14. Progressing Through Life

A full month had gone by and I'd now ended my sixteenth week of pregnancy and looked more pregnant as each week passed. I was now certain that I would have a full term, nine month pregnancy. After having conceived the twins I took much of the mythology seriously and from what little I could find the child usually made its' way into the world in a graphic way by the third or fourth week after conception. However there was nothing in any of the mythology of a woman conceiving twins from an encounter.

Even leading up to twelve weeks, my second month, I'd been skeptical but now four months in and about to start my fifth, my skepticism subsided.

Every new discovery was both exciting and scary. I imagined that was how most first time mothers felt.

By my fourteenth week I had to abandon all my clothes including the loose ones. I was now forced into maternity wear much to my discomfort.

On a Friday after school, having spent all day wearing one of Jacob's shirts and a pair of his old jeans prior to his growth spurt, Jacob and I drove to Seattle.

I was surprised that he wanted to come maternity shopping with me but he didn't want me to go to Seattle alone. Charlie was working. Angela had to study for an upcoming test and Jessica said she had a dentist appointment. I knew her excuse was a lie but it didn't bother me. Going alone or with people would have been awkward regardless.

It was even more awkward shopping for this stuff with Jacob because not only did I have to shop for regular clothes but I also had to shop for maternity under clothes since my belly wasn't the only thing growing.

"You really didn't have to come you know," I said to Jacob over a rack of shirts in the maternity section. "I've been managing to dress myself since I was a kid."

"I know but you were leaving Forks and-,"

"You wanted to make sure the baby was safe?" I asked giving him an annoyed look which then turned into a smile.

While the imprinting thing still annoyed me, I had to admit I had fun teasing Jake over it.

"Sure she's always going to be my reason for everything," Jake confessed, "but you're like a sister to me Bella. What kind of brother would I be if you did this alone?"

"Would you do this kind of thing if Rebecca or Rachel were around?"

"Probably although that's a completely different subject since they weren't exactly around to help me and dad once our mom died but they're still my sisters so I'd like to think I would. And anyways right now you don't have anyone to help you with this. Angela and Jessica aren't around, neither are the Cullen's, your dad would probably be more awkward then you and even clueless when it comes to this stuff and you can't exactly ask your mom."

So he was being a brother, being there when others couldn't. That I didn't mind so much.

Jake picked up a shirt and I shook my head 'no'.

"Too many ruffles," I pointed out.

"Plain and simple got it. Plaids and flannels okay? I notice you wear those a lot."

"Definitely okay."

"But seriously Bella, you have no idea how good it is to get away from…my brothers for a while. I never wanted….to be the older brother and lead them."

I shook my head, "It wouldn't have happened if it weren't for me. You'd still be following Sam."

"Maybe but maybe it was fate. I mean could you really avoid me for nine months? And even after you had them I'm sure we would have run into each other and I still would have…"

I remained silent.

Fate.

The one subject that I hadn't believed in until I met Edward and even now in his absence I still held hope, however thin it was, that I would see him again. Whether that was in a few months, years, or even centuries, as I still planned to turn regardless if Edward was the one to do it or if Jacob agreed with my decision or not, I still held on that someday we would reunite. Maybe not in a fiery of passion but as cordial acquaintances for which I trusted I could handle.

"I guess fate just finds you sometimes," I said not looking at him.

Jacob knew what I had gotten to and he didn't comment on it. When it came to anything regarding the Cullen's, Jacob was very considerate. He knew which buttons initiated which responses and was careful not to push them unless I pursued one.

Our shopping done, we made our way back to Forks.

My girth hadn't been the only thing to change.

The night of Angela's sleepover Jake and his pack had managed to kill Laurent.

That Monday night Jacob had explained everything when I had come home to find Seth raiding the fridge. Though he had phased on Sunday I hadn't seen him till Monday after school since he'd spent his time upstairs and then the rest of the day in the woods getting used to his wolf form.

Jacob told me that Seth wasn't the only one to phase but Leah had as well. She was in Sam's pack, having chosen him after the hunt for Laurent. Jacob couldn't understand exactly why she'd chosen him considering how badly Sam had hurt her. It was my thought that Leah was strong enough to deal with her pain then being around the girl who was having half-vampire babies.

In the month since Forks High seemed to be taken over by the Quileute's. While it didn't seem that way to me Jessica was more than vocal about it in the classes that the wolves didn't share with me. She and even Mike, though they weren't together, speculated if the school on the reservation was being shut down and they were being forced here. Others were speculating that they were another gang like the one they'd heard about that was run by Sam and that they were rivals.

On several occasions Principal Green talked to them saying the school had a no violence and no gang policy.

Jacob tried to convince him that wasn't the case but the easiest solution came from Charlie who made it clear he was in the process of adopting the boys for which Principal Green accepted given that Charlie was the Chief of Police but he accepted it as long as he got the paper work. Charlie said he'd get copies when the adoption was legalized but that it could take months, a year even.

Word of the adoption got around and as ever with high school gossip, people, my human friends included, began to consider them, myself with them, similar to the Cullen family.

I now had four large guys sitting with me at lunch and there was even speculation about that despite the adoption situation. It was Angela who came to my defense saying that if Charlie was adopting them then I automatically became a sister. She and Eric were the first of my human friends to sit with us.

Despite everything it finally felt like my life was coming together and having my brothers made dealing with the absence of Edward less painful.

Author's Note: This chapter probably felt like a filler chapter and to an extent it was. There's some stuff that's gonna happen in the next several chapters so I needed a gap between chapter 13 and what happens after the filler so stay tuned. Things are gonna be interesting!