Chapter 23: Caramel Apples
Bella's POV
"Esme, I'm absolutely positive that I want you to name one of the babies." I smiled. "Rosalie has already set herself on naming the baby Damien, if the baby should turn out male. So if you have any names that you'd like to mention…"
"Hmm," Esme paused. "I've always liked the name Aurora."
I nodded and pulled Esme into a hug.
"Emmett!" Rosalie came in through the doors gracefully. Emmett was harassing a little girl in the ball pen about 'who goes first'.
"I knew I smelled the leeches." A familiar, warm voice shot out behind me.
I turned around and gasped, staring wide-eyed in disbelief at the person who lay before me.
"Jacob…" I looked at him in confusion, absolutely ecstatic.
"Bella… I have some news for you." He stared at me with a serious face.
"What do you mean…?" I began hyperventilating, my mind spinning.
"I saw one of the leeches from their clan," He motioned his finger at Esme, "A blond one. In Italy."
"That's Jasper!" I squealed in happiness. "Oh, you did?!" I smiled widely, biting my lip.
Emmett frowned.
"God did the other leeches torture him. Oh, and his twin too." Jacob smiled, pulling me into an embrace.
"Twin? Torture?" Emmett frowned then chuckled.
"JOHNNY?!" Esme began hyperventilating too.
"Are you sure about… this?" Rosalie asked in disbelief.
"Absolutely."
"Did you miss me?" Jacob grinned.
"I'm… I'm going down…" I fluttered my eyelids then everything went black.
Rosalie's POV
I frowned. He's lying… Edward clearly wrote that Jasper was with Jane. Bella's body was unconscious on the red carpet. Jacob was panicking.
"Shut up and calm down before you morph into a mangy dog!" I growled at Jacob. He glared back, his eyes soft and worried. "Okay, I apologize, but honestly, calm down."
He raised Bella up in his arms and lay her down on the round table. Esme was at once by Bella's side, looking at her cell phone. Jacob was standing awkwardly beside Emmett in silence.
"So you're a chick?" Jacob asked in disgust.
"So you're still alive?" Emmett shot back, pouting his lips.
"I'm still a werewolf. What do you think?" Jacob grunted in disgust, sliding into the seat. Emmett slid in after him, struggling with the empathy belly. He sighed in disbelief.
"I'm so sorry Bella." Emmett grabbed Bella's limp hand and pouted his lips. "Now I know your pain."
Jacob rolled his eyes and chuckled. "You still smell as awful as ever."
Emmett frowned. "I won't tear your head off because you just brought us important information, but aught a…" I sighed and slammed the table with the letter.
"You're lying, dog." I rolled my eyes. "Jasper isn't being tortured and neither is Johnny."
"Johnny?"
"Bella's son. Jasper's son. Ring a bell?" I retrieved the letter and stuffed it into my purse. This wasn't a good time for everyone to find out.
"No." He glanced over at Bella's delicate body then grinned. "She's not a full-in-the-flesh leech is she?" He cheered. "I knew it! Bella!" He stroked the small baby bump on her stomach. "Now all I have to do is kill the leech that did this to her. I didn't even know vampires could reproduce." He frowned.
"We didn't either. And we can't. She can." I smiled and pointed at Bella.
"What is she? A vampire queen?" He snorted.
"We don't know." I shrugged and sat beside my husband. "Now tell us what you know. What the hell were you doing in Volterra? They'd kill you if they found you snooping around, and you're a werewolf." I sighed, annoyed at his silence. "Hello?"
"Hold your horses, bloodsucker." He sighed. "I was in Italy because I smelled Bella's leech."
"Edward?"
"Yes." He rolled his eyes. "Him."
"Okay. Continue." Emmett nodded.
"Okay, get away from me. What the hell is this? Homo fest?" Jacob chuckled.
"Oh believe me… my husband is far from homosexual. He's just stupid." I winked at Emmett. He was frowning in the farthest corner away from Jacob.
"Fine. Anyway, I was running." Jacob shrugged.
"Running… Sure." I sighed.
"Look, I just came because I found out that Bella wasn't married. And still alive… but she doesn't smell like you." He wrinkled his nose.
I looked over at Esme. Bella was regaining consciousness.
"So Jasper and my darling nephew are being held against their will?"
"Exactly. Now… can you leave so I can talk to Bella?"
"No, you're coming home with us." I grinned. "How do you feel about auto theft?"
"Fantastic." He grinned sarcastically.
"Emmett, get Bella." I stiffened as Bella's eyes opened.
"Oww! Bella! Stop hitting me!" Emmett had Bella in his arms, struggling.
"Put me down… I feel uncomfortable." She groaned and began kicking and squirming.
"I'll carry her." Jacob snatched Bella from Emmett. She instantaneously smiled and calmed down a bit.
"What's so great about him?! He smells like wet dog!" Emmett growled.
"He's not wearing a pregnant suit for one thing, and he's warm." Bella shrugged. "Besides, he still smells fine to me."
"You should have brought a jacket, Bells." I sighed in an I-told-you-so way as I sped out of the crowded restaurant. Carlisle was waiting outside in the Mercedes.
"How did you know?" I asked in disbelief, running over towards the car.
"Well, Esme sent me a text. She said Bella had fainted."
"She's alright, but thank god you're here. Or else we would have had to steal a car." Emmett smiled goofily and got into the front seat.
Carlisle stared at Emmett in disgust. "Get out of my car."
"What?! Why?" He looked down at the empathy belly. "Oh." He sighed. "Fine… I'll run then." He groaned then shot out and began running into the trees.
I shrugged and looked at Bella. She was holding onto Jacob's shirt for dear life, trying not to laugh.
"Bella, how do you feel about caramel apples?" I grinned.
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Gotta love surprises. :)
