CHAPTER THREE

Quil gave Jenny a strange look, and then whipped his head back to Claire to read her expression. She took in a few shallow breaths, feeling her broken ribs. "You know," she said. "I think I am…"

Quil put his hand on hers. "You didn't tell me if you were," he said.

"I didn't?" she asked. "Huh…" she blinked her eyes a few times. "I think I found out very recently. Like within the last twenty-four hours…"

"Do you know where the pregnancy test would be if you are?" Nessie asked her.

Claire looked very confused, but thought for a while. "Probably in the back pocket of my pants actually," she said. "I would have wanted to show you," she said to Quil.

Nessie looked around the room. She found the pants that had been grotesquely cut off of Claire folded in a chair. Nessie went to the back pocket, and sure enough, she pulled out a pregnancy test. She looked at the screen. "Ha," she said. "It says positive. I guess you are pregnant…"

Claire sniffed. "I hope he's okay…" she gingerly put a hand over her belly button.

"It'll be alright," Quil told her. "Either way, it'll be alright."

She sniffed. "The kids aren't alone are they?"

"No," Abbey said. "Emily and Ashley are with Jayna. Natalie and Brooke are with Jason."

Abbey blinked. "Who's Natalie?"

"She's an eagle," Quil whispered to her, too quiet for a passing nurse to hear.

"Oh," Claire said. "Is she kind of short, super petite?"

"That's her," Abbey said. "Small-boned, that one. She's Alaina's mom, and married to Jeremy."

"Right…" Abbey said.

"There's been lots of mommies taking care of your kids tonight Claire," Nessie said. "They've been just fine."

Claire nodded, still crying a little. "That's good," she said.

"Why are you crying Claire?" Quil asked her.

"I'm scared," she said immediately. "And really confused. And it hurts really bad."

"It'll be okay," he told her again. "What hurts?"

"My head," she said. "And my ribs. Did I break them?"

"Three," he told her.

"Yep," she said, sniffing. "That's about what it feels like."

We stayed and talked to Claire for a little while, figuring out what she remembered and what she didn't. We stayed with her while Quil went to go see a very scared Jayna who had just woken up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. Jason was still sound asleep, healing perfectly. Claire told her nurse that she was pretty positive she was pregnant, and the nurse informed the doctor. The doctor was feeling positive about the health of the baby, but he said only time would truly be able to tell. After about an hour, we went out into the waiting room and told everyone the updates we knew. Jenny, Nick, Liam, and I went to go sit with Jayna while the others visited Claire and Quil. After that, people started going home one by one. The sun was just starting to rise at five-thirty am, and I drifted on Nick's shoulder while we sat with Jayna. She was healing nicely, and they moved her out of the ICU and into the room next to her brother's around seven am. Brooke had gotten the key into their house from Quil, and had brought the kids some things that would distract them. Nick led me back into Liam's car around seven-thirty that morning.

The next thing I knew, I was slowly waking up in Nick's bed. His house was quiet, but I heard the TV on in the living room. I was pretty disoriented, having no memory of how I got there. I rolled out of bed and looked at the clock. It said twelve pm. I opened up Nick's bedroom door, and saw Leah sitting on the couch, reading a magazine.

"Hey," she said.

"Hi…" I said. I gave her a look. "I have no idea how I got here."

She laughed. "You fell asleep in the car. Nick carried you in and dropped you on his bed. He was asleep on the couch until about an hour ago. He had to run patrol."

"Huh," I said. "That makes sense."

I looked down at my outfit and realized I was still in my hunting clothes from the night before. "Oh," I said. "I'm sorry," I said to Leah. "I'm in your house in filthy clothes."

"Oh please," Leah said. "I have two sons and a husband. You aren't doing any harm."

I nodded thoughtfully. "Where are your kids?" I asked her.

"A bunch of the dads took them for a hike," she said. "Us moms were trying to figure out a schedule for the hospital. Jason is being released today, and so I'm going to pick him up and stay with him until Quil's mom can come over. She was working until like six o'clock tonight though. Claire's parents are out of town. Jayna is supposed to be released sometime tomorrow, but I suppose we'll figure out who can stay with her as it happens. Claire is trying to get Quil to go home and get some sleep, but he won't leave her."

"I'll be he won't," he said. I shook my head. "I wouldn't."

