Babies, Babies, Babies

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

A/N-thanks for the kind reviews, Nikki.

Part Forty Two

Even though Bella had promised Old Quil that she would keep quiet about her meeting with him, she didn't feel comfortable with the fact that she had to remain silent and not tell Jacob about it. She had learned from experience that keeping secrets did neither of them any good. She knew the elder was thinking of Jacob's feelings if nothing came of it, but if it was her she would want to know.

"What is going through that head of yours?" Jacob asked her. He could see that Bella was worried about something. She was biting her bottom lip which was usually a sign.

"Old Quil asked me to…."

"Go and see him. Yeah I heard." Jacob smiled at Bella as her mouth fell open in surprise that he already knew. "I think he forgets that I have very good hearing now. I mean he is losing his, so…."

"You knew." Bella exhaled in relief. "There was me fretting all the way back here and you already knew. You could have told me."

"Where would the fun have been in that?" Jacob teased her as he put the heavy box of groceries down on the front porch. "I think it's a great idea."

"You won't be upset if nothing happens?" Bella checked as she began to lift Marlon out of his buggy. Jet had already run inside the house.

"No. We love each other, end of. If we imprint, great, but it won't make any difference either way." Jacob leaned down and kissed her gently. "So don't stress okay?"

"Okay." Bella smiled at him weakly as she led the way into the house. Even though Jacob seemed fine if nothing happened, Bella was counting on the elder to help her break through her shield. She wanted the utter certainty of the imprint to happen. It would take away one of her biggest secret fears. Of course she would love Jacob either way, but to have that reassurance like Emily, Kim and even little Claire had was something she craved. She didn't say any of this to Jacob; he was showing Billy the huge box of food Old Quil had given them. For the moment, everyone appeared relaxed and at peace and she didn't want to spoil it.

Rachel did her best to avoid Paul after her failed seduction attempt. She had retreated to the spare room and spent the hours alone feeling immensely sorry for herself. She kept leaving messages for Becca to call her, but so far her twin had failed to return her calls. Rachel couldn't understand what had gone wrong. She was pretty, she had a good figure, no man had ever rejected her before. She was Paul's imprint, wasn't he supposed to want her like that? She felt both angry and humiliated. She was lying on her back crying pitifully when her cell finally rang. Rachel answered it at once.

"Hey, sis." Rebecca drawled.

Rachel sat up abruptly and wiped her face with the back of her hand. Rebecca sounded stoned. "Where the hell have you been? I have left message after message."

"Oh, chill will you." Rebecca slurred irritably. "I got delayed. But we're here now."

"We? I told you to come alone." Rachel felt nausea well up in her throat.

"I told you I got a lift with Devon. He's a good friend. Come on, sis. You promised me. Get the money then we can we get out of here." Rebecca laughed throatily.

Rachel could hear the sound of male laughter in the background. That must be Devon. She didn't like the sound of this at all, but despite her misgivings she was desperate to see her sister. "Becca, it may be hard for me to get Bella and the children to come with me." She confessed. "Things have been a little tense here."

"What do you mean?" Rebecca sounded much more alert. "Get them here, Rach. I don't care how. You promised me."

"It won't be that easy…." Rachel stopped when she heard her sister yell in pain.

"Please, sis." Rebecca whined. "You have to. I'm near La Push now…what the hell?"

There was a sound of scuffling in the background. Rachel began to shake as she heard her sister yelling, followed by the sound of a male voice cursing. Then the line went dead.

Jacob was putting the groceries away while Bella was changing Marlon's diaper. Billy had Jet perched on his lap and was reading his granddaughter a story. Their peace was shattered when Rachel suddenly came bursting into the house. Her face was red with exertion and she was breathing deeply. Jacob swiftly confronted her as her sudden appearance had alarmed the children. Jet began to cry and upon hearing his sister sounding so distressed Marlon cried too.

"Rachel what the hell is wrong with you?" Jacob hissed.

Rachel was holding her chest as she tried to catch her breath. She still had her cell clutched in her free hand. She ignored the cries of the children and stared up into her brother's angry face. "Becca." She choked out. "Becca is in trouble. You have to do something."

