Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight, but not Merged Souls

Authors Note:

Chapter 13

EPOV

I expected Carlisle to disagree but to my shock he stood up and went to Bella, taking her from my arms and hugging her. "Bella all our children are special to us, but if Esme and I could have had daughter together, I would have wanted her to be just like you. You have taught us what it means to be human, as well as vampire. You have added so much to this family, enriching each one of us. I think I can speak for all of us... Jacob had his chance and he does not deserve to live if he threatens this family. I'm sorry, but I believe Leah's assessment that he's insane is right."

Bella kissed Carlisle on the cheek, I'm sure if she could have blushed she would have. Leah stood there with her arms crossed and face twisted into, what Emmett would call, the 'what the fuck' look. And for some reason I thought it was one of the funniest damn things I'd ever seen. Maybe it was just a reaction to how serious everyone had become, but I couldn't help myself. I suddenly started chuckling with my hand over my mouth, trying to stop. It didn't work. Now I was getting the same look from Emmett, then he just raised his eyebrows and started to laugh out loud. Leah looked at both of us, huffed and dragged her hands down her face then joined in. She was laughing so hard she was crying and through her tears she said. "Oh god Carlisle, I was waiting for you to call for a group hug! You guys do know that you can get pretty sappy sometimes...is that just because you're all really old?"

Now everyone was laughing, but we stopped and turned to the babies, when their high pitch tinkling laughter joined ours. Bella and I scooped up our children, she grabbed Masen and I picked up Beth and Anthony, hugging them to us and continuing to laugh. Alice then rolled her eyes back into her head and went into a daze. We all stopped laughing to watch her. I saw her vision and gasped shouting out. "NO!"

Alice's vision had hit me like a ton of bricks. I thought I'd be physically ill. "Alice, that is not going to happen, we are not using the babies as bait to lure him in." Bella let a growl rip through the house that rattled the windows.

Alice inched behind Jasper. "Edward, Bella, it's the only way, otherwise he's going to kill one of them! He will spend months attacking us as individuals. If we don't do this then innocent people will be hurt, the sooner we face it the better."

Bella was livid. "What do you mean use the babies...is he going to kill one of them? What's she talking about Edward? Tell me!" I tried to calm her down, but she just gave me the eye. Beth was holding onto Anthony's hand, he was holding onto Masen's as she reached up and touched my face. I felt a small sizzle when I touched Bella, but I dismissed it as Beth was replaying what her Aunt Alice had just said along with what she had seen. Then she showed me how the triplets saw themselves as partners with their parents.

Alice fell to the floor, her gaze was blank the vision was coming fast and furious. Masen was standing with his Mother in front of me, Beth and Anthony they were maintaining a shielding bubble over us. When he and Bella joined hands I could feel a massive power building up. But when we all joined hands the power increased exponentially. The triplets appeared to be the size of three or four year olds so this was still many months away. Then I realized the vision was not coming directly from Alice, it was coming through Anthony to Beth and then to me. I couldn't hear anyone else in the room. Beth, Anthony and Masen were all smiling at me and it was the first time that I had been unnerved by my children.

"Carlisle, I think we may have an issue that we will need to investigate." Carlisle turned to me looking perplexed. "I think the children can share their gifts when they're touching." But for the life of me, I couldn't shake the idea that there was more to it. What else they could do...what else could we do? Bella looked like she was about to lose it. I nodded for us to sit and everyone else followed suit. We hashed out what we knew that the babies could do. Then everyone contributed any oddities that they had noticed, when the babies where touching each other. There wasn't much to go by, but Bella and I both admitted to feeling the sizzle earlier when we had all been touching. Jasper said that their emotions seemed to be jacked up at the same time. But that was all except for them having what seemed like silent conversations, or as Emmett called it, their mind meld when he was bathing them. Nothing else seemed to stand out. Carlisle at first looked concerned, then his face changed to a mixture of wonder and anxiety, as he looked at the triplets. "Edward, we really need to contact Eleazar. This is beyond me. If they can share powers, and this gets out to the Volturi, we could have more trouble than just that rabid dog Jacob Black."

Shit, could life get any more complicated! Bella looked like she could cry, and though she wasn't hysterical I didn't think it wouldn't take much to push her over the edge.

Emmett POV

The tension in the room was now so thick that poor Jasper looked like he was about ready to pass out from the strain, so I stepped out of my comfort zone. "Hey, I know that I'm usually the comic relief in these situations but the tension in here is about to tear Jasper apart. So I think we need to tackle one problem at a time. First let's ease up on the angst." Everyone was making the effort including the babies. They crawled over to Jasper, smiling at him and reaching out for him to pick them up. Apparently happy babies are like a tranquilizer for Jazz. So I decided as Eddie would say, to stand up and take the floor. "Okay Alice, first the Volturi do you see them coming for us?"

