Hello!!! Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thanks to George for her beta help!
In honor of my little "cousin", BlindingFirefly's birthday, I give to you Alice's Birthday!
DISCLAIMER: The characters do not belong to me…they are all the creation of the wonderful Stephenie Meyer.
Alice's Birthday
Alice's POV
"Please, Alice. You know you want to. Please tell me," Bella begged for the…I stopped counting after five so who knew what number we were really on.
"Pregnancy makes you nearly unbearable with your impatience," I told her, trying not to smile. I was secretly thrilled she wanted to know my big announcement so badly. Probably because I wanted to tell her just as much. She was really going to kill me, though—she didn't understand how hard it was to wait for everyone to be together during dinner. Lily was napping, the men were painting, and Rose and Esme had gone grocery shopping for my birthday dinner later on tonight. My dad was at the hospital, checking on one of his patients.
"It's not my impatience that's increased. It's my curiosity," Bella replied with a giggle. She looked down at her rounded belly and ran her hands across it. "Isn't that right, Little Man? Mommy has curiosity enough for two now."
"I can't wait for my stomach to look like that," I said wistfully. I lifted up my shirt and showed her my bump.
"What the heck are you talking about?" Bella asked, looking confused. "Alice, you're only fourteen weeks along and your stomach is quickly catching up with mine—and I'm twenty-six weeks. You're baby is of Emmett-sized proportions. I don't know how something that big is even fitting inside of your little body."
I shrugged. "He or she must have Jasper's long legs and needs the extra room."
"Or maybe your poor stomach just needs the room for all that food you've been wolfing down," she chuckled.
"Right," I snorted. "Because you weren't the one helping me to eat that gallon of ice cream last night."
"Ssh! Edward doesn't know," Bella giggled, looking toward the stairs. It was good to see her back to her old self—playful and enjoying herself.
It had been a month since Emmett's birthday party and James's twisted confession. The boy had at least been smart enough to follow Emmett's advice and he'd left town. Bella had felt awful and guilty that first week, having to mark him down with an unexcused absence each day. But then Edward had taken her away for the weekend. He'd whisked her off to Tacoma and took her to the Karpeles Manuscript Museum. Apparently, it was her sort of thing and she'd loved it. She'd certainly come home with a very different attitude and all of that guilt she'd been lugging around with her seemed to have melted away. I'd never seen her, or Edward, happier than they were right now.
"Alice, are you listening to me?" Bella chuckled, tossing a pillow at me. "Jeez! I make one little comment about shopping and you start tuning me out. Some best friend you are."
"Pregnancy space out," I shrugged. "Now, what were you saying about shopping?"
"Never mind. The important part is that we need more cookie dough ice cream," Bella said.
"Absolutely," I agreed. "Who should we send out for it?"
"I'd say Emmett, but since he was the one who ate all but a third of it before we could even find it, I'm pretty sure he'd just repeat his mistake."
"Gotta love your brother," I chuckled.
"So," Bella said, smiling as she hugged one of the sofa pillows to her chest. "Any clue on the sex yet?"
"It's phenomenal," I replied, knowing she'd been referring to my baby.
"Alice," Bella whined, tossing yet another pillow at me.
I caught it and laughed. "No, I still don't know about the sex of the baby. And I have ten more weeks before my first ultrasound that might be able to tell me."
"Don't count on it," Bella snorted. "We've tried twice so far to get a peek at this little guy, but we only see his butt. I've been pleading with him at night, though, when he's moving around and I know he's listening. I'm confident he's going to let us see tomorrow."
I got up from the loveseat and sat down next to Bella, putting my hand over my nephew. "Is that right, little nephew of mine? Is Monday going to be the lucky day? Are you finally going to behave and show your goods so your mommy can be proven right? I know it's fun to tease her, but it would mean a lot to your aunt if you could show yourself the right way tomorrow. I'll buy you something special."
"Alice, could you not bribe my son while he's still in the womb? You're going to do enough of that once he's actually born."
"You know me so well," I chuckled.
"You are my best friend," Bella sighed, hugging me. She sat up straight and a huge smile took over her face. "Let's go check on them."
I smiled, shaking my head at her. "Edward's going to have a fit." We'd been given strict instructions to remain downstairs and away from the paint fumes.
"We'll wear those painters mask things and he'll have to let me stay just long enough to see the walls."
"It's your funeral," I chuckled as we helped each other off the sofa.
"Besides, I'm craving a chicken burrito like there's no tomorrow."
