AN: Hi All! Long time no see for some of you.

Here I am, back in the saddle and keeping my promise to finish each of my stories in turn. The Phoenix is winning in the poll on my profile, so I'll be working on it now until it is finished, which won't be long now.

And after that, I'll be working on whatever else has the most votes and so on.

This story will probably only take a few more chapters to finish. But hopefully I'll eventually do a spin-off story, and maybe a legit sequel if there is enough interest.

Anyway, time to give thanks for all you fine people for sticking around! And thanks to all who are new to the story as well!

Huge thanks to the reviewers for last chapter, Asia Joanna 7334, Kyra, traceybuie, catgrl, Jasper-Damon's Princess, a Guest, twi nana, ckaren09, kelmikmag, nickaroos, monay9e, Naenae30, and sycoscorpio66691! Y'all keep greasin' my wheels like this and I'll be smilin' while I'm writin' fer sure!

*Warnings for this chapter: If you get 'squicked out' by hybrid babies, you might wanna skim this one. Also, if Jacob and Renesmee's imprint bothered you in canon, you may not like this either, sorry.*

Blessings and Happy Holidays!

-BMW

Chapter 15

Alice's POV

As the days passed by, our family began to heal, at least somewhat. Isa, The Major, Pete, and Char were mainly focused on upgrading our security around the Amarillo estate we were calling home for the time being. There were so many security features and booby traps that if it weren't for our perfect recall to track where they were, we'd all be goners.

Carl and Cindy were helping with that endeavor and he was training the Whitlocks in what to expect from combat versus gifted vampires. Eleazar was also helping with that training whenever Carmen didn't need him to help with their pregnant human girl.

Speaking of, we had learned that the Mexican human girl who didn't speak any English was called Flora. Carmen had taken her under her wing and would be raising her baby when the time came. She was thrilled that the child would be taught to speak Spanish, a fact which Carmen had promised her.

The other human girl, whose name was Vira, turned out to be the daughter of Slovak parents who had immigrated to Texas and were eventually killed by Ferdinand's crew. That seemed to have been their MO, killing the parents and any sons and kidnapping the daughters.

But Rose and Tanya were over the moon when they learned that both Vira and her baby were from Slovakia, just as Tanya, Irina, and Kate all had been, originally. It would be nice for Tanya to be able to pass on that connection to their child someday.

And in the meantime, the guest quarters was full of hustle and bustle as the Denalis, who had eventually started using the Whitlock name like everyone else, began preparing for the arrival of the hybrid babies.

In other news Marble Skeleton had been gradually transporting the entirety of their catacombs, and rebuilding it under the Amarillo property, since it seemed we would all be staying in Texas for the foreseeable future. And when they weren't transporting skulls by the carload, they were working on a new album, tentatively called Thrills and Kills.

Meanwhile, I was looking after Emmett. He was a wreck. I knew he would be okay soon though. I knew we both would. But it was going to be a crazy road getting there. A crazy road with many twists and turns. I couldn't tell him too much, but I was starting to get the impression our lives were about to get weird. Well...weird-er, I guess. I mean, we already had a dad with a head in a backpack, a 13 year old mother, and a vast multitude of pseudo siblings living in various states of incestuousness.

And we were preparing for war in the midst of all our personal dramas. So I suppose I shouldn't have been too surprised when things took yet another bizarre turn.

Herman had been in an emotional funk because he was having trouble convincing Edward and Angel to have a fourway with him and Lily, which had become his 'epic fantasy'. As such, our area of Texas had been experiencing a lot of rain. It was during these Autumn rainstorms that Flora went into labor.

Luna convinced Carl to attend the birth, even though he was still a little skeptical about going back into medicine. But Vira had been correct in her description of the hybrid births. As expected, Flora had exactly enough time after the emergence of her child to name the little girl Sofía and hold her while she said her goodbyes.

