Author's Note

Please forgive any spelling and/or grammar errors. I hope you enjoy it, please let me know what you think!

Here it is… the final chapter! Thank you to anyone that stuck with this and read the entire story. Originally, this series was going to be a trilogy, with the third story about their son, Jensen, but there hasn't been as much interest in this story as I'd hoped, and I have a few other ideas I really want to work on, so I'm going to focus on those instead. Maybe someday I'll revisit this.

This chapter is meant to be mostly teasing glimpses at the future just so you know it's all happily ever after, sunshine and rainbows - that sort of thing. At least between chapter 19 and the end of this chapter...

The theme song for this chapter is A Thousand Years by Christina Perri.

PS I'm not Stephenie Meyer, so I don't own anything :(

Ch 20: The Reason for Existing

Year 17 - 2023-2024

September

"Do you have a minute?" Ness asked nervously, chewing on her thumb nail the way she always did when her brain was on overload and she couldn't focus or see a clear solution to a problem.

He'd been getting ready to head to work, nearly finished with his breakfast, but one look at her and he decided she was worth being late. Honestly, it was a no brainer. Ness always came first - she was his top priority.

"For you, I have all the time in the world," Jacob said, holding out his hand to her. Ness rushed to his side, letting him pull her onto his lap.

"Do you remember when we went to Croatia?" she asked, flushing and smiling a little as she mentioned the trip they'd taken for their seventh wedding anniversary.

"Ness, that was less than three weeks ago. And considering what we got up to, I'm not likely to forget it anytime soon," Jacob teased, brushing a kiss across her cheek.

They'd had the whole trip planned, but somehow all the various places and activities ended up scraped in favor of enjoying long hours in the hotel tangled up with each other. No phones. No family. No worries. No distractions. It'd been bliss. Utter bliss.

"Speaking of what we got up to… I'm-pregnant," Ness announced, the last two words slurred together and difficult to comprehend. Just as he started to decipher them, she continued, "I just spoke to Grandpa, and that's what he thinks is happening, at least."

Nessie scanned his face. Her chocolate eyes flicked rapidly back and forth between his, and a deep wrinkle carved a groove above her nose. She was… But how?

"He replaced your IUD just before we left," Jacob said stupidly, not really understanding how this could have happened.

"Grandpa said it must have fallen out because it's not there now - I triple checked," she murmured, wringing her hands. He caught them with his own, carefully untangling them and weaving his fingers between hers to clasp them tightly.

"That's why your family is coming to visit," he stated, suddenly understanding why she'd called her parents the night before and extended the impromptu invitation for everyone to come visit that weekend. "Wait, how long have you suspected?"

"Three days," she admitted, wincing guiltily. "Sorry I didn't say anything - I know I should've, but... I wanted to be sure. I talked to Grandpa this morning - I couldn't wait until he got here tonight, and I just took a test," she said quietly, the words barely louder than the sound of her exhale.

"And it was positive?" Jacob asked, anxious for that substantial proof.

Ness opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Instead, she pressed her hand to his cheek and showed herself coming out to tell him as soon as she'd taken it rather than waiting the requisite three minutes.

Jacob stood up, nearly tumbling Ness to the floor in his haste. Catching her around the waist, he righted her, then grabbed her hand and began pulling her towards the stairs.

"Come on!" he yelled, racing to their bathroom, and dragging her along behind him.

"Jake! Hold on," Ness gasped, grabbing his arm and planting her feet as she skidded to a stop. Her resistance hauled him back and prevented him from entering the bathroom. He looked back at her and immediately detected her chalky, washed-out features.

"Ness, I love you - no matter what," he vowed, dropping her hand in favor of cupping her cheeks and hauling her close for a kiss. Never-sated passion took over at once, deepening the kiss. There was a new depth to it, this latest development shifting things between them in some indefinable, yet very perceptible way.

"Jake," Ness gasped, tearing her mouth away and burying her face against his shoulder.

This wasn't planned. They'd not discussed the possibility. Not since just after their wedding when they'd decided to wait for the decade mark before discussing it again. They were careful not to take chances. Always so very careful. Years ago they'd decided that when the time was right, Carlisle would run a battery of tests to figure out how dangerous it would be before they even attempted to have a child, neither willing to give up the other if it proved too dangerous. But it seemed the choice may have been taken out of their hands. The only thing left to do was find out for certain if it had.

