SM owns twilight.

Chapter fifteen.

I plodded through my marking for Prof. Aro, as things got busy around the house. I sat upstairs snarling and grumbling, red pen in hand while I read and re-read the student's work in front of me... while Seth, Colin and Brady, transformed my yard into a tidy, user-friendly lawn, from a previously unkempt jungle, full of high grass and fallen tree limbs.

Seth's crew came and worked away diligently, joking all the while as they happily mowed, chopped and pruned. Then they built and started a compost heap for me and dragged the tree limbs away to La Push for to use for firewood. Then they constructed a sturdy chicken run and shelter, they even supplied me with a couple of young hens, who were just about to begin their life as mature hens who lay eggs.

Rufus and I found our new girls endlessly amusing. They enjoyed Angela's and my kitchen scraps so much, and scratched around in the mud looking for worms and slugs. Their feathery antics made me laugh, and Rufus thought that his new post outside their run, was his favourite place to be. I couldn't wait till they started laying delicious, fresh eggs.

I planned that in the up-coming spring, Seth's crew could start prepping the old flaky, boards which clad the house ready to start painting the house a new colour. I decided on pale yellow ochre, with a cream trim for the windows and eaves, maybe a dark, rusty red colour for the front door, I hadn't really decided if that was the colour I wanted.

Esme insisted on paying her personal art conservator a visit with Dad's paintings, and paying for them to be professionally cleaned. The conservator remounted and sealed the frames, so that insects and mould wouldn't attack the heavy paper they were painted on. Overall, the paintings were in very good condition, even after being stored in a dusty, damp garage for over twenty years.

Dad's five landscape paintings found spots around my living room, and I was so happy that they were all back home, where they belonged.

I had a small job of checking Charlie's grave and his finished black granite headstone. It was more than a little strange, going back to his grave, but I met the guy who had carved and made the headstone, and watched as he worked, setting it into the earth and concreting around it to provide stability against the weather.

The headstone looked glossy and black. I had just wanted simple words, nothing fancy. Dad was a simple man, never felt any need for fanfare. I lay a simple bunch of white lilies down on the bare earth, in front of the stone.

I remembered our funny times together, when he wanted me to learn how to fish. I had cried and cried when the live bait of wiggling worms and chirping crickets, had to be hooked and thrown into the water to attract the fish.

I kept on falling into whatever body of water was nearby, and getting all blue and shivery. I never meant to get all wet, it just kind of happened!

I wasn't much of a fishing buddy...sorry Charlie!

Hypothermia was a constant companion of mine growing up, not enough body fat I guess. It didn't matter how much Charlie rugged me up and sat me close to the fire, I was still bone-chillingly cold. Luckily I could read though, so as I grew I sat there quietly not disturbing him, entertaining myself with what ever book I had my nose in, and keeping well away from the water.

I remember Dad being sad, but trying hard not to show it, when I went to college that first time. He tried not to cry, but I knew that he would be letting the tears flow. once I had driven away in Bertha.

He got sick soon after my first year started, but hid it from me. I wished I had known, I could have somehow made him seek treatment earlier. Maybe he could have lived and I wouldn't be crying at his grave.

I hoped that where ever he was... that the fishing was great, that he could paint in peace and be free... free from suffering and free of pain

The historical society didn't have much information for me, as my grandfather and great grandfather didn't come from Forks or the Olympic Peninsular.

I found them all listed on a military database, and it appears that the newest of the uniforms, belonged to my father's father, an interesting navy man based in Hawaii.

There he was known for surfing his old Hawaiian Malibu, and wearing colourful, tropical shirts, when not in uniform. He was based in Pearl Harbor, worked as a weather specialist, and fell in love and married the girl, who worked in the base's kitchen as a cook.

So my Nanna was originally a beautiful Hawaiian local, who cooked her way into my grandfather's heart. I bet she did a great hula dance too!

My grandfather's father and his brother were both naval officers, and before that, their father was an officer during the Civil War, for the northern states.