"Really? I want buffalo wings and blue cheese dressing."
"And fries."
"We have to have fries."
"No, you have to get the fries and allow me to live vicariously through you. Salty foods don't agree with this little man so we can't have them until after he's born."
"I'll sneak you some."
"And give Edward a coronary? No thanks," Bella chuckled.
"He's such a party-pooper at times."
Her face broke out into a beautiful smile. "Yeah, but he loves me."
"Yes, he does," I agreed, giggling at her smile. It reminded me of how she'd been when she'd first fallen for my brother—giddy and ecstatic on a natural high of love and acceptance. "Here," I said, handing her one of the masks from the coffee table. "Put this on and then we'll toddle our way up those stairs."
With careful steps and a stop at each landing, we safely made our way to the third floor and the room that was slowly becoming a nursery for Edward and Bella's baby. She and I lingered in the doorway, unseen and unheard, just watching Edward, Jasper, and Emmett paint.
The three of them were singing along with the radio and banging their heads. Edward's hair was, of course, getting the biggest work out—it never had been much for staying in one place. Jasper's hair was really too short for this sort of thing, but he did it so gracefully that it was still fun to watch. And Emmett's brown hair flopped back and forth across his head as he shook his hips in time with the music.
Your mouth, so hot
Your web, I'm caught
Your skin, so wet
Black lace on sweat
I hear you calling and it's needles and pins
I want to hurt you just to hear you screaming my name
Don't want to touch you but you're under my skin
I want to kiss you but your lips are venomous poison
You're poison running through my veins
You're poison, I don't wanna break these chains
Poison
One look could kill
My pain, your thrill
I want to love you but I better not touch
I want to hold you but my senses tell me to stop
I want to kiss you but I want it too much
I want to taste you but your lips are venomous poison
I cleared my throat loudly, scaring all three of them and making them jump. "We sure hope you boys aren't singing about Bella, Rose, and little old me."
"Because if you are, our feelings would be very, very hurt," Bella said, playing along with me. She was learning well from Rose and me, tossing in a deep pout for extra effect.
Emmett snorted and rolled his eyes. "It's a song. Get over it."
"And if Rose was here?" I challenged.
"I'd be groveling on the ground at her beautiful feet. But she's not, so there," he said, poking his tongue at us.
"Real mature," Bella sighed, shaking her head at her brother.
Emmett shrugged his big shoulders. "Not my fault you girls can't appreciate the master of head banging rock, Alice Cooper. If you could, you would know 'Poison' is one of the best songs ever recorded."
"Jasper?" I asked, turning my head to see his face.
"What was the question?" he asked, smirking a little as he put more paint on his roller.
Edward put down his own roller and walked over to us. "While Emmett's not all that tactful, he is right. It's just a song. We wouldn't sing anything bad about the wonderful woman who married us."
"Suck up," I whispered, making Bella giggle.
"With that being said…Isabella Marie Cullen, if you don't get out of this room right—" Edward started.
Bella held up her hand and interrupted him. "Hold your horses, Tutor-boy. I just want to see. Besides, I have a mask on."
"Jasper? Emmett? Some help here?" Edward pleaded.
"So, Jasper, do you see the way my brush strokes flow next to the window frame without touching?" Emmett asked, turning his back on Edward.
"I see it perfectly," Jasper chuckled. He turned his head toward me and smiled sweetly. "Alice, just a few minutes, okay?"
"That's all I planned on, Baby," I replied, returning his smile.
"See, Edward?" Bella said, waving her finger between Jasper and me. "That's the way to get a nice reaction from your pregnant wife. Demanding she leave her son's room before even seeing it just ensures your torture later on."
Edward laughed as he took Bella into his arms and kissed her cheek. "I love you. Even when you make me want to tear my hair out."
Bella chuckled as her hands went up to stroke my brother's hair. "Don't do that, Honey. I love this messy pile you call hair. It's one of my favorite parts of you."
"I bet I know the other," Emmett said, making his eyebrows move up and down.
"Anyway," Bella said loudly, attempting to ignore her big brother. "This silvery blue is perfect. It really makes his bed stand out."
"As I knew it would," I chirped. After all, I had planned this room out, down to the last diaper and bootie—even if Bella hadn't let me buy the diapers or booties yet. She could be so stubborn! She said I had to wait until the week after the baby shower. She knew it was going to be huge and that she'd get lots of gifts and she wanted me to wait and see what she would actually need.
"Great," Edward replied, grinning at Bella. "Now get out."
