Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. I also do not own the song which this chapter is named after. It belongs to David Gray and while it isn't mandatory that you listen to it to understand the chapter I do recommend that you listen to it because it's awesome, it is one of my favorite songs.

AN: I've come to realize that I am very picky about how I write love scenes. If it isn't perfect than I will start all over again. So this chapter took me a little longer than I would like and I also had some health issues that kept me from writing as much as I would like.

Warning: In case you didn't happen to read the AN I want to warn you that this chapter contains lemon.

Quil wasn't the type of person who liked celebrating his birthday. To him, it was just another day. He didn't want presents or a birthday cake, he just wanted to spend the day with his family and friends. He usually had dinner with his mom and Billy, Jacob and Embry would come over. Last year he hadn't wanted to even do that.

This year Bella and the kids would be there for the first time. Jacob usually went on his own because Bella hadn't wanted to infringe on Quil's birthday. Mae invited them over the night before Quil's birthday so that Quil could spend his actual birthday with Bella and the kids like he wanted.

Bella and Mae had worked together on Quil's dinner and it was the first time since Quil had imprinted on her that Mae had spent time with the kids. Alexander and Kyla took to Mae almost immediately while Summer had cried when Mae had tried to take her from Josh.

Matt and Summer played outside under the watchful eye of their older brother while everyone else cooked or stayed out of the way. Quil would be late getting their because he was staying in town until John finished basketball practice so that they could ride together.

Alexander was content sitting at the table. He made a birthday card for Quil while he waited for Billy and Embry to show up. Kyla had been helping her mom in the kitchen for a few years and was happy to help out when needed.

"I really am sorry about what happened with Summer. She doesn't do well with people she she doesn't see very often. Matt's going to take a while to open up to you too I'm afraid. They get it from me, I was very introverted and self reliant when I was younger," Bella explained.

"There's no need to apologize, I don't blame you at all. I think that it's good that they don't react well to strangers. There's less chance of them getting into trouble that way."

"You're right."

"This one on the other hand, I might have to have stay the night every once in a while," Mae said, running her fingers through Alexanders hair and he gave her a toothy grin in reply.

"What am I, chopped liver?" Bella asked with a fake scoff.

"No my dear girl, you are the icing on the cake. I never had a daughter, now I get to. Thank you for that," she said with a small smile.

"What should we call you?" Kyla asked.

"You can call me Mae."

"What if my mom and Quil get married?"

"What do you call Renee?"

"Gran."

"Memaw," Alexander chimed in.

"That will work," Mae agreed.

Kyla agreed with a nod and Bella smiled, watching the scene unfold. When Quil had imprinted on her it had not only changed their lives but the lives of her children and his mom. She didn't know if she would be able to have more children, she had thought about having a hysterectomy after Summer but Jacob had talked her out of it, so maybe that was his way of telling that her child bearing days weren't over.

Billy and Embry came in and Bella brought them something to drink and then Embry left the room to give them some privacy. She explained what had happened in the kitchen and Billy asked her if she could picture having more children.

"I don't know. If I hadn't known that Jake was going to die and I hadn't let him talk me out of having surgery so that I couldn't get pregnant again I would have said six was plenty. Now I don't want to deny Quil's right to have children of his own," she said with a shrug.

"Maybe one more would hurt."

"Just one," she said with a light laugh.

Embry come through the front door with his arms full of groceries that Quil had picked up for his mom. Alexander greeted Quil excitedly, showing him the card that he had made for him before he could take off his jacket. John came in to greet Billy and hug his mom before going outside.

"Bry!" Summer called through the kitchen window.

"Hey Munchkin," Embry greeted her from the counter.

Quil came into the living room and sat on the couch next to Bella and she took one of his hands in hers. He leaned his head against the back of the couch with his eyes closed giving her a lazy smile. He still wore his work clothes but Bella didn't mind. She loved the smell of wood chips and pine that seemed to cling to Quil even after he had showered and changed his clothes.

"I'm gonna go out back and help the boys with the grill. You two don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Which means we can do whatever we want other than knock off a liquor store," Bella teased.

"Ha," he answered dryly.

Embry could be heard helping Billy out the back door and down the stairs and then the door shut quietly behind them leaving Bella and Quil alone in the house. She turned her head to look at him to see him watching her.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Come here," he said pulling her into his lap.

