PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE TO FOLLOW THIS CHAPTER!
Most kind of stories
Save the best part for last
And most stories have a hero who finds
You make your past your past
Yeah you make your past your past
It's a brand new day
The sun is shining
It's a brand new day
For the first time in such a long, long time
I know, I'll be ok
Chapter Twenty-Nine: I'll Be Ok
Bella POV
There we sat, our family grown by three in such a short time. The whole house was done in white decorations, with pink and blue accents. I greeted my dad at the door, letting his eyes roam over me to see that I'd gone back to normal. Brand new, supernatural, durable, Bella. I led him into the living room where Alice and Jasper sat talking to Renee, Angela was holding little baby Sophie, who was growing fairly quickly, Carlisle holding baby Liam. Esme was doting over everyone as she always does and then my eyes landed on Phil, talking to Emmett who was cradling our four-day old baby girl. I smiled, remembering the first time I held her those few short days ago.
"Bella I am so proud of you." Emmett told me, his eyes sparkling with tears. He kissed my forehead and gently kissed our baby girl's head. I smiled to him and kissed his lips, cherishing this moment of pure bliss. I could feel it…today was new and bright. It was 6:30am and I had been in labour since 11pm the night prior…but it was all worth it. The sun shone through the window onto all of us and to my surprise, our baby sparkled too. That was when I knew…everything was going to be alright. I looked to our baby girl as she started to fuss and found myself admiring her hair, dark as Emmett's.
"So? Have you decided on a name Little One?" I smiled, tears brimming over my eyes as I nodded. It had been such a struggle, but in this moment I knew. A name that never even occurred to me…but as I felt her settle in my arms I knew it was perfect. I looked up to Emmett and smiled through my tears.
"Charlotte." I whispered and his face displayed his shock.
"But that's-"
"You're sister's name." I finished for him. He looked to our baby girl and gently took her from me. He looked to her and she grabbed his finger, melting him completely. I saw a sob escape him and he closed his eyes. He opened them and tears fell down his cheeks. I knew he had wished for the humanistic trait so he could cry and I let it pass with nothing more than my own tears matching his. He nodded as he sniffled.
"Charlotte." He whispered. That was the most perfect moment I will ever experience in my existence.
I smiled as Charlotte fussed in Emmett's arms and he skillfully calmed her. He had picked up parenting quickly.
"Bells, what's wrong?" My dad asked me softly and I realized I had tears streaming down my cheeks. I smiled and shook my head, pointing to Emmett. He understood and kissed my temple. He pulled me over to the windows for privacy.
"Bells…I've never been one for mushy moments. But…I just wanted you to know…how proud I am. I love you Bella. And you're going to make an amazing mom." I smiled through my tears to him and pulled him into a hug.
"I love you dad." He sniffled and I knew he was holding back tears.
"I love you too Bells."
We had all finally settled in and Esme came into the living room on a mission.
"Alright everyone, who wants a coffee and who wants a snack?" She asked politely, using the term snack instead of "cup of blood". I had to laugh and Alice grinned.
"I do!" Our appetites have gone down significantly since we gave birth, me four days ago on September 10th, and Alice eight days ago on September 6th. I nodded in agreement and my mom stood up seeing that all of the humans wanted coffee.
"I'll give you a hand Esme." Esme smiled to my mom and they both disappeared into the kitchen. I sat beside Emmett, admiring Charlotte when I caught Alice's eye. We shared a look we never had before…but I knew what it was. Gratitude, pride, and admiration for one another. We had done it together, like she said. I wouldn't have had it any other way. She looked away, taking a fussy Sophie from a very uncomfortable looking Angela. I had to laugh. Angela smiled to me and came to sit beside me on the couch and nudged me, no longer shivering at my cold, hard skin.
"Sooo… how does it feel?" I laughed at her sing-song question and smiled happily to her.
"It feels amazing." I told her. She admire my ring again as I spoke and sighed, giving me a happy look.
"There was a time…when I felt really bad for you Bella. I just…couldn't have imagined going through what you did and being content. And now…I look at you and how things have blossomed and I couldn't imagine it any other way. I'm really happy for you Bella… and I'm so proud of you." We both had tears in our eyes and I hugged her instantly. She hugged me back fiercely and I couldn't imagine not having her here. She's the only human friend I had here…but she was enough. I saw here eyeing Charlotte so I gently took her from Emmett, who pouted, and gave her to Angela, who beamed.
"God Bella, she's gorgeous. And the name Charlotte is beautiful." I smiled admiring my baby girl again.
"It was Emmett's little sister's name." I told her and she grinned. I felt Emmett curl his hand around mine at the confession and felt his love. I looked to him and he gave me that look…the one he gave me right before he proposed and it melted me. I squeezed his hand and he squeezed back. I lived for these little moments.
Soon our moms were bringing beverages to the living room and once everyone was settled with their respective drinks, my mom clapped her hands together in a very Alice way.
"Presents time!" She called and Alice clapped her own hands together. I laughed and instinctively checked on Charlotte, who was now fast asleep in Angela's arms. I smiled and looked up to see my dad presenting Alice and I each with a large box. I looked to her and saw her eyes light up. We opened the gifts and I grinned at what we had.
The gifts were identical, except Alice had a girl and boy version of each gift. In the box was a yellow baby book done in a spring theme, a yellow and white soft baby blanket, a yellow sun dress sized 6-8months with a matching pair of yellow baby socks, yellow crib bedding with pink spring flowers on it, and matching yellow curtains with pink spring flowers on them. I grinned up to my dad.
"You got the yellow memo?" He chuckled and nodded.
