Pairing: Jacob/Bella
Rating: M
Chapter Summary: Bella is still broody, and Jacob has an idea of how to cure her of it.
Disclaimer: Characters, world etc. does not belong to me- I am merely playing in the sandbox. The opinions expressed in this story do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Quileute Nation. Meyer wrote about a fictional tribe and put their name to it, so in writing this story I have had to do the same.
Thank Yous: I have had several beta readers throughout this story. People who helped me on this chapter were- Confettirainfall and thejmeyer.
NB: I'm a wee bit early with this, due to Christmas and my boring Thursday of driving up and across the country. Normal service will be resumed next week, chapter updates will continue to be on Thursdays.
Chapter Thirteen: Baby Blues
"You cannot possess me for I belong to myself. But while we both wish it, I give you that which is mine to give…"
"You cannot command me, for I am a free person. But I shall serve you in those ways you require …"
Bella sat watching the young couple shyly exchange rings, a small giggle escaping from Leah's lips as Sam slipped the wedding band on her finger.
She felt Jacob squeeze her hand. "You okay, honey?" he asked.
Bella nodded. "Fine," she said, wiping her eyes. Jacob grinned and gently pressed a kiss to her cheek.
The music started up, and Bella turned to watch Leah and Sam walk along the tribal hall, hand in hand, to sign their marriage certificates.
The boys around her, Embry, Quil and Jared, whooped and cheered loudly along with Jacob as the couple passed. Bella joined is as much as she dared by clapping enthusiastically. Leah, a vision in backless white and wild flowers, winked at her.
"You're next, man," Jared said, clapping a slightly surprised Jacob on the shoulder.
"Come on, Jared, we haven't even graduated yet," he reasoned, looking anxiously away when he caught Bella's eye.
She knew exactly why he reacted with such fear.
Babies.
They were all Bella had been able to think about, between studying for her final exams and finishing off her dissertations. She had almost considered declining the offer to do her year long teaching conversion course at UDub, but rational thought kicked in and she completed the necessary paperwork.
Instead, she contented herself with staring longingly at small squidgy babies in strollers, toddlers on the swings at the park, offering her seat to pregnant women on the Metro and doing her best to ignore the seething resentment she felt towards them, round bellied and fruitful, ripe with the union of seed and warmth.
"Are you okay, sweetie?" a particularly concerned mother had asked her one time as they rattled with the motion of the trolleybus, and Bella became acutely aware she had probably been staring at her like one of those crazy ladies who sneak into the local hospital and try to steal a baby sleeping in an incubator.
"I'm fine. Sorry," she said, avoiding the gaze of the short haired woman, trying to ignore how her top rode slightly over her belly, exposing a sliver of the swollen flesh.
"When's it due?" Bella asked timidly. The woman proudly patted her round stomach.
"Two months to go," she said happily. "It's a girl, the doctor said, but my mother-in-law does all that stuff with crystals, and she's convinced it's a boy."
Bella smiled weakly. "Well, you'll find out soon enough, I guess."
The woman nodded. "I can't wait," she admitted with a weary chuckle. "My back is killing me!"
Bella giggled along with her, absently stroking her own flat, empty belly.
That night she had stood in the bathroom with a sewing needle, contemplating the ethics of stabbing Jacob's entire stash of condoms and wondering if he'd notice if she just flushed a load of her birth control pills away.
"Bella, put the pin away before you wreck your relationship for good," Abbie had warned, leaning against the doorway, arms folded, her expression stern.
The tears had started then, thick and heavy as Bella sank to the floor, Abbie's arms around her, trying to offer comfort over something she clearly didn't understand, judging from her nonplussed expression.
A warm hand at the small of her back distracted her from her reverie.
"Bells, honey? We've got to go outside for photos," Jacob said quietly, echoing in the now empty hall as Bella gulped away a sob.
It didn't escape his attention.
"Oh, honey," he whispered, peppering her face with kisses, stroking her hair. "I wish I could make this go away for you."
"You can," she said bitterly, before grabbing his shirt when his expression invariably fell. "Sorry. I'm sorry, Jake."
He wrapped his arms around her. "I know, honey. It's okay."
She wiped her eyes, feeling secure in his embrace. "I don't know why you're still with me."
"Yes, you do," he replied, kissing her tenderly.
By the time Bella had calmed herself and they had all posed for the requisite photographs, the sun was starting to set and they all piled into a huge gazebo with four rows of tables, all festooned with pretty decorative wild flower centre-pieces. She was sat next to Jacob, along with Embry, Quil, and two girls she didn't recognise.
Quil had honed in on them as though he were a chick-seeking missile. "Hey there, ladies," he drawled. "Wine?" he offered.
A tall willowy blonde girl tilted her glass towards him with a smile as he picked up the open bottle of white wine on their table. Jacob and Bella passed, but Embry and the other girl, dark skinned with neatly braided hair, tilted their glasses towards her, and she filled each glass three-quarters of the way up.
"I'm Ashleigh," the blonde said before gesturing to her friend. "This is Serena."
Serena gave them all a languid wave, which they returned before introducing themselves.
"I guess you guys all met at college, right?" Jacob asked.
"That's right," Serena replied. "We all majored in Biochemistry. We all suffered Professor Haggart."
Ashley shuddered at this. "Yeah, we sure did."
"Why? What's the problem with him?" Bella asked. Serena and Ashleigh looked at each other with uncertainty.
"Leah mentioned you were at UDub, too?" Ashleigh queried, changing the subject with a rapidity that stunned Bella.
"Yeah, me and Bells here," Jacob replied, allowing Bella time to collect her thoughts. "Well, Bella's just graduated. I've got another year."
"I've got one more year as a post grad," Bella added. "I'm doing teacher training."
"Cool," she replied, a smile twitching at her lips as Quil glanced at her and Serena, apparently unable to pick between the two.
Out of the corner of her eye, Bella noticed Embry staring intently off into the distance. She followed his gaze and noticed, not entirely with surprise, that Emily was sitting at the top table in a dusky pink bridesmaid dress, her expression muted but happy. She locked eyes with Embry for a moment before looking away, embarrassed by his flagrant attention.
"Dude, cut it out!" Quil hissed, jabbing Embry in the gut.
"What? I wasn't doing anything!" he mumbled back.
Quil rolled his eyes. "Emily knows you're at this wedding, dude. She isn't going to expect you to be slaving away on your coursework assignment!"
"Yeah, yeah. Obviously," he replied, his voice oddly dazed.
"So, we know Leah, and we've met Sam a couple of times," Ashleigh said. "But who are the others?"
Quil got up out of his seat and placed himself between Ashleigh and Serena, casually slipping an arm around each of them. The girls seemed torn between indignation and admiration.
"Well, there's Sue and Harry, Leah's parents. Seth, her brother— he's the one looking kind of bored and fiddling with his cell phone. The two bridesmaids are Emily, that's Leah's cousin, and Rachel." He jabbed a thumb towards Jacob. "That's his sister."
Bella glanced up at Rachel, sitting slightly awkwardly at the top table, doing her best to keep a rigid posture, almost dwarfed by the raucous conversation surrounding her. Apart from the skin tone, the two siblings didn't look much alike. Where Jacob's eyes were molasses dark, Rachel's were lighter, more like caramel. They both had the same jet black hair, however, although Rachel's was currently set in elegant ringlets.
