AN: Thank you to whoever is still reading and reviewing this story. Seriously, thank you! I try to make each one of my stories unique from each other so that they're not all the "Typical Jake-Nessie Children" stories and I greatly appreciate your input.
Now the story is going to jump around a lot, so buckle up and let me know what you think! :D
(Ren: 23)
"Momma, have you seen my red sweater?" Allie yelled from the top of the stairs, her voice carrying twice as loud as usual. Allison Leah Black, now eleven, really did live up to both of her namesakes. She was loud and opinionated like the shewolf who just adored her. Alice, too, had a special fondness for her great-niece and often admired Allie's ability to command a room with her presence even at such a young age. Allie had spunk and attitude and wasn't afraid to let anyone know it, either. She loved riling up some of the young Pack members just to see them phase because she thought it was both magical and hilarious. She had a free spirit, but also a kind heart like her sister.
She was also a bit of a rebel...and I was glad we didn't have the problem with Sara. Our eldest, though only a year older, seemed to have a better head on her shoulders. Sarabeth Esmeralda Black carried herself with grace and poise. She was shy, much more than I would have expected from a child that belonged to me and Jacob, and so tenderhearted. Billy swore that Sara was like his own beloved Sarah in many ways, each one always putting the well-being of others before themselves. I wished that Jacob's mother was still around to know her granddaughter that carried her name, but Jacob mentioned his mom very often whenever Sara would do something that reminded him of her. I know that Sara loved the praise and I think that might be why she tried so hard to live up to the expectations. She loved to please Esme, as well, and was constantly asking her great-grandmother how to cook or sew or do just about anything that made Esme smile. It was so touching to see sometimes.
Both my girls, though so very different, were the loves of my life. I had two healthy daughters that were proud members of the Quiluete tribe of La Push. They were well adjusted in ways that I would have never dreamed was possible when I was growing up. They aged like normal humans and although Jacob and I looked more like their older siblings than their parents, they respected us to no end.
Actually, as Alpha, Jacob made sure that his girls respected everyone. The tribe might have dwendled since the big unveiling of the supernatural twelve years ago, but that didn't mean that traditions had to be completely thrown out the window. Both my girls were fluent in Quiluete just like the rest of the kids their ages. Jacob felt that it was important to preserve our culture (and it truly was part of my culture now, too) throughout generations. Since the Legend Awareness Act was passed, the levels of the tribe might have dropped but those that stayed became fiercely loyal. Many of the parents admired the work that the Pack had done to keep them safe once they got over the shock of the fact that half of the town could shapeshift into giant wolves.
The Pack was growing, too. I figured with less people to protect, the Quiluete magic would instinctively know that less wolves were needed. But with Jacob, Leah, and Embry still continuing to phase, maybe we offset the balance. Not to mention the fact that I was a half-vampire living within walking distance of most of the neighborhoods in La Push. Jacob swore that I wasn't triggering the new phasings, but I wasn't so sure.
David Muddywater was only continuing to phase until his imprint Caitlin Uley, now eleven like Allie, was old enough to marry. Her parents were thrilled that she was starting to have little crushes on her imprinter because it meant that her life would always be filled with happiness just like Sam and Emily's lives were. It made Caitlin's older sister Gabrielle, twelve like Sara, annoyed that David was always hanging out with them but she too saw how happy the wolf made Caitlin even now. With the LAA, the secret of imprinting was exposed to the entire tribe including the children. Most of the people who were weirded out by imprinting had long since moved to Makah.
Likewise, David's little brother Matt Muddywater was living in the Pack House and also only phasing until his imprint was of age. Seth and Tara's ten year old Krystal Clearwater was a handful sometimes and her parents were thankful that she had an imprinter from birth to help spoil her. They decided only to have one child and were happy with how Krystal filled their life with adventure. It saddened me to see my friend aging, but Tara was human. She always teased me about "botox" and "being a teenager forever" but I didn't care because at least I didn't have to hide who I was around her or her children.
Also living in the Pack House was Sean Call. It was hard to believe that Embry's little brother was nineteen now! It felt like I just met him a year ago and now he was practically a man. I know children grow up and move out of the house, but watching Embry take on a father-figure type because his little brother needed him was so would have made a good Alpha had his bloodlines been a little different or Jacob ever wanted to give up the reigns.
Over the years, Sean decided not to be a burden to Embry anymore since he was an adult and he really felt like he was "cramping his brother's style." Honestly, Sean was hoping that moving out would give Leah the nudge to seek out her true mate as a legitimate offer but she continued to live in the Pack House after all of these years. I think it gave her too much comfort to ever want to leave it for the chance that she could be happy.
Thomas Uley, now fifteen, was a level-headed wolf just like his father had been. He was excited when he phased because he was hoping that he would instantly imprint and feel the love that most of his siblings felt already because of their soul mates. He took it well for the past year since he phased until about a month ago when his thirteen year old brother Joseph phased for the first time and imprinted on his high school crush, Savannah Lahote. The two had been close friends for years and often joked about dating when "he was older" because she felt that being fourteen made her entitled to be choosy about her first boyfriend. That notion flew out the window when Joseph phased and she felt the pull of the imprint in her heart.
