Chapter 9- Gross

(RPOV)

The next two weeks passed uneventfully. Alice kept giving me updates from Italy, but nothing was going on there either. If I was being truthful, that made me even more worried than anything else. Even Grandpa hadn't heard anything, although we knew through Alice that they had received his letter. It seems they were as confused by his letter as we were by their gift. I kept up pretenses at school. Even though I felt like a whale, thanks to Alice's wardrobe assistance, no one was able to tell I was pregnant. Of course, the farther along my pregnancy progressed the more hormonal and exhausted I became.

On top of the hormones and the exhaustion I was having some majorly crazy cravings. I had never really liked human food, preferring to hunt and then drink my meals. Since becoming pregnant though I had been eating a ton of human food, but the last week had been the worst yet. I had wanted Chinese, Mexican, fast food burgers and fries, every dessert that was offered in the small bakery in town, and finally a combination of them all. Last night for dinner I had Shrimp Lo Mein with a Chicken Enchilada on top, a Baconator from Wendy's, a large order of onion rings from Sonic, and a chocolate cake with ice cream, hot fudge, and caramel sauce. My entire family was disgusted by my new eating habits, even Jake. The vampires hated it because all the human food smelled horrible to them, and Jake because I was now eating him under the table.

Even though I had just had lunch two hours before, and Mom always had dinner on the table for me at precisely five, I was starving. I hefted myself off the couch and made my way to the kitchen. Just as I opened the fridge and pulled out a container of Mom's special seven cheese Mac and Cheese and grabbed a fork to dig in without even heating it up, I heard the click of high heels on the hardwood floor leading to the kitchen. I turned around and prepared for the onslaught of insults I knew was coming. Rose stepped into the kitchen and crinkled her nose at me.

"Ness, I love you, but that is just gross. At least you could heat the revolting substance up. You are really disgusting me more than your husband with your eating habits lately. Maybe I should be making the dog jokes about you." I loved to hate my aunt.

"Aunt Rose, I can't help that JR makes me hungry, and you'd be surprised at how much better this tastes cold."

"Yuck!" She turned on her heel and stomped out of the kitchen. I heard my father ask Rose what was wrong. I didn't hear her answer him, but I did hear him start chuckling as he came into the kitchen. She must have answered him in her head.

"Ness, stop antagonizing Rose please. You know she doesn't like seeing you eat like this."

"Dad, she came in and started attacking me." I reached out and touched his arm to show what happened. He just started laughing more.

"Hunny, I have to agree with her, you are worse than Jake recently." With that he left too and I took the bowl back to the couch with me to prop my feet up and continue my snack. I wasn't there long when mom came in and sat next to me. She didn't say anything just picked up my feet and started massaging them. I couldn't help but moan in appreciation, which elicited a smile from my mother. I realized as I relaxed, thanks entirely to my mother and her hands, that I hadn't seen Jake since we got home from school.

"Mom, have you seen Jake?"

"Didn't he tell you? He headed to the rez right after we got home, he wanted to visit with Quil and check in on the tribe."

"No, he didn't tell me, and I wish he would have taken me with him. I really wanted to see Claire, I've missed her so much."

"Well, Ness he didn't take one of the cars, he phased and ran. Right now you are in no condition to run all the way to La Push."

"Oh, yeah that is a good point. I'll just have to make him take me next time. Maybe once JR is born we can take him down to see them. I know they will be so thrilled for us. Plus, he will have to be introduced to the tribe. Mom thanks so much for the foot rub. You made me tired though, so I think I'm going to take a nap before dinner."

"No problem baby. I'll go get dinner started, anything special you want?" I shook my head no. "Ok, I'm just going to make a couple of tuna noodle casseroles then. They are easily reheated whenever you get up and Jake gets home. Have a good nap my sweet girl." After I laid down on the couch she kissed my head as she tucked the throw around me, before leaving the room.

(JPOV)

All day at school today I knew what I had to do, and I was more nervous than I wanted to admit. I'd pushed this off long enough. We had been back in town for almost four months and I had yet to set foot on the reservation. Although with everything happening with Ness and now the baby, I hadn't really had time. Who was I kidding, that was just an excuse. I should have checked on my tribe before we started school. I should have unpacked and then been over there. I decided not to take my truck, instead choosing to travel to La Push the way I had always traveled between the Cullen home and my old home. Right after we parked the car I yelled at Edward in my head that I was heading to La Push and would be back later, I checked to see if he was nodding in acknowledgement before I ran into the trees and phased for my run to my old home.

