Chapter 36: Family

Jacob POV

"Why can't I come with you?"

He sighed "Because this is something I need to do on my own-"

"-I don't want you to go! What if something happened to you, again? I couldn't do that a second time Paul, don't make me go through it a second time-"

"-dude, there's nothing dangerous about it! Old Quil has given me a map for the directions, it's gonna be fine, alright?"

I groaned in frustration "If it's not dangerous, then let me come with you!"

"Jake, stop! I need to do this alone! I thought you out of everyone would understand that-"

"-I understand Paul, I really do!-"

"-then let it go! Please. Besides, you're Alpha now, you can't leave the Reservation unprotected"

I shrugged "Easy, I'd get Sam to take over whilst I'm gone-"

"-that's not cool though. Emily's due to have the baby in a few months. Don't you think he's got enough to be getting on with?"

Ugh, he was right. But I just didn't feel comfortable with this at all. He didn't even tell us! I had to hear it in his mind during patrol this morning!

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I thought I'd get this reaction. Besides, Bella's gonna be away for a few weeks and it's better for me to stay busy whilst she's gone-" he turned to leave.

I brought my hand down on his shoulder "-Paul. I just want you to understand it from my point of view, okay? The last time you were gone for months. Now it's a few weeks and what exactly does this spirit journey entail? Will you be spirit walking again?"

He huffed "I'm not sure. Old Quil just told me to follow the directions, stop on the mountain ledge for 3 days to meditate and then continue to the top of the mountain where someone will be waiting for me. Dude, I get your concerns okay? But I have to do this alone. Please understand"

Again, he was right. I trusted him to be careful and look after himself. But the last time he was gone in the spirit world, that terrified me. I may not have been close to him before, but ever since I rescued him from his spirit walk, we had got close.

I didn't want anything bad to happen to him again. For my sake, the Pack's sake and for Bella's sake. A lot of people would be devastated if something else happened to him.

"Alright. Fine. Do what you have to do. Just… be careful, okay? Are you gonna take your cell?"

"No, I'm not taking any kind of technology. Old Quil said it's part of the journey, to leave everything else behind and focus on myself"

"So how am I gonna know you're okay?" I asked him.

"Well-" he smiled slyly at me "-if you're confident enough to spirit walk, I guess you could check on me that way. Honestly man, you don't need to check up on me! I'm a big boy, I can handle this!"

I threw my hands in the air, defeated "Alright! I'll let it go! Just promise me you'll be careful, okay?"

He approached me and put his hands on my shoulders "I promise I'll be careful. Just look after Grandma Inola for me"

"Of course. I was thinking about staying with her anyway. I mean Edward is there but he doesn't know her like we do"

"It's up to you man. But I guess I would feel better if I knew you were staying with her, as long as Billy will be okay on his own"

I chuckled "I'm sure I could get Charlie to drop by every day after work. They have a week's worth of game recaps to get through"

I walked to the tribal centre with him. He was leaving in an hour and I wasn't leaving him until I had to. Lauren had gone camping for the weekend with her parents, so I had no idea what I was gonna do to entertain myself. I suppose I could drop by Jared's.

"You coming in?" Paul asked, pulling me out of my thoughts. We were at the tribal centre now, he held the door open for me, waiting. I sprinted up the stairs and went in and we found Old Quil waiting for Paul in a hall to the left of the reception. He was walking around some gear on the floor. I could see bottles of water, a camping backpack, a flattened tent and dehydrated food.

"Ah, Paul. Are you ready to start your journey?" he said in a mystical voice. I rolled my eyes. Always so dramatic was Old Quil.

"Yes sir. Jacob is just here to see me off. Is this everything I'll need?" he asked, gesturing to the stuff on the floor. Was all of this gonna fit in that backpack?

"Yep, this is everything. You can start packing your bag now. Jacob, if I may have a word with you?" he motioned for me to follow him to another room, just off of the larger hall. It was the secretaries office. A windowless room, with only a small desk in the corner, which sat an old fashioned computer on top. Old Quil closed the door and turned to me.

