Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer. I do not own Twilight.
Chapter Four
Bella's POV
Paul and I were standing outside Charlie's house, neither one looking forward to the conversation we were going to have to have with my father once inside the door.
"Do you think it'll be worse than when we told him you were moving in with me?" Paul asked slowly.
No doubt he was remembering the way Charlie had glared at him, constantly fingering his gun as Paul told him about me moving out. Paul had held his ground, though, no so much as flinching when Charlie pulled out his gun and began turning it in his hands.
"Did you get my baby girl pregnant?"
"No, sir."
At least he hadn't been lying when he said it. Hopefully Charlie would see it that way and not aim his gun at Paul when we told him the news.
"I'm sure he'll be fine," I murmured, rubbing his arm soothingly.
He sighed heavily, gripping my hand in his much larger one.
"Well, I guess we should go ahead and get this over with," Paul grumbled, leading me up the stairs.
We stood side-by-side, waiting for Charlie to answer the door. I placed a hand to my stomach, trying to still the rolling and churning going on.
"Are you alright?"
I nodded, worried that if I opened my mouth I would get sick all over my father's front porch.
"Just try to breathe nice and easy, Swan. We'll get through this," Paul reassured me, pulling me closer into his side.
Before I could form a response, Charlie opened the door, smiling when he saw us.
"Well, I wasn't expecting this. What are you two doing here?" Charlie asked, moving aside to let us in.
"Just thought we'd drop by for a visit. How you doing, Chief?" Paul asked as we walked in.
"Good, good. Works been slow this week, not that I'm complaining. I'm hoping Billy and I will be able to go out on the water this weekend," Charlie told us as we settled down in the living room.
"It's supposed to be a good weekend. The weather's not really calling for much rain," Paul nodded, putting his arm around my shoulder along the back of the couch.
"I wouldn't hold out for it," Charlie chuckled darkly.
Silence fell between us and I felt Charlie's eyes on me, causing me to shift nervously. This was the worst possible situation to find myself in and I felt like I was still in high school as I sat there, waiting for the shit to hit the fan.
"Okay. What's going on?" Charlie asked, narrowing his eyes between Paul and I.
Paul and I looked at each other, his eyes asking me whether or not I would be able to break the news to my father. With a soft sigh, he turned to look at Charlie, gripping my hand between both of his.
"Charlie, you know I love Bella and would do anything for her," Paul started, making Charlie's face turn red.
Charlie nodded, encouraging Paul to continue.
"I promise, I'll take good care of her. She'll never want for anything. I told you over a month ago that nothing would ever happen to her with me and I meant it," Paul went on.
By now, Charlie's face was slowly turning purple and I was beginning to feel my breakfast trying to make a comeback.
"We went to the doctor last week and-"
"I'm pregnant," I blurted out, immediately easing the nauseous feeling.
Charlie's face faded from purple straight to pale, making me worry he was going to collapse from his chair.
"Dad?" I questioned after he'd been silent for a few minutes.
He grunted in response, his eyes flitting from Paul to me and back.
"Dad," I tried again.
He looked at me, his gaze instantly going down to rest on my stomach. He swallowed heavily, his color slowly returning as he met my gaze again.
"A baby?" Charlie croaked.
I nodded, smiling slightly.
"I'm going to be a… a grandpa?" Charlie murmured, awed.
"Yeah," I laughed weakly, thrilled he seemed to be taking it better than we'd anticipated.
"Well, shit," Charlie sighed, falling back into his chair.
"We just found out last week. You're the first person we've told," I told him.
"We're going to announce it at a bonfire tonight, but we wanted to tell you first. We thought, maybe, you might want to come with us. You'll be the only grandparent the baby gets to see regularly with my parents out of the picture and Renee living in Florida," Paul explained.
"Of course, yeah. Wow. How far along are you, Bells?" Charlie asked.
"About two months," I answered.
Charlie frowned, no doubt doing the calculations in his head. Before he could reach the obvious conclusion, I cut him off.
"Dad, I know what you're thinking, but just remember. I was messed up when you dropped me off at Sam and Emily's, but I was completely aware and fine by the time I left. Paul fixed me, so do not yell at him," I warned.
"Hell, Bells. You were… comatose. And you mean for me to believe that he didn't take advantage of you?" Charlie frowned, though his voice remained calm and even.
"Yes, because it's the truth. Paul never has, nor ever will, take advantage of me," I vowed.
