I would first like to say that this chapter was written by Mediate89, she took the iniative and finished this story. And I have to say she did a better job at ending it than what I would have. I started to write the ending several times and couldnt get it out. I hated to see this story end, but it has. So, please leave Mediate feedback for this chapter, it would mean alot to her.
Chapter 49 -- Moving Forward
I carried a large platter of ham sandwiches to the picnic table in the backyard. We had several of them set up out back for the pack and their families to gather around for the special occasion. Sarah and Paul's daughter, Bridget was turning ten years old today and we had a big party planned. The weather was beautiful for September, warm and sunny so everyone was in a buzz. The kids were running in and out of the trees surrounding our house and the guys were already on the edge of the yard, half-naked and playing a rowdy game of football.
I set the plate of food among the pitchers filled with lemonade and iced tea. Sam had a grill going already sizzling with burgers and hot dogs and the aroma reminded me that I needed to bring out the buns and condiments next. I turned to go back into the kitchen and was met halfway by Lily, her beautiful black hair shining in the sun. Her little arms were filled with plastic bread bags and she ran to me with a big smile on her face.
"Here you go, mommy!"
"Thank you, Lily." I quickly closed the distance between us and lightened her load before she could fall over herself. She was only five but she loved to help and would oftentimes go to any lengths to lend a hand.
"Hope's bringing some too," she announced, grinning in the direction of the house. I followed her gaze and saw Embry striding across the lawn laughing and bouncing his little girl in his arms. Hope had her arms wrapped around his neck and was giggling into his bare shoulder.
Lily and Hope were best friends, more like sisters than cousins, which is what they called themselves when they weren't trying to fool unsuspecting strangers into thinking that they were twins. Sometimes it seemed like I had three or four children living at home instead of two, but I didn't mind—the more the merrier, and Lily needed a girl her age to interact with.
When Embry got close enough he turned so I could pull the bags from Hope's grasp and then lowered her down on the ground next to Lily. The two girls immediately took off and started chasing each other around the yard, screaming with delight.
"Kids." Embry chuckled and ran a hand through his short black hair before stalking off to join the rest of the pack in their brawl.
Kids. I wanted more kids. My little Adam was already nine years old and Lily was hardly a baby anymore. I knew Sam wanted to add to our family too but conceiving was getting more difficult as time wore on. It took us a year of trying until Adam was four to finally get pregnant with Lily and even though we started trying for another baby when she was two, she was still our youngest child. Ironically, my situation was the exact opposites of Sarah's, who never wanted more than Bridget but was currently pregnant with her third, a little boy due in January. I tried not to be envious of that fact. Sarah was still my closest friend and I wasn't going to let my pettiness get in the way of that.
"I got the cake," a familiar voice issued from behind me, breaking me out of my reverie. Sarah sat the cake down on the already crowded picnic table and opened the top of the box. It was a beautiful princess cake, pink and white and covered in sparkles. Bridget was going to love it. "I even found some pink candles to go with it," she added with a grin. She sat a shopping bag down and started rifling through her spoils.
"Where is the birthday girl?" I wondered. We'd been setting up for nearly two hours and she had yet to make an appearance.
"Ah, she and Adam are still out with Rachel. I actually called on the way over here and Rachel said they should be here within the next ten minutes or so. The wanted to stop for some soda or something."
"Is she excited?"
"Bridget? Oh yea. This is all she's been talking about for a week. The big one-oh."
I chuckled. "Of course."
Sarah and I finished setting up the tables and hanging decorations while we waited for our kids to arrive. We were setting out the presents when Rachel pulled into the driveway. Adam and Bridget crawled out of the back seat, each clutching a drink and ran over to us, leaving Rachel to carry several grocery bags over all by herself. Adam and Bridget looked about as much alike as Lily and Hope did. They both had identical black hair, Bridget's being quite a bit longer of course, and the same bright brown eyes.
