A/N: Part two of this overgrown outtake. Enjoy!

As promised, Edward and Bella had let Jasper and Emmett remain a big part of Katie's life. They picked her up from school most days. That month, however, between a special outing with her grandmother, gymnastics, an overnight piano competition, and Emmett and Jasper's hectic schedules, they hadn't seen each other for almost two weeks.

When Katie spotted them, she ran. Emmett held his arms open, and she threw herself into them with an excited squeal. He closed his eyes and spun her around. The sound of her giggles, the sight of her smile, was still one of the best things in his world.

He set her down and she turned to fling herself into Jasper's arms.

"Hey, sugar," Jasper said, giving her cheek a big smooch.

"Hey, Nino J."

By then, Emmett was used to the automatic twinge in his heart whenever she used that title. It was sweet, in a way. Back when she had been deciding what to call them-uncles wasn't nearly special enough for her-one of her classmates had given a presentation about Mexican culture. Nino was godfather in Spanish, and to many Mexicans, being a Nino had less to do with religion-though that could play an important role as well-and more to do with that person's position in the family. It was a special title, a special role that had to be chosen, not one a person was born into. She started calling them Nino to make sure they knew they were more special than her blood-related uncles, Mike and Tyler.

Still, Emmett didn't think it would ever stop hurting that Katie would never call him Daddy again.

Katie chattered the whole way home, catching them up on everything they missed. When they got out the car, she jumped up, clinging to Emmett's neck. "Oof," he said, pretending to stumble. He readjusted her higher on his back and wrapped her legs more securely around him. "You're going to break me someday, you know that?"

It was a ridiculous thing to say. Katie had always been smaller than her age. She was almost nine, but she could have passed for seven. She seemed to have inherited her aunt Alice's waifish bone structure.

"I can't break you," Katie said, giggling.

Emmett stooped and grunted as though each step was difficult. He heard his husband's rich chuckle join Katie's laughter, and he smiled.

"Phew." In the house, he switched Katie around to his arms, carrying her like a baby instead. "You're much lighter when you're not trying to break my back."

"I can't break you," Katie insisted again, swinging her legs. "You're too big."

Somewhat reluctantly, Emmett set her on her feet again. She set about moving the furniture in their living room. She dragged the coffee table off to the side and pushed the couches back.

"Baby, what on earth are you doing?" Jasper asked, hands on his hips as he watched her.

"I want to show you all my new moves," she said, sitting down with her legs spread wide to stretch.

Emmett and Jasper exchanged a glance. Gymnastics in the house was one of the things they wouldn't have allowed if they were her parents. However, it wasn't something they chose to quibble about as babysitters.

After she'd showed off her new routine, Katie settled in her favorite place in their new house: a window seat surrounded by books. She started off reading but, as always, ended up staring outside with a dreamy look on her face.

"Pretty space cadet," Jasper murmured, coming to sit with Emmett on the couch. He sighed and tilted his head to rest on Emmett's shoulder.

After a moment, Jasper lifted his head to look at Emmett. "Are you okay, babe?"

Emmett huffed. His husband was an observant bastard sometimes. "Just thinking about when we have the kid," he said, trying to sound casual. He laughed at himself. "You want to hear something dumb?"

"What's that?"

"Even though we started the process already, and everything is going great, saying things like that feels so unreal, you know? Like it's never really going to happen for us."

"I know what you mean," Jasper said, his voice quiet.

"But at the same time, even after all this time, I'm worried about how Katie will feel. Will she think we're trying to replace her?"

Jasper brushed his fingers through his hair. "She used to ask us all the time when we were going to have another baby."

Emmett winced. That question had been a knife through his heart each and every time she asked. "I know." He pointed in Katie's direction with his chin. "I think about it sometimes, though. Seeing another kid bugging her when she wants to read. Or maybe they would play together." He chuckled. "Or maybe, if we get a teenager, she'd be the one bugging him. Or her. Whatever."

Jasper squeezed his hand. "We'll find out soon."

