Chapter 3

The words were very clear.

Claire, I'm pregnant. I'm so scared, because Jacob isn't going to want to have a baby right now. I know he wants them but he said a million times he doesn't want them now. He said he wanted kids when he's older: much, much, much, older. It scares me Claire. What if he doesn't want the baby?

I was shocked. Jake not wanting his and Ness's baby was not likely. I quickly ran over and hugged her.

"It will be fine." I told her. "It's Jake we're talking about here. Ness he loves you so much. Okay, so I can't see in to the future and tell you what's going to happen-you have to ask Alice that," we both laughed. "But he will stick by you for whatever you choose," I said poking her shoulder. "Now pick that lip up, off the ground, and stop crying. Everything will work out, and let's get ready so we can look hot for or men." We both winked at eachother and hurried to get ready. I was wearing a floor length, green dress. Ness was wearing my long white dress with a black belt to hide her small baby bump. I'm surprised that Jacob hadn't noticed it yet.

"Hey Ness," I said.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"How has he not noticed your little bump yet?" She smiled and came over to me. She put her hand on my cheek and showed me pictures of her wearing long baggy shirts and sweat pants. She also showed me images of her putting a lot of perfume on. I looked at her questioningly, "I put the perfume on because Grandpa said that he would be able to smell the change in blood."

"Oh, can they smell everything on us?" I inquired.

She nodded and said, "Even when we have your periods. That's why they are not around as much when it's our time of month."

"Oh shit, that's just creepy and awkward; them knowing and being able to smell it. I have to say that's pretty embarrassing." I told her.

"I know," She said nodding at me. "How do you think I feel? I have to live with my husband. He can't really keep away when he lives with me, so he's usually there with all my mood swings."

"Well, there is a plus side. At least you don't have to live with a house full of vampires who can smell it on you a mile away."

"That is the upside of them moving to Canada."

"That and the fact that you get a huge house, money, and a husband; God I wish I lived with you guys. I'm sure I would be so much happier there then being here with my brothers, who drive me crazy, and my mom. Let's not get started on her again."

"Oh My God, Claire, I have the best idea! You should move in with us. God knows I'm going to need you over for the next few months, and I would love to have a chick around the house. I'm sick of all the boys that are always there. Also you won't have to listen to your mom complain about how Quil is over there way too much and how he's not allowed to spend the night." She said winking at me. I put my chin down and blushed. "Oh come on, Claire you know you want to!"

"Of course, I want to but we just got together, and-"

"That doesn't stop true love," we both giggled. "Good, then it's settled. You can move in whenever you want. You can have the top floor of the house, being that it now has a kitchen and a new bath room. It could be like your own little flat."

"Are you serious? That is so sweet of you! Thank You so much!" I quickly pulled her into a hug.

"Anytime Chichi, you're like my sister." I looked over at the clock and saw that it read nine o'clock.

"Oh shit, come on lets go before they come and break down doors." I quickly grabbed a bag and shoved clothes in there and wrote my mom a note.

Hey mom staying at Nessie's for a few days. We are going to

have a girl's weekend in Port Angeles. Sorry, I didn't tell you sooner

but I only just found out. I'll talk to you when I get home.

Love you and see you then xoxo

Better be nice or she might refuse to let me leave.

I pinned the note to the fridge and we left. We jumped into Ness's car and drove to Quil's house. Once we got there, I could see Ness out of the corner of my eye tapping her nails nervously against the steering wheel.

"Ness," I said grabbing her hand and holding it in mine, "Calm down you don't have to tell him tonight. You can tell him when you're ready. If you want we can go out to dinner tomorrow night: you, me, Jake, and Quil. It can be like a double date and we can tell him together, but there's no rush."

"That would be great, Claire. That way if I chicken out you can tell him for me. "We both laughed.