Jacob's expression hardened as he exchanged a glance with Billy. Bella rocked Marlon in her arms as she tried to calm him down. Jet was had quietened but she was still sniffling. Billy stroked his granddaughter's silky hair as he glared at Rachel. "What exactly do you want us to do? We don't even know where Rebecca is." Billy said stonily.

"She's here. She's right here." Rachel blurted out. Her words shocked everyone. Bella gripped Marlon tighter and Jacob's eyes darkened. He strode forward and gripped hold of Rachel and shook her. "What do you mean here? When?"

"Just now. She called me…but…but…" It suddenly dawned on Rachel what position she was in. Hearing her sister's cries of pain on the other end of the phone had spurred her into acting irrationally. She had run straight to her family, hoping to get them to help, but forgetting at the same time that she and Rebecca were actually planning to fleece them out of the money and take the children. Her face flushed a dull red as she suddenly averted her eyes from her brother's angry gaze.

"Answer me?" Jacob demanded. "Why is she here? And how long have you known?"

Rachel swallowed thickly. She couldn't think up a feasible answer without dropping herself in it. "I was doing it for the children….you know that. You know that." She whispered.

"You were still going to go ahead and try and take the money, weren't you? Becca doesn't care about the children and neither do you?" Jacob released his sister and stepped back. "You sicken me."

"Jake, what do we do?" Bella was standing next to Billy and Jet. Her eyes were full of worry as she began to fret. If Rebecca was that close what were they going to do. And who had she brought with her?

"I need to scout around. If Becca is close I'll find her. I want you all to stay inside..." Jacob was about to leave when Bella's cell began to ring. He paused as he watched her pass Marlon to his father so she could answer it.

"Hello." Bella couldn't stop her voice shaking.

"Bella, my love."

"Edward?" Bella nearly dropped the phone. She locked eyes with Jacob, his were glowing fiercely. She held up her hand to stop him saying or doing anything, but she kept her gaze on him all the time. "What do you want?"

"You, I want to see you, Bella." Edward replied softly. "I have something to tell you."

"I can't, Edward. You know this." Bella tried to keep her tone calm but was struggling.

"I expect you will bring the dog with you." Edward said dully. "If you must, you must. But come right now. I am at the treaty line with Jasper and Alice. We have someone with us who belongs to the dog."

"Edward?" Bella whispered, but he had already ended the call. She swallowed thickly and glanced over toward Jacob. He was inhaling deeply, trying to keep his anger under control. "You heard that?" She asked.

"I heard." Jacob went to her side and put his hands on her face. "You okay?"

"I don't know. What do we do?" Bella's eyes roamed his face as she tried to gauge what he was thinking.

"We will do as he wants, but first I need to get some of the pack here to watch over the house and the children." Jacob let go of her face and began to speak quietly to his father. Billy looked ill. The shock of hearing that his other daughter was nearby had taken its toll.

Bella stood with Marlon cradled in her arms and Jet clinging to her leg. This was it, this was D-Day, Rebecca was nearby, and Bella knew she had never been so frightened of anything in her entire life as she was at the thought of losing the children she had come to think of as her own.

Once Leah and Seth had arrived to stay with Billy and the children and to keep an eye on Rachel, Jacob and Bella left for the treaty line. Sam and the other members of the pack followed close behind after being alerted by Jacob. It didn't take long to get there, although in Bella's mind it seemed an eternity. Jacob drove the truck while the wolves ran close by. Bella was dreading seeing Edward, it had been so long since she had last set eyes on him. To her it seemed as if her relationship with him was like a part of a dream that she had finally woken up from. Her attachment to him had long since dissipated.

As soon as they reached the invisible treaty line Bella saw him. He was pacing up and down, for some reason his normally light bronze coloured hair had been darkened. It made his face seem whiter than ever. But other than that he looked exactly the same. He was still the handsome Adonis she had so admired. Behind him stood Alice, she was standing next to another dark haired figure, Bella was shocked as she realised it was Jasper. His blonde hair had been dyed a dark brown like Edward's. Her curiosity was piqued. Alice was dressed all in black, she didn't look as anxious as the last time Bella had seen her. Lastly Bella noticed the only other female there, Rebecca was sitting on the side of the road, she was curled up into a ball and rocking back and forth. Bella glanced at Jacob. He had parked up and was staring at his sister in bemusement.

