it would be.

"You can't do that, Sam. What if being what we are were to cause something to go differently with my baby—would you kill me and my baby, too, because you're afraid the baby would be uncontrollable?" I interjected.

"No! This is different, Natalie, and you know it," Sam said.

"No, it's not, and you know it," I said.

Jacob, Seth, and I were arguing against it, but everyone else seemed to agree with Sam. When Sam refused to give up on the matter and began to head to the Cullens' house, I grabbed the keys to my car and ran to the door. "Sorry, Emily, but I can't let Sam go through with killing Bella."

I ran out to my car. Bella could be considered my arch-nemesis, if you wanted to think in terms of superheroes, but what Sam was doing was just wrong. No one deserved that. I had to try to get there before the others. As I drove as fast as I could towards the Cullens' house I could hear Jacob and Sam starting to argue over alpha stuff. This had them stalled and I was able to get ahead of them, but then first Jacob's voice disappeared, then Seth's.

Jacob was already standing in the Cullens' yard when I pulled up. I shut my car off, leaving the keys in it in my haste to stop them. "JACOB!" I called, running towards them. I must have startled Emmett and Jasper because they lunged in my direction, snarling. I skidded to a halt, putting a hand on my belly, then Jacob jumped in front of them, his fur on end and baring his teeth and snarling at them, before walking over to me.

"It's okay, guys. It's just Natalie, Jacob's fiancée," Edward said, causing the two to stand up and calm down. I looked into Jacob's eyes, placing my hand in his thick, warm fur. He was trying to talk to me, I could see it in his eyes. "Jacob, I can't hear you."

"Natalie, get back to the reservation right now!" Sam growled.

"No, Sam. I can't allow you to do thi,s and I'm not going to leave Jacob. My place is with him," I replied firmly.

"You hate Bella—why do you care?" Paul interjected.

"Stay out of this, Paul. Despite Bella's and my differences, I wouldn't allow anyone to harm an innocent child just because they were scared of it. Jacob and I are leaving, and he won't be back as long as you hold your views, Sam. Tell Emily I love her and I'll try to keep in touch with her." With that, the clamor of voices in my mind went silent.

I looked back at Jacob and he whimpered a little. I still couldn't hear him in my mind, like I'd been able to before, and I didn't like that. It made me nervous. I looked over at Seth, who looked at me, and I shook my head and looked back into Jacob's eyes. "I can't hear either one of you."

Jacob huffed and looked back at Edward. I could tell they were talking, but I stuck close to Jacob's side for the warmth. In my hurry I had slipped on my boots but hadn't tied them, and I'd completely forgotten my coat. It was the end of summer here in Forks, so that meant it was getting really cold again. Jacob and Seth left, and I assumed it was to check the surrounding area. Edward, Emmett, and Jasper walked over to me as I stood in the cold, my arms crossed over my chest, shivering with the loss of Jacob's heat.

"Please, Natalie, come inside where it's warm," Edward said softly.

"Thank you, but I think I'll just wait for Jacob and Seth to come back," I said softly. I walked over to the side of the house and sat down on the steps.

Jasper walked over and knelt down in front of me. "Please come in. I'm sure Jacob doesn't want anything happenin' to you and that little one. Once he's back you can come right back out. It's late; you're free to fix something to eat as well, if you haven't eaten, or even fix something for Seth and Jacob. I'm sure they'll be starving when they return," he said. It was weird. I felt a sudden calm wash over me; all the nerves I'd been feeling were just swept right away. I gave a slight nod and he held out his hand to help me up. I took it and we walked into the house. I kept an eye on the big one, Emmett. I didn't trust him since he'd grabbed me and just about crushed my ribs.

I heard Edward as we walked in. "Don't worry, Natalie, Emmett won't hurt you. Jasper, show her to the kitchen, please." I followed Edward with my eyes and that's when I saw Bella. She looked like she was at death's door. But Jasper swept onward, showing me to the kitchen. "The kitchen is fully stocked. Esme kept it that way for Bella, but it seems it will be free for you and your little one," he said.

I nodded. "Thank you."

"You shouldn't be worried, Natalie. If your cousin is smart like I believe him to be, he won't attack when he knows his enemy is aware he's coming," Jasper said kindly, obviously trying to sound reassuring. I nodded, and there being nothing else to say, he disappeared out of the kitchen. I fixed something to eat quickly and then headed back outside to wait for Jacob.

