Author's Note

Okay, short chapter that was written in a rush, blah blah blah...

Quick announcement thingy: Thank you guys for the reviews! [Thirty three reviews; we beat a record!] Thanks to for reviewing ten times! [Wow!] And happy [belated] birthday to twilightaddict131! Woo!

Okay, that's it for the author's note this chapter. [I got a complaint about super long notes, and now I'm very self-conscious. Grumble grumble...] xD

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Twilight.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Daddy Jake and Momma Quil

I opened my eyes slowly, stretching my arms and legs. I was back in my room with the covers placed neatly over me so that I wouldn't be cold. Paul must have brought me in last night.

A smile pulled at my lips as I sat up, gently pushing away the blankets that covered me. I stood up, surprised when the flare of pain in my leg that I was so accustomed to didn't appear. I wiggled it around, and even twirled around in a circle, but it still didn't materialize. With a giddy, and nearly hysterical giggle, I skipped out of my room and down the stairs. I pranced towards the kitchen, humming tunelessly.

"Cassie?" Quil called softly from the living room. I backtracked from the kitchen and into the living room.

"Yeah?" I asked, smiling brightly. Jake and Quil were sitting side by side on the couch. Jake's arms were crossed over his chest, looking dark and imposing. Quil, on the other hand, was leaning back into the couch with his legs daintily crossed.

"Where were you last night?" Jake asked sternly, and Quil looked away from me, playing with a strand of his hair nervously.

"Um. In my room?" I asked.

"Bzz! Wrong answer! Try again," Jake said, and Quil sniffled, blotting the corner of his eyes with a Kleenex tissue. My eyebrows furrowed.

"Do you mean when I went outside?" I asked confusedly. Jake sprang up from the couch, and circled around me.

"Ding ding ding! We have a winner!" he said sarcastically, coming to a stop right in front of me. "Paul brought you in last night…naked." Quil let out a little cry, blubbering into his large hands. Jake went over to him, patting his back comfortingly. He turned to glare at me accusingly. "See what you've done with your irresponsible behavior, Cassidy Anne! You made your mother cry!"

I gaped stupidly at him. "Paul was…naked?" I asked, feeling the blood rush into my cheeks. Quil looked up from his hands, sniffling. Jake nodded his head, his lips set into a grim line. "And I didn't get to see him?!" I cried. It was so…unfair!

Quil let out a loud cry and buried his head into Jake's shoulder, sobbing deafeningly. "O-Our baby!" he wailed in despair, and Jake patted his head. I rolled my eyes at them, heading back upstairs.

"I'm going to go take a shower and then head over to Emily's. I'll see you guys later," I said, taking the steps two at a time.

"You're not going over there unsupervised, young lady!" Jake yelled up to me, and I grumbled. Why did they have to be my second set of parents?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Don't let him touch you here," Quil said, pointing to my chest. "Or here, or there, and, oh! Especially not there—"

"Quil! We're just friends!" I squeaked, covering myself from his pointing finger. Jake looked at me through the rearview mirror while expertly guiding the truck along the road.

Quil looked at me shrewdly. "Did Paul say that? Well, if he says something like, 'it's okay for us to do this because we're just friends', don't fall for it. I don't want you two—"

"Cut it out, Quil!" I said, smacking away his hand. Quil narrowed his eyes at me critically, mouth smashing in a prim line.

"I'm just trying to protect you, Cassidy," he huffed. "You are absolutely new to this, and I don't want you giving in to peer pressure…" I groaned loudly, resting my forehead against the cool car window. Rain drizzled outside, smacking against the car as Jake drove. Quil babbled on, something about 'protection' and 'birth control', in which I wasn't too eager to make sense of. A few minutes later, the truck came to a smooth halt, and Quil clapped his hands delightedly.

"We're here!" he announced, unbuckling his seat belt. I smashed down on the release button and all but ran out of the truck and into Emily's house. I flung the door open, the warm air hitting me like a blast, and I breathed in the blissful scent of Emily's cooking. Heavenly.

"Oo! You're here!" Kim cried, heaving herself up off of the couch and waddled over to me. She seized me with a tight grip, effectively cutting off my air supply and crushing my lungs. "It's been so long!" she squealed excitedly, and I nodded my head, trying in vain to pull back from her strong and very capable hands.

Mercifully, Kim let go to smile down at me. Her belly protruded, large and round. Seeing my gaze, her smile brightened.

"He's due in three months!" she squealed again, and I flinched.

"A boy, huh? What are you going to name him?" I asked, itching to cover my sensitive ears. Kim wiggled with anticipation, shrugging her shoulders excitedly.

"I don't know! There are just so many names in the world, and Jared and I just can't seem to agree on one! Isn't this just so great?!" Kim shrilled, and grabbed me in for another crushing hug.

"Can't…breathe!" I gasped. Kim immediately let me go, giggling girlishly as I panted for breath.

"Oops!" she laughed. "Sometimes I just don't know how to control myself!"

"I'll say," I grumbled. "Where's Emily at, anyway?"

"She's in the kitchen cooking, of course," Kim said, rolling her eyes. "I swear. Those guys will eat the whole world into depression. Luckily for Jared, I can cook," she said and grabbed my hand, leading me towards the kitchen.

Emily stood in front of the stove, tapping her foot and looking quite frazzled. When she saw us, relief flashed across her face and she motioned us forward.

"Thank God! I'm afraid I'm a little tied up right now, and I need you two's help making the food. Kim, could you stir this pot and Cassie, dear? Could you chop up these onions and just sprinkle them into the pot as she stirs? I've got to go run over to the grocery store an—"

"Go, go. We've got this," Kim said, scooting Emily out of the kitchen. "You just go ahead and do what you have to do; Cassie and I have you covered." Emily eyed us both critically, looking somewhat reluctant to leave her station.