"Your mom co-coordinated me." I had to laugh, looking to see Alice had all the same gifts but in pink prints and second sets of boy prints. That was when my mom and Phil brought in three cribs, all done in beautiful dark wood. I gasped as Alice and I each stood up.
"We know they will grow fast…so they convert into bed frames once they are too big for a crib." My mom said. I grinned looking at Emmett. He smiled lovingly back to me and I hugged my mom, Phil and my dad, as did Alice.
"You guys didn't need to do that!" She said but my mom silenced her.
"Alicia that's enough of that. The years of gifts that we have missed out on…this doesn't even begin to cover it." They hugged again and we all sat down. Next came Angela's gift, which was one hamper for me and two for Alice, filled with the necessities. Mine had bottles, soothers, wipes, socks, booties, onesies, mittens, hats, a few outfits, a yellow and brown flowered baby bag, cute headbands, extra bottle nipples…and gift certificates to the butcher. I grinned to her, hugging her tight.
"Thank you!" She hugged back, happy I loved the gift.
"Diapers?" Phil asked and I laughed a bit shaking my head.
"No Phil…vampires don't use the bathroom. The babies will grow until they are adults and then stop aging. They are supernatural children." He looked bewildered and I smiled comfortingly. He was trying to hard to be understanding but I knew it was still tough. Next came Esme and Carlisle's gifts. They led us to the guest room across from Jasper and Alice's room, which used to be Rosalie's room. They got Alice to open the door, and it was painted bright green, with baby pink accents and blue accents. It was equipped with dressers, rocking chairs, book shelves… just waiting for the cribs. I watched Alice squeal as Esme took Emmett and I upstairs.
"And this is for you two." She told us, taking us to the guest room by our room, the one my dad stayed in after our attack. I looked to Emmett and he nodded to me to open the door. I opened it and was blown away.
The walls were painted a very light, earthy grey, with dark wood furniture. There was a dresser, a rocking chair with yellow cushions, a bookshelf and it all matched the crib perfectly. I imagined the yellow bedding, yellow curtains and other yellow touches and I knew it was the perfect nursery. I stood in the middle of the room as Emmett curled his arms around my waist, resting on my once again, perfectly flat stomach. I melted into his touch and he kissed my temple.
"I love you, Isabella Swan." I smiled, closing my eyes.
"I love you too, Emmett McCarty."
That night Emmett and I spent our time in the nursery, perfecting everything for our little Charlotte. I sat in the rocker, soothing our fussy daughter as Emmett was a perfect gentleman and hung curtains. I grinned to him once he was done.
"Perfect." I told him. He grinned, proud of himself and went to hang up a mobile we got that consisted of smiling spring daisies and bumblebees. I smiled down to the now sleeping baby in my arms and sighed. Standing up, I put Charlotte into her freshly made crib and took Emmett's hands.
"Now, my present to you." He looked at me funny, sitting down in the rocker.
"Bella. You're the one that just pushed a vampire out of yourself. You shouldn't be getting me gifts." I told him to hush and gave him an amused look.
"Close your eyes." I told him and he obliged. I went to our room quickly and grabbed the box I had wrapped in pretty yellow paper with a white bow. I returned and set it delicately on his lap.
"Bella…" I pointed my finger at him and he shut up, carefully taking the bow off. He ripped through the paper, opening the box and his mouth fell open, tears prickling at his eyes instantly.
"Bella…" He said a little more urgently, but filled with love. I smiled to him as he looked up at me and nodded. There in the box, laid two picture frames. Two collage frames, one filled with photos of the family and Emmett and I, and the other held much older pictures. There was on of a little girl, she was about six years old, long ebony hair. Even though the photo is in black and white, I knew the bright green eyes that made their home on the pretty girl, who stood smiling a delicate smile for the photo in a long white dress, a pretty white bow in her black hair. Another photo held a picture of a handsome young man, burly and twenty years of age. Same ebony hair…same green eyes. He was kneeling beside the young girl, both smiling big for the camera. There were a few of a house, small and simple, but homey. Then there was another of a beautiful woman, about thirty-five. She had the same long black hair, beautiful smile on her pretty face.
"Bella…that's Charlotte…and me." I nodded, wiping a tear.
"I did some digging and found these on an ancestry website." His eyes went wide, pointing to the woman.
"B-Bella…" I wiped another tear.
"That's your mom." I whispered and he let his tears fall, holding the frames to his chest. We stayed silent for a few minutes until I knew it was alright to speak.
"These photos had been added to the site by a Charlotte McCarty-Huette...who currently resides in Dickinson, North Dakota." His face shot up, eyes meeting mine with intensity.
"W-what?" I nodded, slipping the frame to the side to sit into his lap.
"I found her Em. She's still alive…89 years old." I told him delicately. That night he cried…a lot. And I sat in his lap holding my husband to be as he let his pent up emotions out. I sat there for hours until he finally looked me in the eyes, not needing to say a word. The love and devotion his eyes held said enough. I kissed him softly and pulled him into another hug.
"I know, Em. I know."
We sat there until the sun came up and our little Charlotte began to fuss. I watched Emmett hold our tiny little girl in his huge arms and I knew, looking at my engagement ring that this was the beginning of the best chapter of my existence and I couldn't wait. I smiled to him and he kissed my lips gently, holding Charlotte so I could kiss her head too. She looked up at me and held my finger and I knew. As we all sparkled in the light of the welcomed sun I knew for the first time in such a long, long time…I'll be ok.
The End
It's SO SAD! And yet so happy! I hope you don't mind the shortness of the chapter;
I do have an epilogue to follow!
But I didn't want to stretch the chapter farther than necessary, once it was done, I wanted to let it be done.
Song: Brand New Day – Joshua Radin