"Fine, Mr. Grouchy," Bella grumped, taking her arms away from Edward.
His face softened and he hugged her. "Paint fumes, Bella. That's the only reason I want you to leave."
"Mask, Edward," she chuckled, letting his smile lift her mood.
"Goodbye, Love," he chuckled, kissing her forehead.
"Bye," Bella replied, shaking her head at him as she walked over to me. "Oh, Alice and I have food requests," she said, turning just a little to see Edward's face. "I want a chicken burrito with rice, chicken, tomatoes, lettuce and sour cream. No cheese. Be very specific about that. I'm not in a cheese mood."
"Yes, Ma'am," Edward chuckled. "And you, Ali?"
"Buffalo wings with blue cheese dressings. And don't let them skimp on the celery sticks," I told him. "And fries. A large fry, very little salt. I'm not in a salty mood today," I added. I hoped getting low salt fries would make it okay for me to sneak one or two to Bella.
"Jazz and I will handle the wings and get some for us," Emmett said. "Ed, you get the burrito."
"If it's okay with the ladies, I'd prefer for us to finish this first coat of paint before we leave," Edward replied, looking at Bella and me.
"Absolutely, little brother," I chirped. "We'll be in your room, watching a movie." I took hold of Bella's arm and we crossed the hall together. Once we were settled in her bed with all of those pillows propping us up just the right way, we both let out content sighs.
"This is heaven," I murmured.
"No, this is relaxation. Heaven would be if you were Edward," Bella corrected with a little laugh.
"And you would be Jasper," I sighed, snuggling further into the pillows. "My mother did a great job with this bed."
"Yes, she did. She has some wonderful ideas for the nursery too," Bella yawned. "They all compliment your ideas, of course," she added quickly.
"That's as it should be since she taught me."
"Yes, but you definitely take it to a whole other level."
"And you love me for it."
"Yep," Bella chuckled.
I took her hand and smiled at her. "Bells, I know you said you didn't want to talk about it again, but I can't seem to let it go just yet. I feel like I need to apologize to you."
"For what?" she asked, her forehead creasing up a little.
"For helping to cause you to feel like you couldn't talk to us about what you were going through with the pregnancy. We all just jumped right into focusing on the baby and your health. We forgot you might have concerns beyond that. And as your best friend, I should have been here for you."
"What was I supposed to say to you, Alice? Hey, our family is showering me with love and support, and your brother is the most attentive husband ever, but I hate the attention and want a few minutes to myself before I scream. And by the way, I'm not selfish at all."
"Yeah, I think that would have been the perfect thing to say," I said honestly. "It would have been easy to tell that you were frustrated and feeling a little lost and a lot overwhelmed."
"How could I come to you with that, though? You were dealing with your own thing, even though I didn't know what it was at the time. You would have listened to my whining and absolutely hated me for it. I'd have been sitting there complaining about being pregnant when it was the one thing you wanted most. I would have hated me for it."
"No, Bella. I could never hate you. You're my sister, and I love you. I can't promise I would have necessarily understood because of my own issues, but I still would have tried to help you."
"The guys are really doing a great job with the walls. And I didn't even see that much paint on the protective sheets," she said, forcing a subject change on us.
"They're putting the same care into that room that they put into Lily's," I told her. I could tell she needed me to let this go for now, so I would do that for her. I would be the best friend she should have had and that she needed months ago.
"I love her lavender walls," Bella continued. "If this had been a girl, I think that's the color I would have wanted."
"Mommy" came through the baby monitor in Lily's sweet voice. Bella and I exchanged a glance before laughing.
"Guess she knew we were talking about her," Bella chuckled. "I'll get her."
"Nope," I said, putting my hand on her arm. "Even with my odd proportions, I'm more balanced on my feet than you. I'll get her and be right back."
"Oh, fine," Bella huffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"Don't pout. Spend that energy on picking a movie for us to watch when I get back." I left the room and peeked in on the boys. They were laughing about something as they finished up the walls. They'd probably be out the door before I made it back upstairs with Lily. At least they would if they knew what was good for them—pregnant women should never be left hungry for long.
I opened the door to Lily's room and found her standing in her crib, a huge smile on her little face. "Hello, Princess."
"Amice," she chuckled, opening her arms to me.
"Alice. Ah-liss. Can you say it with the 'l'?" I asked, lifting her from her crib.
She smiled and nodded her head. "Amice," she said, looking so proud of her self.