Alice's eyes went blank for a sec and she smiled. "No! No one knows about the babies even if we tell the Denali they won't tell anyone else."

Rosie and everyone were sitting around, with their mouths open, like they couldn't believe the idea that I was taking charge. The Pixie giggled and broke the spell so I figured I better just keep going before someone hit me. "Okay, so let's not borrow trouble and wait for Alice to tell us differently."

Edward nodded his head in agreement and said. "So that leaves Jacob Black as the number one problem."

"No bro, he's number two. Number one is that you guys need to get translating that journal. Cause I have this sick feeling that the whole Merged Souls thing goes beyond just Bella and Edward, and that journal just might hold the answers that could save our collective asses. I suggest we break into teams. Eddie and Carlisle...as my human pappy would have said, are the most 'book learned' of the bunch, so ideally they should take charge of the research. But we need Eddie and his minding reading tricks to catch the dog." Rosie was grinning at me from ear to ear, and the pappy crack had at least got a chuckle from Jasper and Bella. "So this is how I think we should break it down and, no offense ladies, but Rose and Esme you need to help Carlisle by learning that language from William. Bella takes care of all things baby and human. Alice, Jasper, Eddie and I will take on the big bad wolf with the pack. But Leah, maybe you should help with the research you seem to have the ability to step back and see things we don't." Her brain is kind of freaky that way. But she's really going to be pissed if we pull her off the hunt for Jacob.

"Eddie, I know you hate that name, but things are a little stressed right now. I want you to know that you, Bella and the babies are my family as much as anyone else in this room. And no one messes with my family!" No one said a thing, they just looked at me. Eddie opened and closed his mouth about half a dozen times, Carlisle finally blinked and Jasper shook his head and said: "Good plan." Leah on the other hand looked like she was going to take a bite out of me.

"Oh! Okay then, so everyone is alright with the plan?" I looked to Edward after all it was his family that was hanging in the balance here.

Edward had his head down, leaning his forearms on his knees. "Yeah Em, I think we're more than okay with the plan, at least it gives us a starting place and a focus... thanks." Edward looked up at me, then reached out for a fist bump which I obliged. Bella handed Masen to his grandfather and suddenly I was flying backwards having been tackled by her, Rose and Alice. Each one of them kissing me and thanking me. The babies were laughing and clapping then Masen yelled out "Unca Em, Unca Em" soon to be followed by his siblings, which effectively shut everyone up again.

Edward used to say, and probably still did, that Bella would be the death of him, because of how much he loved her. Well these three babies would be the death of us all, because no one has ever been loved like these three have, well maybe with the exception of their mom. We were a family and no one and nothing would change that. "Hey Esme, have you got that school curriculum for the triplets ready, cause I think we're going to need it sooner rather than later." Beth and Anthony broke out in huge smiles. Masen looked at his Mom and said: "School, please Momma!" I thought Bella would pass out.

"Can I make another suggestion..." everyone nodded."Well since the kids are growing by leaps and bounds which is scaring the shit out of all of us. And the Volturi will probably try to kill us at some point. Plus we have an insane dog running around that really is going to try and kill us. Well then before everything goes to crap let's party!" Just when I felt like I was finally a card carrying member in the Cullen League of the Extraordinarily Intelligent everyone started throwing pillows at my head. And then we split up and the calls went out to the pack and the Denali's.

I just noticed that Bella had come home in different clothes than what she had left in, so I thought this would be my one opportunity to get her to talk about hunting with her mate. She was sitting on the floor leaning against Eddie when I knelt down in front of her. "Nice outfit sis but not exactly what you had on when you left is it? So spill honey how'd it go?" Bella gave me the full lip pout as only Bella can, and looked to Edward as he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He relayed most of the mountain lion story to all of us while Bella sat with down cast eyes then just when he started to get to the juicy parts he stopped and said the rest was personal.

He flashed me a wicked grin when I started to pout, but I got him back by imagining him taking Bella against a tree. For which he hit me in the jaw and tackled me over the back of the couch. And it was game on! Wrestling with the Cullen boys was on! Esme was yelling at us to watch out for her coffee table, which we broke within five seconds of her warning. Somehow Jasper got in the middle of us and tried to stop it. Then it was the three of us rolling around with our wives yelling, the parents groaning and the babies laughing... just typical Cullen fun.

