AN: Twilight still belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I do however own a copy of Eclipse with Spanish subtitles. It's a long story…

I apologize for taking so long to get this chapter out. I don't know why, but with the holidays and the content of this chapter, I had a difficult time writing it. I hope this chapter is worth the wait.

Gigantic thank you to Ninadoll! She was incredibly patient with me as I attempted several different drafts of this chapter, not to mention, providing much needed inspiration in the form of Embry and Petra. She is an awesome beta and friend. Please, please check out her stories, including How the Mighty Fall. She is extremely talented and I can promise you won't be disappointed.

Also, thank you to my friend, shojioxlow, who helped me deal with my family over the holidays and for keeping me from going insane!

And…congratulations to SpunkiiReader who told me in her last review that she welcomed her own little bundle of joy in October! I hope your little one is healthy and well.

My blog address has changed but the content is the same. You may find it at liljenrocksfanfiction (dot) blogspot (dot) com. Thank you!

CHAPTER 14: SPRING DAYS

AVA'S POV

Spring Break…I'm pretty sure two sweeter words have never been spoken. I love my school, don't get me wrong, I just feel like I'm so physically exhausted, I don't know what to do with myself. Not to mention that Scar would be out of school too, meaning we would get to spend lots of time together. Just the two of us, doing the things we liked to do when it was just the two of us. Or at least, that's the way it was originally supposed to be. Scar and I had made a mini-itinerary of our plans for the week. He would have to work three of the days and patrol four of those nights, but that was okay. We would make the most of the rest of them, including long days in bed, snuggling, cuddling, canoodling, or all of the above. However great the plan was, things, as usual, didn't quite work out. The precursor to this came in the form of a phone call the Friday before Spring Break was to start. I would love to blame it all on Abby but I can't. I know it's not easy for her, taking care of the two of us, even if I do live a couple of hours away, as well as one and a half other children, and being on bedrest. So as much as I want to throw a fit and tell her I had better things to do, I couldn't.

"I'm sorry, Ava, I know it's short notice and I know you probably have a list of other things to do, but I was wondering, you know, Ashley, she's been cooped up in the house for so long," Abby was babbling as she talked and I knew that wasn't a good sign. "And her birthday is coming up, so I wondered if she might, if you would, if she could—" I almost wanted to giggle at her, knowing she was probably sweating like a sinner in church on the other end of the line. "Would it be okay if Ashley came there for Spring Break? She doesn't have to stay the whole week, just a few days, and Seth would bring her. Just for a few days."
I smiled on the other end. How could I possibly be mad at that? "That would be great, Abbs. When would Seth bring her?" So much for long days in bed…

While my plans may have been changed, they weren't ruined, that's for sure. It had been awhile since I'd spent much time with just Ashley and me, or rather just Ashley and Scar and me. So this was going to be a new and fun adventure.

"What time is Seth supposed to be here?" Scar asked. He had the job of making sure all of his stuff that had become part of my room, made it back to his room, just for this week. I wasn't entirely sure how I was going to make it without him next to me every night when I fell asleep or every morning when I opened my eyes. We hadn't been apart for quite awhile and I guess this would just be one of the many challenges we would face as a couple.

"Noon, he's bringing Liam too," I smiled at the thought of my little nephew, quite possibly my most favorite person under the age of five on the whole planet.

I felt Scar's arms snake around my waist and I leaned back into him, my back against his chest and his chin on my shoulder. "That's why you're making brownies," he chuckled. I slid my hands over his and closed my eyes as he kissed my neck.

"They're Liam's fave," I started to pant as he sucked lightly on the space just below my ear. "This isn't a good idea. Seth could be here any minute."

Scar let out a low growl and then released me from his grip. "It's not fair," he grunted. I watched him as he paced a few steps in the kitchen. "I want him to know, Ava. I want him to know that you're it for me, that I choose you. I don't need anyone or anything's help. I choose you myself."