Suddenly, Rachel waved eagerly in their direction. Jacob raised his hand affably.
It took Bella a little while to realise Rachel was waving at her, too.
"She wants to meet you," Jacob informed her. "Been badgering me about it all week, actually."
Bella waved back nervously, just as a waiter started bringing round plates of artfully arranged food.
"Wow, this is pretty fancy grub," Quil commented, tucking into a mango and smoked salmon starter.
"Yeah, how did they bankroll this?" Jacob wondered absently.
Serena leant across the table and touched Jacob's arm. "Well, us girls gave Professor Haggart the nickname 'Mr Tentacles', but only Leah actually had the balls to chew him out. And hide a camcorder in her bag." She smiled slyly. "I always wondered how much hush-money he paid her."
Jacob's laugh reverberated around the room, and if everyone else wasn't talking at the tops of their voices, Bella could imagine they would have turned to stare.
More waiters came out to collect up plates and bring out more food.
"Wow. This is my kind of party," Jacob whispered to Bella as a rich smelling main course was place in front of them. Bella couldn't help but smile and kissed him on the cheek.
She glanced across the room and saw Charlie and Billy sitting at the table in front of them with some older men and women, when one of the party turned around and glanced in their direction. Bella recognised the weathered looking man and the fierce woman at his side, but she had never been introduced.
From the icy look on both their faces when their eyes raked over her, Bella understood why.
Jacob tensed up beside her. "Son of a bitch," he muttered in a low voice.
"Jake, it doesn't matter. Ignore them," Bella soothed, just as she saw Charlie get up from his seat and storm outside, his expression cold. Billy stared after him sadly before wheeling himself away from the table, following him.
She felt Jacob's hand encase her own. "I love you," he said, kissing her tenderly on the lips. "They're going to have to deal with it."
"So, what are you two ladies doing now you've entered the real world?" Quil asked of Ashleigh and Serena, while Bella tucked into her gamey main course.
"I'm working as a medical writer," Ashleigh said.
"What's that?"
She shrugged. "I put together medical trial reports for drug literature, that sort of thing."
"What about you, Serena?" Embry asked casually, his eyes still flitting across to the top table every five seconds until Emily gave Leah a quick kiss on the cheek and tottered out of the gazebo on heels that seemed a fraction too high for her.
Serena smiled. "I'm at graduate college, doing research into expression cassettes."
"Huh? Right. Cool," Embry replied, his eyes following Emily's progress.
Serena laughed. "Am I distracting you?"
Embry looked a little flustered. "No? Why?"
"I'm sure your girlfriend won't mind you talking to me—"
"She's not my girlfriend!" Embry's eyes were wide, fearful.
Quil laughed. "Emily teaches one of the courses at the community college," he explained. "He's freaking out over some extra credit summer assignment."
Serena smirked. "Yeah. Course he is."
Embry stood up. "I'm just going… Bathroom, you know?" he stammered out, before rushing off out of the gazebo.
Suddenly, the smashing of a glass distracted them all. Paul had knocked his wine glass off the table, and it had crashed onto a nearby empty seat. Everyone under the gazebo applauded and laughed. He stood up and bowed shakily before slouching back into his seat, aggression thick within every muscle.
"Jesus, how much has he had?" Jacob whispered, his voice full of concern.
"Come on, Jake. It's a party; he's allowed!" Rachel said as she reached their table, the palms of her hands resting against the back of Jacob's chair.
"Hey, Rach," he said, tilting his head back to kiss her on the cheek. She wrapped one arm around him and ruffled his hair with the other.
"Hey there, Jakey," she said with a smile. "Are you going to introduce me?" She looked pointedly at Bella.
Jacob practically jumped out of his seat to do the honours. "Rachel, this is Bella, my girlfriend. Bella, this is my sister, Rachel."
"Hi," Bella said anxiously. Rachel peered at her appraisingly before her lips parted into a big grin, and Bella realised she and Jacob had one other trait in common.
"Hi, Bella. Jake's told me so much about you," she said, a little excitedly. "He's not giving you too much trouble, is he?"
"No," Bella replied. "Quite the opposite." She gave Jacob an apologetic look as he smoothed his hair back into its ponytail.
Rachel gently nudged her arm. "Sure, sure. You don't have to be polite, Bella. I've had the misfortune of living with him for years."
"Hey, I was the perfect little brother!" Jacob argued.
Rachel rolled her eyes and smirked. "Yeah, especially when you used to put worms in mine and Bex's shoes."
"I was a kid back then," Jacob insisted.
"You were thirteen!"
Quil suddenly stifled laughter, and Bella was left with the distinct impression that Jacob had accomplices.
"Just fuck off!" Paul yelled, so loudly that even the top table reacted.
"Take it easy, bro!" Jared was trying to calm him down but with little effect. Paul shoved him hard in the chest, and he staggered backwards.
"She should be here!" he hissed, before storming off outside.
Bella felt Jacob's arm snake around her waist, holding her tightly. Copying his gesture, she craned her head upwards and whispered, "Someone should really talk to him."
He nodded. "Work your magic, honey."
Leaving the others with instructions to save her some dessert, Bella hurried towards the beach, trying to find Paul. She figured he might be up on the cliffs again, and he could do with a shoulder to cry on, however hard he would try to push her away.
She soon heard footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw Rachel rushing barefoot towards her, a pair of satin heels in her hand.
"Thought I'd help you look for him," she said. "Jake told me what happened." She shook her head. "Poor guy."
"Yeah," Bella replied as the two of them walked along the quiet path to the beach, stopping only when Bella almost fell over in the sand dunes.
"Stupid heels," she muttered as Rachel giggled.
"Come on," she said, offering her arm to Bella for support as they found a nearby tree stump.
As she sat down to unbuckle her shoes, Bella became dimly aware of voices somewhere in the distance, within the woods.
"Embry, we've got to stop this!" Emily's demand sounded rather uncertain.
"Why?"
"You're a student."
"So?"
"You're my student!"
Embry chuckled. "So?"
"It's not right."
"I'm not asking you to give me As. I'm just asking to hear some other vowel sounds…" Bella saw them, cloaked in shadows and moonlight, saw Embry's lips graze Emily's throat and heard the trembling sigh that escaped her lips.
"That's what I'm talking about," he murmured, one hand caressing her side, the other pressing her tightly against him.
"Embry… Please… It was one time only."
"That's what you say. I say it's the first time of many…" His head ducked further, trailing kisses along her décolletage. "Come away with me, this weekend. Nothing fancy, but I've got other ways to make it worth your while."
"Embry, don't be stupid."
"I'm not being stupid. You know how I feel about you. And I know how you feel, despite how you keep lying to us both."
"I'm looking after Claire and baby Sophie."
"Fine, then come back to mine. Now. Mom isn't going to leave a party any time soon."
"Embry, don't…" Emily's voice came out in a breathless gasp as Embry nipped her earlobe.
"I can't quit you, babe, so don't ask. Let me show you how a woman like you ought to be treated," he breathed. "Like a goddess."
