July 14th, 2009 – Week 37

Sam picked up my hand and kissed my knuckles. "They're beautiful, Emily."

The midwife printed the picture with a grin on her face and wiped the gel from my stomach. "Everything is looking great. They're positioned well, neither one is presenting breech, though that will probably change in the next few weeks, heart rates are strong…everyone looks healthy. You two are very lucky."

I sighed in relief, and rolled down the hem of my shirt. Sam put his hand on my back and helped me sit up. He kissed my jaw, right next to my ear.

"I'm so proud of you."

I beamed, rubbing a hand over the top of my stomach and feeling one of the girls kick back at me.

As the midwife left, Sara came back in. "Blood work shows nothing abnormal. Your iron levels are perfect, blood pressure is good, sugar is a little high but nothing to be worried about."

"Am I okay for the homebirth?" I couldn't imagine her saying no at this point. It sounded like everything was as good as I could hope for.

"At this point, I say go ahead…but I reserve the right to change my mind if anything comes up." She warned, partially teasing.

I nodded seriously. "I won't do anything that you don't think is safe."

Sam clutched his arms around my shoulders tightly, protectively. He didn't like the idea of anything not safe.

Sara rushed to reassure him. "Right now, everything looks very good. Just the way it should for a homebirth. I just want you to be careful."

I opened my mouth, but Sam spoke first. It didn't matter, he took the words right out of my mouth. "We will be."

When we arrived back at home, the fan was still blowing into the nursery, as part of Sam's extreme plan to keep any paint fumes away from me. Also, I think it was a plan to keep the nursery design away from me for the time being. He had prevented me from being within ten feet of the door for weeks now. He wanted it to be a surprise for the new mommy.

"Sam!" I whined, as he ran ahead of me once again and spread his wide berth in front of the door. "Sooner or later I'm going to have to go in there."

"Just let me adjust one thing, and then you can go in. I promise." Sam slid inside the door and clicked it shut behind him. I leaned against the doorframe and crossed my arms. I had only seen the individual things going into the room, the paint chips, and the little bit that Sam had painted before he decided to surprise me. I had picked out a new, whitewashed rocking chair, and a purple woolen blanket during a shopping trip last month. Seth had stopped by a few days ago with identical lavender scented teddy bears, a week or so after we'd announced that the girls had been confirmed as identical.

I'd seen all the individual pieces of the nursery but Sam had been the one to put it all together. Honestly, it made me a little nervous. Kim thought I was crazy for not putting up a bigger fight, and essentially letting my husband decorate the babies' room by himself. I had never seen Sam do anything creative in his entire life, so I had no idea what the room was going to look like. Maybe the paint would be uneven, the furniture arranged all wrong, and the beds covered in bedding that would smother the girls.

It wouldn't really matter, because – in all actuality – I couldn't have done it anyway. These last few weeks, when Sam was coming home and going right into the nursery to work, I was either peeing, eating, or napping in the chair because I couldn't sleep in bed anymore. I never would have had the energy to design a nursery.

It didn't mean I wasn't worried.

Sam cracked open the door and leaned his head out. "Are you ready?"

I nodded, heaving myself off the doorframe and closing my eyes. I felt Sam step out of the way and open the door.

"Open your eyes."

I should have known that it would be perfect. As I looked around the room, I couldn't believe that I had ever doubted him.

The paint was a brilliantly even coat of purple on the top, with a border of purple daisies and white and purple stripes on the bottom. Two mobiles, made of hanging plastic purple daisies and leaves, hung over each delicately white crib. The bedding was white, a little lacy, and not excessive. Little white shelves above each crib held the teddy bears, the baby monitors and black and white pictures of our wedding, framed in green. In one, Sam was holding my belly, and in the other, he was knelt in front of me, kissing it. The rocking chair sat in the corner by the window, my purple blanket draped over the arm carelessly. The changing table, clad in bedding that matched the cribs, was against the wall, under the windows. The little dresser in the corner opposite the rocking chair already housed tiny purple socks and little white slippers from the baby shower. Above the white valance on the window, a piece of green vinyl wall art read, "A world to blossom under your footsteps."

Sam was watching me examine the room. "Emily?"