"You know I would. Come on, let's get inside and have a good time before everything goes crazy and Embry tries to embarrass the people who drink." We both got out of the car and started to walk towards the door. Before we could even get up the last step, the door flow open, and Jake was standing there. Quil was standing in front of him, though, with his back to us.

Before I knew what I was doing; I let go of Nessie's hand and ran up to him and hugged him from behind. I laid my head against his back.

"Hey baby girl," Quil said. I let him go and he turned around.

"Hey," I replied. He smiled down at me, and I looked over his shoulder to see Jake standing there. I let go for a second to see Ness walk over to Jake and hug him, but the hug was stiff.

"Jake, talk to her. Tell her how much you love her and how much she means to you. Tell her why you didn't tell her about the Volturi. Listen when she tells you something and don't jump to conclusions, because it could cost you your marriage with Ness." I looked up at him and could see the pain in his eyes from what I said.

'Thanks Claire Bear," he told me.

"Anytime, Jake," I walked over to Ness, " and also, I'm kind of going to move in with you guys soon." He looked at us both shocked.

"Wh- wha- what?" he stuttered. We both were cracking up laughing.

"She's not having a good home life. Besides, I'm always in contact with her when you are and aren't around, and it could be nice to have a girl around especially with all your friends always being over. I figured it would be okay with you. Is it okay with you?" Ness asked Jake.

He moved towards Ness in three quick strides, picked her up, and spun her around. Then, before I knew it, was hauling her inside.

"So I take that as I yes?" I quickly yelled after them.

"Yes, it's a yes Claire, I love having you around!" Jake called back.

"Thanks," I said, but before I could say anything else, Quil picked me up, threw me over his shoulder, and hauled me inside,"Hey, put me down you big lump of wolf!" I heard him laugh.

"Not yet," he said. Before I could see what he was doing, he was passing me to somebody else, then somebody else, and so on.

"What is this?" I asked. "Pass the person, and when the music stops someone gets to look under my dress."I said angrily. I heard a growl, and I knew it was Quil. I felt another set of arms grab me, I looked and saw that it was Quil. I felt like I was on fire, their bodies were so warm, like my own personal furnace. "Let go of me" I told him pushing him away from me.

"Claire, I didn't mean to upset you," he begged, his tone remorseful. I was shocked for a moment, before realizing he must have thought I was moving away from him because I was angry with him I sat down on the closest chair.

"Oh God, Quil, don't be stupid. Look you fat head, I have very thick skin. I'm just roasting, that's all. You're all REALLY hot," I heard a bunch of laughs around us and I blushed. "Shut up, all of you, I'm not saying that your hot like that I'm saying you're hot as in your body temperature, idiots." They laughed harder, "OH SHUT UP!" I got up and walked to the kitchen and grabbed a beer and sat down at the table. I heard someone walk in, so I turned and saw everyone come in, even Jake and Ness, and they all sang Happy Birthday to me.

"I just have to say that you are all awful singers, except for Ness," I told them, while Ness blushed. "But Thank You, it was sweet of you guys to do that," I told them. I got up and hugged them all. I saved Quil for last so I could never let go.

"Hey guys, can you do me favor and go outside for a second? I need to talk to Jake and Claire for a minute." I turned and looked at Ness shocked.

"Ness, you don't have to do this now. We can do this tomorrow at diner." I reasoned with her.

"What dinner?" Quil asked

"We're going on a double date with these guys tomorrow as a welcome to the house kind of thing." I told him.

"Okay?" it sounded more like a question then an answer.

"Okay, what the hell is going on here? Ness talk to me, you're scaring me!" Jake said.

"Go Quil I'll call you if- unless Jake wants you here?"

"Yeah sure I guess," Jake said turning to Ness.

"Are you sure you want to do this now?" I asked.

"Yes she wants to do this now. What the hell is going on?" Jake said.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Ness said. "I've hated lying to him. Lying about where I'm going, who I'm going to see, having to spray myself with so much perfume trying to hide the smell-it's giving me headaches."