"Jacob. It is my wish that you do this journey with your brother-"

"-no, I've already talked to him about this. He wants to do this alone-"

"-believe me when I say Jacob. Paul Lahote is not ready to do this alone. He may want to, but I do not think he is ready for such a journey. Especially if part of the journey means he must spirit walk and we both know what happened the last time he attempted such a thing. What will happen, do you think, if he gets stuck again? His body left on the mountain side to rot? Who will help him then? I know these journeys are usually taken alone, as the warriors used to do. But I say this out of concern for Paul. Do not let him go alone. Convince him that you must go with him-"

"-believe me Old Quil, I've tried-"

"-then try harder! This journey is not for the faint hearted. There will be violence involved and a lot of courage and strength. Paul may not see it now, but up on that mountain top, he will wish he brought someone along"

"What am I supposed to say to him? I want to respect his wishes to do this on his own. I get why he thinks he needs to do it alone! How do you think he's gonna feel if you make me go with him? He's gonna feel like a baby or something! Like none of us can trust him!-

"-it is not that Jacob. I fear that when he does attempt to spirit walk again, there will be something else there waiting for him, something that he won't be prepared for-"

"-so this is dangerous, then?"

Old Quil sighed "I would feel more comfortable if one of you brothers went with him. It doesn't have to be you, but it must be someone"

I groaned "Alright, I'll go see what I can do. Try and stop him from leaving yet"

I ran straight to Jared's and told him to come meet me in the forest, phased in.

What's up dude? I was just about to start a movie with Kim -Jared

Yeah sorry. This is important, look -Jacob

I showed him what I had seen and heard at the tribal centre and I heard Jared groan.

You know how stubborn Paul is! He'd never agree to that -Jared

I know but Old Quil thinks it could be dangerous for him to go back into the spirit world by himself -Jacob

A familiar shimmer in our thoughts was interrupted by Embry's voice.

Yo, what's up? -Embry

Dude, where have you been all morning? -Jacob

Nothing, just paid a visit to Charlie, what's going on? -Embry

I replayed the tribal centre Paul stuff again and Embry's wolf whined.

I'll go with him -Embry

Are you sure man? Hey, are you okay? – Jacob

Yeah all good, but I want to go with him. He's still at the tribal centre?- Embry

Uh, yeah, listen man, you don't have to jump into this, we can talk about it -Jacob

Nothing to talk about, I'm going with him. I'll see you losers in a few weeks -Embry. He phased out.

I groaned and phased back, as did Jared. I followed him back into his house and threw myself onto the couch.

"Hey Jacob. Wanna watch this with us?" Kim asked, holding up the cover of The Sound of Music.

I grimaced "Uh, I might pass. Hey, have you spoken to Emily recently?"

"Yeah, I saw her yesterday. The little baby bump is really coming along, isn't it? Oh I'm so excited! Jared's taking me shopping later so I can get a few things for the baby!"

"That's sweet. Okay, I guess I'll catch you guys later-"

"-aw come on man, just stay for 5 more minutes, I've hardly seen you. What's going on?" he handed me a soda and I sighed loudly. I supposed 5 minutes wouldn't hurt.

"Not a lot. Lauren's away this weekend so I don't have anything to do"

Jared laughed "Well, Sam's been pretty quiet lately. You reckon we should go check on him?"

I looked at Kim, who looked sad. So much for my 5 minutes with Jared "Naw, I'll go and see Sam by myself. Spend some time with your girl. We'll catch up tomorrow or something, I'll see you guys later, thanks for the soda" I clinked my can against his and left them to it. I wish the walk to Sam's house was longer, but then it was always depressing when I was left to my own thoughts.

"Jacob!" I turned to see Colin walking out of the forest, wearing… was that a tool belt?

"Hey little cousin. You good?" I bumped shoulders with him.

"Yeah, all good. You here to see Sam?"

"Yeah, is he in?" I started walking towards the forest but Colin stepped in front of me.

"Uh, hang on. What's the rush? Don't you want to finish your soda first?"

