~A/N Here's the deal. If you check out my profile occasionally or read my other story, The Learning Curve, you might have seen I was having difficulties with my stories. Funny thing is that when I gave myself permission to walk away and not be in a hurry to post updates, the words flooded my mind again. So many words, dear readers that this story has been completed. You have no idea how happy that makes me. I can spread out the updates once or twice a week. That's probably the most doable schedule for me. Of course, I do listen to the readers' urgings about faster updates if I leave you with a cliffy and you know I love those, so expect some.

Without further hesitation, here we go...

Chapter 50: Boom

Bella tapped her glass with a knife, ignoring that it was plastic and didn't carry much of a sound. The lunch crowd at the cafe had dissipated, so it was mostly their crew.

"The first weekly meeting of the Black pack moms-to-be will now come to order."

Leah tossed a paper airplane at her. She'd been constructing her latest creation underneath the table for the past five minutes. Bella could never figure out how she was so good at that sort of stuff. Normally, that was a guy thing, wasn't it?

"Is it really going to be this official every week because I don't know if I can deal? I had extra onions on my Reuben and I'm already regretting it. Sitting here for another hour is not going to help. I need to get up and move around."

"I assure you that what I have to say won't take an hour. I need a nap. I just want a general update on how everyone's feeling. Who's made doctor's appointments? Has anyone else considered the midwife route? I figured we could do a share and answer time: morning sickness remedies, healthy recipes, and how you're all coping with extreme fatigue?" Bella raised her hand, that had been her biggest gripe so far. That and a very grumpy baby because her milk was drying up and he wasn't quite ready to let his favorite pastime go.

Kim was the first to respond, "I was thinking exercise is just as important as our diet. Who else is up for a daily walk? What about pregnancy yoga? I'd be willing to organize something for our group."

Leah tossed another folded menu airplane that stuck in Kim's hair. Rachel said she was all for walking as soon as she could keep her head out of the toilet for ten minutes straight.

Bella still had moments when she couldn't believe this was really happening. Jacob figured it out first. Bella ripped into him one afternoon for leaving the oj cap on crooked. She was craving cold orange juice frequently and wasn't happy in the least when she shook the carton vigorously. She was in the midst of cleaning up the sticky mess when Jacob came home from work about a month prior. Her wails were a close second to Ace's who had crawled into the spilled juice. He lost his grip on the floor and bumped his chin.

"You did this, Jacob Black because you're inconsiderate and you're too careless!"

"I wasn't even here. What the heck is going on? Why's everybody crying?" He took a few steps towards her. His feet made a noise as the soles of his work boots peeled off the linoleum with each step he took. "You spilled the orange juice."

His statement sent her over the edge. Bella threw the sticky rag at him as she started up with another round of tears because she'd already wiped the floor twice. Bella collapsed in a heap at his feet. Their son climbed over her lap. He'd recovered from his injury already and was ready for his mother to play with him.

Jacob assumed the position with them on the floor. He made her tell him what got her so upset. Things had been going better except Monica had given them a little stress in the beginning. In a very weird turn of events, Monica and Renee were roomies in one of Mr. Cameron's rent houses. She was surprised at how well those two hit it off. At least, Monica calmed down and started trying to get to know everyone, since she was under res arrest. She actually was spending a little time talking to Quil. It turned out she didn't despise him after all and he was enjoying some female companionship again.

Bella calmed down and told him about the orange juice. He apologized. He didn't completely admit his guilt. He reminded her she'd been hitting it hard all hours of the day as well.

"I never screw the cap on lop-sided."

"Sure about that?"

"Positive."

"Bells, I noticed something this morning and I think you just confirmed it."

"What?"

"All this talking about screwing and accidents, don't you think that's a bit ironic?"

She didn't follow him at first until he tilted his head. Jacob glanced down at her lower body, then he nodded his head up and down. "I smell it."

He grabbed Ace from her, expecting a freak out. She sat there stunned and still, no freak outs followed. It all added up, but she'd been too busy to notice every little sign like she did with Atticus.

"Oh my God! I'm pregnant!"

"Yep, so much for waiting and seeing what happens. It happened fairly quickly, I'd say. Are you okay?"

Bella took a deep breath and relaxed. She was better than okay. This time they were doing it right. She was ecstatic.