"What the hell are you guys on about?" Jake grabbed Ness's arm and spun her around to face him "Ar- ar- Are you having an affair?" I gasped and Ness froze.

"GOD, NO SHE'S NOT!" I said, while Ness started to cry. I love Jake, but he can be a real idiot sometimes.

"Babe, I'm sorry." Jake was trying to comfort Ness, "I didn't mean to say that. It's just with what you said about the sneaking around and the perfume to cover the smell." He went to hug her but she stepped back and put her hands up.

"How could you think I would do that to you?" Ness asked Jake. "I married you because you're the only person I want to make love to, you're the only person who I want to go to sleep to and wake up to." I saw her sway a bit, but I quickly ran over to her and grabbed her and sat her down on the chair.

"Are you okay?" she nodded, and she put her hand on my cheek.

'It's the baby making me feel dizzy. Grandpa said it might happen; its cause I haven't had anything to eat." I quickly went to the fridge and grabbed the chocolate that Quil always kept there for me and gave it to her. 'Can you tell him please? I can't, because I'm still in shock that he would think that I would do that to him." I nodded and turned to him.

"You asshole, she's pregnant! You idiot! That's what she was trying to hide the smell of, the change in her body. Where she's going is to doctor appointments. She was scared that you wouldn't want to have the baby!" I couldn't hold the anger anymore I stepped closer and slapped him across the face. I'm sure it hurt me more then it hurt him, but I didn't want him knowing that. He looked down at me shocked. He opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed it "God, I've known you for sixteen years and I've loved you like a brother for those years; but right now I hate you. I can't believe you would think she would do something like that. Did you not remember her vowels she said on your wedding day, because I sure as hell do? She read them to me and I cried s-" Ness interrupted what I was saying.

"Quil, can you please take her out of here, so I can talk to Jake?" Ness said. I spun around and looked at her and she gave me a half smile. I leaned down and kissed her cheek.

"I'll be right outside if you need me." She nodded and hugged me.

"Thank you Claire, and I'm sorry about your birthday being wrecked because of this whole crappy situation."

"It's fine," I told her reassuringly. "It wouldn't be fun without a little drama." I felt Quil's arms wrap around my waist, and he picked me up and carried me down to his room. He put me down on his bed and turned and shut the door. He came back sat down on the bed and I curled up into his chest.

"You know what's funny? I've known about everything for only a few hours, but for some reason it feels like I've known my whole life." I told Quil.

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

"Hey Quil, can I ask you something?"

"Sure"

"Are you forced to love me?" I blurted it out before I could even think about what I was saying.

"No," He answered knowingly, shaking his head. "When it happened it just took all of my connections to the world and rerouted them through you. I just kind of lived for you from then on to make you happy, to keep you safe. Nothing else mattered." He said smiling a little.

"Yeah, because that doesn't sound forced at all," I said sardonically.

He rolled his eyes at my tone.

"It's not love, its admiration, its devotion, and it's never wanting to see you hurt. Love, is something that grows. It doesn't happen immediately." He said firmly.

"Do you love me?"

"With all my heart" He said to me. I leaned my head against his chest.

"Ditto"

"Ditto? Really?" He said laughing.

"Oh shut up, would you like me say it then?" I climbed down from his lap and put my hands on his knees to steady myself, "I. LOVE. YOU. QUIL. ATEREA. Better?" I asked.

"Much" he leaned up and kissed me. One of his hands was positioned on my cheek, the other on my hip. I giggled at how ticklish his hands are, "Don't laugh at me." He said.

"I wasn't laughing at you. I was laughing at the fact that your hands make me all ticklish." I told him.

"Oh, okay then," He said lifting his hand so that it ran over my hip bone, I bit my lip trying to hold in the laughter but it didn't work. Before I knew it I was laughing so hard it hurt but he kept moving it over my body until he decided it was time to actually full on tickle me. I don't know how long it was until he stopped,

"Come on, I can hear the boys getting antsy and Jake and Ness kissing; so I want to stop them before they do it in my kitchen." I laughed harder.

