THE CLEARWATER'S

CHAPTER 40

SETH P.O.V

The decision to leave my job was a hard one but it was one that I had talked through with Savannah for last week and a half. We both decided that it was time for me to call it quits. We had some stock money that would hold us over for a few years at least but I also knew that it was only going to grow.

So I put in my two weeks. It was the best decision I had ever made. During those two weeks I pretty much cleaned up my belongings and saved all of my data for other worker's to take over my things. Then everything was sent off to storage.

I did however enjoy not having to work anymore so that I could go meet the teacher's at the early intervention school with Carlisle and Savannah. We took Kuba with us so that the teacher's could evaluate him if they wanted. We left Takoda with Edward. I couldn't even tell you how many times I warned them to not cut his hair. It didn't matter how many times they told me they wouldn't, I didn't believe them.

"Can you stop bouncing?" Savannah asked placing her hand on my leg that I hadn't realized until she pointed it out that I was actually moving. Waiting for the head teacher of this program to enter the office made me nervous.

"What is taking so long?" I asked. I wanted to get up and pace but I knew that it was going to make her even more nervous than she already was. For the last few weeks since Carlisle gave us Kuba's diagnosis, Savannah had spent most nights up crying. Of course I did my best to comfort her in her time of need. I hated sneaking out for patrol but it needed to be done. By the time I got home from patrolling she would be fast asleep on my side of the bed.

"You need to relax. I should have brought Jasper with me."

"No he's the one who promised they wouldn't cut Koda's hair."

"No one is going to cut Takoda's hair. Of all people to trust you should trust Edward. He knows how important Takoda's hair is to you. They won't cut it." Carlisle confirmed. "Also it's taking so long because they're evaluating Kuba." He answered typing away on his phone. Savannah softly placed her hand on mine before I gripped hers tight.

"Everything is going to be fine." She whispered leaning into me. "I know it's scary but we'll do this together." She smiled. I looked over at her. I had never been so in love with her. And not just because she was my imprint but because she was my wife and the mother of my children and she would go to the ends of the Earth to make sure that we were all happy. She would get herself killed protecting our children.

"Hello, I'm Mia White the head of the department." A women came in wearing a pant suit. She was taller than Savannah but shorter than me. I stood to shake her hand.

"I'm Dr. Carlisle Cullen. This is Savannah and Seth Clearwater." He introduced us to her. We all shook her hand before she motioned for us to sit back down.

"I had the time to evaluate Kuba." She even pronounced his name wrong.

"It's Kuba. Like Coo-ba." I corrected her. "Not like the country." I was already annoyed but I needed to keep an open mind about this because we weren't paying for this program.

"My apologies. Kuba." She said and I nodded. I was only slightly aware of the fact that Savannah's skin was burning into mine. "I believe he will fit into our program perfectly. He is at that age where they are getting interested in learning. My only problem is that we won't have an opening for another two months. We have a child who is about to age out an Kuba will take his spot. Would you like me to hold a spot just for him?" She questioned.

"Yes." Savannah automatically said. I mean shouldn't we do more research about this instead of just hopping right into it?

"We will need a down payment to save your spot." We both looked over at Carlisle who pulled out his checkbook. He quickly wrote a check and handed it to the woman. She put it on her desk before looking at us. "Most children start kindergarten at 5. Each child usually ages out once they start to attend regular school. We are only half day. You can either send them from 9 to 1 or from 2 to 6. That is something you do not need to decide now." I knew that we would probably chose for him to in the morning so that each of them was at school at the same time.

Savannah asked a few questions. We had a bunch of stuff to sign and then we were also given a bunch of packets to read over about the program and other ways that we could help Kuba at home.

"Please call if you have any questions." Any questions I had I would probably be calling Carlisle. I was more comfortable with him.

"Thank you for meeting with us." Savannah commented as we all stood. We again shook her hand before heading out the door. I went into the classroom and picked up Kuba.

"Ready to go little man?" I asked. He nodded and dropped the toy that was in his hands. I heard his stomach grumble before meeting up with Savannah and Carlisle in the hall. "We're hungry."

"That's shocking." She joked rubbing my back. "Do you think Edward would mind watching Takoda for another hour or two so we can take Kuba to lunch?"

"I'm sure he won't mind at all." Carlisle smiled. "I'm going to head to the hospital so if you need me call my cell phone and leave a message."