The single wolf's heir who hadn't phased yet was Jared and Kim's only son Lucas Cameron. It was understandable considering that he was only twelve, though. His time would come, I had no doubt about that. His build was bigger like the other boys close to his age that had begun phasing and, though Kim hated it, he had really good bloodlines for phasing.
Other new additions to the tribe include the Ateara children. Quil finally stopped phasing when Claire was nineteen and they had a boy the following spring: Quincy, now five. Their twin daughters Clara Ann and Quinn Marie, were born two years later.
My girls, Hannah Lahote, and Gabrielle Uley were the only ones that hadn't gotten imprinted on. Sean Call and Thomas Uley hadn't imprinted either, but out of this many wolves, I was shocked when all of them didn't go ahead and imprint. But, then again, Embry still hadn't imprinted yet and he was well into his forties (though he was still phasing so he looked half that). Some wolves might not ever imprint and I truly believed that Embry wouldn't. He already had his soul mate: Leah.
The fact that Leah STILL hadn't acknowledged that was beyond me. I watched Leah fall in love with Embry over and over again over the course of the last twenty years and it never ceased to amaze me how determined to not find happiness she was. I guess if you have the potential to live forever (seeing as no other wolves have ever tried to keep phasing as long as Jacob, Leah, and Embry were), it was justified that you could hold a grudge for this long. Ironically, seeing Embry as a "father" to Sean made her love him even more since she got it in her head that she couldn't have children of her own. That was one of the new reasons why she knew that Embry would one day imprint and give up on trying to woo her. Honestly, if a man tried to love me for twenty-one years and didn't give up on me for that long (excluding the fact that I am blissfully happy with my Jacob), I would just marry the guy. I couldn't even imagine shooting Jacob down for that long; imprint or not.
I was pulled out of my thoughts by the shriek of my daughter before I had too much time to process that thought, though. "Momma! I can't find my red sweater! Ugggggh!"
"Allie, have you checked your closet?" I asked as I made my way towards the staircase.
"It's not in there!" Everything with that girl was the most dyer circumstance in the world, I swear. I don't remember being like this at eleven (physically, since when I was technically eleven I was already a wife and mother) but Jacob swore that his sisters were like this as preteens.
"Hold on, honey, I'll come help you look." I made it up the stairs in half the time it would have taken a human, since I was only half, and opened her half closed door to reveal what I already knew would be a mess. Allie had her own way of cleaning her room and that was by not doing it. I didn't really mind since in a way it allowed her to express her individuality, something that Jacob stressed was important for a young girl (I loved my husband, really I did, but all of the parenting books in the world couldn't prepare him for being a teenage girl).
There stood Allie in the midst of a 'clothes tornado,' as I liked to call it, in her usual attire: jeans, a baby blue t-shirt, high-tops, and a red cardigan sweater buttoned halfway. Her medium brown ringlets were thrown up in a messy ponytail to complete the tomboy look that she had perfected throughout most of her childhood. Today was a special day, however, because instead of staying home, she would finally be going to school with her sister.
"I see you found the sweater." I raised an eyebrow and watched as her pale russet cheeks flushed like only a Swan woman's could.
"It was in my closet." Her grin that she inherited from her father was sheepish. I laughed with her, though, instead of scolding her for not looking hard enough the first time. Our parenting style wasn't very restricting, except when it came to curfew. There might be a million wolves out there and my family might be the good guys, but there were still vampires every now and again that gave us a fright. For their safety and our sanity, Jacob had installed a curfew on our girls even though they weren't really old enough to get into trouble.
"Are you nervous about your first day of junior high?" I asked Allie when she began the process of looking for her backpack.
"Of course not." Her mouth said with confidence; her big brown eyes told a different story when they flashed up to catch my eye for a second. She got that bad lying ability from my mother and I was grateful for it because I had a feeling it would come in handy down the road when she was an actual teenager.
"It's okay to be anxious. I was when I first started school. And your sister was last year when she started." I told her honestly, trying to calm her secret nerves.
I had wanted to homeschool my children the way that my parents had for me so instead of going to elementary school on the Rez, I taught the girls from home. When they were ready to be in the seventh grade, they were allowed to choose if they wanted to continue homeschooling or if they wanted to go to school with the rest of their friends. I wasn't disappointed when upon reaching that age they both decided to go to school. I was happy, actually, because it meant that they weren't afraid of being rejected by their peers in a classroom setting, something I'd always been afraid would happen.
"Allie! Ness!" Jacob bellowed up the stairs. "Come give Daddy a kiss before work!"
It was Jake's tradition to say that to us every morning before he headed off to work. On weekdays, he had Council and Pack business to deal with and on the weekends, he logged a couple shifts at the auto repair shop that he bought a few years back. Most of the wolves or former wolves worked there the rest of the time so it was always filled with skilled workers. Jake loved his shop because it allowed him to continue his hobby of fixing up cars while making money and providing skills/jobs to his people. The Pack House was no longer Cullen funded because the shop made it possible for the wolves living there to pitch in with some of their wages.
