AN: Thanks to all of my readers and reviewers: you make it so worthwhile. I love hearing your comments and predictions. Review = teaser.
Once again, especial thanks to mc7575 for all the research help. These chapters wouldn't be coming out as fast as they do without your efforts on my behalf.
JacobEdwardLover94: I completely understand. School is the big reason why I've had to drop output down to about a chapter a week, instead of a new one every few days. I hope you continue to enjoy it, and I'll see what I can do about giving you a stockpile of new chapters to read. You could always start over from the beginning, too. Lol.
Srose: Glad you liked it. Hope you like this next chapter, regardless of shirt-status.
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Jared POV
After Bella and her dad left, I headed inside to call Sue Clearwater.
"Sue? It's Jared."
"Hello, Jared. What can I do for you?"
I took a deep breath. "I was wondering if you knew whether the clinic would have any openings tomorrow?"
"What do you need?" her voice was justifiably skeptical. I couldn't blame her: we wolves had built-in immunity and rapid healing—doctors weren't something we tended to need.
"It's not for me…it's for Bella." Another deep breath. "She's pregnant, Sue. We need to know officially, I guess, and if everything's okay."
"We ought to have a spot," Sue replied. "I'll swing over to the clinic and check the schedule. Should I call you back or call Bella instead?"
"Bella. I'll see her later on."
"Should I offer congratulations?"
"Thank you." The call over, I fell back to land on my bed with a flop. What a day. The last not even 24 hours had totally changed everything for me. Saturday morning I'd been a normal teenage guy just arriving home with his girlfriend from a vacation. By Sunday evening, I was engaged and a father-to-be.
"Growing up isn't as easy as it seems, is it?" My eyes flew open when my dad spoke.
"We don't always have a say it what happens to us, but we have everything to do with how we react to it," I responded. Dad smile slightly when I quoted one of his favorite sayings. I took a deep breath, somehow compelled to get this off my chest. "Dad…I did try to be careful, I swear I did, but I guess I wasn't as careful as I could have been."
"Believe it or not, but I was your age once. I won't lie and say I'm not disappointed. I know it's hard, being responsible, but it does say something that you're stepping up on this on your own." He paused. "How does Bella feel about this? Has she said?"
"She's always one to be more concerned about other people than about herself. She was more worried about how I'd react, how our parents would react, than anything. She's nervous—so am I—but she says she's happy."
"Did the two of you take the time to talk any, before your mom got camera-happy?"
I suddenly remembered that I'd derailed Bella's intention to pass that information along. "Yeah, we did. We've pretty much decided on the first Saturday in July, kind-of tie in with the holiday celebrations."
"Okay, I'll pass that along. What about a venue?"
"I don't know. We don't have to have anything fancy. Maybe on the beach if the weather's nice."
"We can certainly hope for that, but let's not forget a backup plan, just in case." Dad suggested.
"Is this guy time, or can I join in?" Mom asked from the doorway.
"Come on in," I pushed myself upright on the bed to make room.
"Saturday July 3rd, hopefully on the beach," Dad filled her in.
"Guests?" Mom extended the next question.
"Probably just family and close friends, but I'll check with Bella to make sure." I felt fairly confident in my answer, but I wasn't going to get this new phase of our relationship off on a bad foot by assuming anything.
"Reception?" In some matters, my mom's organizational tendencies equaled my dad's.
"Bella won't want any special fuss, you know that. And I'll eat anything," I teased. They both laughed.
"What about a casual potluck? Beach weddings are generally informal." Mom offered this idea.
I considered it. "Hate to sound like a broken record, but—"
"It's good that you and Bella are so focused on communicating with each other. So many times, not communicating is what gets couples into trouble."
Bella POV
"Guess I'll have to go get a suit, won't I?" Charlie's face twisted a little.
"Dad, please don't go out and buy something. This is a one-time deal, after all."
"I'm going to look right for your wedding, Bella. Have to do you proud."
"Jared and I still need to do a little talking. I promise I'll let you know what'll be good. If you do need something, there are places that rent suits or tuxes." I was going to do everything I could to make this easy for him.
"Going to have anybody up there with you? Like a bridesmaid?"
"Jared's brother and sister are going to be up with us. I think he might ask one or two of his friends. I think I might ask Angela, maybe Kim or Emily." I'd have to think on that one—which was exactly what I did while Charlie called Renee.
