Bella's POV:
The next year just flew by. I couldn't believe that not only was Charlotte two and a half but Cole was one!
My little Cole was amazing. He was sweet and good natured and after a long bout of colic we had settled into a nice routine.
He looked like Jasper but he had my eyes and fair complexion.
Charlotte had grown a fair amount and was doing well health wise. She had her most recent surgery almost two months ago. She was talking well and was meeting all her developmental milestones to my and Jasper's delight.
Currently Jasper and I were snuggled down under our comforter just basking in the rare moment of quiet.
It was only seven in the morning on a Friday and we knew we'd have to get up soon to get ready for the day but for the moment it was pleasant just to be us, together. Neither of us worked today or tomorrow but Jasper worked Sunday.
I'd recently returned to work at the hospital part time and Jasper had been promoted in his precinct so he wasn't doing as much work on the streets which I liked.
Emmett and Rosalie had moved in next door to us and we loved it. Brooke was only a few months older than Cole and they got along beautifully and Char loved having 'her babies' around.
We hadn't heard much in the way of my crazy ex and his girlfriend and nothing at all in the last two months so we were cautiously optimistic that they were going to leave us alone for good.
"Bella?" Jasper's breath tickled my ear as he spoke.
"Ya?" I asked sleep still tingeing my voice and making it huskier than usual.
"You and Rose are going to the gym for your self defence lesson this afternoon right?" He rested his chin on my shoulder.
"Ya it's our last class," I confirmed "We're going to take Brooke and Cole and leave them at the daycare after the mommy and me class. We shouldn't be gone more than a few hours."
After I had gotten the all clear from my doctor Rose and I had started taking a series of self defence lessons every second week. Jasper, Emmett and my dad had all encouraged it saying that if Edward ever showed up and threatened me at least I'd be able to take care of myself until someone was able to show up.
"Good," Jasper said "Esme is going to drop Peter off for the week this afternoon."
"It's so sweet Carlisle is taking her on a second honeymoon," I grinned "Where are they going again?"
"Ireland." Jasper laughed. "Apparently Esme has wanted to go there since she was a child and they finally have the opportunity to go!"
"So we'll order the usual Chinese for us, Rose and Emmett and pizza for the kids?" I suggested. Friday nights had turned into a family affair.
It was always at least Jasper, Rose, Emmett and I and sometimes Leah, Paul, Seth, or my dad and Sue would join us. Occasionally Carlisle and Esme would drop in with Peter but more often than not we went by their place for Sunday brunch if neither of us were working.
Peter and Charlotte were practically inseparable even though he was a full 8 months older than her. When Charlotte had her surgery Peter had sobbed because he wasn't allowed into the ICU to see her and she had been thoroughly pissed off that her 'Petew' wasn't there to see her when she woke up.
Esme and I agreed that the pair of them would make quite the couple when they were older and Jasper vehemently swore that no little girl of his would be dating before she was 45.
"Mommy!" A screech suddenly interrupted our quiet conversation and Charlotte raced into the bedroom as fast as her little legs would carry her. "Petew coming over!" Jasper caught her as she leapt onto our bed.
We were still being a little careful with what we allowed her to do to make sure she wouldn't get hurt. She had kept up her swimming lessons and Cole had started taking the infant classes at the gym. The doctors were thrilled with her progress and confident she wouldn't need another surgery until she was eight or nine at least, which also made us thrilled.
"Yes," I nodded as she snuggled against her father's bare chest "Peter is coming over and we're going to have pizza tonight."
"'roni?" She asked using her short term for pepperoni, her favourite type of pizza.
"Yes darlin'" Jasper laughed and kissed her forehead. "'roni. Bells I think I hear Cole." Jasper whispered over Charlotte's shoulder to me. I nodded and scooted out from the warm covers, immediately grateful for the thick carpets that we had on our upper floor.
I threw my robe over my shoulders and headed for the nursery.
I opened the door and Cole grinned widely at me. He was standing in a soft green onesie and holding onto the top of the crib bouncing up and down. He wasn't speaking yet at all but he loved to yammer incoherently.
I swung him into my arms and tickled his belly making him laugh wildly.
"Come on buddy," I grunted slightly. He was getting pretty big at sixteen pounds and he threw his tiny arms around my neck as I took him to the changing table.
I changed his diaper as fast as possible with him kicking up a storm and trying to roll over every time I removed my hand from his tummy. I also decided that while I had him at least sort of pinned down I'd change his clothes so I put him into a long sleeved shirt and a pair of overalls before finally picking him up again.
"Oh Cole," I sighed "Maybe we should just stay home today, hang out with daddy."
