Second Chances

Disclaimer: Yes, I don't own anything related to Twilight.

AN: I loved this chapter. I think it's full of fluff and it tells the reader of a pending danger. I hope that it satisfied all my good reviewers. If not, I apologize.

I do, Part I

Embry's POV

Shit, I was nervous. I knew that this was meant to be! From the first moment I held her in my arms, I knew that this was going to eventually develop into something wonderful. It was magical. Yes, we were meant to be together forever. I just couldn't believe that our forever together was coming so soon. Four weeks to be exact!

I stood in front of Madison's yellow house and held my breath. Today, it was going to be official. Yes, I was going to ask her hand in marriage. I had asked Paul and Rachel to help me plan this amazing afternoon, but Madison being pregnant and almost six months and a half, she started getting morning sickness and couldn't make it to the restaurant.

So, here I was, at her house, nervous, scared and did I say nervous. Yes? Oh, OK! I drew in a deep breath and knocked on her door. Why did I knock on her door? Rachel made me do it. She said that I needed to be romantic. I took a shower, had my hair cut shorter, bought a new cologne, I looked good and here I was, ready to pop the question. And where the hell was Paul. He was supposed to be my wing man?!

I rang the bell and tapped my foot nervously. I wanted to get this over with. I thanked my lucky stars that Madison was the girl that I was going to spend my forever with. She was my world and just knowing that she was…

"Hold on." I heard Madison yelled annoyed. I chuckled and held on to the dozen roses tightly in my hands. Seth leaned forward and started ringing the bell again. He laughed and winced in pain, after I punched him.

"Ouch," he whined, taking a step away from the front door of Madie's house and stepping behind me. "That was uncall for, Em."

"Damn, can people fucking wait?! Hold on!" Madie shouted angrily, as I heard her waddling steps approaching the front door. "Fucks! This big belly doesn't let me move like I used to."

Seth stood behind me and laughed. "She sounds pissed! I wonder how she is going to take it?!" he laughed, as he whispered. "I hope she beats you up."

"Why are you even here, Seth?" I asked annoyed, turning my head slightly to narrow my eyes at him. The happy punk just smiled and tried to adjust my collar properly. "Leave me alone, Punk!"

"I am your wing man, today. Paul is tired from running crazy shifts. Things are getting hard around La Push. Oh, cool, here she comes." Seth said happily, as soon as Madison opened the door.

She averted her eyes from Seth to me and then smiled at Seth. "Seth, you are here!" she cooed. I growled inwardly and stepped aside, as he stood in front of me.

"Madison!" he chanted, opening his arms to her. She immediately walked into his hug and wrapped her tiny arms around him, when she hugged the idiot. "I missed you!" she said, closing her eyes as she hugged him.

"I missed you too, Mad." Seth said softly, kissing Madison's forehead. "Is Jake and Quil here? Are they playing the PS3 game without me? Did they eat my food?!"

She nodded against his chest. "Yep, but they didn't eat your food. I saved it in my Aunt's freezer." she said sweetly, as she turned to her side, trying to find the best position to be held by Seth. When they broke their embrace, she turned to face me and eyed me, as if she was examining me.

"Dude?" I asked irritated. "I thought that you were going to… you know!"

Seth shrugged and walked around us. "I am gonna go to Aunt Ryona's house to eat my food. I will be back as soon as I am done."

Madison nodded her head and smiled at Seth as he waved at her... She waved good bye and then turned to face me. Her face suddenly got somber and I started to feel totally nervous. There was something in her eyes that made me feel helpless and crazy in love at the same time.

"Embry Call," she began, placing her hand on her stomach. I could hear the baby's heartbeats and I knew that my Zeus was fine.

"Yes," I answered, placing the flowers in her free hand and kissing her cheek softly.

"I have been feeling like shit the entire day. Do you wanna know why?" she asked haughtily. I nodded. "This baby, ugh, that you put inside of me… he wants out, Em. He is your son, try talking to him. Maybe, I don't know, he'll listen and stop kicking me so much."