"I know you're scared, but we have to know," Jacob said, running his hand over the back of her head, and wrapping her tightly in his arms.

He knew, even without her saying it, that she was more afraid this was a false alarm than she was of the risks involved. Now that the possibility was out there, he wanted it to be true so much himself.

Jacob eased forward, poking his head into the bathroom to stare at the little stick she'd left on the counter. The oval window clearly said pregnant in a neat blue script of tiny block letters.

"Does that mean… is that," he tried, not entirely sure how the thin bit of plastic worked or if he was even seeing clearly. Maybe he was simply projecting what he desperately wanted it to say.

Nessie's head turned, and her arms tightened about his middle as she gazed upon the same thing he was looking at. "Yes."

"We're really having a baby?"

"Yes, Jacob," she confirmed.

Jacob dropped to his knees pressing his ear to her belly. He could just make out the faintest sounds, but part of him wondered if he was imagining things merely because he wanted them so badly. Nessie laughed, and wove her fingers tenderly into his hair, watching him with glassy eyes, a smile stretching her lips.

Images of Jacob cradling a tiny bundle wrapped in a white blanket that fit neatly into his two giant hands filled his head. His size dwarfed the infant, making it appear even smaller. Then Jacob was splashing in the waves off First Beach, scooping up a giggling little boy and tossing him into an oncoming wave the way he used to with Ness. Next he was in the garage, holding a tire while a little girl, her hair in pigtails, was tightening a lug nut.

It was perfect. Precisely what he wanted too. A simple, happy future with his family.

A tendril of fear crept in, attempting to overshadow his joy. Because now that she'd spoken up, he realized all the little changes already evident in her body - changes that had happened far too fast. The idea of this turning out to mirror Bella's pregnancy in any way was terrifying.

"Are you safe?" he asked in a choked whisper.

"I don't know. I guess we'll see," Nessie murmured, running her fingers soothingly through his hair, petting him the way she had a habit of doing when he wore his wolf fur. She didn't sound scared, only resolute.

"Ness, my Ness," he said, taking his cue from her, and pressing kisses to the soft skin of her belly over where their baby was currently residing.

"You're happy then? Even though this wasn't planned, and -"

"I love you. I love you, and our baby. I always will. This happened because it was meant to - I know it," Jake rushed to reassure her. They'd handle this the way they handled everything else - together.

Three days later, every single member of the Cullen family had invaded his home. It was the first time they'd ever shown up en mass. Jacob didn't even mind. Not when they made Nessie smile so delightedly.

His family was there as well. His father, Rachel, Paul, and even Thomas. Though Thomas was twitchy and looking a bit wild-eyed surrounded by so many vampires. He'd shifted the year before, when he'd gone to visit Jacob while he knew Bella and Jasper were visiting. Rachel had wanted him to wait another year, but he'd snuck over, enlisting Nicky, currently a senior on the reservation, to drive him and shifted within minutes of encountering the two Cullen vamps.

"The ultrasound isn't working," Carlisle announced, frowning at the blank screen.

Jacob didn't know why he'd bothered with it. They'd tried the day they arrived too, and it hadn't worked any better then when they'd unpacked the three vehicles they'd arrived in, bringing the contents of a fully stocked emergency room with them for the visit. So far nothing had been needed.

At least nothing that was actually working on her.

Nessie was nearly as durable as her family. Of course the ultrasound wouldn't work. It was that fact that was keeping Jacob from freaking out. She was so much stronger than Bella had been. And the baby was just a little bit more human.

Plus, by this point, Bella had been less than a week from giving birth. Her entire pregnancy lasted less than a month total. Ness only looked like she was approaching her fourth month. It seemed like simply acknowledging the baby's existence had given it permission to grow overnight though. The baby bump so much more pronounced already.

Jacob exchanged looks with Edward. In an instant, a new dynamic formed between them. But Jacob wouldn't let fear rule his actions, nor would he let Edward make the same mistakes again. Helped that the brooding vampire now had Maggie. She grounded him in a way none of his family had ever managed to.