He just giggled in response and stuck his thumb in his mouth. I handed him his sock monkey that he never went without and he gripped it tightly in his fists.
By the time I had made it back to my bed room Jasper had thrown on jeans and a t shirt and Charlotte raced past me as I was going in "Bye momma!" She shouted "Daddy's having tea party!"
"Oh you are such a sucker," I laughed as he lifted Cole from my arms and I leaned forward to kiss him.
"Anything for my girls," He drawled laying the accent on thick "You better hop in the shower if you and Rose are going to be outta here by nine."
I nodded because of course he was right and paused for only a moment to watch him take Charlotte by the hand and lead her down the stairs.
I sighed when I lost sight of them and turned to hop in the shower. Suddenly today seemed very ominous, something wasn't quite right and for the life of me I couldn't figure out what so I tried to just shake it off.
J&BJ&BJ&BJ&B
Two hours, a shower, breakfast and a story with Charlotte later and Rose and I were buckling Cole and Brooke into their car seats in the back of my SUV.
The drive to the gym was mostly quiet until I started rubbing the center of my chest with the heel of my hand. It felt like I was having heartburn almost.
"You okay Bells?" Rose asked as she turned into the parking lot.
"I'm fine," I said waving her off "Will just need to grab some Tums before class starts."
We had both joined the mommy and me class that took place right before our self defence course and Brooke and Cole both seemed to love it.
Today, it was only Rose and I and 4 other moms and their babies so we all talked about our children's recent developments and just enjoyed the company of other females.
Sometimes this was the only human contact some of these moms had for days at a time and it always helped to have a sympathetic ear to talk to.
Rose and I were the only ones that dropped the kids off at the gym's daycare to stick around for the next class.
"Alright ladies," Our instructor- a burly man of Native descent named Sam clapped his hands together and stood in front of our small group "Today we're going to pair up and go over the skills we've learned. And since it's your last class I have a gift for all of you before you leave."
He was handsome with dark eyes, dark hair and tan skin and most of the single ladies in class spent more time fawning over him than actually learning the techniques which was why Rose and I always paired together when we had the chance.
Ever since class had started I'd felt a feeling of dread, that same feeling from earlier only a hundred times stronger and we went through the techniques quickly.
Sam came over to help us fine tune our techniques and congratulated us on our skills. He knew about my restraining order against Edward and had been helpful in making sure I wouldn't be completely unarmed if there ever was another run in.
"Alright ladies," Sam said again as the class came to an end. All of us were sweaty and most of us were breathing a little heavier as we gathered around him. "Now all of you have done well and expanded your skills. Just remember the goal of self defence isn't to cause harm or to kill it's to protect yourself and your loved ones and to create an opportunity to escape and get help."
We all nodded before he spoke again "So before you all run off to wherever you need to be I'm going to passing out small canisters of pepper spray. Use them carefully and only if you need to and I sincerely hope that none of you will ever need to use the techniques you've learned here. Good luck!"
I gave him an appreciative smile and mouthed "Thank you," as he was swarmed by the young women in the class.
Rose laughed as she picked up her backpack "Shall we go and get our kids?"
"We better," I laughed "Wouldn't want them getting in too much trouble."
I was just buckling Cole into the car when my cell rang. For some reason my heart leapt into my throat as I dug for it in my own back pack.
"Hel-" I was cut off by a loud bang and a groan of what sounded like pain. At the same time I heard the shrieks of terror from my little girl and I suddenly knew that the feeling of dread I hadn't been able to get rid of all morning was founded.
I clicked my phone shut and Rose must have noticed all the blood drain from my face because she asked "What's wrong?"
"We gotta get home," I said tearing the car keys from her hands. She didn't question she just raced around to the passenger side and leapt into the SUV not even bitching when I peeled out without giving her a chance to put her seatbelt on.
"What's going on Bells?" She asked as she hung on to the holy shit handle as I turned wildly onto the road that would take me home.
"Something's wrong," I said panic evident "Jasper's hurt."
"He hurt himself?"
"No," I said softly "I think someone hurt him and Charlotte and Peter are there." The longer we weren't there the more panicked I got.
Rose didn't say anything else to me just dialled 911 on her cell as we pulled onto our street.
I parked haphazardly in front of the house and dug out the can of pepper spray from Sam "Stay here Rose," I told her "If I'm not back shortly or you see anything strange get out of here. Take the kids and go."
She nodded and slid over the center console and into my seat. I glanced back once as I raced to the house my sneakers slapping loudly against the cement.
The front door was ajar and I didn't slow as I ran through it. "Jasper? Charlotte? Peter?" I called loudly.
I heard a low moan from near the kitchen and raced in that direction. What I found practically stopped my heart.