All characters except for Annabelle Causley, Frederick Randal Laskaris and Rosa Maria de la Luna and a few others belong to Stephenie Meyer…and, of course, the writer is not receiving any profit for this story whatsoever.

AN: I had been hoping to get this chapter out yesterday but life happened this weekend...needless to say, I emptied my savings account to be able to buy two new tires for my car thanks to a nail in the street...and then there was other stuff. But I got it done and up before I headed outside to do my daily exercises.

Gaby, Ses, Hilja, Lynn -you four are my motivators.

My other reviewers, I love you guys as well and hope to hear from many of you after this chapter...things are going to start getting interesting, complicated, and just downright hilarious!

Read! Enjoy! Then Review!

Chapter Thirty-Six

"I've got the music covered," Julie jotted down a few notes in her notepad, flipping the page, "The band agreed to play until two for three hundred dollars."

"Sweet," Seth flipped through the color scheme swatches Julie had given him, not even sure what he was supposed to do with them, "Mom said she'll do the cake."

"What about the food," Julie jotted down something onto the page.

"Emily and the girls are taking care of the food," Seth flipped between three greens, not seeing a difference that would constitute them to being three different colors.

"Okay, then all we need are a theme for decorations," Julie looked over at Seth, choking back a laugh at the look of utter confusion on his face, "Picked a color yet?"

"They're all the same," Seth tossed the swatches onto the coffee table, giving Julie a hopeful smile, "I was thinking we could throw out some checker boards, domino sets, chess boards, shuffle boards…maybe even backgammon."

Julie laughed as she tossed her notepad where it landed near the swatch book, "You just described a nursing home."

"I know! Isn't it a great idea?"

"No."

"What! Why not?"

"For one," Julie gave him a cocked eyebrow look as she tucked her feet under her, "Thirty-nine is not old…it's the perfect age for a man."

"And here I thought you were into younger guys," Seth teased as he lifted his stocking feet onto the edge of the coffee table, crossing his ankles before looking over at Julie.

"You're only a few months younger than me," Julie gave him a backhanded slap on the arm, "Besides, your sister called me to tell me to nix any ideas you may have that would make fun of Rick's age."

"Damn," Seth let his head fall back against the couch as he stretched his arms over his head, "You pick a theme, then. I am out of ideas."

After several minutes of silence, he looked over at Julie, resting his hands on his stomach, "What's wrong?"

Gnawing on her bottom lip, she looked down at her lap, shaking her head, "Nothing…it's just…I've been thinking…what if we never find her?"

"Ah, Jules, don't do this," Seth rubbed his hands over his face and into his hair, "I have to find her."

"But what if you don't? Have you considered the possibility that maybe," Julie tugged at a lock of her hair, taking a deep breath before she finally looked at him, "I can be your second choice?"

"Julie, no," Seth moved across the couch, cupping her face in his hands to keep her from looking away, "No. You're too special, too amazing to be anyone's second choice."

"We would be perfect together," she whispered as she stared into his brown-green eyes, a lone tear making its way down her rosy cheek, "We were perfect together."

"No, we weren't," Seth brushed the tear away with his thumb, "Because we're not meant to be together. Julie…don't settle to being my second best choice…you deserve to be the best choice…scratch that. You deserve to be the only choice. A man should look at you and be unable to look at anyone else from that point on. That's what you deserve…don't settle for less…don't settle for me…please."

Closing her eyes as he pulled her into his arms, she buried her face into his neck for a few seconds, breathing him in before nodding her head, "You're right. I'm sorry. Temporary insanity."

"Julie –"

"Just forget about it Seth," she pushed away from him, leaning forward to grab her notepad, pulling the pencil out of the spiral, "Forget I ever mentioned it. When do we want to do the party?"

"January tenth," Seth moved back to his spot, his heart aching as he looked at Julie's profile, wanting to hurt himself for bringing such a wonderful girl to this point.

"Is that his birthday," Julie scribbled onto the pad, shame and sorrow making it hard to look his way, having to constantly swallow back the need to cry.

"No," Seth closed his eyes, not liking the tension between them, "His birthday is the twenty-fourth."

"Why are we doing the party on the tenth?"

"It's the one night of the month he doesn't have to work."

Finally looking over at him, she tried not to let her eyes caress his features but failed, "He works nights? Doing what?"

