Disclaimer: I do not own anything

Over the next few weeks, Damon and I got closer.

I had a long talk with Matt and he surprisingly understood me. He admitted he was a little hurt, but he just wanted me to be happy. We got really close after that and now I could confide anything in him. I still felt bad for leading him on though and I tried my hardest to find him a nice girl that would care about him the way he needed someone to care about.

I spent most weekends at the boarding house just lounging around with Damon. We spent every Thursday at the beach and the girls and I would go out on Fridays for quality time. I got really close with all of them. I was surprised by how quickly Bonnie and I became friends. I was surprised even more though when her cold demeanor toward Damon changed when we started dating. We were all surprised the most though when they started hanging out and became the best of friends. Who knew they had so much in common because no one could have predicted that one.

Jake and I made up before he left back home. I had finally had enough of Phiona's attitude toward me and told dad that if she didn't leave, I was moving out. He wasn't too happy about that one, so he sat down with Billy and talked it out. Billy completely understood where I was coming from and since Phiona had to leave, then they all had to leave. I was going to miss Billy and now Jake, but I was overjoyed to get her out.

Jake was my sun again, but I didn't need him like before and he felt the same way. We had a long talk about what happened between us and even though he still cared deeply about me, he understood that we couldn't go back to the way things were. He finally admitted that he didn't love Phiona and that he honestly didn't think she was his imprint. HE confided in me that he didn't feel anything about Phiona the way he watched Paul dote over his sister Rachel, or the way Sam goes to Emily with the snap of a finger. He was only with her because she said she was pregnant, but she was supposed to be turning 6 months and yet there was no belly. He didn't even pick up a second heartbeat and he knew she had been lying to him but hoped there was some other explanation.

The two of us and Billy had a long talk about everything Jake was bottling up. I hated seeing him like this and I knew I needed to do something for him, so he could go home with a clear mind and hopefully find his true imprint one day. After the talk with Billy, him and Jake had a long talk with her.

Turns out she wasn't his imprint and she was in a lot of trouble. Jake and I spent the last couple Tuesdays together to get our friendship back on track and now he calls almost every day. I loved having him back in my life because he had always been the light in my darkest days. I loved how close we were again and didn't realize how much I missed him until we made up. He would be coming to visit again soon, and I couldn't wait. He was happy for me and even went so far as to befriend Damon and surprisingly, they got along well.

Even though Damon was a vampire and Jake was made to kill them, the wolf in him never wanted to kill him. Damon's human smell never bothered Jake and there was never a need to act hostile toward Damon, the way he did when he was around the Cullen's. Of course, he didn't like the fact that Damon drank from humans but the fact that it didn't immediately bring threat to other people made him more ok with that fact. He wished he could bring one of vampire from Mystic home to La Push, so he could play a good prank on the others, but Billy advised hi that it wouldn't be a great idea.

Still, in the emails I received from him if we couldn't talk on the phone, he would always ask if Caroline could come down. I think he secretly has a crush on her. He even asked if Bonnie and Jeremy could come down because weird things were starting to happen, and he knew with Bonnie's powers, she would be a big help. We planned a trip to go down if things got worse and I made him promise to keep me posted.

He promised to bring Seth the next time he came up and I knew that meant Leah would come as well but I had a feeling her and Matt would get along great. I was secretly hoping she'd imprint on him because he's the total opposite of her and I really thought he'd be the one to "tame" her. Billy wouldn't come the next time since he had already been gone too long from the reservation but him and dad worked something out, so they could have their guy time together.

The Cullen's and I were getting closer, but I was still not ok with Edward. He kept calling me sweet names and telling me things he thought I wanted to hear. He would always find some reason to touch me in small ways and when I shivered, he always thought it was an invitation to do more. But, his touch repulsed me, and I couldn't wait to get far away from him. Every day he would call and ask to hangout, most times he would say it would be just the two of us but when he realized I wouldn't hangout unless everyone else was there, he finally stopped asking. The more I spent away from him, the less I wanted to hear from him, or even see him. I spent every Wednesday with just Alice and the others and on Mondays I got them to hang out with my new friends.

We tried to stay away from sunny places unless we were behind the boarding house and I think the Cullen's liked being able to be free in what they did. I even think Rosalie was becoming a happier person. She smiled a lot more and I haven't seen her scowl or become angry with me even once in the last couple weeks. Her and Emmett even talked about adopting a child, after Stephan told us all about a child they found wondering the woods.

Apparently, her parents had been attacked by a bear and were dead. She was a tiny thing and not much older than 4. I thought Rose would make a wonderful mother and already doted on the child non-stop.

We always had a blast and I was so happy that my past and my future were coming together so beautifully. That was until things started happening.

About 3 months after the party I got sick. It wasn't big, just some throwing up, chills, and fevers. When I went to the hospital just to make sure it wasn't serious, they did all kinds of blood test before sending me home. They said I was severely dehydrated and had lost some significant weight in the last couple weeks. They gave me some vitamins and told me to drink plenty of fluids and gave me a pamphlet of the stomach bug. It lasted about 2 weeks and during that time, no one left me alone, afraid I would get sick again.

