If there was a contest for how fast emotions can fly across someone's face, I think Jared would have won. Absolute shock, confusion, surprise and then, his mouth just fell open and nothing came out. "Uh…" He gaped like a fish. "I- uh? I don't- what? Is this a joke?"

"Yeah, I just knocked on the neighbor's door and asked to borrow their baby for a couple hours. They were all for it." I tried to joke, although it came out very quiet and feebly. To top it off, I threw out an awkward half smile.

And to his credit, he laughed lightly. He was always good at easing tension. Wow, I forgot how much I missed his laugh. "Okay, um, come inside." He says, and shuts the door behind me. "Do you want to sit?"

I nod quickly. "Yeah, I would." I sit on the couch in the wide-open room that he brings us to. The couch is soft and there's a big window behind the TV. It makes me feel very at ease and I take a deep breath. He sits down on the opposite end and I can feel the electricity buzzing between us. His shoulder brushes mine slightly. "Before you say anything, I just want to explain. I didn't even know what I was going to do with myself when I found out about the baby. I'm sorry I ran away and I'm sorry I never called, even before I found out. You scare the crap out of me, Jared. The way I feel around you. I hate feeling vulnerable and that's all I seem to feel around you, especially once I found out I was pregnant. But, I've had so long to think about this, and once he came along-" I smile down at P.J and look back up at Jared, who is transfixed in my rambling. "I realized that it was time to let all my insecurities go and come back home… to you. I want us to be a family. He deserves it. And you know what? So do you and so do I."

His hand finally reaches over and grabs my hand tightly. "Kim, I want you to be one hundred percent sure about this. I don't want you to be forced into anything."

"No, I'm sure." I smile shyly. "I'm really sure." I reach down and pull the baby up into my lap. "Now, your son has been waiting to meet you for a long time." I kiss the top of his soft, black hair and inhale. "Here, hold him."

He looks nervous again. "He's so small and breakable." He murmurs, looking down. "I don't know if I'm ready."

I laugh. "Paul said the same thing when he was born, and he was a lot smaller then. You'll be okay, I promise. Just make sure you support his head." He takes him gently from me and the sight of them together makes me want to cry. "Speaking of Paul, that's his name." I laugh to myself again. "Paul Jared Cameron."

"He has my last name. And my first name, technically." He strokes his face. "You named him after Paul too? Why am I not surprised?"

"Paul has been there for me for a long time. And he also really helped me during birth. I thought I wasn't going to do it." I smiled a little bit at the memory of Paul rushing into the hospital. "You didn't find it suspicious when Paul disappeared for like a month?"

Jared was barely listening to me, his eyes fixated on the baby who was looking up at him in his arms. "Honestly, I figured it had something to do with you. And Rachel wasn't worried at all, so I tried my best not to be worried either." P.J reaches out and grabs his finger tightly, still quiet and fascinated with Jared. "I think he likes me. He doesn't seem scared or nervous or anything."

I smiled a little bit, trying to muffle it with my hand. He lifts his eyes up from our son and gives me a little smirk back, with a little bit of confusion in his eyes. "I don't want to hurt your feelings."

"What do you mean? You can say whatever you want to say."

"Well… He thinks you're Paul." I told him honestly. And it was true, with the way he was acting so comfortably, snuggled up in a stranger's arm about to drift off. P.J loved Paul almost as much as Paul loved P.J. "But that's okay, because he still has to get to know you. I'm not saying he loves Paul more than you, it's just- you know, he needs time to-" I trail off as Jared starts to laugh, and I can't help but laugh with him. Even P.J forces himself awake and spit bubbles his approval.

He smiles his warm smile at me, eyes that have been duplicated into his son shining bright at me. I can't remember the last time I saw him looking so happy, because we spent the last few years being so at odds with each other. I can't help the giant bubble of happiness that explodes in my stomach watching the two of them, as Jared starts to speak. "I could never be mad about you and Paul, Kim. About anything. I owe Paul my life for everything that he's done for you and the baby. That son of a bitch is going to hang that over my head for the rest of my life."

"He might surprise you. Paul is extremely mature now…" I try to finish my sentence but I laugh again. I haven't laughed this much since I left. "I'm sorry. Maybe he's not that mature. That does seem like a Paul thing to do."

He looks down at P.J, who had finally fell asleep with his plump little lips in a big O shape, and lifts him up to inhale the top of his head before placing him in his car seat on the floor to sleep. He slides over so that our knees are touching and he takes my hands in his. He takes a deep breath. "Kim…" My heart thrums nervously. "You said, earlier, that you wanted us to be a family. Does that mean that you're staying?"

