Nestled within her arms lay a head of strawberry blonde curls that cascaded down pale shoulders. Katerina ran a hand through the strands absentmindedly, her thoughts elsewhere from the current goings-on around her.
Within the living room were sat some members of their family. Emmett was watching the tv where a football match was ongoing, while Edward and Alice sat beside Bella on the other side of the room, where she lay uncomfortably upon the sofa, clearly in pain from her emaciated body.
Feeling a tug upon her sleeve, Katerina shifted her gaze from the scenery outside the window to the figure sat below, seeing the curious amber eyes of Lillian staring up at her.
"Hm?" she prompted.
"I was saying, what are the probabilities of the child becoming like us?" Lillian asked quietly, too low for the human girl to hear.
The others in the room politely pretended not to hear their conversation. The arms around her waist tightened as a deep voice spoke, the rumble from the chest sent vibrations against her back. A comforting action.
"The likelihood of the child being a vampire is high. Though a case like this hasn't been seen before. At least not documented." Jasper told her, his voice low and serious.
"Why do you ask? Either way we will deal with the consequences when the time arrives," Katerina chimed in, wanting to alleviate any worry the girl might be feeling.
The teenager shook her head, sending wild curls in every direction.
"That's not – I'm not worried about that," she said, sending a fleeting glance towards Bella. "No offence. I'm curious how Edward was able to even impregnate somebody when I thought our bodies were dead? You know, meaning no bodily functions?"
There was a muffled laugh and a choke after her words and Katerina could feel her husband's amused smile pressed against her neck as he tried to hide it. She felt her own lips curling at the edges as she regarded the girl, especially the way she didn't seem embarrassed at all, more intellectually curious.
She hummed, pursing her lips as she tried rationalising her thoughts. It was something she'd thought herself when the initial shock had passed – just how was it possible for this to have even happened? Katerina could understand why female vampires were unable to have children, what with their bodies being dead and unable to offer the proper nutrients and fertilisation for a fetus.
However, the closest Katerina could get to understanding the science behind Bella's pregnancy was that their venom acted as a similar component as blood within a human body, and as such, the normal reactions of arousal are present. This was something obvious from her own relationship with her husband. Katerina knew that male vampires could attain sexual arousal despite having no blood running through their veins, and so she guessed that the venom pumping through their body took over that role instead.
"Carlisle has tried to study this once before, a hundred or so years ago," she explained to an eager Lillian. "We believe – and this is only a guess, as this is such a rare phenomenon – that the venom coursing through our veins acts in the place of blood, while strengthening and prolonging our life, it also allows our bodies to retain human behaviours such as arousal and stimulation."
Lillian was listening seriously, nodding along to her rather lacklustre explanation, mulling over the words and turning them over in her mind.
"I guess that makes some sense...though I'd love if there were more examples to cross-reference..." she said in dismay.
Patting the girl's head at her adorable pout, Katerina smiled amusedly at her obvious craving of knowledge.
"Perhaps you can begin your search once this whole ordeal is over," Jasper offered.
"That sounds like a lovely idea, what do you think, love?" she asked Lillian. "We can even take you to some of the libraries in Europe that house many folklores on our kind."
Lillian was practically vibrating in her seat from excitement, her eyes bright and hands clenching the notebook she held in her hands.
"Yes! Yes, please! Oh god, I cannot wait to see all the texts they'll have there..." she bit her lip suddenly, an anxious expression crossing her face.
"Is everything alright?" Katerina asked, concerned.
"When we first met...you said I could go to college even though I'm a vampire now..." Lillian hesitated.
Katerina nodded, remembering her promises of the bright girl continuing her education even now her mortal life was over. She knew it was something the girl feared most, unable to further her mind and becoming stuck emotionally as her teenage self.
"Of course, it is your life to do with what you wish. I only ask you allow us to watch over you until you're sure you can control yourself in this new life."
Lillian brightened at her words and she turned to both Katerina and Jasper fully, her face showing contentment.
"Do you think, that maybe, after this is over...I could go to visit some colleges in Europe? I understand I can't go quite yet, and I've got lots of years until I'm ready to be around so many humans, but I'd really like to start looking!"
Her words were rushed out at the end as though she wanted to speak them before she lost her courage, but Katerina smiled lovingly at her wishes.
"A family holiday so soon? Sounds sweet, I'm in," a new voice chimed in and the three of them turned their attention to Aleksandr, who had entered the room at some point and had been listening to them speak. A cheeky grin was upon his face as he invited himself along.
"And who said you were invited?" Katerina drawled in a very Rosalie-like manner.
Alex put upon a look of hurt and incredulity. "Ouch. And here I thought our bond ran deep, dear sister."
