AN: So its been a while. I swear I am not dead. Jobs, family, friends. No time for writing. I am almost done and I am hoping to finish this for everyone, mostly Quil and Claire. They have earned it. Please enjoy and again, not dead.

Chapter Forty Three

Skipping

It has been a year since Quil proposed. We were still living in the same home. I was teaching on the reservation now and Quil still worked in the shop. I had barely realized a year had gone by. There was ups and downs but nothing that we couldn't handle. It was strange for me living with someone other than my mom but I was still close to my dad and I got to see my mom when she visited. My sisters popped in whenever they wanted.

Since I had been finished with college for a blissful year, I had taken up work on the school on the reservation. I was a substitute teacher and I helped out around the schools. Mostly after school activities because I didn't have any other plans on certain days, especially on nights he had patrol. It seemed I was finally a full-fledged adult. I had a college education, a full time job and I lived with my fiancée. It was almost like a dream.

It was Friday night, so I didn't have any afterschool coverage tonight and Quil didn't have any patrol, so he was mine once he was done at the shop. I normally spent one of my weekend days preparing meals for the week to try and keep up with his caloric needs. It wasn't easy, but I got along, my mom gave me some tips on how she kept me fed on the road. We would be visiting her tomorrow and I couldn't wait to see her, I hadn't seen her months and we were gonna spend the weekend with her in the city, so it was going to be a good break from the monotony we had made ourselves.

I was thinking about all the places I wanted to go in the city and sautéing steak and vegetables. Rice was already cooking in the large rice cooker we had and it was almost done, it should all be finished at the same time, which is what I wanted, and Quil would be coming home soon. I liked having dinner ready so we could sit down and catch up on the day without getting caught up in chores or anything else we forgot during the day.

The smell of the teriyaki sauce was not settling well with me at all, just the smell had started to make me nauseous, I figured it was because of the headache I had since lunch. I pushed through it until dinner was done and I plated a large amount for Quil and I just had a bowl of white rice. I didn't want to find out what happened if I tried to eat my creation.

Before I could sit down the door opened from the garage and Quil walked in, I hadn't even heard him go in through the garage door. I smiled at him as he closed the space between us and picked me up for a hug. Instantly the smell I couldn't get out of my nose was replaced with the smell of motor oil and Quil. I felt a little better already.

"The garage door opener isn't working, I need the extra chain." He said nodding behind him.

"Dinner first, chores later." I said as I pushed him toward the dinner table.

He laughed but walked to the table, cause that was the only way he was going to make it to the table, I didn't have the strength to get him anywhere. We sat down at the small table and he saw my plain meal.

"Whats wrong?" He asked as he looked at my plain bowl of rice.

"I had a headache this afternoon and it hasn't gone away and the smell from the food wasn't helping, so I didn't want to find out if eating it made me actually vomit." I explained. It might have been weird to talk about vomiting at some point, but that time was long gone now.

"You sick?" He asked concerned, reaching over and touching my forehead, which didn't help because he was so warm.

I shook my head. "I don't think so, I think its just because of the headache, I already took some medicine, I should be fine soon." I tried to assure him.

"Alright, cause we can reschedule with your mom, she wouldn't want you travelling if you're sick." He said seriously. Sometimes he thought I was made of glass or something even more breakable.

I shook my head again, he was always overly cautious. "I'm fine, I'm gonna eat and shower and then go to bed." I said with confidence.

"I'll take care of the dishes and finish packing." He said with a nod.

I smiled at him. I loved him so much and I was so lucky to have him. After dinner he took my bowl away before I could even take it to the sink and rushed me to our bedroom and urged me to shower. I heard him start doing the dishes as soon as I was starting to change out of my clothes.

I took a quick cold shower and then laid down in bed without changing into bed clothes because I was feeling so warm. I kept my towel around me and closed my eyes, waiting for Quil to come to bed. He was almost done with the dishes from what I could hear so it wouldn't be much longer. I had put a pillow over my head to try and block out the light when I heard the door open. It didn't take much longer for me to hear clothes drop on the floor and Quil cuddled behind me.

"Feeling any better?" he asked quietly.

I was torn between wanting to be cold and wanting Quil to hold me. But he helped keep my blood pressure down. So I stuck with him. "A little," I answered honestly.

"Get some sleep, we've got an early morning." He ordered as he pulled me close to him.

I closed my eyes tight and clung to Quils arm and tried to think about anything other than vomit until I fell asleep.

I was woken just little before dawn by Quil, who was already fully dressed. He was kissing me everywhere and I giggled, feeling his stubble grazing over my skin. "Time to get up, I put some breakfast on the table." He whispered to me.

I sighed and sat up and instantly regretted it. I felt whatever was left from last night crawl to the surface and I rushed to the bathroom to vomit violently. Quil was on my tail and fussing over me as soon as my knees hit the ground. When all of the food I had ingested in the last week was up, I fell back against the nearest wall and tried to catch my breath.

Quil had made a mess trying to get baby wipes to help get the bile off me. There were cleaning products and tampons strewn everywhere. "Are you okay?" He asked worried.

I stared at the tampons for a while before everything started to click. "Yeah, just the headache." I lied quickly.

"Are you sure?" He was not convinced with my answer.

