Here is the next chapter. This one was suppose to be longer, but it's taken so long for me to work out the second half that I decided to post 2 smaller chapters instead. Again, not totally necessary for the story, but I wanted to add more Seth/Kira fluffy goodness. Hope you like. Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed. I love you guys so very much. You're support helps my creative process sooooo much. As Always, I don't own twilight etc.

Kira POV

I went with Jacob as backup when he went out to meet with members of the pack. Apparently, our message had been received by Sam and he had put a hold on the attack, at least until Bella's baby was born. We were happy that Jake's plan worked, but we were both still reluctant to give up perimeter patrols of my families house. This could be a trick. Jacob was 99% sure it was legit, but it was that lingering 1% that keep us continuing our vigilance. I had spent a good portion of the night running circles around the house opposite Seth, while Jake and Leah got some rest. Even considering the circumstances, it was still fun running with him. We ran opposite directions and would race to see where we would meet on each rotation.

Around 5am Jacob took over for me. He told me he needed to talk with Seth of a bit, but he'd be in shortly.

I quickly shifted and walked in the side door of the house. The kitchen was full of amazing smells. I found Edward and Esme hard at work, cooking up a storm. They made a full breakfast, including omelets, pancakes, bacon and homemade cinnamon rolls. They obviously were anticipating Seth and my arrival.

Esme felt bad about the the three kids being more/less homeless, just to help protect the family. She had tried to give them clothes and food. She also offered the extra bedrooms if they wished to sleep inside. Leah had flat out rejected anything from her. She seemed content to just live, eat and sleep as a wolf. Jacob was only a tad better than Leah. He wouldn't eat any of the food, but he did take some of the clothes Esme offered. I guess when you have none, even clothes that smelled like vampires were better than nothing. Seth, on the other hand, took full advantage of everything. He ate anything Esme made him, and he was more than happy to hang out in the house when not patrolling. He even slept inside, even if Jacob insisted he stay in wolf form.

I sat at the kitchen table and ate my breakfast, while Esme cleaned the kitchen.

"Is Seth coming in, dear?" She asked me.

I yawned, causing Esme to chuckle softly at me. "He'll probably be in shortly. Jake said he wanted to talk with him before Leah took over for him."

"I'm glad." She looked around at all the food on the counters. "Edward and I got a little carried away. I'd hate for it to go to waste."

"I wouldn't worry, Esme. Seth will probably eat a good portion of it." I took my empty plate over to the sink, stifling another powerful yawn. "And just leave what's left over in the fridge. I'll eat more after a nap. I can barely keep my eyes open."

Esme gave me a quick hug as I left the kitchen.

In the living room, Edward was sitting next to Bella, while Emmett sat in the chair off to the side of the couch with Rosalie seated at his feet on the floor. They were all looking at the TV, but Bella looked like the only one actually watching it. I did have to say, Bella did look better. She had been drinking some of the blood Carlisle had stockpiled for use during her delivery. It turned out that the reason the baby was sucking the life out of her was because she wasn't giving it the kind of nourishment it needed. Bella looked healthier now. The only problem was that the baby was getting stronger, but Bella's body was still human. The kid had broken two of her ribs already.

I sat gently next to her.

"How ya doin' kid? Junior break anything else?" I asked lightly, almost jokingly. Bella's spirits were actually pretty high, considering.

"I'm fine." She replied, smiling widely at me. "No new breaks, as far as I know. He's asleep right now, I think."

Edward looked over at me. "Shouldn't you be sleeping now, too. Your mind is so fuzzy I can barely read it."

"Hey, if you don't like what you see, don't poke around in my head." I joked, yawning once again. "And I am going to take a nap. I just wanted to stop and say hi first. I've been running around the house all night without the ability to talk, I just felt the need to chat a bit. You know, catch up on the gossip." I gave Edward a big smile. He just rolled his eyes.

"Come across anything last night?" Emmett asked, turning his full attention to me.

"Nope, not a thing. I know it's probably not necessary to run the perimeter anymore, but Jacob still has a tiny bit of doubt about the packs intentions. As long as there is any chance Sam was lying, we'll continue to patrol. Besides, there are four of us, it's not too bad a gig. Two run while 2 rest. I just look at it this way: Running is good for the heart. Excellent cardio."

Everyone got a chuckle from that one and the mood lightened in the room. My job was done.

"OK, nap time." I stated, jumping up of the couch and turning into my tiger. I curled up a few feet from the couch on the nice, plush carpet. I wasn't fully asleep when Seth came trotting in as a human and sat on the floor next to me, placing a big plate of food on the floor next to him.

"Hungry?" I heard Emmett ask.

"I've been running all night." Seth replied with a full mouth. "It's hard work. Besides, I'm a growing boy."

I chuckled in my feline voice at Seth. He truly was at home with my family.

"See." Seth continued, scratching my neck. "Kira gets it."

The scratching was like heaven. I couldn't help the sigh/purr sound I made. I could feel some confused feelings from my family. They just didn't understand what it was like to have the ability to change into an animal. I had found that most shapeshifters, feline and canine particularly, enjoyed the kinds of petting normal cats and dogs liked. What could I say, if felt amazing. Someone who had never experienced it just could never understand. It was a sign of kinship among our kind.

Seth continued scratching and stroking my neck while he ate. He got up twice for refiles, but managed to carry a full conversation with Bella, Edward and Emmett while he ate. Emmett found joking around with the young wolf to be almost as fun as joking around with Bella or myself. Rosalie didn't contribute anything, but at least her feelings were marginally approving of Seth's presence. She was like the vampire version of Leah. After about a half hour Seth got up one more time, then returned in his wolf form.

I heard a harmony of goodnights from my family as he settled down right next to me. Sleeping next to each other in a little pile was another shapeshifter thing my family would never understand.

The last thing I heard before sleep took me completely was Esme saying "Aww, now that's just cute."

To Be Continued...

I just loved that last sentence! It makes me feel all warm and gooey inside...sorry, where was I?

Anyway, please let me know what you think. I'm hoping to get things moving in this story soon, so bare with my slow ramblings.