Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight

Chapter Twenty-Five

*Dru's POV*

"I swear, one of these days I will rip Stefan and Vladimir's ears from their head!" I seethed, marching into the Cullen main kitchen where Iris was currently seated at the kitchen table. She had a cup of tea and was reading a book. The backdoor was open so a nice breeze was coming through.

"What happened this time?" Iris asked, placing her book down on the table to look at me.

"They keep giving Cordy and I a hard time," I told her, huffing as I took a seat across from her at the table. "I went to Meredith's house with Jackson and May to see how training and research was going with the others. Rob and Cordy were the ones conducting research today. Anyway, as I walk in I see Stefan and Vladimir cursing my sister out. I was ready to pound them if Zafrina didn't hold me back!"

"Oh jeeze," Iris said, biting her lip as I rubbed my temples. "Look they're just creepy old bats who don't know how to shut up. They are only looking for revenge, which fair, but they're just as bad as the Volturi."

"They are," I agreed, sighing as I ran a hand through my hair. I think if I saw Vladimir or Stefan again I might actually kill them.

"Let's hope they don't become a problem after this," Iris mentioned. "With a new form of governmental and all."

"There is no way in hell I'm going to let them run our supernatural world. We don't need to put our faith in those two," I said, shivering at the thought.

"It could be worse," Iris summarized, patting my hand.

"Don't say that," I said, chuckling a bit. "Anyway, in the meantime, make sure the boys are far away from them. Like I said, I don't trust the Romanians."

"Agreed," Iris said, biting her lip. "You know, speaking of the boys, I think they're getting stir crazy having to stay on the property..."

I watched as her eyes lingered to where Wes and Bo were currently outside playing a game of soccer with Carlisle and Esme. Their laugher echoing throughout the afternoon.

"Carlisle and Esme have been so good at keeping them occupied, but I know it can go for only so long," Iris added.

"Well it's to keep them safe," I said as we proceeded to watch them. Esme looked absolutely glowing as she and Carlisle chased the two around. It was a warmer, sunny day here in Forks. A rarity, but one well spent.

It was now nearing the end of August. Everyone was on high alert at all times ever since Embry, Leah, and Ryan came across a Volturi guard. What got me the most was I couldn't identify it. I wondered if it was a new guard, but no new guard would have that level of skill. Skill that takes centuries to master. Was it Demetri? Jane? Alec? Felix? Who knows. Maybe a witch, but it was a Volturi guard alright.

I don't think I've rested since I learned that, thoughts of Aro and my uncles dancing in my head. Being back in that godforsaken castle.

"I know. The last thing we need is Aro getting his hands on them," Iris said as she bit her lip nervously.

"Over my dead boy," I stated as my girlfriend reached out and grasped my hand tight in hers. I turned to my wife as she gave me a bright smile.

"Over mine as well," Iris agreed, pressing her lips to mine. As we pulled apart, my wife sighed. "One of these days, we'll just run away, you know? Away from all of this…Just…"

"We will. Maybe we could go somewhere sunny for a little bit," I mused, chuckling as I got up to go make myself some tea.

"It's not a terrible idea. As much as I love being Forks, this town is a bit dreary," Iris mentioned, sighing heavily. "I don't know if I could think of it as a home after all of this."

"I don't know," I answered, looking around the large Cullen home. "Something about this place makes me happy. Maybe it's the fact this is where we were rescued to or the fact our whole family's here. But, something about Forks is special."

Iris chuckled at this before turning back to her book, but gave my hand a squeeze in the process as I sat down beside her.

"Hey ladies." I look to see Esme now entering the kitchen. She walked gracefully towards the kitchen. "Grabbing some snacks for the boys."

"They're getting rowdy, aren't they?" Iris mused, looking to where Carlisle was still running around and playing soccer with them.

"Yes, but hopefully it'll tire them for the night. They've been having trouble getting a regular sleep cycle," Esme mentioned as she began to quickly cut up some apples. "Ever since the wedding when they stayed up past their bedtimes. I remember Renesmee and Aidan having the same problem sometimes."

"I can imagine, they were used to such strict bedtimes back in Italy," I said, taking a sip of tea. There was a little bit of blood substitute lingering within it, sustaining my thirst and relaxing me at the same time.

"I can imagine it wasn't easy there to be a kid," Esme said sympathetically.

"No, it's not," I said, my voice firm. "That's why I'm so glad the boys have all of you. They're able to live such better lives here."

"I'm glad to hear that," Esme replied, but I could tell she was hesitant. She bit her bottom lip as she tapped her fingers against the plate of the apples she cut up for the boys.

"Is everything okay, Esme?" Iris asked worriedly.

"Yes, of course," Esme said, shaking her head. "I…I just…I wanted to talk to you ladies about something…About the boys."

"About the boys?" I inquired as Esme placed the plate down and took a seat next to us.