He threaded his fingers into her hair once she had lay her head on his shoulder. They had spent hours like this, so close that there was no space between them. This was his favorite way to spend time with her; when everything was quiet and it was just the two of them.

Before he had joined the pack he had never had a serious girlfriend and had a different outlook on life. Joining the pack and imprinting on Claire so soon afterwards had changed him, made him a little jaded and cynical. He wasn't as trusting or carefree as he'd been as a teenager.

Bella brought him back to a time when he didn't have any responsibilities and so many rules and nothing was restricting his freedom. Her kids had always looked up to him and taken to him moving in fairly well. Things were better now that neither of them were held back by ghosts from their pasts.

He looked down at her, taking her in like he had done so many times before. He was in awe that she was his and that she had always accepted him for who he was; quirks, idiosyncracies and all. She was one of those kinds of people who embraced her flaws and the flaws of others and didn't try to change them.

At some point, Bella had turned her attention to him without him realizing it. She placed a hand on his cheek, slowly moving to the back of his neck to thread her fingers into his hair. She stroked the back of his neck lightly wondering what he was thinking. He didn't seem upset but he did have a far away look in his eyes like he was thinking of something important.

She rested her head on his shoulder, her face buried in his neck. He had flecks of saw dust in his hair and she smiled before brushing them away. She hadn't understood at the time why he had turned Jacob down when he had offered him a job at his body shop. Looking back now she understood why; Quil hadn't wanted to work for Jacob because that would have been taking the easy way out. He had worked for his mom up until he graduated from high school. He wanted to prove to everyone that he could make it on his own, that he didn't need a hand out. He needed someone to believe in him and support his decision to not always rely on others. Someone like Bella.

If Quil were honest he had been jealous of what Jacob had with Bella long after the talk he and Jacob had had on Jacob's wedding day. He had a preconceived notion that that would be how things would be for him and Claire and when it hadn't worked out that way he had become emotionally closed off and refused to let anyone except for Claire get close to him. It was no wonder his mom had felt the need to step in; he hadn't even been trying. He had hardly put any effort into the relationship. He was surprised that Claire hadn't left sooner now that he was looking back on it.

"Quil?" Bella asked to break the silence.

His eyes focused on her and the far away look vanished immediately.

"Where were you just then?"

"Just thinking that if things were different we wouldn't be here right now," he murmured.

"Different how?"

"If I had tried harder to make things work with Claire...If Jake hadn't stopped phasing..You and I wouldn't be together."

"Do you regret what happened?" she asked, concern showing in her eyes.

"No. If I had phased first I would have imprinted on you and the kids wouldn't exist. I was just thinking how different things would be, that's all."

"I wouldn't change anything. The mistakes that I made when I was younger before Jake have made me the person I am today. If I hadn't met Edward none of this would have happened. It's made me stronger and I'm able to face starting a new relationship even though I could be a grandmother in a couple of years because of that strength. Starting over is scary because you don't want to make the mistakes that you made before. You want to learn from them," she explained.

Quil nodded in agreement, she had put exactly what he had been thinking into words so easily. He wasn't ashamed of the choices that he made but he did sometimes wonder if maybe he had chosen differently what the outcome might have been.

He leaned in, capturing her lips in a gentle kiss. Her free hand rested on his chest as she let him take over. He pulled her bottom lip between his teeth, nibbling gently because he knew that it drove her crazy. Some things about starting a new relationship were awkward, learning what the other person liked and disliked was not one of them. Her positive response to his touch only made him want more.

Bella opened her mouth to allow him entrance and he wasted no time claiming her as his. She moaned lightly, her fingers in his hair massaging his scalp gently. His arms wrapped around her waist and his hands rested at the small of her back to keep her close. Her tongue caressed his as things slowed down.

"Mom?" Kyla called from the backyard.

Bella pulled away making Quil whimper from the lack of contact.

"Yeah?"

"Poppa says that dinner is almost ready. Can you bring out the plates and silverware?"

"I'll be right there," she said before sighing.

"One more," Quil said as she started to pull away.

"No funny business," she warned.

"Yes ma'am."

He brushed his lips to hers, keeping them there for only a few seconds before pulling away. Bella ran her fingers through his hair one last time before climbing off his lap. She heard him go out the back door as she pulled paper plates down from the cabinet. She grabbed the box of plastic cutlery from the pantry before making her way outside.