"Security."

"So your brother-in-law teaches during the day and works as a security guard at night," tilting her head to the side, her long hair slid over her shoulder as she stared inquisitively at him, "How did he find time to get your sister pregnant?"

Seth opened his eyes, a grimace on his face as he looked over at her, "I really rather not think about it."

The laughter they shared broke the tension, putting them back onto the friendly plane they had been on as they smiled at each other.

Looking down at her pad, she wrote something before closing it and placing it on the coffee table, pushing herself to her feet, "South Carolina."

"What," Seth stared at her as she walked around the coffee table towards the kitchen bar, picking up a stack of papers.

"The place you're looking for," she turned around to look at him before handing him the papers, "It's somewhere in South Carolina. Lance and Mattie came over for a movie the other night and he saw your drawing…when I told him I was looking for a place with white pine trees and a west to east river, he told me that it was the Black River in South Carolina…he's been there for fishing trips with his dad, uncles and cousins several times before. Now, all we have to do is narrow it down."

Staring up at her, he felt his heart squeeze, realizing how lucky he was to have Julie as a friend despite the shitty way he'd failed her, "Thanks."

Shrugging, she turned to head down the hallway towards her bedroom, "If I can't be your first choice, I can at least be your best friend."

Staring down at the papers she had given him, he flipped through them, whispering softly to himself, "You are."

Marcos stood before the glass doors, staring out at the nearby woods behind the house as he sucked on a cherry lollipop.

Leaning closer to the glass without touching it, he narrowed his eyes, watching the horizon as the sky grew lighter, the sun slowly making its way up from behind the mountains.

"What are you looking at, Marc," Viviana walked into the living room, tugging a red bandwagon loaded with clean folded clothes behind her.

"They're out there," Marcos pulled out his lollipop to look at it before sticking it back into his mouth.

"You mean the doggies," Vivi dropped the wagon handle to stand beside her brother, looking out the glass doors but unable to see anything, "I don't see them."

"Because they're hiding," Marcos bit down on the hard candy in his mouth, not looking at his sister, "And they're wolves, not doggies. Jake only let you call him that because he thought you were a little girl."

"I am a little girl," Viviana wrinkled her nose at him, "So what if they are out there? Are you scared of them?"

"I'm not scared of them," Marcos scowled at his sister as he tossed the stick into a nearby trashcan.

"Really? 'Cause you haven't gone out hunting since we got here…that was six days ago."

"I haven't needed to go out," Marcos rolled his eyes at her, digging his hands into the pockets of his blue jeans, pulling out another lollipop, this one grape flavored.

Viviana gave her brother a skeptical look, "You're eating so much candy, you're going to go into a sugar coma."

"No, I'm not," Marcos tossed the wrapper into the trashcan, sucking hard on the purple candy, "Candy distracts me from…from biting you."

"Why me," Viviana's voice was slightly high as she took a step away from Marcos, her long red-gold hair rippling down her small back.

"Because you're the only one immune to my venom," he turned to look at her, a dark eyebrow slightly raised, "Remember?"

"Right," Viviana turned her left arm out to look at the small crescent shaped scar on the inside of her elbow, "It kept you from biting mama."

"She didn't want to be like papa," Marcos' voice was flat and emotionless as he kept his gaze focused on the view outside.

"She didn't want to lose her soul," Viviana moved closer to him, reaching out to take his small hand in hers, "But she did love us, Marc."

"Just not enough to stay with us," Marcos' jaw was tense, his body tight and his hand lax in hers as he fought back the overwhelming emotions, "Just like papa."

"How can you say that," Viviana let go of his hand, moving to stand before him so she could look into his dark eyes, her own bright with unshed tears, "Mama died to give us life. She sacrificed herself, papa as well, so that you and I can live."

Biting down hard on the grape lollipop in his mouth, he took a step back, his eyes filled with pain and anger as he said in a low voice, "She didn't sacrifice herself…I killed her…we both know that so why pretend otherwise?"

Opening her mouth to disagree with him, their aunt's entrance into the living room silenced her instead.

"What are you two doing," Rosa wiped her hands on the rag she held, having finished with the last rolls of undeveloped film she had.

Minerva was going to be very pleased.