I tighten my grip on his hands. "Jared, what kind of mother would I be if I kept my son away from his father?"

"Kim, there's no doubt in my mind that you are an amazing mother, no matter what you decide. And even if you are moving back to La Push, that doesn't mean that we have to be together. I refuse to force you into anything, and I want you to make your own decisions. Whatever is best for you, because you are my entire world." He looks down at the baby and smiles a little. "Well, half of my world now."

I already knew that I wanted to be with Jared again before I came here. He was the reason I moved back to La Push in the first place. However, I planned to do it more dignified. But when he looked down and smiled at P.J like that, all of the last two years of forcing myself to stay away from him basically exploded out of me, and I leapt onto his lap so fast, I took him by surprise and he fell back onto the couch, and I kissed him. His warm lips on mine, and his warm arms wrapped around me fill me with a rush of euphoria. I finally release him and he stares at me with wide eyes. "I have been waiting to do that since I got here." I say breathlessly. "Jared, I want to be with you. I missed you so much."

"This is more than I could have ever hoped for. I'm going to work so hard to make sure that you know this isn't a mistake."

"Just because you made a mistake doesn't mean that you are a mistake." I smile slightly as he arranges us both into a proper sitting position, better for talking. "I just needed some time to myself to realize it. Jared, I can live without you. I spent two years on my own, with my mom and my friends, but mostly supporting myself and I realized that it is not impossible. But the thing is, I don't want to live without you. And that's nobody's choice but my own."

Both his hands cup my face. "So, you want to be with me then?"

I lean into his warm hands. "For as long as you'll have me."

"So forever, then."

Forever. "That sounds okay with me."

It's quiet for a moment, as the weight of what has just occurred sinks in. And then he perks up. "So Paul's sleeping. Do you want to see the rest of the house?"

I bite my lip and nod. "I would love to see the rest of the house. And just so you know, you don't have to call him Paul. Everyone calls him P.J."

The relief in his eyes is immediate. "Oh thank god. I really don't mind that you named him Paul, but I honestly can't imagine calling him Paul for his entire life." He shakes his head. "Hey Kim, I think Paul needs his diaper changed."

I immediately burst into laughter. "Oh no, I definitely did not think of that when I named him. I was too caught up in the moment. At least he has a cute nickname for now. And then when he gets older, we can just call him 'You.'"

He wrapped his large arm around me as he steered me into the kitchen. "I forgot how funny you were. Well, I didn't, but it's nice to hear it in person and not from Paul. God, he used to talk about you all the time and I just wanted to punch him in the face. Pretty sure he did it on purpose, just to rub my face in my mistakes."

Well I'll have to remember to give Paul an extra hug tonight. But I keep my thoughts to myself as he shows me around the very homey feeling house. The kitchen cabinets are all made of wood and the three bedrooms upstairs are surprisingly spacious. I already know which bedroom is Jared's, because the comforter on the bed is all crumpled, and there are pieces of clothing flung around the floor. But the other two bedrooms are inhabited, one of them looks like storage and one of them is completely bare. "So which bedroom do you think we should make P.J's?"

He turns towards me in shock. "His room?"

"Well when we said we were going to be together, you didn't think that meant I wanted to live with Paul, did I? And not our Paul, the other one."

"I'm just surprised and happy. I built this house for us, just in case… But I never imagined." He squeezed me from behind tightly.

I laughed. "Jared, we have a child together. I think we're definitely at this stage."

"Speaking of our child…" He trails off as we head back downstairs. "We should probably go introduce him to everyone. He's going to be spending a hell of a lot of time with all of them."

"That he is." The thought of that makes me smile beyond belief.

It's nearing eight pm, and I haven't seen my own child in the last couple of hours. The quiet is kind of nice, and when I say quiet, I mean from my own child, not quiet in general, because this place is packed. Everyone basically knew I was here not only because they could smell me, but also because Rachel (god love her) has a big mouth. I'm sitting on the couch sandwiched in between Embry and Emily. Emily is holding my hand tightly, and Embry has his hot arm slung over my shoulder. I can see Jared in the kitchen, trying to pry our sleeping child out of Leah's arms, who had said, "Hey, I'm probably never going to have one of these things, let me hold it while it's quiet."

