Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight but I do own Bella and Paul's baby. I created them. I also do not know about the pain that women go through to have a baby. What I do know I learned from the TLC channel. I do not claim to be an authority on the birthing process.

AN: Some of you have brought up that you couldn't wait to find out about the baby and since I am to please I didn't want to keep you all waiting.

The last trimester of Bella's pregnancy had been easy and flown by in a blur. Before she kew it it was a week before her and Paul's lives would change forever. She hadn't been able to make the almost three and a half hour trip to pick up her mom from the airport but she had been waiting with open arms when Renee had bustled through the door in typical Renee fashion.

Paul hung back while Renee made a fuss over Bella. Bella's weekly updates and pictures apparently hadn't been enough. During a lull in conversation she looked over her shoulder to see Paul sitting at the island with his head in his hands.

"Babe?" she called out gently.

"Yeah?" he answered, his tone listless.

"I didn't get a change to take anything out for dinner, would you mind going to get us something?"

"Sure. I'll be back soon," he said reaching for his keys.

He kissed her forehead, his hand resting on her shoulder before leaving.

"He expects you to cook? Bells, what are you thinking? Tell him to do it!" Renee admonished.

"I would have only heated something up. People have been bringing food over for the past few days. The freezers nearly full. And normally he is the one who makes dinner. Give him some credit Mom," Bella said in Paul's defense.

"He cooks?" Renee asked with a quirked eye brow.

"I've been teaching him. He knows that I won't be much help for the first couple of weeks after the baby is born.:

"He's more perceptive than I thought," Renee thought out loud.

"Cut him some slack, Mom. Paul is not the slacker that you think he is. He's working two jobs plus helping around the Rez when others need him. He's just on edge because he's nervous."

"Why aren't you more frazzled? I was a nervous wreck the whole month leading up to the day you were born."

"I'm just really good at handling it."

Renee let the subject drop and hopefully she would be nicer to Paul while she was there. The two of them getting along was a crucial part of her keeping her sanity. She didn't want to have to send Paul off with some lame excuse like she'd just had to do. Hopefully he had enough money on him to bring home something that didn't come off the dollar menu at McDonald's. Her stomach wouldn't be able to handle it right now. She knew her mom meant well but she wished that Renee would trust her.

Paul came in with two pizza boxes from Al's and a case of Yohoo's for her because she had been craving them throughout her entire pregnancy. He grabbed three plates and plated pizza for himself and Bella while Renee made herself something to drink.

"Thank you," Bella said appreciatively when he handed her her plate and drink.

"Yes, thank you Pau. for going to get dinner," Renee said from the island.

"You're welcome," Paul said from his spot on the floor next to Bella.

"Maybe after dinner you and I could go for a walk, Bella? I didn't get to see much the last time I was here," Renee suggested.

"We could," Bella agreed.

Paul was quiet as they ate and Bella let Renee carry most of the conversation. She had learned from Jeff that Marisol was known for lashing out at anyone who talked during dinner and Paul had been her victim of choice most nights, even when he hadn't done anything wrong. She wondered again how his uncle and aunt hadn't noticed what was going on.

After dinner Paul offered to clean the kitchen so that Bella and Renee could go for a walk. It was nearly dark but they had enough light to make their way down to the beach. Bella had grabbed a flashlight before leaving, knowing that this was the best time to talk to Renee about the way she treated Paul.

Bella hadn't counted on the road leading down to the beach still being wet from that afternoon's rain. She'd had to hold onto Renee's arm to keep from slipping on the lose rocks and tripping over fallen tree limbs that had yet to be cleared.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Renee said, worried.

"I'll call Jake to come and get us since he lives closer to here than I do."

"The walk was worth it though. I haven't been down here in seventeen years. I had forgotten how beautiful it is," Renee said with a smile.

"I need to alk to you about something."

"What is it?"

"Could you maybe be nicer to Paul? He is trying to be nice to you."

"I don't see how my actions could effect his mood swings. Charlie mentioned that he has been a hothead ever since you met him," Renee confided.

"He's getting better. Mom, you don't know what he's been through in his life. Yes, he's a little rough around the edges but once you look past that you'll see the person I see."

"Who would that be?"

"The person who spends his downtime helping his dad around his house and makes time for his best friend who he's known since they were three. He takes better care of me than you think. He won't let you see all of that if you keep taking digs at him."

"So there's a reason for his hostility?"

"Yes, if you'd give him a chance you'll see that he's not a bad guy."

"Okay, I'll take your word for it," Renee relented.

Bella let out a silent sigh of relief. She had been prepared to tell her mom about Paul's past. Paul had given her permission months ago but Bella didn't think her mom would understand.