Seth and Quil came through the back door nodded at Leah, looked at us and walked into the kitchen. They came back out with a plate of fried chicken and sat down on the floor to watch. The babies crawled over to them, taking some chicken from the plate, and sat down between them. Once we were done Esme wasn't speaking to any of us. And she was fit to be tied. Suddenly she decided that she needed to go grocery shopping after Bella's cooking binge. Leah asked if she could go to because the wolves needed supplies. Alice got online and ordered replacements for the furniture we broke and few other things. And then, while giggling, announced she had to go shopping. Jasper, Edward and I were put on the decor repair work detail under the watchful eye of Commandant Rose. The repairs included some drywall, painting and replacing one pane of the floor to ceiling window in the great room. Bella and Carlisle took the babies upstairs for a nap.

Shortly after we got started William arrived with Sue, after introductions and explanations, he adjourned to Carlisle's study with Rose. He had brought a number of texts and audio tapes for them to get started on, learning the basics of ancient Anasazi. So Sue took over supervising us for Rose. She looked around, clucking her tongue so I thought she needed to understand what had happened. "This entire repair and redecoration job is Eddie ...oops I mean Edward's fault. You see Sue, I'm a visual kind of guy, but he should have known I was only jerking his chain, ...hell Bella is my sister,... and why the hell Jasper got involved I don't know." Sue looked totally confused. "I guess you had to be there to appreciate what I'm saying." She just shook her head and looked at the pile of broken furnishings and pointed to it then the door. Edward shot me a smirk. "Emmett, Jasper felt left out that's why he got involved, it's been awhile since we had a good knock down and drag out."

Yeah it had been awhile. We needed to take breaks like this more often. "Hey guys are you sure Esme wants this wall green?" It didn't look like Esme's usual colour scheme. Jasper hit me in the back of the head. "That's the primer idiot, two coats of primer followed by two coats of the vanilla cream."

All three of us groaned while Sue laughed and went into the kitchen to make coffee for her and William. Damn four coats, the actual painting wouldn't take long, but waiting for it to dry was so boring. I took a side long look at the guys. Eddie was tinkling on the piano so I challenged Jazz to a game of Halo. Little did he know that I was finally going to win this game and hand him his ass! No one ever beat him at Halo, including the minding reading savant over there, tickling the ivories. But I had fucked up his controller earlier so it would jam, the man was going down! Edward chuckled to himself before he said: "Emmett, he knows. And are you so sure that you have the right controller?"

"Ah shit I'm fucking dead!" Jasper was clutching his controller to his chest and chuckling like a mad man.

RosePOV

The man I was married to came across as a moron or a big kid most of the time and though he played those roles to the hilt, Emmett was actually a very intelligent guy. He just thought that between Edward's brooding and Jasper's 'I can't kill the humans' twelve step program, there was enough drama in the family. That was why he assumed the role of comic relief, at which he excelled. I loved him for it, because I could hide my own insecurities behind his craziness. I came across as a bitch and a bit of princess most of the time, but again it was a role that helped me deal with this life. Especially when we had to change homes , and sometimes countries, every five years or so. Believe me that vampires generally do not adjust well to change, so when that was added to the issues I brought over from my human life, I was often an unhappy vampire. Then Bella Swan came into our lives and I felt the pressure and anxiety of having to hide exactly who we were, even in our home. Which I thought was ridiculous. Particularly when you looked at the risk she presented if Jasper fell off the wagon or if Edward beat him to it and made dinner out of her first.

I had been prepared, at one point, to take her out myself and dispose of her. I would have done it to. Except my brother really and truly loved her and she in turn loved him. I couldn't fathom how they could do it. But, at the same time, I couldn't deny them. Besides, of all of us, Edward carried a burden no one should have to, hearing the thoughts of everyone all the time. And no matter how much that irritated me, and caused him to be a bit smug at times, it wasn't his fault and he deserved some happiness. I'm really glad now that I didn't kill Bella, because she has made us a real family. She has given us the laughter of children, and they will grow up looking to each of us for guidance and love. She was willing to risk her life to bring them into this world for Edward, herself and for us as our legacy. Now we have the chance to pass something of ourselves on through these little imps. As individuals we will no longer be stagnant, these precious children will challenge and change us from now until the end of time.