Allie rushed down the stairs, her backpack slung behind her, in order to kiss her Daddy on the cheek before she left for school. Sara was already downstairs and had her arm wrapped around his torso in a hug.
"Bye, Daddy, love you!" Sara said when she released him. Her dark green button down complimented her skintone beautifully and made her hazel eyes pop. She had been dressed for school for an hour now and hadn't managed to spill anything on her shirt yet. She got the Swan-clumsiness-curse from Bella, though Sara tried really hard to overcome it by being extra careful. Not that she was always successful.
When she saw that I was in the living room, too, she wrapped her arms around my waist as well. She looked up at me with my familiar smile on her lips and Jacob's dark black locks and I nearly lost it. I was so emotional lately because my girls were growing up so fast. Where had the past twelve years gone? It felt like I had just given birth to Sara and now she was an eighth grader? How did that happen?
"Momma, you aren't going to cry again, are you?" Sara asked, her smile lessening a little bit as she let go of me and grabbed her backpack. "You did this last year, too."
"Well, I can't help it that my little girls are growing up!" Jacob put his arm around me just as I saw the yellow school bus rounding the corner of our street. "You guys have your lunches and all of your school supplies?" I asked and made them both hold up their lunch boxes that Jake had made twenty minutes ago. I would have to hope that their backpacks had everything that they needed even though we had packed them the night before. What if Allie took some of her stuff out because she thought she wouldn't need it? I began to panic all over again.
"Bye, girls! Momma loves you!" I yelled out the door as they hurried to catch the bus. There weren't that many kids in La Push anymore so it was nearly empty even though our house was one of the last stops. I spotted the Uleys and the girls' cousins the Lahotes and knew that I was over-worrying for nothing. Sara had done this before and Allie would be fine just like her older sister had been this time last year.
"They'll be fine, you know." Jacob's voice startled me since he was so close to my face and I had been focusing on staring at the clouds of exhaust the bus was leaving in its wake as it continued down the road.
"I know that." I said with a sigh. "I'm just not sure that I will be."
"Are you sick, Ness?" My imprinter was on high alert. His eyes were wide and his hand moved to touch my forehead checking for a fever.
"No, no, Jake, it was a joke. I'm fine." I smiled to show him that I was alright. "I just worry about them, you know?"
"Of course you do. That's why I love you so much. You're always looking out for this family." Jake kissed my lips tenderly like he always did whenever he was about to leave for work. When he pulled back, I whimpered like I always did when he was about to leave for work. Usually it didn't work because I always had at least one of the girls there with me.
"Jake, don't leave yet." I whispered hopefully. Even though my sex life with Jacob remained vigorous throughout our marriage, sometimes having the girls put a strain on the endless amount of alone time that we had before they were born.
"Ness, I-" Jacob began but I cut him off with my lips forcefully against his. He groaned against my lips as I fought for dominance.
"The meeting-" He tried to protest but it was weak as his hands roamed all over my backside.
"Please?" That one little word was all that Jacob's resolve needed to crumble. He growled as he swept me into his arms and took me to the couch to have his way with me.
"Jake!" I giggled, glad that I had won so easily. "On the couch?"
"Just because we have children now you don't want to make love to me outside of the bedroom?" Jacob faked a wounded expression.
"Oh, no." I wiggled my eyebrows. "Have your way with me wherever you want, my Alpha."
"God, Ness." And then Jacob was on me again. His lips, his hands, his everything was everywhere.
We had gone two rounds-one on the couch and the other we managed to make it back to the bedroom for-before Jacob's responsibilities caught up with him. Leah called him to remind him that he was two hours late for his Pack meeting with the older wolves while the pups were at school. There had been a vampire in the area that none of them could place so they needed Jake to give the command to investigate further.
"Yeah, I'll, uh," Jacob tried to speak to Leah on the phone but I was kissing the hairs on his chest and he was having a little trouble focusing on both of us. He shot me a look and I bite down on his skin. When he let out a groan into the phone, I giggled and got off of his warm body so he could focus. I heard Leah sigh on the other end of the line and I knew Jacob would probably have a lot of crap to put up with once he got at the meeting.
"Put some clothes on, Jake." Leah said through probably clenched teeth. "I'd better see you in ten minutes, boss."
"See you in ten, Leah." Jacob agreed, shooting me another look but this one wasn't angry. I had gotten him worked up again! I loved my husband and his insane werewolf stamina. The other wolves' imprints were human and couldn't keep up with their mates as well as I could with Jacob. It was times like this that I was glad to be part vampire.
"You, young lady, are going to be the death of me." Jacob growled. I laughed and tossed him his jeans that we had discarded on the floor earlier.
"You have to get dressed now, baby." I tried to find his flannel shirt but realized I wasn't wearing any clothes either so when I did I put it on myself instead of handing it to him. I went to get him a new shirt when I felt strong, warm hands on my waist.
"I'm not done with you yet." Possessive Jake was here, that much was obvious. "God, Ness, you look so sexy in my clothes..." he kissed the nape of my neck and trailed down to my shoulder, "and out of them..."
"Jake!" I giggled again, unable to contain myself. Screw responsibilities, screw everything. All I needed in life was my Jacob. And my girls.