"We need to go to the store," Viviana spoke up as her brother looked away from their aunt, his jaw working hard as he fought back his angry tears.

"Vivi, we have enough food to last us the next three weeks."

"Not for food, Tia," Viviana moved towards her aunt, taking her work rag from her hands, "We need to get out…find some distraction…something fun to do."

"We're getting a little stir-crazy," Marcos added, having gotten himself under control as he stuck his hands into the pockets of his jeans, "And I'm running out of lollipops."

Rosa chuckled as she headed to the front door, the twins close behind her, "Alright then, let's go to the store. We can look for some new games for you two."

"I can't find my marble," Marcos stared up at his aunt as she grabbed the car keys, taking her license and money out of her purse to slide it into one of the front pockets of her faded out jeans.

"What," Rosa stared at him in confusion as she opened the front door to let them out first.

"You said games and I remembered that I haven't seen my marble," opening the back passenger door, he let Viviana climb in first before following after her, "The one I won when we flew out of Italy."

"Right," sliding into the driver's seat, she waited for them to finish buckling themselves into their car seats before turning on the car, "Didn't you put it into the bag for safe keeping?"

"I did," Marcos' lips thinned as he turned to look at Vivi, "You played that game with Anna and Rosalie…did they get my marble?"

"I don't remember," Viviana muttered as she looked out the window, covertly sliding her hand into the pocket of her jumper where she kept her silver star.

Marcos scrunched his nose as he turned to look out the window, deciding to wait until they got to the store before he asked again…he was certain Viviana knew where his marble was…more than likely, she had it.

He just had to prove it.

Leah laughed as Gabriel jumped off her lap, staring at her round stomach with wide blue eyes, "Mama, the baby kicked me!"

"I'm sorry honey," she held out her hand to pull him up into the couch to snuggle beside her, "She didn't mean to kick you…she was just stretching."

Staring up at his mother, he placed a small hand on her large stomach, "Is the baby as big as your tummy?"

"No," Leah ran her fingers through his hair; a sigh escaped her as she looked up at the clock…Seth was running late to take Gabriel to the store.

The little boy wanted his uncle's help to get his father a cool birthday gift, "My tummy has to be bigger than the baby so she can have space to grow and move."

"Mama, what if it's not a girl," Gabriel leaned against the side of her stomach, his eyes moving over his mother's beautiful face.

"Then you get to have a little brother."

"Mama?"

Smiling down at him, she saw Rick come into the kitchen through the back door, the t-shirt and running shorts he wore evidence of the eight miles he had just finished running, his blond hair dark with sweat as he opened the refrigerator door, "Yes Gabe."

"I made up my mind," Gabe moved to get onto his knees beside his mother, leaning his weight against her.

"About what?"

"I want a sister," Gabe stated with a nod, his little face serious for a few seconds before it broke into a smile as the front door opened, Seth walking in, "Uncle Seth! You're here!"

"Where else would I be," Seth laughed as he picked up his nephew, tossing him up into the air before hugging him, "Are you ready to go Tornado?"

"I've been ready for a long time," Gabriel wiggled for his uncle to put him down, looking over his shoulder towards the kitchen before whispering loudly, "I want to get a super cool surprise for Daddy. You're gonna help me, right?"

"You got money," Seth whispered back, trying not to smile at Rick pretending not to hear the little boy.

Pulling out a five dollar bill from the pocket of his jeans, he held it up for him to see, "I saved up my chore money. Will this be enough?"

"Mmm," taking the five dollar bill in both hands, he snapped it a few times between his thumbs and index fingers before folding it and placing it into the pocket of his jeans, "This is definitely enough for a super cool gift. Okay if I carry it for you?"

"So I won't lose it, uh," Gabe stared up at him, his big blue eyes showing the obvious her worship that Seth enjoyed very much…being that he himself worshiped his nephew.

"Right. Let's get going, before all the stores close," turning to smile at Leah, he reached the few inches to pat her large stomach, "How's the baby doing?"

"She's moving," Leah smiled up at him, laughing at the way his eyes lit up, "She's done for now but she kicked Gabriel several minutes before you got here."

"Darn it," Seth rubbed Leah's stomach in hopes of making his niece move but she didn't, "That's what I get for being late."

"Exactly," Leah nodded as she tried to get off the couch on her own, finally grabbing her brother's hand, "Be careful, okay?"