I couldn't help but laugh. "Sure, Sweetheart. That's right." I brought her over to her changing table and laid her down gently. "No squirming around while I put a fresh diaper on you, young lady," I warned.
"Mommy?"
"She's at the store with Grandma."
"Daddy?"
"Daddy is with Uncle Jasper and Uncle Edward. And if he's smart, he's on his way to get food for Aunt Bella and me."
"Bee-Bee?" she giggled, clapping her hands together.
"You'll see her soon, Princess."
One diaper change and a fresh bottle of juice later, Lily and I were in bed with Bella. "There's my favorite little girl," Bella said, kissing Lily's cheek.
"Bee-bee," Lily giggled, snuggling right up into her aunt's arms. "Baby?" Lily asked, putting her hand on Bella's stomach.
"Yeah, he's still in there," Bella chuckled. "We have about fourteen more weeks before he gets here. And you're going to love him and take care of him, aren't you?"
Lily kissed Bella's stomach. "Love baby."
"That's right," I said, settling Lily between us. "You'll love all the babies in the family and take up for them. And don't you worry, Lily Bear, no matter how many babies we bring into this family, you'll always be the princess. That's your right as first born."
"You should know," Bella teased, smiling at me.
"You're just jealous," I joked, poking my tongue at her.
Lily looked between Bella and me and then poked her little tongue at the both of us.
"Nice, Alice. Glad you could teach her that," Bella sighed, shaking her head.
"It's fine. I'll blame it on Emmett," I chirped.
"Let's just watch the movie," Bella replied, trying not to laugh.
We were right in the middle of "moving it" with Lily during Madagascar when the bedroom door opened and Jasper's voice rang out over the television and the baby's giggles. "Emmett, that's the most disgusting thing you've said yet. Why do you always have to be such a dickhead?"
"Jasper Hale," I yelled as Bella gasped and put her hands over Lily's ears.
"What?" he barked, turning his head toward us. As soon as his eyes landed on Lily, a look of regret filled his face. "I'm sorry. I didn't know she was in here."
Lily pulled on Bella's hands, smiling wide as she sang her newly learned word. "Dickhead. Dickhead. Dickhead."
Emmett rushed into the room, looking petrified, and lifted Lily up into his arms. "Princess, that's not a nice word. Let's say something else, okay? How about 'chipmunk'? Isn't that a chipmunk on the TV?"
"It's a lemur," Bella corrected.
"Lemur! There's a fun word," Emmett said, giving Lily a big fake smile. "Say 'lemur', Princess."
"Dickhead," Lily chuckled, throwing her little arms up into the air.
"Jazz, you are so dead," Bella chuckled.
Emmett's face fell as he looked over at us. "Rosie's going to blame me."
"I'll fess up," Jasper told him. "Don't worry about it."
"Maybe we'll get lucky and she'll have forgotten about it by tonight," Edward offered. "For now, let's just eat and let Lily finish her movie. She might find something in the movie she wants to repeat more than that particular word."
"God, those wings smell heavenly," I sighed, my mouth watering just a little.
The guys passed out the food and the six of us enjoyed our mid-day snack. We were careful to only give Lily a few things here and there, not wanting to spoil her appetite for dinner tonight. She was more interested in jumping on the bed anyway.
Once the guys were done eating, they headed back to the nursery to hopefully get the second coat of paint on before dinner. They had more than enough time as long as they didn't start arguing or playing around—avoiding those two things was almost an impossibility for them. But with Edward anxious to have the painting completed and Jasper looking for forgiveness for teaching Lily a naughty word, I had faith in them.
Finally, finally, finally, it was dinner time. I wanted to make my announcement right away, but Jasper said we needed to wait until my cake was in front of me. And because he had the perfect wish in mind, I was happy to listen to him.
Dinner was going well, with everyone enjoying the meal. My mom and Rose had made us a roast chicken with mashed potatoes, rolls, corn, and macaroni and cheese. That last side item was one that Bella had gotten me to fall in love with and it tasted better now than it ever had before.
"Bells, do our taste buds get better with pregnancy?" I asked. I didn't recall reading about that in any of my baby books.
"I don't know," she chuckled. "But some days, it seems that way."
"Lily, you need to take one more bite if you want cake later," Rose said, trying to coax her daughter to eat just a little more.
Lily shook her head no and pushed Rose's hand away.
"One more little bite, Lily," Rose pleaded.
"Come on, Lily Bear. Take one more bite for your mommy," Jasper said. "I'll make sure Aunt Alice gets you a piece of cake with a flower on it."
