Even with all the drama of Victoria and the wolf pack, I kept up my school work. By the end of the fall term I had a 4.0 gpa, Charlie beamed with pride. I registered for more internet courses in the spring. Victoria kept escaping the pack and Jacob was growing more frustrated that they hadn't been able to kill her yet. He tried to keep his frustration under control when he was home with me but he wasn't always successful. His frustration caused me to become distant, which in turn only made his mood worse.

One grey morning in mid march, Jacob had just come in from patrolling and was snoring on the sofa while I worked on a homework assignment. I was about to submit my finished assignment when the first of my labor pains hit. I timed them for several hours, trying to keep my whimpering from waking Jacob. When my water broke the pains became even more intense and left me breathless. I was holding on to the back of the sofa, my eyes closed and my forehead scrunched when he woke up.

"Bella? Whats the matter?"

"I think… deep breathes… We need to go to the hospital…"

He jumped up off the sofa and ran around the house like a crazy man. If I hadn't just been hit by a long painful contraction right at that moment I might have laughed. He grabbed my hospital bag and threw it into the truck. Then he ran back in the house and held my arm as he slowly walked me to the truck and helped me into the passenger side. He drove as fast as my truck would go towards the Forks hospital. I closed my eyes and concentrated on my breathing every time a contraction hit which seemed like it was every few seconds.

He got me into the emergency room and they sent me up to labor & delivery where I was checked into a room right away. My doctor came in and checked me. I was 8 cm dilated. They told Jacob it wouldn't be much longer. The doctor watched the monitor they had on the baby for several minutes and frowned a couple of times. Every time I was going to ask what was wrong another contraction would hit.

Jacob called Charlie and Billy to tell them we were having the baby. Another painful 20 minutes and the nurse said I was fully dilated and could start pushing with my next contraction. I didn't have to wait long for the next contraction and my body seemed to know it was time, I involuntarily felt myself pushing the baby out. 10 minutes later I was holding my daughter and crying tears of joy.

"She's so beautiful." I smiled up at Jacob.

"Of course she is. She looks just like you." He kissed my forehead.

The nurse took her from me to clean her up and get her vitals. I didn't notice when the doctor talked quietly to the nurse and she wrote down some instructions in the baby's chart. They brought my daughter back to me wrapped in a pink swaddling blanket and a cute little pink hat. I couldn't stop staring at her face. She was perfect. The nurses cleaned up the room and then Charlie and Billy were allowed to come in to see their granddaughter.

Charlie held her first. "She has your eyes Bella." He smiled down at her and cooed. Charlie reluctantly handed her off to Billy. Both men seemed to fall instantly in love with her.

Billy grinned at Jacob. "Poor kid got your ears. Thankfully, everything else is all Bella."

"What's her name?" Charlie asked without taking his eyes off her.

"Emma Allison." Jacob's voice was filled with so much love for his daughter. "Bella has already nicknamed her Emmie."

Charlie nodded in approval. Billy and Charlie left a little while later. Jacob sat on the bed beside me as we took turns holding our daughter.

"We made her." Jacob stared down at Emmie.

"The best thing we ever made together." I leaned my head on his shoulder. "She is going to have your hair."

He took off her pink cap and softly caressed the black hair that covered her head. He smiled. "I hope she ends up with your eye color." Jacob looked over at me his eyes filled with love and gratitude.

"She is absolutely perfect. She has the best parts of each of us."

We weren't expecting the doctor to come back, when he walked through the door we both were instinctively on guard.

He talked about his initial concerns when he watched the baby's heart rate on the monitor before she was born and then her initial coloring after she was born added to his concerns. He had asked the nurse to order some tests just to check and make sure everything was okay. He kept repeating that there was nothing to panic about. It was probably nothing but we needed to check just to be sure. Jacob agreed and a nurse came in to take Emmie for some testing. I was fighting so hard against the rising panic in my chest that all I could do was stare at the nurses back as she left the room with my newborn daughter.

The waiting was agonizing. Jacob and I just sat, not speaking until the nurse brought Emmie back. The Doctor came in shortly afterwards. He sat down and started talking about a rare heart defect. Emmie would need multiple surgeries throughout her life to try and correct the problem. There was a chance she wouldn't have a long life expectancy. I think he mentioned something about a transplant but I couldn't concentrate. I just kept staring at my beautiful daughters perfect face with my eyes and Jacob's ears.

I had never really thought about having children and I had been petrified when I found out I was pregnant. But I loved her instantly and had never wanted anything more than I wanted her. I don't think I would survive if I lost her too. I had barely survived losing Edward. And this was so much more than even him. I felt myself start to withdraw into my own mind. There was only one person I really wanted to talk to. Alice…

Emmie and I were discharged the next day with a list of upcoming appointments with specialists for my tiny daughter. Jacob drove us home and then had to go to work. Emmie was asleep so I took the opportunity to turn on my computer and fruitlessly email Alice. I finally let all the emotion I had been holding in out as I wrote Alice a detailed account of Emmie's birth and what the doctor had told us about her heart. I wrote about my fears and how I would cope if she didn't make it. Emmie started to cry as I hit the send button. I quickly turned off the computer and went to comfort her.

All the specialists said the same thing the Doctor had said. Emmie would need dangerous surgeries. She may die very young. Jacob and I tried to stay positive. She was our daughter, we were both fighters, she would be too. She would defy the odds.

The first year of Emmie's life she spent more time in the hospital than at home it felt like. I never left her side. Jacob was stretched thin between work, hunting Victoria and being at the hospital with Emmie. We didn't have much time alone together but that didn't matter to me. My main concern was our daughter, Jacob and I would have alone time once Emmie was better.