"Sue, please honey, stop pushing. OK?"
Charlie was white-faced, swallowing, the receiver in one hand, trying to train one eye on her, bent over into the wall, the other took in the deepening snow outside. There was simply too much of it on the ground to drive her...anywhere, let alone the hospital. He'd come to this conclusion already, but it bore repeating, as his desperation increased.
She'd blurted out, already, an hour ago, for him to call 911.
He'd known better than to laugh, and had sighed instead. There was no point. He was the 911 response.
Sue's midwife Kat had assured them she'd be fine. Four wheel drive, good snow tires, and lots of practise catching babies in foul weather.
But Kat had been anything but fine. She'd wound up in the ditch, phoning Charlie to check on Sue. Hearing where she'd gone off the road, he knew there was no way she could make it to them. He'd told her to hang up and get herself somewhere safe—to call if she could.
She'd phoned from a service station about twenty minutes later, and had been coaching Sue through a contraction when the call died. Probably a power outage, or her phone had run out of battery.
Charlie sighed again. It helped with his rising fear.
No one else was coming. They were it.
He'd presided at exactly one birth before, and he'd hoped never to have to do it again. Most women made it to the hospital, but every once in a while, someone got caught out on the road. He'd arrived to such a scene with nothing but his emergency medical kit, finding two panicked teenagers looking at him like he was God. The ambulance had arrived about five minutes after the baby had.
At Bella's birth, he'd been pointed in the direction of the waiting room, and told to stay there. He'd been grateful.
Sue was growling now.
Shit.
This was going to happen. Very quickly.
"Who're you calling?" Sue gritted out, watching him with the telephone.
"Sam."
"Why?"
"Maybe they can help," he mumbled.
Sue's words disappeared into boiling, roaring sound that seemed to explode out of her throat.
Sam answered on the first ring.
Charlie didn't waste time on any preliminaries. "Baby's coming Sam. WIll you let Carlisle come?"
"No!" Sue yelled.
"What?" Sam asked.
"Baby's coming. Midwife can't make it. You coming to catch a baby, or letting Carlisle over the line?"
Sam didn't answer right away. There was the sound of mumbled conversation, or a hand over the receiver, as Sam explained what was being asked to someone else.
"Justa sec," Sam said hurriedly into the phone.
Then Charlie heard Emily's voice, in a tone and volume he hoped to never have raised against him: "YOU LET ANYTHING HAPPEN TO SUE AND I WILL STUFF YOUR BALLS DOWN YOUR THROAT!"
Charlie swallowed again.
After a moment of quieter mumbling, Sam came back on the line. "Sure. I'll call them."
Within a minute, Charlie's phone was ringing. It was Carlisle, asking to speak to Sue.
Holding the receiver to her ear, she grunted out answers.
The knock at the door was mere minutes later.
Standing on his porch was Carlisle, flanked by Edward and Bella.
Charlie had never been quite so happy to see his daughter and inlaws.
"C'mon," he said, jerking his head towards the living room.
They did, Carlisle moving quickly towards Sue, murmuring quietly, but not touching her.
Bella pulled Charlie into an icy hug. "I'm so excited for you, Dad!"
"Yeah," he said, nodding, feeling more and more permission to experience the shock that had wanted happening earlier.
He made himself turn his attention back to Sue. Carlisle was talking softly, and he caught the tail end of his words. "...talk Charlie through the delivery?"
Sue said 'yes', while Charlie let out a horrified, "NO!"
Then Sue turned to face her husband. "Please." It was whispered, and pushed through a strained face..
"Sorry," Charlie muttered, coming close, putting a tentative hand on her back. "Of course."
They'd planned for having the baby at home, so most of what they needed was there. Carlisle and Edward laid out several sets of tools.
"Just in case," Carlisle said, as Charlie's eyes wandered over them.
"Why so many of you?" he asked Carlisle, in a voice low enough that Sue wouldn't overhear.
"Just in case," Carlisle answered softly. "Someone for the baby, someone for mom, and someone for you too." He looked at Bella.
Charlie made a sound like a cough, and hoped that none of that help was needed.
"I doubt we'll need it. Sue' doing great. It won't be long."