"When I get home tonight, we will finish this." Jacob commanded and I got goosebumps on my arms when he said it.
"Promise?" I asked, trying to edge him on. I loved when he was powerful like that.
Jacob growled in my ear one last time and grabbed his clothes. He kissed my cheek before he left but I could only think about the last few hours. I didn't know what had gotten into me but I was definitely okay with it. It reminded me of when Jacob and I first got married before the girls when it could just be me and him forever. I wouldn't change anything about my life but I did sometimes regret not having more one-on-one time with Jake before I got pregnant. You miss a lot that way. But I would make up for that now. As long as Jake could schedule his meetings for later in the day, I could handle being a stay at home housewife without the girls here to teach.
Or so I told myself. As the day dragged on, I realized I was completely bored with being alone. The second that 3:15 rolled around and the school bus dropped off the girls, I was ready to kill myself.
"How was your day, girls?" I asked as I pulled out the snacks I had made for them an hour ago when I had way too much time on my hands.
"Ew, Momma, what is this?" Sara asked, though she usually wasn't the picky eater.
"Ants on a log." I shrugged. "I saw it on Pintrist. Just try them, please."
"Thesmse arme goomd." Allie spoke up with peanut butter smushed in her mouth. She swallowed and took a sip of milk. "I like those things, Momma. Can I have like ten more?"
"Ten?" I laughed. "You must have had a pretty busy day to have worked up that much of an appetite. Tell me about it."
"Hannah and I were sitting at lunch and then Savannah walked up and since she and her twin are in a fight right now it was so weird because like I love them both because they're my cousins and family loves each other but I had to choose I guess and so me and Hannah were just sitting there and then Savannah said that we weren't including her and Hannah told her to mind her own 'imprinted business' and then of course Joey had to come try to rescue Savannah..." Allie finally took a breath. "And then Tommy told him to mind his own business and before we knew it, Mr. Call, though it felt weird not to call him Embry because hello we all know him, but like I said he was having to break up the fight because Joey phased. RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF EVERYONE! It was crazy! I hadn't seen anyone phase except Daddy and so it scared me a little bit but Savannah wasn't scared, she just stood by her wolf and petted his ears until someone could run inside and get Joey some clothes from the lost and found even though they didn't fit him very well. And then they made us all go back inside."
"Woah, slow down, Allie-bug." I smiled at her enthusiasm. "You had an exciting first day it seems."
"Yup." She popped the 'p' and didn't say anything else. After all of that she could only respond with one word? Allie really was something else.
I turned my attention to her older sister. "So was your day as eventful?"
Sara shrugged. "I've seen the boys phase before so it wasn't a big deal. I did think it was funny that Joseph had to wear a girl's shirt from the lost and found, though."
I settled the girls in for some homework and light television watching while I prepared dinner. I made steak and potatoes with a side of shrimp and corn on the cob. Since the girls were human and had to eat all the time, though not quite as much as Jake did, I had been getting used to human food over the past twelve years more than I had when I was a teenager. I found that steak cooked super rare was delectable and that I didn't mind most fruits or vegetables, though the green ones usually didn't have any flavoring.
When Jacob walked through the door later that night, dinner was on the table and the girls were all washed up. "Mmmm, smells delicious, Ness."
"Thank you." I smiled at my husband. "Just wait until you taste your shrimp."
"You spoil me, you know?" Jake was all grins.
"I know." I beamed back at him. "Now go wash up so we can say grace."
We weren't religious other than what Jake had been raised on with Billy which was very mild Baptist but mostly just grew up with the legends of the tribe as a guide for life. But Sara had watched a tv special about how praying together built a stronger family so for the past year and a half we had been giving it a go. We prayed to the new gods and the old ones: the Spirit who guided the wolves and the God that most Christians believed in. It wasn't much, but it made Sara content with her soul. I knew how much my father Edward worried about his own soul so I took comfort in this little gesture. Maybe we weren't all doomed?
After dinner, Jake cleaned up the kitchen and I set up the card game in the living room. Every night was Family Game Night in the Cullen-Black house. When there were a lot of chores/homework/work to prepare for and do, we only delt a few hands but tonight was stress-free since it was the beginning of the year so we played for over an hour before one of the typical fights broke out. Namely, Allie was really bad at card games and Sara lived for them.
"Why do you never let me win?" Allie complained. "The game is no fun if you cheat."
"I'm not cheating." Sara said confidently. "Besides, it's my job as big sister to make sure that you learn how to lose with dignity."
I stared at my eldest with a smirk on my lips. I could tell that Jacob was trying to hide one as well. I don't know where she got this weird proper aspect in her personality but it was amusing to me and Jacob. She definitely took after the Cullens.
"If I was your big sister, I would always let you win." Allie pouted some more. "That would be the fair thing to do, you know."
"You don't understand what being a big sister means." Sara rolled her eyes as if it was completely obvious.
