Sorry this one took so long. I was diagnosed with this disease called writer's block. But I'm getting better thanks to the many reviewers out there that have kept me going! Thank you, and welcome to the beautiful family of You Promised!
Oh, and I'm so happy! Team Seth. Leah and Jake FINALLY updated her story, Commitment! AND she dedicated her new chapter to me! You guys should check out her story, bros! It's super good! I'd give you a summary, but you should READ it to actually GET it.
So...Here's Chapter 43. Hope you like it; there's a MAJOR surprise!
~SashaFierce12.0
Chapter 43
Jacob's P.o.V.
"So...They made up?" Leah asked, looking at the school-going Pack over the fire. We weren't at the beach, we were at my house. Esme had given Leah her old fire pit, and she wanted to use it. So here we were, roasting marshmallows and laughing.
"More like made out," Teasha joked.
"Yeah. They were all talking, and then, suddenly, they went into a full-blown make out. It was like dry sex," Athena said. She pulled her jacket tighter around her body and straightened her hat.
"I'm gonna' pretend I know what that means and say 'okay!'" Leah said, scrunching up her face, as if trying not to gag. I looked at her worriedly.
"You okay, Leah? I didn't mean to gross you out," Athena said. Leah's face went back to normal and she turned her marshmallow over in the fire pit with a nod.
"Where are our two soap-opera stars now?" Embry asked.
"Probably behind a tree somewhere. Kissing each other like their lives depended on it," Amanda said, adding the last part dreamily. Her marshmallow caught on fire and she screamed, jumping up.
"Stop, drop, and roll, Mandy!" her sister laughed. Adam, Rebecca's fiancé, took it from her, blew the mini fire out, and handed it back to the little girl.
"Thanks."
"Welcome." The Cullens joined us at that moment, and the conversation switched to Paul and Rachael.
"They got out of the NICU only an hour ago. They're in the regular nursery now," Rosalie was saying. A little cheer went up through the Pack.
"How's Rach?" I asked.
"She's good! Dying to get out, though," Rosalie grinned. "Her and the kids. Paul's with her."
"Aww...Family time," Leah leaned her head on my shoulder. I handed Jayah a cracker and she gnawed on it. A small gust of cool wind blew by just then, and Leah pulled her sweater tighter. I noticed goose bumps rise on her skin.
"Cold, Lee?" I chuckled.
"A little, yeah."
"Hello! We-" Quil looked at Adam. "You're not usually the one to get cold, Leah." My imprint shrugged.
"I just am, is all. I mean, it's not like it's the summer anymore. It's the beginning of November."
"You know what that means..." Sue waggled her eyebrows and Leah shot up.
"What does it mean?" I asked.
"Two things. One, Thanksgiving is just around the corner! I better start shopping now," Leah looked at me. "And two: Seth's birthday is next week."
"No it's not," Teasha said with a smile. "You're kidding!"
"I'm not. It's weird; he's usually one to announce it to the whole world by now. Wonder why he hasn't talked about it...?"
"He's probably embarrassed that his girlfriend's older than him," Rosalie grinned and looked at me. I rolled my eyes.
"Let it go, Blondie."
"Make me, Dog."
"Hey! This is a family and friends bonfire. We need to make with the nice, here," Jasper looked between the two of us.
"Sorry," Rosalie said. That's actually the first time I've heard her apologize. Today's just full of surprises. "So what are we gonna' do for his sweet fifteen?"
"I don't know. Hey, do you remember what we did last year?" Leah looked around the fire and everyone shook their heads. "Any ideas, Mom?"
"Oh, I have plenty of..." Sue started, then stopped when she saw Seth and Jazmyn making their way towards us. Everyone got quiet as they sat down. Jazmyn immediately started in on a conversation with the girls and Seth stared at the rest of us staring at him. His cheeks turned a faint shade of red and he looked down quickly.
"Hi...?"
"Hi!" Amanda waved at him.