I gently pulled out their uniforms and swords. Carefully packed underneath were some old war journals, which of course I found fascinating.

Maybe one day, I could make time to sit down and transcribe them all. At least put them online for others to use for historical research purposes. I'll ask around when I go down to the campus in Monterey, they have a History department there and one of the staff is friendly with Aro.

Maybe they will help me, I'm sure they see old, hand written documents all the time.

At the eight week point, the Cullens and I went along to an appointment to have an ultrasound and see the specialist.

We all were excited to see two little peanuts with two little heartbeats!

We gasped and cried and hugged!

They were real!

Leah's granny was correct and I winked at Esme, and she nodded back at me.

So twins!

It gave me a reminder that yes, I really was pregnant.

Dr Naidoo was very happy to see how well the two babies were progressing.

She gave me all the same advice that Carlisle had, and impressed on me the fact that, I should keep active, but not overdo anything. Also, that if I needed to and had a chance, I should put my feet up and take a nap during the day. She wanted me to eat small, frequent meals and keep up with my supplements.

She organised for fortnightly appointments, to monitor that progress and ensure that the babies were fine. She said my babies weren't sharing a placenta which was a small blessing, and that I had a good chance of going through the pregnancy, and them making it all the way to full term.

She told me to read up about twin pregnancies, but not to worry too much, that although natural birth for twins was possible, that when the time came, it was possible that I might need to have a caesarean to deliver them safetly.

Her gentle palpitations on my tummy, were calming and easy, she gave me her personal phone number and said to make sure to ring her if I had any pain, bleeding or worries.

My next appointment would be a few days before Christmas.

On the phone Leah shouted and cried and she told me to come see her as soon as possible. I told her that I would never go against her granny's predictions ever again, and Rufus and I would be coming down, to hand all of the marking I had completed back to Prof. Aro.

And talking about marking, the same student kept coming up again and again with brilliant papers and exams results!

Whoever this was, was obviously someone really special, someone with a great future.

The other students kept producing similar, boring, average results, except those few, who were obviously erratic in their answers and results...I strongly suspected that they were cheating, but not very successfully as their results were so varied... ranging from perfectly brilliant to less than hopeless.

I made a note for Aro about what I had suspected, and sent off the finished results via email.

Later in the week, Rufus and I would make another trip, stopping at Leah and Marcy's place. I'm sure our pets would just love that, and then down to Pia and Aro's place where she would fuss over Rufus again, and he would gain large amounts of weight, eating six meals a day. Pia was incorrigible! If she had her way, Rufus would end up looking like a cat version of the Michelin man!

On the phone to Pia, she mentioned that Aro had organised for a big festive gathering, for all of the students and staff at their place, and it would coincide with my trip down there. I laughed and told her to let me help with the food, and she admonished me, saying that I was to rest and enjoy myself. The whole thing was going to be fully catered.

I sighed down the phone and promised her that I would leave the kitchen alone, and mingle with the guests.

The only big downer in my life, were the crazy calls I had received from Renee.

She sounded paranoid and upset with me, and verbally harangued me about Charlie's art.

At first I couldn't understand what on earth she was talking about.

She continued at accuse me of deliberately upsetting her.

In that moment, I realized that she had finally lost all sense of reason.

When I asked her why... why she thought I was deliberately upsetting her, by asking her if she knew anything about the five paintings.

She rambled and shrieked... and confusingly rambled on some more.

Saying stuff like 'no one understood her', and 'why did she have to put up with an ungrateful daughter'...at that point I cracked and realised I had had enough.

I told her to not bother ringing anymore. I told her that I'd found out what she did to Charlie's and his creativity.

Renee cackled and said she had taken the paintings down off the wall and put them in the bin... but Charlie must have rescued them from the trash and hid them from her.

Then she went into another meaningless, rambling monologue.

I told her that from now on, she was no longer my mother, and I refused to have anything more to do with her.

Ending the call was such a relief.

