They came, at last. They appeared at dusk, and I was luckily awake at that time. Nicholas held my hand, Hanna and Alexander next to us. The girl, Andrea, seemed to dance her way…like Alice. How could she see? She was blind. She twirled around the two men who just walked.

"The tall, dark-haired one is Damien…" Nicholas whispered in my ear. I glanced at the tall one, Damien, who was quite handsome and…strong looking. He was wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and a dress-coat. I was confused because a former vampire who served under Aro should dress differently.

"The smaller one with white-like hair is Liam…" Nicholas whispered again. Liam did have white hair, but it had hints of blonde in it. It was an interesting color and he dressed more like Damien should. He was wearing a white dress shirt with jeans.

Nicholas didn't name Andrea to me, but she was small and pixie-like like Alice. She was wearing a shortened dress with boots. Even Alice, when traveling, would wear something like that.

Andrea reached us first, Damien and Liam second.

She stood before us with a smile, "Long time no see." She said, practically singing.

"Damien!" Alexander rushed up and hugged his long lost friend, "It's been too long, my brother."

"Brother?" I whispered back to Nicholas.

"No," Nicholas said, shaking his head, "They always have greeted one another like that."

I nodded.

Hanna huffed beside me, arms crossed, "Literally. You could've been here sooner, you know. It would've made things a lot less complicated."

Andrea frowned, "We had to make a few side-trips, Hanna. Don't take it personally; we had much to do before making you top priority."

Hanna rolled her eyes, "Either you help us, or you just walk. Besides, you alone wouldn't be much of help anyway."

Nicholas stepped in and said, "Please. I'd like to keep this a calm session and nothing more nor less."

Andrea nodded and held onto Liam's arm while Hanna bared her teeth.

Alexander and Damien released one another and they all looked at me, only Andrea turning her head in my direction.

"What's that…beautiful scent?" Andrea asked, sniffing with a small smile.

"Girl, who are you?" Liam asked me.

"She's with us. She's that help we mentioned," Nicholas grasped my hand again, "Her name is Bella and she knows how to help us."

Liam snorted, "How can a human girl help us?"

"I don't know yet. I do know that Hanna can't read her mind. Maybe, then, their powers can't hurt her. If so, maybe she can help us by standing in front of us to protect us."

That had never worked in the past. Then again, I hadn't tried. But I had the feeling that his idea wasn't likely.

"I don't think so. Humans can't possess a special ability such as ours. She's useless. Let her go." Liam hissed.

"I'm not leaving." I said defiantly.

Liam leaned forward, "I don't think you want my wrath."

"Hold up a second, Liam. There's something else." Nicholas said. He motioned for me to speak up. I knew what he meant but that wouldn't change anything.

"I can't leave. I can make you all, though, if I tried," I paused, glancing at their expressions and saw mainly confusion, "You all aren't real. I am. You're all figments of my imagination that I, somehow, brought into my dreams."

"That's preposterous. How is that even possible? I have my own mind and will." Liam interjected fiercely, disgusted.

"But it's true. In real life, I'm pregnant. In real life, I live in Forks, Washington. In real life, Nicholas is my husband, Edward. Hanna is my sister-in-law, Rosalie. Alexander seems to be a mixture of my brothers-in-law, Emmett and Jasper. Andrea is more like my other sister-in-law, Alice. Damien…you seem to be Emmett, but I haven't gotten the vibe yet. And Liam," I paused, "I have no clue."

They all stopped talking. Liam looked surprised. Andrea just stood there, grasping Liam's arm. Damien stayed put.

"But…how's that useful?" Liam asked, quieter now.

"It's not. But she has the right to stay. Besides…I want her to." Nicholas answered.

I smiled at him. But, then again, I sort of had to.

Hanna snorted, "I knew you fell in love with her, Nick! You fell in love with the girl who 'made' us." She snorted again.

Nicholas hissed, "There's no problem with that, Hanna. I'm tired of your attitude. You treat everyone rudely and never give so much as a thought to their feelings."

"Should I just leave, then?" Hanna shouted.

Nicholas shrugged, "I never owned you."

"Then why am I still here?" Hanna growled, running off with a final look at us.

"Hanna!" Alexander called. He glared at Nicholas, "So what? She still loves all of us, no matter what!" Alexander growled then lurched from where he stood, chasing after her.

