Sorry this chapter is so late. I meant to get it up at 3:00. If all goes well, there should be two more today but I might get lazy again.

Disclaimer: Mila's ours, you can't have her. Everything else is Stephenie's and you can't have that either.

Miracle

The roads were dangerous by the time Charlie finished his barrage of questions, some of them expected, some of them pointless, and some of them rhetoric. They had sat across from him on the couch, as he scraped the cream cheese icing from his plate. The topic of conversation had drifted away from Jacob and the impending arrival for awhile, going to small talk about how Edward's family was.

"How's Alice, by the way?" he asked, putting the plate down and leaning back. "I haven't seen her in awhile. What's she been up to?"

"Nothing more than usual," Bella told him. "And you should see her tonight. She dropped us off earlier and said she'd pick us up when she was coming back from shopping."

It was a lie, it's true, but it suited Charlie just fine. "She went shopping tonight? Did she know how much snow we're supposed to get tonight?"

Edward smiled, "Oh, she knew. But that wasn't going to stop her. She had her mind set on getting something and no one could have stopped her. Esme tried."

"Why don't you kids stay here tonight?"

"Dad, I didn't leave anything but junk up in my room," she protested. "If we don't leave tonight, I don't know when we'll ever get out. If what they say is true, wherever we are at about midnight is where we'll be staying and I'd rather be home, in a bed with sheets, where I actually have clothes."

"Valid point, Bells," he sighed. "I just miss you. You should come by more often."

"You just miss my food," she laughed.

"I miss you. The food's part of the package."

Edward stood, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. "I think I'm gonna go ahead and call Alice. The ice is coming down hard out there. If she's not close by, we probably should stay here."

Charlie nodded. "The voice of reason."

He sat back down. "She called and we didn't hear it. She said she'd be here in five minutes."

"I think we can wait that long," Bella said. "So, Dad, if Billy says anything to you about Jacob, let me know, okay?"

"I sure will," he nodded. "I can't believe he went all the way to Mexico because of you, Bells."

Edward laughed at the dumfounded look on her face. "I'm sure it had nothing to do with me. Maybe he always wanted to go to Mexico and the opportunity arose so he grabbed it. I really doubt it was my fault."

"You're probably right."

There was a knock on the door and Charlie rose to get it. Edward passed her coat to her before pulling on his own. They heard a high, familiar voice, "Hi, Charlie! It's cold out here."

"Like she can feel it," Bella mumbled. He took her hand and they went to greet their ride.

"Do you want to come in and get warm before you go back out?"

She shook to flecks of snow out of her raven hair. "No, thanks. We need to get going. If we wait any more, the roads are just gonna get worse. I slipped once on the way back."

"Be careful, you all," he sounded almost like he was about to forbid them from going but Alice turned her radiant smile on him and he melted, just like always. She helped each of them into the backseat before she climbed in. Her tires didn't deviate so much as a millimeter the whole ride home.

Esme had two mugs of apple cider in her hands when she greeted them at the door. Bella took hers and went upstairs, with a soft goodnight. One mug of cider, a pre-natal vitamin – which was Alice's shopping goal all along – and thirty minutes in the shower later, she was seated in front of Edward's laptop reading through five emails Renée had sent her regarding the baby. Her hair dripped droplets of water onto the mattress around her.

The door opened and Edward walked in, his bronze hair darkened from a shower too. He climbed up next to her on the bed and collapsed onto the pillows, eyes closed. She deleted the first four emails her mother had sent her and then glanced over at him, "Hot water feels great doesn't it."

"It does." His voice was muffled. He raised his head, "Oh, I almost forgot. Seth just called. He said he wanted to tell us before he forgot. Emily is having a picnic for the pack once the weather is nice enough to go outside. She wanted to know if you'd help cook."

"Of course I'll help," Bella nodded. "It's nice to know they haven't forgotten us."

She closed out of what she was doing and went to turn the laptop off. The battery needed to be charged anyway. "Edward, what do you want for your birthday? I know we've got a long way to go but still. I've never gotten you anything for your birthday before."

"You don't have to get me anything," he shook his head. "Not because I'm weird about it like you are, but because I truly don't need anything. And where did this fascination with my birthday come from?"

"Well," she said. "You're actually getting older this time around. Eighteen."

"It's really not fair. I've been around about ninety years longer than you have and you still ended up older than me."

"It's not something I wanted, I can promise you that." She reached over to put the laptop onto the floor where she wouldn't step on it the next morning. She flipped off the light and climbed under the sheets. "I think I'm going to bed."

"Me, too," he agreed and did the same. He pulled her back to his chest. She felt his lips at the top of her head. "Goodnight, love."

"'Night, Edward."

"Goodnight, little nameless person."

"Goodnight, Edward," she sighed. He laughed and pulled her closer, humming in her ear until they both fell asleep.

Bella parked the silver Volvo just in front of the small house. Her truck had finally left the world for a better place, and she still mourned the loss, which was why she had threatened to wreck Alice's porsche should any vehicle appear in the driveway for her. She climbed out, slipping the keys into her jeans pocket. She'd agreed to come only for the cooking aspect. She had a doctor's appointment later that afternoon; Carlisle was concerned about her blood pressure and the effect that it could have on the baby. Embry ushered her before she could knock on the door.

"Welcome, Bella," he greeted. "Nice to see you again."

He did a double take, eyes widening at her stomach, stretched tight against the shirt she wore. She rolled her eyes and then swept them across the kitchen at the organized chaos unfolding around them. Emily was mixing sugar into a pitcher of fresh sqeezed lemonade. There were trays and containers of every food imaginable, filling up the space on the kitchen table. "Embry, weren't you about to go outside and help Sam round everyone up?"

