Disclaimer: I don't own anything from any of 'The Twilight Saga'

I sat at my desk at work, surrounded by the pale yellow walls and awful carpeting. The office was nothing to brag about, aesthetic-wise, but the people that were in it were some of the kindest, smartest, friendliest people I had ever met.

I enjoyed coming to work. It really was an environment I enjoyed being in. Though, I was not enjoying myself so much today. I was developing a fever. I had gotten enough sleep last night, yet my eyes were drifting closed every other second. Thinking about food made me sick, so I hadn't eaten, even though I felt bloated and tight. I felt just the slightest bit nauseous and dizzy, but nothing to an extreme.

Thankfully, Paul left for work long before I did, which meant he had no idea that I was having all these troubles. If he had, he would've never let me leave the house.

Either way, I couldn't let how I was feeling ruin my day. And I had to go babysit for Sam and Emily after work. I knew fevers weren't contagious. I wasn't sneezing or coughing or spreading germs anywhere. Her children would be safe. It was mostly that I just didn't feel like doing it, but I wouldn't back out now. God knows how long it had been since Emily and Sam had a date night.

And so I finished my entire work day, even though it felt like I had barely done it. When I left the building, even just being in the fresh air was so much better than being stuffed inside.

I sent a quick text to Paul, even if he wouldn't get to look at it for another couple hours. And then I continued to hop in the truck Paul refused to get rid of. We had put a lot of money into it, meaning it was really holding it together for how old it was. It held a lot of good memories. I couldn't let it go, but I wouldn't mind if it sat outside of our house, untouched. Paul, on the other hand, would drive the truck until it was completely broken down and unfixable. Regardless, it was what I drove. Paul hopped on a bus at six in the morning with a bunch of other burly, strong men to go to work, so he didn't have to drive it much.

I drove the thing to Emily and Sam's house, which was still the amazing cabin tucked in the woods. When they bought it, it had a lot of bedrooms. The only difference, years and years later, was that most of those bedrooms were now full.

"Nita!"

I smiled, the fresh air and the big smile on the little boys face making me feel better instantly. "Hi, Harry!" I kneeled down, letting him run into me, nearly knocking me over. I pressed my hand into the ground to stabilize myself. "Whoa." I laughed, wrapping my arms around him once I felt steady. "You're getting too strong."

Harry was such a golden boy. Now five-years-old, a personality much like his bright, fun-loving mother was shining through, though he looked exactly how Sam did when he was his age.

Next was Allison, who was small enough for me to pick her up at three-years-old, bringing he adorable face close to mine enough to flick at her nose to make her giggly. She was the sweetest little thing.

And then Thomas, who wobbled when he walked. He could walk just fine for someone who was one-years-old, but he was just a lot slower, making it hard for him to keep up with his siblings. He cried a lot more than the other two, specifically for that reason, I always thought.

I held Allison in my arms, watching Emily walk towards me, Thomas in hers. I smiled, giving her a quick side-hug. "How are you, Em?"

She sighed, eyes widening for a second. It had been a stressful day. "Oh, you know." She set Thomas down, her hands finding her hips. "It's been a long day."

I laughed, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Well, now you can take some time and relax," I told her, both of us starting towards the house. "You and Sam go and have fun. Just come back whenever. I don't have to work tomorrow, so take as long as you want."

Emily quickly reached out and wrapped her strong arms around me. She squeezed until I was close to not being able to breath, whispering into my ear, "Thank you so much, Nita. You have no idea how much we need some alone time."

Emily always looked so happy, and I was sure she was. She loved her children more than anything and anyone, Sam coming in as a close second. She had the life she wanted and she seemed overjoyed about it. But it was moments like that - the ones where she was hanging onto me for dear life, whispering in one exhausted breath how thankful she was to have night just her and Sam - that made me feel nervous to start a family.

Emily pulled away from me, rubbing my shoulders. "I'm just gonna go check on Sam. I'm sure he's ready to go."

"Sounds good." I watched her disappear inside, and I turned to the three young ones, gesturing to them to come inside. "Come on, guys."

Sam and Emily left a couple minutes after that, and I spent the rest of my night making a delicious pasta dinner, watching strange children's cartoons and colouring. Eventually, one by one, the kids started to fall asleep. Allison was first, and when I came back from tucking her in, Thomas was sleeping. Harry gave it his best effort to stay up, but he just couldn't do it. Once he was put to bed, I went back out to the living room, changing the channel to something more appropriate for me; House Hunters.