"Damn you, Embry," Emily hissed before grasping at his hair and kissing him wildly, her other hand gripping at his buttocks and grinding him as close to her as she could without removing any clothing.
Bella didn't have to look behind her to surmise that Rachel was gawping in shock, just as she was.
"Jesus!" Rachel whispered, giggling.
"I know," Bella managed to whisper back.
Emily tensed suddenly. "Did you hear something?" she whispered. Bella and Rachel glanced furtively at each other before mutely sneaking away from the scene.
"Wow," Rachel whispered as they walked across the damp sand. "I can't… Wow." She grinned. "Emily the Cougar? Who knew?"
"Hey," Bella retorted. "There's nothing wrong with an age gap."
Rachel looked at her feet for a moment, clenching her toes in the sand as an embarrassed blush creeping across her cheeks. "Sorry, I forgot," she said.
"It's okay," Bella replied before grinning. "I just know it can have its advantages."
Rachel's expression was one of horror. "Eww! Don't, Bella. Just, don't! Jacob doesn't… Eww!"
"I only implied it."
"Don't even imply it!" Rachel shuddered. "My baby brother, it's just wrong and perverse!"
They walked along in silence for a bit until Rachel spoke again. "Dad says you've had a bit of a hard time? With some of the others?"
Bella squirmed a little under Rachel's compassionate stare. "Yeah, kind of."
"I saw what happened earlier, with your dad," she said. "I'm not sure what to say. I've never seen this before."
"Yeah, I'm not sure anyone has. Not with… You know," Bella replied, suddenly unwilling to finish her sentence. Honorary chief's son living in sin with a paleface? They had been upset enough by honorary chief's son taking the paleface to the school prom years ago. With the amount of stuff going on in her relationship right now, Bella felt her life was starting to resemble a bad made for TV melodrama.
Rachel nodded and didn't push the issue. Instead she glanced up and squinted at the cliff.
"There's someone up there," she said. "Is it Paul? Not that I know who else it would be."
Bella glanced up and could easily make out the cropped hair and hunched shoulders that defined Paul to her since that awful day. "Yeah, it looks like him," she replied.
Rachel nodded. "Sorry, I left my glasses on the table."
It didn't take long to follow the path through the woods up to the cliff, where Paul stood, his hands in his hair, a strangled sob escaping his throat.
Bella felt reluctant to intrude. "Paul?" she offered tentatively, just as Rachel rushed forward and threw her arms around him.
"I'm so sorry," she said as Paul looked up at her through bloodshot eyes, surprised and relieved, as though a prayer had been answered that he didn't think anyone was around to hear. Silently, he put his arms around Rachel's tiny waist and sobbed unashamedly into her shoulder, allowing her to stroke his hair comfortingly.
Bella offered Rachel a small smile and walked away. She knew when she wasn't needed.
On returning to the party and passing Billy and Charlie drinking in a corner, Bella found herself swept into a conga before she even knew what was happening.
"Come on, Bella, shake that ass!" Quil demanded, grabbing her hands and putting them on Seth's hips before putting his own hands on hers.
"Where's Jake?" Bella asked as they sashayed around the space while a harangued Sue and Harry hastily moved the tables away with help from Sam's mother, trying to dodge the unstoppable train of tipsy guests.
"Trying to rescue your cheesecake, I think," he replied airily.
A few moments later, the conga line was broken up near the makeshift bar area by two of the other elders moving the top table through the middle of the grassy floor space and out of the gazebo. The crowd groaned in frustration.
"Oi, we had a good line going there!" Jared hotly protested.
"Quit moaning! Get out of the way and make another one," the grey-haired woman retorted smoothly.
"Good advice, Grandmother," Seth replied, grabbing Bella's hands just as she saw Jacob wander towards her with a plate of something chocolatey.
"Maybe later, Seth," Bella said, pulling gently away. "Jake's got something I want."
Jared and Quil laughed loudly at this.
"Has he, now?" Jared said, smirking while Quil pursed his lips and performed the loudest wolf-whistle Bella had ever heard.
"What's up, guys?" Jacob asked, snaking an arm around Bella while supporting the plate of dessert in the other.
"You're in for a good time tonight, bro," Quil said, laughing.
Bella tried to stop herself from blushing, but it was no good. "I was talking about the dessert," she said, peering at the plate as Jacob nuzzled her neck.
"Sure, sure. Of course you were, honey," he murmured, pressing a kiss to the pulse point before gently sucking at the skin, eliciting a sigh of pleasure from her.
"Jake, this is very nice, but I want the cheesecake."
"It's chocolate torte, actually," he whispered into her ear. "And how badly do you want it?"
"I'll give you head all night, just give me the damn torte!" she hissed.
Jacob pulled away and grinned at her. "I love it when you're slutty," he whispered, pressing his hand to the small of her back and pulling her flush against him, setting the plate down on the nearby table masquerading as a bar surface. Bella merely looked up at him expectantly. He smiled and took a forkful of the chocolate torte, with a bit of cream and a single raspberry, and carefully positioned it near to her lips. Silently, she opened her mouth and sucked the fork clean, letting the dessert melt deliciously over her tongue, the heat of her mouth doing more to break up the mouthful than her teeth needed to. She moaned quietly, letting her enjoyment be known to Jacob.
"That was so good," she said ecstatically as he trailed his fingers up and down the satin of her dress.
"I'm glad to hear it," he said in a low voice, pressing his fork into the torte and bringing another dollop up to her lips, teasingly moving it away when she parted her lips and leant forward to capture it.
"Hey!" she moaned, grabbing his hand and pulling it towards her.
"Aww, you know I like to tease you," he replied as she slipped her lips over the fork, taking the piece of dessert with her.
They continued in this vein until the whole dessert was gone, and Jacob ran his finger over the residue of chocolate and cream on the plate, dabbing Bella on the nose. She giggled as he tilted his head forward and kissed the tip of her nose, licking the chocolate mixture clean away.
"Don't I get the last bit?" Bella asked, gesturing towards Jacob's hand.
He wiggled his finger in front of her. "Really? You want this?" he teased as Bella took it in her mouth and sucked, nipping at it gently when he pulled away.
"We don't have to stay for the reception, you know," he said in a voice thick with lust. "We could go back to my place, your place." His voice seemed to catch as Bella slipped her hand down the back of his pants. "Anyone's place?" he offered swiftly.
Suddenly, the music started up, and a sharply dressed DJ announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Mr and Mrs Uley for the first dance!"
Bella watched as Sam and Leah took to the dance floor, swaying happily to the tune of 'Everything I Do'.
Jacob grimaced as though the sound personally offended him, but he smiled as Leah and Sam twirled past them.
"So," Jacob said. "Places, us, alone. What do you say?"
"Ooh, I think I'd quite like to dance first," Bella said. "Only not to this."
Jacob grinned, and kissed her. "I feel very privileged, you know," he said smoothly, taking her hand in his. "You only seem to like dancing with me."
"That's because you're special," she said as another of the elders walked past, steadfastly ignoring them as he walked to the dance floor and clapped.
Bella sighed and rested her head against Jacob's shoulder, watching as the man kissed Leah on both cheeks, holding her hands as he admired her dress.
Bella knew their appreciation wasn't something she would get to experience.