The boys had finished all repairs in the house. And I have to agree with them that watching paint dry is a pathetic activity for vampires, but having to watch the boys watch the paint dry is even worse. I have several degrees, from three different Ivy League schools, in engineering, biochemical engineering and physics. I'm sure I could develop a formula for instantly drying paint. I think I'll add that to the pet project list as number one hundred and ten. I was so glad when William arrived. Finally a project worthy of my talents and he was kind of cute for a human. Carlisle, William and I had been at it for about six hours when I heard Esme's car pull off the highway. It sounded like she was being followed by several delivery trucks. I had noticed that William was a little skittish around us. In fact he was trying to, surreptitiously, monitor his pulse and body temp. It was really very funny to watch. The guy was so freaked about his potential to become a wolf, that between monitoring for wolf changes and his awe of Carlisle's library he had a hard time concentrating. So when Esme arrived, he took the interruption as an excuse to leave and wasted no time getting the hell out of here. I heard him say a quick 'hi' to Leah as he jumped in his car and took off. I turned to Carlisle. "Do you think we made him nervous?" Carlisle just smiled and nodded. "Well I think we better make sure that Skype is working because I'll be surprised if he comes back."

I rose and went to the door calling down to the great room. "Hey guys, it sounds like we are about to be invaded by a bunch of human delivery men. So who's going to grab the newborn?" Got to hand it to him, Edward is fast, he was up those stairs, out the back door and across the river, with Bella, before I took my next breath. Bella could probably have handled the delivery guys if she stayed in the backyard or with the babies, but there was no sense in taking any chances.

The evil pixie shopper had managed to get rush orders on all the furniture from a designer's private warehouse in Port Angeles. In other words, she had basically stolen someone else's order by paying twice the price. Esme and Leah came in from the garage and Alice was bouncing around like the energizer bunny. They had to have a dozen bags each in their hands. The boys had already gone out the front door and started to help the delivery guys unload the furniture, food, flowers and boxes and boxes of toys and children's clothing along with some very high end digital and traditional photography equipment. Of course my monkey man was drooling over all the digital stuff and I could see Jasper eyeing traditional equipment probably thinking about setting up a dark room in the basement. Both men had penchant for photography and a keen interest in the two different mediums.

Edward was not to be outdone in the production of images, and believe it or not he was a very skilled artist working mainly in pencil. His sketches were extremely detailed but he didn't do it very often saying he lacked a muse. Yeah right. I'd seen his stash of Bella pictures. The thing is had she? Huh I'll have to ask her sometime, especially about the ones when she was sleeping and pieces of her anatomy were tastefully exposed. That ought to ruffle Edward's feathers...after all isn't that what sisters are for! Alice looked over at me and shook her head. "He'll destroy them if you say anything. And it will be a bone of contention between you two for decades. He's going to show them to her eventually so just leave it alone Rose. But if you want to drive him crazy, fill his Aston Marten with popcorn, unbuttered of course. Then he'll blame Emmett, who'll gladly take the credit for it just because he'll wish he'd thought of it first."

"You've got to be kidding, if he isn't listening in right now he'll know when he comes back cause he'll hear me thinking about it."

"Yes but right now he and Bella are a little pre-occupied in the Meadow and the deed will be done by the time he gets back. There are three hundred bags of already popped unbuttered theatre style popcorn in one of those trucks with your name on it, go girl!"

Just as I was making my way out front, the babies started to cry, well not actually cry Masen was calling out for his 'Momma or Daddy'. And when they didn't answer he started to call for all of us in order of our age to come to the nursery. Apparently Anthony had gotten out of his crib and was eating the Zinc Oxide Cream from the tube. I smiled and raced for the stairs. Alice said she'd let Emmett know about the popcorn, if he was going to take credit for it, he might as well have the glory of actually doing it. Carlisle joined me as I passed his study. When we entered the nursery, Beth came crawling out of the bathroom holding onto the end of the toilet paper I could hear the roll unraveling behind her. Anthony was now trying to drink the baby shampoo to get rid of the zinc oxide taste. Masen on the other hand was standing in his crib looking from one sibling to the other and holding the bridge of his nose...oh my god he really was Edward in miniature!

Carlisle and I both burst out laughing. I went to Beth and Carlisle grabbed Anthony just as he got the child proof cap off the shampoo. We walked into the bathroom to take care of both messes, and found that toilet paper wasn't the only thing Beth had gotten into. She'd taken and poured all the bath salts out on the floor to make snow angels, like Uncle Jasper had told her about, she didn't want to wait until it snowed. When Alice and Esme finally walked in, all the mess had been cleaned up but not until Carlisle had taken several pictures on his phone for Edward and Bella and the rest of the family to see, including Masen doing the nose thingy. Through it all Masen had been sitting in his crib humming to himself and I thought that if he was that much like Edward he was probably composing his first concerto.