"Guys, stop. I feel fine," Nessie promised, holding out her hand and expecting Jacob to take it. He didn't make her wait.

"The pregnancy is accelerated," Jake stated, reaching to tuck Ness's curls behind her ear. She felt normal, same temperature as always and not clammy or dry. Bella hadn't. He remembered. It had to be a good sign.

"Yes, but not nearly as much as Bella's was. Less than a quarter as fast by my estimation," Carlisle replied, measuring Ness's waist. She rolled her eyes at Jacob. Dimly, he recalled when Carlisle used to measure her multiple times a day. He wondered when that stopped.

It reminded him of the conversation they'd had the night before. Ness had hated how obsessed her family had been with her rapid aging. The graveyard pall it had cast over the first year of her life - the only time she'd truly been a child. They'd agreed that no matter what, they'd not do the same.

Their little one could be part vampire and immortal. The child could be a wolf shifter that one day imprints before choosing to age and die with his love. Perhaps he or she might be entirely human and ultimately decide to become a vampire the way Bella did. Or the baby could be a hybrid that ages rapidly with immortality never setting in. None of that took into account accidents. Because there was never a guarantee. Even with immortals.

Regardless, they'd made the decision together to love the child unconditionally, and not waste time worrying, or unintentionally hurt their baby by focusing on their concerns rather than the time they had.

Ness would never tell Bella how much it had hurt her that her mother seemed more afraid of her aging than missing out on her childhood. It was understandable given Bella's own childhood - or lack thereof. But instead, they vowed not to make the same mistakes.

"She's already showing and it's not even been a month," Bella moaned fearfully, voicing Jacob's own concern, and curling into Jasper's side.

"That's because she's having twins. Don't you hear the individual heart beats?" Carlisle revealed amid a roomful of incredulous gasps.

Only Edward appeared unsurprised, likely having already heard as much in Carlisle's mind. Instead, he'd plastered on a reasonably believable smile for his daughter. Too bad his stiff posture ruined his attempt at appearing happy for her rather than terrified out of his mind.

Jacob found it easier to momentarily think about Edward's reaction than his own.

Twins.

Twins!

Twins...

Twins?

No… except his family had unfalteringly had a set in every generation for as far back as the records went. There was no rhyme or reason to it. It didn't matter that the trait should only be passed down through the females in his line. And yet Dr. Vamp was right. Jacob could hear the dual beats.

Jacob looked to Billy. His dad's lips were pressed tightly together, smothering a grin. Likely, he was remembering when it had been his wife pregnant with twins. Jacob was so grateful he dad had managed to stick around long enough to be part of this. He'd be eternally in Carlisle's debt for all the work he'd done to ensure it.

"Congratulations," Carlisle added, tenderly smiling at his granddaughter. The lack of concern he showed at this latest development eased Jake quite a bit. Twins increased the likelihood of complications, but Jacob knew Ness was strong. She could do this. They both could.

"Jacob, say something," Ness begged, searching his face for an honest reaction to the news.

"At least they won't out number us. We can totally handle twins," he said, nodding confidently. Her answering smile was blindingly bright.

The entire pregnancy was monitored closely. And by entire, that meant just over four months. The process more closely followed her aging, each day equaling two, but with it being twins, she didn't go full term. Carlisle speculated that the duration of her pregnancy meant the twins would grow into immortality as well, but at a slower rate than Nessie's had.

Ness's body really was better suited for the growing and carrying supernatural babies. She experienced none of the complications that Bella had. No broken bones. No wild temperature fluctuations. No dietary constrictions.

The only thing that really changed was that she needed to feed more frequently. A lot more frequently, actually. So much, that Jacob was no longer able to be her primary donor. She still drank from him, a little bit each day, but she had to supplement it with blood bags and human food - cheese and bean pupusas in particular.

It was because of that, that her family learned Nessie fed on him. Well, apart from Edward who had no doubt already seen something about it in one of their heads. But talk about awkward!

"Kinky," Emmett remarked, smirking evilly.

"This is exactly why the privacy has come in so handy the last few years," Jacob said, glancing around his house.

"Hey! I wasn't judging, but you have to admit -"

"Emmett, shut up," Bella snapped.