"I don't think that he'll understand me." I laughed, placing my hand on her stomach. She glanced down at my hand and laughed. "He might be stubborn like you, Madie-baby."

"That hurts." she laughed, resting her hand on top of mine. "But for real. He is pressing on my bladder and I gotta go pee every second. It's getting uncomfortable. But, according to the sonogram that I got two weeks ago, he is growing extremely fast. Embry, Zeus is huge! There is not much space in here for him." she said, her rosy lips pressed together in a perfect pout, as she pointed at her stomach with her free hand. "Is he gonna grow as tall as you?" she asked, glancing up at me, with a beautiful smile on her face. "Em, he wants out of this joint. He wants to meet his father. He gets all crazy when he hears your voice."

"Did you call your womb a joint?" I chortled. She nodded and gave me a knee-jerking, heart-defying smile. I felt dizzy with love. Can that actually happen? "You are absolutely crazy, Ms. Ferreira."

"If you say so, but, you are the one that is crazy in love with me! So, yeah, you are the crazy one! Come, let's go inside and sit down. My feet are killing me." She laughed and we walked inside the house, as we held hands. We ambled to the kitchen and she placed the flowers in a crystal vase filled with water.

"I love the flowers, thank you." she said, getting on her tiptoes and kissing me tenderly on the lips.

"You are welcome, princess." I said, touching her cheek longingly, as I stare into her brown eyes. "Let's go sit in the couch." I suggested and she nodded approvingly.

It was a nice and comfortable afternoon. It had been two weeks since I asked her to marry me, but she barely talked about it. I guess, she thought I was just kidding. I was also at fault; I haven't brought up the topic, either. But to be honest, I didn't want Zeus to be born out of wedlock. He didn't deserve to be called a bastard. He wasn't. I wasn't going to have Madison be categorized as a single mother. Nope, hell no, no way! I was going to do right. I didn't have anything against single mothers, I thought that it was fine. Heck, my mother was one. But, I didn't want my son to have the same kinda life I had. I didn't want Madison to struggle alone. I wanted to be part of their lives. Shit, we had made plans of getting married... might as well do it sooner, right? (Insert nervous laughter here!)

"Why are you so tense?" she asked, as she caressed my shoulders.

"Dunno." I said, staring blankly at the television.

"Do you have something to say?" she said, removing her hands off my shoulders and moving closer to where I sat.

"Well," I began, but stopped myself. "I wanted to talk to you about what I asked you two weeks ago." I said, raising an eyebrow, as I stare at her quizzically.

"About you wanting me to marry you?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Yep," I paused. "I, um… I wanted to talk to you about it."

Actually, I took the liberty of going to her mother's house and asking for her hand in marriage, the traditional way. To be honest, all I got was screams and shouts of joy. Mercury was the happiest of all. He tried to carry me, but ended up hurting his knee. Leah just smiled at me and gave me that "Don't do it" stare. I wanted to punch her guts right there, but she didn't matter at the moment. My mother came with me. I didn't like her being in that house, surrounded by vampires, but what the hell! They were going to be my in-laws. But what surprised me the most, was how kind and understanding Ashleighe, Madison's mother was. She may be my mortal enemy (she was a vampire and also my future mother-in-la), but it had to be done! I guess, I could deal with the fact that my future mother-in-law, was a vampire. If jake could tolerate the nasty and repugnant smell of the Cullen leeches, then so could I. Yes, for the sake of my Madie-love, my baby, and our happiness.

"What's wrong?" Madison asked, as she snuggled closer to me. We were sitting on the couch, staring at the television. She was watching her favorite Spanish soap opera and I didn't understand what the fuck they were saying. I pulled her closer to me, wrapping her tiny body in my arms and inhaling her soft scent, when she started shifting uncomfortably. "Those idiots are so loud!" she hissed. "Shut up, Paul, Jake and Quil!" she yelled, turning her head towards the staircase.

