CHAPTER SEVEN

"Right," Quil said. He went into the kitchen to start cooking something, and I took Jayna and Jason out of their car seats. I laid them on a blanket in the living room, where we could see them from the kitchen table.

Our first night together was interesting. The kids both needed a proper bath, a concept that was new to both of us. Quil brought a little bucket of water into the living room and poured some of the freshly-opened baby soap into it. He brought me two washcloths and a pair of diapers, and I decided to go to it.

I stripped Jason down to just his diaper and laid him on the floor. He was awake now, and his little eyes looked up at me curiously. I dipped the washcloth in the soapy water and gently started wiping him down.

A few minutes after starting Quil came around the corner with our video camera.

"Oh hi," I said, giving him a smirk.

"Hey," he said. "What are you doing?"

"Oh you know," I said. "Giving our children their first baths. No big deal."

"Nope," Quil said. "Not a big deal at all."

He filmed the whole process with Jayna lying patiently on a blanket next to us. I put lotion on Jason, changed his diaper, and swaddled him in his pajamas. They fit him well. I got him all wrapped up in his blanket and gave him to Quil, so he had the camera in one hand and Jason in the other.

Quil filmed the whole process with Jayna only she made a little more noise than her brother. She didn't like the lukewarm water very much, and she cried the whole time. She wasn't very loud though, so Quil and I talked over her, laughing.

Both Quil and I were pretty wiped after that, and after showering, decided it was bedtime for all of us. We laid the babies in the bassinettes we had in our room, and shut off the lights. They had been asleep since after their baths at this point. I curled up next to Quil and pushed my full body against his, something I hadn't been able to do in quite a few months.

"Hi," he whispered to me through the darkness.

"Hi," I whispered back.

"I'm so proud of you, Claire," Quil said to me, kissing me on the lips.

"I don't know," I said. "I was kind of scared."

Quil chuckled. "I was terrified. But you did good."

"Thanks," I said. I kissed him. "And thanks for being there. I couldn't have done it without you."

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too," I told him.

We were both asleep within minutes.

I slept like a rock for the first three hours that night. I'm pretty convinced that the house could have been burning down around me and I still would have stayed asleep. Around midnight though, I woke up from Quil shaking my arm.

I immediately heard crying, and rolled over to find Quil standing there with Jayna in his arms. She was crying her eyes out, but still wasn't very loud. I could hear Jason crying in his bassinette. "What's up?" I asked, suddenly very awake. I started to climb out of bed to get Jason, and did my best not to cringe as I felt my over-tired muscles strain.

"I'm not sure," Quil said. "I've tried rocking her and changing her, but she's been crying for twenty minutes now."

"Okay," I said, pulling Jason out of the crib and feeling his little body curl into my chest. I thought for a moment and took in my surroundings.

I turned to Quil. "I could try to nurse them," I said.

He gave me a look. "Can you do that?" he asked.

I looked down at my chest. "I feel like that is a very strong possibility."

He chuckled. "Okay," he said. "Where do you want to do this?"

"Well," I said. "Let's just try it in the bed."

I held Jason in one arm and threw another pillow up onto the bed. I climbed up and leaned back, contemplating the task in front of me.

I shot Quil one more look, and then just went for it.

I had never experienced anything like it before in my life. Both of them figured out how to do it immediately. I was quite impressed. I had also never felt more connected to anything in my life. Not even Quil. The four of us sat there for over an hour; a family.

The kids let Quil and I sleep until six am, but after that, they were up. We got up and got ready to start our day. My parents were coming over at nine; they still hadn't got to meet their grandchildren. Quil showered while I got the kids dressed, and then I showered. It was very different having two little babies in the house, but they were both relatively laid back.

During my parents visit Quil and my dad assembled the electric swings that had been handed down to us from Leah and Emily. We got Jason and Jayna cozy in them and they both loved it. My mom started taking a million pictures of course, falling into the brand-new grandma mode immediately. It was adorable.

Quil had work that night, and I knew Wyatt was running patrol, so I decided to call Ashley and see if she wanted to brave our first times alone with our children together. She laughed at me, but told me yes. She would come over around seven.

Ashley and I had a great time. Mackenzie was a little bit feistier than either Jason or Jayna, but she wasn't fussy. She was just strong-willed. Both Ashley and I were fast asleep on the couch by the time Quil got home, and I woke up in bed.

About a week after the kids had been born, Sam and Emily decided to have a bonfire. It had been several weeks since our last one, and I missed talking to everyone. This was our first time really going out with the kids, even if we were only going to be a few blocks away to Sam and Emily's back yard. We had to officially pack a diaper bag, and ours was big enough that we could fit both of their things inside it.

