Title: Enough… for now
Genre: Angst-ish?
Rating: T if even that
Pairing: Leah/Jacob (with mention of Seth/Bella)
Words: 500 even
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Prompt: This week's prompt was a black and white picture of a shirtless man with a baby on his shoulder. You can see it on twitter, it's a really gorgeous picture.

~oOo~oOo~oOo~oOo~oOo~oOo~

Enough… for now

Leah's breath seized almost painfully when she stepped to the door of their small second bedroom. She'd heard the baby fussing and just wanted to be sure that Jake was handling things fine, since this was their first official babysitting job.

The sight that met her eyes affected her more deeply than she would have ever imagined. She thought she had made peace with those suppressed feelings, but seeing her mate holding her tiny, perfect niece was almost more than she could bear.

Jacob was standing with his back to the door—shirtless as usual—and little Hadley was curled up on his shoulder. The baby was wearing nothing but a diaper, but all the pack kids were used to the heat of their fathers and uncles so this was a fairly normal occurrence.

Hadley's abundant dark brown hair was just beginning to show hints of waves like her mother's, though the rest of her face was a close replica of her father's. Seth's sunny features were even more adorable miniaturized in his infant daughter.

Bella was infinitely proud of Hadley's numerous fat rolls that showed the world how well she was cared for. She had struggled with breastfeeding at the beginning, but Sue was a patient coach and she helped the new mother work out the kinks fairly quickly.

Leah loved her brother, and her sister-in-law, and she would lay down her very life for the feisty little girl that their love had created. She was the world's best aunt, but she sometimes worried that that was all she would ever be. She longed for more.

Jake was all she could have ever wanted in a mate, and she was grateful for the twists and turns that brought them together. It was easy to see now that she and Sam were never right for one another—Sam could never handle her fire. She'd needed an equally strong partner, a true alpha, and the spirits had blessed her with Jacob.

Those same spirits that took her father and gave her Jake had also stolen her potential children. They had no way of knowing whether Leah's barrenness was a temporary side effect of the wolf, or if she was truly changed too much to ever bear children for the continuation of their strong family lines.

Leah's hand was covering her mouth when Jake turned with a proud smile. He had changed little Hadley and rocked her back to sleep with no help needed—it was quite the accomplishment for the large wolf.

Seeing his mate's distressed face sobered him instantly, and he crossed the room to pull her carefully into his embrace, with the baby tucked safely between them. "I love you, Lee," he murmured softly in her ear. It was all he had to say.

Leah buried her nose against his neck, breathing in the comforting scents of both Jacob and the innocence that reminded her of the only thing missing in her life.

Familiar, safe, and enough… for now.