"Okay, I've changed my mind. Let's go," Bella said, slipping her arm around Jacob.
Just as they made to leave, Emily snuck back into the gazebo, looking a little flushed.
"Are you okay, Emily?" Charlie asked as she rushed past.
"Yeah, fine," she spluttered out nervously. Bella tried very hard not to smile and looked away at the entrance once more.
That was when she saw the woman resting a baby over her shoulder, patting her back gently to wind her; the pink onesie told Bella it was a girl. Bella recognised Claire, having left toddlerhood behind to proudly embrace childhood. She was tugging at the long skirt of the youngish woman Bella didn't recognise but assumed must be Claire's mother.
"In a minute, Claire," she said, still rubbing the small baby's back with delicate movements.
"But Mom, I can't see Quil!"
"Sweetheart, I said in a minute!" the woman remonstrated. Claire paid little attention and instead barrelled off into the crowd, her pink flower girl dress billowing up with the movement.
As soon as Emily walked into her vicinity, the woman breathed a sigh of relief.
"Emily, could you take Sophie for a minute?" she asked, handing the baby over as she did so.
"Kate, I actually need to ask you—"
"Hold on, Emily. Claire! Get back here this instant!" Kate said loudly, rushing off towards Claire who had already found Quil standing with Ashleigh next to the dance floor. She grabbed hold of his jacket.
"What's up, squirt?" he asked, picking her up.
"Oh, aren't you a cutie?" Ashleigh cooed, taking Claire's hand, just as Kate reached them, offering apologies and trying to take a now grumpy Claire away from Quil.
"I'm so sorry; she's just taken a bit of a shine to you, I think."
"It's okay," Quil replied. "She's a sweetheart, aren't you?" he said to Claire in an indulgent voice while Ashleigh looked on adoringly.
"You have to admit, Claire has a perfect record in getting Quil the ladies," Jacob whispered into Bella's hair. She barely heard him, transfixed by Emily rocking the baby girl as her eyes started to droop, her bald head nestled against Emily's chest.
She felt Jacob's arms loosen slightly around her. "Bella," he said warningly.
"Hmm?"
Emily reached Kate and walked alongside her with the baby. "Kate, I really don't think I can babysit next weekend."
"What? Emily, you promised!"
"I know, I'm sorry. Something came up," she said, looking down at the floor.
Kate looked anguished. "You know I can't take the girls with me… I don't suppose you know anybody who could look after them instead?"
"I'm sure I could find—"
"We'll do it!" Jacob announced enthusiastically, surprising Bella.
"We will?"
"Sure," Jacob replied airily as Kate eyed him suspiciously.
"Have you ever looked after a baby, Jake?" she asked.
"Yeah. Well, not for a whole weekend, but I've watched kids before loads of times," he replied. "I've helped Dad watch Claire, remember?"
"Yeah, it was fun!" Claire said over Quil's shoulder.
"Jacob and Bella are very responsible," Emily added, the relief palpable on her face. "You can trust them."
Kate seemed to relax at this. "Okay," she said. "Come round tomorrow and I'll give you instructions and introduce you properly."
"Awesome. We'll be there," Jacob replied as Bella nodded in agreement.
"Why did you volunteer us?" Bella asked, once Emily and Kate were out of earshot.
Jacob grinned. "You want babies? Let's have a dry run first," he said, raising his eyebrows in challenge.
The next weekend, Bella and Jacob found themselves in the Makah reservation, knocking on the green painted door of Kate's house. She opened it and it and gestured for them to come in.
"Sorry, I'm running a bit late," she said, clearly harassed.
"It's cool, Kate," Jacob said as they stepped inside, Bella taking care to avoid tripping over the open dufflebag pushed to the side of the hallway.
The house was small but perfectly formed, with pale blue walls and large windows letting in the sun.
"Please, sit down," Kate offered while running to another room, and they sat down on a particularly squidgy battered leather couch.
"Would you like a drink?" Kate asked on her return, her arms full of clothes and a small toiletry bag dangling off her outstretched fingers.
"We're fine, thank you," Bella replied. Kate looked so busy, adding beverage making to her spiralling list of tasks seemed somewhat churlish.
Kate dumped the items in the dufflebag and turned to face them. "Sophie's having her nap right now, and Claire's playing outside."
As if on cue, Bella heard a ball thud against the window, followed by Claire shouting, "Sorry!" in a sing song voice.
"Claire! How many times do I have to tell you, stay away from the windows!" Kate called out loudly before sighing heavily.
"Where was I? Oh, yes, the list." She dashed out to the kitchen and returned with a big notepad, opening it up as she sat between them on the sofa.
"Claire's bath time is at six o'clock, after dinner at five. She goes to bed at seven on the dot, but if she's been good and it's a weekend, she's allowed to stay up until eight, but only if there's a movie on. Talking of movies, nothing above a 'G' rating. Sophie has her feeds around every six hours now, and she naps three times a day. She still has a night time feed; there's enough expressed milk in the fridge to last for more than this, but you shouldn't need it. Sometimes, she just wants water, and at meal times, try and give her some pureed vegetables as well as the milk— there's a batch in the fridge. Don't fret if she doesn't eat it. If you need to be up and about, she can sleep in her stroller, but it's best to put her in the crib…"
Bella felt her head start to swim as Kate went through every tiny detail in the notebook of her children, from what type of baby oil to use in Sophie's bath water, through to where Claire's fingerpaints were kept.
"And I've left the contact details of the conference centre, my cell, Emily's cell, in case you have any problems," Kate finished.
Jacob patted her on the shoulder. "We'll be fine, Kate, don't worry."
Kate smiled uneasily. "Sorry, Jake," she said. "I'm always like this when I have to leave the girls."
Loud cries suddenly punctuated the conversation.
"Sophie's awake," Kate explained unnecessarily. "I'll bring her down for you."
As she left the room, Bella noticed a bright yellow ball roll into the room and nudge her feet, followed by the patter of little footsteps.
"Hello!" Claire said brightly, dashing towards them. Jacob picked her up with a practised ease and sat her in his lap, where she seemed to settle quite happily.
"Hey there, Claire," he said, tickling her chin and making her giggle. "You looking forward to a weekend with your Uncle Jacob and Aunt Bella?"
Claire nodded. "Yeah!" she said exuberantly before noticing Bella and becoming a little more shy. "I guess so."
Jacob kissed her forehead. "We'll have fun, munchkin," he insisted. "Won't we, Bells?"
Bella felt as though her ovaries were pounding voraciously. "Sure. We'll have a great time, Claire," she managed to calmly reply.
Claire beamed and clapped this. "Yay!" she said, clambering over Jacob and causing him to wince when one of her tiny feet dug into his crotch during her efforts to reach Bella's lap. Holding out her arms, Bella took Claire and awkwardly sat her down, uncertain if she was doing the right thing.
Kate entered the room, holding a tiny bundle of squidgy baby, wrapped in a soft terry towelling romper suit, her previous cries now dulled to a gurgle.
"Here she is," Kate whispered, handing the baby to Jacob, the only one with free hands at that moment. He cradled baby Sophie in his arms, supporting her head with one of his large hands.
"Hi, Sophie," he cooed gently as the baby girl yawned. "You're a tired girl, huh?" he said, rocking her gently.
