Patches of Blue

by twifantasy

Quil had always been there for Claire, and he always would be there. As they marry, they face a whole new world with each other. Claire is pregnant, and they are both terrified. Together, they take on the future. Sequel to How To Deal, That Girl, Bet Me, and Leah's Happily Ever After, but can be read alone as well.

2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

After the sun rose the next morning, we all cleaned up our stuff, doused our fire, and went in our separate directions. I made my way toward my house, noting that Quil would still be out running patrol. I got home, waved good morning to my parents, and fell into bed.

Roughly eight hours later, I was woken up by a gentle nudging on my shoulder. I opened my eyes and rolled over to see Quil staring at me.

"Hi," he whispered.

"Well hello there," I said. I looked around my room, and then turned back to Quil. "Is there any particular reason that you're in my bed right now?"

He smiled. "You're mom told me to come get you up. It's two o'clock in the afternoon."

I sat up and pushed my messy hair out of my face. "Mm…" I said. I looked at him. "Did you get some sleep?"

"A few hours," he told me. "I got in around seven."

A memory from the night before came back to me suddenly. "I heard the howls last night. What was that about?"

Quil chuckled. "Oh you know, just a timed trial in the middle of the night." A timed trial was basically whenever one pack or all of the wolves and eagles were called to one meeting place by their alpha. It was a security thing. If someone got in trouble, you needed to know that someone would be there to help you pretty quickly. He laughed again. "It was totally unplanned. At some point last night Jacob realized that the only other people out were Sam and Daniel. So, they decided to have a timed trial." He smiled widely. "It took us forever. Poor old Charlie and Sue could barely keep up with all of the sleeping kids being dropped off at their door." Charlie Swan and Sue Clearwater had gotten married a few years back, and were now one of the drop off points for the pack kids who were too young to stay home by themselves. I was usually one as well, seeing as I lived the closest to Caleb and Mikayla, Lyssie and Michael, and Jeremy and Natalie. I had been woken up in the middle of the night only one other time in all my years of living in La Push. That had been during another one of their ridiculous, middle-of-the-night, timed trials.

I laughed. "Sorry I missed it," I said. "Sounds like it would have been fun to watch."

"It was hilarious," Quil said. "You should have seen us all sprinting into the middle of the woods, wearing our pajamas."

After the last timed trial, everyone had agreed to start meeting in human form. It was too difficult to communicate with the eagles not being able to hear the wolves' thoughts and vice versa. If a real emergency were ever to occur, like it had on numerous accounts before, the wolves and eagles were expected to keep their eyes and ears open and assess the situation. If it sounded or looked like an emergency, everyone was supposed to phase and handle the problem. If not, then they were to just run as fast as they possibly could to the point where the alpha's were, and wait for everyone to get there.

I laughed again. "Was everyone annoyed?"

"A little," Quil said. "But they understand. We've all been in situations where we need help, and it's good to know how fast help can be there."

I nodded, and stretched. "Well then," I said. "I should probably get up and get dressed at least."

"Yep," Quil said, getting off my bed. "By the way, there's going to be a bonfire tonight. Everyone's invited of course. That's why I woke you up."

"Alright," I said. "Where at?"

"Cliff top," he said. That was a familiar place we had bonfires. They were relatively common amongst our family in the summer months.

"Kay," I said. "I'm in."

He laughed as he shut my door behind him.

I pulled on a pair of jeans and a bright pink sweatshirt. I was entirely too lazy to do anything other than pull my hair into a ponytail, but I found a headband to hold back the fly-aways with. I looked at my make up from the night before, and decided that it was probably better to just wipe it all off. I finished getting ready, made my bed out of habit, and went out into the living room to see Quil sitting there with my parents. They stopped talking as soon as I walked in.

"Um…" I said. "Okay?"

"Pretty much," Quil said.

I shook my head. It didn't matter that much. "You want to go over there now or later?" I asked.

"Now is fine," Quil said. He stood up quickly.

So did my mom. She came over and gave me a hug. "Have a good time tonight," she said. She kissed my head.

"Okay," I said. "I will." I kissed my dad on the cheek on my way out, and followed Quil to his car.