She, more than the others, had been on edge since learning of her daughter's pregnancy. She wanted her daughter to experience the joy she herself had, and would always support her, but Bella was scared. Enough of her memories from that time had survived her transition intact.

Esme, with Alice and Maggie's help, had initiated a move from their current home in Boston to Vancouver so the family would be a little less than three hours away. They all wanted to be part of the twins' childhood, and Jacob was glad they'd be closer for Nessie's sake. Somehow motherhood had acted as the necessary catalyst to make them see and treat her as another adult among them, rather than the family's collective baby.

Carlisle had already been a frequent visitor, flying in every two months to check on Billy. He'd needed surgery twice more over the years, and various therapy three more times, but he was still hanging in there. Privately, Jacob thought it was because he was stubbornly trying to hold up his end of the promise he'd made Ness about sticking around long enough to meet his grandkids.

It was worth the four month wait when he held his perfect twin daughters for the first time. The girls were beautiful. They reminded Jacob of Nessie when she'd been a baby with their perfectly symmetrical features and extraordinary beauty, except they didn't have a full set of teeth and they'd inherited their coloring from him. Large, dark, onyx eyes and a cap of shiny, stygian hair. One of the girls was a slightly deeper shade of glimmering russet than the other's fairer golden, but both had the luminescent quality that Ness's skin held.

For nearly a decade, Jacob had believed that he was finally complete. Nessie was the missing piece of himself that he'd always needed in order to know true happiness. He was nearly immortal and needed to make heaven on earth because there would never be an afterlife for him - not so long as Ness drew breath. But the very moment his daughters were born, he redefined happiness. Redefined the meaning of being complete.

It was like imprinting. His heart swelled, growing impossibly bigger - so big his chest nearly couldn't contain its mass. Gravity shifted. His world tilted on its axis, only to right itself with a whole new focus. The only thing that made sense was at the center of it all - his three girls.

Names had taken weeks to decide. Jacob had put his foot down over anything too unusual while Ness had insisted the names had to be meaningful. In the end, they'd decided on Sarah Rose, after Jacob's mother and Rosalie, and Bryana Jasmine, after Embry and Jasper. Blondie had been so moved that she'd gone a whole week without insulting Jacob after they were born. Probably the most boring things had ever been with her around. He much preferred the teasing banter and pseudo antagonism.

Year 20 - 2026-2027

Jacob was crawling around on the floor with two giggling girls draped across his back like sacks of grain. Carlisle had been right about their aging. His little scamps were closer to six than three, and he was enormously grateful that their aging was significantly slower than Ness's had been. He was thoroughly enjoying raising them and getting to goof off like a little kid again himself. It was also easier for them to be friends with the other pack member's kids since they didn't outgrow them as quickly as Ness had Claire.

The girls were particularly close to Quil's two youngest daughters and Leah's two boys. Occasionally, they even spent time with Sam's kids or cooed at Jared's infant son.

"Daddy!" Sarah squealed, darting left. "Bet you can't catch me," she challenged, laughing as her little legs pumped her forward.

"I'll stop him," Bry screamed, launching herself at Jacob's back right when he stood to give chase. Her leap put her in range of Jake's neck, and her tiny arms locked in place as she dangled. Jacob pretended to fall under the attack, groaning pitifully as he rolled on the ground, defeated.

The twins always sided together, looking out for one another. It helped that they had the whole twin telepathy thing going on. Except in their case, it was quite literally happening. They shared a mental link that allowed them to silently talk to one another. The girls could only do it with each other, but it was almost as if various aspects of their lineage had come together to establish the gift. Edward's ability to hear thoughts, but with the selectivity of Jacob's pack mind. Nessie's ability to insert thoughts into other's minds at will. And Bella's ability to shield, because no other mental gift worked on the two young hybrids.

The girls were laughing, Sarah rushing back to her father's side now that his attack had been thwarted, when he heard Ness throwing up in their upstairs bathroom.

"Ness? What's going on?" he called, deliberately keeping his tone calm so as not to scare the girls.