"Me neither," Leah said. We shared a mutual bond in that moment. We both knew what it was like to have someone imprint on us, and in her case, imprint on somebody. She looked up from her magazine at me. "Do you and Nick think you're going to get married?" she asked me.

I smiled at her. "He just asked me that the other day…" I shrugged one shoulder. "I think we will. We could afford it I think. If he asked me tomorrow, I would say yes."

She nodded, pensive. "It's good that you guys have talked about it and looked into stuff like that."

I cocked my head at her. "Do you approve of your son's choice in wife?" I was just teasing of course.

"Of course," Leah said. "You know I love you Zemati."

I smiled. "Thank God we get along," I told her. "Could you imagine if we didn't?"

"I don't even want to think about it," she said. "That would stink."

"Have you always gotten along with Joel's mom?"

"Yes," she said. "But Sam's mom didn't like me much at first."

"Sam?"

She gave me a shocked look. "Haven't you ever heard this story?"

I shook my head. "No," I said. "Do tell."

Then she told me the story of her and Sam, and how in love they had been. I was astounded. I couldn't picture Leah with anyone but Joel, and I couldn't picture Sam with anyone but Emily.

"So," she said, finishing her story. "Now you know how good imprinting can be, and how potent."

"Wow," I said. "I never thought about something like that happening."

"No one did," Leah said. "I was devastated. I was really bitter, for a long, long time about it. But then I met Joel, and I understood. Sam and I became close again though after that. Sometimes I still call him on the phone and we just rant for like two hours. It's pretty great."

I laughed. "I always thought it was kind of weird how friendly the two of you were. When I was little I frequently confused you and Emily."

Leah laughed. "That's okay," she said. "We are cousins."

After a few more minutes of talking to Leah, I decided to head home and get a shower. My car was still parked at the Blacks' house. It was just right across the street. I waved to Eila through the window as I climbed in my car and headed home. My mom was getting there at the same time as me, and I told her what had happened. She freaked out, and started swearing in Hindu, but calmed down when I told her they were all going to make a full recovery.

Exactly five days later, I was graduating from High School. I sat on stage with four of the other top students, and listened politely to the valedictorian speech. The girl was a sweetie, but I had never grown particularly close to any of my classmates. It was dangerous to have human friends. My parents were hosting a party/bonfire at our house tonight for our family. Everyone was invited, and it looked like attendance would be one hundred percent.

The ceremony was short with only about seventy-five kids graduating. I tossed my hat into the air with the rest of my graduating class, and immediately turned to find my family. Only my family and Nick had come, but everyone was going to be at the party. My mother and father each gave me a kiss on the cheek, and Nick took a picture of the three of us.

He rode back with us to my house and we got the fire going. It wasn't long before everyone started showing up. Claire had been released from the hospital two days previously, and was doing just fine. Her memory was completely back, and everything was healing nicely. She was on crutches because of her broken leg, but would that would be taken off in about six weeks. They had run an ultrasound on her just today, and everything had looked just fine. They hoped to be able to hear a heartbeat in about three weeks. Apparently she had been getting a little bit of morning sickness, so that at least was a sign of pregnancy. Abbey, the OB/GYN at the hospital said things should honestly be okay. Her stomach hadn't had much trauma, and her oxygen supply had never been cut off.

My house was whirring with activity, and the fire outside was warm and happy. I sat on a log with Jenny at my left and Nick on my right. Liam was on Jenny's other side. Nick was acting kind of funny, like he was nervous about something. I suspected he was just happy to be with everyone on a better occasion than the last time we were all together. Everyone was there, and kept telling me congratulations.

I turned to face Jenny so I could ask her about her summer plans. Behind her, I saw Liam fumble with something in his pocket, and then drop to the ground on one knee. I realized what was happening right as I felt a tap on my shoulder.

I turned around, and the entire world stopped.

Nick was on one knee, smiling up at me. He had a ring box in his hands, and I just about fell to the ground. He took one of my hands in his and pulled me to my feet. I heard Liam talking behind me, but I didn't care to hear what he was saying.

"Zemati," Nick said. "I know we're young. I know we have lot to figure out, and a lot we aren't sure about. But would you please do me the honor of marrying me?"