Her thoughts were brought back to a halt when she felt excruciating pain in her back like someone had kicked her. Was it the baby? They had never kicked her that hard before. Maybe they were pressing against her spine; she'd read that might happen in the last few weeks of pregnancy. It hurt so bad that it made it hard to breath at times. She wasn't going to panic; she'd just call Jacob to come and get them a little earlier than planned. She reached for her phone which lay in the sat at her feet and winced loud enough to get Renee's attention.

"Honey, are you okay?"

"I think the baby might be getting a little cramped so they're pressing against my spine," she said, trying to control her breathing.

"What do you need?" Renee asked going into mother hen mode.

"Call Jake and ask him if he'll come and get us," she said as the pain finally went away.

"I'll call Paul," she said grabbing Bella's phone.

"He doesn't like driving down here at night," Bella said with a shake of her head.

Jacob was there a couple of minutes later. The pain came back as they were pulling into Bella's yard. Jacob helped her out of the car and Paul was out the door before the car door could shut behind Renee.

"What's going on?" he asked in concern.

"It's just a little back pain," Bella said with a groan.

"A little? You couldn't reach for you phone to call Jake," Renee corrected her.

"When did it start?"

"Just a little while ago," Bella said exhaling a deep breath.

"Do need me to stay?" Jacob asked Paul.

"I can handle it. Thanks for bring them home."

"Feel better Bells, I'll come by and see you tomorrow," Jacob said before getting in his car.

Paul wrapped an arm around Bella's waist before leading her into the house. She asked him to help her into bed and Renee arranged her pillows so that she was propped up before Bella got in. Renee then heated up a heating pad in the microwave while Paul climbed into bed with Bella.

"You two hit the sack early, I can find something to do," Renee suggested.

The TV that Charlie had found for them could be heard in the front room a few minutes later. Paul had broken down and gotten sattelite and internet service installed a few weeks ago so that Bella wouldn't go stir crazy when she was home alone with the baby.

Bella found them a movie to watch in hopes of taking her mind off the past twenty minutes. She had put it behind her when the came back in full force. She winced, biting back a groan as she tried to control her breathing. She was starting to think that this was more than just the baby changing position.

"Is the pain back?"

"Mmm, yeah," she said with a deep breath.

"How bad is it?"

"Like somebody is jabbing me with a branding iron. I timed this one. It's gonna be a long night."

"You think you're in labor?"

"It could be Braxton Hicks. Lets just wait it out."

Four hours later the house was quiet as Bella soaked in the bathtub. Renee had been reluctant to go to bed but Bella had assured her that she was fine and that if things got worse she would wake her up. Paul sat on the counter watching Bella with cautious eyes. It was normal for babies to come early, and they were ready but he didn't like seeing Bella in pain.

"Is the pain starting to go away?"

"It's not so bad now that I'm relaxed. Can you hand me a towel?"

He grabbed a towel while she stood with a little help from the shower door. He wrapped the towel around her, toweling her off gently. She stepped out of the tub with his help and was grabbing some clothes from the dresser when the pain come back. She gripped the dresser, closing her eyes as she counted to ten until the pain subsided.

"I'm calling Carlisle," he announced.

Bella didn't argue, she had been debating calling Carlisle herself. Paul let him in five minutes later and he checked her over which took less than a minute.

"Is the pain coming faster than it was before? Is it lasting longer?"

"It's coming every eight minutes now but it's gone before I can finish counting to ten."

"I'm going to need to examine you farther to see if your dilated," he broached.

She wasn't comfortable with Carlisle giving her a pregnancy exam but there wasn't anything she could do about it now. She didn't want things to weird and they were fast approaching awkward at warp speed. Carlisle pulled on a pair of gloves as Bella pulled her legs up as best as she could.

"Just try to relax," Carlisle encouraged her.

"I'm gonna go wake up Renee," Paul said before leaving the room.

Renee came to stand at the door, bleary eyed and her hair askew as Carlisle finished the exam.

"Well?" Bella asked expectantly.

"You're going to be a mom in the next day or so because you my girl are in labor," Carlisle said with a gentle smile.

"Can you get her bag? I'm gonna warm the car up," Paul said to Renee.

"We'll be right there," Renee said, moving into action.

Carlisle helped Bella stand and led her to the car with Renee following closely behind them.

"I've had Esme call Doctor Moore and she should be there by the time you get there," Carlisle promised.

Thank you," Bella said graciously.

"Hand me your phone, I'll start calling everyone," Renee said from the back seat.

"Call Charlie first," Bella said settling against her seat once Paul had helped her with her seat belt.

