C H A P T E R T W E N T Y O N E

.:Edward:.

Jake finally left after his talk with Bella. I had never been more relieved in my entire life. Bella thought I was being over dramatic, but I knew she felt the same way I did.

"Emma?" I looked up to see Emma pause just as she was about to leave the room. She turned to face Bella and me as we sat on the couch.

"Yeah?" she asked hesitantly. Bella bit her lip.

"We need to talk." She said finally. Emma's eyes flickered upstairs before she turned back to us and nodded. She walked to the couch and sat across from us. Bella took a deep breath. "We need to set some ground rules." Bella announced. Emma frowned.

"Such as?"

"Such as you are not allowed to date until you are 21." I said firmly. Bella rolled her eyes at me as Emma's jaw dropped.

"Not 21, 16." Bella corrected. I frowned unhappily. Emma still looked upset.

"But Jake will be 21 by then." I nodded happily.

"Which means you can't date him until you are 18." I said happily. Bella shot me a glare.

"What!" Emma shrieked.

"Look Emma, we know that seems like a long time, but you can date other boys once you turn 16." Bella tried to reason. Emma shook her head.

"I don't want to date other boys!" she screamed. "Look I don't know what it is but there is something about Jake. He's the one for me. I can feel it." She insisted. I felt my stomach roll uncomfortably. I didn't like hearing Emma proclaim she had found her soul mate. She was only 14! "Plus mom you've known him all his life! Doesn't that earn him a little trust?" Emma pleaded. Bella sighed.

"Sweetie, I have known Jake all his life, but our relationship has always been those of siblings. Now things have changed and he wants to date my daughter. All new protective feelings are coming out in me and because I have never dealt with Jake as the kid who wants to date my daughter, I don't know how he will react to my rules or expectations. This is new ground for all of us and until we all get our bearings on it, I think these rules are important." Emma looked close to tears as she looked to me.

"Daddy?" she asked, her large green eyes staring at me. I felt the urge to cave under her gaze and fought it.

"Don't look at me Emma. If I had it my way you wouldn't be dating until you were 21." She looked back to Bella.

"Look Emma, I know it's hard. But give us some time. One day you'll have kids and you will understand. But until then, you have to trust us. Let Jake prove to us how worthy he is of our daughter." Bella said calmly. Emma took a deep, shaky breath and nodded.

"Fine, I can respect that. But you guys have to promise to try to get along with him and we have to invite him to all the family get-togethers now so that he can prove it to you both." I looked over at Bella and she sighed in defeat.

"Fine." I grumbled. Emma smiled and stood up. She hugged us both, kissing our cheeks.

"Thanks. I love you guys." She said happily. We nodded and she skipped upstairs. Bella looked at me and frowned.

"That went a lot smoother than I thought it would." She said slowly. I nodded.

"It's the first time Emma and I have ever disagreed and not yelled at each other." I said frowning. Bella giggled and placed a kiss under my jaw.

"I think I'm rubbing off on you." She giggled. I looked down at her and smiled.

"And what, pray tell, are you rubbing Miss Swan?" She blushed beautifully and sat up on her knees to press a kiss into my lips.

"Want me to show you?" she whispered against my lips. I grinned and picked her up, carrying her to our bedroom on the first floor, away from all the other rooms in the house.

.:Bella:.

I woke up to the glorious smell of coffee. I looked up at the clock and blinked. I vaguely remembered Edward waking me up to say goodbye earlier. It was now 10:30 a.m. and there was a large cup of hot coffee on my night stand. I sat up and sipped it eagerly. There was a light knock on my door. "Come in." I called between sips. Jason slipped his head in and smiled.

"Morning mom." I smiled at him and patted the bed next to me.

"Morning Jason. Thanks for the coffee." He nodded and sat next to me. "So what is this about?" He smiled slowly.

"Well I was hoping we could go to the DMV today so I could get my permit." I glanced over at my calendar in surprise.