"Okay," she grumbled. "But if you two have any trouble at all, just—"

"We'll call you, Em. Now, hurry up and get your ass out of the house and to the grocery store," Kim said teasingly, ushering her out to the front door.

After Emily left, Kim came back, rolling her eyes playfully to me. "That woman has no life, I swear to you. All she wants to do is cook and clean," she laughed. "Now, how about we start on this soup, huh?" I nodded. I grabbed a knife from a drawer and grabbed the onions that were already waiting on the cutting board.

Kim and I talked meaningless chatter, ranging from the babies to the guys, where she got an exceptionally mischievous look in her eyes. "So," she said conversationally. "You've forgiven Paul?" I snorted, dicing the onions.

"I'm no where near doing that, Kim. He's got a lot to make up for," I said, and Kim looked at me strangely.

"But, Jared told me that you guys made up or something?" she asked, eyebrows furrowing.

"I guess you could say that, but that's not entirely correct," I explained, pouring some of the diced onions into the pot. Kim stirred the liquid inside, looking at me curiously. I shrugged my shoulders noncommittally. "We're going to start over and just be friends." To my surprise, and irritation, Kim laughed loudly. I scowled at her.

"What's so funny?" I asked. Kim chuckled, shaking her head.

"I don't think that's going to last very long, Cass honey," she said.

"And why not?" I hissed, and Kim grinned.

"Have you seen the boy?" she asked, looking almost incredulous. I looked at her confusedly, and she smiled larger. "I may be married to my soul mate, but as a girl, I know Paul is extremely attractive," Kim explained. My face darkened, and Kim immediately backtracked. "Of course I don't think of him as something more than a friend, Cass. I love Jared, and I wouldn't trade him for the world! It's just that, as a girl, I have the sense to know who is and isn't attractive, you know?" I nodded my head. The peculiar heat that swirled in my stomach started to dissipate slightly.

"And, why exactly would that affect our ability to maintain our relationship at a friendly level?" I asked snippily, and Kim smiled slyly at me.

"Well, by the years I have known Paul, I'm pretty sure he's going to tease you with his sex appeal until you give in," she said.

"You mean he's going to try and seduce me?!" I squeaked.

"Not seduce, per se, but something close to that. But, if he thinks you'll let him seduce you, then he probably will—"

"So, where are the guys at, anyway?" I asked, my voice a little too high-pitched. My face flushed a bright red, and I chopped faster.

"Sam needed to talk to them about patrolling, is all. They'll be back anytime now." I almost asked what she had meant by patrolling, but I decided against it. Instead, I just grabbed another onion and started dicing.

A door slammed opened, and Seth boomed, "Honey! I'm home!" There was a smacking sound, and rowdy laughter. Kim rolled her eyes, smiling at me.

The guys ambled into the kitchen, taking their places at the table and looked at us expectantly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Paul staring at me.

"Where's the food, dudes?" Seth asked, and Kim glared at him.

"We're not 'dudes', thank you very much. And the food isn't ready, so why don't you guys go away until it's finished?" There were groans around the room.

"Fine," Seth grumbled. "But I need a drink to sustain my life flow." With a dramatic sweep, Seth picked himself out of the chair and made his way towards the refrigerator. With a sigh, he wrenched open the door and rummaged through it before he found a soda. He popped the tab and guzzled from it. Less than ten seconds later, it was completely empty and was crushed in his large hand.

Seth tossed the compacted can into the garbage and rubbed his stomach. "Excuse me, ladies," he teased, moving around us to leave. He bumped into my back, and the serrated knife sliced into my skin.

"Dammit!" I hissed as the blood oozed from the cut, dripping onto the counter and half chopped onion. Warm hands grabbed my hands gently and guided them to the sink. Paul flicked on the water, placing my scratched hand under the cool stream.

"Kim, does Emily keep a first-aid kit around here?" Paul asked, and she nodded. She opened up one of the cabinets and pulled out a small white kit. Kim opened it, grabbing some cotton balls and a bottle of peroxide.

Paul turned off the water and Kim grabbed my hands to swab down the cut with the cold peroxide. When she was done, she bandaged it, securing it gently.

There was a deep rumbling from behind me, and I turned to see Paul glare menacingly at Seth. He trembled violently, and Seth put his hands up in surrender.

"It was an accident, Paul," I said softly. Paul scoffed quietly, but his tremors lightened. I touched his hand with my good one, squeezing it gently. He looked down at me with dark, intense eyes. I flushed lightly.

"A-hem," Quil cleared his throat lightly. "Can we please just go and do something fun while we wait? I'm kind of getting bored here!" Paul growled at him, but didn't make a move to maim him, which was a good sign.

"You guys get out of here," Kim ordered. "You too, Jared! We can't have you guys distracting us while we cook!" There were grumbles, but the guys stood to leave. Paul didn't move from behind me, looking torn.

"Go on, Paul," I said. "I'm fine; you can leave."

Paul rolled his eyes at me, but smiled. "Just promise me you won't go stabbing yourself," he teased. I snorted, and he chuckled. I let go of his hand, ignoring his pout, and started to clean the blood off of the counter. Paul mumbled something, but left, but not before flashing a brilliant smile at me that left my face red.

After he left, Kim chuckled. I asked her what she was laughing at, and she regarded me with an impish look. "'Just friends' my ass."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SHA BLAM! Now review. [Remember, I am going for +10 reviews per chapter! Help me out, please?]