I honestly wasn't sure who to pick besides Angela. Both Kim and Emily had become very good friends in the past couple months. We all shared the bond of being imprints. But the more I thought about it, I realized the choice was actually a simple one.
"Emily?"
"Hi, Bella."
"I was wondering…"
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Jared slipped in later that night as usual. He relayed his conversation with his parents.
"I don't want to put anyone to any trouble," I tried to protest, when he mentioned the potluck idea.
"It's not a bother, Bella. If people bring one dish to share, there'll be plenty. Mom's great at organizing, so she could make sure we don't end up with ten bowls of corn or something."
"Like you guys would care," I giggled. "You eat anything."
"True. But seriously, she'll arrange anything. She promises no coffeecake or anything else that might make you sick. Just let her know."
"I can't believe she's being so nice about this—that everyone is." It was a little hard to grasp. Other than Charlie, there hadn't been any yelling or anything like what I'd expected. Even Renee, who'd I expected to really freak out, had been almost blasé about it; but then she had always been 'quirky'.
"'There's no use crying over spilled milk,' or so my grandmother used to say. I think they're going to focus on helping us the best ways they can. On that note," Jared looked at me intently, "they have offered us the apartment over the store as a place to live. It's nothing fancy, but it's cozy, and it'd be a good start."
I could feel tears starting to prick my eyes. I wasn't sure why this made me emotional, but somehow it had. "Short commute to work for you, huh?"
"Yeah, it would be. But if you don't like it, we can figure something else out," he rushed to add that last bit. I wasn't sure what other options there were, though. Money was going to be tight for a long time, what with both of us being so young, and with a baby on the way, too. Neither of us came from rich families, either.
"No, I think this will be fine for us to get started in. Can we pick colors or anything like that?"
"They were talking about freshening things up before the wedding, so if we have colors we'd like, I'm sure it would be simple to arrange. And speaking of arrangements, who do you think you might ask besides Savannah?"
I smiled I moved to rest my head against the junction of his shoulder and chest. "I've already asked Emily, and I'm going to call Angela tomorrow. You?"
His voice was even deeper than usual, with my ear so close to him. "I talked to Sam, so I guess we were on the same wavelength there. I'm not sure who else. It's almost hard to pick just one."
I felt bad about that. I hadn't realized I'd be putting him in an awkward spot by picking two of my friends. "I can just have two—I don't have to ask Angela."
He shifted so a finger on his other hand could come to rest on my lips. "You want your two friends, you get your two friends. End of story. I'll pick another besides Sam, and we'll be fine. And no one will have hurt feelings if they aren't picked, I promise."
I closed my eyes and just listened to his heart beating under my ear. His reassurances had smoothed over my doubts.
"Did Sue give you a call?" he asked a few minutes later.
"She did," I confirmed, "a little while before you got here. They've got an opening first thing tomorrow morning. I'm not looking forward to it," I admitted, knowing that I was about to ask something big of him.
Jared shifted so he could crane his neck and look at me in question.
"They're going to draw blood to run some tests, she told me. I hate needles and blood. I almost fainted in Biology last year, the day they did blood-typing. Mike Newton started to take me to the nurse, before Edward rescued me from him."
"He was in Biology during blood-typing?" Jared hissed. I could feel tension in his body at the obvious assumption.
"No," I elaborated. "He'd skipped class that day. He was listening to music in his car when he saw me with Mike. Took me to the nurse, then somehow charmed Mrs. Cope into letting both of us leave when someone else came in with the same symptoms as me, only they'd gotten far enough to prick their finger. Neither one of us stuck around, I swear."
"What time's your appointment?" He moved past the issue; not that there was much point in dwelling on it—it had happened more than a year ago and no one had been harmed.
"Eight in the morning."
"Do you want me to pick you up?" he asked. Then, "What? Of course I'm coming—unless you don't want me to." The puppy-dog look in his eyes said he didn't want to hear that answer. I started to tear up again.
"I wanted to ask, but…"
"Always ask me for what you need, for what you want, Bella. I will always be there for you!
"I love you." Three little words, to try and convey so much.
We fell asleep spooned together. One of Jared's arms cradled me from underneath, the other hand rested protectively over my lower abdomen. I blinked back tears yet again to see how protective he was already.
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Jared was as good as his word, picking me up a little before 7:30 the next morning. Charlie had left for work while I was still in the shower, though a note left propped on the kitchen table did ask that he be kept in the loop with any news. Jared and I held hands the entire drive down to the clinic.
