22. Baby Surprises

Sure enough three days after Jacob's attack he was back to his old self. His bones had set and healed and the pain was gone. In those three days Sam had stayed to make sure he was okay. His pack came and went and on a couple occasions Emily and Rachel came to visit. It was the first time I had met Jacob's sister or rather we had reintroduced ourselves as I vaguely remembered her in my few times visiting Charlie when I was younger. Having been imprinted on by Paul she understood Jacob's devotion to me and Vanessa and like the rest, did not judge me for the half-vampire nature that my babies had inherited.

Emily was the same way and was the most warm and welcoming.

With Leah as the acting Alpha during Jacob's time off to heal she and Sam spent a lot of time together. I had only known her relationship with him second hand from Jacob and Embry and while that relationship and prior friendship may never be what it used to be, Leah was at least able to talk to Sam without hatred or an edge to her voice. The situation had even eased between her and Emily and I was certain that from what I'd heard that at least that relationship would go back to before and if anything, grow stronger. My time was often spent observing since Leah had a hard time being away from me and EJ and since me and my belly were often upstairs in the loft or with Jacob, Leah and nearly everyone else had to spend their time with us.

On the sixth day of Jacob's recovery I made my way inside the house after having attempted some homework for history on the porch.

Seth stood in front of the door of the unused room near my bedroom.

"Yo Bella, hey," he said to me.

"Seth, what's going on?"

"Nothing."

"It doesn't go there," I heard Jacob say behind the closed door.

"It's better where I put it," Leah told him.

"Seth what are they doing?"

"Um Jake, you might want to get out here."

Seth moved out of the way as Jacob and Leah came out of the room.

"What are you two up to," I asked.

Jacob looked over at Leah and smiled and then turned back to me.

"Okay close your eyes," Jacob said.

"You guys know I hate surprises," I said to them.

Jacob reached for my hand, "You'll love this one, I promise. Now close them."

I reluctantly did so. As the door to the room opened my eyes were lit from brightness inside.

"You can open them now," said Leah.

I did so.

There on the left wall were two cribs that were separated by a changing table dresser against the window. The crib on the left of the table was covered in pinks and whites while the crib on the right was in blue and greens. In blocked letters were the names Ness and EJ above each of the cribs, the wall of which had a mural of First Beach.

The back door in the center of the room, across from the main entrance was covered in white curtains and the door leading to the porch all ready had a child proof lock. To the right of the main entrance was a couch like rocker and ataman. Next to that seat were another chair and a dresser. A bookshelf hugged the wall. Mainly stuffed animals lined the shelves.

Tears began to stream down my face uncontrollably.

"If you don't like it we could always change it," Jacob was quick to say.

"You are not touching this nursery," I said to them.

"Then you like it," Leah asked.

"It's gorgeous. The two of you did this?"

"Your dad helped," said Jacob, "He put together the cribs and shelves. Rachel painted the mural. She's not as good as my mom was or Rebecca is but I think it came out okay. Leah and I organized and got everything else- clothes, diapers, wipes, bottles, pumps. We wanted to be prepared in case they turn out somewhat human."

"Even if the kids don't live here forever," said Leah, "At least they'll have a place at their grandpa's where they can call home."

"Now if you'll excuse me ladies," said Jacob, "I will see you later."

"Wait, you're leaving," I asked.

"Yeah, I just wanted to see your reaction before I left. I think my dad's gonna get a kick out of me spending time over there for a change. You've got a party to get ready for."

"What?" I asked suddenly mortified.

The last party I'd been to nearly had me killed by vampires.

Jacob just smiled and looked at my belly, placing his hand on it as he rubbed.

"See you in a few hours Ness."

He then leaned in to kiss my cheek. "Have fun tonight."

Once he was gone I turned to Leah, "What party is he talking about?"

"Your baby shower."

"Really? I think Ness and EJ have everything they need."

"Maybe but these things are usually for everyone else. And plus it never hurts to be given free things from other people. I get your aversion to parties. I'm not a fan of them either."

I walked over to the rocker, my legs and feet feeling exhausted.

"I don't think you do. The last party I went to, Edward's brother tried to kill me."