Emily looks dreamily content. "It's so nice having both packs here together. Except I forgot how crowded and hot it gets." She whispers to me. I laugh and squeeze her hand, tighter than I probably should. I can't forget that I ran out on her wedding night, but she hasn't mentioned it, and I doubt she ever will. "P.J is gorgeous. A lot better looking than the other Paul I know."

Paul yells something indignantly from somewhere on the back porch. I roll my eyes. "Language, Paul! Your godchild is in the room." He mutters something else and I just shake my head. "I know. He's perfect."

"I hope you'll bring him around a little more before he gets too big, maybe with less people around." She looks down at her belly and unconsciously places a hand on it. "It'll be good practice."

I choke, but no actual words come out of my mouth as Emily puts a finger to her mouth and then winks. "I mean, as shocked as I am, I can't say I'm surprised at anything except for you asking me to bring him around. Didn't Rachel or Paul tell you guys?"

"All Rachel said is that you were back home and that you and Jared had a 'secret love child,' so she called it. I can't say we didn't think she was pulling a prank on us until you guys pulled up with a car seat and an actual baby in it." She rolls her eyes. "That girl is all about the drama."

I smile. "Well hopefully I won't be at the center of it anymore. Jared and I are back together. And I'm moving back to La Push for good."

Everyone in a ten mile radius turns towards me and shouts "what?" I can't help but laugh, even though the shouts have woken up P.J, who is completely startled and starts screaming. The immediate look of panic and disgust on Leah's face makes me laugh even harder. "Okay I'm good, I don't want him anymore." She announces, handing him off to Jared's waiting arms. It takes all of my mommy willpower not to get up, run over and snatch him out of his arms, but I keep myself glued to my seat. Jared needs to bond with our son.

Instead, I turn myself back to everyone who is apparently waiting for me to respond. "Alright, I get it. If you don't want me back, I'll just go." I pretend to get up and head for the door until Embry yanks me back into his lap. Simultaneously, Quil basically pile drives me so that I'm stuck in the middle of an Embry-Quil sandwich. "Well thanks, now I can't stay because I'm actually dead." I wheeze as they finally release me.

Emily hugs me much gentler. "Oh goodness. Welcome home, Kim."

I look around at everyone I love. Jared, Paul, Rachel, Seth, Embry, Quil, Emily, Leah, Sam, Jacob, Collin and Brady. "It's good to be back, Em."

I tugged at another strand of my hair, trying to will the curl from frizzy to an actual nice ringlet. "Why are weddings so stressful?" I complained. "Why do I have to try and look nice?"

"Maybe because you're going to be standing in front of the entire tribe of La Push and no one wants you to look ugly." Leah chirps from behind me.

"Well I'm going to look ugly no matter what. My hair never cooperates." I complain.

She rolls her eyes. "Alright come here, sit down. I'll fix it for you."

"Thank you so much Leah."

"Sure, sure." She says. I smile slightly, knowing she definitely got that from Jacob.

I fidget with my hands. "I hope P.J is okay. Maybe I should call your mom again." I try to lock eyes with Leah. "By the off chance you would tell me where you hid my phone?"

"Nope sorry. I can already tell you that P.J is fine. And Levi is fine too, just in case you wanted to know!" She yells out.

Emily pops her head in from the other room. "Thank you Leah. Although I'm not the one obsessing over it, and my baby is only a couple months old."

"Hey, P.J is walking now." I say indignantly. "Who knows what kind of trouble he could be getting into?"

Leah rolls her eyes again. I swear one day her eyes are seriously going to get stuck up there. "You can take a breath and enjoy your time without the baby, you know. You are allowed to have fun. And I know exactly the distraction you need." She walks towards the front door of Emily's, before the knock even begins, and swings it open.

"Surprise!" The person yells.

I scream out in excitement. "Ellie!" She tackles me and I squeeze her around the neck. "I didn't know you were coming… Who?"

She grinned. "The bride invited me of course. Where is she?"

I jerk my thumb over my shoulder. "In the other room. Emily is helping her get ready. You should get dressed too, you can ride over to First Beach with us." I continue to chat with her as Leah does my hair and Ellie puts her makeup on. "I hope you're staying for a little while. P.J misses his Aunt, and you need to come see how well he's starting to toddle around. It's honestly kind of scary."

"I'm staying for the whole week actually, with you and Jared. Honestly, you're the only one who didn't know I was coming."

"Of course I was." I mutter.