In that moment, I saw every moment I had ever spent with Nick flash through my memory. Him holding me as a little girl. Him playing with me, and chasing me around. Him calling me Z for the first time, a nickname that had stuck. Him dancing with me at prom a few weeks ago. Him holding me in a hospital waiting room. Him carrying me from the car to his bed. Him on one knee, right now.

"Of course," I said, fighting back my tears. "Yes, yes, yes!"

He swept me into his arms and everyone was clapping around us. I held onto Nick, and buried my face in his shoulder. I was crying, but had never been happier. He finally set me back on my feet, and slipped a silver band around my finger. There was a small diamond in the center of it, but it was absolutely beautiful. I turned to face Jenny, and she was already standing with her arms open for a hug. I looked across the fire, and saw Liam's mom, Emily, Leah, and my mother all sitting side by side.

"Where did those little babies go huh?" Leah said, and I could hear the raw emotion in her voice, even though she was smiling.

"I was thinking the exact same thing," my mother said.

"They will be happy," Liam's mother said.

"I couldn't ask for anything more," Emily said.

I walked over to my mother, and my father was close. They both swallowed me in a big hug. A second later, I felt the impact as the rest of my family jumped in on our group hug. Jai and Selena were laughing, and Kahini and Mayur were as well. They were all speaking rapidly in Hindu, and I could barely keep up. They were all cracking jokes though, and telling me congratulations.

They finally let me go, and Leah gave me a hug. Joel did as well. Alexis and I started talking a mile a minute, and both couldn't stop laughing. Cole, Nick's younger brother, and I high fived, and I gave Paige a hug. My soon to be brother and sister in laws didn't seem too surprised at the nights events.

"You know what the kicker is Z?" Liam asked me. "Last week when we were all talking about the possibility of getting married, both Nick and I had already bought a ring. We've been planning on doing this now for about a month."

"How did you keep it a secret from me?" Jenny asked. "I can read your minds!"

"Very carefully," Nick said. "I'm pretty sure everyone but you knew."

"I knew!" Wyatt said immediately.

"How did you manage to keep it a secret?" Jenny asked.

"No idea," Wyatt said. "I've been thinking about a whole lot of random stuff for the last month if you haven't noticed."

"I noticed," Jenny said. "I thought you were just being an idiot."

"That's what I would have assumed," Ashley said.

I laughed at the dynamic of Ashley and Wyatt's relationship. They were both so sarcastic.

Nick squeezed my hand. "I love you," he whispered to me.

"I love you too," I told him. Liam and Jenny were the last ones at our house, and they left around two am. We had discussed wedding plans, and had decided to do a joint wedding. Nick and Jenny said that they had done everything together since birth, so it was only right that they got married at the same time. I asked my mother how quickly we could put a wedding together, and being the crazy planner she is, told me that we could be getting married in a week if we wanted to. We decide to wait two weeks so we could get our houses set up and things, but we were still going to go through with it exactly fourteen days from today. My mom sent Jenny home at two am, and told her to clear her schedule tomorrow because we were going to dress shop until someone dropped. Liam volunteered to take her patrol shift, and told us good luck.

I walked Nick to his car right after Jenny and Liam left, and leaned against his used, green pickup truck. "Hey…" he said, taking my hands in his. He pressed his body up to mine and kissed me on the lips. I kissed back passionately, my tongue playing tag with his. His hands were going up and down my sides, feeling the curve of my hips and back. I traced the muscles in his back, feeling every individually defined ligament. His mouth moved with mine greedily, and I was the one who had to pull away.

"Hey," I said, as he kissed down my jawline. "You have to go home. I have to get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow night okay?"

He kissed my lips again, and I almost got pulled under. "Nick," I said, pulling away again.

He finally pulled back. "Alright," he said. "I hope you find a dress that you love. But don't worry about what I'll think of it, you could get married in sweatpants and a holey t-shirt and I wouldn't care."

I chuckled. "I'm sure we could both do a little better than that."

I gave him one last peck on the cheek, and waved as he pulled out. I came through the front door and my parents were sitting on the couch.

"Well," I said. "This summer has taken an unexpected turn in events."

My mom laughed. "Get some sleep," she said. "You're going to need it. I just texted Bella, and they're all going to fly down here for the wedding."

"Perfect," I said, and I really meant it. I had never been happier.