"Princess?" Bridget hardly had time to hug her mother before Paul's deep voice sounded from behind us.
"Daddy!" She squealed. She quickly sat her Root Beer on the table and leapt into her father's arms. They shared a tight embrace before Bridget pulled away to nuzzle Paul's face with her nose. Paul laughed and planted a messy kiss on her cheek, making her giggle and rub furiously at the affected area with her free hand.
The pack had halted their game and was gathering around the scene. "Someone's happy to see you," I heard Sam mutter to Paul as he wrapped his arms around me.
"Or happy to see your presents." Quil nudged Paul playfully on the arm and Paul rolled his eyes and turned back to the child in his arms.
"You don't just love me for my presents, right Princess?"
Bridget smiled sweetly and shook her head. Obviously pleased with her response, Paul kissed her again, this time with a little more grace and sat her down so he could help Rachel with her bags.
*****
"What do you want, honey?" Sam was standing at the grill holding a paper plate for Lily in his hands. "A hotdog or a hamburger?"
"I want both."
Sam sighed; she was holding up the line. "Lily, I don't think you can eat both. Do you just want a hotdog?"
"No," Lily whined, "I want both of them but in half."
Sam raised a skeptical brow. "You want half of both?" Lily nodded. "What am I going to do with the other halves? No one's going to want half a hotdog."
"Hope's going to eat them!" She glanced over at Hope who was swinging her legs back and forth from her seat at the picnic table and they both giggled.
Sam rolled his eyes affectionately and added two pieces of meat to Lily's plate. "Alright, now get outta here. Ask uncle Embry to cut them for you."
"Okay." Lily grinned and walked quickly over to where Hope was sitting by her father.
I was next in line. Sam met my gaze with a sparkle in his eye and leaned in for a kiss.
"Mmm," I moaned softly, "I think I'll just have a hotdog."
"Hotdog it is," Sam murmured against my lips.
No one complained about our public displays of affection anymore. They were such a common occurrence by now that we rarely got a reaction, especially since most everyone else seemed to be about as lovesick as we were what with a good portion of the pack having imprinted and all. They understood what it was like having a center of the Universe.
"You kids like your burgers?" I ended up sitting across from Adam and Bridget when everyone was seated and they were both eating quietly so I decided to see how they were enjoying the day. Adam was fairly soft-spoken so it was hard to get a conversation out of him unless you started one first.
Bridget smiled her adorable little smile. "Yep. Uncle Sam always makes the best hamburgers."
Adam snickered. "Yea, but that's about all he can make."
Bridget laughed and nudged him playfully with her arm.
"Hey, that's not true," I chided him, and then after a moment's thought realized that my jump to Sam's defense had been entirely instinctual because Adam was right, Sam could barely make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
"Hey mom, can Bridget stay the night tonight?" Adam asked suddenly in-between bites. I shrugged and swallowed a mouthful of potato salad.
"As long as it's alright with Paul or Sarah, you know I don't mind having Bridget over."
"Awesome." Both kids grinned at each other and started talking animatedly about what they were going to do when the party was over-- exploring the woods, among other things.
*****
Soon we were all singing Happy Birthday to a beaming ten-year-old. Paul was standing behind her looking incredibly proud and Sarah was sitting to the side, holding her belly and smiling tearfully at her daughter. When the song was over Paul urged Bridget to make a wish and blow out the candles and when she got all ten of them out in one blow everyone cheered.
Thankfully the cake was larger than normal because even with small pieces we had just enough for everybody. Embry didn't seem to mind giving up most of his piece, though when Hope crawled up on his lap and asked for more. The ever-observant Lily tried pulling the same stunt on Sam but his piece was already eaten so she settled for the rest of his vanilla ice cream instead.
I laughed to myself at the hold these pretty little preschoolers had over their big daddies. But I knew that Sam didn't mind being wrapped around Lily's finger. Adam was a man now, too big to be coddled even by me and by the way things were looking in the fertility department it seemed like Lily was going to be our last little baby. Sam was savoring her childhood, just as I was.