Finally, everyone is ready and Rachel is basically glowing as she steps out of the bedroom. She comes out with Emily and her twin sister Rebecca behind her. I had never met Rebecca before these last few weeks. She's very quiet, the complete opposite of both of her other sibling and I can tell that she's uncomfortable here. That's why I wasn't too surprised when Rachel asked me to be her maid of honor instead of her sister. It would have been impossible to get Rebecca down here for long enough to help with all the wedding plans.

We all pile into a couple separate cars. I'm driving Rachel over in Sam's truck, while Emily, Leah, Rebecca and Ellie are taking Emily's Sedan. We start to drive and I glance up at the sky. It had been raining earlier, but the sky was only overcast now. "You're not nervous, are you?" I ask, because Rachel's being unusually quiet.

"No, of course not. It's just surreal." She says.

I nod. I can only imagine. We drive the short drive mostly in silence to First Beach, where Rachel and Paul met for the first time, and wander over to our meeting point. Billy is there, looking dapper in his suit, waiting for his daughter. The only thing I really knew about Rebecca was that she had ran off and gotten married without any of her family there, so I knew this was a big deal to Billy. "Baby you look beautiful." He says.

She smiles and places a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you daddy."

The ceremony, to me at least, goes by fast. Paul's standing up there with Jared, Sam and Jacob behind him. Leah walks down the aisle first, followed by Emily, Rebecca and then I'm last. I can't help but reach over and give Paul a tight hug before Rachel starts her walk. He wanted me to be his "best girl" so he called it, but I told him it would be rude to Jared, and that I would support him just as much from the other side.

She looks beautiful, of course, and I watch in awe as two of my best friends, and P.J's godparents, finally tie the knot.

Thankfully the reception is indoors, because it started to rain again right after we were done taking our photos. I alternate between dancing with Ellie, slow dancing with Paul, dancing again with Rachel and the other bridesmaids, until finally, Jared sweeps me into his arms. "I haven't got to spend any time with you tonight." He complains. "It's definitely not fair, with how beautiful you look in that dress. I'm hoping tonight ends the same way our last wedding did, minus you running away of course."

I slap him lightly. "Well, just don't give me anything to run away from and you've got yourself a deal." I rest my head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat, and we slow dance most of the night away, until Paul and Rachel are shuffling out on their honeymoon. I hug them both tightly goodbye and step back to Jared, who grabs my hand.

"It stopped raining again."

"Of course it did. This place has weather more unpredictable than anything else I can think of." I laugh.

"Well, let's go for a walk before we head home. The reception is over anyway."

"Sure why not? Oh wait, what about Ellie?" I search around for her, but I can't find her.

Jared's eyes scan around as well, with no luck. "We won't be long. If she needs us, she has our numbers. Besides, we've got plenty of friends here who know where we live. She'll be okay."

I shrug. "Alright, let's go." We make it to the beach and I kick my heels off, leaving them in the sand because I don't want to carry them, and Jared takes his shoes and socks off as well. I just hope I can find them on the way back.

He holds my hand as we walk along the shore, and then he stops abruptly and turns towards me. His eyes are sparkling in the moonlight, and his skin looks like silk. He lets go of my hand. "Kim…"

"Marry me." I blurt out.

His eyes widen. "What? No! You can't ask me! I was going to ask you-" I cut him off with a kiss.

"Marry me." I say again, laughing with pure giddiness.

He laughs with me, eyes sparkling more than I thought possible. "Let me do this right." He says breathlessly, taking my hands from around his neck and removing them, lowering himself in the sand on one knee. "Kimberly Anne Spencer, the one and only love of my life, and the most amazing mother to our son… Will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

"Of course." I say, waiting for him to get up. But he pulls a velvet box out of his pocket. "Oh my God, there's a ring." And a beautiful one at that.

It slides onto my fingers and shines brilliantly. "Of course there's a ring, Kim. Unlike some people, I don't just blurt out marriage proposals out of the blue." Jared teases, brushing a strand of hair out of my face. "But it's nice to know we were on the same page."

I place my hands on the lapel of his jacket, the ring gleaming out of the corner of my eye. "Marry me." I say again, this time barely a whisper.

His forehead presses against mine and he closes his eyes. "Now that? I'll do."

A/N: Well, this is the last chapter! (Finally) There is an epilogue coming out, I promise. After so many years and so many times almost giving up, I finally finished it. Thank you to everyone for sticking with me, even though I'm sure you had to go back and read it a million times over just to remember what was going on. And thank you to all my new readers as well! Keep your eye out for the epilogue. Eleanor out!