Charlie could tell that all on his own. He suspected the shedding of clothes and modesty couldn't portend anything else at this point. At least, he hoped they didn't.
"Charlie!" Sue called.
"I'm here," he murmured, not sure where to touch her.
She solved this problem by crushing his fingers in her grip.
"It's OK," he said, watching her strain.
Her lips formed no words, but opened to allow an indescribable sound entrance to the world.
Carlisle handed Charlie a small cotton blanket.
"Can you get onto the bed, Sue?" Carlisle asked from two arm length's away.
She didn't budge.
"The baby will be slippery, Charlie, so use the blanket."
Oh God, Charlie thought.
"I won't let you drop it, OK?" Carlisle went on. "Baby's almost here."
Charlie saw he was right, and moved his hands to catch. Sue's went with his, and with another push, a small and squiggling form was in both their hands.
Carlisle was there very quickly—too quickly, and Charlie felt a moment of panic, thinking he'd drop the baby.
Touching her as little as possible, Carlisle got Sue to lay down on the little bed prepared, sliding a blanket over top of her.
Charlie was staring at a blood-smeared face that couldn't have looked more like Bella.
"A girl! We have a girl!" His words felt utterly incoherent.
But Sue's response wasn't what Charlie expected. Her legs were shaking and jerking, and while his daughter was opening her little eyes to take in the world, Sue's were closing.
"Sue?"
They flicked open again. "She OK?"
"She's fine," Charlie breathed, but he didn't like the colour Sue was, and he suspected Carlisle didn't either.
Edward and Bella had come closer, not touching, but looking at the little bundle in her arms. There was a subtle click of something, and the tug of the cord was gone.
"She's beautiful, Dad."
His throat closed up. "Looks like you."
Bella's returning smile was radiant.
"Can you hold her upright a bit, Charlie?" Edward asked, eyebrows furrowing. Charlie listened and could hear a wet sort of snuffle from his daughter.
He pulled the baby upright, his hand spanning her head. Now she was up against his chest. Remembering something the midwife had said, and watching Carlisle bent over Sue, he said, "can you unbutton my shirt Bella?"
Her face registered surprise at the request, but Edward smiled at her, nodding.
So done, he tucked the baby inside, wrapping the thin blanket between her legs, and up her back, nestling her against his own skin.
"She's happy," Edward murmured.
"What?" Charlie asked.
"Your youngest daughter, she's happy," he repeated.
Right, Charlie thought. Mind reader. So many things sat easily in his reality now, but sometimes, some of them were as strange as the day he learned them. That Edward could hear thoughts still boggled him.
"Just not yours. At least, not very well," his son-in-law had assured him. "And I can't hear Bella's at all."
Strange conversations.
He shook his head. "Just let me know if she's going to crap all over me, 'K?"
Edward chuckled, and so did Bella.
He moved closer to Sue. "You OK?"
Her teeth were clenched together, and she was breathing through something, while Carlisle massaged her abdomen.
"Grng," she responded.
"Doing great," Carlisle encouraged. "Those afterbirth contractions are pretty tough."
More indiscernible sounds.
"One last push," Carlisle crooned.
Sue obliged, and Charlie looked away. There were some things you just couldn't unsee.
It was Edward who whisked this latest production away, his back vibrating with a silent laugh.
"No," he called to Sue, taking it to the kitchen, "not in anyway appetizing, but I can prepare it for you, if you like. It's traditional for the mother to consume the placenta in many cultures."
Charlie's stomach lurched at the suggestion, but Sue just rolled her eyes, appearing to take this ribbing in stride.
"Maybe you want to let Sue take the baby, Dad?" Bella called. They were all keeping their distance, as they could, from Sue.
Still trying to mind that line, even now.
Sue held up her arms expectantly.
"Are you OK to take her?" Charlie asked.
Sue raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm fine. She got six toes or something?"
Charlie smiled. If her sense of humour was intact, she was OK. He bent over and kissed her, "I love you. You were amazing."
Her hand rested on his cheek. "Not so bad yourself."
They could've been alone, for all the wonder of that moment. But a small and demanding wail made Charlie return to Sue what was so recently parted from her.