It felt so great to be running this old route again. From the time Bella and Edward got back from their honeymoon with Bella pregnant, I had traveled this part of the woods every day until the family had moved seven years after Ness was born. If you had told me the first time I had run this way, to protect Bella from the pack, that I would be a member of the Cullen family seventy-five years later, I would have laughed in your face.

I was very anxious to talk to Quil though. I missed my old pack brothers, and he was the only one that I could still talk to. I had left him in charge of the tribe while I was away. Even though Quil had been one of the first to imprint, waiting for Claire to grow up left him time to focus on the pack. Shortly after the run in with the Volturi Sam stopped phasing so he could spend his life with Emily. I quickly became the Alpha of a huge pack. Most of the younger members who had phased as a result of so many vamps in the area just stopped phasing right after they all left and my pack was yet again a manageable size, roughly fifteen wolfs. Seth became my beta, for one reason and one reason only, he stuck by me when I left Sam to protect Bella. Theoretically I should have left Seth in charge of the tribe, but shortly after he imprinted on a very sweet girl named Amanda, he stopped phasing and moved east to be closer to her family. Quil quickly filled Seth's spot and I felt very comfortable leaving everything in his hands. Remembering the past allowed the run to go by quicker than I thought it would.

When I looked up I was almost at the edge of the woods by my father's old house. After Billy died, I had no use for the house on the reservation, but I couldn't just sell it. So I had given it to Quil and Claire as a wedding present. I quickly phased and threw my clothes back on; at times like this I missed my old ripped sweatpants or jean shorts, stupid pixie and her damn designer clothes. I walked up to the front door and knocked. I could hear shuffling as someone made their way to the door. As the door was opened I noticed it was Claire. She seemed hesitant about opening the door, but when her eyes finally looked up and saw my face, the door was thrown wide open and she squealed like someone much younger than she was.

"JACOB!" As quickly as she could she launched herself at me to pull me into a super hug.

"Hi Claire. How are you? Missed me?" As I released her she proceeded to push me through the door. For someone half my size and an old woman to boot, she sure was strong.

"I'm good, could be better but that is the problem with getting old. And of course I've missed you. How are you? And Ness and the rest of the Cullens? You all have been gone for so long, I was starting to get afraid that I wouldn't see you again?"

"I'm really great Claire. We figured it was time to move home for awhile. The whole family is good. Ness is wonderful right now! Actually we're going to have a baby in a couple of weeks." Another squeal erupted from her mouth almost breaking my ear drums.

"Claire, what is with all the squealing? I haven't heard you squeal like that in fifty years!" I would know that voice anywhere, even if it was changed by age. Quil came around the corner then. It took him less than a second to notice me on the couch before I heard, "Dude! Is that really you?"

"Hey Quil. How are you man?" I got up and shook his hand before pulling him in for a manly one-armed hug.

"Now I get what all the squeals were about."

"You don't even know the half of it old man! Jake is going to be a father!"

"Hey, congrats man. Who's the lucky woman? Ness know you're cheatin' on her." He hadn't changed one bit, still the jokester.

"Funny Quil. Actually it is Ness. It's a long story, and we really haven't quite figured it out yet, but no one in the family is complaining."

"I'll bet. Seriously though, that is really great Jake. You're going to make an amazing dad. So what, other than making my wife squeal like a teenager again, brings you out to the rez?"

"Just checking in on my tribe. My biggest reason for coming over was to see if our coming back to town has caused any of the boys to start phasing."

"Nope. I think changing the stories about the Cullens after you and Ness were married has prevented it. They aren't seen as a threat to our people at all anymore, which means the wolves aren't needed for protection. It is good you are back Jake. There are quite a few of the boys that keeping asking about you, they think you are just another legend. It will be nice to prove to them that I'm not just some crazy old man."

"Well, I can prove I'm real, but proving you aren't crazy is a whole other issue. You've always been crazy man!" We continued our banter for a couple more hours. Quil made sure to tell me about everything that had been going on, including some things that I needed to address with other elders and tribe members. Even though I wasn't around much, I was still the chief, and Quil was going to let me handle things that had just come to his attention. Before I left I gave him a warning. "Quil, I need you to be paying attention to the boys, and the girls for that matter. There is a chance that those Italian vamps might be paying us a visit. If Alice tells me they are on their way, I'll let you know, because we will have a new pack on our hands if they do show up, and I'd like to be here to help them all adjust."