I didn't have to go into detail. Edward's name was sufficient for Leah.

"Well that's what happens when you leave vampires in charge of party planning," she said sitting on the ataman and placing my legs on top of hers. The warmth felt soothing. "Just think of it this way, it might be your last chance to say your goodbyes to your friends either before you turn or before the babies are born."

"Jacob isn't exactly on board with me becoming one of them."

"That's because Jacob's an idiot. We're not exactly thrilled with it either. Seth seems to be but I think my mom dropped him one too many times but depending on how the kids turn out it's better if you're around then around as an old grandmother"

"And what if I turn," I said placing my hand over my overgrown belly, "but they live normal human lives?"

"Well for one they won't be alone since Jacob and I will age right alongside with them but for you that's a gamble only you can make."

"Yeah."

"Come on, no time for wallowing in heavy decisions. What do you say, you ready for a party?"

"They're all ready on their way aren't they?"

"Jessica and Angela are a couple miles out. My mom, Emily, and Rachel are half a mile."

"Fine, let's get this over with. Help me up?"

Leah did so.

"You sure there's only two in there?"

"Don't jinx it. Charlie all ready did."

Leah laughed as she helped me to the restroom. After that was taken care of she helped me get ready for the baby shower.

"It's too bad you're gonna miss graduation," Angela said as she sat next to me on the couch; Leah on my left.

Unlike the rest of my human friends, Angela wasn't nervous about touching my belly. I was actually grateful that the others didn't. Even now I could not understand people's fascination with wanting to touch my stomach now that I was pregnant. Jacob and Leah were the exception because of their connection to the twins but I was baffled by everyone else.

And Angela was right. Graduation was set for the middle of May, putting me at eight and a half months pregnant by the time it came around and that's if I continued to stick to human gestation period.

"I'll still get my diploma," I answered, "I just won't walk. I'm not going to be able to. I have a hard time seeing my feet as it is."

"Couldn't someone carry you or couldn't you use a wheelchair," asked Jessica, "Pregnant girls do that all the time."

"And risk her going into labor with the days being so close," said Leah, "Oh yeah that'll be a graduation no one would ever forget."

"It just won't be the same without you, or you Leah," said Angela, "We're gonna miss having you there."

"Yeah," said Jessica, "And it sucks that you're knocked up but-,"

"Jess!" Angela scolded.

"What? Can you imagine being pregnant and having to miss nearly everything about senior year? But seriously Bella, we are gonna miss not having you guys there. And you're gonna miss my graduation speech."

"There's always YouTube," said Leah.

"God I hope so," Jessica replied.

"In all fairness," I said, "I'm not really missing out on anything."

"No of course not," Jessica said sarcastically, "Just the whole normal human experience but yeah sure who in their right mind is okay with missing that?"

I looked over at Leah and we both smiled; the only two to get the inside joke.

I'd never exactly fit in with my human life the way I thought I was supposed to. I always thought there was something wrong with me because of it but there was nothing wrong. I'd never fit into the human world because I'd never belonged there. The babies inside of me were proof of that.

From the window we could see some headlights appear.

"Oh that would be my mom," said Angela. "Jess, I'm still giving you a ride, right?"

"Yeah," Jessica replied.

"I'll walk you guys out," I said to them as I struggled to get to my feet.

"Don't strain yourself," Angela said as Leah helped me up.

"No it's okay. I need to stretch my legs anyways," as the four of us walked to the door.

"Well," said Jessica, "This was fun. Thanks for having us over. And good luck with everything."

"Thanks for coming."

"Are you kidding, we wouldn't have missed it," said Angela. "Who would have figured that between the three of us you'd be the first to have kids."

"You're kidding right," asked Jessica, "Edward was literally all over her when they became public. It was only a matter of time."

I took a breath and shivered a little. Leah quickly placed her arm around me knowing it wasn't her physical warmth I needed but rather that friendly shoulder due to the thought of Edward and his continued absence.

Angela noticed and slightly tapped Jessica on the shoulder.

"Yikes, sorry," Jessica said.

"It's okay. I'm not gonna break," I answered.