I shook in anger. Poor Dad, fancy her throwing his art in the bin...who actually does something like that? What a nasty bitch!

I texted Phil, to say a goodbye and to let him know that I wouldn't be keeping in touch with Renee.

He was now all on his own, with my crazy-assed mother.

I felt sorry for the poor guy, he didn't deserve to have to put up with her wild erratic behaviour, but he did marry her and who knows how long that relationship would last?

Renee's rambling speech made me wonder if she was drunk and/or on something... perhaps she was in the process of having a mental collapse, who knows?

It was going to be Christmas in just a month!

I planned on trying something wonderful, a Christmas lunch for everyone I wanted to thank for helping make this last couple of months livable.

I wanted to include Seth, Colin and Brady, Esme and Carlisle, Angela ...and Harry hopefully! Maybe even Leah could even make it up here for lunch; I would love it if she came.

I wanted to make the day a happy one, with a big baked turkey and baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce as well as a steamed plumb pudding, homemade vanilla and macadamia ice cream, and brandy custard.

I planned to buy an ice-cream maker while I was in California, it would be a Christmas present to myself. I wanted to try new flavours.

I would make a bunch of delicious chutneys, jams and jellies for presents, and to decorate a real spruce, rather than the sad looking, plastic one which I sent to the dump.

I wanted tinsel, bows, bells, holly and mistletoe decorating the rest of the house. I even thought of getting Seth's crew to put up strings of twinkling lights all around the outside of the house.

The day before I left for California, I sent out invitations for my Christmas lunch in the mail. I would make sure my festivities this year included lots of silly carol music and paper hats and most of all, thanking everyone for being wonderful friends to me.

I wondered if I could invite Jasper? I'd like to be his friend, and he was someone who helped construct my window seat after all. I ran the idea passed Esme, she gave me Jasper's address, but she told me he was away for the next two months on location in Mexico and El Salvador photographing for National Geographic.

I sent him an invitation anyway, just in case he was able to make it up here.

He might be able to make here it here another year for Christmas. I could hope, I guess.

I still dreamt of Jasper...food and longing, ending in a deep and intense orgasmic finale.

These daily dreams had nearly become an accepted part of my life now.

Waking up like that all hot and flushed.

It was crazy, but who could I ask about it?

How would I describe my symptoms... and who would believe me?

For someone like me, who had virtually no real experience and who had previously never been a sexual being at all, it was a shocking revelation that this could feel so amazing, and yet deeply unsettling at the same time.

Was it just my body responding to the raised levels of hormones that made me dream like this?

Was it an unconscious desire to be with Jasper?

In the dreams there was never any sex or even nudity, it just always finished with an orgasm... was that mad or what?

And someone as beautiful, accomplished and desirable as Jasper, would undoubtedly be avoiding me like the plague in the future, because I made him feel like crap and ended up sending him into shock, as I forced him to listen to me confront him on the facts of my life.

Carlisle and Esme thought that he'd be fine, and told me to stop worrying.

Would I be forever dreaming of Jasper, but never really knowing him?

Maybe it would be fine... and I should stop fretting about how I overwhelmed him. He was an adult after all!

On my last evening in the house, Rufus, Angela and I enjoyed sitting at either end of the lovely window seat, playing chess, while the rain pelted down outside and the fire-light flickered around the walls.

Some of Angela's cushions and books had made their way into my living room, and we decided that they looked good there. I thanked her for being my friend, and never letting me down.

When I revealed my pregnancy with twins to her she was surprised, but smiled at me.

"They are the Cullen's babies, aren't they?"

I nodded silently and she hugged me.

"That's the most amazing, bravest thing I've ever heard. Let me be with you, when you want someone to understand, to listen and be there. I get how most people won't get it, but I do, I really do. Let me tell you a secret, I'm my mother's daughter, but my biological father is my uncle."

I looked at her.

"My dad, was infertile, so they used my uncle's sperm to have me, and for that I'll be forever grateful to him."