"Oh yeah?" Allie challenged defiantly like only she could. In the same second, she turned to me and Jake with a pouty lip. "Let me be a big sister? Please, please, please, please, pleeeeeeeeease? I think I'd be a really good one." She stuck out her tongue at her sister. "A better one that Sara even! I could dress her up in my hand-me-downs and take her to tea parties with my friends and let her win at all of the games!"
"You don't need a little sibling to show Sara that you can be a good big sister." Jacob spoke up, hoping to stop the conflict. "Why don't you show her how good you can be at being a little sister?"
Allie mumbled something under her breath.
"What was that?" I asked.
"I said, 'I still think I could be a good big sister.'" Allie looked at the cards on the table instead of at us.
"Maybe someday you will be." I added and her eyes lit up. Even Sara seemed to perk up at that comment. "But for right now, it is bed time so go brush your teeth and Daddy will be up there to tuck you both in in a minute."
When the girls were both asleep and I was snuggled up in bed waiting for Jacob, I allowed myself to think about what Allie had said. Did I want another baby? Without the girls here during the day, I would be lonely without someone to teach and nurture. I wanted to nest and prepare a home for another child that was so distinctly mine and Jacob's. Was that a good enough reason to want another child, though? I loved my girls to death but they weren't planned. Maybe it was time to have a child on purpose now that we were stable with Allie and Sara being human. I know how much being a father means to Jacob. But was he content with just two? Did he secretly yearn for more children but was afraid to upset his imprint about it? I had always said that the girls were enough for me and he had agreed wholeheartedly because he loved them so much.
I waited until Jacob joined me in bed to bring it up. "I want to have another baby." I blurted out as he turned to kiss me.
"Where is this coming from?" He paused. "Is this because of what Allie said earlier?"
"Don't you want to have more children?" Maybe I had overestimated how much carrying on his name meant to my husband.
"Of course I do, I just wanted to make sure that you actually wanted to." Jacob's grin was enormous. "Making pups with you is the bane of my existence." Jake joked but I could see the truth in his eyes. How long had he been waiting for me to be okay with having more children? My poor wolf, always putting his imprint's needs in front of his own.
"I want to. Let's make a baby, Jake." I whispered as I climbed on top of him. When he hesitated for a second, I said the words that I knew would get my wolf fired up. "Make love to me, my Alpha."
I can't be sure but a few weeks later when I started craving blood again, I swore that that was the night that we conceived our third child.
My pregnancy wasn't the only new thing happening in my life. One day when I was in the grocery market in Forks, I thought I saw my aunt Rosalie. That was crazy, though. This woman looked slightly different than the woman that I had loved as a child and that wasn't possible because vampires didn't change. I only saw the woman from behind but I could tell that she was shorter hair, an inch taller, and hips that were wider to accommodate some weight on her. I hadn't seen my aunt and uncle since I was ten years old at my wedding. After that, they disappeared in search of a way to get a vampire woman pregnant and we hadn't heard from them in thirteen years. Not a phone call, not a letter, nothing. So when I saw a woman who resembled Rosalie slightly, I panicked. It was stupid to get my hopes up when this woman was clearly human.
It wasn't until the blonde at the supermarket turned around that I let my guard down. This woman was human, no doubt about that. She was beautiful, of course, and maybe that was why I thought she looked like my long lost aunt but her eyes were clearly blue instead of golden like a vampire's and her face was older somehow and had a tan that only months in the sun could cause. Whoever this woman was, she looked how I imagined Rose would have looked if she had remained human.
I continued shopping after that and tried to put the woman's face out of my mind. I was reaching for the last jar of sweet pickles when a hand bumped against mine. I held tight to the glass in fear that whoever it was would want to try and grab it for themselves. My cravings had started and pickles were the only thing that this baby seemed to enjoy other than blood. With Sara, it had been lemons. With Allie, it had been grapes.
"Oh, I'm sorry, miss." A woman's voice apologized. Deeper than I remembered and less airy, but familiar nonetheless. I closed my eyes and prayed that this wasn't a dream before I turned around to face the woman that I knew was my Aunt Rose.
"Renesmee?" She let out a gasp, though why she was shocked to see me here was beyond me. I lived in La Push. I was the one who should be shocked to see her here. In a grocery store full of humans. Looking like she had become one of them.
"Rose?" I asked, though I already knew. There was no way that this woman wasn't.
"Oh, how lucky I am that I ran into you here!" Rosalie looked positively glowing with happiness to see me. "Emmett and I are back in town and we wanted to surprise the family. How is everyone?"
"Bella and Edward are the only ones who live in Forks anymore. But I have a check up tomorrow so everyone else has probably already flown in by now." I tried to pretend like I wasn't freaking out that she wasn't a vampire by keeping the conversation light but it was difficult. Her scent was no longer familiarly hers, but it was familiar: because there was O negative running through her veins. My pregnancy cravings were narrowing in on her but I fought the urge. I never thought I would have to deal with this sort of issue with the Cullen side of my family!
"Oh, that will be wonderful!" She was beaming again. "I've missed them all so much. And there's a lot to tell everyone. Em and I wanted to stop off and get some food for the house, though, before we went."
"Are you sure it's safe for you to stay there...being what you are now?" I asked, not wanting to get into the details of HOW THE HELL THIS HAPPENED right now. Before she could answer, a voice much deeper than I remembered spoke up from the other side of the aisle.