The next day was crazy. My mother, me, Kahini, Selena, Jenny, Emily, Leah, and Liam's mother Jackie, all piled into Emily's minivan and booked it to Seattle. There was a big wedding dress shop up there, and we planned to spend most of the day there. We combed the store for about two hours, and we each had almost twenty dresses waiting to be tried on. Jenny found her dress almost immediately. The sixth one she tried on couldn't have been more perfect. It was perfectly white, a halter at the top. It flattered her small chest, clinging to her body until it reached her slender hips. It was covered with a layer of lace on the top, and flowed out gently at her pelvis. She was stunning. After checking the price tag, it was just under her limit. She was ecstatic.

I tried on dress after dress after dress, but none of them were right. I was bustier than Jenny, shaped like my mother. I had womanly hips, but a completely flat stomach and thin legs and arms. After what felt like a million more dresses, I finally found one that slid on perfectly, and I just knew. I turned to face myself in the mirror, and my breath caught.

"This is it," I said immediately, and my mother laughed.

The dress was one shouldered, and tight around the bust. It clung to my stomach and hips, and fell in silky waves to the ground. Right below my chest there were diamond shape cutouts that went around my ribcage to meet a bedazzled band that went down my spine. It accented everything perfectly.

My mom let the others in the door then. "Damn," Jenny said as she came around the door. "You look like a total sex monster."

My mother and I both burst out laughing. "You really do look great though," Leah said. "I'd marry you in that."

I cracked up at that too. The price was a little more than I had been looking to spend, but I could manage. "I have some shoes that match the color of that dress perfectly," Kahini told me. "That could be your something borrowed."

"Perfect!" I said, more excited about the wedding than ever. We had time to find veils and jewelry, so we went back to shopping. I bought a necklace and earrings, but I was going to wear an old bracelet that my parents had got me for my fifth birthday. I found a garter with one blue bead hanging from it, so I covered something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. Jenny was wearing a necklace that was a family heirloom. It had one blue sapphire in it. Emily had worn it at her wedding, and her mother before her.

I called Nessie on the way home and asked her to be my maid of honor. She agreed immediately, and asked what color I wanted her in. Jenny and I had decided to put our maids of honor in blue, the same color as her necklace. Alexis was going to be Jenny's maid of honor, and Nick was having Brandon as his best man. They were each going to ask their younger siblings, but decided to ask each other's instead. Nick's sister was Jenny's maid of honor, and Jenny's brother was Nick's best man. Liam had asked Seth. The two of them had bonded more than I thought they would have. I couldn't even imagine finding out that my father had cheated on my mother before his death, and gotten a young girl pregnant at that. I texted Nick that I was almost home as we got closer. We were going to go stargazing tonight. We had started doing it last summer.

Nick picked me up in his pickup truck about ten minutes after I got home. I had shown my dress to my male family members, and they thought it was gorgeous.

"Hey," Nick said as I climbed in the car. "How did it go?"

"Well," I said as we left my driveway and headed for what could best be described as the middle of nowhere. "I found a dress."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," I said. "And Jenny's exact words were 'Damn, you look like a total sex monster.'"

He cracked up. "That's great."

When we got to our favorite spot a few miles out of town, he pulled off the main road and took a few back roads until we got to an abandoned field. We drove a few bumpy miles out, and then he put the car in park. He grabbed a blanket and two old pillows out of his back seat, and we walked around to his truck bed. We spread the blanket out on the bottom of the truck bed, and put the pillows at the top. He gave me a hand up, and then climbed up after me. We laid down next to each other, and took in the clear Washington night. The stars were magnificent in the summer.

We were silent for a while. I felt his head shift, and looked over at him looking back at me. "You know," he said. "You might be the most beautiful thing I've ever seen?"

I smiled at him. "Have you met my mother?"

He chuckled. "Well," he said. "We know where you get your good looks."

I rolled over onto my side so I could look at him better, and he did the same. "You're awful handsome yourself," I said. The electric blue eyes that his father had given him were almost glowing in the dark field.

He slowly slid himself over to me so that our bodies were pressed together.

"We have to be careful," I whispered to him. "I don't want to have sex until we're married. You know that."

"Of course," Nick said. "And we can be as careful as you want to be."

I gently put my lips to his and slowly worked into a rhythm. His shirt was already off, and I greedily felt his strong core muscles. He ran his hand up and down my back, touching my flat stomach, and tickling in between my hips. He didn't go too far down, or too far up. I pushed him onto his back, and held him down by pushing on his chest. I let him feel like the prey for half a second, and then I pulled one of my legs over the top of him so that I was straddling him.