I had no words, so instead I whirled to find him standing behind me in the doorway, seeing more things as I turned – a green clock on the wall to the right of the door, the dimmer switch on the light panel – and I rushed toward him. "Sam, Sam! It's perfect! Better than I'd ever dreamed." The girls heartily agreed, kicking rapidly in my stomach. "I love it."

His face lit up, the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, proud of his handiwork. We had talked about his role as a father and what he was doing during my pregnancy to fulfill that role, and he had mentioned that he felt it was his duty to build his girls a safe, loving environment. "You did a wonderful job," I praised him.

Sam wrapped his long arms around me, my stomach getting in the way more and more, and I kissed his mouth.

"They'll be such happy babies!" I promised him.

He rumpled my hair, "They won't even be able to see the color."

"So?" I snorted, "They'll be safe, warm and surrounded by flowers. What else could a baby want?"

We kissed for a few more minutes, before I pulled away to further examine the nursery.

Sam laughed at my fascination, but instead of leaving me alone, he took my hand and showed me every little detail, right down to the daisy knobs on the dresser drawers.

I had a hard time walking now, instead I waddled my way around the house on swollen ankles. I had gained 50 lbs since November, a number that was added to significantly by my cravings for carbs. In the last two months, all I wanted was rice, pasta and bread. Sam was near perfect, always making whatever I asked for, but making me eat vegetables and meat every night for dinner. He was crazy about my health, which was a good thing. I found it annoyingly endearing.

At the moment, I was waddling through the bedroom, trying desperately to get into a pair of maternity jeans without jumping up and down, my hair tied up in a ponytail and one of Sam's hoodies covering my very large stomach. Once the jeans were buttoned, under my belly, unfortunately, I sat on the bed and looked down at my bare feet. As much as would have loved to wear sandals, they simply weren't conducive to my current size and coordination.

"Sam!" I called cheerfully.

"Coming!" he replied, and was at the door in a matter of minutes. "What?"

I waved one bare foot at him and he grinned.

"Need some help?"

I stuck my tongue out at him, teasing, "Yes, please."

Sam grabbed a pair of white socks from the dresser, and then knelt at my feet. I had needed his help with socks for two weeks now, and he did it differently every time. I was a little anxious to see what he had planned for today.

He picked up one foot by the back of my ankle, looked up at me through long, black eyelashes, and kissed the top of each of my toes. He licked his way up my ankle, eliciting a mortifyingly loud moan from me, before blowing hot breath all the way up the inner seams of my jeans as he slid the first sock over my foot. By the time he reached the apex of my thighs, I was whimpering. He shot me a sly grin, skipped right over my center and proceeded down the other seam, while sliding on the other sock. Next, he reached for my shoes, never once breaking eye contact as he put them on and laced them up. Finished, he placed my feet back on the ground.

"Sam!" I groaned.

Winking, he leaned forward and pressed a single, light kiss to the fabric covering my center. "A promise for later."

I tried to reach out and hit him, but I was too late and I swiped at thin air. Sam grabbed my hand and helped me up. "You suck." I retorted.

Sam just laughed. "Are you ready to leave?"

I rolled my eyes, "Not really."

"Emily, come on." He pulled my hand and dragged me out the door, my swollen feet and legs hurrying to keep up so I wouldn't fall on my face. "It'll be fun. We haven't been out in ages."

I would hardly call a pack bonfire "going out" but it meant a lot to Sam and he had been a saint these last few weeks, as I got progressively crankier, fatter and less mobile. It wouldn't be very fun for me, everyone touching me and gooing at my belly, but I put on a smile and followed Sam to the car. He refused to carry me on his back anywhere nowadays, a safety decision I had agreed with.

Jacob, Seth and Leah were just walking out of the trees as we pulled up in the car. Jake pulled me to his chest and kissed my hair.

Sam growled playfully in his direction, "Get your hands off my girl, Black!" Jake tilted his head back and roared with laughter.

"Don't worry – Nessie will be here soon!"

I grinned happily. I loved Nessie, and she and Claire made great playmates, at least for the time being.

We walked to the fire site together, meeting Jared and Kim on the way there. They told us that Quil, Claire, Paul and many of the new, younger wolves were already at the fire, just waiting for Jake and Sam to arrive. This story telling would be a lot more crowded than any of the ones before.