Sam didn't dote on Lily as much as Embry did on Hope, though. Embry had helped out with Bridget a lot when she was a baby and told everyone that he didn't want or need kids of his own but when Hope came along it was obvious that he was totally smitten. He got his own little girl, one that would call him daddy and the way he always looked at his daughter with so much reverence in his eyes made me wonder who had been suckered more by their little darlings, Embry or Paul. It was a close call.
Bridget was nearly bouncing with anticipation when it came time to open her gifts. She had an entire table filled with shiny packages and colored bags. Everyone had got her something which amounted to a lot of lotions, perfumes, earrings, socks and gift cards. When she was finished unwrapping most of it, Paul wheeled a brand new pink bicycle into the yard and everyone gasped. Bridget could hardly contain her excitement and hopped on immediately after giving her father a huge hug. Score one for Paul.
**********
It was decided that Bridget was going to stay the night with us after the party so she could spend more time with Adam. Paul and Sarah each took a share of the things she'd gotten from other people and after giving Bridget a quick hug and kiss goodbye, left with everyone else. Sam was going to drive by Paul's house when he was out later and pick Bridget up a bag of clothes so she would have something to change into.
There wasn't much mess left in the yard after everyone had cleaned up their fair share of paper plates, cups and wrapping paper so it didn't take me long to get everything looking just right again, especially since Sam sent the kids out to help. Bridget and Adam washed off the tables, Lily followed me around the yard holding a garbage bag open while I picked up the leftover streamers, and Sam cleaned the grill.
It was dark by the time Sam and I got everyone bathed and fed and settled in for the evening. The sky was starting to cloud over so I opened the little window to let in some of the cool night air. I hadn't had time to do any laundry earlier with all of the party excitement, so I busied myself at the laundry closet on the edge of the living room.
"Dad?" Adam looked up from the magazine he and Bridget were reading at the coffee table.
"Hmm?" Sam turned the page of his newspaper, trying to ignore Lily who was using him as a mountain for her Barbie dolls.
"Can me and Bridget have some of those chocolate chip cookies mom bought?"
"Cookies!!" Lily yelled and hopped off of the couch. "Daddy, I want some cookies!" She was jumping up and down in front of Sam with her hands on his knees. After a moment Sam sighed and put the paper down. He gave Lily a long, meaningful stare until she stopped using the floorboards as a trampoline.
"I suppose." He stretched his arms out as far as he could behind the back of the couch and grunted. "For being such a big help in cleaning up the yard. You can each have two," he paused and examined his hyperactive daughter, "one for Lily."
"Yay!" Lily cheered and took off running in the direction of the kitchen. Lily was normally a very well-behaved child but she always got overexcited when someone came to stay at our house and I had to supply her with a cookie, a glass of milk and the promise of a movie to get her to settle down.
I turned out the lights and sat next to Sam as the previews to Aladdin started playing. Adam and Bridget had moved to the loveseat and had covered themselves with the throw that was hanging over the back of the couch. It was so cute seeing the little buddies together. They were huddled up sharing a bowl of popcorn and occasionally one would lean over and whisper to the other, and we'd hear a snicker. I was glad they'd turned out to be such good friends.
I settled my head against Sam's warm, bare chest and he wrapped an arm around me and started playing with my hair. Lily was lying quietly on his other side with her head resting in his lap. She was clutching her favorite blanket and I couldn't help but smile at how angelic she looked when her dark curls framed the smooth copper skin of her face. She was like a more beautiful version of a younger me, before my face was marred by these hideous scars.
"Mama, is the lion gonna eat him?" Lily asked loudly, even though she must have seen the movie half a dozen times in the past week.
"Shh, you'll have to wait and see." I humored her.
"Look! He's going in his mouth!"