"Thank you, Carlisle." I reached my hand out to shake his. Without him we wouldn't have been able to afford to put Kuba in this program.

"You know I only want the best for you and your kids." He said. "I have the funds to do this. I would be a terrible person if I didn't help you."

"We'll never be able to repay you."

"You repay me by letting them be apart of our lives. You have no idea how happy it makes Esme and my children to be their "aunts" and "uncles". It means a lot to all of us." I smiled at his words. Our children were very blessed with the people they had in their lives. When we first got married and were planning for kids we didn't know how everyone was going to react. Of course we knew that they would support us but we knew how difficult it was going to be on Rosalie. To have all of the Cullen's apart of our life meant a lot to both of us.

"They love you guys. It wouldn't be right to take them away from you." We knew that they wouldn't be able to stay here forever. They would probably move in a few years but to have them here for now meant more than they would ever know. Savannah hugged Carlisle while I started walking away asking Kuba what he was playing with.

Kuba seemed to enjoy this place which put my mind at ease. Knowing that he was comfortable here would make it a lot easier for me to drop him off here daily.

"Where do you wanna go to get food?" I asked him as I strapped him into his seat.

"Papa diner." He said. Savannah joined us in the car once I got in. "Papa Diner!" Kuba shouted from the back seat.

"The place grandpa Charlie goes?" She asked.

"Yeah." I answered as I started driving.

"Carlisle said it might be a good idea to look into getting a service dog. It could help him open up." She shrugged.

"A dog?" I asked. We had never talked about getting any type of animals. It would be difficult to explain to Kuba that this isn't a dog that he can just go play with out in the woods.

"Carlisle said it was something to think about. We'll discuss it." It would also be difficult to explain to both of them the differences between a dog and a wolf. I wasn't sure if either of our boys were old enough to care for a dog and we were about to be bringing another baby into our home and I wasn't sure a dog is such a good idea.

I pulled into a parking spot and got out. I got Kuba out who wanted to walk. He held Savannah's hand as we walked in. Savannah got him a high chair before we sat down where Charlie usually seats.

"What no chief today?" I joked.

"No. I think your mom cut him off." Savannah joked back looking over the menu. "Just for him I'm gonna get a steak."

"Great idea. I'm assuming this kid who has no taste palette wants chicken fingers." I looked over at him as he colored on the menu he was given. "Chicken finger's, Kub?" I asked.

"Yes." He answered and went right back to coloring.

"He's a child, Seth." Savannah commented. The waitress came over and introduced herself. We both ordered drinks before Savannah ordered a chocolate milk for Kuba. She was rubbing her belly while I leaned back and watched her.

"You okay?" She was now 16 weeks pregnant and anyone could clearly tell that she was pregnant. Her stomach seemed to pop out a lot more this time around than it did with the boys. We were both convinced that we were having a girl.

"I'm good." She smiled leaning on the table and looking at me. She looked so beautiful I wanted to reach across the table and touch her face. "She's just kicking." She answered.

"Are we still sticking with that name you picked out?" I asked her as our drinks were brought over.

"I'm sticking with it. I don't care what you do." It wasn't that I didn't like the name. It was just that she was so final about it and she never even thought of other names. "I love the name, Seth. Please." She pouted at me. "And I already ordered a blanket with the name on it."

"We don't even know if it's a girl yet." I had no idea why she was already buying things for a little girl. What if it was a boy? That blanket would never be used.

"I really think it's a girl." She said. I wasn't going to argue with her. Of course I wanted a little girl but with our track record we would most likely be getting a boy.

"Are you going to be upset if it's a boy?" I asked. There was nothing worse in this world that I could think of. Her being upset about the sex of our baby would destroy me.

"I would be upset yes but I will still love it the same." I wasn't worried that she was going to hate our kid if it wasn't a girl. "And you said we could have more."

"We need to slow down with having kids. At this rate we're gonna have 15 kids." We had both agreed that after each of our kids that we would wait a few years and somehow we are on kid number 3 in two years. "I'm serious this time."

"Why are you being so mean today?" She asked.

"I'm not being mean." I was being realistic which I realize is hard for supernatural beings but we needed to slow down.

"You're attacking me over everything I say." I could feel the fight coming from a mile away.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." I should probably keep my mouth shut. She stayed quiet for the rest of our lunch too. I was in the dog house.