Alice went to the head of the stairs and called down to Emmett and Jasper not to bother storing the junior beds she had bought, it was time to take the cribs down. "So I guess we'll be into some construction shortly?" I could see by the look in Esme's eye she was starting to plan an addition most likely to this side of the house thinking that the kids would need their own rooms soon. Anthony crawled over to Esme. "Grandma Esme, can we help you plan for our rooms?" So Esme got down on the floor beside the kids and asked them what they wanted. Masen suggested that they each have their own bedroom. Beth wanted another room that could be a classroom and study. Anthony of course wanted a play room and they all wanted their own bathroom. By the time the delivery guys were done and the boys were ready to set up the new beds, Bella and Edward were back from their little frolic in the Meadow. Bella took one look at the kids, the junior beds, the pictures Carlisle had taken of the mess and the wish list the kids had for the renovations and put her foot down. We were about to weather our first newborn storm, I'm surprised it took her this long.

BPOV

I looked at everything around me I couldn't believe my eyes. New beds, plans for renovations, children wish lists and those pictures would probably be cute ten years from now but not today. I had to whistle to get everyone's attention when I started to speak...no I started to yell. "Listen up everyone, I know you love our kids unconditionally but they are not going to be rewarded for bad behaviour! As far as the renovations go I think that Masen and Anthony can share one large bedroom. Three separate bathrooms are ridiculous, and they can all use the guest bathroom on this floor. The study and games room are not happening look at the trouble these three caused here in a matter of minutes without supervision. They'll do their homework at the dining room table like their father and I did. And we are not duplicating games and game systems between downstairs and their rooms. Esme since you're going to renovate part of the basement for Jasper's darkroom, can I make a suggestion that the remaining space becomes a family room? That way the great room can be freed up for more relaxing pursuits other than Halo and God of War." Everyone had their arms cross in front of their chest except Edward he was holding Masen and playing with his hands. Was that man even going to back me up here?

Emmett and Jasper's face lit up. "Yeah, we could get a pool table, pinball, and air hockey damn that's brilliant Bell. It can become the man cave!"

I just looked at him and rolled my eyes. "Family Room means for everyone Em." When I looked at Edward he was now looking at the pictures Carlisle had taken and was down loading them. "Well honey, you've had very little to say." He just nodded and waved his hand for me to continue. "No I'd like to hear what you have to say we're in this together after all!"

Edward cleared his throat but wouldn't make eye contact. "Well love, you're a newborn vampire, you're stronger than me currently and things have been going very well between us lately. So I'm not about to mess that up by saying the wrong thing. But since you asked, I would have to admit that I like Beth's idea of a study, it would be nice to have another library other than the one in Carlisle's office. The computers could all be hooked up in one area. And there would be no need to worry about our little monsters getting into Carlisle's more fragile and priceless books. And I think a music room may be a good idea since all the kids seem to be interested in learning to play an instrument. But the family room is a stroke of genius my love. And to save fighting in the future how about the boys get a bathroom to share and Beth gets a doorway knocked through to the guest bathroom?"

I stood there looking at Edward, the first time I put my foot down about our children and he bales on me? Wait had he admitted that he was afraid to speak his mind...but he didn't actually disagree with me, or did he? And he did have some good suggestions to meet the future needs of the family. Oh god I think the newborn just failed basic 'we'll work it out together' or 'let's talk about it before we decide 101'. Carlisle I bet would be appreciative of the library suggestion and not to just protect his collection but to add to it as well. Edward threw me his half grin. He knew I had guessed his motives for the music room, he'd always wanted a recording studio and he deserved it. But with three kids it was more practical and efficient for the sake of music lessons to have more than one instrument readily available. And this wasn't just my house the rest of the family seemed to approve of what Edward had suggested. So much so that Rose, Esme, and Emmett went off to start taking measurements and to decide on materials. I think I just blew my first take charge moment. How come it had worked for Emmett?

So I wasn't sure if Edward and I stood united, or was I a bitching harpy trying to throw my weight around and threatening to take my toys away if I didn't get my own way. I think I had an epiphany. So what had I done? After having told the family repeatedly I wanted them to share in caring for my evil spawn I had just effectively reneged on the deal. And Edward had let me because...? Because I'm a headstrong newborn, and the only way I can learn is by making my own mistakes. Yep and I just learned how to put my vampire foot in my vampire mouth, thank you very much Mr. Cullen. I looked at everyone and they all had bemused smiles on their faces, Alice came over to me and took hold of my hand. "It's aright Bella we've all been there, done that and have the bumper sticker. But it feels good to let it out and take control even for a minute doesn't it!"

Then Edward stepped forward. "Love, it's alright we've always said we'll figure it out together and we will. It's just that this family, as I'm sure your beginning to see is a force to be reckoned with but no one is going to disrespect our wishes about how to raise our children. They just want to be able to exercise their rights as Aunts, Uncles and Grandparents."

I sheepishly looked at Edward. "And what exactly are those rights?"