Andrea frowned, "Nicholas, dear, let's get inside that tent. Bella looks cold standing out here in the early morning."

Andrea grabbed my hand as if she could see, leading me to the tent. I was amazed that she could do this so well.

Nicholas didn't follow, but rather walked into the forest with Liam and Damien trailing behind.

Andrea opened the tent and led us in. She closed the tent and sat down with me.

"So, Bella…I can't help but to be amazed that Nicholas fell in love. He's always been the loner. I'm with Liam; Alexander's with Hanna…Damien has a wife back home. I can always tell that Nicholas envies us. He found you and…what's after this, Bella? Will you still be with him in dreams?" Andrea asked.

"I can't guarantee that I'll dream of you all again. But, yes, of course."

"Good," Andrea smiled, throwing a blanket to me.

I covered up with it and asked what I had wanted to ask all night, "How can you move around like you're not blind?"

Andrea laughed, "Certainly Nicholas told you our abilities. I can see it in my mind."

"He told me that you could see someone's next movement."

"I can. But I'm also able to see everything else. It's sort of blurry and focuses off over my shoulder. It's also sort of in black and white. It depends on lighting and how well the day is. Otherwise, it's complicated to see," she paused, then added, "At first, I thought you were a vampire because of your pale skin. But you scent washed over to me and I wondered where it came from. Then I knew you were human."

I nodded thoughtfully, "Thanks. I was just so curious. It was eating my alive."

She giggled. After a moment, she asked, "What's Alice like? Nice? Kind? Generous?"

I gazed at her, "Well, she's a lot like you, that's for sure. Just not blind. She's the best friend a girl could possibly have."

Andrea grinned, "That's good to know. It's nice to know that, in real life, I'm as real as I am here."

"Yeah. It's nice to know there's a whole other Alice –even if she's not as real as can be."

Andrea began to hum, "A big day tomorrow. We will have to get prepared for whatever attacks we encounter. You may be bored, just having to sit around and watch."

I nodded, "But I'll survive."

Andrea laughed, "That's right. You have so far." She smiled at me again and kissed my forehead, "And I think you should get some rest."

So I did.

I woke to the sound of Edward's voice. Just in case, I kept my eyes shut.

"She's all right," Edward whispered, "Or, the same, I should say."

I opened my eyes into slits and saw Edward was still beside me on the couch. His face was in his hands. Esme was on the other side of him, her arm wrapped around his shoulders.

"Hello, Jacob," she said. "I'm so glad you came back."

"Me, too," Alice said with a deep sigh. She came prancing down the stairs, making a face.

That confused me. I thought she couldn't be around the wolves…she said it was as bad as being near the fetus. Did Alice lie to me?

"Uh, hey," Jacob said.

"Oh, wonderful," Rosalie grumbled. I could hear that she had come down here from upstairs, "I knew I smelled something nasty."

I opened me eyes then, and pretended to stretch. I gasped; it hurt. I sighed and took a few deep breaths.

"Jacob," I breathed, "You came."

"Hi, Bells."

Edward brushed his hand across my forehead and then along my neck.

"Are you cold?" he murmured.

"I'm fine."

"Bella, you know what Carlisle told you," Rosalie said. "Don't downplay anything. It doesn't help us take care of either of you."

"Okay, I'm a little cold. Edward, can you hand me a blanket?"

Jacob rolled his eyes, "Isn't that sort of the point of me being here?"

"You just walked in," I said, "After running all day, I'd bet. Put your feet up for a minute. I'll probably warm up again in no time."

He ignored me, coming to sit next to me on the couch. He seemed to lean carefully against my side, resting his arm along the length of my hand. Then, he put his other hand against my face.

"Thanks, Jake," I said, and I then shivered once.

"Yeah," he said, seeming to dismiss it.

Edward sat on the arm of the sofa, then. His eyes stayed glued to my face.

"Rosalie, why don't you go get Jacob something from the kitchen?" Alice said. She was invisible now, sitting quietly behind the back of the sofa.

Rosalie stared at the place Alice's voice had come from in disbelief.

"Thanks, anyway, Alice, but I don't think I'd want to eat something Blondie's spit in. I'd bet my system wouldn't take too kindly to venom."