"No problem Jake. You take care of Ness. I want to see JR. Tell everyone we said hello."

"Will do. Thanks Quil. As soon as he is born, I'll make sure the whole family comes down for a visit. Bye man. Bye Claire."

"Bye Jake. Give Ness a big hug and a kiss on the cheek from me. Tell her how happy I am for her. If she needs anything, you tell her to give me a call." I nodded before letting myself out. I was very relieved after my discussion with Quil. I had some time before I needed to be back for dinner, so I decided to take care of those issues that Quil had brought to my attention. Needless to say, most of the people I had to deal with were astonished to see me. I quickly became the Alpha that was still so much a part of me as I laid down the law on those that had to hear it. I don't know if it was my commanding presence, or the fact that people thought of me as a ghost, but I was able to handle all of the problems in a timely manner, and no one argued with me. My work here is done, I thought to myself, as I walked into the woods, stripped, and phased for the run back.

I made it home just as Bella was pulling dinner from the oven. I could smell the tuna noodle casserole as soon as I opened the front door. As I walked into the living room I noticed Ness asleep on the couch. She was lying on her back, her large pregnant belly pointed to the ceiling. I noticed a bowl on the coffee table in front of her. I picked it up and sniffed, it was the leftover Mac and Cheese; she must have needed a snack after school. Just as I was about to brush a kiss on her forehead she stirred.

"Have a nice visit without me you jerk!" I knew she would be mad, but I also knew I had needed to go down there alone first, ensure that there was no new pack. Really it was for her and now JR's safety.

"I'm sorry, babe, it was all business and I wanted to make it quick. After all you need your rest right now, and I know you wouldn't have gotten any rest with Claire, even if she is old enough to be your grandmother. By the way she says hi," I hugged her and gave her the kiss on the cheek, "and those are from her. She wanted me to tell you how happy she is for you, and if you need anything you are to call her. I also promised both of them that the whole family would come down for a visit once JR is born."

"Ok, fine, you are forgiven for leaving me behind. Just tell me next time!" She sniffed the air then, and yelled. "Mom, is dinner ready?"

"Yes Nessie. I just took it out of the oven. It's ready whenever you and Jake are."

"We'll talk more later. Let's go eat. I'm starving!" I helped her off of the couch and she pulled me into the kitchen. She didn't even bother getting a plate and scooping the casserole onto it. She just grabbed a fork, placed the one whole casserole dish in front of her, and dug in. I scooped about half of the second casserole onto a plate and sat down next to my wife. She had already managed to devour a third of the dish. I would never admit this to her, but she was starting to even disgust me with her eating habits. Now that was something. I sneaked another sideways glance in her direction; she was still shoveling in the noodles and tuna fish. I had to bite my tongue so I didn't blurt out 'Gross'. I heard a chuckle coming from upstairs, don't you dare tell her Edward! I loved my wife, and I loved my son, but I couldn't wait until he was born and she went back to hating human food!

(RPOV)

I had been so focused on myself that Christmas sneaked up on me. Now I was forced to squeeze my fat, very pregnant belly behind the wheel of my car and drive into Seattle to buy Christmas presents. Driving was near impossible, but since I had to shop for everyone I couldn't really have one of them drive me. It had never taken me so long to reach Seattle, I was so used to driving fast, but considering my seat was so far back that I almost couldn't reach the pedals, speeding wasn't an option. Since it had taken me so long to reach my destination, I decided to stay the night in town. I called Jake to let him know my plans had changed.

"Hey babe. What's up, done shopping already?"

"Not quite. I actually just got to Seattle. So I decided I'm going to spend the night here at the W." I was afraid he would start yelling and screaming that I shouldn't spend the night away from the family so close to my due date. I was very surprised by the answer I got.

"That sounds like a great idea Ness. I was really worrying about you driving back later tonight anyway. Stay there, relax, take some time for you and we'll all see you tomorrow." Wow, he hadn't even asked me to come down and join me.

"Ok. Well I'm almost to the hotel. I'll see you tomorrow Jake."

"Bye Ness. Love you."