"Yes," Esme answered, taking a deep unnecessarily breath. "It's something Bo said to me the other day that I wanted to run by you first."

"Of course," I answered, sharing a look of concern with Iris.

"Last night, when I was tucking Bo in, he's said goodnight Mommy," Esme told us hesitantly.

"Oh," I said, raising my eyebrows in confusion with Iris. "What…What does this have to do with us?"

"You're their sisters but also, you've been taking care of them ever since they were little. As for Bo, a baby," Esme said, fiddling with the bracelet on her arm. "I don't know if that was overstepping a boundary and I wanted to talk to you two about it first."

"You mean…The boys think of us as parents and you don't want to feel like you're replacing us?" Iris summarized.

"Yes," Esme answered. I've never seen such a well composed woman fumble in front of us. A woman I've heard plenty about. Her tragic ending as a human and the loss of an infant son she loved so desperately.

"Esme," I began, looking at the very kind woman. A woman that didn't have a mean bone in her body. "Iris and I…We love the boys, very much…I will defend and protect them with every breath I have left, but I also don't have any problem if they see you as a mother."

"Yeah. I love the boys as if they're my own, but maybe this'll allow them to see us as their sisters," Iris chimed in. "Besides, whatever the boys see us as I'm fine with. You can't have too much love."

"We know you're not replacing us, Esme," I added, taking the woman's hand in mine. "We have such different roles with the boys. If they love you like a mother, let them have it. They need that affection. They never got it before."

"Bo's mother never paid any attention to him. I don't know if Sulpicia really wanted to have him or Stefano," Iris said in regards to my step-mother. "She was always locked away with the other wives."

"And Wes's mother died when he was a baby so he never got to know her," I added. "You and Carlisle are giving them a life they never had with the Volturi."

"But you two gave them love in the first place," Esme said to me. "I don't think those boys would know what love is without all of you."

"Thanks, Esme," I answered, smiling gratefully at the woman.

"Mommy!" we all looked to see Bo come running in. He had a grin on his face as he climbed onto Esme's lap. "We're waiting for you!"

"Oh, sorry about that," Esme said. She looked like she was going to cry at the mention of this little boy calling her mommy as he clung onto her. "I was just talking to Dru and Iris."

"Momma! Mom!" Bo said, looking at us directly now.

"Momma?" I questioned incredously.

"Mom?" Iris added.

"You're my moms too, duh," Bo said, rolling his eyes. "I asked Stef if I could call you all by your proper names now and he said it's fine. Mommy, Momma, and Mom!"

"What?" I said, looking at Iris in surprise and then at Bo as he wrapped his arms around Esme's neck in a hug now.

"Hey ladies," Carlisle greeted us as he and Wes entered the kitchen.

"Are we gonna play soccer or what?" Wes asked, smacking his hand against a soccer ball.

"You should play with us," Bo said, looking at Iris and I now.

"Yeah!" Wes cheered, jumping up and down.

"Ris?" I asked my wife.

"Of course, for our boys!" Iris exclaimed, getting out of the chair to swirl Wes in her arms. The young boy giggled as Iris pressed kisses to his cheeks.

"I say boys against girls," Bo declared, climbing off Esme's lap. "Wes, Daddy, and I on one team, and Mommy, Mom, and Momma on the other."

"Yeah!" Wes cheered, following after his cousin as he ran after him to the backyard.

"Did he just say Daddy?" Carlisle asked, looking towards the boys with a look of shock but also honor and love.

"Yeah," Esme said, chuckling as she came up to her husband's side. "Dad."

"Esme, no fraternizing with the enemy," I teased her as I came over with Iris in hand. "Us mothers have to stick together."

"That we do," Esme agreed, smiling warmly at me as we all then headed outside to play with our kids.

Our kids…

*Jacob's POV*

"What's an eight-letter word meaning "incentive"?" Renesmee asked me. She was seated at our kitchen table with her eyes fixated on the paper before her. A lazy Saturday morning for us.

"I'm not sure," I said as I prepared the scramble eggs for us. We've been on the down low for the last couple of weeks. Renesmee loved being active, but we've been trying to keep it as relaxing as we could. She preferred to anyway as the stages of her pregnancy advanced.

"I've been at this thing all morning," she muttered, rubbing her baby bump as if it were going to give her all the answers. "Yet I can't figure out what it's talking about."

"You'll get it. you finish these puzzles like that," I said, scrambling the eggs up.

"Thanks for believing in me," Renesmee teased, chuckling as she scratched her head with the end of the pen.

"Of course," I replied lightly, chuckling.

"You know, Lily's got me thinking about names again," Renesmee mentioned to me offhandedly.

"What's it this time? Timmy or Quinn? Oh! Can't forget Lavender or Willow?" I teased jokingly. "Lily and those flower names…"

"Flower names are not terrible, Jake," Renesmee said, rolling her eyes.

"I know, but Lily wants them because she's a flower," I pointed out.

