Chapter 17

Thanks for trying out my first story. I can already see some things that were errors, but I am just stunned that I wrote a 30+K word story!

Rated M

Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

"Daddy! I'm ready!" the cutest little voice could be heard calling from upstairs.

"On my way, buddy!" Jacob called as he raced up the staircase.

When he walked into his son's room, he watched as Bella lay on his bed with him. He smiled and settled in for this evening's bedtime story. This was something he never missed if he could help it. He curled up in the bed with them, and snuggled his son's head, enjoying the clean scent.

As Bella began to read, Jacob let his mind wander. It had been almost 4 years since the pack had destroyed the vampires. He and Bella had stayed locked up in the house for a few days before they were ready to rejoin the rest of the world.

Charlie came for a long weekend as promised, bringing his girlfriend from California. It still grossed both Bella and Jacob out when they thought about the couches in that house and what they stumbled into that night.

While he was there, they decided to have a civil union and a private tribal ceremony. Neither of them felt they needed to announce to the world their marriage and anyone that knew them understood their reasons. The rest of Forks and La Push believed Edward had died in the car accident on their honeymoon. So it was a reasonable amount of time for Bella to get remarried and begin living a life with Jacob in La Push. Although, neither of them really cared what the town gossips thought.

Bella had found freelance writing jobs that kept her busy, but also allowed her to have a flexible schedule to take care of their son, Caleb. Her friend Kathryn had come and was living with Phoenix. They still got to see each other and Kathryn was in on "the secret." She took it all in stride and her only response was it wasn't natural that so many good looking guys lived in one place.

The setup worked well for all of them, especially with Jacob's construction business. They had expanded his company to build both new Green houses and improve older houses. They had already upgraded all of the Elders' homes. They worked in the surrounding areas and were doing well. There were a lot of older homes that people were improving and they built a reputation for doing quality work.

Jacob continued to learn the 'old ways' from the Elders and his father taught him all of the things he would need to know as Chief of the tribe one day. Billy laughed and said simply because he was in a wheelchair and a grandfather didn't classify him as old.

Jacob's thoughts drifted back just as Bella was finishing up the story. He stood and helped Bella climb off the bed. Then they both leaned down to give hugs and kisses, and tuck their son in for the night.

"Love you, Caleb" they whispered.

"Love you, Momma and Daddy," he said back.

They walked out of the room, closing the door most of the way and walked down the hall together. They stepped into the bedroom next door and Jacob flipped the lamp on. The little pink lamp illuminated the room. Bella walked over to the crib and straightened a few things and sat in the glider. There was a circle ottoman that Jacob sat down on and looked around the room before looking at Bella.

"What were you thinking about so deeply during that story? I know you weren't listening," she laughed lightly. "Everything okay?"

"Yes, honey. Everything is more than okay. I was just reflecting on everything. I can't believe how amazing our life has turned out. I love you guys so much and I am so excited about bringing home our daughter tomorrow. I worry about you, of course."

"Jake, I know we weren't able to have our own kids. I'll always be sad that choice was taken from me. But Caleb is our son, even if he isn't biologically. Plus, both of the kids are Quileute. We have adopted kids that would have grown up with teenage mothers and instead will have a steady family life. Their mothers will get to see that they have grown into healthy young people. They won't worry about what happened to them. I am happy. I love you so much. Come here," she said.

Jacob scooched off the stool and kneeled in front of his wife. He laid his head in her lap and she caressed his hair lovingly.

"Come on, let's head to bed," he said as he stood, pulling her hand. She turned the lamp off before following him out of the room.

They went to bed and enjoyed their last night without a newborn baby in the house. After they brought Caleb home, Bella was exhausted for weeks. He was a difficult baby, always fussing and insisting on being held. Not that Bella ever wanted to put him down in the first place. It just made it hard to feel "in the mood" when you hadn't had a shower or brushed your hair that day.

Jacob loved Bella for hours that night. He figured since they were going to be going without sleep anyway, it was a good enough reason to stay up all night making love to his wife.

The next morning, Sam and Emily showed up to watch Caleb with their daughter. While things were much better, his and Jacob's relationship would never be the same. Raven and Caleb were the best of friends despite their age difference. Jacob would joke with Caleb that "age was just a number."

They hugged their son and then stepped out of the door with their new pink infant carrier.

"See you guys soon with Jessie!" they called as Jake closed the door.

Later that night, Jacob stood in the doorway to Jessie's room and watched Bella. She was in the glider with a bottle feeding Jessie. So far she was the perfect baby. She smelled wonderful, and was soft and snuggly. Jacob loved them all tremendously. He thought he would be broken the rest of his life without her the day she left with the vampire for her honeymoon. Things continued to feel broken while she was away at college and then with another vampire set on ending her life. But he realized that they had fixed each other and would continue to do so for the rest of their lives.

Thanks all!