"Dude, out of the way-" I tried pushing past him, but he held his ground. Man, my little cousin was strong now.

"-stop, you can't go in there!"

I furrowed my brow "Why not?"

"Uh, he and Emily are… busy, you know, they're going alfresco" he gave me a look, and I knew what he meant.

"Ew, yeah. Okay, I guess I'll leave them to it-"

"-cool, see you later Jacob! Talk soon okay?" he shouted as he headed back into the forest, leaving me to stand by myself like a loser. Why could he go in there but I couldn't?

Ugh, what a weird day.

Once Colin was out of sight, I went straight for Sam's. I opened the porch door and saw Emily standing in the kitchen, cooking. Looking very pregnant.

"Jacob! What a surprise! Come in, I've just finished baking some muffins"

"Thanks Em, is Sam here with you?"

She chuckled "No, he's in the forest with Colin, something about secret stuff" she rolled her eyes.

I set my soda can down on the counter and sat at the table.

"You know, I think pregnancy suits you Em"

She giggled "It does, doesn't it? Gah! It's strange to think in 3 more months I'll be holding my little baby"

"You're gonna be a great mom, you know"

She smiled "Thank you Jacob. One of these days, you'll make a pretty great father yourself"

I chuckled "I think Lauren would kill me if I knocked her up at this age"

"True, but one day you will be a father" she set a plate of still warm muffins on the table. The smell was making me salivate.

She chuckled "Help yourself"

"Have you got everything you need for the baby?" I asked causally, biting into a muffin. Oh my God, the chocolate chips were melted!

"Almost, I have a crib being delivered later today, ooh I'm so excited! I'll have to get Sam to set it up for me, it's flat pack-" she rolled her eyes. I knew her annoyance at flat pack only too well "-but it's the cutest white colour and it'll go so well with the nursery. Speaking of, you wanna see?" she asked. Aw I couldn't say no, not when she was this excited.

"Lead the way" I abandoned my muffin on the table and followed her upstairs, holding my arms out behind her, ready to catch her in case she fell. She led me along to what used to be the guest bedroom, but it had now been transformed into a nursery. The little window at the back of the room was swaddled with white and yellow drapes, that reflected the sun into the room. There were little framed pictures of wolves, dream catchers and owls. A white chest drawer stood to the back of the room, against the wall, already stacked with diapers, wipes and onesies ready to be put away. The only space left was a small space in the corner for the crib.

"Wow, Em, this is beautiful-"

"-it's perfect isn't it? You don't think the yellow clashes with the white?"

"Not at all, it's the perfect combo. I hope Sam did those pictures" I said seriously, pointing to the frames on the wall.

She giggled "Of course, no heavy lifting on my part"

"Em!"

"Come on, let's go eat" she said, closing the door to the nursery behind her.

"I thought you'd wandered off somewhere" Sam said, pulling Emily into his arms. I picked up my forgotten muffin and stuffed the rest into my mouth.

"Sorry! I wanted to show Jacob the nursery!-"

"-Em, delivery" I jutted my chin towards the back, where a delivery truck had just pulled up.

Emily clapped her hands together excitedly "Oooh Jacob come help me! Sam, stay there and close your eyes!"

Sam did as he was told as I followed Emily outside where she signed the paperwork for the delivery. The guy opened the back of the truck and pulled out the flat pack crib and handed it to me.

"If you need any help building it up, you call this number and I'll get one of my guys to come down, give you a hand" he said to her, handing her a contact card.

"Go on ahead of me" I said to Em. Gheez, why were cribs so heavy? I got it through the door and tried not to drop it. I didn't want to be in the face of a pregnant imprint's wrath.

"Em, what is it?" Sam asked, his eyes still shut tight.

I set it down in front of him, spinning the box around so the picture of the crib was visible, and then Em yelled "Open your eyes!"

Sam POV

"Open your eyes!"

I opened my eyes and my heart sunk.

"What do you think? Don't you think it'll go well with the nursery theme?" Emily asked me. She was literally jumping on the balls of her feet in excitement. I was… less than enthusiastic.

