Wow. Chapter 50. I hope you all enjoy. Please review. XO
Bella was filling platters with cooled Christmas cookies as she rushed to finish them before bed.
"I honestly can't believe how relieved I am that you finally know," Bella said as she handed a platter to Angela. "And, obviously, that you took everything so well."
"It honestly still doesn't feel real," Angela said. "I keep expecting to wake up. What if my baby turns into a giant wolf someday, Bella?"
"Angie," Bella said, resuming her seat at the table with her own platter, "It could happen, don't get me wrong. We can always hold onto the hope that it won't."
"Maybe we should instead focus on assuming that they will," Angela said. "Better for our kids to be prepared someday, right?"
"You might be right. I guess we'll have to figure that out when the time comes," Bella said.
"Shit," Angie yelled as the lid to a jar of sprinkles fell off, completely coating the cookie she'd been decorating. "Well, this one is just solid red now."
"It's fine," Bella laughed. "They'll eat them anyway. Don't worry. The real fun will be keeping Jake and Embry out of them until tomorrow."
"I'm guessing that is why you waited until 10 pm on Christmas Eve to make them this year?" Angela asked.
"Precisely. I'm surprised the boys haven't woke up from smelling them yet," Bella admitted.
"I shut the bedroom doors," Angela said. "I hope my mom comes, Bella. I miss her." The closer Christmas had come, the more depressed Angela had been about her mother's abandonment.
"Did she ever call you back?" Bella asked her.
"No, not yet," Angela said sadly. "Dad probably won't let her. I'm honestly surprised he hasn't had my cell shut off yet."
"I guess we will know for sure after New Years', huh?" Bella said. "If it doesn't work come January, we will find a way to get it turned on. You need that phone for your doctors, at least."
Angela asked, "So, what exactly is the plan for tomorrow again?"
"The Cullens will come by in the morning. Then we'll have time to air the house out a bit before the pack gets here. Hopefully, all of the food smells will help cover any leftover vampire scent," Bella explained. "Emily will be here early, though she's making some things at home. Sue is bringing some food. Emily and I actually thawed out some pies from Thanksgiving. There were just too damn many. The Pack, other imprints, Charlie, Sue, and Billy, will start arriving sometime around four. We'll eat, do presents, my dad and Billy will get hammered. It's a whole thing," she finished, laughing.
"What time will Emily be here?" Angela asked.
"She said sometime around eleven, but I think she just wants to peek at some eye candy for a minute," Bella said, and Angela laughed.
"I will be," she admitted.
"Did Embry invite his mom?" Bella asked as she iced the last Christmas cookie.
"Uh, no," Angela said. "He said she'd just steal Billy's liquor, get high, and make an ass of herself. He's going to go see her in the morning before she's too fucked up."
"Are you going with him?" Bella asked her.
"Negatory," Angela said, scoffing. "Tiffany Call does not like me. She doesn't like anyone who prevents her from treating Embry like her personal servant, apparently."
"Oh," Bella said. "I knew their relationship wasn't good. What little I know sounds a lot like me and Renee, though."
"Do we all have fucked up parents?" Angela asked.
"Pretty much," Bella said, snickering. "Charlie's pretty great, though."
"Maybe he'll adopt me," Angela said.
"I hope the boys bring their guitars tomorrow," Bella said. "They're actually pretty decent, and everyone seems to really enjoy it."
"I wish I could have seen Charlie propose to Sue," Angela said. "I'll finally meet her tomorrow, too. It's crazy. It's like I suddenly married into this huge family."
"Uh, you basically did," Bella said, laughing.
"Do ordinary families hear their inlaws getting laid at four in the morning, Bella?" Angela asked, smirking.
Bella blushed. "Yeah, Jake was late for patrol today."
"You better be glad you can't have fucking puppies, Bella. You'd have so many kids already. Your ta-tas would hit your knees," Angela said.
Bella cackled and had to run for the bathroom after that.