Even this early, we weren't the first people to arrive at the cliff top. The eagle guys were all already there, throwing a Frisbee around. Quil and I said hello, and then we started to build the fire. Everyone who had something would bring a burn pile, but we sent the younger eagle boys off to look for sticks.

As the fire got higher, so did the amount of people there. This place was almost too small for us now that there were so many kids. I was immediately greeted by the three-year-olds as they came in with their multi-species parents. I laughed at the way they talked to each other.

The bonfire burned later and later, and when it came time for the stories, everyone younger than third grade was sound asleep. I listened carefully to the stories, watching the reactions the younger kids had to these not-so-make-believe stories. They were very serious for only being eight, and I realized how real these stories must seem to them. They were real to me.

The silence that always followed the stories never ceased to amaze me. Right about the time that it was starting to get awkward and someone was bound to say something, Quil stood up from where he was sitting by me. I turned to look at him and see was he was doing.

The next three seconds of my life went by in slow motion.

Quil reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small white box. He dropped down on one knee.

"Claire," he said.

By this point my mouth was hanging on the ground.

"I know it's taken me forever…. But will you please, please, please do me the honor of marrying me?"

My breath was stuck in my throat, and black spots were starting to pop in front of my eyes. I saw every single moment I'd ever spent with Quil flashing before my eyes. I saw him carrying me on his shoulders when I was a toddler. I saw him holding my hand while we waited for someone to come stitch him up, when the eagles had first attacked the wolves. I saw him giving me a standing ovation as I took my High School diploma from the hands of the superintendent.

I saw him standing at the end of an aisle, dressed in a black tux, waiting to marry me.

I gasped and blinked, and saw the smile in his eyes.

"Yes!" I said "Yes, yes, yes a thousand times yes!"

I jumped up and he swung me around in his arms. Everyone was clapping, but I was buried in Quil's shoulder, crying tears that were so happy they could've brought world peace. I hadn't seen this coming in a million years, but I guess I should have. Quil and I had never talked about marriage because it was something so definite for us that it didn't need to be discussed. We both knew that we would be married one day. I just hadn't realized how quickly that was coming.

Happy didn't cover all of the positive emotions jumping over each other in my body. I felt so elated that I could've screamed.

The weeks leading up to the wedding flew by for me. The dress that I found was beautiful! I went shopping in Port Angeles with my mother. I tried on many different types of dresses until I found one that was sleeveless with a sweetheart neckline. As soon as I tried it on, I knew it was the one. This dressed hugged me in all the right places and fit like a glove. It was very simple, yet elegant at the same time.

The day of my wedding, Emily dropped Jenny off at my house. I had asked her to be my maid of honor. She was young, but she is one of the strongest girls I know. A few years ago, when we had first come into contact with the eagles, and the wolves were attacked, Jenny stayed strong even though she was so scared. She always made sure that her younger siblings were safe if her parents weren't around. She is one of the bravest girls I know. She was going to be in eighth grade this year. I wouldn't let her see my dress until the day of the wedding. I knew she was excited. I was in my room with my mom getting ready when there was a knock on the door. My father let Jenny inside and she headed into my room where my mom was fixing my hair.

"Hey Claire!" she greeted me with a smile. "You're getting married today!"

"I know! I can't believe it! I've known Quil for so long. Today is going to be perfect."

"Yes it will be! So can I see your dress now? I laughed at her enthusiasm.

"Yeah, it's hanging up in my closet."

She opened my closet door and gasped.

"Oh, gosh, Claire; this is beautiful!"

My mom was just finishing my hair and make-up. My hair was curled and a few pieces were pulled back and held together with a silver clip that belonged to my grandmother. She passed it down to my mother and now it was being passed down to me.

My mom and Jenny left the room so that I could change. Mom came back in to lace the back of it up and tied it at my waist. She placed the veil on my head and I turned to the mirror.

"Oh wow! That dress is gorgeous on you!" Jenny said to me.

I blushed and smiled at her. "Thank you! You look really nice too. I absolutely love that dress on you." She just smiled in response. I let Jenny pick out her own dress. She looked stunning in her light purple dress. The design of it was similar to mine, but instead of being sleeveless, this dress was one-shouldered with no beading.