"Sorry!" I heard Quil shout from the upstairs room, but then the yelling returned. "Dude, you have to kill the hooker! Damn, Seth, kill the hooker! Kill fucking damned hooker!"

"Leave me alone, Quil." Seth complained. "This is my game, so let me play how I want! Plus, the hooker didn't do anything bad to me."

"He's even nice with the people in the game. Unbelievable." Jake muttered.

"You seriously, should kick those guys outta the house." I said, kissing her neck. She giggled and leaned forward. "Seriously, Madison, kick them out."

"They are fine. The only think they have to do is SHUT UP!" she yelled the last part, as she covered my ears with her soft warm hands.

"I think I am officially deaf." I teased, kissing her cheeks. She raked her fingers through my hair and smiled up at me. "But seriously, Madie, kick them out of the house, please."

"Why? Are you planning o…" she trailed off, when my lips crashed in to hers. She moaned in delight, but I pushed her away. Her eyes were half open and her lips were slightly parted. She looked beautiful. She glowed under the light of the lamp, making her look even more gorgeous and radiant than before.

"Mad… I, I love you so much." I said, staring down at her. She smiled heartedly, as she cocked her head to look at me. "You are my…"

"Seth, give me the fucking controller!" Jake screamed.

"NO!" Seth retorted. I could hear them tussling and fighting for the game remote controller. I couldn't concentrate on asking Madison to marry me!

"Guys," she said irritated. "Keep it down or you are outta the house! I mean it this time!"

I could hear the rest of the guys in her room, cursing and shouting obscenities at whatever game they were playing. I kinda envied them. Here I was, eighteen years old, pretending that everything was going to turn alright, just like in a fairy tale. But deep down, the fear of being a father, a husband and the sole provider of a family scared the hell out of me. Although, I knew that I had to do this, I was scared that I would turn out like my father. Yes, that guy, the man that abandoned me. The same man that abandoned Sam Uley, my half brother. What if running away like a coward was something that he genetically passed down to me?

"Embry Call, what is the matter?" Madison's voice brought me back to reality. She placed a caring hand on my shoulder and stared worriedly at me. "Are you alright? You haven't said a word."

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking about things." I said, forcing a smile at her. "Um, but seriously, kick the guys out, I want to talk to you and their screaming doesn't help me concentrate."

She nodded and struggled to get up. "Just give me a minute. I swear, carrying your baby inside of me is like, a lot of work." she laughed. "Hold on!"

I shook my head and stood up. "Let me do it!" I said, feeling like a total jerk for making her get up from the couch. "Just sit here and look pretty." I kissed her forehead and ran up the stairs. When I made it to her room, Paul was lying on her bed without his tee shirt, snoring loudly and Jake was smacking Seth's head.

"Idiot, you played enough." Jake growled. "It's my turn."

"Darn, Jake, leave me alone." Seth said, rubbing the side of his head Jake had hit. "Man, you are mean."

"Oh! Are you gonna cry? Tell Leah that Jake hit you?!" Quil mocked. "Pussy!"

"That's funny!" Jake laughed. "Seth the little pussy!"

"I hope that you don't use that kind of vocabulary in front of my cousin Claire, Quil." Seth said annoyed. Quil narrowed his eyes and flashed him an angry stare. "Did I hit a sensitive spot, Quil?" he said smugly.

I stood by the doorway staring at the guys. And for a second I wanted to be part of the group. Yes, I wanted to be carefree like them. But then, I heard the heart beats of my girl and our child. They were almost synchronized and I knew what my duty was. I wasn't too scare of the next big step, that I was going to take. I knew that it was going to be worth it!

"Guys!" I said loudly, catching their attention. I darted my eyes from Quil, Seth, Jake and then Paul. He was sound asleep on Madison's bed. I pity him. He had been pulling my shifts and his. "Please, leave, Madison and I have to talk about something important."

"We won't overhear your conversation." Quil said annoyed, as he took the game controller from Seth's hands.

"Hey," Seth said. "That's mine!"

"Dude!" Jake snarled. "It was my fucking turn."