The ride to hospital went by fast and Bella was admitted as soon as she was wheeled in. Charlie came into her room while she was being hooked up to three different machines. He sat next to Paul who was slouched down in his seat, nearly asleep.

"Get some sleep, one of us needs to be alert when the time comes," Bella told him.

"Will you tell us what you're having now?" Renee asked, her eyes tired, but kind.

"You'll have a grandson," Bella said with a small smile.

"A boy," Renee said, astonished.

"What do you think of that, Dad?"

"I would have been happy with either."

"Do you want me to call Tom?"

"Yeah," he said, his voice a deep, tired rumble.

Doctor Moore came in while Bella was on the phone. She talked with Renee until Bella was off the phone and then caught them up on Bella's progress.

"Are all three of you going to be in here for the delivery?" she asked.

"Just the two of them," Charlie said with a shake of his head.

Bella knew that Charlie wouldn't want to be in the room and she understood. He didn't want to infringe on something that should be shared between Bella, Paul and Renee.

"You're about two centimeters but your water hasn't broke, but that happens sometimes. I can brake it manually if you'd like."

Bella nodded, trusting the doctor completely. She read stories online and seen TV shows where this kind of thing had happened so she wasn't worried.

"The contractions will become more severe once your water has broken, so I'll give you something for the pain. Maybe you'll be able to get some sleep before things progress."

The nurse came in with a needle so large that Bella nearly fainted at the sigh of it. Her eyes flited to where Paul slept a few feet away. He wouldn't mind being woken up since she needed him.

"Paul?" she asked weakly.

His eyes opened slowly, looking at her in concern then to the nurse who was reading Bella for the shot.

"I think she needs her anchor right now. Try to relax and not think about it, Hon. You're gonna feel a tightness until the needle is completely in," she warned.

Paul reached for Bella's hands, his eyes focused on hers. She squeezed her eyes shut and let out a heavy sigh when the needle sank into her. She gritted her teeth through the pain, not opening her eyes until the pain was gone. She hated that she was such a wuss when it came to pain.

"You took that like a champ. You did better than some women I've seen," The nurse said with a calming smile.

"Will she be able to get a little sleep now?" Renee asked.

"She should. I'll be back to check on you in an hour Sugar."

"I'm gonna get some sleep out in the hall," Renee before leaving the room.

Bella settled against the pillows, feeling the medicine working already. She turned her head to look at Paul, giving him a tired smile. He smiled back before closing his eyes, he was asleep less than a minute later. It took Bella a good five minutes to fall asleep because she wasn't used to the beeping of the machines or the ticking of the clock above her bed.

XXXX

Five hours later Bella was woken up by the doctor who had come to check on her progress.

"You've slept through the last six times I've come in. I'm glad that you had a chance to sleep," she said kindly.

"Has there been any change?"

"You're past the half way mark at six centimeters. It won't be much longer, the last few centimeters tend to happen fairly fast."

"Where's Paul?"

"His dad and some other men showed up first thing this morning. One of them was able to talk him into going down to the cafeteria."

"Tall, dark hair, kind eyes?"

"That's him."

"That's his best friend Sam."

Bella's stomach gurgled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten in over twelve hours. The doctor offered to bring her a popsicle and Bella nodded, knowing that she couldn't have actual food until after the baby was born.

Paul came back in with flowers and a small white bear wearing a pale blue stocking cap. She laughed breathlessly as she took the flowers from him to smell them. She sat them on her night table before beckoning him closer. He sat on the bed next to her and she pulled him to her. Her lips brushed his in a feather light kiss before placing her forehead to his.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Paul folded himself into the tight space so that he could lay with her. He was glad to be a wolf right then because the pain that he would feel later would last a minute or two. She lay her head on his shoulder. He held her close to him neither of them realizing that Renee came in with a pitcher of ice chips and a popsicle for Bella.

"Doctor Moore got called to another room so I told her that I would this. How are feeling?"

"I don't feel anything."

"That means the epidural is working. How much sleep did you get?"

"I got enough," Bella assured her.

"There's a lot of people outside who want to see you, should I start letting them come in?"

"Sure."

Sue and Leah came in first but only stayed a couple of minutes because Jacob was starting to get impatient. He came in with a handful of balloons that he said were from Rachel who hadn't been able to take the day off from work.

"I'm gonna get something to drink. Do you want anything?" Paul asked, standing.

"Can you snag me a magazine from the waiting room?"

"I'll bring you back some magazines."

Jacob tied the balloons to the TV stand before sitting in the chair that Paul had been sitting in earlier.