"Bella?" I looked up from completing the last of the paperwork to see that it was Sue Clearwater who had called my name. Butterflies were swirling madly in my stomach as I stood up. Jared moved to follow suit before Sue spoke again. "I'm going to need to do a full physical exam on Bella. It might be best if you waited here for a little while until I'm done. I'll have someone call you in before we get into specifics."
"Before any needles," I insisted.
Back in the exam room, I changed into a hospital gown before Sue got started. "This is just to get some baseline information on you, Bella. This way we can make comparisons as things progress."
After I'd changed back into my regular clothes, Sue went and got Jared so he could join me.
"I understand you believe you're pregnant," Sue began.
"That's what four home tests said on Saturday," I confirmed.
"Okay, they're most likely accurate, but we'll do another here, and a blood test just for confirmation. We'll also be running some other tests just to make sure you're healthy, so that we can keep you and the baby that way."
I was sent into the bathroom to take another box test and also for a urine sample for some of the tests. "Positive," Sue said, checking the latest test kit. "Congratulations." That done, we were now up to the part I was really dreading. "I'm going to need to get some blood samples," she informed me. Jared helped me lay back on the exam table and positioned himself so that my view of what Sue doing was blocked by his body. He started a quiet conversation.
"We probably ought to start making a guest list, so we can get an idea of numbers for the food," he suggested. I smiled in gratitude for the distraction he was providing.
"Families, of course, the pack and imprints, a few school friends—that's about it, I guess" Having a big guest list didn't seem like a good idea, especially with the short notice we'd be giving everyone. Plus, there wasn't really anyone else I hadn't just mentioned that I would want.
"Sounds good to me," he agreed.
"All done," Sue informed us. "Bella, we'll get this sent off to confirm your pregnancy and to test for—" I cut her off.
"I'd rather not know right now, if that's alright," I interrupted.
"Bella, it's my job as an OB-GYN Nurse-practitioner to make sure you know what we're doing and why," she explained.
"If I find out right now about everything that could be wrong, I'll start worrying. Can't I just find out when those tests come back negative?"
Her face softened. "Okay. I'll just give the information to Jared then, alright?" I nodded.
"Moving on, then," she continued. "Bella, when did your last menstrual cycle begin?"
My face flushed a little, even though I knew Jared had probably—okay, certainly—been aware of it during his sleepovers. I told myself to focus, and thought back. "The last week of April."
"And you were sexually active during May, correct?"
I shook my head in affirmation, blushing brighter now. Jared came to my rescue. "Three times during that first week of May, and then again a couple weeks later."
"Did you use any kind of protection? Bella, are you on any birth control?"
"No, I'm not. There wasn't ever a need, before," I answered her second question; Jared caught the first one. "We did, the first and last times, but not the middle two," he confessed.
"We'll have to wait for the blood test to determine hormone levels, so that might or might not have been a factor—condoms do fail sometimes. But based off the dates of the last cycle and the physical exam, I'm going to place conception in mid-May, so your due date will be in the first part of February, probably the first week of February."
"No exact date," Jared wondered.
Sue chuckled, "I can pick a number, if you like, but most babies aren't actually born on their 'official' due date; actually, a week or two on either side is still considered to be full-term. Now, for the most part, you can go on with life as usual, Bella. I'm recommending you start taking a prenatal vitamin, just to boost what you'll be getting from your diet. It's important to eat balanced meals. Try to avoid too much sugar or caffeine."
"So, no more Cokes?" That was going to be a tough one; I was as attached to my daily dose as Charlie was to his coffee.
"It's best to cut them out completely, if you can. But if not, then at least cut back as much as possible. If you have one while having a dinner out with friends, it won't hurt anything. Just make sure to be drinking plenty of water, milk, and juice to make up for it."
"What kinds of things should we be expecting?" Jared asked. "She's already thrown up once, from smelling something."
Sue offered him a commiserating smile. "Get used to it," she advised. "Morning sickness—which can occur at any time of day or night, by the way—will probably be a fixture for the next couple months. By the time you're out of the first trimester, it ought to be pretty much over. Obviously, try to avoid certain smells, if you already know you're sensitive, but there's not much else to do. You might try keeping some crackers by your bed—it can help to eat a little something before even getting out of bed in the morning. Ginger-ale is also soothing, so is lemon-lime soda"
"Emily said there are some teas that can help, too," I remembered her offer from the drugstore.
"That's right."
"Okay, morning sickness. What else?" Jared asked again.
