Sam and Emily came in first.

"Congratulations, Bella." Sam said as he looked down at us. "I'm sorry that things happened as they did, but I am glad you both are safe and healthy now."

"She's adorable, Bella." Emily said, peeking at Lily over her blanket.

"It wasn't your fault, Sam, he used the fact that you guys couldn't phase in a public place to his advantage. I don't blame any of you. In fact, all of you saved us today." I told him. "Seth delivered Lily all by himself, before he ever even knew that she was his imprint."

"Her name is Lily? How cute!" Emily replied. "What's her full name?"

"Lily Phoenix Call," I responded, looking down at my sweet baby girl.

"It's beautiful, Bella." Sam said. "I think we should let the others in before they beat down the door."

Sam and Emily walked out and in walked Jared and Kim. "So Lily, huh? I knew I heard that in Embry's head a while back. He tried to cover saying that you liked lily flowers, but he tried a little too hard. Pretty name though." Jared said as he came over to look at her.

"She's so tiny! I can't believe how small she is…" Kim said as she reached out to touch Lily's little hand.

"She is kind of small, isn't she? I didn't even think to ask how much she weighs." I said, frowning.

"5lbs 2oz and 18 inches long. She really is a tiny little thing." Paul told us as he brought Rachel in. Jared and Kim excused themselves as Rachel squealed in happiness. She turned to hug Paul and looked up at him with so much love in her eyes. It was at that point that I just knew.

"So, how far along?" I whispered, only loud enough for Paul to hear, pointing to Rachel's midsection. His eyes widened, before he put his hand on Rachel's still flat stomach.

"About 2 months. The guys should start hearing it soon. I can already, but that's because I know it's there." He whispered to me so that the others couldn't hear. I smiled brightly.

"Congratulations. I'm so happy for you." I whispered back to them. Rachel smiled happily, excited that I knew now.

"It's my turn Paul, you get her all the time! I need to meet my future sister-in-law!" I heard Leah say from the door.

"I'm going to take Rach home and get cleaned up, but I'll be back soon. Seth's getting out of the shower now." He told me, and I instinctually tensed, but forced myself to relax. I knew I was safe, why was I acting so scared? "Hey, I can stay, it's no problem, Jake can drive Rachel home."

"No, you go. You need to be with your imprint, too, especially after what happened today. I'll be okay. Seth is here. The others are here, too. Now go. Shoo." I said, shooing him off, all the while feeling a dread settle in my stomach. I couldn't ask him to stay when he had his own imprint to take care of, it wasn't fair to Rachel.

As soon as they were out of the room, Leah came in. "You scared the shit out of us today, B. Not that it's your fault, because it's not, but let me tell you, the whole pack was freaking out and losing their shit. Even through that fucking supersonic dog whistle. Our ears were bleeding, and it was the worst pain I think I've ever felt, but all we could think about was killing that leech to save you, and it damn well took all of us to do it. Embry distracted him just long enough for us to get him." Leah said, but quickly realized I wasn't quite ready to talk about it yet. "So, this is my future sister-in-law, huh?"

"18 years, Leah, leave that conversation alone for 18 years, please?" I heard Seth say from behind the door. I smiled at his response.

"You make a cute kid, B. I still can't believe my baby brother delivered her." Leah said, looking at her softly. My cute little bundle with a thick tuft of black hair. "Quil and the kids are patrolling, so they'll probably be by in the morning, but Jake wanted to see you before we all leave for the night. Unless you need me to stay… My tits might not have what she wants, but I can help if you need me to."

"It's okay, Leah. I'll have Seth and Paul here. I doubt either of them will sleep well tonight, and even as tired as I am, I know I won't either, so we'll be fine. I'm hoping Embry will wake up soon so that he can meet his daughter, but we'll see." I told her with a sad smile.

"Alright. Let me know if you change your mind." She said before going out the door. Only seconds later, Jake came in and sat on the edge of the bed.

"So… you're a mom now." He mentioned, looking down at Lily.

"That would be correct. Would you like to hold her?" I asked and he held up his hands as if to surrender.

"I'll hold off until she's a little less breakable. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure I can hear Seth growling from here." He said with a laugh and I just shook my head.

"Seth…" I said in warning, knowing he could hear me.

"Sorry, mama." He called out.

"A lot of things have happened in the last 9 months, haven't they?" He asked. I looked up to see the sad expression he wore.

"Of course they have, Jake. That's life. It's ever-changing, evolving. Embry and I were always meant to end up together, the imprint just helped point that out. Now we're married and have a daughter. No matter how it happened, I'm grateful for it. I love Embry. I love my daughter. I love Seth and Paul, and the rest of the pack. I love you, too, Jake. You're my family, the whole pack is. My imprints hold a different place in my heart for a reason, Jake. I'm still Bells, your best friend, I just have different priorities now." I tried to explain to him.

"I know, I know, just like I know it'll never go back to how it used to be between us before the imprint. It's still sad to me, but I understand. You have a life, and I'm still part of it, even if it's not quite how I expected it to turn out." He replied. I was getting ready to retort when Lily started to cry. "Well, I think that's my cue. Seth is pacing at the door, by the way. You want him to come in, or do you want privacy?" He asked.

"He can come in, it's not like he hasn't seen worse now." I told him with a small laugh. He raised his eyebrows as he realized what I was talking about, and then turned to leave.

Seth came in quickly, as soon as Jake had left. "Is she okay?" he asked quickly, I felt the heavy weight in my chest and I knew it was time for her to feed.

"She's okay, Seth, I think she's just hungry." I told him.

"Oh, right." He replied, his cheeks turning red. "I'll just…go."

For some reason, I began to panic again. My heart rate increased dramatically and my hands felt clammy.