I cleared my throat "Uh, yeah it looks great-"

"-ooh I knew you'd love it! Can you set it up right now? I wanna see if it matches the blankets my Mom knitted"

Jacob was glaring at me. Did he think I was ruining this moment for her?

"Uh, Jacob do you mind getting started on it? I just gotta go do something-" I mumbled quietly and left quickly, heading straight for the forest.

What the hell was I supposed to do now? I should have said something to her. Damn surprises! What good did they do?

"Hey man! I just finished putting the last coat of varnish on, doesn't it look great?"

I looked at the crib, looked at all of my hard work for the past few weeks. Wasted. So much for feeling sentimental.

"Looks great Colin" I mumbled.

He smiled brightly "You know, I could help with making shelves for the nursery? I'm actually pretty handy with tools, aren't I Sam?"

"Yo Sam!"

I rolled my eyes and turned to see Jacob stomping his heavy feet towards me.

"What's wrong with you? Emily was so excited but you just looked-" his eyes travelled to where Colin was standing and widened "-oh crap, is that a- ?"

"-crib? Yeah"

Well at least he understood why I was in a feral mood now. Now he looked every bit exasperated as I did.

"Dude, why didn't you say you were making one?"

I shrugged my shoulders "I wanted it to be a surprise-"

"-it would have been good to give Emily a hint or something, she's in there now organising the screws"

I groaned "What am I supposed to do now? I've spent weeks on this!" I slumped to the ground with my back against a tree. Ugh, I was no good with the surprise stuff. Clearly!

"I've been helping him" Colin added. I rolled my eyes but the corners of my mouth twitched.

Jacob took a closer look at the crib, running his hands along the framework.

"Dude, this is better than what's in the house. It feels stronger than that glued crap in there. What the hell are you going to do?"

I groaned again "I don't know!"

"We cut down trees to make it, didn't we Sam? Look, I got the splinters to prove it-" Colin said, holding his hands out as evidence.

Jacob ignored him "You gotta go say something to her Sam-"

"-I can't do that! I'd break her heart!-"

"-you think it's better she didn't know about this? You know how traditional Em is, she would have loved this-"

"-too late now" I mumbled quietly.

There wasn't any point wallowing in self-pity. I brought this on by myself. How was Emily supposed to know I was making a crib? She wouldn't because my stupid mouth didn't say anything to her, ugh! Now I had a crib that I didn't know what to do with. Jacob was up there with her now, putting it together.

"I can't do this man, it's not right-" he had said when we got back inside the house.

"-don't worry about me, I'm a big boy, I can handle it. Just go help her with it-"

"-yeah but, this isn't fair on you-"

"-it doesn't matter what's fair or not! All that matters to me is that Emily is happy and if that store bought crib makes her happy, then put it together for her!"

Colin put his hand on my shoulder "Let's go for a run Sam, cool off for a minute"

So that was what I was doing now. Being a baby and hiding from my fiancé and her store bought crib. It was true what I had said to Jacob. It really didn't matter that my feelings were hurt because this wasn't about me. Emily was the one carrying our child, so she should have the decisions on the furniture, right?

I don't think that's how it works -Colin

What would you know about it? You're still a kid -Sam

Kid or not, you still get to have a say in your child's life Sam. I think Emily would prefer the crib you made -Colin. I noticed he didn't mention his help in the building of it.

I just want her to be happy. Can you imagine how upset with herself she would be if she found out I'd already made her a crib for the baby? Nah, I'm not doing that to her, it isn't fair -Sam

It's not fair to you either -Colin

Whatever, I'll just keep it safe somewhere until another one of our brothers has a baby, that's gotta be soon, right? -Sam

Ha, my bet's on Jared and Kim! -Colin

I dunno about that, Paul and Bella are looking pretty serious to me -Sam

Yeah but Bella is in Sweden right now with that vamp. Hey, I wonder what they're doing over there -Colin

You're guess is as good as mine kid -Sam

Quil POV

"You need another pillow baby? Or I can get you another blanket?-"

She giggled "-Quil, for the 100th time, I'm fine. The medication is really helping and I think if I have any more blankets I'm gonna start sweating"

"Right, okay. No more blankets. What about your fluffy socks? I can run back to your house in Forks and grab a pair?-"

"-Quil, come and sit down with me. Relax, please" she pulled my hand and scooted up on the couch so I could sit behind her.