I watched for a little while, a couple yawns here and there. I knew I was going to fall asleep on the couch, so I decided to hit the washroom first. As soon as I stood, I felt it; the overwhelming feeling a heat, fatigue, dizziness and nausea. I walked briskly to the washroom, calmly lifting the toilet seat and kneeling down slowly. In a matter of seconds, I felt it come up my throat and then out of my mouth.

I spent a solid five minutes leaning over the toilet, only throwing up a couple of times. The rest of it was just me trying to catch my breath. I rubbed my throat, feeling the soreness come on. The more I rubbed my throat, the more my arms moved over my breasts, which I was slowly discovering was hurting.

I leaned back onto the floor, both of my hands raising to my breasts, lightly squeezing. They felt sore and tender and I seethed in pain.

I sighed, reaching over and flushing the toilet, using all my energy to push myself off the floor. Once standing, I leaned into the sink to wash my mouth out. After doing that, I splashed water over my face, taking a deep breath, When my hands fell away from my face, I caught my eyes in the mirror - tired and concerned.

I was hot, tired, bloated, dizzy, and nauseous. My breasts were tender. I didn't want to eat any food. But I hadn't missed my period yet. It was due in a couple of days, so I had no idea of knowing, unless -

I dropped to my knees, opening the cupboard below the sink, reaching past all the hair products, folded cloths, and makeup to grab the white and purple box. I pulled it out, looking inside to see two pregnancy tests left. Did I dare try?

I couldn't stop myself from reaching inside and and pulling one out, immediately ripping the top of the package and letting the test fall out onto the counter. I read the instructions slowly, making sure I was going to do it correctly to get the most accurate result. After finishing the instructions, I simply just did it. And then I placed the test flat on the counter and waited.

Paul and I were not in the process of trying. To be quiet honest, it wasn't as if Paul and I were not not trying. If I was pregnant, it would make sense. I could think of plenty situations where that could've happened. But we weren't tracking my ovulation period or going to doctors or doing anything to make this happen.

We had discussed kids plenty of times. When we first got together, all I wanted was to get married and have kids, but then I went off to college and I started to develop hopes and dreams for myself - goals. Getting married and having kids came after getting a good job and a nice house, and that was how it all went down. Now that I had everything I wanted and we got married six months ago, there was no reason not to have kids.

I started to feel torn. I wanted to get pregnant on my own terms and when I was expecting it. I wanted to be in control of that whole process. But if I was pregnant now, I would do everything to make it work. We wouldn't have to wait for anything or go through a huge process.

The timer on my phone went off. I quickly walked over to the counter, leaning over the test and looking at the test window.

When I got home that night, I crawled into bed with sleeping Paul and I cuddled up next to him. I didn't say a word about anything. I used the excuse as I didn't want to wake him, but really I just didn't think I was ready. I didn't know if I ever would be.

It was the next day, nearly dinner time and Paul and I were making the 'ultimate lasagna' to impress Jared and Kim, who were both coming over tonight for dinner. I was standing there, waiting for the water to boil while Paul was doing pretty well everything else. He was sort on in his own space, in his own mind, so we weren't talking much, which caused me to zone out myself.

I started to picture myself with a round belly attached to me, and what that would be like. I tried to picture Paul and I with a baby in the house and how that would be. I ran multiple scenes and scenarios through my mind, lost in thought.

"You're boiling over."

I wanted to get a dog. If we were going to have a kid, I wanted a dog to be around for our child to grow up with. My sister and I had grown up with a dog and it was the best experience ever. Kid's best friend.

"Nita! You're boiling over!" Paul's arm came around me, yanking me back from the stove and quickly putting a lid on the pot. He put down a cloth to soak up the boiled over water now covering the surface of the stove. Then he looked to me, brows furrowed, face full of concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." I blinked slowly, nodding to him. "Yeah, I'm fine, I just - I -" I looked him in the eyes, taking a breath and softening up. "I just zoned out. I'm sorry."

He chuckled lightly, grabbing the sides of my face. "Well, we have to get this dinner done. You think you can manage the pasta?"

I laughed too, knowing that I could handle the simple task as long as I could keep my mind from straying too far. All I could think about was Paul's big hands on my hips, holding me steady, and now holding my face sweetly. I leaned up, pressing my lips against his, wrapping my arms around him and bringing him tight against me.

Paul hummed, hands running over my back and squeezing my backside. He leaned away, detaching his lips from mine. His smile was his default cocky smirk. "As much as I want to continue this, we have to finish this dinner." He moved away from me quickly, going back to making the dinner. "Or I'll never hear the end of it from Jared."

That was true.

