After lunch the boys were tasked with clearing the table and cleaning up the kitchen. They didn't seem to be doing a good job of it however because as Emily, Kim, Leah, Bella and Sam adjourned to the living room they could hear whoops and laughter. Emily, Leah and Bella sat on the couch while Kim and Sam took chairs nearby. Leah wrapped an arm around Bella's shoulders and Bella cuddled into her side, resting her arm across Leah's stomach.
"What time did you say Heather was coming by?" Kim turned her attention to Emily.
"She said she'd be here around one depending on how long it took her to get Claire into her car seat" Emily responded, smiling at the mental image of her sister wrestling her young niece into a car seat.
"Darn, I was hoping I'd get to see Claire before Jared and I left" Kim sighed.
As if summoned Jared entered the living room, his eyes instantly falling on Kim.
"Ready to head out?" He inquired, smiling the love sick expression all imprints had.
"Yeah I suppose we should" Kim smiled back at Jared as she stood. As she got closer to him her eyebrows furrowed. "What's in your hair?" She stood on her tiptoes and just managed to remove something resembling a cloud from his hair.
"What?" Jared leaned in to inspect Kim's finger with her.
"How did you manage to get bubbles in your hair?" Kim laughed as she wiped the bubbles on his shirt, walking past him into the front hallway.
"It was probably Jacob" He laughed as he followed her.
Their laughter faded as they left the house. Emily looked knowingly at Sam and he stood with a sigh.
"I thought I asked you guys to clean up not make a bigger mess" Sam stated as he walked back into the kitchen to see what kind of carnage the boys had created.
"Heather's bringing Claire down?" Leah asked Emily. "I haven't seen Heather since last Christmas. Actually I haven't seen Clair since then either…" Leah's voice trailed off as she thought back.
"Yeah, I told her to bring little Claire down any time she needed a break" Emily smiled at her cousin and there was a glint in her eye.
"Who are Claire and Heather?" Bella asked, piecing together that Claire was Heather's daughter.
"Heather is my sister and Claire is my niece" Emily beamed.
Bella nodded her understanding and quickly figured that Heather and Claire were technically Leah's family too.
"It's a bit of a drive to come down here…" Leah looked at Emily a bit closer. "Are they staying the night?"
"Claire is, Heather is using the time for herself" Emily responded, recognizing that Leah was catching on to something. "And well…"
"Well?" Leah narrowed her eyes at her cousin, knowing her too well not to recognize there was something else there.
"I'm watching Claire to get practice taking care of rambunctious kids…" Emily smiled slightly.
Leah nodded then her eyes widened with understanding, Bella continued to be oblivious to the implications of the statement.
"How long?!" Leah turned as much as she could towards her cousin without losing her hold on Bella. "Does anyone else know?"
"It's been about 15 weeks," Emily beamed as she rested a hand on her stomach.
"Congratulations!" Bella grinned, catching up with the conversation.
Leah took a good look at her cousin, noting that she was wearing a baggy shirt. But with Emily's hand on her stomach she could now see the small bump that had formed there.
"We didn't really want to tell anyone until we had to because of our whole situation" Emily looked at Leah, sadly.
Leah sighed, feeling incredibly guilty that her cousin had hid her exciting news because she hadn't wanted to hurt Leah even more. Leah took Emily's hand and squeezed it gently.
"I'm so happy for you and I'm so sorry for how I've acted."
"Don't worry about it, I'm just so happy I have my other sister back" Emily grinned at Leah.
Just then Quil came barreling out of the kitchen, his shirt and hair soaking wet.
"Claire's here!" He went and yanked the door open, disappearing outside.
Quil came back inside a minute later holding a toddler in his arms. He was followed by a tired looking woman. Emily stood and embraced the woman. "How was the drive?"
"If I hear the wheels on the bus one more time I might die" She grumbled as she returned the hug.
Leah removed her arm from around Bella, stood and moved towards the two women. When Emily and Heather released each other Heather's eyes fell on Leah.
"Leah!" Heather grinned as she moved towards her cousin. "How long has it been? God, I was so sorry to hear about your father" She pulled Leah into a tight embrace.
"Thank you" Leah mumbled as she returned the hug, not wanting to remain on the subject of her father she quickly released Heather and turned to Bella.
"Heather this is my girlfriend, Bella"
Bella stood and walked over to the women, her face turning a light pink. She always got overwhelmed with excitement when Leah called her her girlfriend. Bella held out her hand with a shy smile for Heather. Heather stood there for a moment, the cogs turning in her head as she tried to figure out when Leah had become gay. She only paused for a split second then smiled at Bella as she pulled her into a hug.
"It's nice to meet you Bella"
Bella blushed more, surprised by Heather's friendliness, but returned the hug. Once Heather had released Bella Leah moved to Bella's side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Bella quickly wrapped her arm around Leah's waist, and Leah snuck a quick kiss on the top of her head. Heather watched this and noted that the way the two women interacted was eerily similar to the way Sam and Emily interacted. Her eyes widened.