"You can sit with me; I'm not gonna break," she said with a light laugh.

"Paul won't get mad?"

"I doubt it. Come on," she said patting the space next to her.

Jacob climbed onto the bed with her and she rested her head on his shoulder. He placed his head on top of hers before reaching for the remote attached to the bed.

"You want to watch TV, Jake? Really?"

"This is what we do. Why should we break the habit just because you're uncomfortable?" he asked, nudging her arm.

"We are not watching anything that has Rob Dyrdek in it."

"Hey, you like Rob & Big," he countered.

"I like Big, I do not like Rob," she corrected him.

"Wild'n Out it is," he said as he stopped flipping through channels.

"Sure, we can always learn new 'Yo Momma's so fat' insults."

"You can never have enough of those," he agreed.

They got lost in the show and before Bella realized it twenty minutes had passed and the show was over.

"I wonder what's taking Paul so long," she thought out loud.

"Do you want me to go find him?"

"No, he's probably talking to his dad or Sam. I just wish that I could find a position that doesn't make me uncomfortable. I feel like a whale that's been pushed ashore and I'm bumping into everything," she said with a growl of frustration.

"Sit up, I'll fix your pillows."

Jacob was fixing her pillows when Doctor Moore came in to check on her.

"So rumor has it that this is Jacob," she said extending her hand to him.

"It's nice to meet you."

"I'll give your best friend back to you in one piece," she promised.

"I would hope so," Bella said with a shaky laugh.

The doctor checked her over and asked her a few questions before writing on her chart.

"The medicine is still working?"

"For now," Bella said with a nod.

"It looks like we'll need to give you another dose before it's time to push. You're at seven and a half. I'll have Janet and Paul come in."

Paul came back in and Jacob gave Bella a hug before leaving the room. Janet came in with another needle and she promised that it wouldn't hurt this time since the medicine hadn't worn off from the last time.

"It won't be long before you two are parents. Are you excited?"

"Nervous and excited," Bella admitted.

"What about you, Dad?"

"About the same."

"Most first time parents are. You're all set. Let me know if you need anything else."

She left the room and Paul took his spot on the bed.

"What magazines did you score for me?"

He handed her a small stack of magazines and she went through them. He obviously had help picking them out.

"Cosmo?" she asked with a teasing smile.

"Your mom found that one," he said with an eye roll.

"Thank you."

They were content to sit next to each other while she read and he watched TV. There was a knock at the door early that afternoon and Charlie wheeled Billy in who had a basket of things for the baby in his lap.

"You didn't have to do that," she admonished.

"I hadn't gotten the baby anything yet. Your mom went with me because she knew what you needed," Billy said with a smile.

"Thank you," Paul said with a nod.

"I'll put it by the window," Charlie said taking it from Billy.

"How are you doing?" Billy asked.

"I'm fine. I had to have a second dose of epidural an hour ago. Doctor Moore says it won't be much longer."

"How long has it been now?"

"Almost fifteen hours."

The four of them had been talking for half an hour when one of the machines that Bella was attached to started beeping erratically. Janet came in to check the reading and announced that it was time because the baby had decided that he was finally ready to come out and greet everyone. Doctor Moore came in and before the door could close Charlie had pushed Billy into the hall. Renee came in a few seconds later.

Another nurse came in to assist Janet and Paul took his place at Bella's side, holding her leg in place once she had placed her feet in the stirrups. Renee stood back, because Bella wouldn't want her to hover. Bella was scared for a minute or two because the moment that she had been waiting for had finally come and any mother would be scared in the minutes leading up to the birth of their child.

"Okay, I'm going to need you to push on your next contraction. Everything looks great so far, he's turned the way we need him to be, his heartbeat is steady. There's no reason to worry," Doctor Moore reassured her.

Bella squared her shoulders and waited for the next contraction. When it came she pushed as hard as she ever had in her life. Her heart raced as the contraction left and she took a deep breath to settle her nerves. Another contraction came less than a minute later and she pushed even harder than the first time.

"You're doing amazing, I can see the top of the babies head," Janet praised.

Renee stood from her chair to observe what was going on. Her eyes met Bella's and she nodded in encouragement. She was grateful for the chance to share in this moment with Bella and Paul but she wasn't going to draw attention to herself. The next contraction came quickly after the last one and Bella groaned from the exertion. Renee looked around the doctor to see if she could see the first glimpse of her grandson and saw a shock of black hair.

"He has a full head of hair." she said.

"He does?" Bella asked with a breathless laugh.

"Mmhmm, is just as dark as Paul's."

"One more big push and his head will be out. I should be able to pull him out after that."