"Did I do something? Why are you all staring at me?"
"We're trying to read your mind," Brady joked.
"Pleasant. I'm gonna' go get some water. You want any, Jazz?"
"No. I'm good, thanks," she replied and kissed his cheek. Seth grinned and stood up, headed towards the cooler. When he was out of earshot, Sue started talking again.
"We should surprise him at school."
"Surprise who at school?" Jazmyn took a bite out of a marshmallow.
"Yeah! He'll be so embarrassed! It'll be great!" Athena laughed.
"I'm totally missing something here!" Jazmyn yelled over everyone else's talking.
"Shut up, he's coming back," Leah hissed. Seth took a swig of his water before sitting down again just as Jazmyn laughed at something Teasha said. His face lit up as her voice rang over the air.
"What'd I say?" Teasha looked around.
"You said..." Jazmyn fell over onto Seth's lap. "Wah-" She couldn't even finish, she was laughing so hard.
"What'd you do?" Edward asked.
"I don't know! All I said was 'unity' and-" Teasha looked back at Jazmyn as she sucked in another breath and laughed again.
"That's it!" she said, catching her breath. "You-you...!" She had tears running down her cheeks and her hands on her stomach. "Oh, my gosh! My stomach!" She laughed some more. "Ha! I'm burning calories!" She laughed a little more and then she pattered out. "Whew...I had a good laugh." She looked up at Seth.
"I know. We all heard," he said sarcastically. "I would ask what she was talking about, but that might get you started again."
"Knowing her, it probably would," I laughed. Jazmyn stuck her tongue out at me and giggled.
"Oh, my gosh, I just realized something!" Alice exclaimed suddenly. "Where're Jared and Kim?"
"Spending their last few days together," Ashley answered.
"Yeah. Kim and her family are moving on Sunday; to be closer to Penn State. That's the college that Kim's going to next semester," Amanda finished.
"And she didn't tell us?" Emily asked.
"She didn't want to go through the emotional toll," Ashley said dramatically. "Plus, Jare's been keeping her busy."
"Very busy," her sister added, waggling her eyebrows. Ashley hit her and the two giggled. It must be cool to have a twin. I was stuck growing up with two older sisters, so all they liked to do was makeup and hair and crap like that. But Leah was like my twin. We did everything; she was like one of the guys...Yet, a girl at the same time. She still cared about her looks and her hair, but not too much. And she didn't mind getting dirty. I looked down at my imprint, noticing that her face was scrunched up again.
"You okay?" I whispered into her ear.
"I feel weird," she replied back.
"Again? Do you need to lie down?" Without waiting for an answer, I moved Jayah so that Leah could lie on my lap. Emily took my daughter from me and started playing with her. I rubbed Leah's cheek. She'd been complaining of feeling 'weird' for a while now. I've been trying to coax her to see Carlisle, but she just keeps turning me down. I sighed and listened in on the guys' conversations.
"I heard..." Jazmyn sang to the tune of an Adele song. "That it's your birthday next week..." She looked at Seth who rolled his eyes.
"Who'd you hear it from?"
"I figured it out 'cause I'm a good girlfriend," she answered, poking his chest.
"Really? That was a whole month ago."
"I can forgive, but I can never forget, Sethy-poo." She giggled. Seth looked at her cheek and Jazmyn stopped. "Back to the subject," she said quickly.
"Aww...C'mon, it's not that big of a deal!"
"Yes it is," Sue chimed in.
"Oh, so you told her," Seth's eyes narrowed.
"No. I didn't."
"What do you wanna' do for your birthday?" Alice asked eagerly. Seth leaned back against the lawn chair he was sitting in.
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"...Nothing."
"...Nothing?"
"Why is that so hard to comprehend? I don't want to do anything, and I don't want you guys doing anything remotely 'special' on that day. I want it to be quiet and peaceful and normal."
"When have you ever known a day with us to be 'quiet and peaceful and normal?'" Edward asked.