"You two are imprints" She stated more than asked.
"Is it that obvious?" Leah asked.
"She knows about imprints?" Bella asked at the same time, looking up at Leah.
"Leah, I don't think I've ever seen you look at someone like that before" Heather rolled her eyes. "The way both your body languages change as soon as you touch is like a bright neon sign above your heads that says 'Imprints!'"
Bella blushed fiercely and Leah chuckled lightly.
"You'll see why she knows when you go meet Claire" Emily laughed, trying to relieve Bella by changing the subject by answering her question.
"Well tell Quil that Claire is here to visit her aunt and that he needs to share" Heather laughed and Emily joined her.
"Don't worry, Sam will make sure I get some time with my niece" Emily laughed as she walked Heather to her car.
Bella looked up at Leah, her blush still present but fading.
"Are we really that obvious?"
"Probably but who cares?" Leah laughed then she leaned down and kissed Bella, lovingly.
Bella sighed, and wrapped her arms around Leah's neck, wanting more. Leah's arms wrapped around Bella's waist, their kiss deepening.
"Ahem" Emily cleared her throat "I just need to squeeze by here" She stood just inside the front door.
Bella pulled away from Leah quickly and blushed bright red. Leah laughed loudly and took Bella's hand.
"C'mon let's go see my littlest cousin" Leah lead Bella back towards the living room.
Bella could see Quil laying on the floor on his stomach, he had his feet in the air and was kicking them lightly. All around him there was a collection of toys and arts and crafts products. Bella almost missed the small girl laying on the ground in a position almost identical to Quil's, about a foot away from him. The two of them were each holding a barbie and playing pretend with them. Bella noticed the way Quil was watching Claire and her breath caught in her throat when she realized what was going on. Leah held Bella at shoulder length and looked at her face in panic. Leah heard Bella's uneven breath and was suddenly very concerned. Emily didn't notice and walked past the two looking at her now destroyed living room.
"You two made a quick mess of this place" Emily playfully scolded.
"Are you okay? What's wrong?" Leah looked over Bella's face her own face filled with worry.
"They-he" Bella stammered "He imprinted on her" She looked past Leah at Quil who was now sheepishly looking up at Emily. The little girl wore a similar expression to Quil's and then pointed at him.
"Qweel did it" She insisted to her aunt.
Quil's head quickly snapped to look at the small girl, hurt.
"It's not what you think" Leah reassured Bella, her face relaxing "We've all seen how he feels about her. He sees her as a little sister." Leah released Bella's shoulders and took her hand again.
Bella looked past Leah and took in the scene unfolding in front of her.
"Claire-Bear!" Quil was still looking at her, hurt.
Claire looked from Quil to her aunt then back to Quil her eyes wide. Emily smiled lightly and when Claire looked up at her again, noting that she wasn't in trouble she broke into a giggle fit. She rolled onto her back and continued to giggle, Quil laughed too and moved close to her.
"You better watch that tummy Claire-Bear" He warned.
She continued to giggle, wiggling around on the floor.
"There's a raspberry monster here" Quil declared right before he leaned down and blew a raspberry on Claire's exposed stomach.
Claire screeched with laughter and playfully slapped her hands on Quil's head. Quil lifted his head and looked down at her solemnly.
"Oh no, the monster got poor Claire-Bear"
He leaned down and blew another raspberry on her stomach and her screeching laughter was even louder, she kicked her legs and wiggling. Quil lifted his head again.
"She was so young, she had so much ahead of her" He stated with mock missary.
He leaned down again and blew a third raspberry. Claire wiggled and laughed more. When Quil came up again she looked him in the eye.
"Qweel, stop"
It was like a light switch was being flipped, Quil smiled down at her and pulled her shirt back down to cover her stomach. Bella could see what Leah meant now. Claire rolled on her stomach and then stood up looking at Bella, curiously. Bella smiled at the small girl as she toddled over to her. Claire reached both arms up to Bella and looked her dead in the eye with steady determination. Bella laughed and let go of Leah's hand to scoop the toddler up.
"Hello" Bella smiled at the girl as she held her.
"I'm Claire" The girl stated, proudly.
"Hi Claire, I'm Bella"
Claire pointed at Leah "Aunty Lee"
Leah smiled and ruffled the girl's hair. "I can't believe you remember me you little tirant"
Quil stood up and groaned as he glanced at the clock.
"Guess I've got to go" He grumbled.
Claire's head snapped to look at him with as much anger as a two year old could muster.
"We was 'sposed to play pretty pretty princess"
"We can play tomorrow Claire-Bear" He smiled at her, reassuringly.
"Wanna play now." She pouted, crossing her little arms.
"I know Claire-Bear but I have to go help Uncle Sam" Quil tried reasoning with her.
"Butts!" Claire cursed.
"Calire!" Emily scolded.
Claire looked at her aunt sheepishly realizing she had been caught cursing.
"How about you play with Leah and I?" Bella asked the toddler.
