Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, but I did come up with Emily and Sam's daughter name all by myself.

Bella was woken up by the phone ringing at four o' clock in the morning. She reached for the phone blindly as Jacob sighed. Her fingers grazed over the phone and she picked it up.

"Hello?" she asked groggily.

"Hey," Leah said in a tired voice.

"What's going on?"

"Emily is in labor. She's been at the hospital for a while. I wanted to wait until morning to call you, but Clay said that I should do it now."

"When do visiting hours start?"

"Nine. Do you want to go with me?"

"Yeah, I can miss class today."

"Do you work?"

"Not until five."

"I'll come by and get you around eight."

"Okay."

"Go back to sleep."

"You too," Leah said with a sigh.

"'Night," Bella answered, already half asleep.

"'Night Bells," she answered, her voice tired.

Bella hung up with the phone with a sigh.

"Emily had the baby?"

"She's having it now. Go back to sleep," she said as she turned to face him.

He draped an arm over her waist before closing his eyes. They were both asleep a few minutes later.

XXXX

Bella sat next to Emily's hospital bed watching Emily talk affectionately to her newborn daughter. Jordan Michelle had been born just before dawn and Emily was still drinking it in. Leah sat next to Emily on the bed, smiling down at her.

"Just think, in less than four months you'll have one of your own."

"I can't wait."

"Can I hold her?"

Emily placed the baby in Bella's arms as she looked down at her. They hadn't seen each other in months and Emily wanted to talk about Jacob.

"Can I say something? I don't want to upset you."

"Go ahead."

"If someone knew when Sam was going to die I would want to know. That way I would be ready for it. I wouldn't dwell on it, but I would know in advance. You don't know how lucky you are."

"Lucky? She's going to be a widow with six kids at thirty four," Leah pointed out.

"She's lucky because she has a strong support system. All of us will help you through it once it happens."

"Thank you," Bella said with a smile.

Bella held Jordan close to her. She hoped that out of the four children that she had yet to have that at least one of them would be a girl who looked like her but was care free and free with their love like Jacob. She didn't think that it was too much to ask for.

XXXX

Leah stayed at work with Bella until Jacob came in at seven. Charlie gave him an admonishing look from his office.

"She needs a ride home later."

"If we get busy, you need to leave."

"I'll go to my dad's," he promised.

Jacob sat on the other side of Bella's desk while she typed up a police report. She'd had a long talk with Emily and Leah today and the subject still weighed heavy on her.

"What would you say if I wanted to get married before I finished school?"

"We don't have enough money saved," he said not looking up from the newspaper he was reading.

"I don't need a big wedding. I'd rather get married in the front yard at the cabin."

"We could do that, after you're done with school. It's only eight more months."

"I want to get married now."

"Do you want to know what I want?"

"Name and it's yours."

"I want you to start that catering business that you talked about nonstop while you were pregnant."

"Anything but that," she said with a firm shake of her head.

"Then we aren't getting married until you're done with school."

"You are so stubborn," she said with a sigh.

"Here's what I want to know. What has changed?"

"You know what's changed," she said quietly.

"Do you think that if you give up on your dream that it won't happen?"

"I want to spend all the time I can with you and the kids."

"You will."

She shook her head with a heavy sigh. She wanted to argue with him so badly. It would wait until they got home. They didn't have the money for her to start her own business. The money from his dad's loan had helped a lot and he was making headway on starting his shop. She didn't want to ask her dad for more money. He was paying for her to go to school plus loaning her money when she was short on cash as it was. She didn't have the heart to ask her mom because she knew that she didn't have the money either.

Charlie came out of his office pulling on his jacket. His shift was over and he was getting ready to leave once Carl came in.

"You alright Bells?" he asked as he stood by her desk.

"I'm fine Dad," she said with a nod.

Carl's cruiser pulled up and Charlie walked out the double doors. If she took a second job once she finished school she would see Jacob even less than she did now. That idea was struck down not long after she had thought of it. The idea of asking him to take a second job was struck down even faster.

"Tell you what. If you'll apply for a loan and at least think about starting your business, we can get married before the boys turn one."

"Do you promise?"

"I swear."

"What if I don't get the loan?"

"We'll still get married. We'll just have to think of another way to get the money."

"What if I use my tax return for next year? We'll get more back because we have the boys, and we could file together if we were married."

"No dice on us filing together, but using the boys is an option."

"I'll hold off on the loan then."

"Fine," he said with a curt nod.

With the crisis averted she went back to work. Carl eyed them suspiciously from his office. He would call Charlie if things changed. It looked like the conversation they were having was drawing to a close. The tension eased from Jacob's shoulders and Bella went back to work as he logged onto his computer.

"I don't want us to fight," she said quietly.

"All couples have disagreements Bells. It's normal."

"It's just that I don't like being mad at you."

"I don't like being mad at you either, but we have to work through things. If that means we butt heads sometimes that's okay."