"I'm not sure," she replied, turning on the faucet. He listened as she splashed water. Probably rising out her mouth and cooling her face. She'd been a bit clammy that morning when he'd woken. He'd chalked it up to their combined heat and the need to amp up the thermostat now that summer was in full swing. But...

When she came into the room, Jacob gave her a cursory once over. "I could hazard a guess," he said, seeing all the little cues that added up to a single larger conclusion.

Jacob continued tickling Sarah while Bry hopped off his back and raced over to hug Ness's legs. Ness's hand automatically reached down to smooth Bry's tangled hair, but her attention was primarily on Jacob, and he saw the confusion etched on her face in the little pucker that formed between her eyes.

"Bad blood?" she guessed, shaking her head and rejecting the idea even as she said it.

"Your boobs are bigger," Jacob remarked, surreptitiously glancing at the enlarged mounds. They were larger than he'd ever seen them, far larger than they'd been when she was pregnant with the girls.

"What?" Ness gasped, looking down at the loose shirt she wore. It was one of his, and while it was baggy, the cotton molded to the raised curves of her chest.

"I noticed this morning," he added, scooping Sarah out of the air when she tried to jump up and grab the wood railing by the upstairs landing that overlooked the family room. The girls loved swinging from it, but Jacob worried it'd break since they were a little too strong for it to handle the abuse.

"Of course you did," Ness said dryly, though the way her lips twitched betrayed her amusement.

"They're perfect. Why wouldn't I?"

Her head shot up suddenly, and Jake watched as her mouth fell open in realization of where his thoughts had gone. "You think I'm… " she began, trailing off. After a second, she tried again, musing, "But I never got sick with the girls."

"Made it's a boy this time," Jacob countered, shrugging. They'd not necessarily been trying to get pregnant, but they also weren't not trying either. After the twins were born, Ness hadn't gotten her IUD replaced, deciding to leave it to chance.

"Funny," she snorted, then blinked several times, a dreamy smile crossing her face as her hand came to rest against her still flat stomach. "You're right, I am."

"I'll call Carlisle," Jacob offered, jumping up and moving to kiss her before searching out wherever the girls had hidden his cell phone.

During Ness's second pregnancy, they decided to move into Billy's old house on the reservation, and raise the kids there. Billy had passed away the year before from complications during his fourth round of therapy. It was just too much for his body to handle. Jacob was just glad for the extra years he'd had with him thanks to Carlisle and Seth's combined efforts.

Both he and Ness liked the idea of the kids growing up there, where enough people knew the truth of their origins that they'd never have to hide. Plus, there were enough other kids that they'd have friends. They'd never face the isolation and unintended loneliness that Ness did during those first couple years.

Jacob spent the majority of the five months Ness was pregnant working on renovating Billy's old house and getting them moved. They were keeping the other house for sentimental reasons, and planned to use it as a vacation home for as long as it was standing.

They also decided that Jacob would focus on leading the tribe and raising the kids while Nessie worked from home, and became the breadwinner - not that they really needed the money.

That year marked the twelfth that Jacob had been with Alaska Airlines, and it was time to move on. The only reason he could believably pass for being in his mid-thirties was because of how in shape he was. Everyone just assumed he took really good care of himself. But eventually, even that reasoning would fail to hold up. Someday, he'd return to engineering, but not until after the kids were grown and out on their own.

The day their son, William Jensen Black, was born tied with the day the girls were born as the best day of his life. He and Ness had both cried when Jake held him for the first time while their girls nestled in on either side of their sweaty, exhausted mom. Their perfect little family, so unexpectedly wonderful.

The girls thought Jensen was a toy just for them, and they begged to take turns holding him. Jensen had Ness's curls, and where the girls were practically little replicas of their mother, Jensen looked strikingly like Jacob. Though Edward was particularly smug over the boy's hazel eyes. The hints of jade and emerald green a gift from his grandfather's human life that somehow managed to get passed down.

Year 255 2261-2262

Ness missed home.

That single statement initiated everything. Jacob had called Esme the same day and events had been set in motion. Before he knew it, the Cullens were renovating their old house in Forks with the majority of the family enrolling in high school - a fact Alice was pouting over since Seth would be working at the hospital with Carlisle instead, and he and Ness were preparing to move to La Push.