"No!" I said before realizing it. "Don't go, please?" He turned around, noticing my panic and sat in the armchair in the corner. Lily started to cry louder, picking up on my anxiety.

"Relax, mama, I'll stay. You're safe. I'm here, Paul will be back soon, no one is going to hurt you or Lily, I promise." Seth told me, averting his eyes as I lowered my gown to feed Lily. To my great relief, she latched immediately again. It was painful. I hadn't noticed how painful it had been the first time because I'd still been out of it, but it hurt.

As I fed Lily in silence, I took the time to inventory my aches and pains. I had the obvious aches in my nether regions from giving birth, and I was still having very slight contractions. My boobs hurt fiercely as my milk was starting to come in. My wrists hurt, too from where I'd been tied to the chair. My head ached from my blood loss, and I was just generally exhausted, but I was alive. My daughter was alive, too, and I was beyond grateful.

Lily fell asleep after she drank her fill and I covered myself back up. "She's done, you can look again." I told him. He seemed to relax when his eyes settled on her. My sweet baby girl was still in nothing but a diaper and blanket. "Can you go find her something to wear? There should be something in her dresser that might be small enough."

He nodded and quickly set about his task. I still internally panicked when he left the room, but I knew he'd be back quickly. After a minute, he came back in with a small pink footie onesie. I laid her in between my legs and started to show Seth how to dress her.

"Just make sure you keep her head supported at all times. She won't have control over it for a few months. I'm sure you already know that, though." I told him as I carefully put her little legs into the outfit.

"It's strange, she looks so fragile, like she could break by just holding her, but I know she's not. I guess it's the imprint, but I just know what to do. I mean, I knew some stuff from my mom, but like when she wasn't breathing, it was all pure instinct." He told me as I wrapped her back up in her blanket.

"I won't lie, Seth, when I first realized you imprinted on her, I was angry. She's my baby, and she wasn't even five minutes old before she had a supernatural life-long bond. The age gap would be worrying if you aged normally. As it is, if you keep phasing, you'll still look how you do now when she becomes the age you look. You might be 15 years older than her but you'll look the same age. If Quil hadn't imprinted on Claire, then this situation would probably be much worse right now, but I've watched them for months, and I know how it is for you. I don't know if it's because I'm her mother, or if it's because I have three imprints myself, but I understand that she needs you just as much as you need her, and as much as that makes me sad as a new mother, that my child needs someone else other than me and her father, I have to think about the good. I'll have tons of help, extra sets of eyes, the most love for her in the world. She'll be spoiled rotten, probably never sleep in her own crib, always in someone's arms, but she will be happy, and that's all a parent wants for their child." I told Seth honestly.

"That's all I want for her, too." Seth replied quietly after processing my speech. "Embry is going to kill me, isn't he?"

"No, honey, leave Embry to me. He won't be happy at first, it is his baby girl after all, but he'll come around." I told him, yawning.

"I just heard Paul come back in. Do you want me to take her for a little bit while you try to get some rest? I know you're tired." Seth told me. Sure enough Paul came through the door seconds later.

I thought about it for a second and nodded, holding her out for Seth to take. He picked her up carefully. "I'll just be in the living room with her."

He left the room and I looked at Paul for two seconds before I let the dam burst. I broke out into tears and I knew it was completely irrational, but I couldn't help myself. The day had officially taken its toll and I let it all out.

He sat on the bed next to me, leaning against the headboard, and let me bury my face into his chest as I cried. I cried about what happened, I cried about Embry, I cried about my new irrational fear of being left alone, even with my husband lying next to me.

"It's alright, B, everything is going to be okay." Paul told me soothingly as he rubbed my back.

"But it's not! I almost lost my daughter and my husband today. I cringe in fear every time you or Seth leave the room even though Embry is right here, because he's not awake yet. My own husband hasn't even met his daughter yet! I'm afraid to go to sleep… the things he said to me keep rushing through my mind and I'm so afraid that I'll wake up and be back there, that all of this is just a dream. I know I'm safe here on the res, I do, but I just can't stop being afraid. I feel like something is wrong with me." I cried.

"Shhh. You need to calm down, Bella. Nothing is wrong with you. You were kidnapped by a crazed psycho vampire while in active labor. You had to give birth in less than ideal conditions while fearing for not only your own life, but the lives of your daughter, husband, and family as well. You are going to be afraid for a while, hun. You are safe here, but I can't convince your mind of that. Seth and I will be here to help, though. We're your protectors. Especially while Embry is out, we aren't going to leave you alone. In fact, you'll be sick of us because we'll be here so much." Paul told me, trying to reassure me, but I still worried.

"What about Rachel? I can't keep taking you away from her, especially now." I muttered into his chest. He laughed, causing me to look up at him.

"You know Rachel, B. She's independent as hell. She doesn't need me around 24/7, and our imprint knows that. She wants me to be here for you, hell, she damn near pushed me out of the house earlier to get me to come back here. She's just as concerned about you as the rest of us. She's four years older, she knows how to take care of herself, and she doesn't like when I hover too much." Paul explained, which made me feel a little bit better, but still guilty of hogging him to myself. He was my best friend, but he was her everything. "Stop worrying about it, Bella, I'm right where I need to be, and you can't push me away."

I just sat there for a long while, my head still buried into Paul's chest, wishing my husband would wake up. Paul was leaning against the headboard and I was leaning against him. I didn't even know I'd fallen asleep until I woke up to Seth holding my crying baby.


A/N- I wanted to be sure to show the after effects of a trauma. The irrational fear is absolutely part of it, it's post-traumatic stress. I've had it, so I understand. She can't control the fact that she feels fear, even when she knows she's safe. Her hormones are also going crazy since she just had a baby, so she's super emotional and upset. It's all natural.