He sat down the paper and stood to get something to drink from the water cooler. He brought her back something to drink and she took it without looking up. He wrapped his hand around hers squeezing it gently. She stopped typing before looking up. His look of adoration and love was enough to ease her fears. She wished that all of their disagreements could be settled that easily.

XXXX

Bella was at work when Renee sat next to Jacob on the couch that weekend. He held Josh over his head as he made airplane noises. Renee held back the urge to laugh at the sight of seeing someone as tough looking as Jacob turn into a noise making fool for his son.

Josh kicked his legs violently as he talked baby talk. Renee had John in her lap and he bounced up and down, his arms outstretched for his brother.

"I think John wants a turn."

"You want a turn buddy?" Jacob asked as he pulled Josh close to him.

"Aren't you scared that one of them is going to spit up on you?"

"Nah, I know when to stop," he said as he handed Josh to Renee and took John from her.

John loved to fly. Jacob would toss him lightly and John would laugh once Jacob caught him.

"You and Bella are doing okay, aren't you?"

"We're fine."

"You seem different from when I was here last."

"We haven't seen each other that much since she started school and work again. It's not something that we can't work through."

"I would hope not. The transition after having a baby is never easy."

"I just hope it gets easier once we have more."

"I wouldn't know since she's my only one. I would think that it gets easier."

"We do appreciate you being here."

"I know you do. Why don't you go down and get her early?"

"Charlie doesn't like me coming in."

"Even if you're there to get her?" she asked in confusion.

"I tend to stay for hours at a time," he said with an impish grin.

"Well then you shouldn't do that. You'll be there for less than half an hour this time. Take her out to dinner. Go to the movies. Just do something with her. You'll be glad you did."

Jacob sat John on the couch before standing up. He took a quick shower and was back downstairs while Renee fed the boys simultaneously.

"You have to teach me that," Jacob said from behind her.

"A grandmother doesn't reveal her secrets."

"We shouldn't be out too late."

"Stay out as late as you want. I've got them under control."

He kissed the boys foreheads before hugging Renee. He hoped that Charlie would let Bella off early. Sometimes he would if she had finished early and they weren't busy. He stopped at a store and bought flowers for her before heading to the station.

Bella looked up in surprise when he walked in carrying the bouquet of roses. Charlie stood at his door watching as Jacob crossed to Bella's desk. He pushed away from the door to stand by Bella's desk.

"You can go," he said.

"Thanks Dad," she said as she clocked out.

"Do you have anything to put these in?"

"There might be a pitcher in the kitchen," Bella said as she gathered her stuff.

Jacob found the pitcher and filled it with water. Bella was talking with her dad when he came back up front. He sat the pitcher on her desk before wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Thanks for letting her off early."

"It's only half an hour. You kids have a good night," he said as he walked back into his office.

"So what are the flowers for?"

"Do I need a reason to buy you flowers?"

"No. I just thought that there was an explanation behind them."

"I just wanted you to know that I love you."

"You're sweet," she said before leaning up to kiss his cheek.

"We're going out on a date."

"We are?"

"Yep, I thought we could go to the movies."

"We could. Or we could go to the beach."

"That sounds good too. How about both? Maybe grab some dinner and eat on the beach?"

"That sounds great."

He started the car and she leaned her head against the window. He put a hand on her arm, making her look over at him.

"I'm fine, I'm just tired."

"Well wake up Baby. I don't want you falling asleep on me," he said nudging her gently.

She smiled before she rolled her eyes playfully. She had been spreading herself too thin. All she wanted to do when she got home from work was sleep on days she had school plus work. Jacob had understood, telling her that it was only for a short period of time, and then it would all be over. Eight more months, four of which she wouldn't be in school, then they could put their focus on other things.

XXXX

They sat on their piece of driftwood with a Burger King bag in between them. It wasn't what he had planned, but it was what she had wanted. They ate in silence letting the waves crashing on the shore set the mood.

Bella finished first, pulling her jacket closed. He draped an arm over her shoulders and she moved closer to him. She kissed the hollow of his neck before laying her head on his shoulder. The moon cast a bright glow on the water, its mirror image shone brightly.

"Your mom knows something is going on."

"What did you tell her?"

"That we're under a lot of stress because we rarely see each other."

"That is part of it."

"This is temporary. Things will get better."

"I know," she said with a sigh.

He hugged her tightly before tilting her chin so that she was looking at him. He captured her lips in a slow, gentle kiss. She turned her body to face him and he pulled her into his lap. Her hands were in his hair as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

The kiss deepened as he put his hands beneath her jacket. His hands explored her back lazily, not wanting to let her go. She fell against him once she broke the kiss. Her chest heaved as his hands rested on her hips.

She laid her head against his chest and breathed deep. Deciding to be with him had been the easiest decision that she had ever made. Being with him was natural; he was the best thing that had ever happened to her. She would never take advantage of his love, and she knew without asking that he would fight until his last breath to make her happy.