Chapter 15: Nessie in Trouble

A tribute to the works of Stephenie Meyer. All belongs to her.

November 30, 2013

Angela's pov

Ben and I sat before the computer, waiting for the webcall to connect. It was our habit to talk to the Cullens once a week. Sometimes, we called on a whim and not everyone was home, but usually it was a Saturday, and we were able to talk to all of them.

Bella and Edward were settled on an old farm property in the Muskokas. It had been languishing out in the bush and whatever shelter was there, had needed to be torn down. The family had built some kind of huge lodge, designed by Esme, out in the middle of nowhere. From pictures, it looked like an oversized log cabin. It was big enough to house all the Cullens and Jake's pack (including their mates), and had a huge common room and kitchen and even a hospital room.

Because it was remote, so far the Cullens had gotten away with staying out of school. The younger wolves, Embry, Quill and Jared, went to a high school that was within their running range. Leah and Jacob were taking online college courses. Leah was studying to be a physiotherapist. Jake was acing auto mechanics, and he was taking a minor in art, of all things. I assumed the Cullens were tutoring him and fostering his interests.

The entire coven seemed to be thriving under the communal conditions. The wolf pack was getting well-fed and well-educated, Esme was mothering everyone, and the vampires were enjoying having kids around, like Kim and Jared's baby, and Claire and her baby brother. Yes, Sam and Emily were there too. Paul was temporarily in charge down at LaPush.

The only missing member of Jake's pack was Seth. He was still living at home with Sue. She had not wanted to move away from LaPush, and she was not going to let vampires raise him. Since he was close to his mother, and got along swimmingly with Charlie, Seth wasn't complaining. After high school, he would join the commune in Canada.

Nessie, of course, could not go to school due to her rapid aging. She would do high school after she had matured, so she had a free ride for the moment. I had finally had to tell Ben the half-truth: that she suffered from the rare condition that plagued the Cullens, and that it made her develop at a faster rate than normal. That said, Ben thought she was a 14 year old suffering from a case of early puberty, not a 7 year old suffering from the coming onslaught of vampirism. How we were going to keep the secret from Ben much longer was beyond me.

The call picked up, and suddenly Bella was grinning at me with Edward and Alice peeking over her shoulders. We got through the usual pleasantries, and Ben scooped up Ethan and Theo, who were busy running around the sitting room, bellowing delightedly, and dangled them in front of the webcam long enough for everyone to admire them.

Ben sat back down with me, releasing the rugrats to resume their running, and we chatted amiably with the members of Bella's family, as they took turns in ones and twos in front of their camera. We had been visiting for almost two hours, when Bella said they needed to get going. Apparently, there was a hunting trip in the works.

"Hey, wait!" I said, "I haven't talked to Nessie in a couple of months. Has she stopped speaking to me?" Bella and Edward exchanged a loaded look. Edward sat down beside Bella. He looked a little angry, and blew his breath out like he was frustrated. It took him a moment to compose himself. My alarm bells started to go off.

Edward looked me in the eye and made his confession. "Nessie hasn't been socializing lately. We've been having some ... difficulties with her." My eyebrows were on the ceiling. Nessie adored her family. Her father, in particular.

"Nessie is pregnant," Edward said curtly.

"Oh ... my." I gulped. Beside me, Ben gasped. The twins were making so much racket that we were having trouble hearing. Ben excused himself, and took them into their room for a wrestling match. I would fill him in later.

"We should have seen it coming, considering how unique her development is. It's not like we were unprepared for her to be ... active with Jacob. We had those kind of talks with her years before she even got close to being mature. Everything was going fine and she was happy, but then about six months ago, Carlisle told Nessie that her body would probably freeze when she hits maturity. I guess she and Jacob wanted to make sure they had a family before she had the chance to go sterile.

"They didn't say anything to you about their plans?"

"We didn't even get a hint, and they didn't waste any time getting started. Both of them are pretty good at concealing their thoughts from me."

"So where are they? Did they leave home?"