"Rosalie would never embarrass Esme by displaying such a lack of hospitality."

"Of course not," Rosalie said in a sugar-sweet voice. She got up and breezed out of the room.

Edward sighed.

"You'd tell me if she poisoned it, right?" Jacob asked.

"Yes," Edward promised.

Suddenly, there was a lot of banging in the kitchen, and—weirdly—the sound of metal protesting as it was abused. Edward sighed again, but smiled just a little, too. Then Rosalie was back before I could think much more about it. With a pleased grin, she sat a silver bowl on the floor next to the couch where Jacob then got down to look at it.

"Enjoy, mongrel."

She'd bent the silver dish, shaping it just like a dog's dish. I thought it was plain rude. I looked more carefully and saw the word Fido scratched into the side.

"Thanks, Blondie."

She snorted.

"Hey, do you know what you call a blonde with a brain?" Jacob asked, and then continued on the same breath, "a golden retriever."

"I've heard that one, too." She said, no longer smiling.

"I'll keep trying," Jacob promised, and then dug in.

When he was beginning to just finish, I pulled my fingers through his shaggy hair.

"Time for a haircut, huh?" I asked. "You're getting a little shaggy. Maybe—"

"Let me guess, someone around here used to cut hair in a salon in Paris?"

"Probably." I chuckled.

"No thanks," he said before I could really offer. "I'm good for a few more weeks."

"So…um…what's the, er, date? You know, the due date for the little monster."

I smacked the back of his head, but he probably felt nothing but a slight draft.

"I'm serious," he told me. "I want to know how long I'm gonna have to be here."

I stared at him thoughtfully, "I don't know," I murmured. "Not exactly. Obviously, we're not going with the nine-month model here, and we can't get an ultrasound, so Carlisle is guesstimating from how big I am. Normal people are supposed to be about forty centimeters here"—I ran my finger right down the middle of my stomach—"when the baby is fully grown. One centimeter for every week. I was thirsty this morning, and I've gained about two centimeters a day, sometimes more…"

His face began to change—his expression changing.

"You okay?" I asked.

I knew the answer: no. Solid and flat as his face was with that expression. I ran my finger across his cheekbone, "It's going to be okay."

"Right," he muttered.

"I didn't think you would come. Seth said you would, and so did Edward, but I didn't believe them."

"Why not?" he asked gruffly.

"You're not happy here. But you came anyway."

"You wanted me here."

"I know. But you didn't have to come, because it's not fair for me to want you here. I would have understood." I explained.

It was quiet for a moment. Edward put his face back together and stared at the TV as Rosalie flipped through the channels. She was onto the five hundreds fast.

"Thank you for coming," I whispered. I really shouldn't make him come when he was obviously uncomfortable here. He didn't like the stench, the treatment, and the fact that he thought I was to die any day now.

"Can I ask you something?" Jacob asked, shaking off my thanks.

"Of course," I nodded.

"Why do you want me here? Seth could obviously keep you warm, opposed to me. He's also easier to de around. However, when of all people walks through that door, you see me and you grin like someone just told you the world wasn't about to end."

"I know." I admitted, almost guiltily.

"You didn't answer. Why me?"

"It feels complete when you're here, Jake. Like, finally, all my family is here. It's just not whole without you here." I answered with a hopeful smile.

"I'll never be part of your family, Bella."

I sighed, knowing again how he felt here. It was practically a disgrace to be "in a family" with a bunch of vampires he obviously didn't have much of time for. He didn't want to be known that way. I understood. Ego…and then me. He didn't tolerate vampires, but tolerated me because he still was in love with me. Of course.

"You've always been a part of my family," I disagreed.

His teeth grinded together, "That's a crappy answer."

"Okay. What's a good one you'll enjoy, then?"

"How about, 'Jacob, I get a kick out of your pain.'"

I flinched. Was it that bad?

"You'd like that better?" I whispered.

"It's easier, at least. I could deal with it."

I looked down at my lap, then closed me eyes. I didn't know. Should I say something else? I only knew that he couldn't go that far with what he considered "nonsense."

"We got off track," I murmured, "You're supposed to be part of my life, and I should be part of your's. I know you can feel that, and so can I." He didn't say anything, so I continued, "But not like this. We did something wrong. No. I did. I did something wrong, making it into something as bad as this…" I let me voice drift off. It hurt to know we weren't as in-balance as before.

