Chapter 21 – Aiden Wyatt Uley

Disclaimer: Have I mentioned how much I love babies? Like seriously. They smell like baby powder... so good!! haha. :) But anyways, I am not Stephenie Meyer... she has three sons and a nice house and a loving husband and I'm just struggling to get by. LOL.

We received a phone call from Sam at around eight-thirty that night. He sounded slightly irritated and tired.

"Bella, can you do us a favor?"

I frowned. "Depends on what it is," I said lightly.

"Can you have Jacob come over here and pick up Levi? Emily's getting a little worried because he keeps asking her if she's okay and stuff..." he trailed off awkwardly.

"Sure," I said, looking over at Jacob, who was snoozing on the couch with Norah snuggled up against him. "He'll be over there in a few minutes."

"Thanks," Sam said gratefully.

I put the phone on the cradle and walked over to Jake and pulled Norah out from under his arm. She barely stirred.

"Jake," I said rather loudly. He was sleeping like a log. "Jacob?"

He murmured and turned to face the arm of the couch.

"Jacob?" I said a little louder.

He didn't respond.

"JACOB!!" I yelled.

Norah and Jacob both woke up with a start.

"Geez, Bells... you didn't need to scream," he groaned.

"Yeah, well, if I don't yell, then you won't get up. I said your name several times," I sighed. "Sam just called and he wants you to go pick up Levi. I guess it's getting pretty close."

"Emily's having the baby?" he asked stupidly.

"You knew that. She's overdue anyway. I thought that baby was never going to come."

"Do I have to go in?" Jacob asked, yawning.

"Of course not," I sighed. "Just pick up Levi and bring him over here and we'll watch him for the night."

Jacob nodded, heading for the door.

"Can Norie go?" Norah begged, following Jacob out the door.

"No, honey. I'll be right back with Levi, okay? I'm just running to Sam and Emily's real quick. Levi's going to be a big brother pretty soon," Jacob explained carefully.

Norah pouted for a second. "Levi come over here?" she asked.

Jacob nodded. "I'll be back in a few minutes," he said, walking out the door.

I turned the TV to Blue's Clues and slowly sat back down on the couch, yawning.

Norah came back over to the couch and sat back down next to me.

"Mommy, I love you," she said, resting her head on what was left of my lap.

Jacob returned with Levi about half an hour later. Levi was wearing a camouflaged backpack, chock full of clothes, pull-ups, and a ratty old teddy bear he called 'Gatsby.' Norah immediately jumped off the couch and the two of them hugged. Norah yanked his hand that was wrapped around the bear and pulled him toward the TV.

"Blue's Clues, We-by!" she exclaimed, as if it was the greatest thing in the world.

I couldn't help but laugh. My eyes met Jake's and I could still see the light in them, somewhere. That fire that resembled the sun. Maybe, just maybe things would be alright. I could hope again, couldn't I? He wouldn't let me down again. Not this time. The last time wasn't his fault. Not really. I mean, sure, he could have handled things a little better. I mean, everyone makes mistakes, right?

No, I wouldn't hold it against Jacob. Not now that I knew the whole story.

The only person that I could hold it against would be Leah. Not Leah and Jacob's baby (although I regretted that she was having my husband's child, most definitely). It would be Leah that I would need to talk to, Leah that I would need to confront. Not today, of course. But eventually. When the time presented itself. And then, everything would finally be okay. The ship would then right itself.

It was four o'clock in the morning when Sam called again. Norah and Levi were asleep in her bed, both completely wiped out. It was dark as Jacob made his way to the phone. I heard a loud yell and crash. I got up, wrapping my bath robe around me, and flipped on the living room light. Jacob was sprawled out in the middle of the floor, clutching his ankle, and wincing in pain. Norah's sit and spin was in the middle of the room, not far away from where Jacob was groaning. I sighed and rolled my eyes. I went into the kitchen and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Bella, it's Sam," Sam said. His voice was full of excitement.

"I'm guessing Emily's had the baby," I responded. "That's why you would be calling us at four in the morning."

"Yeah," Sam said. I could hear his grin through the phone. "Aiden Wyatt Uley. Eight pounds, twelve ounces, twenty-one inches long."

"That's one big baby!" I gaped. "How is Emily?"

"She's good. Tired, but good."

"That's great. Wonderful," I replied sincerely. "Who does he look like?"

"I think he looks a little more like Emily. Levi looks a lot like me, but this one came out and he's the spitting image of his mom," Sam said proudly.

"Aww...." I replied. "Well, I'm sure we'll come and see him in the morning. Let Levi see his little brother and all. But I'm going to get to bed. Jacob's being a fool and just tripped over one of Norah's toys."

Sam laughed. "Well, thanks for watching Levi. I just wanted to update you on everything and let you know that the baby's here."

"Thanks," I replied. "I appreciate it. We'll see you tomorrow," I said, wrapping the conversation up.

"Okay, see you tomorrow."

"Bye," I replied, putting the phone back down on its cradle.

Jacob hobbled into the kitchen.

"Emily's had the baby?" he asked.

"Yeah," I nodded. "A boy. Almost nine pounds."

Jacob's eyes widened in surprise.

