Sorry for the delay and thank you all for not hunting me down with torches because it's late. Real life has a way of happening at the worst times and although I'm going to try to get back on schedule, there's no guarantee that I'll be able to get my chapters up every Thursday. There will still be weekly updates until this bad boy is done, but it might not be on Thursdays.

I can't thank Minna and Katmom enough for everything.

SM owns Twilight. I own dusk. Take that!

This is an all-Jaden POV chapter.

Jaden

Me and Edward spent the wedding night recording songs for Lily's CD. I couldn't wait to give it to her.

I also couldn't wait for Tuesday, the day I would belong to someone again. I was nervous about talking to the judge but everyone said that the judge would be nice and everyone would be there to support me. All I had to do was answer his questions truthfully and it would be okay.

Doc Carlisle and Esme were over at Bella and Edward's house, keeping Bella company while we were recording. Everyone else was visiting at Alice and Jasper's house because Alice was feeling poorly and needed to rest. Sunnybubbles was getting excited about being born and it was making Alice tired and sick.

When we finished our CD, Doc Carlisle asked if I wanted to go for a swing in the backyard. I thought it sounded fun so I went along. I didn't get to spend much time with him, so I thought it might be nice to have a talk, I mean, he was going to be my new grandpa soon and I didn't really know him.

"Doc Carlisle?" I asked as I hopped up on the swing and pushed off.

"Yes, Jaden?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

He pushed off and swayed back and forth with me. "You just did." He laughed at his joke, but then he got a little more serious. "What would you like to know?"

"Well, I wanted to ask if you…um…this is kind of a strange question and I'm not exactly sure how to ask it." I didn't. I couldn't find the words to make it seem less weird.

"You know you can ask me anything at all, son; I'll answer your questions to the very best of my ability. Take your time if you need to, I'll wait."

I took a deep breath. "You're a doctor so you know about…about…well, what happens when a person…dies, right?"

He stopped beside me. I knew my question had been too weird.

I heard a sigh, but it wasn't an angry one or a frustrated one. I think it was one of those sighs that grownups make when they don't know what to say. "What would you like to know? I'll explain as best I can."

"Well," I pumped my legs harder, "do you think my mommy felt any pain when my daddy shot her in the head?"

"I don't think so, Jaden. From what I understand of your mommy's injuries, I don't think she felt anything at all. It happened instantly."

I stared out at the inky sky and saw a couple of stars winking at me. "What do you mean by instantly?"

"She died right away."

"Oh. Okay." I continued to swing for a minute to try to figure out if I was happy about that or not. "Dying instantly isn't a bad thing, is it?"

He started swinging again. "If you have to die, instantly would be the best way to go, in my opinion."

"Okay. Emma died instantly didn't she? That's what Bella said."

His voice sounded sad when he answered. "Yes, yes she did. She never knew what happened. Neither did Charlie or Renée. It happened very quickly."

"My brother didn't die instantly. He was very sick. He cried a lot."

"Sometimes that's what happens. Doctors do their best to make it peaceful and as pain-free as possible."

"Did my daddy die instantly?"

He was quiet for a second. I was wondering if he was going to answer me, but then he spoke. "No, not likely. I think he may have been alive for a few minutes, but he died quickly. Why are you asking about this?"

I pumped my legs harder until it felt as if I was going to fly all the way around the tree branch. "I dunno. Just curious."

"Okay."

We were quiet for a few minutes. I liked that about Doc Carlisle, he didn't always fill the silence with words.

"I like you, Doc Carlisle."

He chuckled as I went past him. "I like you too, Jaden."

"So, you're going to be my grandpa after Tuesday, eh?"

"I suppose so."

"Does that make you sad?"

I heard him skid to a stop beside me. "Wait, what did you ask me?"

I planted my feet to stop the swing but got thrown off balance, sending me sideways. Doc Carlisle stopped me and held my swing steady.

"Thanks. I asked if me being your grandson made you sad."

He slowly let me go, then got on his knees in front of me. His pants were going to be dirty and I hoped Esme didn't get mad at him. "Why would you think it would make me sad? It's quite the opposite; I'm very excited about having a grandson."

"Oh, well, sometimes I make Cullens sad because they miss Emma. I just wanted to be sure that you were okay with it."

"Which Cullens get sad?" he asked, confused.

"Edward used to get sad, but we talk about it now, so it's not as hard for him. Sometimes Emmett does—he thinks that I don't know, but I'm not stupid, I see stuff."

"It's not you, Jaden. I hope you understand that. You have brought so much joy to our family that if anything, you've helped people be happy again. It's just that sometimes we have sad moments when we miss Emma. We would have those moments whether you were here or not."