Charlie stared at us for a while longer, glaring a little harder at Paul, but finally relaxed again.
"Alright. What time is this bonfire thing tonight?" Charlie asked.
"Seven. But we were thinking maybe you could come back with us when we leave. I want to talk to you about any renovations that'll need to happen for when the baby comes," Paul told him.
"Sure, sure. Sounds good. You better pray that baby gets your balance, son. I don't know if anybody can handle two Bellas," Charlie huffed, grinning warmly.
"Ah, I'm sure I could handle it," Paul denied, giving me a wink.
I smiled up at him, excited about telling our pack later that night. My hand settled over my stomach and I rubbed gently, imagining what it would be like to have a little Paul running around in a few years.
I could hardly wait.
Paul's POV
The pack was all gathered around the bonfire, cracking jokes and stuffing their faces. We had to act more human than usual what with all the outsiders around. Charlie sat next to Billy, both with a beer in hand, talking to Harry and Sue Clearwater. Quil's parents were sitting with Embry's mother, the three of them watching the pack with wide eyes, no doubt thinking we were some kind of gang. Even Jared and Kim's parents had shown up, eager to keep an eye on the budding relationship between their children.
I looked around the beach for Bella, finding her sitting beside Emily and Kim, giggling at something Kim was saying. Emily sat close to Bella, mothering her more than usual and glaring at the pack if they got too close with their roughhousing.
What really surprised me was the way Sam hovered nearby, arms crossed and expression stony. His Alpha instincts were screaming at him, no doubt, sensing the presence of a pack pup without the human in him actually knowing what was happening.
I could definitely relate.
"So, dude, what's up?" Jared asked, slinging an arm around my shoulders casually.
"Nothing," I grunted, ducking from under his arm.
"Ah, come on. You know I can scent a secret a mile away. You and Bella have been acting weird all night," Jared accused.
"Have not," I denied, taking a sip of my beer.
"Dude," Jared snorted, giving me a look.
"We just have some information to share tonight and it's making us a little edgy," I said, not wanting to explain further.
"Oh, yeah? You finally pop the question?" Jared asked, looking over to try and spot a ring on Bella's finger.
"Are you crazy? I can't marry Bella until this stupid fucking imprint thing is broken," I grumbled, taking another swing of beer.
"Oh. Right. Forgot about that. Any luck tracking her down?" Jared asked.
"Nope. And it's not like Jacob's any help. The damn pup enjoys watching me suffer," I scowled, glaring at the pup in question.
He was busy goofing off with Embry and Quil near the surf, throwing rocks at each other and shit.
"Well, damn. And you can't mark her, either, can you?" Jared frowned, sipping his own beer.
"No. It's driving my wolf crazy. We want a claim on her, but until I break the imprint, there's nothing I can do," I growled, chucking my bottle.
"It'll work out," Jared assured me, clapping a hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah," I mumbled, already walking away from him.
Bella looked up as I approached, her brown eyes lighting up when she saw me. I reached down to lift her onto her feet, wrapping an arm around her waist and leaning down to whisper in her ear.
"You ready, Swan?"
She nodded, smiling up at me nervously. I gave her a wink before whistling sharply, drawing everyone's attention to the two of us.
"Swan and I have an announcement to make. Some of you are aware of how sick she's been these past few months. Well, we went to the doctor last week and they told us why," I started, looking down at Bella to finish.
Her smile was as wide as the ocean as she turned her gaze from me to our family.
"I'm pregnant!" Bella squealed, clapping her hands together.
Instantly, we were surrounded by the pack. The girls screaming and crying as they hugged Bella, the guys thumping me on the back in congratulations. The parents looked on, some smiling, some not, as we celebrated the first pack baby.
"I knew you were hiding something!" Jared shouted victoriously.
"Oh, I can't wait to go shopping with you! This is going to be so much fun!" Emily cried, hugging Bella tightly.
Through it all, her hand never left mine.
So, guess what. Apparently, my family does have wireless down here. Exciting, cause I can update this weekend! Yay!
Tomorrow is a little iffy cause we might be spending the night with some family friends, but if I can't update tomorrow, I will as soon as we get back Saturday!
How did we like the chapter? Everybody has now been told so we can start to move on from the initial baby glow and into the nitty-gritty.
Don't forget, we've still got the Cullens coming back. And now this thing with Rachel… Plus the whole possibility of the pack splitting… Who knows what's gonna happen next?
See you guys next chapter!