"Probably not the best way to approach it considering his opinion on imprinting," I sighed. I could empathize with him, I could, but I didn't want to do anything to harm the relationship that I had with Seth. He really was like an older brother to me and he loved my big sister. I owed it to him, to everyone, to do what was supposed to be done. That said, I was not going to apologize for my relationship with Scar. I loved him, plain and simple. No one else on Earth would mean to me what he does. Ever. "I want everyone to know too, Scar, but there's a way to approach it and just yelling it out on a lazy Sunday afternoon is not the way to do it," I reasoned with him.

Scar shook his head. "Let me tell you something, Ava." He was next to me before I knew it. "I know that. I have more respect for Seth than I could tell you. Not just him, but Abby too, and I would never do anything to hurt them on purpose. But this," he held my hand in his and placed it gingerly over his heart. "This is bigger than any of that, this is forever."
"Scar," I sighed, feeling very defeated.

"It's okay, I promise I won't tell him today or anytime soon but I'm warning you that I won't be able to keep it a secret forever. It's not fair to me, but more so, it's not fair to you," Scar pulled me to him again and lifted my chin to raise my eyes to meet his. "Forever, Ave, remember that."

"Forever," I whispered to him. We stood like that for a few minutes, neither of us wanting to move. It was almost like a magnet keeping us close. I thought this analogy was funny considering that I'd often heard wolves and imprints talk about the pull they felt, like magnets. Sure we may not have the imprint pull, but we had a pull, that was for sure.

I finished the brownies, then Scar and I changed the sheets on Claire's old bed. I put a small arrangement of Gerbera daisies next to the bed and opened the curtains to let a little light in. The closer it got to noon, the more excited I got about Ashley visiting. She would be spending her birthday with us and I wanted to make sure she felt like a princess. I knew she'd love sleeping in what was Claire's old room. It was perfect for her, light and airy and cheerful. Just like my little sister.

"Perfect," I smiled to myself before heading back downstairs to the kitchen to cut the brownies and wait for our guests to arrive. I knew Seth wouldn't be even a minute late. That's just how he was, and I chuckled thinking how he'd ended up in a family with so many girls who were always a little late.

"They're here!" Scar yelled from the den, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I smiled to myself again as the doorbell rang. It was hard not to skip to the door because even though Scar's and my plans for the week had been great, I was happy to know that having Ashley here would make her happy and ease Abby's stress as she entered the last few weeks of her pregnancy.

"Ava!" Ashley jumped into my arms as I opened the front door.

I had to steady myself as she wrapped her arms around my neck and pushed me back a little with the force of her hug. "Hey, Ash," I giggled. Seth stood in the doorway with Liam in his arms.

"Scar?" Liam asked with a raised eyebrow that reminded me of the look Seth gets when he's thinking.

"Right here, buddy," Scar said from behind me. He walked up next to me as Liam stretched his arms out and squirmed in Seth's arms.

"Calm down, he's not going anywhere," Seth said with a chuckle.

"I'm so excited to get to stay with you! This is going to be the best birthday ever!" Ashley squealed and hugged me tighter.

"I hope so," I hugged her back and swayed a little with her in my arms. It was amazing to me how small she was, even for a soon-to-be nine-year old, she was small for her size, but that didn't mean she didn't pack a punch.

Seth cleared his throat. "Oh, sorry," Scar chuckled, then grinned. "Come on in, Seth."

"Thanks," Seth said, putting Ashley's small pink duffle bag down. "And thank you for letting her stay with you. It's all she's talked about for days."

"How's Abbs?" I asked, putting Ashley down.

Seth's eyes tended to glaze over in love when he talked about Abby and this time was no different. "She's good. She and Claire finished up the remodel and just as Claire opened up, Kim put Abby on permanent bedrest. She's a little pissed that she's not been able to work."

"Have her patients been okay with her being gone for so long?" I asked. I knew my sister loved her job and I knew being away from it had to be killing her. She'd just really gotten back in the swing of things when she found out she was pregnant with Clearwater #2, and then not long after, when she started having complications, the number of hours and days she could work were limited.

"They've been fairly good about it. Ginger comes up about once a week and deals with any major issues now, so that's made things a little easier," he answered, keeping an eye on Scar and Liam who were play wrestling.

"OOH, Liam! Show Auntie Ave your howl!" Ashley said.

Liam jumped up and ran towards me. "I how, Ave!" He puckered his little lips, and let out what sounded like a little puppy's attempt at howling.