Dinner was filled with laughter and stories about Quil that each person shared. This was something that his mom had started when he was younger and had kept the tradition going. Each of the kids shared a story about Quil except for Summer who just said that she loved him. Bella had so many memories of Quil but the one that stood out the most was the first time that they met.

"Your turn Mom," Matt said once Embry had finished.

"The first time I met Quil I was in your granddad's garage. Your dad barely had time to introduce us before Quil came onto me. He and your dad ended up wrestling to see who got a chance with me first," she said with a chuckle and a shake of her head.

"I had forgotten that," Embry said with a smile.

Quil smiled, thinking of the memory himself, Jacob may have loved Bella first, but he was grateful to be able to share his life with her now.

XXXX

Quil had plans for how he wanted to celebrate his birthday and then Billy had come up with a better idea. Quil had wanted to spend the day at home with Bella and the kids but when Billy had offered to let the kids stay with him for the weekend Quil had not been able to turn the offer down. The idea of it just being him and Bella was genius; he just wished that he had thought of it.

They had spent the remaining hours leading up to his birthday watching his favorite movie while they snuggled on the couch.

"I don't understand. What's with the coconuts?"

"It makes the same noise as hoof beats," he explained.

"And the 'It's just a flesh wound' thing wasn't that funny."

"I can see why you wouldn't find that funny Miss Accident Prone," he joked, his fingers digging into her side.

"No!" she said, trying to push his hands away to no avail.

The movie was forgotten as he pinned her to the couch with her hands between them. She laughed as she tried in vain to get away from him. Before she knew it things had gotten out of hand and she accidently kneed him in the groin. He fell off the couch with a groan and lay in the fetal position on the floor, writhing in pain.

"Shit! I am so sorry," she said sitting up.

"Gotcha," he said rolling over to look at her with a grin.

"You asshole!" she said, throwing a pillow at him.

"It only hurt for a couple of seconds. Rapid healing, remember?"

She rolled her eyes, pushing her hair out of her face. How could she have forgotten that? She held out a hand to help him up off the floor and he pulled her off the couch before turning off the TV. He led them upstairs, turning out lights and locking up along the way.

In the bedroom Bella stripped down to her bra and panties in front of him. That was something new for her, usually she changed in the bathroom. With the kids gone for the night anything could happen. Her eyes met his to find him giving her a lustful, smoldering look.

She would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous. Jacob had been her only partner and even though they had been together for over sixteen years she felt inadequate in the sex department. She knew that Quil didn't have much experience either but he had more than she did.

"C'mere," he said, holding out a hand to her.

She was glad that she was wearing her best bra, even if they didn't match her underwear. She walked across the room slowly trying to drawn out the voice in her head that was trying to tell her that things were happening too quickly.

Quil pulled her to him, holding her loosely, just in case she tried to get away. She placed her hands on his shoulders, unsure how this would play out. She wasn't the type to make the first move and neither was he. His fingers traveled up her stomach to her breasts, his fingers skimming over them, moving to the strap of her bra.

"Ya know, I think this is the best birthday present I've ever gotten," he stated in wonder.

"It's not your birthday yet," she said shyly.

"Look at the clock Bells," he said, gesturing with his eyes to the alarm clock on her nightstand.

It was after midnight.

"Well, since it's your birthday I guess you can open your present," she said with a coy smile.

He reached behind her to unfasten her bra and she let the straps fall down her arms. His thumbs brushed over her nipples, his nails raking over them gently.

"You really want to do this? It's not too late to back out," he reasoned.

"If I didn't want to I would have stopped you already."

He cupped her neck before leaning in to capture her lips in a soothing kiss. It was leisurely, he took his time, he made her want more. Her bare chest was pressed against his and he could feel her heartbeat steady and even. He picked her up with one arm and she wrapped her legs around his waist, not breaking the kiss.

He carried her to the bed, sitting down first and then situating her in his lap. He broke the kiss to stare at her in bewilderment. He took in her breast, not as small as they had been when they were teenagers but for a woman who had nursed six children they weren't overly large and they didn't sag.

Her stomach wasn't toned but was flat and that was realistic for a woman who worked full time and took care of her children and didn't have time to work out. Bella took a moment to give him a once over, it wasn't like she hadn't seen him without a shirt or in just his boxers before but in a few minutes she would see more of him than anyone outside of the pack and a handful of women had seen.

She could feel his erection against her thigh already and it was growing longer and harder with each stroke of her fingers over his skin. She stood long enough to push her underwear down and to get him to lean up so that she could pull his boxers down.