"You didn't mean you think it's a mistake, do you? You said 'accident', but this little perfect human wasn't planned either." She rubbed their son's soft tufts of black hair. It was growing so fast. Renee kept insisting he have his first haircut already, but both Jacob and Bella refused.

Jacob wrapped his tiny family up in one of his comforting hugs. He kissed her on the side of her head while balancing his fidgety son on one leg. Ace soon broke free and crawled towards the play mat. He assured her any and all their children would be welcomed additions. He never regretted one moment of having Ace and he knew the same would hold true with the new baby.

The other epiphany came to her that night. Bella sat straight up in bed just after she noticed Jacob breathing heavier. He was sound asleep. Her sudden movement jolted him awake and he reached for her, asking what was wrong.

"It's not just me."

"Huh?"

"The other mates are pregnant too."

"Who?"

"All of them."

Kim and Jared were the only ones trying to add to their family. Both Emily and Rachel felt content with their family size. Amelia and Seth were just trying to make it to the altar next month without a hitch. They certainly weren't planning to get pregnant anytime soon. And then... there was Leah. She had been the most difficult to convince, but Bella passed out pregnancy tests to all of them the following day.

"Nope, not I. The re-phase stifled all signs of my reproductive cycle which took me forever to resume in the first place. I'm not like the rest of you."

Bella informed her nursing appeared to stifle her fertility signals as well, but she was most definitely pregnant. She took her test first to confirm what Jacob was already sure of. All five of them got positive results same as Bella. That meant six new pack babies were on the way, all at the same time.

They got carried away comparing the first few weeks of pregnancy and time slipped away. Leah settled down. Bella had to laugh when she caught her taking notes

"So Sue me, Swan. I never thought this would happen to me and I don't shit about this stuff." Leah was having the hardest time out of all of them because of the abrupt conclusion from shifting. Jacob made it an order as soon as the realized she was truly pregnant. No one knew how that might affect her pregnancy even though her body had obviously changed several times before she realized. Her wolf retreated without hesitation so it must have been the right decision. Leah still felt antsy and craved being up and around. Embry was going outside almost every night chasing her into the woods and hauling her ass back inside. Sue was about ready to kick them both out. Embry was working on finding them their own place.

Bella felt like a slug and wanted to relax most of the time which was impossible with a very active baby. She was happy to let her mother, Sue, Barry or Claire babysit often since her son was constantly on the move. He was way ahead of where the suggested milestones predicted he'd be.

Monica came in at the end of their meeting. Bella watched Claire stick her head out of the kitchen. She was definitely not warming up to Monica and everyone was confused even more with the imprint situation between Quil and her. It seemed that Monica was behaving rather childish about it as well. It was like she deliberately pushed the younger girl's buttons. Bella had never witnessed her act that way before.

She waved, "Yoo-hoo, Claire. Can I get a cafe latte with vanilla?"

"No, we're closed and I cleaned the espresso machine already. I have leftover coffee from this morning, that I haven't tossed yet. Will that do?"

"Um, gee I don't know. Stale, cold, rancid coffee or nothing, what do you think, sweetie?"

A couple of minutes ticked by before Claire sashayed over with a mug. She plopped it on the table directly in front of Monica.

"Why you little shit! That splashed on my shirt. Didn't you hear what I said?"

"You asked what I thought and I thought this shitty coffee was plenty good for you."

Bella broke in, "Come on, you two."

Monica dabbed a napkin over her shirt then waved her hands in the air. "Whatever, my bad. I forgot wittle Claire is still a baby and doesn't understand sarcasm yet."

Claire snatched up the mug. Bella firmly shook her head when she saw her hover the steaming cup of old coffee behind Monica's back. Kim grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back into the kitchen.

Bella mumbled under her breath. "She's a kid, Mon. Stop. I'm having trouble distinguishing who the adult is."

"She's a little bitch. You heard her earlier. Just look at my shirt. She's always taking jabs at me for no reason. I can't believe you support this kind of perversion. She's just pissed that Quil is enjoying some time with a real woman and she's not the center of the universe."

Bella heard some loud banging in the kitchen. She wasn't really sure what was going through Claire's mind. She'd been the one that insisted she only had eyes for Zane and that Quil was like her brother. Her instant dislike for Monica said otherwise. Bella had rarely seen such jealousy up close and personal.

"Anywho? What did I miss? How are all the little Mommas? Who's due first? Hopefully, I missed all the gross chat. I swear if anyone mentions constipation or eating paste, I'm taking my work outside."