He chuckled. "You've trapped me," he said.

I smiled, sliding my way up his chest, feeling his body shiver the further I went up. I put my lips on his, and felt his body begin to subconsciously start gyrating against mine. Keeping my lips on his, I gently put my hands on his small hips, keeping them in place. I wasn't about to lose my virginity two weeks before my wedding. I'd made it eight years, I could make it another thirteen days. I kissed down his bare chest, making sure not to excite him too much. I didn't want him to be uncomfortable.

Before I even knew what was happening, I was on my back and he was straddling me. He kissed my mouth greedily, sticking his tongue deep into my mouth. He could have been suffocating me, but I loved his weight pressed against mine. Air was overrated anyway. Our lips danced, and after what felt like only seconds, he pulled away. I caught my breath, my chest violently rising and falling on the truck bed.

"Damn," Nick said, running his hand through my long black hair. "You are so sexy."

I scoffed. "You're telling me, Mr. eight-pack."

He laughed. "You are perfect."

"Not quite," I said. "But you sure are getting there."

He went for my lips again, and I couldn't help but kiss back.

The days leading up to our wedding passed in a blur of plans and being madly in love. Nick and I were approved for a house immediately from the tribe, and we found one that only needed minimal work. My mother and Kahini went nuts, working on the house for literally ten days without stopping. Two days before the wedding, my mother showed us the house. It was stunning. It only had two bedrooms, but that might be all we ever needed. She had gotten new appliances for the kitchen, and modern furniture for the living room. Our room had a large king sized bed in it. We had a half bath attached to our room, and a full bath in the hall. My favorite part of the house was the screened in porch in the back. We were about half a mile back from the beach, and completely surrounded by trees. The trees would prevent it from ever getting horribly wet. There was another house about of a quarter mile away, and Liam and Jenny had been working day and night to get it ready for their move in.

"Mom," I said after Liam and I got done touring our beautiful house for the first time. "What do we owe you for this?"

She shook her head. "Take this as a wedding present from the whole family."

"Amari we can't do that," Nick said.

"You can," my mother said. "And you will. I won't take a dollar for this."

I looked around at the beautiful house again, with the brand new appliances and furniture. "At least let us pay for the furniture," I said.

"No," my mother said. "We know people. It wasn't that expensive, and I'll only see you married once. So I insist on paying for this. How often will I be able to buy my daughter her first house? Only once."

"Thank you," Nick said. "So much. This is really a big help."

"It was my pleasure," my mother said. "Really. I enjoyed it thoroughly."

I gave my mother a hug. "Go look around," she said. "Do you guys want to start moving some things tonight?"

Nick and I looked at each other. "Sure," Nick said. "I'm sure my parents will want to see the house as well."

"Oh, you're mother has been here already," my mom said. "I invited her over earlier today. She told me to tell you that she would be staying here for extended periods of time unannounced."

Nick and I both laughed. "Well," he said. "We'd love to have her."

Nick and I walked into our house then, exploring it. My mother left us, she had a lot of work to do to catch up with her other projects. I checked out the kitchen, noting the good amount of freezer space. That would come in handy if Nick and I ever had the child we wanted. I would need to hunt for it for a while, and freezing the blood would be more convenient.

Nick was checking out the spare bedroom. My mother had left that one unfurnished, not asking about whether we intended to have children or not. I followed him in there, wrapping my arms around his strong middle as I came in. "It's a nice sized room," I said.

He nodded. "There's a nice closet too. Plenty of room for a bed."

I gave him a peck on the cheek. "You know," I said. "We may not even be able to have children."

He put his arm around my shoulders. "Believe it or not," he said. "I wouldn't mind spending the rest of an eternity with just you."

I smiled. "You might someday." I chuckled, lightening the mood. "What the heck are we going to do with this room if it's not for a child?"

He laughed. "I suppose we can turn it into a guest bedroom. We have lots of family that would love to stay with us. My parents and siblings for one."

I laughed. "And I'm sure Nessie would love to kick some of the Cullen's out of her house when they come to visit. They can get pretty noisy when they're all together for extended periods of time like that."

Nick chuckled. "I love you," he said.

"I love you too," I told him.