"Yeah, I really want to see my mom." I urged him. We had been so busy lately we didn't have the time and I needed her help at the moment.

"Okay but if you get worse, we are coming home." He said firmly.

"You don't think my mom can't take care of her sick daughter?" I asked as he helped me to my feet.

He looked guilty for a moment. "I guess that could be an option." He conceded.

I laughed at him. "Let's get moving." I told him after flushing the toilet.

We packed up breakfast and drove off toward Seattle it was a long drive to get there but I was tired so I fell in and out of naps until we hit city traffic. She had traded her trailer for an apartment in Queen Anne and loved it. She was settled again, she saw her family and old friends. It was normal for her again. I was going to turn it upside down one more time.

"Parking is the worst here." Quil growled as he circled the same street for the fourth time.

"I believe in you." I chuckled, reaching over to touch his face.

He smiled and took my hand, kissing my knuckles.

When we finally got parking, we lugged our bags to my mother's apartment, where she was waiting for us. She had a spare room for any of her daughters to stay, and normally that included a werewolf. She was much fonder of Quil now and it made my life so much easier. She came running out of her apartment halfway to her door to hug me. I was comforted have her there then.

"I'm so glad you could come, Quil said you didn't feel good." She said worryingly.

"Its this headache that has been messing with my stomach." I said shaking my head.

She rushed us into the house and nearly shoved me onto the couch. "You know what you need, matzo ball soup." She said knowingly.

Quil stood to his full height. "I can get it." He offered quickly.

"There is a deli about four blocks away, get two just to be safe." My mom rattled off easily. Even though I was ready to vomit, I was still glad to see them both comfortable around each other.

He leaned over my mom and kissed my forehead. "I'll be back." He promised.

"Thank you." I smiled.

"I love you," He whispered to me.

"I love you, too." I whispered back.

He ran off then, I hoped he knew where he was going but I was glad he left so that I could confirm what I really thought was going on.

"Mom," I urged her, grabbing her hands.

"Yeah, sweetie." She said confused.

"I need you to get something from the drugstore for me." I said nervously.

It was an awkward conversation but my mom understood. Luckily there was a pharmacy next to the bar she lived above. It only took five minutes for her to go down, buy what I asked and come back up. She gave me the bag and looked at me with motherly affection

"Thanks, I'll be back." I said awkwardly as I walked to her bathroom.

I had realized I missed my period the past three months after never being so much as an hour late since I got my period when Quil spilled all the tampons in our bathroom. It could have been caused from stress or poor diet but on top of the vomiting, it wasn't likely. I had to be sure.

My mom was cautious and bought four tests. I hadn't peed since we left the house so I went through all four easily. The worst part was waiting. I used my phone to count down the two minutes. But the first test was already looking positive with the others joining suit. It was a vibrant plus sign on all of them. I still had thirty seconds and the plus sign was darker than it was on the box.

I was pregnant. I wanted to cry and laugh and scream and throw up all at the same time. I sat down on the edge of the tub instead.

My mom didn't bother knocking when the alarm started going off and walked right in. "Honey." She said quietly, kneeling down in front of me.

"Positive." I muttered to her.

She took me into a hug before I could register her own reaction and I was glad for it. I really needed my mom at the moment.

The door thudded open and I jumped. "I'm back!" I heard Quil call out through house.

My mom jumped into action. "I'll get rid of these." She whispered as she took all the tests and shoved them into a bag, and walking out the bathroom and to her utility room.

Quil moved past her to get to me and crouched in front of me. "Again?" He asked frowning as he moved my hair from my face.

I tried not to let him see my panic and also try not to cry from being overwhelmed. "False alarm." I said nervously.

"Let's get some soup in you." He said as he helped me up.

The rest of the day was calm. My mom was very good at keeping her emotions under control and not leading onto Quil what we had discovered. As well as helping me through what I knew to be morning sickness now. All the remedies were easily also for upset stomachs. We watched movies and played board games. Quil helped my mom cook and I was almost moved to tears seeing them work together when they had been at odds a few years earlier.

When the day was over, Quil turned my mother's plush couch into a large bed and my mom bid us goodnight. We settled next to each other and listened to the lull of the city. I was tired and feeling marginally better as I tried to think about how to approach this.

"Are you okay?" He asked sincerely worried. "I mean other than the vomiting. You've been on edge all day." He said knowingly.

I sighed and made a face. "It's not wrong per say." I said confused.

He stared at me patiently.

"Promise not to get mad?" I asked getting nervous.

"I never get mad at you." He said almost laughing at me.

I had plenty of times where he did get mad but I wasn't going to argue with him. I took in a deep breath and put my head on his shoulder. "So I know why I'm sick. I am pregnant." I trailed off.

I felt him cease for a second, like the world had completely stopped and I was the only one left still experiencing time. I waited for him to take a breath and I didn't even realize that I wasn't breathing. Was he going to be okay? Was he going to be angry or happy? Did he even want kids? Before I could begin to lose my mind, Quil sat up and had the look in his eye like a child would on Christmas day.

"Seriously?" He sounded so excited and uncontained.

I nodded and started crying because I had been bottling it up all day. He laughed and pulled me into his lap and held me, telling me over and over how happy he was and excited. I wasn't sure how I felt but I had Quil and that was all that ever really mattered anyway.

AN: Review!