"Love you too, bye." I hung up the phone just as I pulled into the curved driveway that was in front of the entrance to the hotel. As I stopped in front of the door my door was opened by the valet and he helped me out of the car. Since I wasn't at home I was wearing some of the very cute maternity clothes that Alice had bought me. I noticed the valet's gaze linger on my chest before moving to my stomach and then quickly averting his gaze. I had my very large engagement ring and matching wedding band back on the third finger of my left hand for this trip, that way no one would question why I was pregnant. When I opened the trunk I was expecting to just find my purse, but was pleasantly surprised to see a small overnight bag. Alice! That was why Jake was so cool with me staying, Alice had probably told him just after I left. I lifted the overnight bag and my purse out of the trunk and walked into the lobby. The W Seattle Hotel was a favorite of my family's, and was accordingly extravagant. As I walked to the front desk I felt my phone start vibrating. I didn't have to look at the ID screen to know who it was. The pixie must have booked a room for me. As I pulled my phone from my pocket it was indeed a text message from my Aunt.

Ness, there is already a reservation for you under Mrs. Vanessa C. Black. Make sure you use the credit card with that name on it. I think the American Express Centurion card you have is in that name. Have a good shopping trip, and I'll see you tomorrow. Love, A.

She knows perfectly well that the AMEX black card I have is in that name. Our family had the premier AMEX card that was offered, and when that card was out, people tended to do what you wanted. Most retail and customer service businesses knew that that card had no spending limit, and a rather hefty initiation and annual fee. They knew that card meant a major amount of money was about to be spent in their establishment. I walked up to the front desk.

"Hello M'am, Welcome to the W Seattle Hotel. How may I help you?"

"Mrs. Vanessa C Black. I believe I have a reservation." I handed him my Black card and the license I had in that name that made me a twenty-one year old from Portland, OR. Even though this was a very prestigious hotel his mouth fell open slightly when he saw the card.

"Of course Mrs. Black, we have the Extreme Wow Suite all ready for you." He turned toward the side of the front desk looking right at one of the bellhops. "Jason, please escort Mrs. Black to the number 2 Extreme Wow Suite."

"Of course sir. May I take your bag Mrs. Black?" I handed him the small overnight bag. The desk clerk handed me back my credit card and ID and I quickly stowed them in my purse. "If you'll please follow me, I'll show you to your suite." He led me to the elevators and the twenty-fourth floor. He opened the door to my suite and held the door while I walked in. He walked into the next room and placed my bag on the bedroom dresser. "Here is your room key. If you need anything do not hesitate to call the concierge desk." I thanked him and gave him a very nice tip before he let himself out of the room. It set up my toiletry items in the bathroom, grabbed my purse and the room key and went to start my Christmas shopping.

A few hours later I pulled up in front of the hotel again. The valet again helped me out. He tried to empty the car of my purchases but I stopped him, there was no sense unloading them just to reload them tomorrow when I checked out. I locked them in the trunk with a special electronic combination lock I had Rose install for me before walking into the hotel and allowing the valet to park my car. The concierge greeted me by name as I walked to the bank of elevators. Soon I was walking down the hallway of the twenty-fourth floor and entering my suite. I was exhausted but knew I had to eat something. I made a call to the concierge to have room service bring up the chef's five course tasting menu from Earth and Ocean, the hotel's restaurant. Usually the restaurant, and more importantly executive chef Adam Stevenson, did not allow the food to be sent up to guest rooms. However, yet again my Centurion card came in handy, and the food was delivered to my room, with a hand written note from Chef Stevenson hoping that I would enjoy the meal. It was extraordinary. When I was finished I made another call to the concierge asking him to relay my appreciation and to tell him that I really enjoyed the meal, and that I hoped I could look forward to a breakfast that was just as good. Even though it was still early, after all the rich food from Earth and Ocean I was ready for bed. I went into the bedroom, changed into the pajamas that were in the bag, and climbed into the middle of the very comfortable king sized bed. The bed was so plush I felt like I was sinking, it was wonderful. Just as I was about to fall asleep I heard a knock on my door. I hadn't ordered anything else so I went to the door and looked out the peep-hole.

Standing in the hallway was one of the hotel's masseuses. I opened the door to her.

"Mrs. Black?"

"Yes."