I looked up at him, then looked back down and slumped back in my position. I was tired again but I wasn't ready to get to sleep again. I wanted to hear what was going on, what was to happen…

I trailed into a snore, actually sounding quite realistic. Did Edward notice? Did Jacob? They were both silent for a second, when Edward spoke.

"She's exhausted," Edward murmured, "It's been a long, hard day. I think she would have gone to sleep again soon anyway."

"Seth said it broke another of her ribs." Jacob murmured.

"Yes. It's making it hard for her to breathe."

I guess it had. It had been a while after Jacob had left, before I had fallen asleep earlier. It was short, and that time I was awake through the whole process. Like before, it hurt.

"Great." Jacob hissed out.

Jacob sighed then, letting it go I supposed, before saying, "Let me know when she gets hot again."

"Yeah."

There was a long, troubling silence that made me stop snoring. I kept it up again, trying not to make them figure the truth.

"Yes," Edward suddenly agreed, "It's not a good idea."

"Why, then?"

"She couldn't bear his anxiety."

"So, it's better—"

"No, of course. It's not better. I'm not going to force her into anything that will cause her to be unhappy, now. Whatever happens, this will make her feel better. I'll deal with whatever is to come later on."

Who were they talking about? I didn't understand.

"She's very sure she's going to live," Edward said after another moment.

"But not human."

"No, not human. She hopes, though, to see Charlie again, anyway."

So they were talking about Charlie, the father I loved but hadn't seen in so long. I had kept him at a distance –a large one—for a while now, not wanting him to get sucked into my own personal business. All he'd do was blow up. There was no help there.

They trailed on about my neglected father and I actually dozed off for a few moments. I woke, but closed my eyes, remembering my earlier strategy. I kept the snores in the mix, trying to sound as asleep as possible.

"Four days?" Jacob asked.

"Approximately."

"Then what?"

"What do you mean, exactly?"

There was a pause from Jacob and he remained that way. Edward continued, "From what little research we've been able to do, it appears the creature uses their own teeth to escape…the womb." Edward whispered. It was hard for him to say it, and hard for me to hear it.

Use their teeth to…? No. My nudger would never do that. He was different. He was my Edward. My little Edward. He wouldn't. I couldn't bring myself to even piece that together in my head. Yet, the words echoed over and over. No.

"Research?" Jacob asked weakly.

"Yes. That's a reason why Jasper and Emmett aren't always around. That's exactly what Carlisle is doing now. Trying to decipher ancient stories and myths, as much as we can with what we have to work with here, looking for anything that might help as with the creature's behavior."

I noticed how Edward kept using the word "creature" when describing our child. Was that how it was? At least when I was conscious he was strong enough to call him by his actual name.

Also, knowing where Jasper, Emmett, and Carlisle disappeared to was insightful. I understood that they had to figure out things I even questioned. I was grateful for that. Again, I felt I needed to repay them. Of course, in doing so, the line "we're family" and "that's completely unnecessary" would happen to spill from them, so I couldn't.

"Then if this thing not the first of it's kind?" Edward guessed. "Maybe. It's all very sketchy. The myths could easily be analyzed as fear and imagination. Though…"—he hesitated—"your myths are true, are they not? Perhaps, then, these are, too. They do seemed to be linked…"

"How did you find…?" Jacob didn't finish.

"There was a woman we encountered in South America. She's been raised in the traditions of her people. She's had heard such warnings from her people about these creatures, old stories that had been passed down."

"What were the warnings?"

"That the creatures must be killed immediately before it could gain too much strength."

There was a brief pause that was soon followed by Edward's voice, "Of course, their legends say the same of us. That we must be destroyed. That we are soulless murderers."

Jacob was probably thinking something rude yet hilarious about Edward's last two sentences. He was such a guy.

As proposed, Edward laughed one hard chuckle. It was expected, I had to admit.

"What did their stories say about the…er…mothers?" Jacob asked after another thorough moment.