"Please, the family's been suggesting worse. I even got the Denali's pitching ideas in. Tanya suggested some pretty horrid ones," Renesmee said, her nose scrunching up. "I don't ever remember a name process being so annoying like this."

"Well, the names were all decided for you and the others. Not to mention you came up with them on the bat," I pointed out, thinking about her siblings and cousins.

"We aren't giving our child a combined name," Renesmee stated. "Or…Maybe, but nothing too crazy. I love my mother, and I love my name, but it's so hard explaining 'Renesmee' to people."

"Why? You won't want to name our child to be Bellward, Emden, Carlsper?" I joked with her. "Or Masabelle?"

"Masabelle is not the worst," Renesmee said, chuckling. "Actually, I did play with our mothers names. Sarabella is pretty."

"Not bad," I said, shrugging. "But…I don't know. We still don't know what our children are, who they are, what they look like! Why don't we wait until we see their faces and name them?"

"Because we should have some idea," Renesmee said. "I'm not going to be a cruel mother who waits to give their baby a name."

"I mean, you already heard my two cents," I said, shrugging. "Our parents. Whatever the babies end up becoming, I think they should embody our parents somehow."

"Now, see! That's a start!" Renesmee exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

"Alright, alright," I said, chuckling as I turned around at the smell of the eggs starting to get crisp.

You know, I was starting to get used to this domestic house stuff. Of course I still had to get through raising kids. My parents raised me pretty well and the same goes for Renesmee. I just hope we don't screw up our child or it becomes a bad egg or something stupid like that. I don't know, I was always worrying nowadays. I guess that's what really shows my age, how much I've grown into an obsessive worry wart.

"It's because you love too much, Jake," Ness had told me the other night. "You have a big heart and you care a great deal about the ones you love."

Maybe it was the wolf in me– the fierce protector. The animal side of me. I sighed as I then looked up to watch Renesmee again. She was so concentrated on that crossword as her eyes scanned it. She was also so beautiful. So…Breathtaking.

"You're burning the eggs," Renesmee remarked, looking towards me mischievously.

I frowned, turning around to see a large pout of smoke. "Oh god," I squeaked, rushing towards it to quickly smother it.

"I also know that you were staring at me," Renesmee prompted with a mischievous grin.

"Oh really?" I inquired, smirking at her.

"Hasn't anyone ever told…" Renesmee paused, her eyes growing wide as she suddenly grew silent. I then watched as her hand flew to her baby bump again and I could see her lips curl into a…Smile?

"Jake," she whispered, waving her hand furiously at me. Then she looked at me, her eyes with tears.

"What?" I asked. She couldn't speak but she then grabbed my hand and placed it to her abdomen. That's when I felt a little flutter against my hand.

"Was…Was that?" I looked at her for confirmation. She nodded vigorously as the little fluttering continued.

"They kicked!" She exclaimed happily, grinning widely at me. "They're kicking!"

"That's my kiddos," I said, placing both hands on either side of where Renesmee's was.

"I should tell my parents! This is so good, that means they're progressing well," Renesmee gushed. "Our babies– kicking!"

"I'll call my dad and my sisters. They live for this shit," I added, causing Renesmee to roll her eyes and chuckle.

"I sometimes weirdly try to remember what it was like. I do, but not all of it," Renesmee mentioned to me.

"You remember?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. I mean, I knew Ness had memories from when she was a baby but this was never something we talked about now.

"Yeah. I do, but it's a lot of flashes and thoughts. Nothing very solid," she explained, hand still on her baby bump. "I do still have my first memories. I remember my father looking down at me and being placed in my mother's arms for the very first time. The minute I knew her as a human."

"I wonder if our kids will remember that," I mentioned, looking down at her baby bump again.

"I think they will," Renesmee said, chuckling. "I should ask my father or one of my siblings if they can hear the baby's thoughts yet. Masen could hear Tyler and Ella's thoughts by now."

"That's how we found out Ella was a shield," I mentioned, chuckling lightly. "I think Edward and Lizzy thought Masen was crazy for a moment, claiming he could hear the baby when in reality, she was just like her grandma."

"True," Renesmee said, chuckling. "Jake, I-"

That's when she began to violently cough, shaking her head as she placed a hand over her mouth.

"Ness?" I questioned, my voice laced with concern as I now placed a hand on her arm. "Babe, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she answered weakly, patting her chest as she wheezed a bit. "I…"

And that's when the blood began to trickle down her nose. It was small but then flowed out like a nose bleed. I could see her eyes growing faded as she looked up at me with a sort of worry.

"Jake," she whispered, and that's when her eyes rolled back into her head.

"Ness! Ness, please!" I cried out, catching her as she fell forward. "Renesmee!"

A/N: Uhhh ohhhh cliffy! Hope you guys are enjoying! In the meantime, thanks for reading, reviewing, and look out for the next update!