Bella watched him in wonder, utterly convinced her ovaries were close to exploding at the sight. She had never wanted his babies more acutely than in this moment.
Kate glanced at her watch.
"Shit! I'd better go, or I'm going to miss my flight!" she said. "Now, there's some money in the cookie jar to cover anything you might need, if you're going to use the bed for, ah, things other than sleeping, just do me a favour and put the sheets in the laundry."
"No problem, Kate," Jacob replied as Kate grabbed her dufflebag and zipped it shut.
Claire clambered out of Bella's arms and onto the floor. "Bye, Mommy," she said, hugging her legs.
Kate bent down and embraced her tightly. "I'll be back soon, sweetheart. Be good for Jacob and Bella, okay?"
"I will," Claire replied as Kate kissed her on the cheek.
Jacob took Sophie's tiny hand between his thumb and forefinger, waving it gently up and down. "Wave bye bye to mommy," he cooed as Kate pressed a kiss to Sophie's forehead.
Moment later, Kate was gone, and Bella was suddenly aware she and Jacob were responsible for two tiny lives.
She suddenly felt very scared.
Jacob, however, seemed to show no such concern. He got up and stretched his legs while continuing to rock baby Sophie.
"So, Claire. What do you want for dinner, huh?" he asked.
"Umm, can I have fish fingers?" she asked.
Jacob grinned. "Sure, if there are any in the freezer." He lent forward and handed Sophie to Bella. "Hold her, Bells. I'll sort out dinner."
"What, me?"
"Sure."
"I… I can't," she stammered. Sophie started to bawl suddenly, the noise slicing through Bella's brain as though she had been electroshocked.
Jacob smiled kindly at her. "Come on, Bells, just take her. You've been aching for kids since March."
Bella wrapped her arms around herself defensively. "Is this why you did this?" she asked quietly. "To prove to me I'd be a useless mother?"
"What? Bells, of course not," he replied. "You're not a useless mother. You're just a bit scared, but there's no need."
"You would say that, Jake," she replied, feeling a little anguish creep into her voice. "You're so good at this."
"Bella, listen to me," he said, his voice a little stern as he knelt before her. "I dropped Claire when she was a baby."
"What!"
"I was trying to help Emily, and it kind of backfired. I didn't drop her very far, and it was onto the couch, but still." He winced a little, as though reliving the presumed chastisement he got as a result. "Anyway, look at her. She's fine, aren't you, Claire?" he called out.
"I'm hungry," Claire pointed out, folding her arms impatiently.
Jacob grinned and shrugged. "See?"
Claire scooted over to them. "What's the matter?" she asked, frowning.
"Bella's worried she might hurt Sophie if she holds her," Jacob explained as Bella glared.
Claire smiled and patted Bella on the knee. "You won't hurt her," she insisted. "You just have to hold her head, like this." She grabbed Bella's arms and held them out in front of her. Then, she took Sophie from Jacob and forced the still bawling baby into Bella's arms, positioning her hand so it was supporting Sophie's head.
Bella instinctively wrapped her other arm around Sophie, holding her close to her body. The tiny baby continued to cry, and Bella gingerly rocked her back and forth. Soon enough, Sophie quietened. She yawned and stretched, before settling happily against Bella's chest, grabbing inexpertly at one of Bella's splayed fingers.
"See? She likes you," Claire said sagely before tugging Jacob's trouser pocket. "Can we look for fish fingers now?"
"Sure, kiddo," Jacob said, following her into the kitchen, while Bella sat and gazed at baby Sophie in wonder. She moved her head and looked up at Bella, reaching up with her hand and making a grab for Bella's nose.
"Hello there," Bella said in hushed tones. "I'm Bella."
"Ba ba," Sophie responded, poking Bella's nose with the palm of her little hand before tugging at her long hair, forcing Bella to tilt her head down a little to create some slack. She couldn't help but smile, and she felt her heart swell when Sophie appeared to copy her. Suddenly emboldened, she leant forward and kissed Sophie's wispy-haired head, the comforting scent of milk and Rusks wafting towards her.
"I've found some fish," Jacob announced. "We can make you some fish fingers."
"Okay," Claire replied. "Can I mix the fish fry?"
"Sure, sure."
"Yay!" Claire announced as loud bangs and crashes emanated from the kitchen. Sophie snapped her head to attention and stilled at the sound.
Bella lifted her head to see what all the clattering was about. "Jake? What are you doing?"
"We're having fish tonight," he replied, brandishing a pan in one hand and a bag of flour in the other.
"Do you need a hand?" Bella asked.
"Nah, me and Claire have got this covered," he replied, setting down the pan and flour before picking Claire up and sitting her on the work surface.
Bella watched as Jacob and Claire worked together to make up the batter mix, Claire happily getting her hands covered with the gloop and giggling when Jacob tried to paint her nose with it, or made a great show of being squeamish when gutting the fish.
"Eww! Fish guts!" she sang, revolted.
"You say 'fish guts', I say 'fish stock'," Jacob replied, putting the bones and viscera into a saucepan with some boiling water, much to the disgust of Claire.
Sophie started to squirm in Bella's grip.
"What is it, darling?" she asked, feeling a little stupid because she knew there was no way Sophie could answer her. Sophie wrinkled her nose and puffed out her cheeks for a moment.
Then Bella noticed the smell.
"Jake!" she called. "Sophie needs changing."
"Do you want me to do it?" he called back while he held Claire's hand, grasping a length of fish. He dipped the fish, and her hand, into flour, then egg, then fish fry.
"Eww, my hand's all sticky!" Claire giggled.
"It's alright; I will," Bella said uncertainly. "What do I do?"
"The stuff's in the nursery," Jacob replied. "I think Kate left instructions."
Bella cradled Sophie in her arms and stepped into the kitchen, grabbing the notebook and scooting off towards the nursery room, easily distinguished by the neutral pastel door sign, a marked difference from the lurid pink 'Claire's Room' that shouted from the adjacent door.
Opening the door and seeing the pale blue walls painted with pastel balloons and fluffy white clouds, Bella looked beyond the décor and became grateful that Kate appeared to be one of the most organised women in history. The white cot lay neatly in the corner of the room, the play area on the other side, and the far wall contained shelves of baby products. Bella presumed the white distressed chest of drawers below contained baby clothes.
Carefully holding Sophie on her hip with one hand, Bella used the other to drag a plastic baby mattress into the middle of the room before reaching for the other necessities.
"Right," Bella said as she laid Sophie down on the plastic mattress. "We can do this, Sophie."
Sophie responded by gurgling, which Bella decided to take as encouragement. With a deep breath, she glanced at the notebook of Kate's meticulous instructions.
"Okay, let's let your little onesie off, hmm?" Bella said, unpopping the buttons and gingerly taking Sophie out of the outfit and putting it to one side.
"Wet wipes, diapers, baby powder, diaper bags…" She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. "I don't think I've forgotten anything."
Sophie wriggled on the mattress, and Bella had to steady her as she undid the tabs on her diaper, taking care to breathe through her mouth as she stuffed the soiled diaper into a plastic tie bag.
"Let's clean you up," she continued, confident she had heard somewhere it was good to talk to babies. Taking a wet wipe, she cleaned up baby Sophie's bottom as best she could when the girl kept wriggling as though trying to roll away.