"Are you ready to go?" my mom asked, smiling at me.

I just nodded. My throat was starting to swell and I was afraid that I would start crying. I blinked away the tears and took my mother's hand, squeezing it tightly.

Quil and I were getting married on the beach. The venue of our wedding would be similar to Nessie's and Jakes. We both liked the setting though. It had a lot of meaning to both of us because that's where we spent most of our time when I was younger. I was just a baby when Quil had first imprinted on me. Although, at the time, I didn't really understand. He's always been my best friend and will always be.

When we got to the beach, all of the wolves, the eagles and their families were there. My mother gave me a kiss and smiled at me. When I looked into her eyes, I saw the tears that she was doing her best to hide.

"Now, don't you start crying, Mom, or I will too."

"It's your wedding day, I'm supposed to cry."

I just laughed and hugged her once more and she went to go sit down with my grandmother. My dad took my arm and I held on tight. Nessie was playing the music for the ceremony and once she started, Jenny walked slowly down the aisle with Embry, Quil's best man.

"I love you, Dad," I whispered to him, just as the wedding march began. He kissed me gently and we started down the aisle.

My eyes were fixed on Quil the entire time. He was smiling that same smile that I had always loved. I loved Quil and nothing was ever going to change that. Soon I was right next to him. I handed Jenny my bouquet and the ceremony began.

We had decided to be untraditional and write our own vows. Everything about our life together has always been untraditional. When it came time to say our vows, I went first.

"Quil, ever since that first day you laid eyes on me, I was never the same. You have always been such an important part of me. And I will always love you." It was short and sweet, but I did see a tear glistening in his eye.

"Claire, there are no words to describe how you make me feel. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I've waited for such a long time for this moment right now." He stopped for a minute and took a breath, trying to hide is tears I'm sure. "I love you."

I wasn't even trying to hide my tears now. I knew he loved me. He always had and always would. We placed our wedding rings on each other's fingers, said I do, and soon we were being announced, "Mr. and Mrs. Quil Attera."

There was a huge round of applause from our family and friends as we walked down the aisle together. We were greeted from all sides by them. I held on tight to Quil's hand and we were greeted from all sides by friends and family. When my mom came to hug me, she had tears in her eyes. I'm sure she was crying the whole time.

"Take care of my little girl, Quil."

"I will, don't worry. She'll always be safe with me." That was a promise that he'd been keeping for a very long time.

I squeezed his hand and we headed to his car. We were going to have the reception at my house. It would be a tight squeeze. All of the houses on the reservation were small though.

We waited until everyone was there to get out of the car and again we were greeted with another round of applause as we entered the backyard. The reception was just as nice as the wedding. We danced, we ate, and we danced some more. We shoved cake in each other's faces and as it got later, I left to change into jeans and a blue beaded camisole with a three quarter length black sweater and a pair of silver flats. Quil met me downstairs. He had changed into jeans and a navy blue t-shirt. He took my hand and we were pelted with rice as we headed out to his car, hand in hand.

We slammed our doors behind us and Quil turned the car on. Leah and Emily had decorated the car with 'newlyweds' signs and tin cans, and I turned to wave as we drove off. My mom was crying, but waving anyways. I saw all of my friends and family, and realized how different things were going to be now. The next time I was in La Push, I would be living with Quil, not my parents. High School seemed like a distant memory now, but seeing my classmates disappear behind me reminded me of how recently I had been sitting in a classroom with them. I saw Emily, Rachel, Kim, Nessie, and Abbey, and for the first time, I saw myself as their equals. I wasn't a little girl anymore. I was married. I was an imprint.

Our honeymoon was going to be epic. We were going to an adventure resort in California. We were going to go rock climbing, zip lining, hiking, kayaking, white-water rafting, and dirt biking. I had been hiking my whole life, and I had been rock-climbing a few times, but I had never done any of the other things. I wasn't scared though. I loved doing things that were considered semi-dangerous. The adrenaline was worth it.