Lily looked up at Jasper and smiled wide—and I saw it coming before her lips even moved. "Dickhead," she yelled triumphantly.
Rose dropped the spoon and it clattered loudly against Lily's highchair tray, especially since no one else was speaking or moving. Rosalie's blonde hair spun through the air as she whipped her head around to look at Emmett. "What did you do, Emmett Swan?" There wasn't a grown man on the planet who wouldn't cower away from the look on her enraged face.
Emmett raised both hands up into the air and leaned back in his chair. "Not me. Not this time."
"It was me," Jasper admitted. "I didn't know she was in the room. I was arguing with Emmett and I spoke without thinking."
"And neither of you thought this was information I needed to know?" she asked, her cheeks bright red and her eyes narrowed as they darted between her brother and her husband.
"Well, she stopped saying it," Jasper replied. "We thought she'd just forget about it."
"Jasper, I expect this sort of thing from Emmett, but not you," Rose sighed, shaking her head. "What am I going to do? It's not like she understands why the word is so bad."
"You'll have to ignore it, I'm afraid," my father said, drawing all of our attention to him. "It's hard to do, but it's the only thing that works."
"And he should know," Esme chuckled. "He taught Alice to say a particular four letter word that is commonly used in reference to stinky piles."
"No way!" we all yelled. I hadn't even known I'd done that.
"How long did I say it for?" I asked.
My dad's face reddened a little as he looked from my mother to me. "Two weeks. You turned it into a Christmas carol and sang it for your mother's garden party. I do believe it's the only time Esme has ever considered divorcing me."
"We finally have something in common, Carlisle," Emmett said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "One of the few times Charlie and Renee ever grounded me was for Squirt overhearing something I'd said."
"Oh, no," Bella sighed, dropping her head into her hands. "Em, please don't."
"Bells, this is a great story," he said, smiling at her head.
"No, it isn't," she argued.
"So Bells was eavesdropping on her big brother one day while he and a friend were discussing a few finer points of life. This just happened to be the same day that our parents were taking us to the mall so Bella could chat with the Easter bunny and my mom could have a goofy picture of her two children with a dude in a bunny costume. So six-year-old Bella, with her pigtails and her stuffed dog under one arm, marches right up to the Easter Bunny, ready to have a chat with him. She sits down on his knee and smiles all sweet at him. And then she opens her mouth and lets it fly." Emmett paused and looked over at Rosalie. "You might want to cover her ears for this one."
"You can tell me later. She needs a diaper change anyway," Rose said, getting up and taking Lily with her.
When Emmett was sure his daughter was out of hearing distance, he continued his story. "So Bella's sitting on this poor, clueless Easter Bunny. She looks him right in the eyes and asks him a question I'm sure he's never been asked before or since. 'Easter Bunny, if you shit chocolate bunnies, does that mean Jelly Beans are your buggers?'"
"Em-mett," Bella whined. Even with her hands over her face, I could tell she was blushing—her ears were bright red.
"Oh, my," Esme said, barely keeping herself from laughing.
"Definitely worth a grounding," Jasper chuckled, bumping his fist against Emmett's.
"Finer points of life?" Edward snorted. "Really, Emmett?"
"What can I say?" Emmett shrugged with a huge grin on his face. "I've always been one to think outside the box."
"Emmett, as much as we love you, I'm glad you weren't here to teach Alice and Edward those things," Carlisle said.
Bella finally lifted her head, smiling at her big brother. "Wasn't that your longest grounding ever?"
"Yep," Emmett chuckled. "Two months of no television, no friends, and I was banned from touching Easter candy that year."
"Ouch," Jasper said with a smirk.
"It wasn't that bad," Emmett replied, smiling at his sister. His eyes were full of so much love for her that it almost felt a little private to witness it. "Squirt snuck me half of her candy the first chance she got."
"It was technically my fault. I should have asked you instead of the bunny," Bella told him.
"So was it as horrible as Bella feared?" Rose asked, coming back into the room with Lily.
"And then some," Edward confirmed, laughing a little.
"Jazz, I think it's cake time," I announced.
"Alice, you and Bella are the only ones who've finished dinner," he replied.
I smiled sweetly at him, knowing he would pick up on my feelings of frustration. I wanted to share my secret and I wanted to do it now; selfish, I know, but I was pregnant and entitled to a little bit of selfish behavior. "Jazz, cake."
"Right away," he said, getting up from his chair.
"And milk," Bella added.
"I'll get it," Edward offered, following Jasper into the kitchen.