I ran my hand through my face and growl. I could hear Madison's steps approaching as she hobbled up the steps. "Look," I said aggravated. "Please, leave. I promise to invite you over my house and we can have an all-nighter playing Halo 3 and Grand Theft Auto, ok?"

Jake and Quil exchange glances and shook their head. "Nope. You can't cook like Madison!"

"OUT!" I shouted, walking towards the television and turning it off. "Get the fuck out!"

I heard Madison stop by the doorway and sigh. "Guys, leave. Em and I need to discuss things. So out, please." she said calmly.

"See, Em, if you were kind and soft-spoken we would've paid attention to you." Jake said, getting up from the floor and helping Quil up to his feet. He walked out the room and then turned to face Madison. He smiled down at her and then placed his hand on her stomach. "Madie, you should meet my imprint. She is just so adorable and cute. She was born-"

"Get out, Jake and take Seth and Quilian Marie Rose with you." I said annoyed.

"That's not funny, Embry! I don't make fun of your name." Quil said exasperated, punching me in the guts. "Next time, I will throw you out of the window."

"Whatever." I mumbled, moving to the side to give them access to the door.

They exited the room and I shook my head at Paul's sleeping form. He was really tired. I turned my head to the side and saw Madison walking towards her bed, a thin blanket in her hand and a smile on her face. She placed the coverlet over Paul and kissed his forehead.

"Let him sleep." she said softly, as she waddle to where I stood. She stopped and turned around to catch a glimpse of Paul sleeping. "He came over like two hours ago and asked if he could crash in the bed. He also mentioned that you were coming over. Apparently, he got in an argument with his father. He was waiting for you, but he was too tired and fell asleep. I fed him, so he should be knocked out for a few more hours. Of course, if he is like Jake, Seth, Quil or you, he is going to sleep all night and wake up tomorrow."

I nodded and took her hand in mine. "Let's go to my house. I don't want anyone to listen to what I have to say." I said lowly; as I bent my head down to kiss her lips. She nodded and smiled at me. "We can go out to eat if you want."

Her lips parted into a genuine smile, as she nodded. "Let me fix my hair and change clothes. I will get ready fast." she said, releasing my hand and walking towards her closet.

Forty five minutes later, we were on our way to Forks. We stopped by a cozy restaurant and had a great dinner, just the two of us. It was nice to be with her. She laughed and giggled, about everything I said. She truly was different. She didn't seem to be the same Madison Love, that I met eight months ago. She was livelier, kinder, and happier and the sparkle in her eyes was new. She was truly a lovely creature. I felt alive, every time she laughed. Her voice was soft and everything that she did was more graceful than before. Motherhood was slowly setting in and it made her look even more beautiful. I was crazy for her. I didn't want her to be away from me anymore.

I inhaled deeply and reached for her hand across the table. "Madison," I whispered, as I grabbed my glass of Root Beer with my free hand and gulped it down. She stared at me with fascination and smiled. "I, ugh, it's hard to say." I chuckled, as I stared around us.

"What is hard to say?" she asked carefully, as she rubbed soothing circles with her thumb on the back of my hand.

"What I have to say." I swallowed.

"Then just say it." she said lovingly.

"But it's hard to say, sweetie." I choked.

"Em,"" she paused and reached for my other hand. We held hands over the table and she smiled at me. "I think I know what you are trying to say, but, if it's any consolation… I love you too and I want to spend a lifetime with you." she smiled, slowly releasing her left hand from mine and looking down at her stomach. "We want to spend a lifetime with you, baby." she said softly, as she caressed her growing belly and looked up at me from under her eyelashes.

I smiled and scooted my chair next to her, leaned forward to touch her stomach. "I love you so much! I love you so fucking much. I just can't believe that we are going to be parents. I am, um, so happy and scared at the same time. What if I am not a great father? I have that man's gene in me and I am afraid that I am not cut out to be a descent father. I want to be there for my child and for you." I said without measuring my words.