"Hello beautiful," she cooed hoarsely.
Edward handed Charlie a glass of water, lifting his chin towards Sue.
He passed it on.
Sue looked at Edward, nodding her uncertain thanks, and taking a drink.
Then Carlisle, and Edward and Bella all seemed to become very, very still.
"What?" Charlie asked. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Carlisle smiled at him. "You have...visitors."
The door rattled with a hearty thumping.
"Everything OK?" Sam's voice came.
"Perhaps you should get the door, Charlie," Edward suggested.
Thinking that a mind reader was probably the best person to listen to, Charlie got up and moved towards it, casting a look back at Sue to make sure she was decent. Bella had obviously sensed his concern, because she grabbed another blanket, handing it to Carlisle to help settle over her step-mother.
Sam Uley stood at the door, Jacob at his side.
"Congrats!" Jacob called, with a grin. Sam's face was more sombre.
"Wanted to make sure you were OK," he said, peering over Charlie's head.
From their attire on his snowy porch, Charlie presumed they'd travelled in their other forms, changing when they got close. "Join the party."
They dusted the snow off themselves in the small entranceway.
"All good, Sam," Sue called. "Thank you."
He nodded, gaze taking in the room.
"It is," Charlie said in a commanding tone. "Let's keep it that way, 'K?"
Sam bristled at these words, but Charlie didn't care. This was his family, and there was no way he was going to let old feelings disrupt the magic that was blossoming here.
Bella and Edward had retreated to the edge of the room, standing in each other's arms, Bella watching Sue, and Edward more nervously watching Sam.
"Thank you," Sam said. "If everything's OK, perhaps it would be best if—"
"We won't be long," Carlisle said. "I'm just waiting for Sue to start nursing. I want to make sure all the bleeding's under control."
Sam whipped his head towards Bella.
"She's fine," Edward growled.
Charlie felt that prickling unease in his midsection again.
Where Sam had held back, Jacob had blown through all the invisible lines and anxiety littering the room. He held out a hand to Charlie. "Nice work, man, and here you were all worried about having the baby at home."
Charlie made a sound he wasn't sure how to describe, but it expressed all his anxiety, and relief, and worry in a most comprehensive way.
Jacob slapped him on the back, harder than was comforting, and moved on towards Bella and Edward.
"Hey," he said, "got the baby sister you always wanted, huh?"
Bella's laugh, so like hers, and yet, not, rang out. "Sure, Jake." They grinned at each other, and then, to the surprise of most creatures present, hugged each other.
Charlie wasn't sure if there was a sound that came from Edward. Maybe it was his own stomach. They'd missed dinner. Everything had happened so fast. Maybe he should—
"I'll go make some food," Edward announced, seeming happy to find a way out of what felt like a shrinking room.
"So it's a…?" Charlie heard Jacob ask.
"Girl," Bella smiled. "You guys have a name?" She looked at Charlie, and then at Sue.
Charlie grinned widely. "Yes."
Sue giggled.
"What?" Bella asked.
Form the kitchen, she heard Edward's laugh.
"I gave you a really nice name, Bella."
"Sure you did, Dad. And this one's name is…?" She raised her eyebrows, clearly waiting.
"And then you went and shortened it on me."
Bella rolled her eyes. "OK, OK. No nicknames, I get it."
"None possible," Charlie nodded. "Because her name's Ella."
Sam burst out into a laugh, as did Jacob.
Charlie was pretty sure, that if Bella could be beet red, she would be.
"Ella?"
"Bella, and Ella. Yep."
"That's just—" she started to say, but Edward had returned to her side, and she caught his look. He smiled at her, as only he could.
"It's beautiful," Edward said, stealing a kiss from Charlie's first born. "I, for one, approve." Then he laughed and headed back to the kitchen.
Bella looked at Charlie, face serious. "You knew, the last time we saw you, didn't you?"
Charlie chuckled, nodding.
Bella disappeared. Charlie was pretty sure it was to confront Edward.
Sam, obviously uncomfortable with the intimate scene before him, had retreated to the entranceway. Jacob, however, had moved closer, and seeing Ella done with her meal, said, "can I hold her Aunt Sue?"