"I taught him that!" Ashley smiled. "There's a couple new wolves around the house and I'm trying to teach Liam how to talk to them."

"You know you have to stay away from the wolves though, right?" Scar asked with a worried look as he scooped up Liam from his place next to me.

"I know. Liam knows too. Seth says they might be ravib," Ashley said with a determined look.

"You mean rabid?" I chuckled. I knew the wolves she was referring to were the newest pups to join the pack. Everyone found Ashley's fascination with the wolves quite funny and interesting. But I knew that both Scar and Seth worried she might put the pieces together one day and figure out that they were the wolves she was so enthralled with.

"Same thing," she furrowed her brow and put her hands on her hips. This was definitely going to be a fun week. I hadn't forgotten how much I loved my little sister, but I had forgotten how very much she was like me.

Seth and Liam stayed for lunch, then headed to Leah's for a visit before going back to Forks. For Ashley's first day in Seattle, Scar, Ashley and myself walked to my school so Ashley could take a look at where I spent all my time. It was funny to watch her ooh and ahh over the funniest things. She was especially fond of our cupcake machine that filled the cupcake pans with a consistent amount of batter, making sure each one had the same amount to create a universal batch. Then that night I made her favorite dinner, homemade macaroni and cheese.

"Oh, this is the best thing I've ever eaten, Ava! It's like Heaven in a bowl!" she squealed taking huge bites and grinning all the while. I had to admit that it made me feel all warm on the inside to see her smile so much.

"She's not lying, Ave," Scar said from his seat beside her, his actions almost mirroring Ashley's, only with much larger bites.

"Thanks, guys," I said as I sat down with them.

After dinner, we all three curled up on the couch and started watching a movie. About an hour through it, Scar glanced at his watch and then at me. I knew that was his way of telling me he needed to go, for his scheduled patrol. But Ashley was between us and we both looked down at her as she giggled at some funny scene in the movie. We must have both been trying to think of a plan but we forgot to take our eyes from Ashley.

"Why are you staring at me?" she asked, with an amused look on her face.

"Oh, Scar needs to go run an errand but he didn't want to disturb you," I lied.

"Seth always goes to run errands about now too," she answered back with an even more amused look on her face that quickly turned to a questioning look. "Why do you guys do that? Where do you go?" Scar and I stared at each other but nothing was coming. "It doesn't matter, I guess. Abby always tells me it's grown up stuff and not to worry about it."

"She's right," I said, pulling her close to me so Scar could go about his way. It didn't feel right though. Every time Scar had to patrol, I at least kissed him goodbye. I had learned from the day of the newborn battle that there was no guarantee of safety with a boyfriend as a wolf. There would be no kiss tonight though and he swiftly made his way out the door.

When the movie ended, I tucked Ashley into her bed and kissed her forehead. We said our "I love yous" and then I made the walk down the hall. I passed Scar's bedroom and felt my heart ache a little. For the first time in months he wouldn't be joining me in my bed. It was another thing that didn't seem right. My bed felt empty without him in it. But it had to be done to keep the secret of our relationship from being divulged.

So imagine my surprise when I woke up at three in the morning to soft kisses on my neck. "I couldn't sleep. I tried, but I can't sleep without you in my arms," Scar's voice was soft. It wasn't full of lust but full of love. With a voice like that, how could I possibly deny him?

I guess the next morning, we both must have slept later than Ashley. I woke up to the sounds of the TV downstairs, almost blaring and it scared me a little. I walked down the stairs to see Ash sitting on the couch, a bowl of cereal on her lap, and Phineas and Ferb on TV. I knew something was bothering her. She wouldn't look at me when I walked in the room and it was even worse when Scar came in behind me.

"Everything okay, Ash?" Scar asked. He reached out to ruffle her hair but she moved away. Scar looked at me but all I could do was shrug my shoulders.

"What's wrong, Ash?" I asked, hoping that maybe if Scar couldn't get an answer from her, I could.

She sighed and then looked up at me. "Everyone always gets to have sleepovers but I never do!"