"He has a point," Leah said from my lap.
"So? I just...Don't want to do anything, is all." He shrugged. End of sentence. But I knew there was much more to it than that. Seth had always been the person to want to do something on his birthday. What made him not want to do anything now? Well, he was getting older. Could that be it?
Shaking off the thought, I grinned again and continued on to a different conversation. I even joined in with the girls.
"Zachary. That's what I'll name him," Jazmyn was saying and looked up at Seth. They were talking about the names of their future children. "I want two little boys. Maybe a little girl to keep the house feminine; but definitely two boys. That's it. No way am I becoming a Michelle Duggar."
"That lady with, like, forty kids?" Rosalie asked.
"Uhh, hello? She only has nineteen!" Athena retorted.
Rebecca scoffed. "Only?"
"That is still a lot of children," Evangeline said.
"What about Mal? He has eight brothers and sisters," Syanne said.
"Oh, yeah," Malachi laughed.
"You're all named after books or people in the Bible. What's up with that?" asked Emmett.
"Mom and Dad like Bible names. Is that so wrong?"
"No. But it sounds cool together. Who is there...?"
"Matthew, Mark, Naomi, Esther, John, Luke, Timmy..."
"And the baby?" Emily cocked her head.
"Miriam," answered Malachi.
"I could never do what your parents do," Leah said. "Which group of kids are quintuplets?"
"Matthew, Mark, Naomi, Esther, and John. They're all thirteen as of...Six months ago."
"Two teenage girls? How do you deal with them?" Brady asked.
"I dunno. I really don't talk to them that much, anyway. They're annoying."
"They didn't lookthirteen when I saw them," I said. "They looked like little kids."
"They all do."
"Oh..."
"I love 'em, but I like coming here better. Miriam doesn't know how to stop crying, and the girls always have their friends over, Mom's trying to multi-task; cooking, cleaning, changing diapers, and yelling at the top of her lungs. And Dad's just trying to find a place to help through it all...Life at home's pretty hectic. And it takes me forever just to get out the door; Tim's always hanging on to my leg, begging me to take him with me."
"Aww, you can bring him over. The more the merrier!" Leah laughed.
"Yeah, but there's always so many people at your house already," Malachi smiled sheepishly.
"So? You guys are awesome," I laughed.
"Aww, we love you, too, Jakey," Teasha winked at me.
"Aw - Jay! Great, kid. That's awesome," Seth said flatly. He held Jayah out in front of him and stared at the big chocolate stain on his shirt. My daughter giggled and kicked her legs, chocolate and marshmallow stuff all over her. She threw the rest of her crackers and chocolate at her uncle and giggled again. It landed on his face, right next to his nose and the group around the fire busted with laughter. Seth closed his eyes slowly and then opened them, shooting a look at Jayah. She put her fist in her mouth and fluttered her eyes. That made me laugh harder; that's something that she undoubtedly got from her mom. Seth glanced at his girlfriend and sighed. "Guess I deserved that." Leah sat up and chuckled lightly.
"C'mon, Jayah. It's time for bed, anyway. Say 'bye' to Uncle Seth." Jayah waved and Leah kissed her cheek and took her inside. Seth chuckled and wiped away the mess from his face.
"Real cute kid, Jake. Real cute."
"Hey, she's related to you, too!"
"Oh. Right," he laughed a little.
"Sethy-poo, you got something on your face," Jazmyn cooed. Said wolf wiped at his cheek.
"Where?"
"Riiiiggghhht...There," she pointed to his lips and then kissed him.
"Okay...I'm out. Bye, guys. See you tomorrow!" Malachi shuddered and stood up. He grabbed a bag of marshmallows before going around the house.
"Can you get a room, please?" Quil covered Claire's eyes and she giggled.
"You're not even getting the gunk off his face!" Teasha added. Jazmyn yanked Seth's collar and pulled him off the lawn chair.