"Bella, you're probably going to feel more emotional, which is perfectly normal; you can help by just being understanding," she told him. "You might also feel more tired than usual, and your breasts will start feeling a bit more sensitive."
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Jared POV
"I think that's it for this time," Sue closed Bella's chart and looked up at us. "You should probably go ahead and set up your next appointment for a month from now. We'll want to see you once a month until your last month, Bella, and every week from then until you deliver."
Sue gathered a collection of pamphlets for me while Bella spoke with the receptionist about her next appointment. "Jared, do you think the end of the first week of July would work?" she asked me.
"Sure, it'll be fine." I knew my parents would be fine with me missing an hour of work to come with Bella. And we'd be busy enough in the next few weeks that waiting until after the wedding for the next appointment was probably going to be best.
We'd planned on spending a little time at my house with mom, but she ended up having run up to Port Angeles on an errand, according to Savannah. Mom had left on the table a list that she'd started of family members to put on the guest list. I saw that my uncle Chris, aunt Melanie, and my cousins would be coming up from Portland, as would my Mahan grandparents.
"So, here's the list my mom started. Then, your parents, stepdad, Ben…Any of your other Forks friends?"
"Friends? Honestly, I'm not sure that they ever really were friends of mine. They always saw me as a shiny toy or a prize to compete over, not as a person—look how quickly they disappeared when my life took that detour. And after how they've acted since we met, why on earth would I want them at my wedding?" Bella's voice rose, and I wondered if this was a taste of the mood swings that Sue had mentioned.
Bella wanted to get some things done at her house, so I drove her home. She gave Angela a call and made plans to have lunch together. I knew I'd only be in the way, so I headed home for lunch. When I got there, mom was back and busy in the kitchen. I decided to take a look at the brochures from the clinic while I waited. I stared at the informational literature Sue had given me, feeling a rare sense of terror. My elbows propped on the table, I let my head fall forward to rest against my hands.
"Jared?" It was my dad.
"How do you get through this without going crazy?" I asked. He snorted.
"Get through what, exactly?" Great, he thought this was funny.
"All the things there are to worry about." I rattled off the litany of things they were testing Bella's blood for right now. "Rh compatibility, diseases, infections, genetic disorders, cancer, diabetes…"
"Jared," my mom was there, too, sliding into the chair beside mine, and wrapping her arm around my shoulders. I let her pull me close, much as I often did to Bella. "It's only natural to feel overwhelmed. You're dealing with a lot right now. But there's not that much to worry about. These tests are meant to eliminate worries, not create them. These things aren't common, but they can become issues if they aren't identified. This way, you know they won't happen, so you don't have to worry about them."
"I think Bella had the right idea after all," I muttered.
"Not that she usually doesn't, but what this time?" Dad was still amused.
"She told Sue not to tell her anything until the results came back."
"Understandable right now," Mom agreed. "I think this might help." She pulled out a plastic shopping bag and removed something. It was a book.
"What to Expect when you're Expecting," I read the title.
"There's a copy for Bella, too."
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I'd meant what I'd told Bella about choosing another guy to stand up with me. I knew that whoever I asked—or didn't ask—would be fine with it. But who should it be? Sam had been the obvious choice: my mentor in all things wolf, a friend in figuring out the imprint. Paul…had become a better friend after he'd joined us, and had been my first opportunity of protecting Bella. Embry…Quil…both friends now. But really, I realized, there was only one perfect choice. I'd been looking for a way to say thanks for a while now—this was it.
"Hiding out?" It was as if my thoughts had caused him to materialize: Jake stood in my doorway.
"Just thinking. What are you doing here?" As if I didn't have an idea already.
"Quil and I brought Seth, Brady, and Collin over to play videogames with Drew. Has it sunk in yet?" He flipped my desk chair around and straddled it.
I scrubbed my hands over my face. "I don't know. I'm happy, but also scared to death. It's not just Bella's life in danger now from Victoria—the baby's at risk, too."
"We're going to get her, Jared, I swear it," Jake vowed. "I'm not going to let anything happen to my friend. Like I said before, I know Bella's tied to you, like Savannah is to me, but I still care what goes on with her. I want to do anything I can to help you both."
"Would that include standing up with me?"
His mouth dropped open and his eyes bugged out. "What?"
"Bella's asking Emily and Angela to be her bridesmaids, along with Savannah; I've already talked to Drew and to Sam. I'd like you to be up there as well. I know Bella would like it—even though I haven't mentioned this to her—and it just seems right. I really owe you for all the help you've given both of us since I imprinted."
