Emmett's POV

I cocked my head, listening to the woman on the TV.

"We repeat, there is a storm heading towards the Forks area. If you are in the Forks area, you might want to take cover against high winds."

My eyes widened. We were in the Forks area. I looked out the window and saw the trees were whipping around like crazy.

"Bella?" I called, standing up.

"Up here," she called back faintly. I rushed up the stairs and saw her and Jazz in their room playing with her Barbies.

"Come on, we have to hide," I said, grabbing Jazz up from the floor. He clung to me alarmed.

"Hide?" asked Bella, also alarmed. "Why do we have to hide?" she held on to her Barbie and followed me downstairs. I opened the door to the closet under the stairs and crowded them inside. "Emmett?"

"A big storm is coming," I said, pulling the door shut behind me. Jazz looked up at me, his eyes wide and scared. "We have to hide in here until it passes."

"What about Daddy?"

"He's out at the store, remember?"

Jazz started to cry then. "Daddy," he wailed.

Bella looked at him then up at me. "Are you sure it's that big of a deal? Daddy wouldn't have left if it was that big of a deal."

"The lady on TV said to take cover."

She sighed and sat down on the floor, pulling Jazz into her lap. He was still crying. I stuck my head out the door and darted upstairs. I grabbed the pillows and blanket off Bella's bed and brought them downstairs to the closet. I stuffed them in the door and headed back up to the closet in the hall and grabbed more pillows and blankets.

When I got back down, Bella had made a little nest of sorts and she and Jazz were cuddled up, his head in the nook of her shoulder and neck and sucking his thumb. I draped a blanked over them and settled on the other side of Jazz from Bella. She gave me a look.

"You shouldn't be too worried. Daddy wouldn't go out if there was something bad going on."

I shook my head. "What if he didn't know?"

"Dads know everything." A loud crash of thunder shook the house and the light bulb flickered above us. "I'm sure he'll be fine, though."

I stared down at my son, aggravated. He was screaming at the top of his lungs and I couldn't figure out why. He was clean, he was full, he'd been sleeping until about five minutes ago and now, he was up and screaming. I tried switching arms and nothing.

"What's going on?"

I looked up and saw Rose standing in the doorway. I shook my head.

"I don't know. I think he hates me. Why don't I know how to take care of my own child?"

She sighed. "Emmett, none of us know what the hell we're doing. Let's just hope he doesn't wake up Ceci." She crossed the room and took him from me. She settled in the rocking chair and started to rock him, singing softly. I sat on the floor at her feet and looked up at her.

Gradually, Charlie quieted and made quiet little snuffling noises. Rose kept rocking and I sighed.

"I suck at this."

She chuckled. "You're a new parent to a 3-week old baby. You're exhausted and still in the middle of grieving your father. You don't suck."

I reached over and cupped her calf, rubbing my thumb up and down her skin. "I love you, Rose."

I felt her hand on my head. "I love you, too."

"Everyone ok?"

We looked up and saw Edward standing in the doorway, his hair standing up all over the place. I nodded and sighed. "I'm a crap dad."

Rose kicked me and Edward smiled. "Join the club." He yawned and crossed towards us, leaning over and looking at Charlie. "B's the only one who can quiet Ceci sometimes. I think she hates me."

He settled down next to me. "Though sometimes, she sleeps on me and it's just…" he stopped and grinned "amazing."

I grinned. "I know what you mean."

"Is this an exclusive party or can anyone come?" teased Bella from the doorway. Edward waved her in and carefully took Ceci from her. She waved her arms slightly but settled against his chest, fast asleep. Bella yawned. "So what's up?"

"Apparently all of us," I sighed. "Seriously, how did Dad do this on his own?"

"Dad didn't have newborns on his own. We were all pretty vocal when Renee left." She settled on the dresser and drummed her heels lightly against the drawers. "Plus, he had Esme and Carlisle and Billy to help out some."

"Hey guys?"

We looked at the door, guiltily. Apparently young Charles had woken up everyone in the house. Jasper stood there, his face pale.

"Did we wake you?" Rose sounded guilty.

"Um, yeah, but that's not the problem. Alice's water broke."

Jasper's POV

Alice looked so tiny in the bed, her face flushed and dark circles under her eyes. She was staring off into space when I came in.

"Alice?"

She rolled over and reached for me. I crawled into the bed with her and sighed against her neck. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "I can't be a mom right now. You see how hard it is for the others. I'm not ready for that."

I rubbed her arm and curled around her carefully. "We can try if you want."

She shook her head. "I think it'll be harder if we try it and it doesn't work than if we give him up now."

"Ok. Whatever you want to do, I'll support."