She had requested that her blood be harvested for the child to drink, stating that the babies who had consumed the blood of their mothers as opposed to generic human blood had thrived, becoming stronger more quickly than the others. So Carl had carefully collected and bottled her blood while Carmen and Eleazar cared for the baby.

Baby Sofía still confounded my visions. Which is why it took me a while to understand what was happening. As soon as the baby had been cleaned and dressed and diapered and fed, she was passed around to meet the family. Nothing was odd about that. Not at first.

"She's beautiful," I cooed, holding the little baby in my arms. "Hello, Little One. My name is Alice." I marvelled, as her tiny fingers tried to clasp mine.

"Would you like to hold her next, Em?"

Emmett looked startled for a moment. "Oh, uh, yeah sure."

He carefully took the baby from my arms and once he had her, I stepped back. That was when he gasped at the same exact moment Jasper did.

"What the…?!" Jazz asked, looking startled.

"I, uh, I dunno...maybe you'd better take her back, Carmen," Em stuttered.

"Is something wrong with her, Primo?" Carmen asked him, sounding worried.

"No! Not at all! She's...perfect." He whispered in awe. "I'm uh, I'm gonna go hunt."

"Jasper?" Carmen puzzled after Emmett's abrupt departure. "Do you know what was wrong?"

"I think…it's easier if I just show ya," he offered. And just like that, we were all hit with a whole cocktail of intense emotions the likes of which I myself had never felt.

"Holy fuck!" Peter laughed. "That lil' critter is his mate! Guess she must've learned about line jumpin' from Esme."

"Actually, Peter, if that is Cindy, then I don't think she jumped the cue. Sofía would have needed a soul and Cindy would have needed a body. The powers that be probably felt they were a good match," Luna surmised.

"Oh God, poor Emmett," Rose whispered. "I think I should try talking to him…" she offered.

"I could go, Rose?" I suggested, knowing they were still in kind of an awkward place.

"No, that'll just turn into sex and that isn't what he needs right now, trust me," she insisted, whispering assurances to Tanya who nodded and ushered her off.

I almost huffed that I was perfectly capable of keeping my clothes on, but I decided it wasn't worth pissing Rose off right now so I just let her go.

Rose's POV

It was a while before I finally caught up to Emmett. He could really motor when he didn't want to be found.

"Em, slow down, please?" I asked timidly. We hadn't talked much since our divorce and I didn't know how he would receive my intervention.

"Rosie, seriously, what do you think you can possibly say?" He pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. But he stopped moving, so I took that as a good sign.

I seriously contemplated his question for a while before speaking.

"You're not a pervert." I assured him.

He scoffed.

"I'm serious, Emmett. Think about it. Have you ever felt like that about anyone, ever?"

"No! Certainly not a child, Rosie. I would think you would know that."

"Exactly!" I reasoned. "It's not coming from you, Em. Not in the normal sense. It's the mating bond. You feel drawn to her because your vampiric side knows she's your mate. It's primal. Most vampires don't find their mates as humans, let alone children, so it's not usually...an issue."

"It's not usually creepy, you mean? It's not usually inappropriate," he huffed, still clearly feeling pretty scuzzy about it.

"Look...I know you. It's not like you'd ever be inappropriate, Em. You'll wait. You'll bide your time. You'll...I dunno, teach her how to ride a bike or something. The point is, you'll figure it out. I have faith in you," I comforted.

"I dunno, Rose. Whatever the heck that was, it was strong. You can't possibly understand. Your mate is an adult. Maybe I should just go away for a while and come back when she's old enough," he shrugged.

"I don't think you want to do that, Em. Even though hybrids age quickly, that will be years away. I don't think you want to be away from her that long." I sighed, knowing Em well enough to know that would be agony for him.

He frowned, kicking a large rock into a nearby tree. "I don't want to leave her, Rosie, shit! Of course I don't. But dammit, what am I supposed to do?"