Only Edward and Maggie weren't joining them. The two were traveling on their own for a while after spending most of the last century with Bry and Sarah. Plus, Maggie hated repeating high school, though she would on occasion for Edward's sake when he wanted to be with the rest of the Cullens. Maggie might not enjoy the modern high school experience, but she'd taken to the vegetarian lifestyle with surprising ease.

The twins were on their way home too, nearly as thrilled as their mom to be moving home, but had detoured to visit Siobhan and Liam on the way for a couple weeks.

The excitement was a blade tempered with a bittersweet edge for many of them. Seth, Bella, Jacob, and Nessie in particular. They'd all lost people that once lived here, so it wasn't quite a perfect homecoming.

Exactly one month after finishing the restoration on their old house, the same one that Jacob had grown up in so long ago, they invited certain key families still living in the area to a cookout. They'd stayed in touch through the years with all of the former pack member's descendants, doing things differently than they had in the past, but most of their old friends were long dead.

The current pack had roughly ten members. Though only Jacob, Seth, Brady, and Jax from the original packs still lived. And Brady had stopped phasing nearly twenty-five years earlier when he finally imprinted so he was no longer a wolf and had moved to Houston with his wife.

There were others in the pack over the years, Quiluetes that possessed the gene and had consciously chosen to become wolves. Those members came and went. Most that joined only remained a part of the pack for approximately a decade before quitting for various reasons. But Jacob always welcomed any that wished to join, and the tribe had agreed that they were willing to trigger even more when the Cullens moved home.

The first two generations after the Cullens moved away had the most that voluntarily chose to initiate the shift. Young boys that wanted to be like their fathers. Leah remained the lone female to ever shift. At one point the pack had been up to thirty-three members. That had been an adventure. Managing them and his own children had been a full time job.

Many of the members over the years had been family. Everyone from Thomas, Rachel and Paul's only son, to Jase, Alice and Seth's son. As of now, the only direct descendant of Jacob and Ness's was their son, Jensen. Though he was rarely home. He had a wandering soul, and spent the majority of each year traveling the world.

Their girls were much the same way, neither deciding to have children when they were able to or take a mate, though they finally seemed ready to settle down for a while. And luckily it was where the family was. Ness didn't understand it. She was more the family and roots type, but then, she wasn't always exactly like her parents either.

Their children were wonderful. They'd been raised in La Push until they were grown and ready to venture out into the world. Jacob couldn't believe his luck. They were as compassionate as their mother and as happy as him, with their parents' combined adventurous spirit. Each was unique and perfect in their own way.

For three years he and Nessie had tried to conceive a fourth child, but it wasn't meant to be. That was alright though. They had each other, and they had Sarah, Bry, and Jensen.

People hadn't even started to arrive for the cookout when the call came in.

"Hel -"

"Dad, I get it," Jensen cut in.

"What's that?" he asked, catching Ness's eye and waving her over so she could hear the conversation too.

"Why it never worked. The connection you and mom have. All of it," Jensen babbled excitedly, the words coming out in a rush.

Jensen had wanted to settle down, and had tried to fall in love a number of times throughout the years, but it never worked out. His expectations were always too high. No one could ever measure up. It didn't help that he'd grown up witnessing perfect couples so attuned they could finish each other's sentences with ease, and often appeared to perfectly complement the other.

"Nessie," Jacob whispered, catching sight of her startled eyes, then asking his son, "Are you saying what I think you are?"

"Yeah. I imprinted," Jensen confirmed.

"What?" Jacob gasped.

"She's incredible. We're both traveling, and it was just like bam! Imprint. The universe shifted and finally makes sense," Jensen said, amazement sounding clear through the phone. "And… and she's like me - us," he finished huskily.

Jacob felt Ness grip his arm in surprise, and he blinked stupidly a couple times before clarifying, "She's a wolf?"

"No. Not exactly… jaguar," Jensen admitted. Jacob could picture his son, hands buried in his pockets, toe kicking the ground sheepishly, head ducked and shoulders hunched to make his six-foot-five-inch frame seem less intimidating.

Cats and dogs… should be interesting.

"Where'd you meet her?" Nessie asked, leaning toward the phone.

"Casole d'Elsa - Italy."