That made sense and made me feel a lot better. Sometimes I worried that it was me making everyone so sad. It confused me a bit, but I understood now. Mostly.

"I have a question for you, Jaden, if that's okay. Don't feel you have to answer me right away."

"Okay, shoot," I said, as I dug the toe of my sneaker into the dirt.

"When your adoption is finalized, do you want to remain a MacDonald or do you want to be a Cullen?"

"Emmett and I have talked about it and I decided to add McDonald as a middle name and have Cullen as my new last name."

"Really?" he seemed surprised, "Emmett didn't pressure you into it, did he?"

"Pfft, no. He asked me to think about it and I didn't have to—my MacDonald family are all dead, there's no point in having the last name, but I didn't want to forget them, so I thought if I could keep it as my middle name then they would always be with me. Besides, it would seem silly to be Jaden MacDonald, son of Emmett and Rosie Cullen."

Doc Carlisle laughed. "You're a smart kid, Jaden. You don't miss anything at all, do you?"

I looked down at my dirty shoes for a minute before I said anything again. This time I looked up and into Doc Cullen's eyes. "Are you okay with me taking your name?"

He wrapped his arms around me. "I would be honoured."

I hugged him back. "Awesome. So, what do I call you after Tuesday? Pops? Grandpa Carlisle, Grampie Cullen?"

He laughed as he set me back down. "I'll let you decide that. Whatever works for you will be just fine with me.

"So, should we go in? Must be getting close to bedtime."

"Yeah, I suppose. Thanks, Doc Carlisle, for answering my questions. I know they were kind of weird."

He ruffled my hair. "They were perfectly valid questions, Jaden, and I hope you'll come to me the next time you have questions. It's what grandpas are here for."

I took his hand as we walked back toward the house. His hands were soft and smooth. My dad's hands were sometimes rough and cracked. "You know, I never met my grandparents. It might be fun to have new ones."

"We'll spoil you rotten, you know that, right? It's what grandparents do."

I started planning our trip to Harry Potter World the moment he said that.

~0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0~

Edward took me to see Lily the next day while everyone else went to Alice and Jasper's to hang out. I had the CD we made in my hand as I ran into her room.

"Lily! I have a surprise for you!"

She turned her head and smiled at me. I held it up and watched her eyes trying to focus on the shiny CD. "Me and Edward made a CD for you filled with your favourite songs and the best part is that we were the ones who sang the songs! Want to hear it?"

Lily's squeal was loud and her smile looked like a big yes to me. I gave the disc to Peter, who popped it into Lily's Hannah Montana CD player.

"Hi Lily, it's us, Jaden and Edward. We are going to sing and play your favourite songs. I hope you like it," my voice said through the speakers.

"Do I really sound like that?" I asked Peter. He laughed and nodded. "Hmm, I sound kinda weird."

We listened to the CD and Lily's excitement got bigger with each song. Her hands were moving and her legs were twitching and I had a feeling that if she could, she would be up dancing.

"Peter? Can you put Lily in her wheelchair? I think she wants to dance."

He moved over to her. "Do you want to dance with Jaden, Lilypad?"

"Y…y…yuh…" she grunted.

"I think that's a yes," he said, laughing. "Up we go!" He picked her up and her muscles got tight. "Relax, sweetpea, Daddy won't drop you."

I watched her start to relax as soon as she was in her chair. Peter strapped her in and stepped back. "She's all yours, Jaden. Try not to knock too many things over."

"I promise!" I said as I unlocked her brakes and started pushing and pulling her back and forth. Dancing was easier when I held onto her arm rests so I could see her face. She smiled at me and squealed when Under the Sea came on and soon it sounded like she was trying to sing along. She wasn't really making words, but she was making sounds and that was good enough for me. Edward and Peter sat on the bed and watched us, laughing and clapping.

After a couple of songs, I needed to take a break. I was sweating and I was thirsty. Lily must not have been happy about that because she banged her hand on her leg and grunted. "N…N…N…ooo!"

I stopped mid-sip. "Did she just say no?"

Peter was kneeling in front of her. "Did you just say no, sweetpea?"

"Y…y…y…"

He laughed, then kissed her on the nose. "I think she did. Why don't I dance with you while Jaden takes a break?"

"N…N…OOO!"

"Come on, Lily, he's tired out. Let him take a rest. Do you want to show him your picture board?"

"Picture board?" I asked.

Peter pulled out some cards before attaching a tray to her wheelchair. "Since Lily can point at things now, they brought her some cards to use to communicate."

I looked at them and they had different pictures and words. One card had food, one had clothes, one had colours, one had animals, there were numbers and weather and activities and feelings. "Hey, I have one of these at home!"