When she returned to the kitchen, she had to shoo two cookie thieves away from a flustered Angela. Jacob and Embry both laughed like children with cookies in each hand.
"Asshats," Angie yelled after them as they fled the room.
"They were waiting for me to leave, weren't they?" Bella asked, laughing as she assessed the damage. "What did they do, eat two at a time?"
"Pretty much," Angie said, shaking her head.
"You're right. They are asshats," Bella said. "I'm trying to think of anything else that needs to be done before the morning."
"No," Angela said. "Absolutely not. You have been doing too much as it is. Your feet are already swollen, Bells. Go to bed. I'll finish these and clean up."
"Are you sure?" Bella asked, looking around at the mess.
"Absolutely. I'm not tired yet anyway," Angela said.
"Maybe you should try texting your mom from my phone," Bella suggested softly and laid her phone on the table. "Just in case your dad blocked your number or something. It couldn't hurt."
Angela looked from Bella to the phone and nodded before resuming her decorating. Bella turned and headed to bed, hoping like hell that Angie's mom at least called her daughter the next day.
(JPOV)
Christmas morning started off with a bang. Jacob woke up excited to find a winter wonderland outside as the snow fell in large, wet flakes.
It has snowed every Christmas since Bells moved home.
Jacob stripped in the kitchen doorway, leaving his sleep pants on the back of a chair. He stepped naked out into the snow and walked barefoot toward the trees. The smell of leech caught his attention, and he turned quickly.
He had never seen this particular red-eyed bloodsucker before, though he recognized the scent from two days ago. He barely had time to phase before the vampire flew at him. Jacob snapped his jaws at him as they collided, managing to rip one arm off as he kicked the rest of its body away from him. It slammed into the side of the house, and Jacob howled loudly. The vampire charged at him again as Embry flew out the kitchen door and phased. The lone bloodsucker had no chance against the two of them together, though the rest of the pack was surrounding them by the time they'd finished.
This is the second time this motherfucker has gotten onto the reservation, Sam yelled. What the hell are they doing here?
Why does it matter? He's a red-eyed fuck, and now he's dead. That's our job, Paul snarled.
We've got two pregnant imprints in my house, and this fuck was in my back yard, Paul. I want to know why he's here, too, Jacob said. He looked up to find Bella and Angela huddled together in the kitchen door, wide-eyed.
Besides that, there were three of them? Where are the other two? Leah pointed out calmly.
We need to search. Now, Sam ordered.
Merry fucking Christmas, Embry mumbled, darting off for his perimeter run.
Jacob walked up to the back door and whined. Jacob was not surprised that Bella knew what he needed, but he was surprised when she grabbed her kitchen matches and followed Jacob outside. She lit a match and tossed it onto the vamp's torso as Jacob began piling its limbs on top. Bella struck a second match to make sure it took and walked silently back into the house. Jacob watched as she put her arm around a trembling Angela and guided her into the living room. Seth stayed behind to keep an eye on the fire while Jacob headed off to patrol.
Seth alerted them as Emmett showed up at the house.
Bella must have called him, Jacob said. I'm glad he's there. Keep an eye out, Seth.
Will do, Seth answered.
The entire pack searched for nearly two hours but did not locate any other new trails or scents. Jacob headed back home, hoping that the incident that morning had not traumatized either of the girls too terribly.
When he got inside, he was surprised to find Bella still awake and making breakfast.
"Couldn't go back to sleep?" he asked her quietly as he leaned down to kiss her neck. She smirked at him as she turned off the stove and separated scrambled eggs between two plates for Jacob and Embry. The toaster popped, and she moved away to start buttering the toast slices. Embry walked into the kitchen and headed straight for the coffee pot.
Bella smiled as she held a plate out to each of them.
"Thank you, Bella," Embry said and sat at the table.
"Are you okay," Jacob asked her. "You just burned your first vamp out there. Are you freaking out?" He set his plate down and wrapped her in a hug.
"It was ...weird," she admitted. "But I just kept seeing that vampire charging at you. I wanted to make sure he didn't come back to do it again."