She gave me a sympathetic smile and gave my hand a gentle squeeze. "You will be a great father. I have faith in you, in me and in us. I know how scary it must feel at times. Shit, baby boy, I am scared. I am shitting bricks to be honest with you. Just thinking about the future, makes me feel dizzy, scared, and did I say scared? But, I know that with you by my side, we can make this work. I have never thought of anyone else, but myself, before I met you… and now, we are having a mini us." she laughed nervously. "Ugh, what I am trying to say, Embry is, well… I am afraid that I will be a terrible mother. I don't know how it is going to work out, but I know that you and I, together, becoming us, we can make it work. We have the right tools to start a family. Yes, it is going to take a lot of work, sacrifice and sleepless nights, but we can do it. I have so much faith in you. We can do it! We have overcome so much in the last few months. I know that we can do this! Plus, if there is a night that we need alone-time, we can send Zeus to your mother or mine." she giggled.

"My mother." I quickly added, smiling down at her.

"Our mothers!" she said, raising a perfect eyebrow.

"Fine, our mothers." I said reluctantly.

I framed her perfect face with my hands and slowly brought my lips to her. "Have I told you, how much I love you, Madison?" I asked her, as I slightly pulled away. She smiled and nodded. "I love you so much, princess."

"I love you more!" she giggled, placing her hands on my chest. "You are my world. I am glad that we are together, honey."

I kissed her again, this time a little passionate, but pulled back, when I remembered where we were. "Madison Love, I know I asked you this before and I got a 'YES' from you the last ime. I just wanted to make it more memorable." I said sheepsihly. I caressed her cheeks and then placed one hand on her stomach. "There are many reasons why I want to be with you, together, until death separates us. I," I sighed and kissed her lips. She continued to smile at me, giving me the strength to ask her to marry me properly.

"Just get it over with, Embry." she giggled. "I am kinda hungry."

"Sorry," I chuckled and reached my hand inside my pocket and retrieved a small velvety box. She drew in a deep breath and I could hear her heart hammering fast against her chest. "Madison, when I first saw you, you became my reason for living. I forgot about myself and all I could think was you. I was lost and you became my salvation. I was falling in an abyss of darkness and loneliness. I was tired of wandering alone, without knowing my true reason for living. It took eighteen years of my life, to finally understand what I was meant to do in this earth. I was meant to love you, care for you. I was meant to protect your dreams of happiness and to provide you with the peace that makes a heart beat with love. I want to be everything for you. The reason why you wake up with a smile on your face in the mornings. I want to be the only man that makes you laugh, smile, dream and cry of happiness. I want you to be the mother of all my children. I want our child to grow to love you, and understand why you are so magnificent and wonderful to me. Madison, I know that it's going to be a bumpy ride and that there will be times that we are going to scream, yell and shout out of frustration. But at the end of the day, I want to come home, to your arms and lay beside you. I want to wake up next to you, feeling the softness of your skin and the warmness of your body next to me. I want to be completely yours. I want to share with you my dreams, wants, desires and ambitions. I want our hearts to be intertwined with the promise that we will make before our families and friends. I promise to make you happy, baby girl. Madie-baby, will you marry me and make me the happiest man in the world, please?"

She was silent for a minute and then the tears began to flow down her flawless cheeks. She was looking around the room and then her eyes met mine. I held my breath, unable to control my erratic heartbeats. "I do!" she said, smiling behind her tears. "I do! Oh, goodness, Embry! I will marry you!" she shouted, covering her face with her shaky hands. "I do!"

The guests that were eating around our table began to applaud and cheer for us. "Congratulations!" the waitress said, as she came to our table.

"Thanks." Madison said happily, smiling at her.

I heard a glass breaking and turned towards the restaurant's kitchen door and found a crying Elaine, staring daggers towards our table. A sharp feeling of fear crept inside me and the red lights of alarm inside my head began to sound. I watched as Elaine picked up the pieces of glass and placed them in the tray she was holding. She gave me a poignant look and then hurried inside the kitchen, disappearing through the double doors.