"What the hell?" Jacob muttered as he opened the truck's door and jumped out. In the distance he could see his pack roaming about restlessly as they kept watch.

Edward was on the alert at once. His eyes were fixated on Bella as she climbed out of the passenger side. "Bella." He breathed her name like a prayer.

Bella felt a shiver run down her spine. She was taken back to the first time she had ever seen him. Once again she felt vulnerable. She didn't like the feeling. She felt Jacob take her hand and she instantly became calmer. "Edward." She greeted him. "Alice, Jasper." She looked over at the others. Alice smiled slightly but didn't approach. Jasper just nodded at her as he kept his arm around his mate's waist.

"What is going on here?" Jacob demanded. His eyes strayed to Rebecca again. She was singing to herself. "What is wrong with my sister?"

"She is drugged up to her eyeballs." Edward replied as he finally tore his eyes away from Bella and looked at Jacob. His eyes travelled to their joined hands and he frowned. "And before you accuse me of it, she took them herself. Your sister has a bad drug habit. She travelled here with a man or should I say vampire called Devon Malone." He paused for moment as he watched this news sink in. "She hooked up with him when she left her children with you in La Push. Devon runs, or should I say ran…." A sardonic smile lit up his face. "A commune, it was basically a mixture of addicts, he used them to get what he wanted, basically free food. He would give the addicts what they wanted, drugs, and in payment they would bring him back strays so he could get his blood without attracting attention."

Bella felt horrified. She saw Jacob flinch and she gripped his hand tighter. Her eyes turned toward Alice. "You saw this happening. You knew he was going to come after the money and use Rebecca to get it."

"Yes." Alice whispered. "Our family have limitless funds but most vampires do not. He wanted to use the money to buy more drugs so he could expand his activities. Jasper, Edward and I intervened on the Volturi's behalf otherwise half of Italy would have been here to shut his operation down. He was becoming too noticeable to the general population."

"The Volturi?" Bella's face whitened. Her heart began to pump loudly in her chest.

"Don't worry, my love." Edward said softly as his golden eyes strayed to her face. "You need not concern yourself with them. Alice, Jasper and I have made sure that your promise to Aro is revoked. You are safe."

"How?" Bella glanced at Jacob. He was eyeing Edward warily and his hold on her hand tightened.

"We gave him what he desired. Us." Edward gestured toward his siblings. "We now work for the Volturi as their roaming guard. We are like their eyes and ears in the wider world. It is our job to carry out similar work such as this, stopping rogue vampires becoming too noticeable and shutting their operations down. In exchange for our services Aro has promised never to interfere in your life or let any vampires come this way again on pain of death."

"You gave yourself up to the Volturi? Oh, Edward….Alice….Jasper." Bella burst into tears. She had never expected this. They had sacrificed themselves for her sake, to give her the human life she had once been so willing to throw away. "I am so sorry. This is…."

"I would do it again in a heartbeat, Bella. I love you. This sacrifice is nothing. As long as you are safe, even if it is with him." Edward glared at Jacob before his expression softened again.

"But this means…." Bella was interrupted when Jasper whispered something to Edward. She watched as her former fiancé sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "What is it?"

"We have to go." Edward murmured sadly. "I love you, Bella. I will never stop loving you." He said desperately. Slowly he locked eyes with Jacob. "You hurt her and I'll come back and rip you into pieces." He snarled.

"That will never happen." Jacob stated coldly.

"We leave your sister with you." Edward glanced back at Rebecca. She was still singing softly to herself. "You should try and get her into a rehab facility."

"What about Solomon?" Jacob asked. "And this Devon character."

"Solomon was one of Devon's victims and as for Devon himself, we disposed of him." Edward glared at Jacob one last time before he began to back away. "Remember what I said, Black. I will be watching." Then with a jerk of his head he motioned for Alice and Jasper to follow him. All three melted into the shadows as if they had never been there.

A/N-thanks for reading!