"Hey babe!" Emmett, though not the one I remembered, sauntered up to his wife. His steps weren't as graceful and his muscles seemed less pronounced, but I would recognize him anywhere. Minus the hazel eyes, of course. They looked older by a few years but not much, but they were still them that much was obvious. "Oh, hey, rugrat." He said when he spotted me. I hadn't changed since I was seven years old, but neither had his teasing.
"I have too many questions right now to deal with your jokes, Uncle Em." I said, feeling dizzy. I couldn't tell if it was because of the pregnancy or because of shock but I needed to sit down. I held on tighter to the jar of pickles and pushed most of my weight onto the cart in front of me.
"I think it's best that we tell everyone together." Emmett spoke up and I couldn't agree more. They followed me to the front of the store where we all paid for our food. Our human food from a human grocery store. It was all so unreal to me, still. I think I half thought that I was imagining it all.
"I, uh, I'll see you at the Cullen house?" I asked, needing to know that they wouldn't just disappear again.
When they swore they would, I got in my car and took three deep breaths. I called Jacob first and told him not to ask questions but that I needed him at my parents' house asap. He was worried that something had happened to me or the baby but he didn't ask what was wrong for which I was grateful. I called my father next, knowing my mother would ask too many questions, and told him to make sure that everyone had hunted recently. In preparation for my visit tomorrow, most of them had already gone out this morning for a hunt. But I had to make sure.
When I got to my old home, I left my groceries in the car, not even caring that my milk would spoil. I raced up the steps to find Jacob pacing inside along with my father. Esme and Bella were setting up the usual fixings for me and Jacob but came out into the living room when they heard the door open behind me. Carlisle seemed to be the only calm one in the group, just sitting on the couch. Jasper was trying to keep Alice calm as she was in the middle of one of her visions, no doubt about Emmett and Rosalie showing up in a few minutes.
"They're back?" Edward's head snapped up when he read my thoughts. I showed him the two people that I ran into and how they were clearly not the same as we all remembered him and his eyes widened. "Oh."
Bella demanded to know what was going on but just then, the car from the grocery store pulled down the gravel road that lead to the house.
"What are humans doing this far in the woods, Ness?" Jacob asked, picking up their scent before my vampire relatives did. "Is that why you wanted to meet here? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Jake. Really." I looked at my father for help.
"Rosalie and Emmett did it." Edward was smiling like a kid on Christmas morning. Apparently my aunt and uncle were in hearing range for him. "They really did it..."
"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" Bella was always the slowest to figure out what was happening.
"They're human. By god, they did it!" Carlisle was fascinated, standing at the door and opening it for them.
Jasper recoiled to the other side of the room when their scent wafted into the house as they did. Bella's nose turned up at the scent but her self-control wouldn't allow her to step any closer. It was tense for a few minutes as all of the vampires in the room got used to their scents. It wasn't until Rosalie sneezed that it became even more real to all of us.
"What the fu-" Jake began but I swatted his arm.
"You have exactly ten minutes to explain before I beat it out of you." Alice threatened, not liking that she had been thrown off guard by their arrival. Usually Alice saw everything coming. But the mystery of what happened to Emmett and Rosalie had been bugging her for a decade. She hadn't been able to find them anywhere with her gift. It was like they didn't exist anymore. Or so we had thought.
"Where do we even begin?" Emmett looked at his wife for help.
"How about how the hell you're human?" Jacob was trying to control his temper but it was hard for him to be agitated like this.
"Oh, can it, dog." Rose growled but it wasn't the one that I was used to. It was throaty and deep instead of bell-like and almost dainty like it was when she was a vampire.
That startled Jake enough to stay quiet, though.
"We've been living with the Ocampa tribe in South Africa for the past five years. They were nearly impossible to track down but a woman that we met guaranteed that they could help us with our 'problem.'" Emmett began. "She had been a part of their tribe for years and had seen the work that could be done with magic. We weren't the first vampires to wish to be human again, though the woman didn't say how many had survived the process. I was scared that it was all another big hoax and that they were going to simply stake us once they had us trapped."
"But it was a risk we were willing to take." Rosalie piped in. "We wanted to give it a try even if it killed us."
"Lucky for us, it wasn't a trap. I was sick for the first time in my vampire life a month after the process began and that's when I knew that we were changing." Emmett continued. "It was a long process that nearly killed us a few times, honestly. But we kept allowing them to perform rituals on us. It was terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time. They drained all of the venom from our bodies and pumped human blood from a nearby hospital into our systems continuously. They starved us for weeks so that our venom would be easier to access. It backfired a few times and we had to start the process over again, but every night, they checked our levels. A vampire actually performed the process, if you can believe it! Their medicine woman was one of us! That's how their village managed to keep up with the rest of the world even though they were a poor country village."
"I didn't feel any different for awhile. It was actually seven months before I realized that Emmett and I were changing like we used to. When we were human." Rosalie laughed. "I was so happy that we had finally found a way to be human that I didn't care that I caught a case of chicken pox or that my immune system apparently used to suck a lot because I have allergies to pollen now. Imagine that! Pollen allergies!"