"This is so awkward now," I sighed. I glanced at Sue who was rolling her eyes. She stood up and pulled Seth out from under his imprint.
"Time to go. I don't need the joy of watching your children, Seth." A series of 'ohhhs' and laughter sounded from the group as people got up to leave. Seth and Jazmyn turned a deep shade of red and Jazz ran her hands down the side of her body.
"I still want to savor the days of my perfect hourglass figure," she winked and the group laughed harder. She leaned up and kissed Seth's cheek.
"See you later. Call me?" Seth nodded and Sue dragged him around the house.
When everyone had left and I had put out the fire, Syanne helped me carry in the extra bags of marshmallows and Embry held Kyle. He put him to bed and took Syanne's hand.
"Ready?"
"Mhm."
"See ya' later, Boss Man. I won't have her in too late," Embry laughed.
"Okay. Bye, guys." I watched as they left and phased, running into the forest for patrol. I double checked Jayah, who was already fast asleep. Then I rubbed Kyle's head.
I walked into the doorway of my room and froze. Leah was standing there wearing only a bra and her pajama pants. She was gawking at the mirror, turning this way and that. She placed a hand to her stomach, running it down and then up again. She looked down at it in her reflection, then focused on me. Her eyes got wider. She mouthed my name and then turned, her mouth still agape. My own mouth hung slack as I stared at her belly.
No one else probably would have been able to see it, but with my heightened senses, I could see a small bump. It stuck out prominently from the rest of her body, and I could hear a faint heartbeat. Faint. But still there.
Crap...
She couldn't be. No. She couldn't.
Leah stared at me, her mouth still hung open, mouthing my name.
"Jacob..."
"You're not. No. You're. Not."
"How could you not think that I am? I've been feeling all weird and funky for the past few weeks, Jake! Only a few minutes ago, I puked my guts out for no apparent reason. I can hear the heartbeat. The freaking heartbeat! And I..." If it was possible, her eyes got wider and she paled. "I phased. I phased yesterday, Jacob. What if I hurt him? Or her?" Her eyes welled up. "Jacob! I hurt him!" I took Leah's shoulders into mine and shook her lightly.
"Shut up, Leah. You're not. It's a misunderstanding. I'm gonna'..." I led her to the bed and sat her down. She took the seat almost robotically, still staring into my eyes. Without hesitating, I ran out the door and towards Old Quil's Corner Store. I grabbed every test he had and threw it on the counter. Old Quil looked at me and opened his mouth to say something.
"Shhh!" I hushed him sharply. "Don't say anything!" I threw a fifty on the counter, not bothering to wait for my change.
A whole twenty minutes later, Leah was sitting on the bed, bouncing her leg and I paced the room because I was too nervous to sit. The timer buzzed and I stopped. Leah's leg bouncing ceased. The house seemed to stand still as I took the tests into my hands. There were five in total. I closed my eyes and walked back into the room. Leah bit her lip and a couple of tears managed to escape her green eyes. Slowly, I read the tests out loud.
"Positive. Positive, Positive, Positive...Puh-positive." Leah's hands flew to her mouth and she looked down. I thought backwards in time. It couldn't have been the time when we'd came from Seattle; no, it'd be too early to tell. I raked my mind for any clue to...Wait.
"I can't wait to marry you, Leah," I whispered into my imprint's ear. Goosebumps rose on her neck despite her raised body heat. I started kissing her neck and she wrapped her arms around my neck and moaned. Picking her up, I laid her gently on our bed and gazed into her emerald green eyes. Suddenly she yanked on my shoulders and we were kissing. Feverishly. Like we'd never see each other again. When it started getting heated, I pulled away, gasping for air. She smiled and kissed my cheek slowly.
"Make love to me, Jacob..." she whispered. I did.
I shivered out of the memory, remembering it like it was yesterday.
But it wasn't yesterday. That was two months ago. There was no denying it now. She was. She was, she was, she was.