"So… I… take… that as … a good …sign?" I said between breaths.

"Yes babe, that's a good sign." I smiled and turned towards the kitchen, but Quil stopped me by wrapping his arms around my waist and put his head on my shoulder. "Have I told you how beautiful and gorgeous you look tonight? Well you always look gorgeous but tonight you look even hotter." He whispered the last bit into my ear and I felt a shiver run down my spine.

"No, but I definitely know now. Thanks big boy!" I told him.

"Anytime, now you go get the boys while I go and get Ness and Jake. Trust me when I say it would be better if I do it, because I'm going to be seeing it later in Jake's head anyway. You probably don't want to be permanently scarred with those images."

"Okay, tell Jake if he rips my favorite dress I'll rip him a new one and then make him replace it."

"Why's it you favorite?" He questioned.

"Just look at it, and try to remember where you've seen it before and then get back to me."

"Okay…" He said. I smiled and gave him a quick kiss and went outside to the boys. They were all talking and didn't hear me come out, so I coughed and they all turned and looked at me. Before I could say anything they rushed over to me and started to ask questions.

"Are they okay?"

"What's going on?"

"Is it true Ness is pregnant?" They all stopped talking and waited for my answer.

"Oh My God, first-nothing, they just needed to talk. Second, they're fine. Apparently they're making out in the kitchen. Third, I can't tell you that; you have to ask them that yourselves even though I already know." I quickly ran into the house and shut the door locking it behind me. They all started banging at cussing at me to open the door. I slid down the back of the door laughing. It was after I felt a giant nudge against my back that I looked out the window.

"Claire, let us in! We can't wait! We want to know if we are going to be Uncles!" I laughed at their desperation.

"You have to wait for them to tell you!" I screamed back.

"CLAIRE!" Probably due to the ruckus Quil and Jake came running towards me.

"Claire, what's wrong? Are you okay?" They asked me. I giggled.

"Peachy, it's just funny. They're going to be pissed at me for a long time."

"Why?" Jake said

"Because I won't tell them if Ness is pregnant or not, and I kept trying to tell them it's not my place but do they listen? NO," I heard someone kick the door. I got up and unlocked it. "God could you guys not hear us talking" I moved out of the way before I got crushed I felt Quil's arms wrap around me.

"You can tell them if you want." They all turned and gave me evil glares. I shrunk back into Quil's chest, and I heard him growl.

"Okay….. Yes she is pregnant. She is about a month along." Once I was finished they ran to Jake patting him on the back, while screaming, 'Jacob did the deed'.

Everybody was still on the high of the pregnancy news, so we all partied till about three in the morning. After a while though, Ness and I finally got tired of their dirty jokes they kept telling us. For Example, why can't a man please a woman in bed? Unfortunately, we asked why.

"Because we doesn't have a penis made of chocolate that ejaculates money, " they all got a growl from Ness and I for that one. They thought money was all we cared about. Thank God Ness was quick with a response. She said, "I don't think that's true. I mean, I married Jake didn't I?" Everybody was laughing their asses off at that one.

Quil kissed me at one stage through the night then proceeded to tell me that I tasted like beer, which I don't know why but it made me mad so I told him he tasted like he had just been licking his ass. Then I proceeded to call him a dog which set everyone in the room off into a laughing fit. I couldn't help it though I had to laugh too, so he glared at me trying not to show he wanted to laugh but after about a minute he fell to the ground laughing. It took him a good ten minutes for him to just sit up from the booming laughter coming out of him.

My birthday went from happy to weird to happy to crazy to happy to dramatic to happy, but we all knew when we crashed that night we would all pay in some way. I would have the hangover a lifetime, and the boys will get a pissed off Sam. Ness, well she's mad that she didn't get to drink with the rest of us. This was the birthday of a lifetime with the man that I loved.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!