"Oh." He looked at me hopefully and I nodded. "Well, who is going to watch everyone else?" Jason frowned.

"Can't Emma?" I frowned.

"That's a lot of responsibility to place on a 14 year old." Jason rolled his eyes.

"I already talked to her. She said she'd do it." He said eagerly. I smiled and sipped my coffee.

"Alright, let me shower then we can go." Jason jumped up excited and I chuckled. I made my way over to the bathroom and turned on the shower. I glanced at myself in the mirror and frowned. I lifted Edward's shirt and glanced at my tummy. It was still flat as ever though I looked slightly bloated or full, as if I had eaten too much. I frowned. It was still too early to be really showing.

I shed the shirt, blushing when I realized my panties were still somewhere in our room. I stepped into the warm shower and smiled, instantly relaxing. I could already tell, today would be a long day.

.:Edward:.

"Well Mr. Cooper. How are you doing today?" I asked. Though he had left the hospital months ago, he still came in weekly for checkups.

"Edward, what did I tell you?" I chuckled.

"Right, sorry Allen." He smiled. "So how are you?" he shrugged.

"Same as always. Stephenie my eldest is pregnant again." He said rolling his eyes. I chuckled. "She's got a five year old girl and a two year old boy. She told me she's having another boy." I smiled.

"Tell her I say congratulations." Allen nodded.

"What about you? How are things going with Bella and the kids?" I couldn't help the smile that took over my face at the mention of Bella.

"Things are going really well. We actually moved in together, the wedding is in less than a month and she's pregnant." I said all in one breathe. Allen took a moment to process all I had said before he grinned.

"Congratulations!" he said happily. I smiled and nodded.

"Thanks." I moved to his chart and smiled. "Alright, I need to take your vitals now." He nodded and I set to work.

"So do you know what she's having?" I shook my head.

"She's only two months pregnant." I explained. Allen nodded.

"Do you know what you want?" I looked up at him and frowned.

"I don't really mind what we have. She could pop out six kids and I'd be happy, so long as they were ours." I said smiling. Allen chuckled.

"Don't bite your tongue with that remark. You watch, you'll end up with six more girls." He said chuckling. I rolled my eyes.

"I don't know if I could handle that. My eldest daughter just found the man of her dreams last night. Talk about nightmare." I said shaking my head. Allen nodded in understanding.

"Is he a biker?" I shook my head.

"I wish, that way I could justify hating him. No he is some 19 year old student who takes time off school to help his father out who is in a wheelchair." I said bitterly. Allen nodded and grimaced.

"Ouch, that's a bummer." He said sympathetically. I nodded.

"And what's worse, Bella has known him all his life, practically raised him and she says he's a really good, caring kid." Allen frowned.

"What does he want to do with his life?" I smiled faintly.

"Mechanic." Allen grinned.

"Did you ask him about the finical stability of that?" he asked hopefully. I nodded.

"Yes and I just got yelled at by Emma and Bella." Allen snapped his fingers and frowned.

"Darn." I nodded. "Wait, you said he's 19?" I nodded. "Isn't Emma 14?" I nodded. "How does that work out?"

"She's not allowed to date until she's 16 and then she's not allowed to date anyone over 18 until she's 18. So I at least have four years." Allen nodded.

"Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. My younger daughter Becca found her 'soul mate' when she was 15. She told me they were made for each other. It was hell keeping them apart. But as soon as I learned to stop fighting it, it became easier." I nodded.

"How old was the kid?" Allen grimaced.

"23." I frowned and shook my head.

"When did you finally stop fighting it?" Allen frowned sadly.

"After they eloped as soon as she turned 18. I didn't even get to see their wedding. I'm telling you now Edward, don't fight this or you're going to miss out on the rest of her life." I nodded, glad for the words of wisdom.

.:Bella:.

It was official. My eldest son Jason could drive. He had passed the permit test with only two wrong and immediately following his test, we signed him up for driving lessons. He was ecstatic. I was just glad we would finally have another licensed driver soon. I was starting to think we would need a bus to fit us all in one vehicle.