Leah was pregnant.
My imprint was crying now. Her hands were on her face and she choked back sobs. I dropped the tests and flew to her side. I held her and tried soothing her by rubbing her back.
"I'm so scared, Jacob."
"Why? We already have Jayah."
"I know, but...What's everyone else gonna' say? We're not even married yet, and we're already expecting our second child." I squeezed my eyes shut and didn't say anything. "And...I think that I've hurt the baby. I phased. Remember? When we did that thing for you to become Alpha. I phased, Jake. What if the baby's dying because of me?"
"He's not, Leah. I know he's not." I grasped her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. "That baby's gonna' live. I know he's gonna' live. I'll see to it. We're going to get through this, Leah. We've gotten through much worse before. We'll get through it." I hugged her tightly again. "You're too damn stubborn to let him die, anyway." Despite herself, Leah chuckled into my chest and sniffed.
"I'm not ready to tell anyone."
"Well...If you're not ready, then I won't tell, either. I hope your stomach's good at hide and seek."
"I'm too small right now. But I'll get bigger; I just gotta' wear a lot of loose clothes. Do you think we should tell Syanne?"
"Is she good at keeping a secret?"
"She kept that secret about her foster parents from the social worker; you tell me."
"Oh, well, then yeah. I'll tell her. You get some rest." I kissed her head and let it linger, breathing in the scent of her shampoo.
Herbal Essence, I think.
Once the room was cleaned and Leah was asleep, I walked slowly towards Jayah's room. Kyle was sleeping across from her on the other side, his teething ring half in his mouth and half out. I refocused on my daughter. She was so beautiful; hair as black as coal and eyelashes longer than anyone's I'd ever seen. Aside from Leah's, of course. I rubbed her head, relishing in the way her hair felt so silky and smooth in my work-callused hands. She drew in a breath and then let it out, sticking her fist into her mouth and curling up a little more. I smiled again and thought to Leah and my unborn child.
I...We could handle another kid. Mentally and financially. I'm almost done with my first semester of college, and Leah has that job at the hospital...We're doing so good. Anyone could see that. I just hope they're not going to lessen their respect for us - mainly me, as the Alpha - just because Leah was pregnant again. But the guys were excepting; they'd took Leah's pregnancy well the first time. They'd do it again. I know they will. But I had to keep quiet.
I sighed again and chuckled at the time last year when we had found out about Jayah. Every time Leah had morning sickness, she'd always blame me. But we laughed over it. It was terrible only being able to see her during the day; that's when she was staying with Sam and Emily...Dang, that must have been really awkward. Anyway, now that we had this house...
I looked around and grinned.
I didn't have to worry if she was okay or not. We could see each other whenever we wanted to. No worries.
I'm going to start working harder at keeping the area safe. I don't want my girls - or anyone else for that matter - getting hurt again. When that vampire had snuck into my house and almost killed Leah, I thought I was gonna' die. And I would've, if she had. But she didn't. And I was glad for that...But Syanne had to pay the consequences.
Never again will that happen. Not while I'm Alpha.
"Jacob?" I jumped and turned towards the doorway to look at Syanne.
"Sy? How long have you been standing there?"
"Not long. How long have you been s-standing there?"
"I dunno." I glanced out the doorway and towards my room. "Syanne..."
"What's wrong?" She was suddenly on alert and I saw her shake a little.
"Nothing like that, Sy. Calm down." That was an order and she did immediately. She walked forward and looked me dead in my eyes. I took in a breath and blurted out, "Leah's pregnant." I let out my breath.
"She is?"
"Yeah, but you can't tell anyone. Not even Embry."
"But I tell Embry e-everything! H-he'll want tuh-to know what's bothering me, and-"
"Syanne," I hissed. She was getting louder with everything that came out of her mouth. We both looked at the crib and held our breaths as Jayah stirred. Her eyes twitched, but she didn't wake up. I turned back to Sy. "You can't tell anyone," I ordered. I hated using it, but I did. I used the Alpha command and she kept her mouth shut. "Leah was hesitant to let me tell you, but she said I could. She doesn't want anyone else knowing. Not yet."