I had to hide the smile that was starting to form on my lips. "I'm sorry—"

"I always have to sleep by myself. Seth always gets to sleep with Abby and Scar was sleeping in your room, but I have to sleep by myself," she frowned. I walked over and pulled her into my lap.

"You wanna sleep with me tonight?" I asked.

Ashley looked up with tear soaked eyelashes. "I don't have to sleep in the bed. I can sleep on the floor on a pallet. I just don't want to miss out."

"Okay, how about tonight, I make a pallet and you can sleep next to the bed? Sound good?"

"Will Scar be there too?" she asked, looking over at him.

It was funny that the question of why he was in my bed hadn't come up. She was more upset about not being invited to the slumber party, than the fact that my best friend was now sleeping in my bed with me.

"Sure, kiddo, but only if you help me pick out some cool stuffed animals at the aquarium today. I need to get Liam and the baby a present," Scar smirked and I felt my knees get weak. There was something so sexy about the thought of him buying stuffed animals.

"Yes! I can do that! For sure," Ashley smiled. "I'm going to get dressed right now and we can go." She jumped up from my lap and ran up the stairs leaving Scar and me.

"That was close," he whispered, putting his arm around me. "Crisis averted."

"For now," I said back before placing a small kiss on his lips. For now indeed…

SCAR'S POV

I loved laying in bed with Ava in my arms, with the moonlight streaming through her windows and glistening off her dark hair. She really honestly looked like an angel in my arms and I couldn't help but gently kiss her forehead.

As usual, I couldn't sleep. Spring Break had been great in a lot of ways. But, like that really bad rock song says, every rose has its thorn. I loved spending time with Ashley, but in the back of mind, like always, there was that constant reminder of Megan. And as demented as it might sound, I can understand why my Dad would take to drinking. It was a miserable thing to have memories of how wonderful your life had once been, only to wake up and see that your reality is still as fucked up as it ever was. It had been worse for my Dad. He hadn't just lost his daughter, then his wife. He woke up everyday knowing that it wasn't going to be any different than it was the day before, so to hide it, to make it more bearable, he drank. This logic also pissed me off more than ever. I knew he had lost a lot, but the fact of the matter was, I had lost a lot too. I lost my mother, my sister. I needed a father and he wasn't there, and I was left with knowing that I hadn't been enough. I hadn't been enough to make him stop drinking, to make him realize that even though Megan was gone, but I was still here. Slowly, though, that feeling was starting to drift away because when I was with Ava, I was enough. I didn't have to be anything else or need anything else. She loved me simply because I was me. And as Ashley says, "Being me is a wonderful thing to be." I was enough to keep the bad away, but more than anything, I was enough to give her hope, to make her know that things could only get better. Even when the possibly of me imprinting always loomed overhead.

On the upside, though, having Ashley here allowed me to feel like I was making up for time with Megan. Not that I wanted Ashley to be Megan, I just felt a little like Ashley was a second chance. She was bright and bubbly and I was happy to be her brother. She'd been with us for three days and it had been more fun that I remembered. We went to the Space Needle and the Aquarium where she helped me pick out a stuffed otter for Liam, a stuffed seal for the baby, and a stuffed orca that she was currently cuddling on her makeshift bed beside Ava's side of the bed. Like Ava, Ashley made me feel important and I prayed that when everyone found out about us, like I knew they would eventually, Ashley would understand and be okay with it. I couldn't lose another little sister.

I was deep in my thought when I heard my phone vibrate on the table beside me. I had no clue who it could be this late at night, or early in the morning, which ever way you look at it. I picked up the phone to look at the Caller ID: Seth. Great, just what I needed!

"Hello," I answered, trying to sound like I had been fast asleep…in my own bed.

"Scar!" Seth panted into the phone.

"Yep, that's who you called," I said.

"Seth, hurry," I heard Abby say in the background. Seth sounded out of breath and she sounded like she was in pain. This could not be good.

"Just keep holding my hand, Bee, and breathe," Seth said. I had a feeling I knew what he was going to tell me, but I waited just a few more seconds while he breathed into the phone in an interesting pattern. "Just like that, good girl."

"I'm not a fucking dog!" I heard Abby scream.