"Wow. Um, okay." Jake gathered his scattered thoughts.
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Bella POV
Angela had been only too happy to accept an invitation over for lunch on Monday. "The twins are driving me crazy today!" she exclaimed with uncharacteristic emotion when she arrived. "I'll be heading off to college completely insane at this rate."
"I guess kids can be like that," I observed, wryly reflecting that I'd soon be discovering that firsthand.
Angela's brows rose when I opted for a glass of water over my usual coke. "Bella, not that I'm not happy to spend some time with you, but I'm getting the feeling there's more to this than just lunch."
"Yeah. I was wondering if you had any plans for the Fourth of July weekend."
The apparent non sequitur threw her a little. "Fourth of July? I don't think so—nothing special anyway. Why?"
"Would you like to be one of my bridesmaids?"
"What?" her mouth dropped open, and her eyes flew to my hands. I held the left one up, showing off the ring that had rested there for a whole 24 hours now. "You're getting married? This Fourth of July?"
"The third, actually."
"Why so soon?" My flaming face must have given it away. "You're pregnant?"
"Yeah. Due in February; we just found out."
"Did your parents…?"
"Jared's parents took it pretty well. So did my mom, which totally threw me. It was my dad who lost it, but I think he's coming around a little. The proposal was all Jared's idea; not that they wouldn't have suggested it if he hadn't asked me first."
"Are you sure about this?" Angela reached across the table to lay a hand on mine.
"Do you remember a while back, when you asked me if I could see Jared being 'the one', of eventually having everything with him?" I asked her. "Maybe 'eventually' is coming a little sooner than we expected, but I am sure. I know things won't be easy, but I love him, I love this baby, and somehow we'll make it all work."
"I believe that. And I'd be honored, Bella, truly. So, any wedding details yet?"
We spent quite a while discussing what Jared and I had already come up with. Angela offered to see if her mom could help us with the invitations. "She's really into scrapbooking and card-making, so she's got lots of paper and accessories." She was silent a moment. "Do you know who you'll ask to officiate?"
I groaned softly. "No. I just knew I didn't want a Justice of the Peace at the courthouse."
"My dad's a minister. I could see if he's available that day, if you wanted."
"Thanks, Angela." I could feel an emotional swing like Sue had warned me about coming on. She'd always been such a good friend to me.
"So, what color will I be wearing?"
"I don't know. I'm not sure what will look good on everyone."
"Well, who else is 'everyone'?" Angela asked the practical question.
"I'm having Jared's sister Savannah, and Emily, and you."
"Maybe a darker color instead of pastels, then."
I thought for a moment. "How do you feel about green?"
"That's Jared's favorite, isn't it?" she grinned when I nodded. "Sounds great."
I lost my next thought when my phone rang. "Hello?"
"Bella, it's Laura. I was wondering if you had any time this afternoon to go over a few things."
"Sure. Would you like me to come down?"
"That would be lovely. Jared mentioned you'd asked Emily to be your bridesmaid, so I'll see if she's available, too."
"I've asked Angela as well. We're actually having lunch and talking right now. I'll check and see if she can come down with me." I looked up, dropping the phone down to my shoulder. "It's Jared's mom. Do you have time to come down to La Push with me for a wedding meeting?"
"Sure. Just let me call my mom and let her know."
"Laura, we'll be down in about half an hour, if that's okay," I returned to the phone call.
"I'll see you both then."
I placed our dishes in the sink as Angela called home. Not sure how long I'd be gone, I left a note on the table for Charlie, before we headed outside to our cars. "I'll just follow you down, if that's alright, Bella. That way you can stay as long as you need to and not worry about getting me back to town," Angela suggested.
She had a point. We had a ton of stuff to do if we hoped to have a wedding pulled together in the next month. As odd as it was, I was finding myself getting excited to see what we'd come up with. I'd never expected that I would be so enthusiastic about planning a wedding, yet here I was. I guessed this was something else I owed to Jared being Jared.
Arriving at the Mahan's house, I found that the younger set of the pack had noisily invaded the basement. Sam and Emily were waiting with Jared and his parents, and Jacob, in the kitchen. So I had my answer on who else Jared would ask. We all gathered around the table and started talking. July third was coming soon.
AN: This chapter was tweaked a little from the original version. I've also added a link to a picture of Bella's engagement ring on my profile page.