"We're going nowhere near a jungle gym or anything more than five inches off the ground," Seth made sure his sister was steady on her feet before letting go of her hand, heading towards the front door where Gabriel impatiently waited for him, Leah following behind him, "I promise not to get him a crazy amount of toys."

"He doesn't need any more of those," Leah held the door as Seth and Gabe walked out, her little boy running towards the dark blue Mustang, "Don't let him push you into buying him another toy."

"Push me," Seth turned to look at his sister with mocked anger, "I'm unfaltering when it comes to saying no to Gabe…you're the push over."

Leah laughed, leaning back into her husband's arms as he joined her at the front door, "Yeah right. That's why he's always got a new toy or some candy when you bring him home."

"Well, now," Seth opened the back passenger door, helping his nephew into the car seat before snapping the buckled harnesses, "That's because of his good behavior…last time I had him, I didn't get him anything."

"That's because you landed him in the hospital," Leah frowned at him playfully as he closed the door, walking to the driver's side to get in but not before he called out, "Yeah, well, you gave him fudge brownies before dinner!"

Laughing as he drove off, she turned into the house, Rick's hand in hers, "How was your run?"

"Very good," Rick closed the door behind her, reaching down to lock it before pulling her into his arms, giving her a sweet slow kiss, "I'd forgotten how good it feels to run."

"And now that you're going to be a field and track coach, you'll have to do it more often or your students will tease you about being out of shape," Leah gave him a teasing smile as she wrapped her arms around his waist, breathing him in, "Mmm, you smell good."

Rick chuckled as he slowly stroked her back with both hands, "I'm all sweaty, Leah mou."

"Oh," she couldn't hold back a blush as she looked up at him with a shy smile: "Must be my crazy hormones."

Smiling as he wrapped his arms around her, he whispered against her lips, "I happen to like your crazy hormones."

Leah's laugh was swallowed as Rick covered her mouth with his, sliding his tongue over hers, the sweet taste of her mouth overwhelming his senses as he pulled her tighter into his arms, his body curving over her hard stomach.

A sudden movement made him jump back as he stared down at Leah's belly, "What the hell was that?"

Leah laughed at the look of shock on his face as she reached up to stroke his jaw, "That was your daughter, making her presence known."

Staring at Leah's large stomach in awe, he laid his hands over it, looking up into her brown-green eyes as he ordered "Do it again."

She giggled as she laid her hands over his, "I have no control over her movements. She's her own person. The only thing that connects us is an umbilical cord."

Giving her a thoughtful look, he leaned down to kiss her, walking her backwards until she was pressed up against the wall, his hands never leaving her stomach as the kiss deepened.

They both laughed as the baby moved again, rippling under Rick's hands in a quick fluttering motion.

"Wow," Rick whispered as he rested his forehead against Leah's, his breath coming fast as he rubbed his hands over Leah's stomach, the baby moving in response, "That's amazing."

"Yeah, you're making her turn cartwheels," Leah kissed his jaw, rubbing a hand over her lower back, "Not very comfortable for me."

"Oh," Rick looked at her face, seeing a tired glint to her eyes, "I'm sorry. Does your back hurt?"

"A little," Leah admitted as Rick stepped back to give her space to move around him, "She's been really active the past few nights…mostly she sleeps during the day but for some reason, not today."

"Where are you going," Rick followed behind her as she headed down the hall.

"To the bathroom," Leah walked into the bathroom, looking over her shoulder at Rick, who had walked in right behind her, "What are you doing? You're not going to watch me pee."

"Oh," Rick looked a little lost and a lot embarrassed as he walked out, pointing over his shoulder, "I guess I'll just…wait out here."

"Far away from the door," Leah ordered before closing the bathroom door with a soft click.

Leaning against the wall, he stared at the closed bathroom door, still slightly dazed.

He had felt his baby move…it had been amazing.

At the sound of a flush followed by running water, he pushed himself away from the wall, opening the bathroom door to stick his head around it, "Are you done?"

Leah stared at him in amazement as she dried her hands, "Yes. Rick –what the hell?"

She gave him a look of confusion as he took her arm, ushering her down the hall towards the bedroom, "What is the matter with you?"