We brought three large containers of potato salad to the bonfire, and got to Sam and Emily's house just as the sun was starting to set. The weather was absolutely perfect for La Push, and I couldn't imagine being more content as we each pulled one of the babies out of the car. I got the diaper bag, and Quil managed all three of the potato salads in his empty arm. The sound of all the kids playing was so familiar and comforting that I was smiling from ear to ear as we walked around the corner.

"Hey guys!" Cory said as we walked into the backyard. He took the potato salad from Quil and took it into the kitchen where there was massive spread of food. The Cullens were all here, and would be staying here for a couple more weeks.

There was a blanket laid out that I assume the babies had all been laying on, but they were all being passed from hand to hand still. I sat down in a lawn chair that was set out next to Bella, and she said hello. "How are you feeling?" Bella asked me.

"Great," I told her. "Honestly."

"I'm glad to hear it," Bella said.

It wasn't long before I passed Jayna to Rosalie, and Jason was already being cooed at by Alice and Jasper. I talked to Nessie at a million miles a minute about everything. The Cullens helped us get all of the kid's food and it wasn't long before we were all sitting around eating the delicious food.

I only had to go inside to nurse the kids once, and Lauren, Lyssie, and Nicole were all inside doing the same thing. It was pretty funny as we all sat there nursing our brand new babies. Nicole and I still had no clue what we were doing, but Lyssie showed me some tricks about how to nurse both of them at the same time, and that helped a lot.

Emily started a movie inside around nine o'clock for the kids, and Jenny and Nick were supervising that. We brought the babies inside, and told Nick to come get one of us if they started getting fussy. At that point though, they were all already asleep and shouldn't be much of a problem for the next few hours.

It was much quieter with all of the kids falling asleep while watching the movie, and I could hear all of the sounds I had grown up with during my summers in La Push. It was peaceful, and leaning on Quil's shoulder, I was very content.

Suddenly, I felt Bella stiffen where she was beside me, and jump to her feet. The other Cullens were already on their feet, speaking too quickly for me to keep up. I stood up swiftly, as did everyone else. I couldn't understand what was going on around me, but scenes like this one were all too familiar from my childhood. Quil was beginning to quiver beside me, and I subconsciously moved toward the house. Emily grabbed my hand, and we stood in front of the back door with all of the other humans in that backyard.

"It's okay," Andrea said to the group, slowing down enough for me to understand. "They aren't bad…"

But neither she nor any of her family members moved from their defensive positions.

I held my breath, and in the dead silence I could just barely hear the sound of footsteps slowly approaching the house, coming from the woods. I stared in the direction of the sound, and I could suddenly make out a pair of deep golden eyes, glowing from the dark of the woods.

A man, clearly vampire, emerged slowly, with his hand at his sides, palms toward us. "I come in peace," he said very slowly. He stopped just a few yards from Carlisle, and Carlisle slowly stood up.

The man took one fleeting glance around, but his movements were very quick. "My name is Jai," he said, and his accent was faintly Indian. "Are you, in fact" he said. "The Cullens?"

Carlisle was quiet for only a second. "We are," he said. "Can I help you with something?"

Two more vampires walked out of the woods just then with their hands at their sides, palms out. "These are my family members; Kahini and Mayur," Jai said.

"My name is Carlisle," Carlisle said, skipping the rest of our introductions.

He glanced around uncertainly at all of the vampires, werewolves, and humans surrounding him. He stopped when his eyes got to Nessie.

"I see your eyes are gold," Carlisle said. "Why don't you start there?"

Jai let out a short, small chuckle. "Well," he said. "A few years ago, when the Volturi asked all of the vampires all over the world to come to Volterra, I was entranced by your life style. I suggested the idea to my family, and we started incorporating it into our normal diet. Within the last two years though is when we have really made an attempt at a 'vegetarian' lifestyle. We all mess up sometimes, but we have been much happier since we changed our diets."

"I'm glad to hear it," Carlisle said. "May I ask where you're from?"

"Dapoli, India," Jai said.

"I was there a couple hundred years ago," Carlisle said. "The people there are very friendly."

"Yes," Jai said. He looked around again very quickly, and then turned toward Bella. "Is your name Bella?" he asked her.

Bella looked a little startled. "Yes," she said calmly. "Can I help you with something?"

He darted his eyes to Nessie again and I could visibly see Jacob tense. "Is that your daughter?" Jai asked Bella.

"Yes," Bella said. "She is."

Jai sighed, and seemed to relax the slightest bit. "We have come because we need your help with something."