"This is unbelievable." Bella commented. "You have to tell the Volturi about this!"
"And why would we do that?" Emmett scoffed.
"Because then word can get out that we can become human again." Edward agreed with his wife. "Once it gets out that we don't have to be like this, the world could be safer from monsters."
"And you think Aro would appreciate that information getting out?" Alice asked logically, already seeing how this would play out.
"Why wouldn't he?" Bella protested. "I think it would be good to lessen the vampire attacks on humans."
"Because if there was a way to turn all vampires back into humans then Aro himself could be killed." Carlisle spoke up.
"Oh. I guess I didn't think about that." Bella frowned.
"That isn't our only news." Same old Rose, trying to get the attention in the room back on her. I had missed her so much!
"You're a vampire that turned human, what could top that?" Jake scoffed, but I could tell that he truly was interested. This was good news for the Pack! Nomad vampires didn't have to be killed anymore. We could protect human lives by creating more human lives!
"Because..." Rosalie smiled wide. "I'm pregnant!"
That was when shit really hit the fan. It was one thing for them to somehow to become human again. That was a miracle in itself. But for Rose to have actually gotten pregnant, it was almost too much to believe. Was this all a dream? Was I missing my aunt and uncle so much that I was imagining all of this. I pinched myself as the rest of the family started congratulating them. When I didn't wake up, I knew that my whole world was about to change. Vampires didn't have to be vampires any longer! They could be human again. They could lead normal lives. They could have children! I felt a little faint.
"Carlisle?" Rose looked up at her father figure for the past few decades. "Would you mind confirming what I already know?"
"It would be my pleasure." Carlisle was beaming.
"Two of my girls are pregnant," Esme was glowing herself at this revelation. "Oh, how wonderful!"
"Ness, you're pregnant, too?" Emmett asked logically. "That's awesome! You guys can go through your mood swings at the same time...actually, that might not be the best thing." He scratched his head.
"Emmett, you're going to have a little girl." Carlisle congratulated his son once Rose was out of the check-up area.
"I was hoping for a girl." My uncle beamed. "We've been picking out names since we first suspected Rose was pregnant. I already love Hadley so much!" He went to kiss his wife's lips and then bent down to where the baby would be to kiss her stomach as well.
"Hadley Cullen?" Bella asked, tasting the sound of the name on her tongue. "I think it's cute."
"Actually," Emmett cleared his throat, a sound I had never heard him make unless he was blending in with the humans, "we're going to name her Hadley Hallen."
"Hallen?" Jasper spoke up for the first time, looking at his pretend twin and her husband in confusion.
"It's a combination of Hale and Cullen," Rose pitched in, "It was our way of paying tribute to who we once were. Now that we're human, we decided to get a clean start. We're new people now. Human people!" The glow in Rosalie's eyes as she explained this was mesmerizing. "I don't see how you ever willingly gave this up, Bella."
My mother scoffed, offended by the accusation. Rosalie had always felt this way, even when she was a vampire still. "I have Edward and Renesmee forever. What else would I need?"
"You don't regret it?" Emmett asked. "Don't you ever think about having more kids now that you know that you could be human again?"
"Never for a second." Bella said quickly. She was never one to wish to remain human. My father on the other hand...
My father smiled at me, sensing where my thoughts were turning. "Renesmee is all we need and more. We're about to be grandparents for the third time and I couldn't be happier."
I was secretly glad that my parents didn't want to become human again. I don't know what I would do if I lost them. I know my father had always wanted to be human again, to not feel like a monster, but I think that my mother has convinced him over the past twenty years to be content with his lot in life. He was a vampire family man, as odd as that was.
"This is your third?" Rosalie asked, excited at the idea of having more than one child probably.
"We, uh, we were going to name her after you guys, actually." My cheeks were flushed. I hadn't seen them in thirteen years. Maybe they wouldn't be as enthused about it as much as I thought they would.
"Oh, Nessie, that's wonderful! We're honored!" Rosalie couldn't stop smiling if she tried. "What are you going to call her?"
"Ember Rosalinda Black." Jacob said with pride. "Ember is actually after Emmett and Embry, but Rosalinda is all you."
"That's so sweet, mutt." Rose tried to tease him but she really was so pleased with the namesake.
"Don't mention it, blondie." Jake's cheeks were tinted with embarrassment. When I had suggested the idea to him, he had thought it was a great idea. Though they had fought a lot when Rose and Emmett were around, my husband really did love Rose like a sister.
"You'll never guess what else." Esme was jumping up with joy. "You are both due within a week of each other! Imagine that."
Rose smiled and looked at me. "Oh, I've got a feeling our girls will come closer than a week."
She was right, of course. My daughter, Ember, was born at 8:07 on the morning of June 12th (my first summer birth-which sucked, by the way) and Rose's little girl, Hadley, was born at 4:56 that evening after some complications.