Bella said they still weren't sure about due dates, but that no one planned to gross her out. They were finishing up. Rachel questioned the paste comment. Bella shrugged. Who knew where Monica got her information?

Rachel told her no one was suffering from anything too unusual. Both Kim and Emily were a little standoffish with Monica because of Claire which surprised Bella. Neither had been keen on this weird turnaround with Quil. They preferred her with Zane since he was her age. Kim and her sister were tight and it seemed almost like everyone was declaring loyalties one way or the other. Kim's sister, Brit had been really nice to Monica and since she was currently unemployed, Monica volunteered to create a website for the cafe. They were in talks about starting to ship limited products. Monica had worked for several places in LA that were strictly online companies. She was stopping off almost every day at closing time. Of course, Claire helped out as soon as school was over most days, so that put those two in the same place far too often.

Monica was so scatterbrain at times. Bella was staying close by in case she had to referee any other tiffs between the stubborn teenage girl and her opinionated friend. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot, some of the guys are out front arguing with this prissy blonde bitch. She asked if you were inside, B."

"What? When?"

"Like ten minutes ago. I didn't answer her, when she asked if you were here. Embry was telling her to get lost. She's probably gone by now."

A prissy blonde bitch that made Embry hostile immediately registered in Bella's brain. Why would Kaleigh be here? How did she even know how to find her? The divorce was final ten days ago. There was nothing else to say. Kaleigh and Jacob were history. He was marrying Bella in six weeks, right after Seth and Amy's wedding. They'd already made all the plans. He ended up with more debt than he deserved in the settlement and didn't get his fair share from the house sale, but he hardly cared any longer. He just wanted to close the door on that part of his past.

Bella's curiosity got the best of her. She went to the window and sure enough, Kaleigh hadn't left. She was in the parking lot with Embry and Sam and she was not taking no for an answer. She yelled louder when she saw her.

"I knew it! You home-wrecking, bitch! I saw you. Come out here right now. We need to talk."

Bella tentatively approached the door. All her friends voiced their opinions. "Hell no, don't go out there. Let the guys get rid of her." Leah volunteered to check it out, but she didn't think Bella needed to go outside.

She was feeling conflicted. Maybe everyone was right, but for some reason, Bella felt a little empathy for Kaleigh. After all, she had destroyed their marriage in a roundabout way. Sure, Jacob admitted he was to blame for actually marrying her in the first place. Then there was the little matter of how Kaleigh went batshit crazy during the process. Maybe the two of them needed this closure. Bella would let her say whatever she needed to say and then they'd never have see each other again.

Bella opened the door despite the others begging her not to.

"Stop Emb, I'll see her." She started to take a step out, but Leah put her hand on her shoulder.

"No, not out there. She can come in, but all of us are staying right here. She thinks my man's menacing, just wait until I'm done with her if she even hints about getting out of hand."

Bella didn't want Leah to resort to violence. She was an expectant mother, same as her. Briefly, she imagined Jacob's response. He wouldn't like her being in close proximity to his ex. She wondered if Embry had already called him. He probably had or sent Zane after him, because Bella didn't see him outside where he was earlier.

Embry and Sam argued again, but Bella said that Kaleigh could come inside. Bella insisted they stay on the porch. She backed up. Kaleigh stomped up the steps and into the cafe. She surveyed the room. "Seriously? Could we have some privacy?"

The group shouted out a firm, "No!"

"This place is completely insane. Do any of you know the real world exists outside the borders of the reservation? What's with all the security?" She knocked her own head. "Oh yeah, I forgot. You're being stalked and need constant protection? How did you honestly convince an entire tribe to fall for your bullshit? I was sure it was just Jake and his obvious blind spot where you're concerned, but I see your persuasive powers know no limits. How quickly everyone forgot that you broke him, abandoned him, pretended to be dead. Yet, he couldn't stay away as soon as you were resurrected. He was so excited to see you again, he accidentally fell into your bed, more like your trap. Idiot!" Kaleigh spun around and shouted, "You're all idiots! Bella has always done whatever she wants and you all kiss her ass as a reward."

"Bitch, you need to leave. Don't give her another second, Bella," very surprising words from Emily, but Bella was still curious what provoked Kaleigh to drive all the way from Seattle.

"Do you have something significant to say or not, Kaleigh? I'm sorry for how things transpired and that you were hurt, but there's nothing else I can do for you. I don't expect you to forgive me."