She was crying then and I pressed my face against her shoulder. She shifted awkwardly in the bed and pressed her face into my neck, crying harder. I wrapped my arms around her and cried into her hair.

Bella's POV

I stared at the tiny boy with the shock of dark hair sucking on his fist in the nursery. He was beautiful and my heart ached to keep him. Emmett came and stood beside me, slipping his arm around my waist.

"I wish there was something we could do."

I nodded. "I offered, but they want to either do it all on their own or not at all, I guess. I hope this isn't something they regret."

"They will," he said softly. We watched the baby sleeping. "He has Dad's nose, too."

I chuckled. "How can you tell? He's still puffy."

"An uncle knows."

I grinned. "He's definitely a Swan, though. Look at him sleep and eat at the same time."

Emmett laughed and squeezed me against him. "So how are you, anyway?"

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair, turning to rest a hip against the ledge. "I'm ok. Better than I deserve."

He grinned. "Aren't we all." He leaned his back against the window and studied a picture hanging on the opposite wall.

"It's been a truly fucked up year, hasn't it."

"Amen to that." I leaned my head against his shoulder. "Dad dying, me dropping out of school, getting married, three pregnancies, three births…what else can happen?"

"Well, no one else is allowed to die, that's for sure. I'll kick their asses."

I laughed and poked him in the side. "Yes, because you can do that. And it will have the desired reaction."

He pushed my head lightly. We started back up the hallway towards the waiting room. "How are you?" I asked, looking up at him.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, I guess. I'm out, now, so I can do whatever I want for a while. I'm thinking I'll spend the next few months with Rose and Charlie and just be around. Then I'll start taking some classes and maybe get a degree in something."

"Like what?"

He shrugged. "Business? I have no clue."

I grinned. "You think you'll ever come back to Forks?"

He was quiet. "I'd like to, to be honest. Family's here, you know? But Rose's job is in Seattle."

"You might talk to her about it, Em. She might surprise you."

He nodded. We'd reached the waiting room and Edward and Rose were sitting holding the babies. Bella's face softened when she saw Edward and Ceci.

She was so tiny in his arms, but the bronzy down on her head definitely marked her as Edward's daughter. She was holding onto his finger tightly with one tiny fist, her fingers barely wrapping around his.

Rose made my heart melt as she held Charlie. He had Rose's fine blond hair and my large frame. He was a couple of pounds bigger than Ceci already, something I was immensely proud of. Bella liked to point out that Ceci was normal and Charlie was just big.

I sat down beside Rose and she gladly handed over Charlie. She stood and stretched. "I'm going to the bathroom," she announced. Bella nodded and followed after her.

Edward and I sat in silence for a bit.

"So how is he?"

"Beautiful."

He nodded. "Have you seen the Brandons?"

I shook my head. "Not since they went into Alice's room."

He nodded again. "I wish…" he stopped and sighed. "I think they're brave."

I nodded this time. I couldn't imagine giving up my son.

Alice's POV

I sat tiredly on the edge of the bed. Mom was bustling around the room, keeping up a steady stream of chatter as she packed up the stuff in the room that went home with me. Dad was sitting in a chair looking uncomfortable.

"Did you see him?" I asked suddenly.

Mom stopped and looked at me. "See who?"

"My son."

"Well, no, why would we?"

"Because he's my son."

She was quiet for a moment before she sat down on the edge of the bed next to me. "Sweetie, he's not really yours anymore. You gave him up."

She reached for my hand and I pulled it away. "You didn't even want to see your own grandson?"

She sighed. "I think it would be too hard, sweetheart."

"I want to be emancipated," I said suddenly.

Mom sucked in her breath. "What?"

"I want to be emancipated. Rose and Bella and Jasper were talking about it for him, since his mom isn't around and isn't likely to come back soon and I want to be emancipated."

Now it was her turn to pull back. "But we're here, we love you and want you."

I sighed and rubbed my face. "I think it'll be easier if I'm emancipated. I don't want to come back home, I want to stay with Jasper."

"Are you two talking about getting married?" asked Dad sharply.

I shook my head. "No, we want to finish school first. Maybe we'll get married in college, but not now. I just…I want to be emancipated."

***

Tali: When I was about 5 or 6 and my little brother was 2 or 3, a huge storm was blowing into our town. My mom ran to the grocery store a few blocks away and left my older brother, then about 12, in charge. He FLIPPED out and grabbed us, stuffing us in the closet under the stairs and telling us that anything we wanted to save needed to be in the closet but everything else was pretty much a goner. My little brother realized my parents weren't in the closet and started crying. I was a little more reasonable and pointed out Mom wouldn't have gone to the store if it meant she was going to die.