"To spoil them rotten and send them back to us to discipline... you'll never beat them at this game, Bella. There are too many of them and it's just easier to go with the flow in the long run. Pick your battles babe."

I shook my head in surrender. "And this isn't a battle I want to fight, right?" He nodded and hugged me. I was still a little pissed at him, yet somewhat relieved that I will not have to be the commander and chief dictating child rearing policy, as Edward said we'll figure it out together. Apparently with the speeches done it was back to work. I soon learned that the Cullen's always do their own renovations and that they were all certified master craftsmen in one or all the required skills and trades. Emmett had actually run his own construction company back in the forties, and as a matter of fact he still owned it. Esme was a consulting architect with several prominent firms across the country. Good thing too, because me being a newborn and around sweaty construction type humans was not a good idea. Plus, rapidly growing babies being seen was an equally bad idea.

Now my mind was off and worrying about their rapid growth. I chewed on my lower lip something I usually did when I was thinking or stressed! Jasper picked up on my mood change and saw me staring at the babies. He caught Edward's attention and nodded towards me and though he turned to look at me his mind seemed to be elsewhere and not where I expected it to be. How did I know? Because usually when I'm chewing my lower lip he finds it arousing, but not this time. He looked down the kids and abruptly turned to Carlisle. "Carlisle, have you heard from Zafrina yet?"

Carlisle smiled. "Yes, I received an email from her they found the two hybrid children and they're bringing them and their parents with them for a visit. They have both reached their full maturity. It would appear that the boy looks about 18 years old and, the girl looks 17 years old. They're making travel arrangements but it could be a while. They need to get the appropriate documents together in order to get their passports. One of the disadvantages of living down there, getting good forgeries takes time."

I hadn't been aware that Carlisle had been tracking down hybrids. "Why didn't anyone tell me that you were looking for hybrids?" Edward rubbed my arms, "Bella, we did tell you when you were pregnant." Damn fading memories, I reached for it and had a vague remembrance of the conversation. Maggie's son Shawn had contacted him when he came back from his last trip, and told him there were two families in South America that he often used to help foster his discoveries in that part of the world. If the Amazons could contact them they would most likely be able to answer all our questions. Maggie had offered to come visit and to share her experiences in raising Shawn but she thought that talking to families with two parents and ones that had fostered hybrid children almost from birth and in the modern world, would be more valuable. I relaxed until, I saw Edward clench his jaw and let out a low growl, he was glaring at Alice. Jasper pushed calm out into the room. Alice shrugged and said. "You can't stop it Edward if it happens, it happens, but she still has to mature and then she can decide."

"What's this about Alice is it Beth, what's going to happen...Edward you can't keep this from me?"

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose and hugged me. "Bella, the boy that is coming to visit has reached his full maturity but has yet to find a mate and he's intrigued that Beth is a hybrid and hopes that she may be the one."

I grabbed Edwards arm and forced him to look at me. "Okay, but she's just a baby...a rapidly growing and maturing baby...but still..." Now it was my turn to growl.

Edward laughed and hugged me again. "Alice is right though, Bella, if it happens, it happens. But in our world it's still about free will. Mating for us is not like imprinting, everything will be okay. Or don't you think I can handle a teenage boy!" He gave me his best evil vampire look.

I laughed at him. "Charlie would be so proud of you!"

I decided to help Jasper and Edward assemble the junior beds, after my failed attempt to take over the Cullen family. Which was quickly followed a minor freak out that there was a teenage boy who was thinking of my baby daughter as his potential mate. These new beds were a whole other issue I should never have volunteered to help, Edward and Jasper were hopeless! Why was it that any man human or vampire insisted on assembling things without reading the instructions? Were they missing an essential gene or was it in the man handbook. "Edward, tell me is there an unwritten rule for men that says 'thou shalt not read instructions'? Or do you just inherently understand how things go together?" They both rolled their eyes and continued to ignore me. I put the instructions aside that I had been reading and walked over to where Alice was building a house of cards with Beth and Anthony. Masen was sitting beside Edward, intently watching everything he was doing, and Carlisle was watching him watch Edward. At first I thought Carlisle was observing Masen, but it was Edward he was really watching. And it was too cute for words how Edward would hand things to Masen to hold for him until he needed it, or ask Masen what he thought about the bed. Sometimes he would unconsciously just lean forward and kiss Masen on the head and smile. I moved to Carlisle's side and looked up into his eyes, because what I saw in them was a deep longing and love for the boys. Edward stopped what he was doing and both he and Masen turned to Carlisle and gave him their most brilliant smiles. Carlisle looked at me and nodded toward the door then took my arm and we walked out into the hallway. Not that a door would afford us much privacy, but he was obviously feeling very emotional about something.