"So is it the cake you want so badly? Or to tell that news of yours?" Rose chuckled.
"It's about sixty-five, thirty-five with news in the lead," I told her.
Jasper and Edward returned a few minutes later with my cake and a tray of milk glasses. I waited as patiently as I could while my family sang "Happy Birthday" to me, and then Jasper and I blew out the candles together, both making the same exact wish.
"Can I tell them now?" I asked, smiling up at him.
"Go on before you burst," he chuckled, kissing my lips lightly.
I clapped my hands and squealed as I turned my head to look at my wonderful family—a family I was going to help make bigger and more wonderful. "So we had our visit with my doctor on Wednesday. He was a little concerned with my weight-gain at first. But after looking at a few things, he concluded it was perfectly normal."
"Pixie, speak English," Emmett demanded.
I looked up at Jasper and smiled, taking hold of the hand he'd had on my shoulder, and then turned back to our family. "We're having twins."
"No shit!" Emmett blurted out with wide eyes.
Rose started laughing and pointing at us while Bella started crying and Edward attempted to calm his wife. My mother was also crying, leaning into my father who had a proud smile on his face.
"I think they took the news rather well," Jasper chuckled, pressing his lips to my cheek. "I love you, Alice. Thank you for the two little miracles you're giving us."
"Thank you for not freaking when the doctor told us," I said, laughing a little.
"Rose, why are you laughing?" Jasper asked. "I expected you to be happy, but you're more amused than anything."
"Because!" Rose replied, smiling wide. "The little pixie you married made sure I had a girl as my first baby. So I tossed a little of her fairy magic back at her and now she's having twins."
"Bella, why are you crying?" Edward asked softly, running his hands over her hair. It was growing fast and was now to the middle of her back.
"Because I'm happy," she sobbed.
"Makes total sense," Emmett said, rolling his eyes. Rose was sweet enough to smack him for all of us.
"So that's my big news," I chirped, glad that everyone was pleased with my news. Not that I'd doubted they would be.
"Three babies this year," my mother sighed, wiping her eyes.
"We're going to be very busy grandparents," my dad chuckled. "Think we can handle it?"
My mom smiled and her green eyes sparkled as she looked up at my dad. "I think that anything is possible in this family."
"So for my birthday, she announces she's pregnant. For her own birthday, she tells us it's twins. What in the heck are you going to do for Edward's birthday next month?" Emmett asked.
Before I could answer, Jasper started to talk. "I'd like us to wait until after we've all eaten to open Alice's gifts, but there is one I feel she should have now," he said, completely surprising me. These babies were really throwing me off, but it was wonderful to be surprised and the reason for it was even more amazing.
"You know I'm always up for a gift," I teased, smiling at him.
He kissed my cheek and then disappeared from the room, returning with a circular tube, like the kind posters are put in.
"What in the world fits in that and has you excited enough to give it to me now?" I asked, taking the tube from him.
"You're going to have to open it and see, Ali," he replied, squatting down next to me. He helped me to pull the cap off and then shake the papers out of it while Emmett and Rosalie cleared off our end of the dinner table. Edward came over and helped Jasper to unroll the pages and lay them flat in front of me.
Now that I could see them, I knew exactly what they were. "Jasper, you didn't," I gasped, running my fingers over the beautiful lines before me.
"Of course, I did," he chuckled, placing a soft kiss on my cheek. "I'm going to have to make a few alterations for the babies, like moving these closets and having an adjoining door between the rooms, but other than that, this is your future home, Mrs. Hale."
"Jazz," I sobbed, latching my arms around his neck. "It's so perfect."
"Only the best for you and our family, Alice." He held me tighter and whispered softly, saying the words he'd professed to me at every new and exciting turn in our relationship..."I can only ever give you everything."
I pulled back and kissed his lips, hoping he could feel all of the wonderful things he'd stirred inside of me with his words and his gift. Looking into his loving eyes, I knew I had so much to be thankful for and so many wonderful people surrounding me. And now, I would have children to share this amazing life with. I'd always felt like I had a pretty lucky life and after going through the scare of possible infertility and coming out the other end with twins, I knew it was a blessed life. So that's why this year, as Jasper and I blew out the candles of my cake, the only thing we'd wished for was healthy babies.
And the best part of knowing I was having twins was that I was fairly certain my little extra sight wasn't as broken as I'd thought. I was still alternating between seeing myself with a little black haired boy and a blonde-haired girl, but now I believed that to mean I would be having one of each. Two beautiful children to add to our loving family.