"But what if it slips out or suh-something?"
"It won't. I know it won't. You kept that secret from the social worker for two years." She looked down, and I regretted using the past against her. I touched her shoulder and she looked back up at me. "You can keep a secret. Leah and I trust you."
"Oh-okay. Since you g-guys trust me, and ah-all." She hugged me and kissed her son's head. She went to her room after that.
I ran my fingers through my hair and rechecked the babies again. Then I left. I hopped into the Rabbit and drove towards the graveyard. There, I walked towards Mom's stone. I didn't expect to see her there, though. But when I saw a dark figure, I re-thought my theory.
"Mom?" I called. The figure turned, and I saw that it was Rebecca. I let out a breath, feeling a little disappointed that it wasn't my mother.
"Jacob? What are you doing here? It's late."
"I could say the same to you, Becca." My sister had her arms wrapped around her and she chuckled and shook her head, looking down. "Are you going to answer me?"
"Are you going to answer me?"
"Okay. I wanted to see Mom. Now. Answer me."
"I'm here for the same reason," Rebecca answered simply. I knew that there was more to it than that and narrowed my eyes, cocking my head. Rebecca pursed her lips and sat down. I took a seat next to her. "It's been a while since I've been here; almost five years. I guess...I just miss her."
"I do, too."
"I know. You were so little, Jakey." She rubbed my arm and smiled. "But now look at you," she gave a short laugh, "you look down at me, and I'm two years older than you!" I smiled and sighed, still looking at my older sister. She was quiet and she looked out at the dark silhouettes of the trees.
"There's still more." Rebecca looked at me again and let out a deep sigh.
"The pull is strong. Ever since he imprinted on me, I've been seeing him every day. I feel guilty saying it but...I spend more time with him than I do with Adam. My own fiancé. It's like the only time that I see him is when I got home in the evenings. Even then, we barely talk to each other. And...Ugh, why am I even telling you this? You don't like talking about girl stuff. I should've just talked to Leah-"
"No! No, this is interesting. Do you still love Adam?"
"Of course! With all my heart..."
"Are you ready to get married to him?"
I didn't miss her moment of hesitation before she finally said, "Yes. I am. Darren and I are just good friends, and we still will be after I'm happily married."
"Happily?"
"Happily."
"...Happily."
"Who died and made you my echo?" Rebecca joked, and lightly slapped the back of my head. I laughed.
"I just want you to have a good life, Becks. And if he hurts you, I'm gonna' kill him. I don't care if I'm a werewolf; I'll crush him. Like a toothpick." Rebecca laughed and hugged me from the side.
"I know you will." We sat like that for a few seconds. It was a real, true brother-sister moment.
"So...Darren. What do you guys do? He seems to be riding on Cloud Nine when he's at work."
"Mmm...We just talk, is all. Sometimes we'll take a few walks, or ride our bikes. But he's really great company. Don't tell anyone, but...It's really cool having an imprint. Like, you know that they'll always be there, no matter what." Rebecca shrugged and smiled widely; an exact replica of Rachael. Sometimes, it was hard to tell if it really was Rebecca or Rachael you were talking to. You really had to know them; they looked that much alike.
I looked down and thought about Leah. "Yeah...They'll always be there."
"Thinking about my future sister-in-law?"
"How'd you know?"
"I'm your big sister; I always know. How is she? I noticed that she was looking a little under the weather today at the campfire."
"She's...She's good. Asleep."
"Oh. Okay. Well...I should be heading back. I wasn't supposed to be out this long." Rebecca stood up and ran her fingers through her long hair. The two of us started walking towards the gate. We stopped at the Rabbit, and I noticed that there was no other car here.
"You going to see Rach tomorrow?"