So I really focused on getting the dinner done, and when we put the lasagna on our decently decorated dinner table, I thought it looked really delicious. It wasn't at all long after that that the four of us were sitting at the table, Kim across from, Paul beside me and Jared across from him.

Jared put a forkful of lasagna in his mouth, making a disgusted face. "Bleh!" he said, shaking his head.

I kicked at him, eyes widened, though a playful smile was on my lips. "Jared!"

Jared laughed, just as youthful as he always was. He put the fork back into the food, picking up a sizeable chunk. "No, it's good." He glanced between Paul and I. "It's really good considering it was made by you two."

Kim reached back, smacking the back of Jared's head. "I swear -" She looked at me, reaching for her glass of wine. "I have to discipline him more than our children."

"Mm, that reminds me, how did Aniya's swim meet go?"

"It was great." Kim had a wonderful smile, and you always saw it the most when talking about her and Jared's kids. They were precious and Kim would tell you that over and over until she knew you believed it. "She did so well!"

Jared's brows furrowed. "She came in fifth out of six kids." He shook his head when he caught Kim's glare, the gears in his mind spinning back. "But, I mean, she tried really hard." Looking at Jared, he smiled mischievously. "She may not be first place, but she's a winner at heart."

Kim mimicked his smile. "Just like her dad."

Laughter filled the room as Jared shook his head, taking a long sip of his wine. "Nonsense." He put his arm around Kim's chair and looking at her with a gratefulness he only possessed around her. "I'm a winner in every way because I have you and the kids and this life." They shared a small second and then Jared held his glass out, looking at Paul and I. "To winning!"

I raised my glass at the same time as Paul, not even thinking about the glass being filled with the wine Paul insisted to pour for me. I clinked my glass against Paul's, catching his wonderful eyes. I watched as he raised the glass to his lips and drank. I hadn't realized I had mirrored his exact movements until I felt the sting of the red wine gathered in my mouth.

In one very quick movement I pushed myself away from the table, making my chair squeal against the new hardwood. I spit the alcohol out of my mouth, watching as the small amount of red liquid spatter on the table. It was just a little bit of wine and it was barely a mess at all, but it did make everyone stop and stare at me.

"Nita, baby -" Paul's hand came onto my back, rubbing it comfortingly, making me look at him. He looked concerned, brows furrowed and eyes scanning. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, my god." Kim's eyes were wide as she gripped the dining room table.

Jared looked down at his wine, swirling it around. "I didn't think it was that bad."

Kim jumped up, throwing her hands in the air and screaming excitedly, in classic Kim-fashion. "The wine's not bad, she's pregnant!" Kim ran around the table to hug me, meeting me with a tight, tight embrace. "Congratulations." She let go of me, finally seeing my shocked face. She paused, glancing at Paul, standing frozen. "Oh."

I couldn't look at Paul's face. The thought made me sick. And then my stomach turned and my hand flew to my mouth as I stood nervously, running to the bathroom. I closed the door behind me, not locking it and I opened the lid to the toilet. I took a deep breath and focused on steadying my breathing.

As the seconds past, I started to feel better. And then the door to the bathroom opened and I felt Paul's big, warm hands on my back, comforting me. And I started to cry, and then too soon after that, I was full-on sobbing.

Paul pulled me up off the ground and pulled me into his arms, hugging me tightly, rubbing my back and kissing my head.

"I'm sorry," I said, finally dialling back the crying enough to say real words. "I wanted to tell you, but I didn't know how and this is not how I wanted you to find out, but I don't know how I wanted to tell you and -"

"Nita, it's ok."

"No, it's not! I needed to tell you! I should've told you the second something was off, but I -"

"Ssh." Paul placed his hands on my face, pushing my face away from his chest and tilting it up to look at me. His eyes were so soft and forgiving - not a look that was often on his face. "I don't care how I found out that we're having a baby." He chuckled quickly, the joy coming to his face in an instant. "We're having a baby."

Seeing the happiness on his face made me smile widely. "We're gonna have a baby."

He laughed loudly, wrapping his arms around me, spinning me around in the small space of our guest bathroom. He set me down, leaning down to kiss my wet face. His lips landed on mine in a sweet, quick kiss. "We're gonna have a baby," he said in the softest of voices.

I hadn't really given myself a chance to be happy for myself, for Paul, and for us as a family. Once, I did, the feeling that I felt was indescribable joy. There was nothing on planet earth that made me feel this same way. It made me love my life more. It made me love Paul more, even after I thought that wasn't possible.

"I love you, Paul."

Paul smiled, leaning in closer to me. "I love you too, Nita."