They only had Katie for about an hour before Edward came by to pick her up. When the doorbell rang, Katie's eyes lit up. She hopped down from her perch and went running, jumping into Edward's arms with a cheerful, "Daddy!" as soon as he'd stepped in the door.

"You're in a good mood today," Edward said, giving her nose a kiss before he set her down.

"Yup. Is Mommy home tonight, or is it just us?"

"Mommy has school. You know what that means."

"Daddy-daughter date." Katie bounced on her feet. "I want Mexican."

"You're the boss." Edward tucked Katie under his arm and looked to Emmett and Jasper. There was a touch of apology to his expression. He knew seeing scenes like that ached. "We'll see you guys tomorrow, then?"

"Is Bella going to be with you tomorrow?"Jasper asked.

Edward tilted his head, his expression curious. "Yeah."

"Do you think we can drop her off at your house tomorrow? There's something we need to talk to you about."

"Sure. Is everything okay?"

"It's nothing bad. Just touching base," Emmett said, wrapping his arm around Jasper's shoulders.

It was so weird to speak so casually about something so huge and… yeah, he could admit it, really scary. His stomach was tying itself into knots. He was defensive, and that was ridiculous. It was even more ridiculous that he was imagining Edward and Bella's response to their news.

Some people were wary of foster children. When they had Katie, more than one set of parents had questioned them. They'd asked what was wrong with Katie, what issues she had. Even after they explained she'd been with them since infancy, those parents had remained skeptical at best-often watching like hawks as Katie interacted with their children-and at worst had said they preferred not to arrange a playdate. As though children in the foster system had some kind of disease that made them bad influences.

If Edward and Bella decided that they didn't want Katie near whatever child Emmett and Jasper chose to adopt…

Well, again, that was ridiculous. Emmett hadn't always liked Edward and Bella, but they were good people. Not only that, he didn't think they'd be such massive hypocrites when they knew how easily Katie could have languished in that system.

"Okay," Edward said. "Talk to you then."

"It feels like another end, doesn't it?" Emmett asked, watching Katie walk down the driveway, her hand in Edward's. "She's still our daughter, but our concentration is going to be with this kid."

Jasper tilted his head so their foreheads touched. "It is another end. Our life is about to change again. But it's also a new beginning."

~0~

Whenever Emmett and Jasper asked to talk to them, Bella always got the weird feeling she was in trouble, as if she'd been called to the principal's office. She'd been working, living on her own, paying her own bills for almost five years. She'd been a mother-with a child to raise-for almost three years. It still astounded her to remember she was an adult.

Emmett and Jasper had always intimidated her in that way. They were adults the way her father and Karen were. They had their shit figured out, and came at things with maturity and dignity. They'd never said it, but she thought it must drive them crazy to see their daughter being raised by kids who had no idea what they were doing.

Reminding herself she was a good mother, and if they were here to scold her for something they could go straight to hell, Bella sat up straighter. Besides, it was a ridiculous thing to think. They'd never said anything before; they weren't going to start now.

She hoped.

When she was shooed away, Katie looked like she might argue. She was as curious as any child, especially when it came to the four most important people in her life. However, she was a good girl and obediently went to play in her room.

The two couples sat across from each other at the table, each clutching their significant others' hand. Emmett chuckled, shifting his weight. "We all look so nervous."

"This is… I don't know. We feel like you should know what's going on," Jasper said. He cleared his throat. "A few months ago, we started to look into adopting again. Our paperwork just cleared. It's just a matter of matching us with a child now."

Bella blinked. Whatever she'd been expecting, it wasn't that. Then, as their words sank in, a rush of pure joy went through her. She was out of her seat so fast, her chair fell backward. She was already over to their side of the table before it hit the ground. She threw her arms around Jasper, hugging him tightly. "That's fantastic." She threw her arms around Emmett next, and he patted her back in surprise. "That's… that's perfect. That's great. Wow."