"Wow," I chuckled. The whole time that I'd known Abby, I very rarely heard her say a curse word. It wasn't who she was. But I guess labor pains can make women do strange things.

"I'm sorry, honey. It just hurts," Abby said in the background, followed by the sounds of muffled crying.

I ran my fingers down Ava's back, knowing that I was probably going to need to wake her up in a minute, especially if Seth was calling for the reason I thought he was calling. "Sorry to interrupt the love fest, but you called me. At one in the morning," I faked a yawn.

"Oh, right," Seth sounded flustered. "I tried to call Ava about ten times but she didn't answer. I was wondering if you could go in and get her up. Abby's water broke and we're headed to the hospital."

"Okay," I shifted Ava in my arms a little, trying to be gentle and not surprise her. "I'll get her up and get Ashley and we'll head that way."

"Thank you, thank you," he said. "Okay, see you in a bit." He hung up before I could even say bye. I knew he had a lot on his mind though, what with having a baby and all.

I looked back down at Ava in my arms and kissed her forehead. I didn't want to jostle her too much or wake her up too suddenly. "Angel," I whispered, rubbing my hands up her arm. "Ava, babe, you gotta wake up."

My brunette angel stirred in my arms and I held her close. "What?" she murmured.

"We gotta get up, Ave," I kissed her forehead again.

She let out a little of a groan and I held back a laugh. "No, I can see that it's still dark outside. You can't fool me, Oscar Monroe," Ava wrapped her arms around me and snuggled into my chest more. I wanted to stay this way. Not just for now, I wanted to stay this way forever. I never felt better than when she was holding me close like this. I knew it sounded girly, but I didn't care. I could spend forever with her just holding me, it's how I felt most loved. Probably even more than any sexual act we shared. Just being like this was enough.

"Well, that may be so, but Seth just called and he and Abby are on the way to the hospital. Apparently your nephew is making an early appearance." Almost as soon as the words were out of my mouth, Ava jumped out of the bed, standing in front of me clad in a spaghetti strap shirt and plaid pajama pants.

"Seriously?" her face showed a mixture of shock and joy while I tried really hard to control the wolf urges my body was feeling.

"Seriously," I answered with a smirk.

Her eyes got wide. "Shit, I gotta get Ashley up. And we need to get dressed, and packed. Shit, shit, shit. This is going to ruin Ashley's birthday. Shit!" I was actually quite surprised that the commotion hadn't woken Ashley up yet.

I sat up, taking a deep breath. "Relax, Ava. Why don't you wake Ash." Ava still stood looking at me like I had a third eye and shook her head. "Yes, and don't worry about Ash. You know this will probably make her birthday. Her nephew will have the same birthday as her."

She looked at me and then sighed. "You're right. You're always right. Why don't I listen to you?"

I gave her my best grin. "I ask myself that everyday. Stick with me, babe, and you can't go wrong."

Ava sauntered back to the bed and crawled up on all fours, leaning in to whisper into my ear.

"Good, because I plan on sticking with you for a very long time." Her hot breath and her sexy words sent a shiver up my spine and a hot surge of blood to my groin.

"I love you," I groaned. Her teeth grabbed my ear lobe and she nibbled and pulled.

"I love you for always," she whispered.

Unfortunately that was all the action I would be getting for the day as she rolled off the bed and hunched down to Ashley, "Sweets, we gotta get up."

I took that as my cue to get ready and rushed to my bedroom to throw on jeans and a t-shirt. I could hear Ashley and Ava talking. I had been right about Ashley, she sounded ecstatic to know that she and the newest Clearwater would likely have the same birthday.

Driving to La Push, or Forks in this case, usually took at least two hours, sometimes longer. This particular night though, I took Ava's keys and managed to make the drive in an hour.
She told me she didn't want to know how fast I was going but she was thankful I was getting us there faster. I knew she was worried about Abby but also excited about meeting the new baby, plus keeping her calm for Ashley. She was amazing and she was mine.

It was like a scene from a movie as the three of us ran down through the doors to the front desk where the tired nurse directed us to the maternity ward. It shouldn't have surprised us though when the colors on the wall changed to muted blues and pinks and lullaby music filled the air. I had to admit, it must not suck entirely to be a baby.