"Yeah."
"Okay. I'll see you there." She started walking down the road.
"Do you need a ride?"
"No. I'm good. I like walking. I enjoy the quiet." She gave me a reassuring grin and disappeared down the path towards Dad's. I watched her figure go down the walk, and noticed another one join her. I recognized the scent as Darren's and I smiled at the two as they continued walking. He'd keep her safe.
00000000000000000000000
"Eww...Why do they call it morning sickness if it hits you every second of the freaking day?" Leah sighed from the bathroom floor. She flushed the contents of her stomach down the toilet and leaned her head on the tiled wall. I spit out some toothpaste and wiped my mouth.
"I dunno. I wish I was the one going through this and not you." Leah giggled a little.
"Trust me. You don't want to." We laughed and then stopped when someone knocked on the door.
"It's me," Syanne said.
"Come in," I called and helped Leah up. We walked into the room and Syanne opened the door and stepped in.
"Rachael called and she wants us all at the hospital. I'm gonna' catch a ride with Embry, and I'll take Kyle. Jayah's already ready, she's chilling in her crib. I fed her and Kyle both, changed their diapers, and got them ready for the day. Jay's diaper bag is packed...Oh, and there's some breakfast in the microwave for you guys." She rubbed her shoulder and smiled sweetly.
"Gee...Thanks, Sy."
"Anytime. I wanna' start helping out more, y'know?" Syanne glanced at Leah's stomach and then back up at us. Leah hugged the young wolf and kissed her cheek and I ruffled her hair. Syanne giggled and fixed it. "Jake..." She waved once more and left. Leah sat down at the vanity and began brushing her hair.
"You won't be missing my long hair anymore. It'll be coming back soon."
"Great! I like it long."
"I do, too, believe it or not."
I threw on a shirt and some jeans and glanced outside. Soft snowflakes fell, but melted as they got to the ground. I smiled.
"You won't have any trouble hiding. It's snowing. You can just put on a sweater." Leah gasped and ran to her drawers, pulling out some clothes.
"Jewel's first snow! Oh, she'll be so excited."
Four outfit changes and eleven pancakes later, we were at the hospital. I held Jayah and brushed snow off her beanie, suddenly noticing that she almost always had something in her hair. Whether it was a hat, a headband, a flower, or a bow, there was always something. Leah messed with her sweater; tugging on it and fixing it around the belly area.
"Quit it, Leah. It's not noticeable. If you keep on messing with it, then it will be." Leah bit her lip and stopped. She put a smile on her face as we walked into Rachael's room. Carlisle was there, and so was his family. The whole Pack was here, too, and they all gave us wide grins. Rachael was propped up on her bed and Paul sat next to her. He had a small bundle in his arms, and Rachael had two. Leah flew to the other side and cooed at the little babies.
"Who's who?" Rachael looked down to her left and then to her right.
"These are my boys. This one is Aaron." She bounced her right arm a little. "And this cutie over here is Aiden."
"Aiden? What happened to Adam?"
"We realized that there's already another Adam. It'd be confusing. So, we renamed him. Aiden. I like it better, anyway." Rachael winked at Rebecca's fiancé, who laughed.
"This is Arielle," Paul said happily. I handed Jayah to Evangeline and made a beeline for my new niece. Paul kissed her forehead and handed her to me. I held her and gazed at her face tenderly. She was just as beautiful as Jayah. Long eyelashes and angelic chestnut hair. An exact replica of Paul. She had her eyes opened, and she looked up at me with hazel orbs. She rubbed her face with her hands and moved her mouth around, showing off a big dimple on her left cheek. I looked back up at Rachael.
"Who knew you and Paul could make such a beauty?" My comment made the room burst with laughter. I handed Arielle to Dad after that. He held her carefully and kissed both of her closed eyes and then her head.