"I think you should take a nap," Rick stated as he lead her to her side of their large bed, holding her arms as he sat her down before getting down on one knee to removed her shoes, setting them aside before lifting her legs up unto the bed.

Leah caught herself before she tipped over, lying on her side as he leaned across her to grab his pillow, "Here, tuck this between your knees."

"You don't like it when I use your pillow this way," Leah muttered as she did what he said, wondering what the hell had gotten into her husband.

"You do it anyway," Rick kissed her forehead before moving around the bed, climbing onto his side gently so as to not jostle her, "This time, you have my permission. Here –just relax."

Leah let out a moan as Rick rubbed her lower back, immediate relief washing over her, "Oh, that feels good."

"Good," Rick kept the steady rhythm of his hands, leaning in to whisper into her ear, "Just close your eyes and breathe deep. I'll take care of everything today."

"There's laundry to be done –oh…do that again."

He did as she said, sliding his thumbs hard down the small of her back, "I'll do it, don't worry about it."

"I need to have dinner ready since mom and Charlie –ah, a little more to the left…oh yes, that's it, right there."

Rick smiled into her hair, "I'll make dinner. You can rest until it's time to get ready, okay?"

"Okay," Leah's capitulation came as a soft sigh as she sank into sleep, her entire body relaxing as he continued to rub her aching back, the baby finally settling down along with her.

Several minutes later, Rick leaned over to kiss her cheek as he listened to her deep even breaths.

Slowly getting out of bed, he headed towards the bathroom, pulling his shirt off over his head before tossing it into the dirty laundry hamper, leaving the bathroom door slightly ajar in case Leah woke up needing something.

Turning on the hot water, he finished stripping before stepping under the spray, rubbing his hands over his face.

He was going to have a baby…a sweet tiny little baby.

It had been so long since he'd held anything that tiny, that defenseless in his hands.

Leaning his head against the tile of the shower stall, he closed his eyes as he flashed back to the day he had come home to Ileana, only to find that tiny bundle in its cradle…

His son had been born three days before…and he hadn't been told.

His mother-in-law, who had never really liked him to begin with, had assured Ileana that she had called to his apartment in Athens to tell him of the impending arrival of their child…she had lied.

It had been hard for Ileana to accept what her mother had done but when she finally did, she had agreed with Rick that it was time to get their own place, even though she hated the idea of living alone with just their newborn son while he was in Athens.

He had offered to take a job with his brother, Kristos, who had been a master carpenter, just so he could stay with her.

Rick didn't have the talent his brother had had but he had the skill.

Ileana had said no, told him she wanted him to do what he loved…to continue teaching at the university…he had let her have her way…thus having his own way.

He had been such a selfish bastard even back then…and he had paid for it.

There was so much he had missed as his son grew up…his first smile, the first time he rolled over, his first words, his first steps…

During the weekends, when he was home, he would play with Nicolai, hold and cuddle him…yet it wasn't enough…he never gave of himself more than what was needed.

Ileana had never complained…and that, his mother had told him, had been the problem.

Slamming his fist against the wall, he pushed away as he turned his face into the stinging spray.

It wasn't going to happen again…not this time.

This time he was going to be there for every moment of his baby's life…he would spoil his Leah, bend over backwards to show her how amazingly grateful he was that she had allowed him back into her life.

He was going to be perfect for all three of them…even if it killed him.

Seth stood behind his nephew as the little boy studied the store shelf, his little face set into a serious look of concentration.

"Tornado, I don't think you'll find anything for your dad on this shelf," Seth commented as he looked over the miniature trains and cars, even seen a miniature replica of a 747 Boeing high up on the shelf, sure that Gabe didn't have that one…yet.

"But these are cool," Gabe pointed high up at a small sleek gray train, leaning his head back to look up at his uncle.

"For you, yes," Seth took the plane toy, turning it to look at the price…kind of steep for a toy buy he did need to find something for Gabe's third birthday, "But your dad doesn't need toys when he can play with yours…we need to find him something else."

"Like what," Gabriel turned to look at his uncle, giving him a questioning look.

"Well, we can get him a shirt –"

"Boring."

"A tie –"

"Not cool."

"A hat –"

Gabe's look of skepticism grew with every suggestion, "He doesn't wear hats."

"How about a watch?"