"I was sent as a gift from a Mrs. Whitlock. She ordered a pregnancy massage and aromatherapy treatment for you. Everything is already paid for; all you have to do is relax and enjoy it." And enjoy it I did. I had to remember to thank Alice when I got home tomorrow. Maybe I should make another stop and get her something special. Sway and Cake supposedly had some new dresses that I'm sure Alice would like, that was her favorite club wear boutique. By the time my massage was over, I was extremely exhausted. I crawled back into the bed and fell asleep before the masseuse had even packed up all of her supplies.

I awoke the next morning to such a wonderful smell. When I opened the door to the bedroom I found a room service cart loaded with food and another note from Chef Stevenson. The breakfast was just as good, if not better, than the dinner was. I finished quickly, packed up my few belongings, and headed to the front desk to check out. The clerk made sure I had had a wonderful stay, and made a point of telling me to remember the W the next time I was in town. I signed my bill and went out to the valet to retrieve my car so I could start my trek home. I did stop at Sway and Cake to get Alice a thank you present; a new dress, shoes, and accessories to wear the next time her and Jasper went out to a club here in Seattle.

The drive home was much like the drive to Seattle, long and slow. Even though I had made a point of checking out of the hotel early, I still didn't make it home until late afternoon. Of course Alice was at the car door, opening it, before I had even turned the car off.

"I love it, I love it. Thank you so much Ness, but you really didn't have to do that. I knew you've been miserable the last few days and could really use some relaxation."

"Ok, then I'll just keep the stuff from Sway and Cake for myself."

"I just said you didn't have to, not that I didn't want it. Hand over the bags and no one gets hurt," she said laughing. I did as she demanded though. An upset psychic pixie was never a good thing. She grabbed the bags and bounded up to her room. Time to unload the presents. "Ness, I know all of your presents are wrapped already so I'm sending Emmett and Jasper down to carry them all up and put them under the tree for you. You shouldn't be lifting all that stuff, we wouldn't want you going into labor early. I want to win the baby pool."

"The what?"

"Ness, it's nothing major. While you were gone yesterday we all got talking and decided to bet on when JR's birthday would be. $1000 to join the pool, the one closest without the date passing already wins it all. Alice has picked two days after Christmas, I have Christmas eve, and the rest of the family is after Alice, with Esme bringing up the latest date of January 2nd. So you go into labor early, I would win. And we all know how much the pixie hates to lose, especially to me," Emmett explained to me as he came into the garage.

"January 2nd? Does she really think I'll be pregnant for another week and a half? I will pull JR out myself before I would go that long!" Emmett just started laughing at me. "Oh, and I want in. Put me down for tomorrow mid-morning. So Uncle Em, Uncle Jazz, where's Jake?"

"Fine, you are down for tomorrow, and I'm not really sure where he is," replied Emmett, but neither of them would look me in the eyes. I knew they were hiding something from me, but for some reason I couldn't seem to care. It was four days before Christmas and I was dying for some of the cookies my mother and grandmother had been baking the last couple of days. By the time I was seated in the kitchen with a plate of warm cookies and a huge glass of milk, I had pretty much forgotten that my husband hadn't been here to welcome me home. Once gorged on cookies and milk, I made the decision to go back to my own home for the night. Rose and Emmett tried to walk with me, but one glare told them to back off and they did.

I had been lying in bed for two hours or so when I heard the front door open, and my husband's footfalls on the stairs as he came to our bed. He quickly stripped out of all but his boxers and crawled under the covers with me. He pulled me close and told me how much he had missed me and that he loved me. I told him the same and snuggled into his embrace. I had just fallen asleep when a sharp pain in my abdomen woke me up. It lasted for a couple of seconds and then was gone. I was just about asleep again when the pain happened again, and lasted slightly longer this time. As I reached for my cell phone on the bedside table I noticed a trickling of something wet down my legs. I must have woken Jake up because he questioned me in a gravelly voice.

"Ness, baby, what's wrong?" I didn't answer him, just dialed the number.

"Carlisle! I think it's time!" Without waiting for a response I closed the phone, and looked at Jake. The expression of shock, horror and awe on his face is an image I will always carry with me. Before I could snap Jake out of it, I heard the front door bang open and every member of my family was standing in my room, ready to usher me back to the medical room in the main house. Dad carried me so we could get back quickly. Jake still hadn't regained his senses so Alice threw a shirt and pair of pants on him so Emmett could carry him. We were all going to get a kick out of this when we got to tell him later.