*SAVANNAH P.O.V*

I walked up the steps to the Cullen's house. Alice was already at the door with it hanging open.

"Hi." She smiled sweetly at me.

"What did you do?" I asked as I walked inside.

"Nothing." She answered. "Carlisle is in his office with Takoda."

"What happened?" I asked rushing up to his office. My little boy was sitting on the couch with a bandage wrapped around his head. "What happened?!" I shouted. 7 vampires and not a single one of them could watch him close enough.

"He tripped over the carpet and hit the edge of the coffee table. I had to put staples in his head." Carlisle commented. He seemed fine. He was sitting there smiling at me but that was beside the point.

"And you didn't think to call his mother?"

"We had it under control."

"Is that why Edward is hiding?" I asked. Seth came in after me holding Kuba who fell asleep in the car. "None of you have the reaction time to catch him?" I asked.

"Not everything can be prevented even at vampire speed." Carlisle said. "There is no concussion and with his fast healing he should be good to go in a few days. I don't know if it will scar." Koda had fast healing but not nearly as fast as Seth. Koda usually took days to heal where as me and Seth took seconds.

"Let's head home." I sighed picking him up. I stood and carried him out the front door.

"Bye Nana Esme!" He shouted to her.

"Bye, love. See you soon." I tried to keep my thoughts to myself because I knew Edward was listening but it was so hard. He wouldn't be coming over here without me for a long time.

"Please don't shut Esme out. It'll break her heart if she's not allowed to see him." He was suddenly right in front of me blocking my entrance to the car.

"I didn't say that or think it. I thought he wouldn't be coming here without me. Not that I was taking him away from you. You know I wouldn't do that." I looked at him. He did not move his gaze away from me. "I know he's fine. Look at him. Did he even cry?" I asked.

"For like five minutes." He shrugged. "Please don't be upset." This isn't the first time he's fallen and cracked his head on a coffee table. Hell he's done it at our house before. I knew I shouldn't get upset about it but it was still annoying.

"Have a good day." I commented moving around him towards Seth who already had Kuba in the car and was waiting for me. "I'll call someone later." I answered looking at him over my shoulder. "We love you." I got Koda in the car before getting in myself.

"You're annoyed." Seth commented as he drove down the driveway.

"No." I simply stated.

"Yes you are."

"And?" When we got home there were multiple boxes of things I had ordered on the porch.

"What is all of this?" Seth asked standing on the porch looking at the boxes and a few bags.

"Things I ordered for the baby." I commented picking up a box. "I also got a maternity pillow." I hadn't been sleeping well. I had been uncomfortable and Emily suggested a maternity pillow she said it really helped her sleep. He watched as I carried everything inside. "Aren't you going to help me?" I asked.

"No." He stood at the door crossing his arms.

"What's your deal?" I asked as I set everything on the table and grabbed scissors to open everything.

"I think you're going way overboard. We don't even know the sex of the baby." He said as I opened the box with the blanket that I ordered that had Tayenn Billie written all over it in a light purple color but the actual blanket was white. "We don't even know if we're having a girl." I ignored him while I opened the other things I ordered. I wasn't really in the mood to deal with him right now. He had been so rude all day. "Don't ignore me, Savannah."

"I will speak with you when you're not acting like a dick." I commented as I folded the blanket and placed it down on the table. He grabbed it and held it in front of his face.

"I don't even fucking like that name." For a split second I thought he was going to rip the blanket. I didn't really care if he liked the name or not. That was going to be her name. "And I hope it's a boy." I knew it was just saying it to get me going but being nearly 4 months pregnant and hormonal, I started to cry.

"God! You're such a fucking dick." I cried heading to our bedroom. I slammed the door behind me and locked it. I knew he could break the lock easily and come in but he wouldn't do anything to scare the boys. I laid on my back on our bed looking up at the ceilings as tears streamed down down my cheeks and hit the pillow beside my head. I huffed as my back began to hurt and tried to roll over.

I heard a crunch at the door before it swung open. Seth stood looking at me. The door knob was nearly handing off and there were a few cracks around the knob. I'm sure we would have replace the whole door or it would never close right.

"I overreacted." He said.

"Yeah. I know." I answered standing up. "You've been a piece of work lately and I'm not letting you talk to me like that anymore. Get your shit together or I'm taking my kids and we're leaving."