Claire turned and grinned at Bella excitedly.
"Yeah!" She wiggled in Bella's arms and Bella set her down again.
Claire moved back over to the toy bin that was in the corner of the living room and started rummaging in it.
"If you girls don't mind watching her for a bit I'm going to go make sure Sam got the crib set up alright" Emily smiled at Bella and Leah.
Leah wasn't sure how Bella felt about kids and didn't want to force her to hang out with her cousin during their weekend together.
"Not a problem, Emily" Bella said as she moved to see what Claire was pulling from her toy box.
Leah smiled at her girlfriend and sat down on the floor, her back against the couch.
Bella helped Claire pull two tiaras from the box and a plastic tea set. Claire put one tiara on and gave the other to Bella.
"Lee? Tea?" Claire held the small plastic tea pot up to Leah with a small pout.
Leah smiled and took the tea pot into the kitchen where she filled it with apple juice. When she got back to the living room Claire was standing, with her hands on the coffee table, watching Bella set out tiny tea cups on little saucers. The three of them drank apple juice from tiny tea cups and Claire and Bella spoke like princesses about frogs and princes. Leah enjoyed watching the two interact and smiled to herself wondering if Bella and her would ever have their own family. Emily came back downstairs and joined the little tea party. A few minutes later Claire spilled apple juice all down her front and Emily said it was probably time for a bath anyways.
Leah stood and offered Bella a hand up. Once they were both standing Leah bowed lightly, still holding Bella's hand.
"M'lady, what do you wish to do now?" Leah held her low bow but looked up at Bella, mischievously.
Bella laughed lightly and playfully hit Leah on the shoulder. "Quit being an idiot"
Leah stood and quickly gave Bella a peck on the lips. "You look pretty cute in that tiara"
Bella rolled her eyes and removed it, placing it on the coffee table.
"Lets walk down to the beach"
"As you wish, m'lady" Leah bowed low again.
Bella pretended to be annoyed and pulled Leah out the door.
They walked hand in hand towards the beach.
"I didn't know you liked kids" Bella stated as they kept walking.
"You never asked" Leah shrugged.
"So do you want kids some day?" Bella asked, blushing slightly.
"I mean yeah but I can't really, you know…" Leah trailed off.
Bella looked up at her, curious as to what she could mean and saw that Leah was miles away. They continued walking in silence. Leah sighed and sat down on a piece of driftwood that had washed up on the beach. Bella sat beside her and leaned her head on Leah's shoulder. Leah wrapped her arm around Bella and sighed again.
"I wanted all of that before I phased. A husband, kids, a nice house, maybe a family dog. And I thought I might have that with Sam and then we broke up. So I tried moving past that and thought maybe I could have that with someone else and then I phased"
"Why would phasing change anything?" Bella inquired.
"Phasing while pregnant probably wouldn't work. Besides I haven't had a period since I phased so I just kind of gave up on the idea" Leah shrugged.
Bella snickered lightly, beside her. Leah tore her gaze from the ocean to look down at her, a little hurt.
"I'm sorry-I'm sorry!" Bella was still smiling as she tried to hold back her laughter. "But I mean have you even looked at me?"
Leah looked at her confused.
"Leah, I love you but sometimes you can be pretty dense" Bella smiled up at her girlfriend.
Leah frowned, hurt a bit more by Bella calling her dense.
"I'm a woman who can carry children if you hadn't noticed" Bella smiled at Leah, caressing her cheek. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings I just don't understand how you could have overlooked that"
Leah leaned into Bella's touch and smiled at her.
"I don't know, I wasn't sure if you'd want to have kids or if you'd want to deal with finding a donor or whatever" Leah shrugged, feeling incredibly vulnerable.
"Let's get one thing straight, I don't want to find some random donor I want to have your baby" Bella stated firmly.
Leah smiled, closed her eyes and placed her hand on top of Bella's that was still on her cheek. She turned her head so her lips were now resting on Bella's palm, she kissed her palm a few times and inhaled Bella's sweet scent.
"Why don't you let your walls down more often?" Bella asked quietly.
"Hmm?" Leah questioned as she kissed down to Bella's wrist, her eyes still closed.
"There's this soft side of you that you refuse to let anyone see. But when you let your guard down and let me in I feel so much closer to you" Bella explained.
Leah opened her eyes and met Bella's gaze, releasing her hand.
"I'm trying to let you in more, I've just been hurt so many times I forget a lot" The corner of Leah's mouth pulled down slightly.
"You know I won't hurt you, right?" Bella asked, her voice full of concern.
"I know you won't" Leah smiled at her "I love you" There was no trace of Leah's sarcastic smirk. Bella felt the full force of Leah's love and her heart jumped into her throat.
"I love you too" Bella choked out.
"Good cause that would have been awkward" Leah's playful smirk was back.
Bella rolled her eyes, pretending to be upset at Leah for ruining the heartfelt moment, but she couldn't keep a small laugh from escaping her mouth.