"Stay still," she said, to which Sophie paid no heed.
Grabbing her ankles and lifting her up was Kate's recommendation, which Bella did very cautiously indeed, poised with a wet wipe and going in for the final clean before Sophie could try to wriggle from her grasp again.
By this point, Sophie didn't seem to mind, watching almost with curiosity as Bella patted her with a little talcum powder before sliding a clean diaper under her.
Fastening the tabs, Bella felt rather proud as Sophie lay there, a sort of smile on her face, looking deeply content.
"Hey, look at that!" Bella cooed, and Sophie clapped her hands together in apparent response. Bella lifted up Sophie and pulled the mattress away, laying Sophie back down on a soft rug nearby. She tried to roll to one side and blew a raspberry at Bella when she stopped her.
"Oh no you don't," Bella teased, blowing a raspberry back. Sophie gurgled in something that sounded much like a laugh to Bella. Emboldened, she blew a tiny raspberry against Sophie's chest, and the gurgle-laugh increased in intensity.
"You like your Aunt Bella, huh?" Bella said, feeling impressed with the calm, competent way she handled such a task.
Putting Sophie back into the onesie, however, proved to be far more difficult task. To Bella's amazement, Sophie was quite able to crawl, and demonstrated this to Bella the moment she tried to get the onesie anywhere near her, scuttling across the room, Bella having to chase after her on her hands and knees.
"Get back here!" Bella said in a sing-song voice, Sophie slipping through her grip once again and making her way towards the play area.
A few false starts later, and Bella managed to get the wriggling, suddenly active Sophie on her lap and had managed to get one tiny mocha limb into the foot of the onesie. As she started on the other leg, Sophie grabbed the sleeve and put it into her mouth.
"Don't chew that," Bella said, hastily finding a soft toy for Sophie to play with. A knitted rabbit swiftly found its ears shoved in Sophie's mouth while Bella finished getting three-quarters of Sophie into her clothes.
"Other arm, sweetie," Bella said, gently taking Sophie's bare arm in her hand and prising it loose of the toy for a moment, slipping it into the last slightly damp sleeve before Sophie could register her displeasure.
"There we are, all nice and clean," Bella said softly. Sophie looked up at her and hit her on the nose with the toy rabbit, grinning all the while.
"Cheeky," Bella replied, taking the toy and waving it in Sophie's face, pulling it gently away as she reached for it, then bringing it back teasingly, before giving it back to her and letting her squeeze it in her hands, nestling her head against Bella's tummy.
Bella watched her, a contented smile spreading across her face as she held her, unable to stop herself from thinking about how amazing it would be if this were her and Jacob's child.
Unable to stop herself from thinking she really could do this.
It took just one messy dinner, where Bella couldn't recall if she had been vomited over or had puree thrown at her more; some bedtime bargaining with an astonishingly canny four year old who made Donald Trump look like a weak negotiator; a bath time which involved Bella getting bathed more than baby Sophie and Jacob clambering into the bath with Claire and holding her in position when she refused to let them shampoo her hair, for the gloss of parenthood to begin to dull for Bella.
"Okay, I get it." She sighed as she staggered into the bedroom clad in a fluffy bath robe, having gained a new appreciation for the precious minutes one gets alone in a shower.
"Get what, honey?" Jacob asked, sitting on the bed clad in only his boxers with his nose in a magazine that purported to contain the one hundred sexiest women on the planet.
"Babies. Kids. They're hard work," she said firmly, flopping onto the bed next to Jacob, her wet hair fanning behind her.
Jacob put down the magazine and looked at her with hope in his eyes. "Does that mean we get a few years to think about this?" he asked, stroking the belt of her robe.
"I'm not sure." Bella admitted. "We did alright with Claire and baby Sophie." She smiled. "Okay, Claire's a bit of a handful, but that has to be a sign of intelligence." Tilting her head to one side, she could see the frown lines etched on Jacob's forehead and stroked his hand comfortingly. "I just think we'd make a really good family together, babe."
Jacob raised his eyebrows. "I think we need more practise in the things we have to do to get a family. As soon as possible." He reached across Bella's bath robe and started to undo the belt. "Like right now…"
Bella smacked him as hard as she could with her pillow. "Cheeky," she muttered through her teeth, swatting him in the face.
"Sorry, Bells. I just can't resist." He managed to undo the belt fully before Bella swiftly straddled him, pinning his wrists to the bed.
"You're going to pay for that!" She giggled, her bath robe falling open as though on cue.
"Oh, really?" Jacob replied, deliberately looking her up and down. Bella smiled seductively, and ground her hips down against his loins.
"Really," she replied, teasing him with chaste kisses on his lips, face and neck, being rewarded by his ever-increasing erection pushing against her.
"Now, are you going to be a good boy and stay still if I let go?" she teased.
"Man, since when have I been a good boy around you, Bells?" Jacob murmured as she grazed his earlobe with her teeth.
"If you don't start tonight, then I won't be able to take this bathrobe off, will I?" Bella whispered.
"Okay, okay. I'll behave. Scout's Honour," Jacob replied hastily, lacing his fingers around the headboard as though to further prove his compliance.
Bella flashed him her most wicked smile as she took her hands away from his wrists and sat up straight, slowly exposing her left shoulder, then her right as she slid the robe off.
"Oh, Bella. You're so beautiful," he breathed as though seeing her for the first time. She tossed the robe to one side and began to crawl backwards, moving past his boxer shorts until she was resting her buttocks on his knees.
"Say it again," she demanded.
"You're beautiful," he replied eagerly. "I love you."
"And I'm all yours," she added, wrapping her fingers around the waistband of his boxers and tugging them down before climbing off his legs and kneeling to the side of him, allowing her to pull his boxer shorts clean away. She traced a feather-light touch along the arch of his foot, causing him to squirm.
"Aww, cut it out, Bells," he begged, giggling.
"You're not the only one who 'just can't resist', babe," she replied, straddling his legs once again before bending down over his crotch and placing a kiss to his thigh.
"Bells…"
"There's so much about you I can't resist, Jake," she breathed, taking his cock in her hand and slowly, deliberately running her tongue over the head. As she went deeper, slipping her lips further along, Jacob's hand flew to her hair, caressing from her head down to the nape of her neck.
"Jesus, Bella. That feels so—"
"I can't sleep; there's a monster under my bed!"
Claire was standing at the edge of their bed looking fraught and anxious, the door having fallen shut with a creak and a thud.
Bella had never disentangled herself from Jacob so quickly in all her life.
"A monster, honey?" Jacob stammered, while hastily covering his most intimate areas up with a pillow just as Bella flung the bath robe around her like a makeshift blanket.
"Yeah," Claire replied, her little voice sounding fretful as she twisted her foot against the carpet.
Bella surreptitiously tried to clothe herself in her bathrobe while Jacob knelt in front of Claire, one hand still holding the pillow in place, the other patting her on the head comfortingly.