It was Rosalie who answered, though. I had forgotten of her place on the floor, "Of course, there were no survivors," she said bluntly. That scared me, as had this discussion. "Giving birth in the middle of a disease-infested swamp with a medicine with a man smearing sloth spit across your face to drive out the evil spirits was never the safest method. Even the normal births went badly some of the time. None of then had what this baby has—caregivers with the idea of what the baby needs, who try to meet those needs. A doctor with a totally unique knowledge of a vampire's nature. A plan in which to deliver the baby as safely as possible. Venom that will prepare anything that will go wrong. The baby will be fine. And those other mothers would have probably survived if they'd had that—if they even existed in the first place. Something I am not convinced of." She sniffed disdainfully.

That would anger Edward, a he was probably already in agony with Jacob's question.

Suddenly, there was a wisp of air and an earsplitting bang, and then another wisp as something snapped. I twitched, itching to open my eyes to see what on earth had happened.

"Dumb blonde." Jacob murmured.

Oh no. What had Jacob done now?

"You. Got. Food. In. My. Hair." Rosalie hissed loudly.

I felt Jacob pull away from me and laugh so hard. From behind the couch, I could hear Alice's tinkling laughter.

I opened my eyes slowly, deciding it was time for my wake.

"What's so funny?" I mumbled, trying to sound sleepy still.

"I got food in her hair," Jacob chortled.

"I'm not going to forget this, dog." Rosalie hissed.

"S'not so hard to erase a blonde's memory," Jacob countered. "Just blow in her ear."

It wasn't that funny. In fact, it was so Jacob, which then meant that he was acting like a total jerk again. How could you still keep it up?

"Get some new jokes," Rosalie snapped.

"C'mon, Jake. Leave Rose alo—" I stopped, mid-sentence, and sucked in a sharp breath. In the same second, Edward was leaning over me, ripping the blanket out of the way. I cried out in pain, unable to hold it in any longer. It hurt. My stomach hurt so bad once more.

"He's just," I panted, "stretching."

I had my teeth locked together, trying to hold back another scream.

Edward put both sides on either side of my face.

"Carlisle?" Edward called in a tense voice.

"Right here," Carlisle said. I averted my eyes to see him just coming in.

"Okay," I breathed, believing it was over. "Poor kid doesn't have any room, that's all. He's getting so big."

Jacob looked completely angry.

"You know, he reminds me of you, Jake," I said.

"Do not compare me to that thing," Jacob spat.

"I just meant your growth spurt," I said, hurt, "You shot right up. I could watch you getting taller by the minute. He's like that, too. Growing so fast."

It was silent and I relaxed, sinking back into the sofa cushions.

"Hmm," Carlisle murmured.

"What?" Jacob asked.

Edward's head leaned to one side as he reflected on whatever was in Carlisle's head.

"You know I was wondering about the fetus's genetic makeup, Jacob. About his chromosomes."

"Well, taking your similarities into consideration…"

"Similarities?" Jacob growled.

"The accelerated growth, and the fact that Alice cannot see either of you."

I saw Jacob's face go blank.

"Well, I wonder if that means we have an answer. If the similarities are gene-deep."

"Twenty-four pairs," Edward muttered under his breath.

"You don't know that." Jacob said.

"No. But it's interesting to speculate." Carlisle said in a soothing voice. It was interesting, I had to admit. I wanted to learn things I didn't know about my baby.

"Yeah. Just fascinating."

I pretended to sleep once more, this time about to slip off into a sleep I didn't want.

They got into it then, Carlisle and Edward, quickly taking the genetics conversation to a point where the words became fast and rapid, making very little sense to me. Alice joined in, commenting now and then in that voice I loved to hear.

I reviewed the contents of today in my head, drawing out the things that stuck out here and there. First, Charlie's name was surprising. No one talked about him nowadays, and in all honesty, I was happy to hear it. Charlie, the father I loved but couldn't get into this this time.

Second, the fact that research had been going on behind my back. I didn't take it in any way offensively. Actually, I was interested in what else there was to figure out. I'd have to pretend to sleep more often. Either way, it scared me to know that there was a chance I might…no. It felt like I had lied and that now the world may come to a sudden and abrupt halt. But I still knew I was right about my life and the child's. We would survive –I knew it.

Third, that what I had said about Jacob and my baby had gotten into something this far. It was surprising. In any way, it was true. Jacob and my nudger were alike.

I sighed and fell back into the dreams I welcomed now; the dreams I loved to see. I loved to see Nicholas and this whole other world I would see. I was once again brought back into a reality that wasn't true.