He nodded, took one more to stare at Bella's abdomen and then bounded out the front door. Emily's smile was soft, but warm. "Bella, you look wonderful. Seth didn't tell us you were having a baby."

"Seth doesn't know," she shrugged her shoulders. "Edward seems to have my phone more than I do. I haven't talked to Seth in a long time. What can I do?"

"Well nothing too much," she shook her head. "We've got pasta boiling for pasta salad. They're almost done. Do you want to mix it all together for me?"

"Sure," she took the various seasonings and mayonnaise that was passed down the counter. A woman by the stove drained the steaming water from the pot and put the noodles into a bowl. Bella looked at her. She had blended in very well. "I'm sorry. Who's this?"

Emily snapped her head up, surprised. The new woman must be very quiet for her presence to have been forgotten. "Oh, Bella, I'm sorry. Um, this is Mila. Mila Carmichael."

She turned, a small smile on her face. Her skin was a lighter shade than Emily's, like she'd seen her share of days in direct sunlight. Her eyes were hazel, not straight brown, and were kind, timid. Her features, although beautiful, were simple and unembellished. Not a trace of makeup accentuated her eyes or cheekbones; the face that looked out from the thick, coffee colored waves was all natural. It was nothing like what Bella had imagined Milagra Carmichael to look like.

"Pleased to meet you." Her accent wasn't as thick as some she'd heard, but it was noticeable. Her English was perfect.

"Same here," she was quick to say. "So, if you're here then so is - "

The front door opened. "There you are, Mila," the familiar voice paused, "and Bella."

"Hi Jake," there was an edge to her voice. Emily slid the mayonnaise back down the counter and took the bowl of drained pasta from Milagra. She spooned it in, stirring. Every moment or so, she glanced up, eyes sweeping over the three other occupants of the room.

He walked around her to take a bottle of water out of the fridge. She didn't miss that he slipped his arm around her waist as soon as he was by her side. "So what've you been up to?"

"You know, that's a question that I could ask you, too."

He motioned with his hand, "You've met Mila, haven't you?" He held the water bottle out to her, she shook her head with a smile. She slipped from his arm with a murmur of "no, gracias", and took a tin of muffins out of the oven.

"I have met Mila," she nodded and looked to the girl. She couldn't be any older than seventeen. "I'm Bella, by the way."

"I've been in Mexico with her, you knew that," he sat down. "And you've been up here with Edward, living the married life."

Emily picked up a tray of sandwiches and grabbed a basket full of napkins, plates, utensils, and a container of cookies. She went to the door and left them with her parting words, "You two should be nice."

She dropped her head, thinking. This wasn't how she'd imagined finding out the Jacob was back and meeting the girl he'd met in Mexico. No doubt Seth had known when he'd called that Jacob would be back by now and had pulled her out here for that purpose, and not because Emily needed help with the cooking. It was almost finished by the time she'd gotten there. It wasn't that she was angry that he'd imprinted on Milagra, or that she didn't like her. It was just that one little sliver of her heart that was traitorous, rebellious. She looked up again and smiled. That part of her wasn't going to be taking advantage of anyone today.

"I guess you don't know the big news," she smiled. Milagra walked around the counter with a plastic bowl of muffins and the pitcher of lemonade that Emily'd been making.

"She is having a baby," she announced. "Isn't that exciting? When is it due?"

"The beginning of October," Bella answered. She watched Jacob out of the corner of her eye. He was frozen for a moment, eyes giving away his shock, but then he relaxed and a boyish grin came over his face. Milagra looked between the two of them and nodded, "I'm going to take this to Emily. You two should talk."

They were alone in the room the next instant. He looked down at his hands. "She knows everything. I told her before I even asked if she'd consider leaving Mexico. I think she's okay with it."

"She wouldn't have left if she wasn't."

"No probably not," he sighed. He hesitated and then the words spilled out, "I didn't go to Mexico to find her. I swear I didn't."

"But you did find her," she pointed out. "And I'm glad you did. I like her."

"Already?"

"I think it's the accent." Bella took a breath. "I am sorry for the way I left things. But I think it turned out okay. You have Mila, I have Edward. We both did okay, I think. And, I mean, just because I'm married and you imprinted, it doesn't mean that we can't be friends. That you can't still annoy the hell out of me all the time."

He was silent a moment and then he looked up, grinning again. "Can I spoil the kid?"

She laughed, "I know everyone's gonna do it but you're the first one to ask."

He laughed. After a few moments of just enjoying the other's presence again, he sighed, "You know, the worst part about leaving was Billy. He was so lonely. He had visitors everyday. I didn't think about it when I left, I just did."

"I'm sure he understands." An idea popped into her head. "I know what you should do. You should get Billy a dog. That way, whenever you have to leave, he'll still have someone to keep him company."

He looked at her like she'd gone mad, and she probably had by that point. "Are you crazy?"

"No," she shook her head. "I'm serious, Jake, you should get a dog."

"But Mila - "

"Mila looks like the type of person who would love a dog."

"Bells, I am a dog," he stopped, closing his eyes. She did her best to stifle the laugh. "It wasn't supposed to sound like that."

"It's true, though," she said. "I missed you, Jake."

He nodded, "I missed you too. It's good to be home."

I really am planning on giving Jake a dog. Any suggestions on names for said dog? The next chapter is halfway finished so it shouldn't be too long before it's up too. Hope you're enjoying the story so far.

Quote from "Eighteen"

"Yeah, I think I'd take the newborn right now."