"Tell you what, sweetheart, Uncle Jacob's just going to go and get his patented monster-bashing kit together, but it's going to take a little while." He looked up at Bella, now wearing her bathrobe as opposed to holding it against her, and she understood why. Jacob's patent monster bashing would have to wait until he could walk around in a pair of boxer shorts without looking like the Borrowers had pitched camp there. "But I know for a fact that Aunt Bella is really good at taming monsters. Especially those pesky one-eyed ones," he insisted, winking at Bella as she glared.
"This one has eight eyes, Aunt Bella. And eight legs," Claire insisted fearfully, tugging at Bella's robe.
"I can handle an eight-eyed, eight-legged monster, don't you worry," Bella said fiercely, which seemed to comfort Claire somewhat. "We'll go and find the creep and keep him busy until Uncle Jacob arrives, hmm?" she offered, taking Claire's hand and wondering how exactly one convincingly pretends to lure a spider out from under a little girl's bed.
Bella flicked the light on in Claire's scarily pink room, and a calming pink glow effused through the rose lampshade, highlighting the gauzy curtains on the handmade princess bed, carved and lacquered to look like a carriage. For a moment, Bella wondered if Jacob had constructed it.
"It's under there!" Claire whispered, clutching Bella's hand tightly as she pointed under the bed with her free hand.
"It's okay, sweetie. We'll keep him busy," Bella soothed, clambering down on her hand and knees and peering under the bed.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are," she sang, glancing between the boxes of art supplies and toys that were too young for Claire but still too old for Sophie.
"Don't! You'll make him come out!" Claire whined.
"Oh, he's more afraid of us that we are of-"
Without warning, the biggest spider Bella had ever seen scuttled towards her, long thick legs protruding from its bulbous body, beady eyes glinting under the soft light.
She screamed in shock and leapt to her feet.
"I told you!" Claire insisted, backing against the wall.
"Jake! Come quick! It's a spider, and it's massive!" Bella called out, taking a place next to Claire near the wall and eyeballing the spider as it stilled, scuttled, and stilled again at the sound of their voices.
Soon enough, Jacob ambled into the room, wearing his boxer shorts, a mop head as a hat and brandishing a wooden stick that used to be attached to said mop head.
"Never fear, ladies," he drawled. "Jacob Black, monster catcher extraordinaire is on the case!"
Claire frowned. "You look silly, Uncle Jacob."
"I find it best to humour him, Claire," Bella stage whispered, causing Claire to collapse into fits of giggles, although Bella assumed it was due to the shared camaraderie rather than Claire actually understanding the comment.
Jacob scoffed as he bent down to examine the floor. "You two won't be so quick to mock when I get rid of your monster… Shit, that thing's huge!" He jumped up and backed away, mop head falling to the floor, his expression one of revulsion.
"Just get rid of it!" Bella demanded.
"Why me?"
"Because you're the man!"
"Oh, so nearly one hundred years of female emancipation means nothing all of a sudden?" Jacob sighed at the look of cold fury on Bella's face as she stared pointedly at him.
"Fine, I'll get a bucket," he said resignedly, shuffling out of the room and pausing only to pick up the mop head and put it back on his head.
Ten minutes of chasing a spider so huge it could have escaped from Jim Henderson's Workshop, and Jacob had managed to part coax, part force the offending creature into a plastic bucket. Bella soothed Claire while he carried the bucket at arm's length outside, and on his return, they spent a good half an hour upturning all of Claire's furniture until she was satisfied he hadn't left a friend behind.
By the time Claire had fallen asleep and they had returned to their bedroom, Bella had remembered they had something far worse to worry about.
"Oh, God," she whispered, pacing frantically. "What do we do?"
"About what, honey?" Jacob asked, yawning as he did so, the mop still firmly atop his head.
"About Claire!" Bella hissed. "She saw me… and you… Oh, God!"
"Relax, honey," Jacob said, taking her hand and squeezing it comfortingly in both of his. "She was probably far too busy thinking about the monster." He shuddered. "I had no idea spiders that size even existed outside of fossils."
"Forget the spider!" Bella hissed. "She saw us naked! She saw…" Bella couldn't find the words, so instead pointed to her mouth and pointed to Jacob's crotch. He sniggered.
"It's not funny," Bella fumed.
"Look, if she asks about it, we'll tell her something," he said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "But there's no point making it a big deal for her if she doesn't, right?"
"What on earth is Kate going to think?"
"We'll tell her. I'm sure she won't freak."
Bella laughed humourlessly. "Yeah. Sure. No mother would freak if their four year old saw their babysitters enacting something out of a porn film!"
Jacob pulled Bella into his arms. "Honey, she gave us permission to be all snuggly in this bed. We'll worry about it if we need to, okay?" he soothed.
"Sure, sure," Bella replied, sitting in his lap and wrapping her arms around him.
"Anyway, where were we?" Jacob asked, tucking his hand under Bella's bathrobe and caressing her left breast.
"Oh, I forget." Bella sighed, her breath hitching as he grazed her nipple.
"I think somebody wanted to thank their big strong, spider-fighting hero of a boyfriend," he urged between the languid kisses he placed along her collar bone. "Possibly with their slippery little—"
"Jake!" Bella smacked his arm gently.
"Come on, honey. You know you want it."
"Not with that thing on your head, I don't."
"What, my monster bashing ensemble doesn't turn you on?" He pursed his bottom lip as though offended.
"Jacob, there is no way on Earth I will have sex with you dressed like that. Ever," she insisted, grabbing the mop head and throwing it to the floor.
"Kiss me, then, you spider-fearing sex bomb," he demanded, and Bella complied as best she could while giggling. Jacob grabbed her mid-kiss and twirled her onto the bed, untying the belt of her robe as he pressed against her. Bella slipped her hands along his shoulders, digging her short nails into his back.
Sophie's cries distracted them both.
"Aww, man. It's time for her night feed, right?" Jacob commented. Bella nodded and gently pushed at Jacob's chest. He rolled over and she got up from the bed.
"You want me to go, honey?" he offered.
Bella shook her head. "It's fine, babe. You handled the spider. I'll handle this."
Carefully, Bella crept to the kitchen and retrieved the milk bottle she had left out to warm, testing it on her elbow. Satisfied the mixture wasn't too hot or too cold, she snuck up to Sophie's room and opened the door, quickly shutting it to shield Claire from Sophie's cries.
"Hey there, sweetie," Bella crooned softly. "You hungry?"
Resting the bottle on the dresser, she picked Sophie up and gently rocked her, hoping the bawling baby would calm enough to be fed her bottle.
She sat down in the armchair and tried to offer Sophie the bottle, but baby Sophie was having none of it.
"Shush, darling," Bella soothed, rocking her back and forth, but Sophie continued to cry—for a solid half an hour, while showing no signs of stopping.
"Bella?" Jacob's voice was thick and deep as he poked his head around the door. "Is everything alright?"
"She won't settle," Bella said frantically. "I've tried to feed her, but she won't stop crying."
Jacob entered the room and shut the door behind him before closing the distance between them.
"Want me to try, honey?" he offered, and Bella handed the squealing Sophie to him.
"Hush, baby, hush," he said in a whispered sing-song voice, jigging Sophie up and down as he paced the room, Bella resting her head in her hands.
Another half an hour passed, and Sophie was still crying, red faced with the effort. Bella was starting to wonder where she got all that energy from.