"I'm all ears," Bella said.

"Recently, one of our family members has been put in the same situation you were in a few years ago."

Bella squinted her eyes. "Is she pregnant?"

Jai nodded. "If that's what you can even call it. It's… horrific."

"Who is the father?" Edward asked immediately.

"My son, Sanjiv," Jai said.

"How far along is she?" Carlisle asked.

"We only found out about two weeks ago," Jai said. "Since then, we have been busy tracking you down. Every vampire we met said you were the only ones who could help us." Jai hung his head. "She is so young," he said quietly.

"We can help you," Carlisle said. "But we need to get back to Dapoli as soon as possible."

"Will she live?" Jai asked suddenly.

"She will be as living as you and I are," Carlisle said. "That is if I have anything to say about it."

Jai sighed. "Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this will mean to Sanjiv. How much it means to me," he added.

"I think I know," Edward muttered.

"How fast can we get a plane to Dapoli?" Carlisle asked.

"I'm already on it," Esme said, and I noticed that she was on her cell phone.

"Get a ticket for me," Bella said.

"And me," Edward added.

"Six total," Esme said to herself.

Edward and Carlisle started speaking very rapidly to Jai, and I could no longer keep up with the conversation.

I saw Bella walk over to Nessie, who was standing just a few yards in front of me. Bella gave her daughter a hug.

"I guess it's good we wrote everything down…" Nessie said. She sighed. "I think I'm in shock."

"I know I'm in shock," Bella said.

"There's a flight that leaves in seventy minutes from Port Angeles," Esme said.

Joel tossed Edward his keys. "Take our car," he said. "I'll ride up with you and drive it back down."

Edward kissed Nessie on the head, and then they were gone.

Everything moved so quickly in the vampire world.

"Well then," Jasper said a minute later. He sat back down around the fire. "Business as usual."

Everyone laughed, and we slowly made our way back to the fire. Quil squeezed my hand as we sat down together.

"I cannot believe this is happening…" Nessie said. She shook her head.

"Neither can I," Seth said.

"I'm scared, quite honestly," Jacob said.

"Me too," Alice said. "We don't need a repeat of last time."

"Yup," Emmett said. "Glad I wasn't there for that one."

"It was disgusting," Rosalie said.

"My husband is talking about my birth," Nessie said. "Oh my god."

Everyone laughed at that.

I stood up to go check on the kids. When I came in, all of them were asleep except for Nick. "Hey," I said.

"Hi," he whispered.

"Can't sleep?" I asked him.

He looked around at all of the little kids laying on him. Even Jenny was crashed on his shoulder. "Believe it or not," he said. "I'm a little hot."

I laughed, and put my hand on his head. "Man," I said. "You are a little warm. Are you feeling okay?"

"Alright I guess," Nick said.

"Huh," I said. "Well okay. Did you hear what happened out there?" I asked.

"Most of it," Nick said. "Sounds pretty scary."

I nodded. "Just a little."

I stood up and went back out to the fire. "Everyone is asleep," I said. "Except for Nick," I added.

"That kid doesn't sleep," Joel said. "No matter what time I go into his room, he is always awake."

"Maybe he's about to grow," Emily suggested.

"I feel like this is a strong possibility," Leah said. "We can hardly keep him fed."

It wasn't long after that we decided to call it a night. Quil and I were exhausted, and I knew this was going to be becoming a trend now that we had our beautiful babies. We got them buckled into their car seats, and Jason screamed the whole way home. Of course, as soon as we pulled into the garage, he was quiet. Quil and I couldn't help but be amused by the whole situation.

The night was relatively uneventful. I had to feed the kids at three am, but Quil sat up with me. It didn't take us long. They were good at nursing, and their little tummies couldn't hold much milk yet anyways.

The next day both Quil and I had work, fortunately at different times. My mom was going to help out whenever our shifts overlapped, but for now, we were good. It would get a little more hectic in the fall when I started school again, but everything would work out.

I was opening the store by six, and home by noon. It was short shift, and I was glad to see my coworkers again. Quil had to work from one to five, and I prayed he didn't have to handle any horrific emergencies. He had already been the 911 operator for one reported suicide, and that was a hard thing to handle. The mother had been beside herself.

Emily had invited me and the babies over for dinner the night before, and Quil was planning on joining us as soon as he got off work. I brought the babies over around five, and the house smelled great when we walked in.

"Hey," Emily said from the kitchen.

"Hi," I said, a little breathless from carrying both babies and a diaper bag. Sam came and took the kids from me and sat them down in the living room.

"Thanks," I said.