Once again, I loved my daughter instantly. How could I not when she was so beautiful, so much like Jacob, so much like me. Ember was perfect. She was the first of my girls to have my curly bronze ringlets, but that seemed to be all she got from me. No, this little girl was all Jacob: his big grin, his adorable dimples on her pale russett skin, his dark as night brown eyes (a much deeper color than the chocolate ones that the Swan women had).
Hadley was adorable, too. But she wasn't mine so I didn't fall in love with her instantly. My cousin (did that make a newborn my cousin?) cried through the night and then the next week after that. If anyone had any doubts that this girl was Rose and Emmett's, it was a shock. She had a set of lungs on her like her Daddy and got her need for constant attention from her Mommy. Not to mention her looks. Hadley was the spitting image of her parents: Rose's blonde hair, Emmett's dimples and nose, and Rose's human blue eyes that I was still getting used to after all of these months. She would be a heartbreaker when she was older, no doubt about that.
Allie and Sara were so excited about Ember's birth that they made glitter posters for when I was in the delivery room so that I would remember how much they loved me and Ember already. And when Ember was born, they fought over who could be the first sister to hold her.
"I'm the oldest." Sara declared. "I should be allowed to hold the baby first."
"Nu-uh." Allie shook her head. "You are already a big sister. This is my chance!"
"Yeah, but I didn't get to hold you when you were born." Sara whined. "I was only a year old! That's not fair."
And so they continued for ten minutes in the waiting room, or so Edward told me later. It was adorable how much they liked being big sisters. I knew then that I hadn't made a mistake with having another child. Jacob and I would love Ember as much as her sisters, but the fact that Allie and Sara were already so protective of her was a good sign. Growing up, I had always wished for a sister and now my girls would have that opportunity.
I didn't regret my childhood, though, and I was so so so glad that my parents didn't want to undergo what Emmett had dubbed the "Human 2.0 Project." Alice and Jasper didn't give it a second thought, either. Alice was afraid of losing her psychic ability, I think, and Jasper only wanted to be with his Alice forever. Though his empathy sometimes sucked for him, he wasn't going to give up on being who he was just because his family was becoming more and more human. Carlisle wanted to undergo the process so that Esme would be allowed to finally have the child she had always wanted, but she rejected that idea.
"I already have so many children. I know how much you want to help people. You can do so much more good as a vampire doctor than a human one. In a hundred years, if you still feel this way, I will gladly give up immortality for you. The cure isn't going anywhere." Esme supposedly told him later that first night when Rose and Emmett showed up human.
Our cousins the Denali's, however, were the first ones to jump on the Human 2.0 bandwagon. When they returned from the Ocampa tribe right before Ember and Hadley's birth, they didn't look any different than their usual vampires selves. At their first birthday, however, we got a letter in the mail from the Denali's saying that it worked. They even sent a picture. Tanya, Kate, Garrett, Carmen, and Eleazar all looking slightly older, slightly more breakable. Eleazar's power didn't go away, but it was a little harder to control now that he was human. Likewise, the other gifted vampires-turned-humans still retained their powers after the change, but the strength of the gifts were less than they had been as vampires.
I hoped that Alice wouldn't change her mind about her decision to remain vampire, but she didn't seem to be budging despite this new revelation. My family was happy as it was, especially Rose and Emmett who were still trying to get the hang of parenting.
"Not so easy being human, is it?" Bella taunted around Hadley's first birthday when the baby continued to keep them up all night and was constantly crawling into dangerous places. Jasper and Alice had returned to Port Angeles because it was too hard for Jasper to be around this many humans in his home, but Carlisle and Esme moved back in to Forks and my parents continued to live in the cottage. They let the Hallen family have the entire upstairs since they didn't want to be too far away from their family. Mostly, I think, that was in response to needing babysitters that didn't have to sleep like they now did.
"I forgot how much sleep a human needs. Especially a baby!" Rosalie whined. "I don't remember Nessie being this fussy all of the time when she didn't get sleep."
"Nessie was also half-vampire and didn't need nearly as much sleep as you do." Bella tried not to be smug but it was written all over her face. "Now hand me my niece because you look like you're about to fall over. Go take a nap, Rose."
"You're such a pretty little girl, yes you are." Bella cooed as she rocked Hadley back and forth. Her self control was impeccable when it came to children. Everyone doubled their hunting schedules when the Hallens came to live with them, but Bella didn't seem to need it. Having a baby in her arms was enough to keep her from wanting to drink blood.
I walked over to her since Jake hadn't arrived with Ember and the girls yet. "Hey, Momma."
"Oh, hey there sweetie." Her golden eyes lite up when she saw me approach, even though I had been within earshot the whole time.
"Do you miss it?" I asked, not truly believing that I was enough for her. She was just so good with babies! How could she not want to have another little rugrat running around?
"Miss what?" She looked down at Hadley who had started chewing on a fistful of her own hair.
"Being a mother." I replied as if it was obvious.
"I'm always going to be a mother." Bella looked hurt. "No matter how old you get or how many children you have, you will always be my baby. I have forever with you, what more could I ask for?"
I smiled at my mother, knowing she was right. My girls were all human and I would one day have to say goodbye to them. I think it made me cherish them all the more now because their time wasn't unlimited like mine was. No matter what happened in life, I would always be their mother.