She leaned into me and sighed "This is nice. See? I don't need any more blankets when I have my very own portable space heater"

I chuckled into her hair "Well, you know I'd be all too willing to make that a full time job"

Angela had been home from the hospital for about a week now, and I was making sure I was super attentive to her needs. I just wanted her to be comfortable. The doctors had given her medication (safe for pregnancy) to control her sickness, and it was working! She was finally eating normally again, though she still had the aversion to onions and coffee. Her first scan was less than a month away and to say we were both excited about it was an understatement. We were ecstatic! We couldn't wait any longer to see our child for the first time, even if it were on a black and white screen.

Sue asked if Angela would stay with me on the Reservation for a while, just so she could keep an eye on her. Ange didn't mind one bit. Her parents and brothers were going away on a religious vacation or something like that, so she would have been all alone in that big house anyway. Well, my mom was excited that Ange was staying with us! Though she got a little touchy about us sharing a bedroom. I had to remind her several times that the deed was already done, how worse could it get?

"Quil, Bella's face-timing!"

I chuckled when she pressed accept and then cringed when they both screamed with joy at seeing each other's faces. Oh boy, how long did girls talk on the phone for again?

"Oh Bella! It's so good to see your face! How are you? How's Sweden?"

Bella giggled "Ugh, Sweden is great! Though Gyda's got me hiking through the woods all day, every day. But it's not so bad. I've seen some pretty cool places. But enough about me! How are you? You look so much better!"

"I'm doing much better with the medication and staying with Quil is definitely helping me feel better"

"Aw I'm so glad Ange! I've been really worried about you! Oh, I nearly forgot to mention, there's a place in Stockholm that sells Nordic baby stuff, I've never seen anything cuter in my life! I'm gonna try and convince Gyda to swing by again so I can grab a few things for the little baby-" Oh gheez, more stuff?

"That's so thoughtful Bella. How is Gyda doing? I imagine it must be hard for her to be back home"

"Well, she says she's doing okay, but I'm not so sure. Like yesterday, we went someone completely secluded and she went all quiet. I mean she didn't talk for at least 2 hours. I dunno, she seems okay but I'll try and get it out of her"

"Well it must be difficult for her to go back there. But at least she has you there for comfort"

"Yeah, that's what she says to me too. That I'm a comfort to her. Anyway, how is Paul? Has anyone heard from him?"

Ange looked to me. I shrugged my shoulders, I didn't know what they were up too!

"I'll take that as a no then Quil-" she laughed "-well, when you hear from him, could you let me know? I'm trying not to worry about him but that's like telling a fish to live out of the water"

Ange chuckled "I promise we'll let you know if we hear something and anyway, Embry went with him, so that's gotta reassure you?"

Bella furrowed her eyebrows in confusion "Embry went with him? But Paul was so set on going alone-"

"-well, according to what Quil heard from Jacob, Old Quil wanted someone to go with him because he didn't think he'd handle it alone-"

"-ugh, that old man! Sorry Quil-"

I laughed "You only said what we all think Bella"

She chuckled at that "Well, I suppose it makes me feel better that he isn't completely alone out there. So, how is Emily, oh, hang on. What Gyda?" She turned her face away from the camera "-isn't that a little private? Okay okay, I'll tell him, uh, Quil?" she brought her face back to the camera.

"What's up?"

"Well, Gyda wants me to tell you something about your grandfather, but I told her it's private- (it's not private if he's thinking about it so bloody loudly all the time! Gyda shouted off camera)"

"Uh, if it's that private, I'd rather not know-"

"-don't be like that Quil, trust me you'll want to know this-" Gyda shouted again. I rolled my eyes.