"Shhh." Sam hushed her again and rubbed her back in an effort to quiet her down, more for Adam and Bridget's sakes than our own.
"He's gonna eat him." Lily whispered dramatically, her eyes wide and glued to the screen. And she was right. The little thief only made it down one tiny step before the lion swallowed him whole.
In the hour and a half it took for the movie to be over all of the kids had fallen asleep. Adam's head was resting on the arm of the loveseat and Bridget was collapsed against him, with her arm around his waist. I resisted the urge to snap a picture. It would be a sweet little memo to have in case their comradery broke apart when they got older. I hoped such a thing would never happen, and it didn't seem likely, but then again… neither did my situation with Leah.
"Well, that was an exciting movie," I joked and Sam chuckled. He groaned and stretched carefully, trying not to disturb the sleeping Lily, who was now snoring lightly against his abdomen. I reached over to turn on the couch-side lamp and made to get up but Sam caught my arm. I was about to protest when his lips came down on mine, soft and sweet. It only took a few seconds to heat up. Sam was moving his fevered kisses to my neck when I stopped him.
"Sam," I whispered. "Maybe we should put Lily to bed first." He looked down at the sleeping child and even in the scant lighting I could see a blush rising to his cheeks. I but my lip and tried to hold back a laugh at his embarrassment.
"Right," he mumbled, pulling away from me and carefully scooping Lily up against his chest. He carried her like a baby to her bedroom. I followed shortly behind him.
From the doorway I watched Sam gently rock our little girl, her head resting in the crook of his neck. He rubbed her back rhythmically while humming some unknown song softly into her ear. She let out a little puff of a sigh as he laid her down in her bed. He tucked the pink blankets tightly around her. "Snug as a bug," I heard him whisper. Sam stood back up, but before he could turn and walk out the door, Lily whimpered. A little mewl that sounded like a kitten. He was knelt beside her bed in a flash, returning to the song he was humming moments before. Sam rubbed the pad of his thumb across her cheek before leaning down to kiss it. He rose from the floor with a grace and speed that could only come from his wolf form, watching Lily to make sure she didn't wake up.
When he was sure she was alright he made his way back out to me and closed the door behind him so that it was open just a crack. He never latched our babies' doors when we put them to bed because he didn't like the feeling of being cut off from them when they were in such a vulnerable state. Watching Sam being gentle and protective over our children was, for some reason, a huge turn-on for me. He was kind and loving and every pore in my body was proud to be his wife.
I reached over and dimmed the hallway light, smirking as soon as Sam caught my eye.
"I think she's good for the night," Sam said quietly, taking the final stride to meet me. He reached out and pulled me into a warm embrace. I rubbed my face against his chest and breathed in his familiar scent of cinnamon and cedar, effectively fanning the spark of desire into a raging flame. I looked up at him from under my lashes and ran my hands up his smooth, warm back.
"I'm not so sure I'm set for the night, Papa Wolf," I whispered as close to his ear as I could get without having to stand on my tiptoes.
Sam's rumbling laughter caught deep within his chest and he reached up to tuck a few strands of my hair behind my ear before murmuring, "We wouldn't want to disturb the cubs."
It was my turn to giggle and I slowly lowered my hands until they were resting on his backside and gave his firm bottom a tight squeeze. "Well, I guess you'll just have to keep my mouth busy then, won't you?"
I could feel Sam's mouth curl into a smile against the rough skin of my cheek. "I'll see what I can do," he muttered huskily. My heart sped up at the sensation of his hot breath against my neck and before I knew it he was pulling back and crashing his lips against mine. The action left me gasping for air and eager for everything else I knew he could give.
I hooked my hand under his bicep and led him down the hall to our bedroom, nudging the door open wider with my shoulder when we got there and shutting it quietly behind me. I pulled Sam across the room until we reached the bed and pushed him down onto the mattress. Even using all of my strength it wasn't easy to shove the big man but he went down willingly enough which led me to believe that Sam wanted this about as much as I did.