Katerina's lips twitched and she couldn't hold back the fond smile that crossed her face.
"I suppose we could fit in one more person – though, you're delegated to backseat whenever we drive somewhere."
Alex whined like a scolded child and Lillian giggled at the display. "Uncle, you act more childish than Ido."
Her words cut off Alex's childish antics and sent the room into a stilted silence. The other Cullen's who had been pretending not to listen to their conversation couldn't help but pause at the rather innocent words and after a frown of confusion, Lillian seemed to understand just what she'd let slip.
Her face went even paler than normal and she tried to jump to her feet to run away and escape the awkward atmosphere she'd created. Katerina, however, was faster and instantly shot her arms outwards, encasing the girl in her grasp and pulling her to her lap and within her embrace.
Jasper's arms moved to wrap around them both and Katerina's whispered words were pressed against the crown of Lillian's soft hair.
"I'll take you to every country if that is what you wish. We can visit every city and every single town in this entire world if you so desire it," Katerina promised seriously. "As a family."
Lillian let out a choked breath despite the unnecessary action, too shocked and overwhelmed by the intense promise. She tilted her head back and met the gazes of Katerina and Jasper, both of whom were looking back at her with a mixture of love, understanding and hope.
A quiet cry of happiness left her lips and she tightened her hold upon them both, never having felt so accepted in her life. An amused voice once again broke their moment, and Katerina loved how carefree her twin was in such emotional situations.
"Well, well, would you look at that dear sister? It looks like our family has expanded once again." He leant over to ruffle Lillian's hair, smiling brightly.
"Congratulations, we're happy to officially welcome you to the family," a warm voice spoke from the doorway and they turned to see Esme and Carlisle wearing pleased expressions as they stared at them fondly.
"Does this mean you're officially grandma and grandpa now?" Emmett snickered from his position near the tv, a mischievous grin on his face.
"If Lillian wishes so, I'd be honoured," Esme's sweet voice assured. Carlisle wore a serene smile, his love for family obvious to all.
Lillian grinned and when she looked to Katerina and Jasper, her face clouded with embarrassment, yet her eyes shined in determination.
"So...does that mean I can call you guys..." she trailed off before whispering quietly, "Mom and Dad?"
Katerina felt her chest restrict at the whispered words and knew if she could still cry, her eyes would be misty and tear-filled. Her mind flashed back to a time long ago, when a little boy would look up at her with the same expression of trust and devotion and Katerina bit her lip to suppress her turbulent emotions.
Wide, amber eyes stared up at her from under dark lashes that kissed plump cheeks. The boy held a visage of innocence that was further amplified by the intensity of love visible in his eyes.
"So then, would this mean I could call you Mother?" that sweet voice asked, hope and yearning evident in his tone.
Pale arms pulled the young boy into a comforting hug, both of their cold, marble bodies fit together perfectly and gave the illusion of a warm embrace. Long fingers ran through soft blonde locks as she struggled to keep her voice steady as it was thick with emotion.
"I'd love nothing more, my love. My son."
"We'd love nothing more," Jasper's calm voice spoke from beside her ear and Katerina's eyes widened at the mirrored words she'd spoken so long ago.
She turned to gaze down at the young girl within her arms and pressed a gentle kiss upon her forehead.
"I'll never leave you, shortcake. I promise to keep you safe. I swear it."
Time passed as the Cullens mulled around the house, their entrapment becoming even more evident as the days passed by in a blur. Katerina had spent her time alternating between her husband and Lillian, with looking after Bella.
After their talk, it seemed Edward had gotten over his selfish pity party and had begun taking interest in the goings-on of his wife's predicament. Katerina was glad to see her brother taking responsibility and knew the positive effects it was having on the poor human.
Though, as she glanced outside from the living room window, seeing the shadows in the distance, she'd never quite felt as trapped.
She felt a weight settle behind her and turned to feel her twins messy curls tickle her nose. Arms circled her waist and she lay her weight back onto Alex's wide frame, her brother resting his head atop her own as both twins staring out into the forest surrounding their home.
"We'll protect Lills, you know. I won't let anything happen to either of you," Alex's voice was unusually soft but held the usual determination whenever he spoke of her.
She linked their fingers together from where he held her, and a small smile tugged at her lips. "Already becoming overprotective are we, Uncle?" she teased, laughing lightly.
Alex chuckled at her tone, "Well one of us has to be the serious one. Can't have her becoming wild now, can we?"
Katerina scoffed, "Oh? And you think you're up for being the serious role model?"
"Well, who else? You?" he asked sarcastically.