By then, Edward had made his way to their side of the table. He took her hand and pulled her to him gently. To her embarrassment, Bella had started to cry. She covered her face with her hands and made a sound that was part laughter and part growl of exasperation. "Oh, man. I'm sorry. I just.." Her voice cracked, and Edward tucked her under his arm. "You guys were such good dads to Katie. I hated that. I hated taking that away from you. I wanted this for you so much. I know it's not the same but- Agh." She turned her head, hiding in Edward's chest.

Edward rubbed her back. "Sorry," he said to Emmett and Jasper, who, Bella imagined, were staring at her as though she'd gone insane. "She's been a little emotional lately."

That was putting it mildly. Bella was driving herself crazy these days.

"Are you pregnant?" Emmett asked, sounding shocked.

Bella laughed and raised her head and glanced at Edward. He was beaming. That was answer enough, but she gave Emmett and Jasper a watery smile. "Yeah." She sniffled, wiping at her eyes. Despite the fact this baby was very planned, Bella had been struggling-hence the weepiness. She was happy, but her first pregnancy and all the trauma surrounding it had left a deep mark. "Six weeks, but Katie doesn't know yet. We were going to tell her, but I'm glad we waited."

"Sincerely, congratulations," Edward said.

"Right back at you, apparently," Emmett said, his lips twitching up at the corners.

"So tell us your plans. What kind of timeline do you think you're looking at?" Edward asked. As he spoke, he led Bella back around to their side of the table. He righted her chair, and when she sat, he stood behind her, rubbing her shoulders.

Bella smiled, warmth finding its way in between the cracks of uncertainty she felt. She listened to Emmett and Jasper explain what they had decided and how adopting straight out of the foster system worked.

"We came to talk to you, because we don't want there to be any issues," Jasper said. There was an edge to his voice, a hardness to his expression as he looked across at them. "We love Katie. As of this particular moment, she's still the most important thing in our world. Things are going to change, of course, but we still want to be a part of her life. We want her to be able to come stay with us like she does now." He paused, his eyes flicking between Bella and Edward. "Even if there are other kids in the house."

Bella furrowed her eyebrows. She was picking up a defensive vibe from both of them, but she wasn't sure she understood it. "Katie loves spending time with you guys, and I know you love her." She huffed. "Personally, I think she'll like your kids more than she likes her own sibling, at least for a while. She likes being an only child."

"The thing is, we're planning to adopt an older child," Emmett said. "Kids in the system haven't usually had an easy life. They're not dangerous. They can be troubled, though."

"Oh. That's not…" Edward looked to Bella, and his eyes were questioning. They had a brief, silent conversation, but he knew her well. He turned back to the men. "That's never going to be something you have to worry about."

"Are you kidding?" Bella said, and she smiled at them. "How big of an asshole would I have to be to have that kind of a problem?" She shook her head. "My dad saved my life. Who knows what would have happened, what I would have become, if he hadn't been there for me. If you can do that for a kid like me…" Her voice cracked again, she made a disgruntled noise. Quickly wiping away fresh tears, she looked back at them. "That's something I want Katie to see. To know that people are valuable, even when they're damaged."

Emmett looked at her with a strange expression then, as though he was seeing her for the first time. It occurred to her that they weren't so different. They were both troubled, broken children who'd worked hard to overcome their separate pasts, to be the parents and partners their loved ones deserved. He nodded at her. "That's… yeah," he said, ducking his head.

"So, I guess we should figure out how to tell Katie." Edward dropped back into the chair beside Bella and put his arm around her. He splayed his hand over her flat belly. "That's going to be a lot of changes in a short amount of time for our family."

"Good changes all around," Bella said, finding some satisfaction in that fact. Finding Katie, though it had been the greatest joy of her life, had been a very traumatic change. And it had been worse for Emmett and Jasper. She was fairly sure there was only heartache on their side of that whole situation. All of this, she hoped, would be the antithesis of that.

Jasper and Emmett looked at each other and clasped hands on the table. "Very good changes," Jasper said.

A/N: One more part coming up. Then I think we're done.

Mwah.