People also started disappearing and dad and Damon were always staying late to try to solve the cases. When they found the first body, they concluded it was a vampire by the marks on the body. When everyone they knew was ruled out, it became a mystery to figure out who the new vampire in town was. The weirdest thing was that they found a small amount of venom in every puncture wound. They brought Carlisle on the case secretly because then everyone would question why they needed him.

When school started early in the middle of August I stayed home a lot, not really going out. I was confused why school started so early but it was because most teachers liked it that way. I thought it was silly to start some classes in the middle of August and others in September, but I was just glad to stay busy. Elena would come spend time with me until I got too tired to stay up anymore. I was always so tired and chalked it up to staying up so late while I waited for dad and Damon to get home, I was always so scared he wouldn't make it back to me.

Then Damon and I would fool around on the nights I stayed at the boarding house, which I found was becoming an everyday thing.

It wasn't until one evening that things really got crazy.

We were all at the boarding house, most of us studying for a quiz or doing homework. We were in the living room, books scattered everywhere. I had left to get something to eat, as was usual lately, and when I came back everyone was staring at me.

"What? I'm hungry, I feel like I haven't eaten in ages." I muttered and reclaimed my spot on the floor with my bowl of popcorn. It was quiet for a minute or two and then finally someone broke the tension.

"Is no one going to talk about it?" Alice sighed, and Jasper rubbed her back.

"Talk about what?" I asked through a mouthful of popcorn. I knew Jeremy, Elena, and I didn't know what was going on since we were the only human ones in the room. Matt was at work like usual and I knew after that he was going to his sister's grave. He wouldn't be here for another couple of hours and then he would most likely just pass out in his room. Bonnie was with her cousin at some family gathering for the weekend.

"You. The baby. This whole thing!" She groaned out and I laughed, almost choking on the popcorn. I looked around the room and everyone looked so serious. Jeremy and Elena looked shocked.

"What are you talking about?" I stopped laughing. Panic sweeping toward me when I knew they weren't talking about Elena and Stephan.

"We can hear the heartbeat Bella. Why didn't you tell us?" So, Alice was doing all the talking. Maybe she was the only one brave enough to say something. Or Alice was just being Alice and being nosey. She never did like secrets and according to her, this was a major secret.

"I'm not pregnant. There is no way I'm pregnant, that's impossible." I stuttered and got to my feet collecting all my books.

"Bella..." She stood too, her face fell when I didn't look at her.

"There is no way I'm pregnant. Vampires can't have kids and I would never cheat on Damon. I'm going home." I left the house and drove home, but I didn't get out of my car. I didn't know if I was more embarrassed because they knew I was having sex or the fact that they think I'd cheat on Damon.

I just sat there and thought about everything that had been happening in the last month.

1. I was having sex, a lot.

2. I got sick for two weeks but there was no real cause.

3. I was eating a lot more and gained almost 10 pounds.

4. I did get my period, but it was late and short.

5. I was crankier and always felt tired.

6. I could no longer tolerate drinking any type of liquor because I would just throw it up

All this was giving me mixed signals, was I, or wasn't I, pregnant. I mean vampires can't have kids because technically they weren't alive. But facts do show that they function like normal people.

1. They ate regular food and enjoyed it. Same with drinks.

2. They had normal body functioning parts.

3. They were mythical.

I needed a doctor's opinion because this could go either way and I needed to know. But the question was why me? Why not Elena who had been with Stephan a lot longer than I was with Damon? I drove to the doctors and asked for Carlisle knowing he would know what to do.

#*#*

"Well Bella, you are indeed pregnant." Carlisle said coming into the room and taking a seat.

"How...?" I didn't really know what else to say.

"I want you to tell me everything that has happened in the last month, even if I know most of it." He was in doctor mode and to me it was better than father mode.

So, I told him everything I knew. About myself, about Damon and about everything that has happened between us. He took down notes and I feared what he'd tell me, that my child would be a mutant.

"I want to do an ultra sound to see how far along you are. You typically don't hear the heartbeat until about 8 weeks and your only just more than half that. If Alice can hear it, it would mean the baby is growing faster than normal." I nodded and laid down as he set up the machine.

I was quiet as he placed the cold jelly on my stomach and then the wand. He moved it around a little on my lower stomach and then the room was filled with the most beautiful sound in the world. My baby's fast heart beat filled the room and it brought tears to my eyes.

"Looks to me like your close to 3 months. The baby is in fact growing faster than normal but not as fast as I thought. If the baby keeps up this growth rate I'd say you'd be due sometime in January, maybe early February. I'll keep a close track on the baby and if necessary we'll schedule a C-section."

"So, what does this mean?" I asked cleaning myself up. I had so many questions, but they were all things I could learn the answer to on my own.

"So far the baby is about the size of a Lime. I know this is scary but from what I've seen the baby is looking like a normal human baby. Here are some pictures and here is a prescription for prenatal vitamins. I'm not sure if they'll work but I want you to give them a try, take 2 a day instead of the normal 1. Schedule an appointment for 2 weeks for another check-up and then head to the lab, I'm sorry to say but we need blood work."

I cringed at the thought of needles and blood, but I would now do anything to protect my baby. The only real question was...how to tell Damon?