"Be there for her? Care for her? Keep it platonic until she and you and her parents all agree that she's old enough? You can do that, Em, I know you can," I suggested.

"Yeah and what happens when she starts asking questions? Who is she supposed to think that I am? Cousin Emmett? That's just weird." He sighed dramatically.

"You and Carmen and Eleazar can decide all of that together. But you won't get to have any sort of relationship with her if you run away," I reminded him.

"Yeah, I guess. I still feel like a pedophile." He grimaced as we started walking back.

"I'm sure that feeling will go away once you spend some time with her and come to realize you're not actually doing anything wrong," I hoped. "And if not, maybe you and Carl can start a club," I teased.

"The Dudes With Disturbingly Young Mates club?" He laughed bitterly. "I could be the president of that one. Carl's like a junior member. Luna barely counts as a minor, given that she's actually Esme."

"Yeah, I guess. But seriously, you need to stop beating yourself up about this, Monkey Man."

Em grinned. "You haven't called me that since we split."

I shrugged. "You're still a big Monkey Man, Em. Even if you can't be my Monkey Man." I smiled, ruffling his hair.

He nudged me and I almost lost my balance. I smacked him in the arm. And just like that, we were friends again.

"I guess I'd better go face the music. Race ya back?" He offered.

"Yer on!" I laughed as we sped off home.

Carmen's POV

"¡No me gusta esta situacion, Mi Amor!" I huffed, expressing my concern with my husband after Emmett had departed.

"¡Pero, él es un buen hombre! No te preocupes, Mi Vida. Todo estará bien." Ele insisted, assuring me I had nothing to worry about.

I frowned. "Yes, I know that!" I said, switching back to English because our friends looked concerned.

"But we are all in a difficult position now. Don't you see? If our new daughter is Emmett's mate, everything will be in chaos! Tanya is mated to Rose! Rose and Emmett were married for decades! Don't you see?!" I huffed, begging him to understand. We would never escape this drama. Our life was turning into a telenovela right before our very eyes!

"¡Ay! Querida, you worry for nothing! Tanya and Rose and Emmett are all mature adults, there will be no drama. No chaos. And as for the baby, her reality will be whatever we make it. We can show her the Lion King. Simba and Nala were betrothed from birth, it is not much different," he reasoned.

"You want to show the baby a film about talking Lions?! ¿Estas loco?" I laughed. "Did you forget that we eat lions? Among other things. You cannot show the baby talking food unless you want to scar her for life!"

"¡Ay, Mujer! ¿Por qué siempre estás enojado conmigo? ¡Soy inocente!" He pouted, looking at me with the eyes of a puppy dog.

"You are right, My Love. I should not be angry with you. I suppose it is all a little overwhelming. We must cross the bridges as we come to them, no?" I smiled, kissing him on the cheek so he would know I was no longer angry.

Then, I heard Alice giggle. "Carmen, has anyone ever told you that you're adorable when you get angry?"

"I think I may have heard that a time or two, yes." I conceded.

Ele frowned. "It isn't so very adorable to be on the receiving end of it."

"Oh, but the making-up part is always so much fun afterward." I teased him, wagging my eyebrows.

"Oh, yes! She tells the truth there!" He admitted with a laugh and lightly spanked my bottom.

"Speaking of which, we ought to hunt, don't you think?" he asked me rhetorically, taking the baby gently from my arms and handing her to Luna. "We will be back as soon as our needs are sated!" My sneaky husband told them as he scooped me up and literally ran away with me toward the city limits in search of food.

Luna's POV

Oh my!

It was a little surreal being handed the baby. Partly because the last baby I ever held was my own tiny son. It was a somber remembrance of that time for me.

Also though, because this was the little girl whose body I stole. In fact, if I hadn't been so thoughtless, perhaps I would be the newborn hybrid and she would be the one holding me. That was a curious thought indeed. I shook my head to clear it.