Jacob held Sophie in both hands, at arm's length, apparently trying to stare her down.
"What's the matter, you freak baby?" he asked despairingly, still trying to jig her up and down.
"Maybe we should keep her still?" Bella offered. Jacob shrugged and handed her back to Bella, who held her close to her bosom, keeping as still as possible.
"I don't think it's making any difference, Bells," Jacob said wearily, sitting down on the rug next to the chair.
"Just give it a chance," Bella retorted.
Twenty-seven minutes seemed like chance enough, and Sophie was still bawling. Bella stared at her helplessly, feeling like an utter failure and the cruellest babysitter in history for not being able to comfort a small baby. Food, sleep, water, changing, cuddles; what else did babies actually want?
"Oh, God. Why won't she stop?" Bella asked, tears pricking her eyes.
"Oh, Bells." Jacob was on his feet almost instantaneously, wrapping his arms around them both. "It's okay, honey."
Unable to stop herself, Bella began to cry.
"Is this what you wanted?" she asked of Sophie. "My tears? Are they enough for you?"
Sophie continued to cry, only this time, she seemed even more anguished. If the Israelites' trumpets had brought down the walls of Jericho, Bella was fairly certain Sophie could have levelled half of Canaan.
Jacob swiftly took Sophie out of Bella's arms. "Get some sleep, honey," he said. "I'll see what I can do."
"We've tried everything!" Bella insisted, flopping her head against the back of the chair. "We've changed her, even though she didn't need it. We've tried to feed her, water her, cuddle her. I'm out of ideas! You?"
"Alright, Bella. Chill. I'm just as worried as you are," Jacob replied.
"Sorry, Jake."
"It's cool, Bells. We'll figure it out." He smiled weakly. "You got a tranquiliser gun? Valium? Chamomile tea?"
"Huh?"
"Good for PMS, so Rachel says," Jacob replied.
Suddenly, Bella had a brainwave. Excitedly, she jumped out of her chair, the settling fatigue temporarily washed away by her trepid euphoria.
"Bella?"
"I'll be back in a minute!" she promised and dashed out of the room to their bedroom, where she grabbed her overnight bag and emptied the contents onto the double bed, picking out the items she needed and carrying them back to the nursery.
Sophie was still crying, Jacob holding her and half-heartedly rocking her as he sat on the nursery chair. He raised his eyebrows in surprise as Bella placed a few small bottles on the floor.
"Aromatherapy?" He smirked. "For us or the Baby Banshee here?"
"For Sophie," Bella replied, gesturing towards the rug. "I mean, just with olive oil. I'm not going to try all the scented oils, I don't think that's good for babies. Could you lay her down here?"
Jacob grabbed one of the soft towels and put it on the rug before laying Sophie's bawling, pink, squirming body onto it.
"Hey, you're in for a treat, baby," he soothed as he undid Sophie's onesie. "Aunt Bella's going to give you a massage. Uncle Jacob can tell you from experience that Aunt Bella's really, really good at it."
"Jake!"
"What? She's a baby. She won't know," he insisted. Bella rolled her eyes and dropped a small amount of lavender oil onto a handkerchief and laid it next to the crying Sophie in the hope the scent might induce sleep. Then she mixed a tiny amount of olive oil between her hands and began to massage Sophie with gentle circular movements across her chest and stomach, sweeping across her shoulders and down her arms and legs.
To Bella's relief and amazement, Sophie's crying began to slow, and soon she was watching Bella with curiosity as she continued her massage.
"Wow, you're like the Baby Whisperer or something," Jacob said, awestruck, as Bella carefully rolled Sophie onto her back and continued to carefully stroke upwards.
The door opened, and a bleary-eyed, tear stricken Claire toddled into the room.
"I couldn't find you. Why aren't you in bed?" she yawned.
"I could say the same to you, missy," Jacob said.
"I couldn't sleep," Claire moaned. "I had a nightmare and then Sophie was crying." She sat herself on the floor as though overwhelmed by the whole night time experience.
"Poor thing," Jacob said soothingly, gesturing for Claire to join him for a cuddle. She did so without question and nuzzled her head against his chest.
"It was horrible," she whimpered. "The big spider was chasing me, and it tried to eat me, but it ate Sophie first, and then it chopped Aunt Bella's leg off with its claw." She began to cry again.
"Shh," Jacob soothed, rocking her in his arms. "It was just a bad dream. The nasty old spider isn't eating anyone, okay? He's gone out to the woods to find his friends."
Claire sat up straight and stared at him, fear in her eyes.
"He's going to bring them here!" she exclaimed. Sophie stilled at the noise, and Bella held her breath in fear. Sophie hiccupped and didn't cry. The sheer relief threatened to bring tears to Bella's eyes.
"Shh," Jacob said, lowering his voice. "We don't want Sophie to cry again." He stroked Claire's hair. "The spider's not coming back. He's telling all of his friends to stay away, because we're scary. Why do you think I wore the mop?"
Claire shrugged.
Jacob grinned. "Because spiders totally freak out at mop heads. True story," he said, and Claire seemed mollified by this.
"What's Aunt Bella doing?" she asked, watching Bella's fluid movements as she caressed Sophie into relaxation.
"She's giving her a massage," Jacob replied.
"What's that?"
"She rubs her in a special way, and it helps her sleep," Jacob replied, and Bella fought the urge to laugh when she saw him grimace a moment later, presumably as the unintentional innuendo hit him.
"Can I have one? It's not fair; I can't sleep either," Claire asked, with all the intense jealousy of a sibling being denied what another was receiving. "Please?"
Jacob sighed. "Okay, when Bella's finished," he said as Bella wrapped Sophie in the warm towel and cuddled her.
"Can't you do it, Uncle Jacob?" she asked innocently, and Bella noticed he appeared somewhat taken aback.
"Umm, I guess, yeah," he replied uncertainly.
"Do I need to take my nightie off?"
"Well, it generally—" Jacob didn't have time to finish his sentence before Claire had disrobed.
Bella watched Jacob grab the bottle of oil while she managed to feed Sophie, who happily took to her bottle. He slathered some of the mixture over his hands.
"Lie down on your tummy, Claire," he instructed gently, and Claire happily complied, giggling as he put his fingers on her shoulders.
"It tickles!" she exclaimed.
"Well, tickling won't help you sleep, will it? Try thinking of happy things. Sleepy things," Jacob suggested as he slid his fingers across her shoulders and up her back, gentle, sweeping motions that soon had Claire yawning and flopping her head forward.
After a brief winding and a gentle cradle later, Sophie was fast asleep, and Bella felt remarkably proud of herself.
"She's asleep," Bella whispered, in case any louder sound would set her off again.
"Yeah, I think Claire's gone, too," he said, slipping her nightgown over her as best he could without disturbing her slumbering form.
"I'll put this one to bed," Bella whispered, pushing open the nursery door.
"I'll take Claire," Jacob replied, scooping up the girl in his strong arms. "Boy, am I going to have some explaining to do to her mom," he said with a heavy sigh. "Like why I've been oiling up her first-born."
Bella glanced at the clock on the nearby chest of drawers and saw it was almost time to get up.
For the first time in four months, Bella entertained the notion that maybe now wasn't a good time for her and Jacob to be trying for a baby.