I don't know what time I fell asleep, but it didn't seem like very long before I felt something warm and soft curl up around me. When I opened my eyes I saw it was Seth and I just smiled softly, curling up in his warm, soft fur and falling back to sleep. I hadn't slept well the night before, so I was easily woken up when Jacob came to get Seth. I noticed that at some point since the last time I'd fallen asleep, someone had come and put a warm blanket over me. I rubbed my eyes some as Jacob took Seth's spot and rubbed his cheek against mine, then gently nuzzled my stomach.

"We're okay, Jacob," I said, pulling the blanket more securely around me before lying back down and curling up against him.

It wasn't long before I was startled awake by Jacob jumping up, and he ran off before I could ask what was going on. I sighed and sat back, curling up in my blanket and shivering in the cold, moist morning air. When I heard the door open I turned to see Carlisle standing there.

"Natalie, why don't you come in? You look frozen to the bone. You must be tired and hungry," he said. I was frozen and hungry, but . . . I looked back in the direction Jacob had run off. "Do you know what's going on?" Carlisle asked.

I shook my head. "N-no . . . since last night I can't hear him any more. I can't hear any of them." I stood up and walked over to Carlisle, holding the blanket around me. He placed his stone-cold hand on my back and guided me inside.

"I'm sure you'll get it back once everything calms down," he said.

Esme came to us and smiled sweetly. "Are you hungry? You look absolutely frozen, you poor thing! I bet you'd like some fresh clothes and a nice warm shower, wouldn't you?"

I nodded and then I heard a soft, raspy voice asking who was there. I looked questioningly at Esme, and she smiled faintly and nodded toward a doorway on the other side of the kitchen. Hesitantly I headed that way and found myself in what looked like it used to be the living room. Bella lay there in a hospital bed, looking like she was only minutes away from death.

"It's just Natalie, Bella. She's woken up and I brought her in to warm up and get something to eat," Carlisle said gently.

"Hi, Bella," I said, not really knowing what else to say. I held the blanket closer around me for comfort.

"Thank you . . . for understanding," Bella said. I looked over at Edward, who was sitting next to her. He had to have told her everything that had happened. All I got from him was a slight nod.

"Don't mention it," I replied.

I was ushered off to the kitchen, where I was promptly encouraged to sit down at the bar as Esme began to scurry around the kitchen and Carlisle stood looking down at me.

"May I?" he asked.

I looked at him, uncertain what he was asking, then I saw his extended hand. "Oh—yeah, if you want, but I can't feel anything yet."

Carlisle smiled as he knelt down and placed a hand on my belly. "Life is such a fascinating thing. Its heartbeat is strong and healthy." He looked up at me. "Do you know the sex yet?"

"No. At my next appointment we're supposed to find out. I'm hopeing for a boy, but Jacob is wishing for a girl," I told him.

Carlisle smiled. "If you need me to, I can take over your medical care. I have everything here, just in case. It's going to be difficult, what with everything that's going on."

I nodded. "Thank you for the offer."

"It's the least I can do, considering everything that's going on," Carlisle said. Esme set a plate down on the counter in front of me.

"Thank you," I said, looking at the hot food appreciatively and giving her a tentative smile.

"Don't worry about it. I'll go find you some clothes, and then once you're done eating I'll show you to one of the spare rooms with a bathroom so you can shower, and then even sleep some if you want." Esme smiled warmly.

I nodded. "If you could just take the clothes you're loaning me and put them in the dryer with a dryer sheet, and then just tell me where the drier is . . . ? Jacob's nose is more sensitive than mine." I didn't want to offend them, but whenever I spent any time around the Cullens, Jacob complained that I reeked of vampire.

Esme smiled, understanding at once, and nodded in amusement. "Of course, dear." She disappeared to search for clothes, and I began to eat. I finished quickly and Esme showed me where the dryer was, then led me to a room I was told would be mine to use for as long as I wished. I nodded and thanked her, and with a cheery smile she closed the door and left me alone. I wandered into the bathroom and turned on the water to warm it up. I made quick work of my shower and then, wrapped in a huge towel, I headed to the dryer and took out the clothes Esme had found for me: a sweat pants and t-shirt, along with a bra and underwear. I quickly got dressed and was just hanging up the towel when I heard Jacob's voice.

I ran to the living room, where he stood talking to Carlisle. Jacob turned and pulled me into his arms, hugging me tightly as if I would float away if he let go. I held on to him as well; it was so nice to have him there with me again . . . my Jacob.