"Hello, Sofía. You won't remember me, but our souls have met before. In fact, you helped me tremendously and I will be forever in your debt. I mean it. Anything you ever need, you just ask. I'll tell you the story sometime when you're older. In the meantime, I'm gonna help your mommy whenever she needs it. I promise." I smiled and I swear, little Sofía reached out and grabbed my finger!

It was then that I noticed she looked much more advanced than a newborn less than a day old ought to. "Carl, is this normal?" I confirmed, gesturing to her obvious dexterity.

"Based on what the human girls told us about the hybrid aging process, I would say yes. She seems to be progressing at an advanced rate compared to human growth and motor skills, but I would say that, for her, it is normal." He nodded, stroking the tuft of fuzzy dark hair on the baby's head.

"That's good to hear. We should monitor her closely though. There is still so much we don't know about the hybrids," I suggested.

"Don't worry, Darling. I will monitor her regularly and be extra vigilant, I promise," he assured me, knowing how worried I would be, given my own history.

"Thank you." I smiled, kissing him, as Rose brought Emmett back from wherever he had run off to.

I couldn't help the guilt that I felt when I thought about how I had caused Emmett to be in this predicament in the first place. Jasper shot me a look because he clearly felt it too and I sent him my remorse. The last thing I needed was to cause problems for anyone else.

"Em, can ya please tell this one ta stop beatin' herself up?" He winced.

"Who, Luna? Mom, you're fine. Sofía doesn't change anything. I told you I'm not mad at you for Cindy. That's still true." Emmett said softly, pulling me into a hug.

"Besides," he continued. "It really wouldn't have been fair to Cindy if I'd gone straight from a decades long marriage to being with her. I wouldn't have wanted her to feel like a rebound."

"Thank you, Emmett. I still feel badly about what you're going through, but it's good to know that you and I are alright." I smiled. "How are you coping, Son?"

Peter snickered. Isa elbowed him. "Sorry, it's just weird hearin' that lil' girl call the big giant 'Son'," He muttered.

"I'm okay, mostly. I mean, I do feel like a weirdo, but Rosie thinks that'll go away with time," he admitted.

"That is understandable. But I do think Rose is right. You'll feel better once you've had time to come to terms with who your mate is now, versus who she will one day be to you. Would you like to hold her? I think it might help," I offered.

"Oh...I...yes, please." He nodded. I could tell he was fighting with himself a little but the mating pull was strong.

He walked quickly over to me and carefully took Sofía's sleeping form from my arms. As soon as he had her, her little eyes opened and she looked right up at him. "Hi, Baby. I'm your…Emmett. You're so pretty. I can already tell you're gonna be trouble though. You got that mischievous sparkle in your eyes. But that probably means you're gonna be smart, too. The mischievous ones always are." He winked.

"Good glory, I dunno what stars must've aligned for you to be as perfect as you are, but if I could cry, I would. You're just too dang perfect. It's like holding the Mona Lisa. But not really. Cuz I think she's ugly. But a lot of other people think she's perfect. So I guess you're my Mona Lisa." He beamed. I could tell he was starting to feel a little better about Sofía now that he was holding her. And that was when we all heard the scream.

Vira was going into labor. And when I say labor, I really just mean that a hybrid was about to rip it's way out of her. "Carl!" Rose and Tanya frantically cried, catching the girl as she collapsed. He rushed to their side to prepare for Vira to deliver the baby. Emmett continued caring for Sofía as everyone else turned their attention to Vira.

"I don't think I will survive long enough to hold him." Vira whispered, slipping in and out of consciousness. "His name is Vasilii," she insisted. "Take good care of him."

All three of the Denali sisters gasped in unison. Tanya clutched tightly to Rose, as Kate and Irina clung to one another. Unbeknownst to Vira, she had chosen to give her child the one name in the world that would make it hard for Tanya to love him. The name of the immortal child her mother had died for.

AN: Okay, so, hit me witcha best shot, Y'all!