"Ava! Ashley! Scar!" Leah Clearwater waved to us from a row of chairs in what appeared to be the waiting room.

"How's Abby? Is she okay? Do they know how much longer?" Ava rambled out in one breath.

"Seth said she's been having contractions for about three days now but they didn't come to hospital until her water broke so it's gone fairly quickly," Sue said, holding a sleeping Charlie's hand.

"That's good, right?" I asked. My knowledge of child birth was limited and I really wanted to keep it that way for awhile. Not that I didn't want to have kids, especially knowing Ava would be their mother. I just wasn't quite ready for that big step, hence why we always had a stock of condoms nearby.

"Yes and no. It's going fast now but it's been going on for a days now. And because of her hypertension, she's doing it without an epidural," Sue answered.

"What's an apidutal?" Ashley asked with a scrunched face.

"A shot to help make the baby come out without hurting so much," Leah said and then patted the chair next to her for Ashley to sit on. She shared her party planning catalog with Ash and let her lay her head on her lap to get a few ZZZs while we waited.

"Where's Liam?" I asked, looking at Sue and Leah.

"He's with Ness and Jake," Leah answered before flipping the page on the magazine she was looking at.

I had to say that I felt like Liam was as much my nephew as anyone else's. He was another one of the gifts that came with being a part of Ava's family, and I had to admit that I was pretty stoked about this baby too, anxious to see if I would have the same friendship with it as I did with Liam.

Around six in the morning, after a few hours of waiting, Charlie woke from his nap and took Ashley to the cafeteria for a hot cocoa and coffee. It was just us grown-ups and Ava's head was leaning against my shoulder and I tried really hard not to look at Sue. I knew she could see that something was up. How could I deny Ava my shoulder without Sue Swan suspecting that something very serious was going on?

"You young wolves are so different than the older ones," she said, shaking her head.
Just as I was about to ask what she meant by that, the large glass doors to the delivery rooms swung open hard. "He's here," Seth said, trying to catch his breath. "He's perfect, ten fingers, ten toes. He looks just like Liam. He's—"

"How's Abby?" Ava interjected.

"She's doing great," Seth said with a proud smile. "She was amazing. They're taking care of a few things and then I'll head back in. You guys should be able to come in soon to see him." Seth was so excited I couldn't do anything but stand and smile. I could see the hint of tears that had developed in his eyes, I could only imagine what this day must feel like. To hold your child in your arms, after waiting so long.

"Congrats, man," I said as I attempted to give Seth a one-armed hug, only to be met with a full on bro-hug in classic Seth style.

"Thank you, Scar," Seth said, releasing me. "Seriously, I owe you, bro." He was grinning as Ashley ran over with Charlie on her heels.

"Is he here? Did I miss it?" she bounced up and down until Seth caught her and pulled her up in a hug.

"He's here and he's so excited to meet his Auntie Ash," Seth chuckled.

Ashley pulled back and looked into Seth's eyes very seriously. "Do you think he'll remember me? From when I talked to him in Abby's belly?"

"I bet so," Seth kept his smile as Ashley looked at me.

"Did you hear that, Scar? He's excited to meet me!" she squealed and I took her from Seth, setting her on the ground. "When do we get to go in?"

"In a little bit. They're taking care of getting Abby cleaned up right now," Seth told her, ruffling her hair.

Ava was standing dangerously close to me and I wondered if Seth noticed. I took a step to the side, trying to put a little distance between us, but I could feel Ava's hand in mine now. This wasn't a good idea, of that I was sure. I hoped that he wouldn't take it as anything other than the times we'd held hands as friends. Seth's eyes wandered down and I almost panicked when they started to meet our interlocked fingers, but Ashley jumped in front of us, right in Seth's view. "Is Liam coming to meet his little brother?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'm going to call Nessie right now and let her know the good news," he said with a sigh. "I should probably head back in with Abby." Seth turned and started to walk away.

"Oh, what's his name?" Sue asked.

Seth turned with a smirk. "You'll find out when the others get here. It's a surprise." He shook his head and continued walking, through the double glass doors and out of our sight.

"I'm going to call Claire," Ava beamed, whipping out her phone.