Bella shook her head vigorously, "Oh, no. They're both here, and pretty much forgiven, but we are worried because we don't know what to expect. Nessie's birth didn't go so well. Look at what happened to me. Everything is going to be hit and miss. 'Best guess' is the order of the day on how to care for her and the baby."

"So far, Ness is coping much better with carrying the child than Bella did. Nessie's much stronger than Bella was, and of course my DNA is more diluted. What Jake's DNA will contribute is the next question The baby seems to be developing at a slower pace than Nessie did, and Ness is healthy and not in any pain. The membrane of the fetal sack, however, is just impenetrable, unlike the one Renesmee developed in. So we don't know what we're dealing with."

"Wow, I hardly know what to say."

Edward and Bella exchanged a wry glance. "Welcome to the club!" he said with an eye roll.

Bella looked away from her computer. "Renesmee and Jacob are coming down. Still want to speak to her?"

"Sure."

A second later, Jacob said hello and plopped himself down in the chair Edward had vacated. Nessie climbed into the chair on the left where her mother had been sitting. As she manoeuvered into it, her belly took up the entire screen. She looked about 10 months pregnant. I wondered when she was due.

"Well, there's no hiding that!" I teased. "I guess congratulations are in order. Wow! I can't believe you got this past Edward and Alice. That alone deserves a commendation!" I smiled.

The kids gave me a chagrinned smile. "Actually, Auntie Lis was in on it. She gave us a big warning before we went through with our plan. It's a miracle Dad is still speaking to her," said Renesmee with an eyeroll. She looked so much like her father when she did that.

"Well, maybe he wanted to be a grandfather more than he was letting on." Nessie's curls bounced prettily as she conceded the point.

"Good thing your 'Dad' likes you, Jacob," I smirked.

"Oh, Edward had years to get used to the idea that I would probably be his son-in-law someday. Not that Nahuel didn't do his best to scupper the plan, but this was pretty inevitable, 'cause I'm too irresistable." Jacob chuckled and squirmed in his seat.

"Braggart!" Edward growled from somewhere out of sight.

"The day Ben came back to me, I can still remember Edward putting his arm around Ben and telling us to come and eat some food before you, his 'son', could gobble it all up. I didn't understand at the time."

Edward peeked down over his kids' heads at me, "Well, I knew I'd have to adjust, so I always called Jacob 'son', but I didn't mean to let it slip out in front of you. See how trustworthy you are? And you wonder why I call you my Little Angel! Bella's sort of always been my Archangel, but you protected her, and now you protect all of us as well."

"Just doing my job, keeping fellow Christians and misfits safe. Speaking of which, the Denalis have been going to church with me lately." I grinned, anticipating Edward's reaction.

"In the name of all that's holy! What is up with that? Are they scaring your congregation?" Edward demanded as he and Bella and their kids gawped at me.

"Let's just say that there have been some interesting reactions and interactions. For example, Garrett asked a very unwelcome question about the value of monogamy in modern society. There was a stampede to Dad's office. However, my dad has told any busybody who complains, that Jesus did not hesitate to spend time with sinners."

"Oh, I would love to be a fly on the wall sometimes," Edward shook his head in disbelief. "You must keep us apprised. We don't want them to have to be relocated for drawing attention to themselves."

"Yes, well their generous tithing seems to be welcome, and they are assisting in young people's programs, so most people are being patient with their lack of morals. They are, after all, otherwise likeable individuals and their naivete about human culture is strangely endearing. Incidentally, I have managed to get them to remove the grotty anal intercourse painting from the living room wall in case any humans drop by, but I suspect it is still on display in one of their bedrooms."

Bella and Edward stared at each other, open-mouthed.

"You may reform them yet!" Edward stated. Bella nodded.

"I doubt it, but they might be more tactful in front of humans in the future."

"Thank Heaven for small mercies. That, I will have to see, someday," Edward chuckled.

"Well, you could come and see it," I hinted.

"Not now. Maybe in a year or two. I think you and the fam' should come and see us, next."

"I'll look forward to it."