"Alright, what have you gotta say about it?" I asked Gyda. She sat next to Bella now, wearing her signature smirk.

"Well, did you know your grandfather has a girlfriend?"

Oh Jesus no, please kill me now.

"Ha, I'll take that as a no"

Bella nudged her out of the frame "Let me talk to my best friend in peace!" she laughed "So, how is Emily doing? I heard that she's almost got the nursery ready, have you seen it yet?"

"No, she's being very quiet about it, but she said once we do see it, we'll be blow away. That reminds me, we should probably get started on our own baby's nursery" Ange said more to me than Bella. Uh, yeah, we should probably do that soon.

"Have you thought of a colour scheme yet?"

Ange laughed "We've only just remembered the nursery. Things have been pretty busy, but we'll get on it today, won't we Quil?"

I rolled my eyes "Yes, dear"

Bella laughed "Aw will Daddy Quil be making any furniture? Like a crib maybe?" Was she hinting at me? Did I need to do that?

"Oh, wouldn't that be so awesome! A beautiful handmade crib. Even better if it was made from scratch. Screw anything store bought, we can do this, can't we sweetie?" she said to me again.

I rolled my eyes again, I could never resist her beautiful smile, even if it were mischievous at time "Yes, dear"

Bella laughed "Awesome! Well, I'd better go, Gyda is throwing watermelon seeds at me, ew Gyda! Are they from your mouth? Ugh!-"

"Talk soon Bella! I'll let you know if I hear anything from Paul, love you, bye!" Angela kissed the phone, Bella kissed hers back. Why were girls so weird?

"Bye Ange, love you too and take care of yourself! Bye Quil!"

Ange hung up and sighed happily "I'm glad Bella knows about the baby, I really do hate keeping things from her"

I kissed her hair "Well, she is right you know. We do need to think about getting a nursery ready and I was thinking you know, there are plenty of rooms at your house in Forks, so it shouldn't be a problem to-"

"-Quil, I don't want to live in Forks when the baby is here!" she turned to look at me seriously.

"But – but what about your parents?"

She smiled and shook her head "This isn't about my parents. The only important thing to me and to you is that this baby stays on the Reservation. This baby has Quileute blood, it's only right that he or she should grow up here, in their home-"

"-Ange, are you serious?"

So many sacrifices she made for me. I was beginning to hate myself for it, but she had one thing right. I'd love more than anything to have our baby on the Reservation. By tradition, all Quileute babies should be born on Quileute land. I couldn't believe how in tune Angela was with my traditions and I loved her more for remembering how important a decision like this would be to me and my family.

"I'm deadly serious Quil. I want to stay here if you'll have me-"

"-are you kidding? Of course I want you to stay! Let me go talk to my Mom real quick! I'll be back!" I kissed her on the forehead and jumped up. Her gentle laughter fluttered through the front door and followed me in my mind until I reached my Grandpa's house.

"Grandson, what are you doing here?-"

"-I need to talk to mom, is she here?"

"She's out back with, uh, well, she's out back-"

"-thanks Grandpa!"

I went out back to see Mom talking to an older lady.

"Mom, I need to talk to you-"

She turned and glared at me "Can't it wait son? I'm busy getting to know-"

"-yeah, but it's important! It's about Angela and the baby-"

Now I had her attention "What? Is Angela okay? Does she need help?"

I furrowed my brow "What? No! Can Ange move in with us?-"

"-woah, son, slow down! Don't you think this is all a bit… fast?"

What?

"We're having a baby together mom, I hardly think it's moving fast-"

She chuckled "All the same! You know we really haven't got the space at home for a nursery and-" the older lady put her hand on my mom's shoulder and smiled, motioning me to come closer.

I knelt down next to her and looked at her warily. Who the hell was this?

"You are Quil Jr, Grandson of Quil Sr?" she spoke with a raspy sort of throaty voice.

"Uh, yeah?"

Then she laughed "And you're having a baby you say?"