"No problem." The babies were looking around as Allison cooed at them. Everything seemed fine, so I set the diaper bag and my purse down and went and sat in the kitchen with Emily.

"Where's Jenny?" I asked her.

"She and Nick went our hiking around three. I told them to be back by six, but they'll be back earlier if they're hungry enough."

"Are Leah and Joel coming over?" I asked.

"They're both working actually, but their three youngest kids are here. They were in the girl's room the last time I checked. "

"I see," I said.

We chatted for another half hour or so, and then Quil got there. It wasn't long before Emily started looking at the clock.

"They should be back soon…" she said to herself.

"I'm sure they're on their way," Sam said.

Quil and I helped set the table and set up two card table for the eight kids. They were pretty much old enough to be eating with us at this point, but their honestly wasn't enough room.

It was getting pretty close to six o'clock and dinner was ready, but Nick and Jenny weren't back yet. Emily sat down at the table to talk with Quil, Sam, and I, and I noticed as she kept glancing at the clock. We all were.

Suddenly, Quil jumped and stood up from the table. I glanced up at him and then the door as I watched Sam run out of it. Quil was right behind him. I only had one second to give Emily a puzzled look before we could hear what had made them jump.

"Dad!" Jenny shrieked from somewhere in the backyard of the house.

"Jenny," Emily said, knocking her chair over as she stood up and ran out the back door. I was only about a second behind her.

I followed her out the back door and quickly saw both Sam and Quil. Standing at the edge of the woods and the backyard was Jenny. Her small frame was nearly hidden by Sam and Quil, but as we neared her, Sam knelt down.

I could see all too clearly a long gash from her elbow to the middle of her pinky finger. She wasn't crying, but she was pale, and looked completely traumatized.

"Jenny," Sam said, grabbing her by the shoulders. "What happened?"

"Nick!" she gasped, completely out of breath. "He exploded into a wolf!"

Sam muttered something under his breath and shot one look at Emily. "It was a kitchen accident," he said, pointing at Jenny's arm. "Take her to the hospital; I'll call Leah."

Sam and Quil were gone in the next second, and I knew they had shifted. No wonder Nick had felt warm last night…

"Jenny," Emily said in a gasp. She wrapped her arm around her daughter's shoulders and hustled her inside. I followed them, still in shock. She grabbed a towel from under her sink and handed it to Jenny. "Wrap it around your arm and hold it tight," she told her daughter. "Claire can you watch the kids?"

"Yes," I said immediately. "Please call me…" I called as they walked out the door. Jenny slid into the front seat of the car, and I watched them speed away.

I was left with six pairs of eyes staring out the window, very confused.

I shook my head and looked over at my kids who were currently looking around distractedly, still in their car seats. "It's okay you guys," I said. "Let's eat dinner."

I went into the kitchen and pulled out the chicken Emily had been keeping warm. I took several deep breaths, trying to calm down from that experience. I had been around stuff like this my whole life, but for some reason, I just didn't handle it as well as Emily or Rachel handled it. I still kind of wigged out.

I gave Brandon and Alexis knives to cut their chicken with, and then I got to work on the other kids. Everyone was very quiet. Allison said thank you when I gave her the cut up chicken, but Cole, Paige, and Ryan just stared at me with wide eyes.

"Okay guys," I said.

"Is Jenny going to be okay?" Allison asked.

"She's going to be fine," I said.

"Claire," Brandon said. I looked at him. "What happened?"

I took a deep breath. "Well," I said. "Do you guys know what your parents do?"

"Yes," Brandon and Alexis said solemnly.

"How about you guys?" I said to Cole and Allison.

"I think so," Cole said. Allison just nodded.

"My mom is a teacher," Ryan said sweetly. Paige just looked scared.

"You're right," I told him.

I turned back to the older kids. I sighed. "Nick is a lot like your parents now," I said.

Alexis looked at me. "Do you think that's a good thing?"

I smiled at her. "I think it's a natural thing, Lex."

She smiled. "Is that going to happen to Jenny too?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Maybe." I looked around the table at all of these beautiful little babies. "It might happen to all of you."

"I'm scared," Cole said.

"That's okay," I told him. I stood up and gave all of them a kiss on the head. "We're just going to stay here for a while and eventually your parents will come get you guys. It'll be fine."

Just then, I heard two howls come consecutively. Soon after, I heard Dan calling to the other eagles. It must have taken them a while to get Nick calmed down.

Alexis looked at me. "He's going to be okay," she said.

I nodded. "He's going to be the best," I told her. The ability of these kids to comprehend such an adult situation was baffling me. Then again, I had been doing it since I was three.