"Lily's speech therapist has asked that we try to sound out the words when Lily points to one. Sometimes she tries to say them. We're hoping one of these days she will. Do you want to do some with her? Thought maybe Edward and I could go grab some snacks while you do that, if you don't mind."

"Not at all. Sounds fun."

Peter moved Lily over by the bed so we could be at the same level, locking her wheels before he left so she wouldn't roll away. "You two have fun, we won't be gone long."

I spread out some of the cards on the tray and asked her questions. "Okay, Lily, can you show me what your favourite colour is?"

Very slowly her left hand moved to point at a purple triangle.

"Purple? That's a hard word but a pretty colour. Maybe I can paint something special for you in purple sometime. Let's sound it out. Pur-pull. Purrrr-pulllll. Can you say it?"

"Urrr…ell…" she said, smiling.

I lifted her hand and high fived her. "Awesome! P is a hard sound to make. You'll get there, though."

We worked through a few more words before she pointed to a picture of a boy. "Boy?"

Her hand lifted off the tray a little and her finger pointed at me. "Aaaaa!"

"I'm a boy, yes. You're a girl."

She kept pointing to the boy, then at me and making that loud aaaaaa noise. "Are you saying Jaden?"

Lily exhaled loudly and squeezed my hand once.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Lily. That was awesome! Jaaay-den."

"Aaa-ennn"

"You'll get it. That's awesome! I can't believe you're starting to talk. When I first met you, you couldn't do anything but squeeze my hand. Now look at you! You're sitting up in a wheelchair, swimming in a pool, and now you're talking. You'll be singing next, I bet.

"Want to take a break? I wanted to tell you something important."

Lily gave me a squeeze.

"I'm being adopted on Tuesday. Can you believe it? I can't. Rosie and Emmett got married yesterday and they'll be my new mommy and daddy in just a couple of days. They are on a honeymoon until tonight. I'm not sure what that is, but I got to stay with Edward and Bella last night and that was lots of fun. I hope they go on more honeymoons so I can have more sleepovers.

"Anyway, I wanted you to know that even though I won't be Jaden MacDonald anymore and I'll be Jaden MacDonald Cullen, I'll still be the same Jaden; I'll still be your best friend."

Lily smiled and pointed to a picture of two kids playing together. It said friends underneath.

"That's right, Lily, we'll always be friends, no matter what. I don't have many friends at school; the other kids used to pick on me because we didn't have a lot of money and because my baby brother died. My clothes were different and I didn't have a lot of toys either, so they teased me about that.

"It was a little lonely, but Mommy always said that one day things like that wouldn't matter, that they would see the real me and they would love me. I kept waiting, but it didn't happen—until I met you. I realize that you can't talk just yet, but I knew from your eyes that you could see me, that you liked me even though my whole family was dead and I cry a lot. You are the friend my mommy promised I'd find and I won't ever leave you, unless you ask me to. I hope you won't, but if you did, I'd have to go."

Lily's eyes were wet. "Did I make you sad, Lily? I didn't mean to."

Her hand wobbled across one of the cards until she was pointing to a heart.

"You…you love me?"

A big smile was all I needed to see. "I love you too, Lily."

Just then Edward and Peter came running into the room. "Jaden! We have to go!"

"What's wrong? Is everybody okay?" I asked nervously.

"Sunnybubbles is here!"

What? Wait? I'm stopping here?

Sorry. )

So guess what? You'll all get to meet Sunnybubbles in the next chapter-FINALLY!

Don't forget about the Sunflower Awards...voting starts soon. Jaden is up for an original character award, so all you folks who said you were Team Jaden, dust off your voting fingers and get ready to make him the happiest little fiction character out there. www DOT thesunflowerawards DOT blogspot DOT com

Emmett, Rosalie, Alice and Jasper are also up for awards.

For those of you interested, I donated a O/S of the day of the accident to The Fandom Fights Mental Illness. Please make a donation to this worthy cause to have a chance to read it. I haven't decided if I'm going to post it after the fundraiser is over.

http : / / findingyourvoice-ffmi DOT blogspot DOT com

Here's a teaser:

I left my two favourite people roughhousing in bed while I made my way to the bathroom to run a bath for Emma. We had been too tired the night before to bother and I was kind of kicking myself now—sleepy Emma is so much easier to wrangle in the tub than wide awake Emma.

When I returned to the bedroom, I found them snuggled up under the duvet reading Oh the Places You Will Go by Dr. Seuss. I watched them, committing the moment to memory. I knew full and well that quiet moments like this would be fewer and far between as our baby girl grew up.