For the next hour, after the arrival of Claire and Quil, Ava and Claire made the rounds on the wolf-pack phone tree, calling every wolf's wife, girlfriend, fiancée, whatever they may be, to spread the news about the pack's newest member. It was amazing to me how the women of the pack worked like such a well-oiled machine. By the time everyone had been contacted, the Clearwater family was preparing for an enormous amount of visitors, as well as having their refrigerator stocked with various different casseroles and dinners, all courtesy of the various wolf women.

It was times like these I was proud to be a wolf. Sure it was cool to transform into a giant horse-sized wolf, or to be able to fight off the most dangerous of vampires. But the true awesomeness of the wolves, lie in the family we created and belonged to. It was also times like this I thanked the Spirits for giving me the chance to belong to such a unique group. My real family might have been fucked up beyond all repair, but the pack gave me someplace I felt loved, wanted, and most of all, someplace I belonged.

Which was another reason I prayed that when Ava and I went public, they would be accepting. I didn't want to lose the pack, my new family so to speak, but I would if it meant being able to spend forever with my Ava. I might not have had the mystical connection that the wolves had with their imprints, but it didn't mean I loved her any less or felt any less of a connection to her. I wanted their approval, but I wouldn't hesitate to give it up to be with her.

"You look like you're deep in thought," Seth said, from behind me.

"Er, just thinking about the number of diapers a baby must go through in a day," I lied with a chuckle.

"A lot, let's just leave it at that," he joked before looking at the now full waiting room, packed with a few oversized Native American men, women who belonged to the pack in one way or another, and anyone else that had a connection to the Clearwater family. I looked at the crowd to see Nessie sans Jake, Claire and Quil, Sue, who now had Liam on her lap, and Charlie. All the girls minus Kim (who I suspected had already met the baby, up close and personal) and Rachel, who was in Seattle. "Hey guys," Seth said to get everyone's attention. "We're gonna have Liam come in for a minute, then I'll be back out to bring the rest of you in."

The group made a collective affirmation as Liam slid off his grandmother's lap and toddled towards Seth.

"Hi, Daddy," he smiled, showing all of the 14 teeth he had.

"Wanna go meet your baby brother?" Seth asked. Liam nodded his head. "Okay, let me just tell everyone something really quick and then we'll go in, okay?" Liam nodded again, but grabbed Seth's hand tightly. I watched as the little boy was picked up by his father and enveloped in a hug. It was a precious moment that I almost felt was so intimate and important that I shouldn't be allowed to share in it. "Should we tell everyone what the baby's name is?" Seth asked, keeping his tight hold on Liam.

"Yeppers!" Liam grinned.

"Abby and I thought really hard about a name but I'm pretty sure we came up with the best one imaginable for our littlest boy. His name is Cullen Harry Clearwater." It was quiet for a minute before the women started to squeal and Nessie jumped up to hug Seth, without squashing Liam. "He's named for Carlisle and Esme," Seth told her. "But really for your whole family if you get down to it. Your Dad's been one of my best friends and you, you helped me get Abby, when I had no clue what to do. This is just our small way of thanking you guys for everything you've done for us."

I watched as Ava bit her lip, holding back tears, as Nessie let her own tears fall down her cheeks. "I'm honored," she said quietly. "And I know Grandpa and Grandma are going to be ecstatic. Thank you, Seth."

"It's the least we could do," he smiled. "Okay, son, let's get you in to see your little brother." Seth turned and walked out of sight with his little boy in his arms.

I'd been feeling really strange lately with all the expansions of families going on in the pack or with different changes occurring around me. It was necessarily a strange feeling, just a different one. Every baby I saw made me wonder if Ava and I would ever have kids. And if we did, what would they look like, what would we name them, what would happen to them if I imprinted, etc. I knew they'd always be taken care of. I knew that I would fight for them and their mother until the day I died. But I found that the more I thought about that, the more I worried that it might actually happen, the more I was determined to make sure it never happened. I was too selfish to let it happen. I was worse when Ava looked at her new nephew. She couldn't stop smiling as she sat on the corner of the bed with the tiny black haired baby in her arms and Ashley leaning over her shoulder to see him. Abby smiled at them, Seth did too. It was another one of those moments that seemed so special that I didn't deserve to be a part of.