I met his gaze and was lost in the passion dancing in his eyes. There was also something else, amusement perhaps, likely as a result of my sudden advancement and enthusiastic determination.
Sam positioned himself at the top of the bed and held his arms out so I could crawl into them. I settled myself between his legs and kissed his lips, his jaw, his neck.
"Whatcha gonna do now?" he asked in a velvety baritone voice.
I made my way down his body, leaving a trail of kisses down his pecs and across the solid ridges of his stomach. He ran his hands up the back of my shirt and started to lift it off but by then I was already past the waistband of his shorts and had my eyes on the prize. And what a prize it was. I didn't even bother sliding his shorts down before I nipped at the sensitive organ. Sam jerked back and placed his hands on either side of himself.
"Jesus," he breathed, looking entirely too surprised. I flashed him a devilish smile and he growled, grabbing my hips and switching positions. He pushed his large, heated hands under my t-shirt, grabbing my right breast, and kneading it slightly before yanking the shirt off of me and throwing it to the ground. He moved his hands down my ribs to my waistline and slowly slid my shorts past me knees, freeing me from the rest of my garments.
He wasted no time in removing his own scant clothing and devouring what was laid out before him. He licked his way down my neck to my breasts, circling each nipple with his hot tongue. The sensation made me gasp and I arched my back against his body. He moved his fevered kisses down my chest to my stomach and I spread my legs farther, waiting for the moment of my satisfaction.
But he stopped.
"That's just mean," I whimpered, and he chuckled.
He held my thighs apart with his wide hands and lowered his head, stopping only for a moment to shoot me a sly glance before administering one long, hard suck to the most intimate part of my body that sent waves of electricity all throughout my entire being. He came up with a small gasp for air, giving me his own cheeky grin. Revenge.
I whined when he moved over me and started kissing back up to my neck. His action had left me with an ache that wasn't being satisfied with his mouth on every other part of my body. I reached down to grab his swollen erection and lightly ran my thumb across its already sleek tip. Sam moaned quietly and I widened my legs, urging him to ease my torture.
I felt him move to my entrance but he made no move to bring us together.
I groaned. "Sam, please."
"Hmm?" He responded innocently, leaning down to suckle my bottom lip.
"Just do it, please," I whimpered.
He needed no further motivation. He slid into me and pulled my legs around his waist to increase the depth and angle of our position. I almost cried out in pleasure but Sam hurriedly covered my mouth with his in an effort to keep the noises of our lovemaking confined to the bedroom.
"Cubs," he uttered breathlessly and I nodded in understanding, thankful he was upholding his end of the bargain.
Sam started out slowly, and then picked up the pace when I began meeting his thrusts with my own. The heat and friction quickly began to intensify the experience and all too soon I could feel myself about to succumb to a powerful climax. I could tell that Sam was getting close as well from the way he was gripping the sheets with his fists and trying to control his erratic breathing.
I knew we had only moments before we both let go. I reached up with one hand and brushed my fingers across Sam's flushed cheek. Concentration was etched all over his face. His eyes were tightly closed and his lips were pressed together into a straight line.
"Look at me," I whispered, afraid that I might lose control if I spoke any louder than that. His eyes fluttered open immediately and looked right into mine. "I love you, Sam," I moaned out as my walls clenched down. Sam's response was cut off by a powerful grunt and he buried his head in my neck just as I felt the hot, sporadic spurts of his release.
After a few deep breaths against the pillows he lifted his head and gave me one of his sweetest smiles. "I love you, too, Em."
Authors note: I know its sad to see this gigantic story finally end. But, Now I have a spot open my slate for a new fic to start. I was thinking of writing about Adam and Bridget when theyre a bit older. I dont know if you guys would be interested in that, but if you are then please let me with either a review or a PM. Thanks for continuing to read over these few months.