"They're my kids too and you would never leave me."

"Don't push me to that point."

"I'm scared okay?" He whispered his eyes filling with tears. "I'm so afraid of everything. Kuba's diagnosis and having another baby and you want to get a dog. I don't understand how you're so calm about everything."

"Because if I freak out, Kuba is going to freak out. This doesn't change our lives. We are fine. There's nothing to be scared of." For such a tall man he looked like a child with how upset he was getting. "And taking your anger out on me does not help you. We are partners. We are in this together." I gripped his shoulder's as he sat on the bed his head in his hands as he cried. "It isn't going to be easy but for right now, everything is going okay. We'll face the problems when they come."

"And what if we can't handle them?" He asked me.

"You don't have to but I will handle it. You can just sit back and watch."

"Do they have parenting classes for someone who needs to learn about autism?" He questioned. "Because I think I need to take one."

"I'm sure they do." I sat down on his lap. He leaned back a little so I could lean into him and we wouldn't fall off the bed. "Do you really hate the name?" I whispered as his eyes finally met mine.

"It's not my favorite but I know how much it means to you." He rested both hands on my stomach. "I'm sorry." I kissed his nose.

"You're not forgiven." I stood up and went to the kitchen. I opened the freezer in search of the ice cream that I hid last night so no one would eat it on me. I could feel his warmth behind me as I leaned back into him. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my bare shoulder. Even wearing tank tops couldn't cool my body down.

"I really am sorry." He whispered. "I love you."

"I love you too." I reached around him for a spoon before digging in. I fed him a few bites but kept most of it for myself. "You need to learn how to better handle your anger." I commented.

"You're right. Would you be mad if I went on a run for like an hour?"

"No go ahead. I'm gonna check Koda's head." I commented. He seemed fine. He seemed like his happy self playing with Kuba and stopping every so often when something on the t.v caught his attention but it still worried me that he slammed his head.

I sat down on the couch and held him between my legs so I could undo the wrap that Carlisle wrapped around his head. He was fine with the process but as soon as I got to wear the staples touched the wrap and I pulled on it, he screamed and fought me to get away from me which in turn scared Kuba who also burst into tears.

When Koda tore his body away from me I didn't have enough reaction time to let go of the wrap so it pulled off completely which made him cry more. Which in turn made me cry from the pain I was putting him through. Edward and Carlisle burst through the front door and I'm sure the scene in front of them wasn't something they ever wanted to see. Carlisle automatically went to Koda while Edward scooped up Kuba and sat behind me.

"Where's Seth?" He asked rubbing my back.

"Running." I sobbed into his neck. Carlisle worked on Koda and got him to calm down. He gave him a small dose of morphine but knew that his body temperature would burn it off quickly.

"You yanked out one of the staples when you pulled the wrap. Alice saw it happen. I thought we would have enough time to stop you."

"Why didn't you call?" I asked looking at him with tears still streaming down my face.

"I'm sorry." Carlisle commented. "The good news is it seems to have healed fully. It will leave a scar but it's high enough this his hair will cover it." I didn't care if it left behind a scar, I cared if he was going to die in his sleep.

"He's not going to die in his sleep. Do you want me to stay the night to make sure?" Edward asked. I nodded my head as he wrapped his free arm around me. By this point I was exhausted. Kuba was finally calm in Edward's other arm and Koda was relaxed wrapped up in a blanket in Carlisle's arms. I was almost asleep when Seth came in the back door.

"What did you do to my wife and kids?" He asked making Edward chuckle with whatever he was thinking.

"We walked into a mental break down situation with all three of them." Edward commented. "I'm gonna stay tonight to make sure Koda is okay." I just needed to go to bed. "Take Savannah to bed. We'll get the boys into bed." Edward commented. I felt Seth lift me up and carried me to bed.

"Are you okay?" He asked taking my pants off. I nodded but reached my arms out for him to hold me. "What happened?" I went over the story with him and felt so guilty for ripping one of the staples out of his head. "He's fine, baby." He rubbed my stomach under my shirt as I sniffled beside him. I kept my eyes closed but kept my ears on the boys upstairs. Both of them were breathing even and were most likely asleep. I could hear Edward rocking Kuba in the rocking chair.

Maybe Seth had every right to be afraid of how fast our family was growing. Was I really ready to have three kids?