"Hey, you can't undress yourself. That defeats the purpose of being my present," he argued.

"Sorry, I was getting impatient," she said with a shrug.

He lay back and she climbed on top of him, reaching into his nightstand and felt around until she found what she was looking for. Before sliding the condom down his length she took in it's size. It was above average but it was a couple of inches shorter than Jacob's had been but it was bigger around.

Once the condom was on she positioned him at her entrance before sliding down. She was glad that he had listened when she had suggested that he buy a box of condoms, not knowing when they would be used but to have them when they needed them. She didn't feel the need to go on birth control so they would need to be a lot more careful than she and Jacob had been in their early years.

It took a few thrusts for them to find a rhythm that they were both comfortable with. Quil rolled them over and he rested his weight on his arms as he hovered over her. He hadn't expected things to go this far, he would have been happy just fooling around. The feeling of being inside her was one that he would never forget.

Bella reached up to wrap her arms around his neck to pull him closer. He resisted at first but she was finally able to pull him down. She brushed her lips over his forehead making her way down to the bridge of his nose, his jaw and finally the corner of his mouth.

He smiled, not knowing what else to do or what to say. Not many people left him at a loss for words, no one except for her actually.

Bella placed a hand to his cheek tenderly, hoping to convey how she was feeling. All the awkwardness and nerves she had before were gone to be replaced with a feeling of contentment. She wanted to make their first time special, not hurried or something he would forget. He hadn't had this with Claire, she had overheard him tell Jacob once that Claire was very singleminded and usually made him stop once she finished, even if he hadn't.

Quil rolled them over and she spread her legs wider so that she was straddling him. He entered her smoothly and placed her hands on his stomach for leverage. He sank farther and on the next rotation of her hips he was inside to the hilt.

Sex with Quil was completely different than with Jacob, she didn't want to compare the two but that was where her mind wandered. Jacob had been intense and made sure to keep her in the moment because he said that it was the one time that she wasn't allowed to think. Quil was content with silence and the sweetness and endearing aspect of the action.

She leaned down to kiss him, letting her hair fall in a curtain around them. Quil cupped her neck to keep her close, feeling her hair brush his cheek and shoulder. She pulled away from the kiss but kept her forehead to his and he sat up, holding her close.

Bella wrapped her legs around his waist and continued her rocking motion from before. She could feel a familiar warmth in her stomach move down to her center letting her know that she was close. Stars formed behind her eyes and her body felt boneless a minute later as her orgasm worked its course. She panted into Quil's neck, continuing to rock against him once she came down from her orgasm.

"Bells?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Hmm," she asked, her voice vibrating in his ear.

"I can finish in the shower if you want," he offered.

She pulled away from him slowly to meet his unsure eyes.

"Lay back," she said, leaving no room for argument.

He did as she asked and she climbed off of him. She pulled the condom off of his still fully erect penis and threw it over the side of the bed before kneeling in front of him. A groan rose from deep in his chest when her tongue made its first swipe around the head and he quickly pushed her hair over her shoulder so that he could watch her in the pale moonlight.

Bella worked him into her mouth slowly, taking in more with every slide down. She was able to fit him completely in her mouth on her fourth try and her hands went to his balls to fondle them. She had become an expect at giving head over the years under Jacob's guidance and suggestions and apparently Quil approved.

"Damn," he said, his voice raspy and deeper than she had ever heard it.

She smiled around his erection and sped up her pace. His hands fisted in her hair and he lifted his hips off the bed to meet her mouth. His breathing was labored and she knew that he was close. She wrapped a hand around the base of his penis and twisted it gently up his erection as she pulled away and back down with her tongue following in its wake.

"Jesus Christ," Quil groaned before tensing.

His seed spilled into Bella's mouth just as she let his softening penis fall out. His breathing was erratic and his chest heaved as he reached blindly to pull Bella back up to his level.

She slid her body up his slowly, letting her breast graze his skin before settling on top of him. His wide eyes fixed on hers and she smiled proudly.

"I'm going to want one of those for my birthday for the rest of my life," he said, his voice haggard.

"It's a deal," she said still smiling.

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her as tightly as she would let him. She felt his heartbeat even out and soon so did his breathing. She kissed his jaw before resting her head on his chest, his heart thumping against her ear. She couldn't think of a better way to start off his birthday.