"Well, my girlfriend is, but-"

"-she is your imprint?"

Poker face Quil. How did she know about that stuff?

She chuckled at my expression "It's okay, I know. Is she your imprint?"

"Yeah she is. Listen, what's this got to do with anything-"

"-I have just the place for you, your imprint and your new child. Come with me-" she started getting up and now I could take a proper look at her. Her grey hair was braided down her shoulders, she had heavy facial features that were emphasised with blue eye shadow across her eyelids and her dress was like something my Grandma Molly used to wear.

"Joy, you can come with us if you like" she said behind her, and my mom started to follow us.

We walked into the forest for ages. This woman walked so slow! Finally though, we came to a clearing on the edge of the forest, not too far from my house and stopped in front of a dilapidated cabin. The windows were gone, the door was gone and the whole thing was just a complete pile of trash.

"A gift from me" the woman said, pushing me forward towards the cabin.

I walked inside by myself and had a look around. The rooms were pretty big and there was an upstairs too though I didn't dare try those stairs. They were already straining under the weight of the dust, let alone my boulder weight. There was a kitchen and I only knew it was a kitchen because it had a sink and a door going out into the backyard, which was just filled with overgrown bushes. There was a family room with a dusty couch that had a huge tear in the back of the fabric and a fireplace that had weeds growing out of it. But the more I looked around, the more I saw myself here with Ange. Obviously, we'd tidy it up a bit first and do some major repairs, but I could see it.

Our own little home, in La Push.

I went back outside and gulped the fresh air down. My mom was waiting next to the woman looking nervously up at the cabin.

"What was the inside like Quil?" mom asked.

"Well, I saw a kitchen, a family room and there is an upstairs, but I didn't get that far-"

"-there are three bedrooms upstairs and a bathroom. I think you'll be quite happy here. I was when I lived here-"

I turned to face the woman "-wait, this was your house?"

She chuckled "Sorry it's not a new gift, but it hasn't been lived in for almost twenty years now and I've always felt a little guilty for not putting it to good use. Of course, you must have it. Though I would advise a few repairs be done and a lick of paint wouldn't go amiss-"

"-this is too much! I know it looks – you know, like that. But you're gifting us a house-"

"-either a home for you or mulch for the worms in the ground beneath it. It is of no use to me anymore, so you must take it"

I thanked her incredibly. I didn't even know who this woman is.

"Would you like to introduce me to your grandson?" she said when we were back at Grandpa's. She and Grandpa were sitting closely together on the couch, holding hands. Gyda's voice suddenly woke up in the back of my mind.

"Well, did you know your grandfather has a girlfriend?"

Oh God no. Were we really doing this?

"Grandson, I'd like you to meet Ayita. She has been so gracious to agree to marry me-"

"-what! Hang on, how long has this been going on for?"

My mom was giggling "For a while now son, Ayita is a lovely woman and I think Angela would love her too-" She was hinting, ugh!

Ayita chuckled "Of course I will never replace your Grandmother Molly Quil, your Grandfather told me all about her and it's so unfortunate that she passed before her time. But whilst I won't replace her, I'll be here as a Grandmother if you need one. You seem a lovely boy and it's such a thrill to be able to meet my Quilly's family at last-"

Quilly? That's what Angela called me. Oh God, time for a conversation about that.

I left as quickly as I could, after watching my new Grandma and my Grandpa kiss in front of me and my mom, ew! I got back to my house to find Ange had fallen asleep on the couch. I took the blanket from the top of the couch and put it over her.

I knelt down next to her ear and whispered "Everything's going to be perfect for us Ange. I'll make sure of it"

Author's Note:

I don't usually like writing these notes, because I feel it ruins the ending of the chapters, but I was just curious…

…how long would you like this story to go on for? If it were up to me, I'd write for another year XD but I wanted to know how long you think the story should be. Obviously I understand that I can only go so far with this story, but I'm enjoying writing it so much and I see a few of you are enjoying reading it too.

So, how long would you like this story to continue for? Stop at 50 chapters? 60? 70? 80? 100?