Carlisle ran his hand through his hair, a very Edward like thing to do and it made me wonder who had learned it from whom. Then he sighed and leaned back against the wall. "Bella, Edward is my first born. He is to me as much my son as if he was my own flesh and blood. And, like a father, I have often worried about Edward, more than any of the others combined, because of how young he was when I changed him. But I sincerely believe that Elizabeth Masen put her son in my care for a reason. I believe she knew that I wasn't human and her dying wish was for me to save her son in the way only I could." He paused and looked sadly at the huge wooden cross on the wall across from him that his own father had carved. "I have always maintained that I did the right thing, but there have been times in this life that I have doubted that. Edward has had moments of contentment but never happiness. He had never bonded with any female except as a sibling or son. And he has never experimented sexually despite numerous offers, so I always wondered if I had made the right decision to turn him."

He looked down at his feet then back up at me. "I think, Bella, that his mother knew that his place was to remain on this earth, that there was something that he was destined to do. But there were times when I lost sight of that, that I thought maybe I had been wrong and condemned him to haunt this earth a lonely and unhappy being. As you know, he always believed himself to be a soulless monster. And you know how much I disagree with that belief. How could we possibly live as we do and not possess a soul? But what I wanted to say is I actually believe that his destiny was to find you and to have those three beautiful children. He is beyond happy. He has everything I could have wished for him as a human or vampire. You, my dear, have helped him find and revitalize his soul. You have proven to everyone in this family that we are not monsters, through your generosity of spirit and your belief in our 'goodness'." He pushed forward and pulled me into a hug then kissed my forehead. "Thank you Bella, for saving my son."

I was so moved by what he had said to me, but I was still puzzled by the look I had seen on his face when he was watching Edward and Masen. "Carlisle, I hope you don't mind me asking but do you envy Edward having children of his own? I know what Esme went through as a human and her regrets but I just wondered if... you know?"

"Oh no, my dear girl, never! Esme and I are just longing to get our hands on those three without interruption and to be able to spoil them in the fashion any grandparent has the right to. But I suppose there will be some vicarious satisfaction that we will be involved in their lives... lord knows, Edward was a handful as a newborn vampire so I can't wait to see how he handles being a father. There is an old saying that you pay for your raising. As a human Elizabeth told me that he was good boy but that he had his moments. As newborn vampire he tried my patience more than anyone with the exception of Emmett but for much different reasons." Carlisle looked at me and I laughed. "Oh, I get it payback is a bitch!" he nodded and we both started to laugh. Edward opened the door and came out carrying Masen. He pointed at me and wanted to know if as the absentee foreman I wanted to inspect their completed work. Masen reached out just then and handed me several bolts. "Daddy says these are spare parts momma, but my bed is okay it didn't fall apart when I jumped on it."

Edward groaned, "Masen buddy, I thought that was going to be our secret."

Masen turned and looked at his Dad smiling. "Sorry Daddy, but you and Momma told us we always have to tell the truth."

Carlisle and I laughed as he reached for Masen and took him in his arms. "Oh Edward, you are so busted, spare parts indeed and jumping on the furniture, what would your mother say, either of them. Well I think this little man and I will go hunt up his grandma and get him a snack and you and your cohort in crime in there had better find where those spare parts belong and fix it."

With that Alice came out with Anthony and Beth one on each hip saying: "They heard the word snack and wanted to come along." Alice passed Beth to Carlisle. "I'm sure Bella and Edward have some parenting things they need to discuss. Come on kids lets go find grandma. Jasper stop admiring your handy work and get out here. Give Bella your spare parts, her and Edward will fix the problem after some alone time."

Jasper came out grinning like a Cheshire cat and went right to Beth and started tickling her then took her out of Carlisle's arms. He passed me several nuts and bolts before they all left us standing in the hallway. "Edward, you do realize that we are totally screwed, they are going to spoil our children rotten." I smiled at him and leaned against the opposite wall.

Edward heaved a sigh of relief. "So we're okay then."

"Edward, we're parents of triplets and we're both technically still considered teenagers. I'm a product of a broken home, you were raised in the Victorian era by your human parents and then by Carlisle during the roaring twenties and he is a product of single parent family from the 17th century of course we're not okay." Edward gave me puzzled look. "Oh! You meant am I mad at you? No, I'm only mad at myself. Regardless of all I said in there I realized that we're going to disagree it's only natural, and we couldn't be further apart generationally about child care but we'll find our way together." Edward pulled me forward leaned his forehead against mine and we relaxed into each other with his back to the hallway wall. "You and I need to talk. We're going to have to set some basic ground rules. And we haven't even tackled my parents yet, or the pack." Edward snaked his arms around me into a hug and then gave me kiss, which would have made me pass out when I was human. "Not that I mind at all but what did I do to deserve such passionate attention?"