"I was thinking Jasper, actually," she countered. Alex was silent for a moment before humming his agreement, "Yeah, you're probably right. Neither of us could pull it off."
"Excuse me, speak for yourself. I could make a perfectly sensible parent, thank you very much," she snarked.
Alex laughed at her affronted tone. "Oh yeah? What about that time you let Theodore wander the streets of London because, and I quote, 'He's 17 already, plenty old enough to know what he's doing'."
Katerina pursed her lips at his horrid impression of her and elbowed him harshly, smirking at the grunt of pain he let out.
"Well, was I wrong? We were certainly capable of exploration at that age and I had confidence Theodore could too. It's not my fault he had a poor sense of direction," she tried defending herself.
"Poor sense of direction? Sis, the boy somehow managed to find himself at the coast about to catch a boat to Paris! That's not poor directional skills, only zero common sense."
Huffing at her past poor judgements being pointed out, Katerina was stubborn. "That's in the past, I've grown since then, anyhow. Don't lump me in with yourself, you're a new breed of stupid."
"Hey! We're twins. Pretty sure that means we're half and half, you know."
Katerina turned up her nose snootily and watched him from the corner of her eye. "I remain in the belief that I absorbed all the brain cells whilst we shared a womb, there were simply none left remaining for you, poor brother."
There was silence after her remark before she let out an undignified squeak as she was picked up and held above her brother's head, her long hair falling down in waves and covering them both. Alex looked up at her with mischievous eyes.
"Take that back."
Pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes, Katerina stared back.
"Never."
"Don't blame me then, sister dearest."
Before she could send back a sarcastic remark, Katerina felt herself rapidly warming and looked down to see both herself and Alex encased in flames. Widening her eyes, Katerina clamped her mouth shut to stop the torrent of giggles that threatened to spill.
She glared at her brother, her eyes practically screaming 'not fair!'
"All you have to do is take it back," Alex sang mockingly. "Tell your wonderful brother just how sorry you are for your harsh words. Or else I just might cry."
He wore a shit-eating grin that served to rile Katerina up even further. The flames danced across their skin and the sensation sent flickering tingles down her spine, like being tickled as a human.
The fire wouldn't hurt her. Despite Aleksandr's ability being lethal to other vampires but himself, it had never been effective against his twin, something they'd guessed came about because of their relationship as twins. They'd grown together, literally, and shared half of the other in their bodies, it was only logical that it wouldn't hurt Katerina just the same as it didn't affect Alex.
Katerina liked to think her brother's ability was semi-sentient – though everybody denied this outright, she could only theorise – and that it recognised her as half of its master. Just as her own gift recognised Alex as half of herself.
She bit her lip to muffle the cries that wanted to escape and almost lost her battle until a cry of horror brought them both out of their little game.
Turning as one toward the doorway, they met the eyes of Bella and Jacob who stood beside her. The human girl was looking at Katerina's flame-encased body in horror while Jacob frowned in confusion at her obviously intact body.
The flames encasing them both immediately ceased and Alex lowered his sister to the floor, his arms remaining wrapped around her, showing he meant no harm.
Ignoring her obvious confusion and shock over their display, Katerina welcomed both with a smile. "Hello, Isabella. Jacob. Would you like to use the living room?"
Bella shook her head at the sudden change of topic and tried catching her breath again after witnessing both twins alight in the middle of their living area. She nodded her head dumbly.
"Y-yes. Are-are you ok? How...?" she struggled to voice her concerns, but Katerina smiled understandingly, patting Alex on the arms that were around her waist.
"Alex meant no harm, his ability does not harm me, much like it does not harm him."
Bella nodded at her words, though her eyes still searched her body for any evidence of burns.
Jacob led Bella over to the sofa, helping her get in a comfortable position and arranging the cushions in a way that supported her bloated stomach. Carlisle entered the room with Edward and Alice not far behind him, his face concerned as he looked upon Bella's pitiful form.
"We need to get you to try eating something soon, Bella. Otherwise this pregnancy is only going to be harder for you."
"I know," she sighed. "I'm just struggling to keep anything down."
Jacob was rubbing her back in comfort while Edward moved to sit on the chair beside them, his eyes black with both hunger and worry.
Esme, Rosalie and Emmett entered the room next and not long afterwards, so did Jasper and Lillian. Katerina raised a brow and she knew her twin was thinking the same thing as her.
"Family meeting?" he questioned, eyeing the now full living room.
Carlisle nodded his head and gestured for everybody to gather around. Katerina moved to stand by her husband and Lillian, smiling at the girl who was clutching her book and looking at Bella in slight concern. Alex moved to stand by his mate who was evidently distressed by the sight of the human, her posture tense.