Everyone was busy talking, eating and drinking when we walked into the clearing. Sam claimed an empty log, and spread a blanket on the ground before it. He sat down on the log, and then helped me lower myself onto the blanket so that I could rest my head on his outstretched legs. Seth brought us some burgers (one for me and four for Sam) and two bottles of water. Sam was being a good sport an abstaining from alcohol with me.

Edward showed up a few minutes later, placing Nessie in Jake's waiting arms. He only hung around for a moment, waving to Sam and I, before he left. The treaty was all but abolished now – the Cullens free to roam on our lands and us on theirs – but it still felt a little strange. Nessie kissed Jake's cheek and he hugged her tighter, missing each other after only hours apart. I knew the feeling all too well.

When Old Quil and Billy showed up, along with Sue Clearwater, I handed over the notebook, knowing that I wouldn't last very long in wake of the comfortable heat of the fire and Sam playing with my hair. Sure enough, halfway through the first Taha Aki story, I was feeling my eyelids droop and my head sway.

I fought to stay awake, but soon Sam bent his head and whispered in my ear. "Sleep, sweetie, I'll wake you when it's time to go."

I tried to nod, but nestled my head into Sam's lap instead. Within minutes, I was fast asleep.

True to his word, Sam gently shook me awake as everyone else was leaving. "Emily, darling." I opened my eyelids slowly, taking in Sam's face in the glow of the fire.

"Hello, sleepyhead." Sam reached down and lifted me out of the sand, carrying me bridal style in his arms to the car. The cool beach breeze was waking me up, and I rolled down the window to breathe in the fresh air.

"How was it?" I asked, as Sam drove us home.

He took my hand in the darkness. "The younger guys really loved it."

"It's a fascinating history to be a part of." Suddenly, in my sleep-ridden state, I heard myself utter a question I had planned to save for when the girls were born. "Sam? Do you think the girls will change?"

His head snapped around to look at me, and he placed a hand on my stomach. "No, Emily, I don't."

"But, Leah –"

"Leah was a special exception. I don't think she can…have children…so she can't pass on the bloodline." He took a deep breath and continued, "I think it's much more likely that our girls will be imprinted on." He broke into a wide smile, "They do have a pretty impressive heritage."

"Yeah, I guess." We both rubbed my womb absentmindedly. "When are we going to tell them?"

"As soon as they're old enough." Sam said decidedly.

I looked out the window, my braids flying in the breeze coming through the window. "I can't wait to tell the bedtime stories about their ancestors "

Sam kissed my hand. "I loved the tribal stories as a kid, but we should fully inform them sooner or later – let's not wait until they figure it out for themselves, or until one of Jared's kids changes in front of them."

He pulled up to the house, and was around to my side in a few seconds, opening the door and helping me out. I kicked off my shoes the minute we got in the door, leaning on Sam's arm for balance. However, not even a place to lean could steady me, and I fell forward, landing on my knees, with one hand halfway on Sam's arm and one hand on his crotch.

"Emily!" Sam yelled, "Are you okay?"

I was fine, but instead of answering with words, I rubbed my hand purposefully against his jeans. He moaned, pulling me up from the floor with one hand.

"What the hell was that?"

I pulled him down by his collar and kissed him, "Payback for teasing me earlier."

He nipped at my ear, "It's not teasing if I plan on following through."

The following morning, we were awakened harshly by a rap on the door. We had opposite reactions; Sam jumped out of bed and pulled on boxers from the floor, while I clutched the comforter closer around my naked stomach.

He bent to kiss me before running to the door, "be right back."

I waited until the front door closed before I rolled out of bed and pulled a pair of sweatpants on, with the hoodie from last night. "Sam? Who was it?"

He grunted in response, and I hurried out of the room. Sam was lugging a large cardboard box into the living room.

"Is that…?" I asked, eagerly.

Sam dropped the box in the middle of the room, and gestured toward it grandly. "Our birthing pool!"

I waddled over as fast as I could and Sam helped me lower myself to the floor. He wrapped his arms around my stomach, my back to his chest, and we read the booklet together. He rubbed my womb, soothing the girls, and kissed my neck.

"It's almost time." He whispered in my ear.

This was a very quick update, and I hope you enjoyed it! The next chapter will be the home birth, but I've lost the copy of the chapter I was working from, so I'll have to totally rewrite it. You can expect to see it in the next few weeks. Thanks again for reading, and please take the time to review!