Edward released me took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm fortifying myself for the 'the talk' with my family. If I know them our kids are already well on their way to being the most spoiled children in history, so lead the way, we better get this taken care of now."

But we talked for a bit and came to some decisions about the simple rules we needed to start with and then we'd have to see what evolved from there. Edward was going to let me take the lead for two reasons first: as a newborn it would be impossible for me to keep my mouth shut, his words not mine. And secondly: I needed to stand up to the family sooner rather than later. My first attempt was a failure because I was ranting. Apparently it's a vampire rite of passage that I needed to establish my position within the family. We left our room and walked hand in hand down to the kitchen where they were all crowded around the centre island with the children perched on stools helping themselves to a variety of foods. I cleared my throat and they parted like the Red Sea. Anthony had chocolate smeared from ear to ear, Beth was eating ice cream and Masen just sat there looking at his siblings with an apple in his hand. Carlisle at least had the decency to look guilty, so I started with him. "Carlisle, I'm surprised that, as a doctor, you would condone chocolate and ice cream for a snack or meal. Those things are for treats and only for when they've been good. So as your penance I want you to develop diets for the babies that are a fair split between things they like and things they need. Esme, Edward and I will develop menu plans that the entire family can follow when feeding the kids."

"Edward and I agreed that we need to set up some basic rules so there's no confusion or potential for manipulation by the babies." I gave a stern look to our obvious manipulators, Beth and Anthony, the little imps just smiled at me. I reached over and picked up a frowning Masen. "The general rules are as follows they will follow human meal times. As well they need to sleep so there will be a bedtime and a nap time any diversion from these plans will have to be approved by Edward and myself."

Emmett looking chagrined raised his hand. "Why do we have to ask both you and Eddie, why not just one of you?"

"Because while my husband is truly amazing and brilliant, he can be just as clueless as the rest of you when it comes to things like eating and sleeping. Sorry honey. And because I am a newborn vampire and I don't understand how their vampire parts may affect them." Edward smiled at his family and shrugged his shoulders then began examining the apple Masen had handed him. "Listen guys, even though the kids are part vampire, they are also part human, we don't know yet how fast they will mature or if the vampire or human side will dominate, hopefully when our quests arrive we'll have a better idea of what to expect until then these rules stay in place."

Emmett raised his hand. "Yes, Emmett?"

"What about a schedule for baths, and playtime."

Good point since you have a good handle on their bathing routine why don't you propose the bath time and offer to train the rest of us. Look guys we know that we can't do this without all of your help. Hell, as humans Edward and I didn't have siblings, so we're going to need all of you to help, especially from those of you that can remember having younger siblings. We're all going to make mistakes but we'll find our way together. Edward and I will post a schedule for them, for bedtime, naps, baths and meals the rest we'll have to fill in as we go." Edward looked chagrined, "Edward, they're children and I refuse to regiment their every hour and rob them of what little childhood they have left. Before you know it, honey, they'll be ready to start a formal education. Esme is in charge of the school curriculum and she will assign each of you subjects based on your interest and strengths. She will also monitor your performance so that none of the children take advantage of you. I once heard somewhere 'that it takes a village to raise a child' well I figure eight vampires, assorted humans and a wolf pack should be able to do the job. Are there any questions or concerns?" Everybody started to talk at once, Edward and I looked at each other and we both looked at the babies. I just shook my head and nodded at the island, we removed all of the food, since it was not a meal time. But I left Masen with his apple, and offered the fruit bowl to Anthony who selected some grapes and Beth who took some strawberries. Then we sat with them while they ate ignoring their Aunts, Uncles and Grandparents as they talked over our heads.

At some point Charlie and Carol came in through the back door along with Cody, Brady and Sam asking what was going on, then they all got in on the conversation as well. After the kids were done Edward and I took them to the downstairs bathroom cleaned them up and then took them outside for a walk. It was a typical Forks day overcast with a hint of rain in the air. We had walked along the river for a short distance when the sun suddenly broke through the clouds but we were in enough shadow that we didn't sparkle. Masen pointed up and there in the sky was a beautiful rainbow. We sat down and were all staring up at it, when Masen asked: "Daddy, what makes a rainbow?"

Just as Edward was about to answer the smell of wolf hit us, Edward hissed and had his phone out immediately, while he scooped up Masen and Beth, I grabbed Anthony, who had a frog in his little hand, and we turned running for the house.

"Edward? I don't understand who's helping him?"