"You sure," asked Angela, "This can't exactly be easy."

"Yeah ad we wouldn't want to see you all depressed or whatever," Jessica added.

"I'm fine, really. You guys don't have to worry about me. Enjoy the rest of school. Have fun at graduation. I'm gonna be okay."

"And if she's not she's got her family to pick up the pieces," said Leah.

"Yeah that's just weird," said Jessica, "How you guys are so much like the Cullen's. You're not related but you live together."

"Okay we're gonna go now," said Angela, "If we don't see you before, I hope everything goes well," she said as she came in for an awkward hug. She looked at my belly slightly and at me, "Don't give your mom too much trouble okay?" she said with a smile.

Jessica only nodded and the two friends I had in the human world got in the car and left.

For the most part the baby shower had gone okay. No one had tried to kill me so that was a plus. It was more of a simple get together with only a few of us: Leah, Emily, Sue, Rachel, Kim, Angela and Jessica. There were no cheesy games of guessing the size of my belly with rolls of toilet paper or speed diaper changes. It was mainly just leisurely talk, cake, and presents.

Sue, Rachel, Emily, and Kim were the last to leave having helped clean up. I felt bad for not being able to help much. I'd offered but they wouldn't hear of it. Sue even ordered me to get in bed after the long day.

I still had two months to go but I needed the rest which wasn't exactly easy to come by. As I lay in bed I shifted to my left side with pillows to elevate me, and my body pillow to cradle my belly.

My changing belly wasn't the only part in sleep to cause me trouble.

The sounds of the night echoed. Owl's whood in the shadows despite the light winds. Out in the distance the wolves howled and somehow I knew it was the packs and not ordinary wolves.

I woke up in a haze. The weight of my belly didn't seem to cause me distress as it had been lately. Edward stood in front of me in my room as he had before in the old house.

"You're here," I said, "You came back."

"What have you done," he asked sounding colder than he had that night he left.

"It's not what you think. They're yours, you're their father."

"What have you done," he asked again as if he hadn't heard me.

I looked around. My room had suddenly gone black and the Cullen's all lay dead at my feet as ten wolves, two of whom I did not know, circled me and Edward and growled at him.

"You were supposed to have a normal life," Edward said as his voice became an echo.

As he faded away so did the wolves. All I could see were their glaring eyes.

"Bella," someone called out.

"Bella," came a second.

"Bella wake up," came a third.

As I thrashed my hands landed and gripped something warm. At this moment Jacob's hands were the last thing I wanted to feel but I nonetheless held on as I opened my eyes knowing that I would see him instead of Edward.

"You're okay," Jacob said when I'd fully awaken.

I avoided his eyes.

"Hey," said Charlie, "Why don't you two give us a minute, hu?"

Leah and Jacob left the room without a word.

Charlie came and sat on the left side of my bed where I was curled up and I did my best to move over so that he could have some space.

"Nightmare hu, you haven't had those in a while." I remained silent. "And here I thought things were getting better."

"They were," I answered.

"But you still miss him, don't you?"

I instinctively moved my right arm and hand so that it was resting over my belly.

"I still love him," I admitted.

Charlie took a deep breath, "Yeah I can see that. Bells, you not being able to get over Edward, I'd probably say something like it's not normal but you didn't like imprint on him did ya? Billy kind of explained what that is and Rachel explained it from her perspective and I just thought-,"

"No dad. I'm not a wolf so I can't imprint."

"What about Edward? Could he have imprinted on you and then you ordered him to leave the way Emily had done with Sam or-?"

"He's not a wolf either."

"But he is something isn't he? You're just not gonna tell me what that is, are you?"

"Sorry."

"It's okay I guess. I'm sure you have your reasons for not telling me and I respect that. You and the kids are going to be all right, Bells."

"I know."

Charlie smiled at me and leaned over to place a kiss on my forehead.

"All right, get some sleep. I love you, all three of you."

"Love you too dad."

Author's Note:

Stay tuned for a special surprise chapter in Chapter 23.

It wasn't originally part of the story but somehow it made it's way in.

I think a lot of you will be very happy and surprised by it.

Just a little something extra before Bella's big day!