When we got home, I was glad to see the house still standing, the kids all in their rooms, unpacking.

"Kids we're home." I called tossing my keys in the bowl by the door. I heard footsteps pound down the stairs as everyone bombarded Jason with questions. Did he pass? How many did he miss? Was it hard?

I smiled and moved to the kitchen, pulling out some frozen pizzas and turning on the oven. I was feeling exhausted this today more than usual. I wasn't sure if it was from my rigorous work out last night or the pregnancy. The oven beeped signaling it was heated up and I popped the pizzas in. I set the timer then poured myself a glass of iced tea.

"Mom!" I looked up to see Clara and Luke jumping excitedly.

"What?" I asked frowning. They were beaming.

"Come look what Emma found!" they cried. I frowned and followed them outside to the back yard. I groaned when I saw what the excitement was about. Emma had a small brown puppy in her arms and was beaming. She looked up at me and grinned.

"Mom look!" she cried happily. I sighed. The puppy was young and had no collar.

"Emma," I groaned. She clutched the puppy defensively.

"Mom, just give him a chance." She encouraged. She set the squirming puppy on the floor and it ran to me, licking my ankles excitedly. I bent down and picked it up. It squirmed excitedly and licked my arms before reaching for my face. I laughed and pet his soft head. He looked as if he were smiling at me. I was instantly hooked.

"You know who he reminds me of?" I asked no one in particular. Emma grinned.

"Jake?" she asked. I looked over and cocked an eyebrow before nodding.

"Yeah, this puppy reminds me a lot of Jake." I said scratching his ear. Emma jumped up grinning. I could feel my other kids surrounding me, all holding their breath. I sighed. "He can stay, but only until your father gets home." I said sternly. They all yelled in excitement. I put the puppy down and Emma grinned.

"I'm calling him Jack." She said smiling. I rolled my eyes. "Come on Jack! Let's go!" she said clapping her hands and running inside. The puppy followed behind eagerly.

"Don't let him pee on anything!" I called. Emma nodded and disappeared inside along with all the other kids. I sighed. I was going to have to make a stop at the vet to make sure this dog was healthy. I could already tell we were going to be keeping it.

.:Edward:.

I got home at my normal time. As soon as I walked in the door there was a small brown ball of fluff attacking my feet. I frowned and bent over to pick it up. A dog? He squirmed in my arms and tried licking my face. It was hard to resist smiling.

I set my brief case down and carried the puppy into the living room. Bella was sitting on the couch watching the kids read a dog training book. "No look, it's that way." Simon said shaking his head. Emma frowned.

"No, look at the picture. That's wrong." She insisted. Bella glanced up and smiled at me. I moved and sat next to her, leaning over to give her a kiss.

"What's this?" I asked petting the puppy in my arms. He instantly curled up on my lap. Bella giggled.

"That's Jack. Emma found him today. I already took him to the vet, he's extremely healthy." She informed me. I nodded, petting the dog behind his ear.

"So I take it we're keeping him?" I asked frowning. Bella giggled.

"I told the kids it was up to you." I rolled my eyes.

"Great, set me up to be the bad guy." Bella grinned.

"Well you were last one here." She said smiling. I grinned.

"Well now that I've met this monster I kind of like him." I admitted. I looked up to see the kids crowding around us, all looking hopeful.

"Can we keep him dad?" Emma begged. I looked down at the now sleeping puppy in my arms. I sighed heavily.

"Who's going to feed him?" Clara and Luke raised their hands. "And pick up after him?" Emma nudged Jodi and Simon who grudgingly raised their hands. "And walk and groom him?" Emma and Jason raised their hands. I nodded and looked at the puppy. "Alright. He can stay." They all cried excitedly. Bella leaned her head on my shoulder and smiled.

"Thank you." She whispered softly. I smiled and kissed the top of her head.

"The pleasure was all mine." I admitted.