(Paul's POV)
I didn't know what to do anymore. When Rachel hit me with that, I felt so terrible. I knew that Rachel and the new baby were my family, but Natalie's girls were mine too. It was a lose-lose situation. If I didn't take care of the girls, Natalie would tell me I was neglecting them, but if I did take care of the girls, Rachel would tell me I was neglecting her and the baby. How was I supposed to do anything? I wasn't giving the girls up for anything, but I couldn't take care of them on my own.
Rachel was still sleeping beside me as I ran my hand through my hair. She was my life, not Natalie, but I needed Natalie because of the girls. What was I supposed to do?
I knew that I had to talk to Natalie about what was going on. We hadn't talked truly since she got to La Push, and we needed to. If we wanted to work anything out, we would have to talk.
Rachel was going out with her dad and sister for the day, so I could take Natalie and the girls out to lunch. Rachel didn't have to know until later. At that point it was all about Natalie and the girls. There wasn't much I could do until I got that sorted out.
After a few minutes, I got up and took a shower. Rachel started to stir when I walked back into the room. I kissed her forehead, and she smiled.
"Morning baby," I whispered, running my hand over her bangs.
"Morning," she yawned. "I need to get up."
I put my hands behind her back and head to help her sit up. She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me.
"Do you need me to help you shower?" I asked her.
She shook her head and held herself up. "I can do it myself. I'll be out soon."
"Okay." I helped her off the bed. "I love you."
She smiled. "I love you too."
When she walked into the bathroom, I pulled out my phone. I dialed Natalie's phone number. It took three rings for her to answer.
"Hello?" she yawned.
I probably woke her up, and I felt bad.
"Hey, it's Paul."
"What's up?"
I sighed. "Well, I was wondering if I could take you and the girls out for lunch."
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"Yeah, we need to talk."
"You're right." She let out another yawn. "What time?"
"Eleven thirty?" I suggested.
"Sure."
"Okay, I'll come pick you up soon."
"Sounds good," she whispered. "See you soon."
"Bye."
I hung up the phone and plopped down on the bed. Rachel walked out, dressed and ready to go. I got up, kissed her, and helped her down stairs. She grabbed her purse when we saw Rebecca's car pull up in front of the house.
"Have fun," I whispered with a kiss. "I love you."
"I love you too," she replied with a smile. "And, thanks. I will."
"Okay."
She walked out the door and into the car. She was finally gone.
(Natalie's POV)
I stretched out and dropped the phone to my side. Jacob's arm tightened around my waist as he grunted.
"Who was that?" he whined.
"Paul," I whispered with a sigh. "He's gonna take me and the girls out to lunch."
Jacob sat up. "Why?"
"He said we need to talk." I rolled over to face him. "And I agree."
He nodded and leaned down to kiss me. "Yeah, that might be good."
"He's coming at eleven thirty," I explained. "Let's go get the girls ready."
Jacob ran his hand over my stomach and kissed me over and over again.
"I love you," he whispered inches away from my lips.
"I love you too," I breathed back.
He sighed, helped me up, and kissed me.
"Do you wanna take a shower before we get the girls?" Jacob asked.
"Sure." I kissed him, walked over to the dresser, and grabbed a towel. "Be right back."
The shower gave me a little time to think about what I wanted to say to Paul. Of course I wanted to cuss him out, but I knew that wasn't going to help anything. I needed to get my point across without any screaming or name-calling. We needed to get a plan together so there wouldn't be anymore arguing.
When I got out of the bathroom, Jacob wasn't in the room. I got dressed and walked outside. Jacob was in the kitchen, feeding the girls. I smiled and walked over to them. I took one of the jars of baby food and started feeding Tianna.
"Thanks, baby," I whispered, kissing his cheek.
"No problem," he chuckled, trying to get Taylor to open her mouth.
After the jars were empty, we were able to get them to drink a little before getting them dressed. By eleven, we were all set to go. Paul came a little early. He walked up to the door and knocked. Jacob and I had the girls all ready to go in their car seats, so I just kissed Jacob good-bye and carried the girls outside.
Paul got out of the truck to help me with the girls. We didn't say a word to each other as we got the girls settled and then jumped into the truck.
"So," I whispered. "Where are we going?"
"Diner in Forks," he stated as he started the car.
His eyes were frozen on the road. He didn't even bother to look at me, or to say anything. Maybe it was because he was thinking of what to say; it gave me time to think of what I needed to say. The silence was awkward, but it was much needed.
We got to the diner in ten minutes and then got ourselves seated shortly after. Taylor was on my side of the table and Tianna was on Paul's.
We ordered our drinks and sat there for a while.
"So," I mused, twirling the straw around in my drink. "What did you want to talk about?"
It was obvious that he was thinking deeply. He always scrunched his eyebrows when he was thinking.
"I still love you," he blurted out.
My body froze.
"What?" I asked to make sure I heard him right.
He shook his head. "No, I mean, not like that, but you do know that I love you, right? I mean, maybe like a sister, or I guess like a father would love his babies' mom?" He chuckled. "God I sound like an idiot."
"No, I get it," I assured him. "And I feel the same way."
"It's just so hard," he sighed. "I know we didn't end on the best terms, and I moved on when you didn't get to, and that probably killed you, and I wish you would've told me about the babies because I would've helped, and, oh God, Natalie, do you know how sorry I am?"
I shook my head. "No I don't."
"I wish I could've been there," he whispered. "I wish I could've been there to hold them and to be there for you. I wish that everything would be different, but it just can't be."
"What do you mean 'it can't be'?" I questioned, my eyebrows rising.
"I mean that I'm with Rachel, and you're with Jacob, and it shouldn't be any other way."
I nodded. "Yeah, you're right."
"We will always have a connection, Natalie," Paul breathed. "And that connection is by our sides."
I smiled, looking over at my wonderful girls. I finally started to see Paul in them. They were gurgling and laughing. If I hadn't suffered, I wouldn't have gotten the two miracles that were sitting there. Those girls were worth the pain and suffering I went through. They were worth everything.
"Yeah, I know."
"But I do want to talk about custody," he said firmly. "And child support. I don't want to have to go to court over this."
"What do you suggest?" I asked, sipping at my drink.
"Well, I figure you need at least a thousand a month or so for the twins, so I'm willing to pay five hundred a month."
"Five hundred?" I said with wide eyes. "Paul, I don't know where you get your numbers from, but I only need like two hundred a month from you, if not less. Don't forget you have your own baby. Really, in fact, I don't care if you pay child support. I care more about custody than anything."
"Okay, well, then custody." He cleared his throat. "With the new baby it's going to be hard to take care of the girls…"
"I understand," I interrupted.
He sighed. "Well, when the baby gets big enough that Rachel and I feel like we're comfortable enough to handle the girls, I want them twice a week. Don't care what days. And I at least want them for a full week every couple of months."
I thought about it for a few seconds. Maybe a week wouldn't be so bad at all. It would be time for Jacob and I to spend alone together, and I would always need a break. Two days a week wasn't too much to ask. He was actually being reasonable for once in his life.
I nodded. "Okay, yeah. That sounds like a plan."
Paul smirked and held out his hand. "Shake on it?"
I started laughing and shook his hand. "God, you never changed, did you?"
"Nope," he chuckled. "Never have, never will."
Even if I didn't love Paul, I finally realized that we could be friends. We could be happy parents for our girls.