Bella was wringing her hands and pulling at the sleeves of her long cardigan, her fragile body shivering.
"Are you cold?" Edward asked quietly and Bella nodded, her face twisted in a grimace.
"I got it," Jacob muttered as he shifted closer, allowing his naturally high body temperature to seep into Bella.
They enjoyed a moment of silence and Carlisle opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Bella gasping in pain and moving to sit up slightly, clutching her swollen stomach. She gagged and Edward hurriedly placed the bucked in front of her in case she needed to be sick.
Bella whimpered brokenly and the whole family watched in sympathy as she struggled to accommodate the evident pain. Esme's face was distraught with anxiety as she watched.
"We need to get food into her system, somehow," she repeated her husband's earlier words in distress.
"If I could only see the fetus..." Alice muttered in bitterness at herself.
"The baby," Rosalie muttered sharply at her sister's choice of words. Emmett ran a soothing hand on her shoulder, warning her to not argue at such a time.
Alice sighed and continued staring forlornly at Bella. "Maybe I could figure out what it wants."
There was a silence at her words and Edward stared intently at Jacob, tilting his head after a moment.
"I think you might be right," he muttered solemnly.
Jacob looked at the other in surprise, having forgotten Edward's ability for a moment and frowned when he realised what this meant.
"Jacob just had an idea," Edward announced to the rest of them.
Jacob scoffed, shaking his head at the absurdity of it all.
"Well? What is it?" Alex asked impatiently, looking towards his wife who he knew was the most affected of them, feeling her gift had failed them in their situation.
"It wasn't an idea, it was a snide comment," Jacob clarified.
"What were you thinking?" Carlisle prompted.
"That it's probably just thinking for something to sink its teeth into," he muttered.
His words stopped all of them as they all looked toward Bella's stomach in muted horror and understanding. Edward's expression was one of utter resignation, the reality of their child being vampiric now solidified with this revelation.
"He's thirsty," Bella whispered in understanding.
"God, aren't we all," Alex sighed, his pitch-black eyes evidence of his words.
"If it's craving, then it's not going to be satisfied with animal blood," Katerina pointed out, staring at their father.
Carlisle's expression was grim, but he nodded at her point, knowing there was no way around this. He may wish for his family to stick to an animal blood-only diet, however just like human children, the baby would need proper sustenance and nutrients to be healthy. Something animal blood wouldn't offer.
"I have some O-negative laid aside for Bella," Carlisle said quietly and made his way into the kitchen. Katerina squeezed Jasper's shoulder before following their father and rummaged within the kitchen cupboards to find a coffee flask.
She didn't think Bella would appreciate having to see the blood before she drank it – humans tended to forget just how thick blood was, the consistency a difficult thing to swallow without gagging, she'd imagine.
She soon found a flask with a small upturned opening where the liquid could be drunk from and passed it to Carlisle to pour the blood bag into. Katerina took the flask and walked back over to Bella, handing the steel mug over with a smile.
"I thought not seeing it might make you more comfortable," she explained. "And I thought you a little old for a straw," she said jokingly.
Bella laughed lightly and took the flask with a small smile. "Thanks."
"Wait, wait. You're going to make her drink that?" Jacob asked incredulously. He looked toward the seemingly innocent flask and gagged a little. "I think I'm gonna be sick."
Katerina turned toward her husband and Lillian, seeing their intense stares toward the blood-filled flask and smiled sadly at them both, especially at their black eyes.
"Come, you two. Let's go for a walk, shall we? I believe Seth is outside," she suggested, grabbing both of their hands and pulling them out of the living room.
At the mention of Seth's name, Lillian's focus seemed to shift away from the tempting offer of human blood, and Katerina rubbed a thumb soothingly across Jasper's hand, bringing his attention back to herself.
"Focus on me, love."
Jasper blinked a couple of times and his eyes brightened with awareness. He looked at Katerina's face with love and after a moment of staring, his eyes darkened slightly while a small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
"I am focusing, Darlin. I'm afraid once I start I'll never be able to stop."
She laughed at his flirty words and slapped a hand to his chest in reprimand. "Oh, shush you."
At hearing Lillian's giggles she turned to the girl and wore a dramatic suffering expression. "Can you believe him? Such a smooth talker I have to put up with. Honestly, is it any wonder he managed to catch my heart?"
Lillian smiled at them both and Jasper held Katerina's chin and turned it to face him, bringing her in for a loving kiss. Pulling back, he stared into her eyes.
"I believe I fell into your enchantment first, Darlin. And I never regretted it one bit."
Katerina crashed their lips together once again, showing him just how much his words meant to her.