"The creatures that God makes...She's beautiful. Just beautiful." My niece - I love saying that - was passed around with her brothers. Out of the two boys, Aiden seemed to take to me the most. He stared up at me as I held him and held my finger tight. I laughed.
"Iron grip. Must get it from me," I winked at Paul and Rachael.
"You wish!"
During the time that we were all in the hospital room, we laughed and talked and joked like we were at my house. The room had a sense of warmth to it even though snow fell outside.
"How do you feel about your new cousins, Jewel?" Alice asked. Jayah looked down at Arielle, who stared back at her. Jayah cocked her head and then leaned down and touched her lips to her cousin's head.
"Aww...She likes her!" Athena cooed. "There gonna' be great friends." Jayah did the same thing to Aiden and Aaron, and then smiled at the rest of us. I took my daughter and held her the rest of the time we were in the room. Suddenly, I remembered something and handed Jayah back to Evangeline.
"I'll be right back." I kissed Leah's cheek and then left. I walked down the hallway and towards the playroom. Marie was there again; singing away. Seth and Jazmyn sat next to her; Jazmyn singing with her mother, and Seth holding a little boy. The boy had a baseball cap over his bald head, and it was a little big. Seth turned it to the side and high-fived the little boy, who laughed in response.
I continued looking around the room and never saw her. I gave the room one last sweep and frowned. Then I walked down the hall towards her room - yes, I still remember where it was. The door was already open and I walked in, looking around. A custodian was changing out the sheets and blanket on the single bed in there.
"Excuse me, Miss?" I asked. The elderly woman looked up. "Do you know what happened to the little girl? The one that stayed here?" A dark cloud seemed to wash over the woman's face.
"Miracle Rose?" I nodded and swallowed. "I'm sorry, sir. She died in her sleep last night. Oh, still so beautiful. A nice, contented smile on her face, too. Oh...Are you a friend of hers? Of the family?" I didn't answer and looked down. "Sir?" Without an answer, I left the room and walked slowly down the hall. I stopped again by the playroom; Marie was still singing to the children.
How could she be so happy when she knew that she was destined to die soon? Marie, all those little kids...I looked at the little boy still talking to Seth. They looked so happy, and they seemed to have a special kind of bond.
I had that kind of bond with Miracle Rose. I'd only known her beautiful little face for not even fifteen minutes, yet...It had seemed like we'd known each other a lifetime. I had become too attached to her in such a short time and now look what happened. She died.
That's my problem. I get too attached to something too quickly. It happened with Mom. Now Miracle Rose. Who's next? Marie? It's already bad enough about Rose. Now, I'd have to go through the grief of losing Marie, too. That beautiful woman who acted like every day was the best day to ever hit the face of the earth. Would Leah leave me, too? Jayah?
I looked back at Seth and the little boy. They were too attached. Already. How long had Seth known him? The little boy would leave this world soon, and Seth would probably become more depressed than he already is.
I stared into the room; at the spot where I'd first seen Rose's glowing little face. I could see her there, gazing at Marie as she sang those beautiful notes. And then I saw her face as she slowly turned to me and saw me with those big brown eyes of hers. The way she grinned like she knew me. She did know me. From the first time we saw each other. I remembered the way that she talked to me; asked me if I believed in miracles. And I did. I had Jayah. Leah. Family. Her. We had only known each other for three minutes at that time.
I could still hear her voice in my ears, ringing like the Christmas bells that sounded at the church.
"Remember me kindly, Jacob..."
How she'd kissed my cheek and gave me one last grin and went into her room. Miracle Rose was...She was a miracle.
A miracle gone too soon.
Aww...It's sad! Actually, most of it is sad. Except for the fluff with Rachael and Paul and the babies. Do you think the name change was too much? Sorry I did it at the last minute...I had already repeated Brandon's name. Did you know that was actually on ACCIDENT? I only realized it when I did that one chapter when they met each other.
So, anyway, review!
~SashaFierce12.0
P.S. I'll try to have the next chapter up quicker!