Scrunching up his nose as he thought about it, he finally nodded, "A really super cool watch."

"Okay, then, let's go to –"

"Vivi! Give me back my marble!"

Seth turned as a little redheaded girl ran around the corner, her long hair flying behind her as she barreled down the aisle towards them, turning at the last second to hide behind his legs just as a little boy, with blue black hair and brown eyes, his face red with obvious anger came after her, glaring at her between Seth's knees.

"Get out from there," he growled as he stepped closer to Seth only to take a step back, his hands fisted at his sides as his nose quivered, "You have my marble and I want it back!"

"No," she snapped at him, her little hands clutching at Seth's jeans as she looked around his knees, "I won it, fair and square!"

"You did not win it," he growled at her, his arms straight at his sides as he stomped his foot, "You took it from the bag where I put it. That's stealing, Vivi!"

The little girl gasped as she looked up at Seth from between his knees, stating emphatically at him, "I did not steal it," turning her eyes away from his wide eyed look to look back at the little boy, she stuck her tongue out at him before stating primly, "I do not steal and you know it, Marc."

Marc opened his mouth to respond, his head whipping to look over his shoulder as a high panicky voice called out, "Marcos! Viviana!"

"Over here, Tia," Marcos called out to her, not moving from his spot as he turned to glare at his sister, looking over at the little boy standing next to her…forget that, he was looking at her like…like…

He growled low in his throat as his aunt's light footsteps came closer.

Seth continued to stare at the little girl, as did Gabriel, completely flabbergasted at what he was seeing.

Her eyes were almost an exact shade to the Cullens and her smell, although faint, was similarly sweet.

But it wasn't possible…she had a heartbeat, that much he could hear although it was a strange sort of heartbeat…almost like wings…

Something tugged deep within him, almost painfully, as a low voice broke into his contemplation.

"¿Cuántas veces les he dicho que no se desaparescan? Viviana, ven aca." *How many times have I told you two not to disappear? Viviana, come here."

The little girl shook her head as the boy turned to look over his shoulder, "You shouldn't be speaking Spanish, Tia. Remember?"

The tugging grew more insistent and he knew…he knew that his life was about to change irrevocably…he just had to look up and –

His world stopped as his eyes connected with hers, seeing that damn fear in their beautiful depths, the hazel color bright as she stared back at him, time slowing down as everything around him ceased to exist.

Seconds turned into minutes as they stood there, the world shrinking down to just them, his heart beating fast as he felt his entire being shift direction…it was an unsettling feeling, this shift of gravity, but it was absolute.

It was her.

This was it.

"Tia, we need to leave," Marcos' voice broke through, making Rosa blink as she looked away from the man in front of her, looking down into the little boy's dark eyes as he slid his hand into hers.

"Yes, you're right," looking over towards the man, she couldn't hold back a blush as he continued to stare at her as if…as if…as if he were seeing for the first time, "Viviana, let's go."

Viviana frowned at her aunt and brother before turning to look at the little boy standing next to her, his big blue eyes trained on her and she wondered if he could blink.

Leaning closer, she slipped her marble into his hand, whispering so softly that only he heard her, "Take care of my marble."

Moving from behind the big tall man, she smiled up at him, feeling a bubble of joy growing inside her as he continued to stare at her aunt.

Running towards her little family, Viviana took Rosa's other hand, following behind her as Marcos tugged them away from the aisle, the man and the little boy, his face set into a dark scowl over whatever negative thoughts were swimming around in his head.

"Tia," Viviana looked up at her aunt, liking the stunned look on her beautiful face.

"Yes," Rosa tried to remember how to take deep breathes as she looked down at her niece, not understanding the unsettling feeling deep within her…almost as if her soul had come alive.

"He's your sun," Vivi whispered joyously, ignoring the dark look her brother gave her as he led them out of the store.

"What," Rosa's eyebrows lowered in confusion as she stared at her niece, trying to make sense of what had happened…why did she all of a sudden feel so…so full? So…complete?

"That man," Vivi pointed back towards the aisle as they exited the store, "He's your sun."

Was he? Was he the one she'd been waiting for, the one she'd communicated with? Was he indeed her sun?

She could feel, almost with painful sharpness, as her soul shouted Yes! Yes, that's him!

Now that she'd found him…what was she supposed to do?