"That's one big baby!" he exclaimed. "No wonder Ems was as big as a house with this one!"

"Jacob!" I reprimanded him. "That's not nice! She wasn't that big!"

"Okay, okay," he said, pulling my hand and leading me into the bedroom. "Let's head back to bed. I don't know about you, but I for one am exhausted."

"I'd gladly sleep, but your son is kickboxing my ribcage," I groaned, feeling the pressure of Rowan's little feet pressing into my ribs. It hurt.

"Son, pipe it down," Jacob said authoritatively.

I sighed. "Jake, you do well with Norah. But this one is going to have a mind of his own," I laughed.

"I'll manage. Promise," he said, heading back into the bedroom.

We got up at around ten the following morning. While I was in the shower, Jake got Norah and Levi ready to see the baby. My back was starting to hurt. The pressure of the hot water felt good against it.

"Bells, honey, I love you. But honestly, how long do you need to spend in the shower?" he asked agitatedly.

"Mama!" I heard Norah yell. "Go see Baby Aiden?" she pleaded.

"I'm on my way out!" I huffed. I could never get five minutes to myself. I knew it was going to get even worse when the new baby came. I guess it was something that I was going to have to get used to. I got out of the shower and wrapped my bath robe around myself. I reached for my pants and suddenly, I heard a loud banging on the door.

"Bells!"

"I'm hurrying!" I exclaimed.

"No, now!" Jacob's voice sounded frantic.

I threw open the door and sighed. "Jacob, I can only move so -- "

Jacob's face was white.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"I've got to get you guys to Sam and Emily's. Now. Vampire," he said shortly.

"What? Now?" I groaned. "Are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" he growled.

I dropped my pants and ran into the living room in my bathrobe. I picked up Norah and grabbed Levi's hand. "Come on, you guys," I said. "Let's go see the baby."

"Mommy wear baff wobe?" Norah looked at me incredulously.

"Yes," I answered. "It's the latest fashion. Come on, Jacob!" I pressed.

"You seriously want to go outside like that?"

"We don't know who this vampire is," I replied. "It could be Irina."

"Could be," Jacob said. "But we don't know."

"Exactly. So let's go."

"The rest of the wolves are out and about, searching. Just me and Sam are staying behind. We'll be alright."

"Okay," I said, not arguing with him for once. "Let's just get going."

We arrived at Sam and Emily's a short time later. Emily was in their bedroom, holding their new baby close to her chest.

"Hi, you guys," she said, smiling brightly.

"Oh, Ems," I exclaimed, looking at the small baby's face. "He's beautiful!" In fact, he was. He clearly had Emily's almond-shaped eyes, her delicate nose, and full lips. I could see a bit of Sam in the way his hair stuck up in every direction and in the fullness of his cheeks.

Emily smiled at her new son proudly.

"Levi, would you like to see your new baby brother?" she asked her eldest son.

Levi nodded.

"My baby?" he asked.

I couldn't help but smile.

"Can you put him up here, Bella?" she asked me.

I obliged and put Levi up on the bed, near his mother's lap.

"Me, too! Me, too!" Norah whined.

"No, Norie. Not right now," I told her.

"Pwease? We-by gets to!" she cried.

"She's fine. She can come up here, too," Emily replied.

"Are you sure?" I asked her. "I don't want her to interfere."

"She's fine," Emily repeated. "Besides, she needs to see what the baby looks like. She'll be getting a baby brother before long."

"I guess you're right," I sighed. I picked Norah up and sat her next to Levi. Her eyes widened at the sight of the baby.

"Mama, he's small!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, honey. Babies are small," I told her. "He'll grow and he'll get bigger."

"As big as me?" Norah asked, her eyes widening.

"One day, you'll be as big as me," I told her.

Norah laughed. "No way!"

"Yes, way," I replied.

Emily smirked. "She can't wrap her mind around it," she laughed.

"Of course not. She's been the baby of the reservation for a while. She'll get used to it."

Emily pulled her eldest son close to her and carefully placed the baby near him.

"You can hold him, Levi. See how little he is?"

Levi protectively put one hand around his little brother.

"We-by holds the baby," he proclaimed. "We-by be a good big bwother."

I couldn't help but grin. I would get to experience this in just a few short weeks. I couldn't wait.

"Bella, you know I love you. But why on god's green earth are you wearing a bath robe?"

"It's for a good reason," I sighed. "Let me explain."

Two hours later, Jacob and Sam returned with dejected looks on their faces.

"What's wrong?" I immediately asked.

"She's found a new mate," Sam hissed. "Neither of us expected that."

"Oh, God," I moaned, sitting down.

"There's good news though," Jacob said. "He's young."

"He made quite a few mistakes. Collin is still young and doesn't have much experience. If it were one of us or Quil or Embry or Seth, then we would have had him. But Collin got overly excited and lunged for him and we missed him. They hit the water again."

I sighed. Would this never be over?

Jacob pulled me into his arms protectively, as if he could read my mind.

"I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe. You know that. You and Norah and Rowan are my life. I love you."

"I know," I whispered, trying to keep the tears from falling, betraying me.

Kinda short, but I just posted a chapter yesterday. :)

Thanks for reading! Please review!

Much love.
xoxo