"I sure as hell don't. Are you aware I lost my job? My beautiful home that Jacob designed with me in mind has strangers moving in today. I'm estranged from all my friends and family. You destroyed my life and there was not one single repercussion for you. Precious Bells came out on top, like some sort of goddamned hero. How unfair is that?"

Bella had no idea why Kaleigh lost her job or why she was on the outs with people close to her. None of that hardly was her or Jake's fault. There was something noticeably wrong with her now that Bella studied her behavior a little closer. The last time Bella saw her, she was in the midst of a breakdown, but today she was wired in an entirely different way. She also appeared to be swaying a little and slurring some of her words together. Letting her inside had been a stupid decision. Bella didn't owe her another apology that would never be accepted. Kaleigh needed to leave. She told her that exact statement after Kaleigh finally shut up.

Bella started walking towards her, hoping Kaleigh would back out the same way she'd come in. She changed her tone when she asked about her son, "How's Atticus?"

That was unexpected.

"He's fine."

"That's surprising considering his parents, but I, honestly, did adore him. He doesn't deserve the mess he was born into."

Rachel had heard enough. She was a straight shooter. "Knock it off, you crazy bitch. My brother and Bella are excellent parents. My nephew is a blessed child. Thank God you never had a spawn, that would be the most unfortunate child in history. You heard my friend, leave! There's nothing left to say. Jacob corrected his choices. His family is here. I have no idea why you bothered driving the distance other than to make a fool of yourself."

The rest was a blur to Bella. Certainly, a normal person would take off and not submit herself to further humiliation.

Leah said Kaleigh was high as a kite. There was little time for Bella to comprehend what that meant. Jacob's ex wife charged her without further hesitation. She was determined that Bella reap some consequences for her actions at last. At that point in time in her drugged out mind, that was death to Bella by choking. It didn't last long enough to have lasting damage because Leah was true to her word. Kaleigh was restrained seconds later by a much more dominate female before the guys came barreling in all at once.

Bella was thrown in the scuffle and took a tumble into one of the tables. Jacob had arrived right in the middle of the worst part. He said it happened in slow motion to him. He rushed to Bella's side. Brit was on the phone with 911. She was determined to see Kaleigh arrested for coming into her place of business and assaulting her friend.

"Bells, are you okay?"

She had the wind knocked out of her, but she thought she was okay. Everyone in the place was in a complete uproar. One of them mentioned the baby. Kaleigh was currently being held down by Sam and Embry.

"Wait, you mean you got her pregnant again? Already? I... " her voice trailed off. Leah was right, Kaleigh was completely wasted on something. Embry said she must have taken something right before getting out of her car because she didn't seem altered outside and none of them smelled booze. She was starting to become incoherent.

Jacob approached her. He was beyond furious. "What did you take?"

She screamed, "Fuck off!"

Jacob said he'd go outside and break her window to find out for himself. "You fucking crazy bitch, you just choked a pregnant woman in front of a room full of people. You're going to jail for this, but I'm pretty sure you're getting your stomach pumped first. I heard that's a bitch." He yelled to Brit for them to send an ambulance as well.

Bella was just now getting off the floor, Kim insisted she take it slow. All she wanted to do was get out of there, get back to the cabin and check on Atticus and Barry. The quicker she got away from Kaleigh, the better. She made it down the hall to the bathroom when the pains consumed her. Bella doubled over and screamed.

"It hurts! No, no, please no. Something's wrong, Jake. Help me!"

There was confusion and chaos all around. Jacob lifted her in his arms and tried to comfort her. Bella could see that Kaleigh had gone unconscious, and Brit was sobbing into the phone to send two ambulances. She couldn't imagine one topple over a table would be so dangerous, but the cramps consuming her were proof it caused some type of damage.

She should've never let Kaleigh inside even though no one would've predicted such a turn of events. That woman would pay for what she did if she hadn't already succumbed to an overdose. Bella couldn't waste time worrying about what happened to Kaleigh. If she lost their baby, there was another she would ultimately blame and that was herself.

~Thanks for reading.

Tell the truth, did anyone think I meant baby boom when I gave that hint a few updates ago? LOL! Who was thrilled to see Kaleigh again?

#teamClaire or #teamMonica

There are still so many surprises to come. I'm excited to share my vision with all of you in the coming weeks. Thanks so much for supporting me and giving me encouragement along the way.