We drove all night, and got to the resort in just under nine hours. I had slept most of the way, but had switched with Quil at a rest stop around two in the morning. We got to the resort around five am, right when the sky was starting to lighten up a bit. There was an overnight receptionist there, and she directed us to our cabin. The resort was really just a big camp site. Our cabin was one of the very last, on the outer edge of the lodging area. We rented an ATV for the weekend that we were going to be there, which was recommended by the staff. We loaded our three suitcases onto the back of the ATV, and drove off to find our cabin. I was excited.

Quil opened the door to the cabin and I started to walk inside. Quil threw his arm out to stop me.

"Thresh hold," he said.

I looked him up and down. "Really?" I asked.

"For sure," he said. He scooped me up before I could protest.

The cabin was beautiful. It was smallest size they had, but bigger than the house we would be living in at home. As we walked in, the living room was to our right, and the kitchen to our left. The back part of the house opened up into a screened in back porch with some outdoor furniture and a fan for when the weather was warm. We walked down the hallway together and looked first in the dainty bathroom, and finally, at the bedroom.

We didn't say much, we were both pretty tired. Quil brought in our suitcases and I started unpacking them. It didn't take us long, and when we were finished, we were both ready for a few hours of sleep. I pulled out my newly unpacked pajamas, and moved to the left side of the bed. I didn't hesitate when I pulled off my clothes and put on my pajamas. Neither did Quil. We were pretending like this was the most natural thing in the whole world, like we did this every day, but really, I was so nervous that I was shaking. Quil reached for the light switch, and we both climbed into bed.

I slid into his arms, and he kissed my forehead.

"This place is beautiful," I whispered.

"Yes," he said. "You are." He kissed my lips then. "I've waited for this for a long time," he said, rocking me a little bit.

"I know," I told him. "I'm glad you didn't wait any longer to ask me."

He brushed my hair with his hand, and I could see his dark eyes in the dim light. "I love you," I told him.

He kissed me again. "I love you too," he said. And then we ventured into deeper water.

I woke up the next morning cocooned in a sea of warmth. Quil's hand stroked my back gently and repetitively, and I woke up slowly. I felt my body moving up and down with each breath he took, and I opened my eyes. Bright sunlight streamed in the windows, and I assumed it was sometime in the late morning. I lifted my head slowly to look at Quil.

He smiled at me with sleepy eyes. "Good morning Claire," he said.

I grinned at him. "Good morning." I gave him a peck on the lips and rolled off of him. We lay cuddled in the blankets for a few moments, and the amount of happiness that filled me was indescribable.

"So," he said, his voice as warm as his body. "That was something."

I laughed. "Yeah," I said. "Definitely."

I stretched, sitting up slowly. "We should get going," I told him.

He sat up too, shaking his head to clear away the remnants of sleep. "Alright," he said. He climbed out of bed and walked over to the dresser where we had put our schedule of events. "Today we have kayaking and rock climbing."

I climbed out of bed. "I'm so excited!" I said.

He laughed. "Me too." He came over to me and pulled me close to him. "You are the best thing that's ever happened to me," he said.

I kissed him for the second time that morning. "I must concur," I said.

He laughed, and we broke apart to get ready for the day. I went to go take a shower, and Quil wandered over to the dresser to find some clothes.

Around one o'clock we left our cabin to go meet up with our instructors and group. The resort placed you in a group of six people, seeing as all of their activities were made for groups of six. Quil and I already knew that we were in a group with two other newlywed couples, but we had no idea who they were or what they were like.

Quil skidded to a stop next to the other mud-covered ATV's, and we climbed off. We had gotten there just as everyone else was, and a round of introductions ensued. Our instructors walked out of the small boat house we had been told to meet at.

"Hi," The man said. "I'm Jeff. This is Haylie." He jerked his thumb toward the girl he was walking with. "We are going to be your instructors for the weekend."

"You guys ready to get started?" Haylie asked.

"For sure," I said. I was by far the youngest there, and Quil and I got several strange looks from the other couple in our group.

"Okay," Jeff said. "So, today we are going to be kayaking in relatively calm water. There shouldn't be any reason for anyone to flip over, but Haylie and I will be there the whole time in case of an emergency."