Charlie caught Sue's look to him. "I can share," he said, smiling at her.
"Sure Jake," Sue said, and handed Ella to him.
Once he sat down by Sue, Jacob held out his arms to receive the newest Swan, carefully cradling Ella's tiny head.
Charlie wasn't sure who gasped first—Jacob, or Edward, but his son-in-law was suddenly beside him, the unexpected chill making him twitch.
"What?" he asked Edward "Something wrong?"
Edward shook his head, and then continued to stare. At Jacob.
Charlie's gaze followed, and he looked at Billy's boy, holding his youngest child. He didn't know how to describe it. Jacob was looking at Ella like a drowning man finding air.
"Uh, Jake? You alright?" he asked, moving closer, alarmed by the abrupt stillness.
Jacob didn't even blink, just kept on staring.
Edward's cold hand rested on Charlie's warm forearm. "He's fine," he said. "He's more than fine. He's just...shocked." Then he closed his mouth and added, "I can't say I blame him."
Sue was looking at Jacob now, eyes narrowing, and then at Sam. Now she looked at Charlie in alarm, holding out her arms for the baby.
Charlie scooped his daughter up, and Jacob's eyes followed Ella.
No one said anything for a moment.
It was Bella who whispered, "What's going on?" to Edward, loud enough that everyone could hear.
"Jacob...imprinted on Ella," Edward murmured.
"What?" Charlie asked. He'd heard the word before in reference to Sam and Emily—but on a baby? No...not his baby.
He looked at Jacob, a low and furiously boiling rage growing inside him. "Is he right? Did you just—"
"It's not like that," Edward rushed out. "Trust me. Not at all." He put two fingers to his head, reminding Charlie, unnecessarily, of his advantage.
Jacob only nodded in answer to Charlie's question.
There was a longer, and more awkward silence after this.
"Why doesn't everyone get something to eat?" Sam suggested, having heard this exchange. He looked worried.
Charlie, stunned by what had been revealed, only nodded dumbly as he tried to process everything.
Sam and Jacob wouldn't eat the food Edward had prepared, but Sue and Charlie did, famished from their ordeal.
Pulling Charlie aside, Sam explained, in no uncertain terms what imprinting was, and wasn't, and the relief was so palpable that he wondered if everyone in the house couldn't feel it wafting off of him.
Sue was shocked enough, either from the birth, or the imprinting, or both, that Carlisle stayed close by, rechecking her blood pressure, trying to get her to drink more fluids. His concern was such that he summoned Charlie, asking Sam to take Ella.
After three minutes of looking like he was holding an unpinned grenade, Sam was only too happy to hand Ella over to Jacob, who clucked his tongue, changed her diaper, and then had her up and burped on his shoulder. She was asleep in minutes.
"Sue needs to rest," Carlisle told Charlie sotto voce. "And I have a feeling she'll feel better about doing that with us gone."
Edward had packed up the rest of the medical equipment, and he and Bella were waiting by the door.
Charlie looked at them all, and nodded, accepting Bella's hug. "Thank you for coming. I don't what we would've done without you."
"Love you, Dad," Bella said, grinning. "And glad I have a sister. Even if—yeah." She left what they both knew unsaid. She wouldn't know this sister well, but she wanted to. They'd have to leave the area soon enough. That much had been clear for sometime.
The goodnights said, he watched the trio of Cullens lope through the snow, disappearing into the dark and snow heavy trees.
The excitement of the night gone, Charlie knew he should be calming down, but the wheels in his mind were turning. If Bella was any indication as to what kind of trouble his offspring tended to get themselves into, Ella could use a guardian angel.
And Jacob Black didn't make such a bad one.
He tried to assure Sue of this too, as they settled themselves in for their first night as this expanded family.
As the snow fell into the whitened darkness, Charlie mused that with a vampire for his firstborn, possibly a werewolf for his second, and an assembly of other werewolves there to guard this youngest, he could probably relax.
So he finally did, and when sleep eventually stole the last pieces of excitement of the day away, it was into happy dreams he let himself drift, secure in the knowledge that there was a bright, and magical future waiting for his children, and a blessedly humble and human one for him, and Sue.
And that this was enough for happiness.
More than enough.