All of this was compounded with the flow of traffic in the room throughout the day. Ava and Ashley stayed close to their sister and the baby while playing with Liam. In the middle of the afternoon, Leah took Liam and Ashley back to Casa de Clearwater. By two, everyone had left but Ava and me.

"Scar, you haven't gotten a chance to hold him," Abby said with a yawn. You could see she was exhausted, what with having a baby and all.

I cleared my throat. "It's okay, really, I've only held a few babies and I find they're a little more fragile than the average human."

"Yes, but he's going to need his Uncle Scar," Abby smiled at me.

Ava scooted off the bed, still holding Cullen, and walked to where I was sitting. "Make a cradle out of your arms," she said. I swallowed hard. This was more terrifying than an army of newborn vampires. I did as she said though. "Just make sure you've got his head."

I swallowed hard again and felt her lower the baby into my arms. His face was scrunched up and really red, with thick black hair on his head. He did look an awful lot like Liam, especially as he tried to fight his way out of his blanket. "Hey Cullen, you gotta stay in the blanket or you'll be cold," I told him. He was so light and precious. I looked at Seth. "I bet Liam was out of his mind ecstatic."

"He was," Seth took a drink from a coffee cup next to him. "He's already planned out their first camping trip and how he's going to introduce him to his Alpha." We all laughed a little at that.

Ava and I stayed until dinner time, when it was time for Abby to breast feed. I'd already been down that road and didn't want to be anywhere near Abby's breast. Not that there was anything wrong with her breasts, it just kind of put me in a weird situation. I handed the baby back to Abby and as I started to pull away, she grabbed my shirt.

"Thank you for being a part of our family, Scar," she said. I couldn't help the emotions that came over me and I leaned down to hug her.

"Thank you for letting me be a part of your family," I said back to her.

I shook Seth's hand and Ava kissed Abby's cheek, then the baby's forehead. "We'll come by in the morning," Ava said.

"Thanks again, guys," Seth said as we edged our way out the door.

Ava stopped just as we crossed the threshold and the door closed behind us. "I hate to leave them," she whispered, dropping her head.

"I know, but we'll be back soon," I told her, pulling her chin up so I could look into her eyes. The green in them looked a little darker than normal. I should've stopped there but I couldn't help myself as I looked her over. Her cheeks were slightly pink, while her lips seemed like the color of cherries. There was so much in that face though, in those eyes, on those lips, so much that I wanted to be a part of. I could see our future, that we might be in this same place someday, holding our newborn baby. We would be the Monroe family and it would be a chance for us to both have what fate had denied us.

I moved a stray hair from her forehead and leaned down to place a kiss on her nose. "Scar…" she said, closing her eyes.

"Shh…" I moved to the left to kiss her cheek, then to the right to kiss the opposite cheek. I was saving the real prize for last and I inched my lips ever so slowly down her jaw. She tasted like vanilla and before I knew what I was doing, I licked her bottom lip to taste her. Ava responded by throwing her arms around my neck and pulling me closer and letting our lips touch slightly, then responding with more urgency.

It was quite possibly the best kiss in the history of kisses. It was so good in fact that as my tongue touched hers, I missed the sound of an opening door. So good that my eyes were closed, my nose enveloped in Ava's scent, keeping me from catching the scent of a fellow wolf. In all honesty, I didn't know anyone was there until I pulled away from the kiss to see Ava's lips swollen and formed in a grin.

I opened my mouth to say something only to be cut off.

"WHAT THE FUCK?"

Apparently it was a rhetorical question because the next thing I knew, a hard fist collided with my jaw and flung me back into the wall. I was more than stunned and I was pretty sure my jaw was broken as I bounced off the wall and onto the hard tile floor.

I opened my eyes to see a bright light and contemplated the possibility that I was in Heaven. That is until the angel that was standing above me started to look less like a harp playing cherub and more like one very pissed off wolf…Seth…Shit.

Last thing, I promise: The next chapter of Love You For Always will be the last chapter. For real this time. The number of readers and reviewers has gone down and I think it's time. Thank you, thank you!