The next half hour was spent with getting into life jackets and helmets, while they gave us some safety instructions and answered any questions we had.

The kayaking was everything I had hoped it would be. The current was fast but smooth, and Quil and I had a blast. We both got soaking wet, but we didn't care. The view was beautiful. The resort was very natural, and everything we passed looked like it had been around for hundreds of years. "So," Quil said once we were a little bit away from the other relatively timid members of our group. "Are you happy Claire?"

I gave him a look. "No Quil," I said. "I'm miserable." I hit him with my paddle. "Of course I'm happy!" I said. "Why do you ask?"

He smiled. "Because that's all I want," he said.

I shook my head. "You're silly," I told him.

"Usually," he agreed.

The rock climbing was hysterical that night. Quil and I reached the top of the wall with ease, and our instructors swiftly moved us to a more challenging wall. Quil obviously had no trouble with this wall either, but I couldn't reach most of the pegs. At one point Quil literally grabbed me by the harness and lifted me to the next peg. I couldn't remember ever laughing harder in my life. It was great.

Our long weekend was spectacular. We nearly killed ourselves having fun during the day, and we got to spend some…quality time… together at night.

Yet, like all good things, our honeymoon eventually had to come to an end. On Tuesday morning, Quil and I packed up our bags and checked out of the resort. We took our sweet time driving home. We stopped at several landmarks, bought a good lunch, and got back to La Push late that night. Quil and I were exhausted, but we brought our suitcases into our small house. I had moved my stuff in with Quil a couple of days before the wedding, so our house was all set up. The house was really only designed for one person, but we would manage.

The next morning, I woke up before Quil for once. I laid there for a while, watching him sleep. Eventually his eyelids started to flicker, and he woke up very quickly. Years of being called out in the middle of the night had him trained to be fully awake in a second. "Hello there Mr. Atera," I said.

"Hi," he said. He smiled. "You're pretty."

I shook my bed head out. "Gee thanks," I said. I stretched my arms out over my head. "So," I said. "Now what?"

He laughed. "Well," he said. "We go back to the real world."

I laughed then too. "Awesome," I said. "You have patrol today?"

"And early tomorrow morning," he said. "Twelve to five, and then one o'clock to four." The overnight shifts were shorter than the day ones so that everyone could get better sleep.

"Oh," I said. "That's rough."

"It's my welcome home present. Plus, I'm running the morning shift with Bryce." He shook his head. "He's really grown up, but he's definitely still the youngest." He was quite for a moment. "He's the only one that's not married now," he said. He smiled at me.

I nodded my head thoughtfully. "Is it really awkward, being inside each other's heads all the time?" I asked.

"Pretty much," he said. "It's not as bad as it used to be, but we definitely have our moments." He laughed. "People think about some strange things."

I smiled. "I'll bet." I pulled the covers back and got out of bed. "I'm going to get ready and then eat something. I've got work at eleven, and I'm playing a gig tonight in Forks." In the weeks between graduation and the wedding, I had been asked by a member of Fork's fire department if I would be willing to play my saxophone for a small event they were having. I had agreed, and had played my heart and soul out for half of the population of Forks. The fire department paid me pretty well, and the tips were great. Since then, I had received calls from several other organizations in Forks, La Push, and the surrounding communities, and I raked in a decent amount of money to get Quil and I started with. I also worked at the general store by the beach in La Push, and all of that money was now going toward keeping Quil and I afloat. In the years that I was growing up, Quil had attended community college and was trained as a 911 dispatcher. He was one of the five that worked for the Forks/La Push area, and that was our main source of income right now.

"Awesome," Quil said. He smiled. "Did I ever tell you how glad I am that you got that scholarship?"

I laughed a little nervously. "No," I said. I was quiet then. "Money is going to be pretty tight though, either way."

He sighed. "I was thinking about that," he said. "I'll try to pick up some extra shifts," he said. He smiled. "We'll figure it out."

"Probably," I said.

An hour later, I was walking out the door into a classic La Push drizzle. The rain didn't bother me in the summer when it was warmer. Plus, by walking to work, Quil and I could save money on gas.