Bella's hands grasped the bed railing in a white knuckle grip as she put everything she had into the next contraction. The baby's head came out and on the next contraction he was pulled out. His cries filled the room and Bella fell against the pillows, breathing hard.

"We are not having another kid until he is ten," she joked.

"Does he have a name?" Janet asked.

"Holden Samuel," Paul said, watching as the baby was cleaned, weighed and measured.

"You have a very healthy seven pound ten ounce baby boy who is ready to meet his parents," the other nurse, Helen announced as she wrapped Holden in a baby blanket.

"How many inches is he?" Renee asked.

"Fourteen, he's all arms and legs like his daddy," Janet said proudly.

"I'm gonna go tell everyone," Renee said after she had taken a few pictures.

Helen placed Holden in Bella's arms and she looked down at him in wonder. He looked just like Paul as she had suspected when she had found out that he was a boy. His skin was starting to lose it's red tint now that he had started to calm down and she could tell that he would have a deep tan coloring like Paul.

"Can you believe that we made him? He's perfect," she said to Paul.

"I can't believe he's finally here."

The other people in the room were quiet as the two of them got to know their son. Charlie came in with a bag of food, promising that it wasn't anything greasy.

"It's that Greek salad that you like from the diner. I thought that you might be hungry."

"I'm starving. Thanks, Dad," she said with a grateful smile.

"There's a bacon burger and chili cheese fries in there for you too Paul."

"Thank you," he said appreciatively.

The nurses and doctor left and later, after giving Bella and Paul time with the baby people started coming in. Sam still didn't know that Paul had decided to give the baby his name. He was the closest thing to a brother that Paul had and Paul didn't know where he would be without him. He'd probably be in prison or strung out on drugs if Sam hadn't stepped in and told him that he was better than all of that.

It was three hours after Holden had been born that Emily and Leah were able to see Bella since Emily hadn't been able to get off of work Paul went to talk to Sam who had yet to see the baby because he had promised Emily that he would until they saw him together. Paul and Sam sat in a deserted waiting room on the opposite end of the delivery floor so that they could have a few minutes to themselves.

"How you doing?"

"I'm okay. It took an hour or two to sink in that he's here but I'm good now."

"Why am I not allowed to know this kids name? Is it something embarrassing and you're scared that I'm mock him for the rest of his life?" he joked, nudging Paul in the side.

"No, I wanted to be the one to tell you. His name is Holden Samuel."

"You named your kid after me?" Sam asked, astonished.

"It's not like I expect you to return the favor or anything," Paul said with a shrug.

"Holden huh? I like it."

"It's from a book that I read in school. Well, I tried to read it," Paul mumbled.

"This kid isn't going to have a life like you had. You aren't your mom, man. You're gonna do all the things that she should have done."

"That's what Bella said. That doesn't mean that I'm not scared that he'll turn out to be a hellion like I was."

"It's not gonna happen, and if it does I'm sure you'll be able to show him who's boss."

Paul know that Sam was right. He was sure that every dad who had made bad decisions in their life worried that their son would turn out to be like them. He didn't want Holden to be like him, he wanted him to be calm, even tempered and accepting of other peoples flaws like Bella. The world didn't need another kid with a bad attitude and chip on their shoulders.

XXXX

Holden had been able to come home the day after he was born. Sue had put a stork cut out in the front yard with his name and the day he was born on it in the front yard. Paul and Renee took turns taking care of Bella who was still weak from being in labor for half a day and the doctor had warned her to take it easy until the stitches in her vagina were ready to come out in a week.

Holden slept in a Moses basket next to the bed and so far Bo had steered clear of it. He was still getting used to there being two more people in the house and had spent a good part of the first day sniffing the baby, trying to decide if Holden was worth his time or not.

So far the baby had been fairly easy to take care of. He didn't cry all that much, only when he was hungry or needed his diaper changed. Paul had yet to change one but Bella was patient, she knew that he would change his first diaper sooner or later. He was scared that he would do something wrong, or that he would hurt the baby in the process. He was happiest when he was being held, he liked being held by Bella best because she was the one who fed him.

The transition from being a family of two to a family of three had been seamless. Holden fit into the puzzle perfectly. Bella was still a little leary of wanting another child so soon since the first months of her pregnancy or the labor hadn't been that easy but she was sure that she would change her mind in a few years. She and Paul wanted time to get used to being a family first. The last year had been a whirlwind for the both of them and they were looking forward to the chance to let things settle.

AN2: Don't let the end of this chapter fool you. This isn't the last chapter. I'm thinking that their will be only a couple more chapters, no more than three before I wrap this up. As usual, let me know what you think.