A/N: Thank you to everyone who is still reading and reviewing! We are on the home stretch with this story now, as we are drawing to the close! A huge thanks, as always, to my wonderful beta, Jenrar, aka Jenny Cullen, and to my lovely ficwife, EternallyCullen, for all of their support, and most importantly, their friendship! Love you, ladies!

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Twilight. It all belongs to the lovely Stephenie Meyer. I am just playing in her sandbox…

Bella stared up at her bedroom ceiling, watching as shadows danced around from the storm outside. When she first came to Forks, she'd hated the rain. She'd hated everything about it: the cold, the wet, the greenness of it all… She had been accustomed to the continual sunshine in Phoenix, the brown of the dry dirt and the rock formations in the distance, and the quiet that surrounded the Valley of the Sun, broken by the frequent heavy traffic and car horns. Her first few nights at her father's house, she had tossed and turned, unable to fall sleep because of the different noises that plagued her: the wind, the rain drumming on the roof and clinking against the glass in the window.

Now, she enjoyed the rain; to her, it was soothing and comforting. She found peace in watching the tiny rivulets that ran down the window and hearing the pat-pat-pat thrumming steadily above her. She thought back on how her life had changed since she'd made the decision to move to Forks to live with her father, and she wondered how her life would be different if she hadstayed in Phoenix and never moved to Forks permanently.

Of course, she wouldn't have Matt in her life. Sure, she would've gone to college – possibly be getting ready to graduate – and would've had a much easier life. She probably would've had a dependable car and an apartment that wasn't subsidized by the government, but she wouldn't have her son. He would never have been born and wouldn't have known what it was like to struggle on a daily basis. But she knew in her heart that if she were given the chance to change things, she wouldn't do it. She couldn't imagine not having Matthew.

Bella turned over onto her side and glanced at her alarm clock: 3:43 a.m. She groaned under her breath and flopped onto her back. She'd been trying to fall asleep all night without success. She finally gave up and slipped out of bed, tiptoed into Matt's bedroom, and sat down silently in the chair beside his bed. She stared at him for a long time, watching as his small chest rose and fell with his steady breathing. Dropping her head into her hands, she ran her fingers through her hair, wondering what she should do.

Carlisle had opened Pandora's Box, and she could not close it back – not without leaving the thought of this other child out in the open. After he had wreaked havoc with her emotions by forcing her to face the possible ramifications of her actions, he'd informed her that Matt was unable to be a bone marrow donor to his half-sibling because of his diabetes. When he had first told her, she'd been extremely angry that he had dragged her through that emotional upheaval to just turn around and tell her Matthew was contraindicated from being a donor, so it was a moot point. He'd explained to her that Type I diabetics were unable to donate bone marrow, even to a sibling, so he would testify on Matt's behalf, and he had told her that Dr. Taplin would have no problem with offering a second opinion. He'd told her that any physician would say the same thing, so there was no way the judge could force her to offer Matt up as a donor.

She'd had Edward bring her home soon afterwards and had sent him home quickly, saying that she needed to be alone. He'd kissed her on the forehead and nodded, leaving her and Matt to their nightly routine alone. But she hadn't been able to sleep. She knew she should have felt relieved that Matt wouldn't be subjected to further medical testing, but she was unable to reconcile the emotions she was now experiencing. When she was honest with herself, she was worried about this other child.

She sighed and rubbed her face. If only Carlisle hadn't forced her to examine all possibilities… If only she hadn't given this child his own identity as Matthew's brother… If only she had never known the agony of watching your child succumbing to a disease that, no matter how hard you fought it, the more it stole… If only she had not empathized with this other mother, knowing she was feeling the same terror Bella herself had felt since Matt had been born… If only…

xXx

"Wow, Bells. You look…awful," Jacob said as soon as she'd opened her door to him, a pizza box balanced on his left arm.

She scowled at him and stepped back, allowing him to enter the living room. "Thanks so much, Jake."

"Sorry," he said with a grin, his huge frame overpowering the small room. "But you look like you haven't slept for a month."

"It feels that way," she grumbled. "Matt! Jake's here!"

Matthew came pelting out of his bedroom and flung himself at his surrogate uncle. "Uncle Jake! What movie did you bring?" he asked excitedly.

Jake held up a DVD case. "Iron Man 3."

Matt jumped up in the air. "Yay! I've been wanting to see it!"

Jake laughed and ruffled Matt's hair, hugging him to his side. "I knew you had been."

Bella smiled and took the pizza box from Jake, setting it on the coffee table. "Matt, can you go get some plates?" she asked as she headed into the kitchen for glasses. "What do you want to drink, Jake?"

He squatted down in front of the television and put the disc in the DVD player. "Whatever you've got, Bells." He took the plates from Matt and opened the pizza box, putting a slice on each plate.

Bella carried the three glasses of Kool-Aid into the living room and settled down onto the couch. "How much do I owe you?"

"Nothing. It's my treat tonight." He took a huge bite of pizza.

She glared at him and crossed her arms. Matt paid no attention and sat between the two of them on the couch, his plate in his lap.

Jake held his hands up in a mock surrender. "Bells, seriously. It was my idea to have a pizza and movie night, and it's not a big deal. Please… Just let me do this. I feel like I don't do enough for you guys, and I don't get to see you very much anymore."

Bella pressed her lips together for a moment, then nodded in acquiescence. "All right… Thank you."

He grinned widely at her. "You're welcome. So, Matt, you ready to watch Iron Man kick some butt?"

He giggled. "Yep!"

They settled back into the couch to watch the movie. Matt yawned often as the movie progressed, but he managed to stay awake until the end. By the time the credits rolled, however, he was sound asleep. Jake lifted him easily and carried him into his bedroom, laying him gently in his bed, and Bella tucked him in.

"Thanks for a nice night," she said quietly after she had shut Matt's bedroom door.

"You're welcome," he replied. He pursed his lips for a moment before speaking again. "So, what's going on with the custody suit, if you don't mind me asking?"

She shook her head. "I don't mind, but I'm surprised Charlie hasn't filled Billy in on everything already," she said with a rueful chuckle.

Jake smiled. "Well, if he has, Dad hasn't shared it with me."

Bella sat back down on the sofa and rubbed her face. "Well, James is seeking custody so that he can force Matt to be a bone marrow donor for his eighteen-month-old son, who has leukemia."

He stared at her, his mouth dropping open. "Wow…"

"Yeah. Evan, my attorney, thinks he's bluffing on wanting full custody – that he's just asking for that as a thing to compromise with the judge on. He'll drop the full custody suit if the judge will grant him an injunction to force me to have Matt tested to see if he's a match."

"So, what're you gonna do?" he asked.

She smiled slightly. "Well, the joke's on him. I talked to Carlisle, his doctor, and Matt can't be a bone marrow donor because of his diabetes, which will be a plain confession from James that he's never had any contact with his son and that he has no idea of his health problems. Edward says it will actually work to my benefit now because the court will know where he is and be able to garnish his paycheck to start getting me child support. And if he tries to deny paternity, then he looks even more stupid for suing for full custody on a child he might try to deny is his. So, either way, I win," she said with a small grin.

Jake nodded his head. "So, you should be happy about that," he said, a curious expression on his face.

"I am."

"Bells, there's something else. What is it?"

Bella sighed. "I still can't stop thinking about this little boy…Matt's brother. At first, I was worried that if I blocked the motion to have Matt tested, then this kid could die. I know I should be happy that Matt's in the clear, but now I'm worried about this little boy."

"But what can you do?" Jake asked.

She shook her head. "I don't know. Nothing, I guess. But I just can't stop thinking about him."