"Believe us, Bella, we understand," Embry said. Jacob rubbed her back affectionately and kissed her forehead.
"I think I'm going to lay back down. Emmett was here. He didn't stay long, but he said that they didn't know whoever it was," Bella said.
"I figured as much," Jacob said. "I would like to know why that leech has been hanging around here. Hopefully, his friends won't come back to check on him."
Bella shuddered and pulled Jake down for a quick kiss before heading back to bed.
"I should probably go check on Angie," Embry said around his last bite of food.
"Yeah," Jacob agreed. "The Cullens will be here at 10. I'm going to go sleep for a bit."
"Sounds like a plan, dude," Embry said as he rinsed his plate and put it in the dishwasher. Jacob did the same when he was finished. He took a quick shower, brushed his teeth, and attempted to quietly slip into bed next to Bella. Jacob reached over her to place his hand on her belly, and she hummed, stretching.
"You keep making noises like that, and neither of us will get a nap," Jacob whispered in her ear.
"I know you love to blame my pregnancy hormones, but you are just as bad as I am," she whispered back sleepily and turned to face him. Jacob snuggled her closer and sighed, tucking the top of her head under his chin before he fell asleep.
The morning with the Cullens went well. They sat together in the living room and discussed the future move to Port Angeles, among other things. They intended to keep the house in Forks for a few more years as a convenient place to be if they were needed.
As they were leaving, Rose pulled Jacob to the side.
"Can we talk for a moment?" She asked, "Alone?"
"Sure," he chuckled and led the way to his workshop. "I wanted to show you this anyway."
Rose gasped as she laid eyes on the cradle. "Wow, Mongrel. This is amazing."
"Thanks, Blondie," Jacob said. "Just have to finish carving it out. I'm going to stain it and paint the wolves in their actual coat colors."
"You never said you were an artist, Jacob. This is beautiful," Rose said. "This looks exactly like Leah."
"Emmett noticed her right off, too.' Jacob chuckled.
"Leah might not be fond of us leeches, but Emmett and I really enjoy her snarkiness," Rose admitted. "And, Bella really loves her."
"Bells loves everyone," Jacob said, rolling his eyes. "So, what did you want to talk about?" Rose walked over to him, holding out a narrow green box.
"What's this?" Jacob asked suspiciously, fully expecting to find a flea collar inside.
"Look and see," she said, grinning.
Jacob opened the box and gaped at the ten-inch knife in shock. The silver blade was fitted with a deerskin handle wrapped in sinew and adorned with beadwork.
"This is Ephriam's knife," Jacob said in disbelief.
"You recognize it?" Rose asked excitedly.
"Yeah, there is a picture of him holding it, looking all tough. It's hanging on one of the walls at the Tribal Council building," Jacob said, grinning. Rose gasped.
"Can you get a copy of it somehow?" Rose asked eagerly. "Jacob, you don't know what it would mean to me to see it."
Not for the first time, Jacob wondered just how close Rose and Ephriam had really been.
"I can try," he chuckled. "How did you get his knife?"
"He left it with me, actually. To remember him by. I told you, we were friends." Rose smiled down at the knife affectionately. "I made him a promise that if I ever decided to get rid of it that I would send it home. He believed it was special. Protective."
"So you've decided to get rid of it?" Jacob teased her.
"I decided that it belonged with you. It's an heirloom for your family. It needed to come home," Rose said. "I'm just glad that I got to meet and know the next generation of wolves to give it back to. I truly hope there won't be any reason for there to be another one."
"Well, I," Jacob said, surprising them both as he pulled her in for a hug, "am glad I've gotten to know you guys as well. You should consider writing down stories you have of Ephriam and the others. I think the Council would love to have them for the tribe's histories."
"I will definitely consider that," Rose said as she pulled away, chuckling. "You didn't even shiver. I'm impressed."
"Cold hands, warm heart, right?" Jacob said and winked at her. Rose looked at him as if she could have cried right then and there.
"Everything okay in here," Emmett asked, grinning from the doorway.
"Everything is great. See you soon, Jacob," she said as she walked over to take Emmett's hand.
"See you soon, guys," Jacob said and sat down to inspect Ephriam's knife. An idea struck him, and he jumped up to search for the plans he'd made for the necklace Emmett wanted for Rose. Jacob started to draw, making the adjustments it needed for his new idea.
He just hoped she would like it and that he wasn't stepping out of line.
First, he needed to go chat with Sue.
(BPOV)
Emily arrived just as the Cullens were leaving and greeted them all happily. Bella walked around cracking open the living room windows and added a log to the fireplace after they had gone.
Jacob claimed he needed to run an errand and left as Bella and Emily started on the rest of their planned holiday feast. Jacob returned nearly an hour later and headed straight for his workshop. Bella rolled her eyes at Emily as she heard one of his saws turn on.
"He's gonna need another damn shower," Bella chuckled.
"Hey, he's not in here underfoot asking for scraps," Emily said, grinning.
Sure enough, Jacob worked until the last minute. He ran straight for the shower as soon as people began to pile into the house bearing gifts and covered dishes.
Embry had returned from his mother's in a sour mood, though it didn't take long to lift his spirits once he was back among his brothers and Angela.
Angela's mother had not called, and she'd given up on hoping that she'd come by.
After dinner, gifts had been passed around. Jacob waited until everyone was done to pull a black box from his shirt pocket. Bella grinned as he handed it to her nervously.
"We said nothing for each other," she said and lifted the lid. Bella gasped at the delicately carved locket. "You made this for me?"
Jacob lifted it from the box and opened the locket for her.
"I figured we could put the kid's pictures in it for you," he said.
"Kids?" Paul said. "You know something we don't?"
"We plan on two," Bella said as she reached up to wipe a tear away. She took the locket from Jacob's hand to inspect it, turning over the back.
Most Ardently.
"I know I'm no Darcy, but I do love you more than anything," Jacob whispered. She gasped as he held up Sarah's engagement ring to her. Bella recognized it immediately. She had loved it as a child. Memories of sitting at the table with Sarah brought tears to her eyes. Bella sobbed with happy tears as she slid it onto her hand and hopped into his lap. She threw her arms around his neck to pull him down for a kiss. When they finally pulled apart, both were grinning at the mixture of cheers and laughter around them. Bella lifted her hair for Jacob to put the locket around her neck.
She laughed as she glanced over at Charlie and Billy, pointing them out to Jacob. Both men had tears in their eyes as they stared at her and grinned like drunken idiots. They raised their beer bottles to cheers as Bella shook her head.
"Hey, Pops, you owe me twenty bucks," Billy said, chuckling.
"Yeah, yeah, Grandpa," Charlie grumbled.
"That reminds me, Bella," Sue said, "Did you you know your dad and Billy had their own little private gift exchange yesterday?"
Charlie and Billy both groaned, laughing.
"These fools got each other t-shirts," Sue said. Charlie started laughing as he stood up and unbuttoned his flannel shirt. Underneath were the words, Pops is Tops.
"Hey!" Billy cheered happily.
"What's yours say, Billy?" Bella asked him.
Laughter rumbled through the room as Billy rolled his eyes and unbuttoned his top shirt to reveal the words, Grandpa Firewater.
"Hey!" Charlie cheered, and they laughed again. Bella sighed, shaking her head.
"We've recreated with these genetics, Jacob," she said, laughing.
"Do not remind me," he chuckled as he helped her to stand.
The wrapping paper mess was cleaned up and gifts set aside. Bella and Emily had made hot chocolate and homemade eggnog. The guitars came out again, which brought a genuine smile to Angela's face, finally. Despite Bella's disappointment for Angela over her mother, it had been an amazing Christmas. By the time everyone headed home, Bella was exhausted. She bid Angela and Embry goodnight, climbed into bed, and curled up into Jacob's arms.
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