"So, what's she like?" Erin asked, looking in the back seat at Embry as Jake drove the Explorer down the main road in Forks toward home. They were a couple months into their first semester at Peninsula college, and a couple days out of the week Jake, Erin, and Embry's schedules matched close enough they could all just carpool.

Apparently, a few weeks into the semester Embry imprinted on a girl in his accounting class. He'd waited a couple weeks to tell anyone while he got to know her in class.

"Her name's Maya, and our accounting teacher is her mom. It sounds like her parents wants her to go into something math or science related, but Maya hates both those subjects. She's really good at them, but she doesn't enjoy them and doesn't want to do them for a living. She said she wants to major in writing and photography. She said she's been writing a book for a few years now and she's looking into getting it published, but her parents don't know."

Erin grinned sideways as Jake, who was also smiling. It was easy to hear the admiration in Embry's voice. He already cared about Maya.

"She sounds great, Em. So, when are you going to introduce her to the pack?" Erin asked lightly, looking out the window casually.

Embry paused for a moment. "Um,…I don't know. I might wait a little while. I'd like to get to know her better and figure out how I think she'd react before I tell her anything."

"You could introduce her to everyone before you tell her, you know. Like Leah did. Not that I'm pressuring you here, dude, but you know everyone would like to meet her." Jake pointed out.

"Yeah…I know. I'm just nervous, I guess. Her mom wants her to transfer to a better college in a couple years, somewhere in California or something. I don't think she wants to go, but…" Embry trailed off for a moment before shrugging. "I don't know. I'm still figuring everything out."

"Well, you know there's no pressure. And if it would be easier, you could always introduce her to us and Quil on campus sometime. That wouldn't be nearly as overwhelming as the whole pack." Erin suggested.

Embry nodded. "Yeah, I'll probably do that sometime. We're supposed to meet in the library on Thursday to study for a quiz coming up."

They pulled up to Embry's house a few minutes later, and the couple said goodbye to him before driving toward their own home.

When they walked inside, it was to see Joy Ateara and Connie Littlesea on the couch talking to Billy. When the couple entered, their serious conversation came to a stop.

Jake eyed them suspiciously. "What's going on?" he asked.

Billy sighed, looking at Erin. "There's something these two would like to tell you." Judging by the women's expressions, they didn't really want to tell her, though, which made Erin nervous.

"Why? What's going on?" Erin asked worriedly as Jake lead her toward the couch to sit.

"Well,…" Connie glanced anxiously at Joy as Erin sat next to Quil's mom. Jake sat on the arm of the couch since the three females were sitting on the couch. He was holding one of Erin's hands atop his leg.

Joy sighed and looked back at Erin. "Well,…your mom came into my shop earlier today." she started slowly, referring to her small convenience store she'd opened a few years after her husband passed.

Erin nodded slowly, completely thrown by the question. She hadn't talked to her mother since she moved into Jake's house, and she hadn't talked about her in weeks. "Oooookaaay? What's so big about that? She's made weekly stops in your shop to buy alcohol for as long as I can remember."

"Yes, well…she did buy a rather large bottle of vodka, that's not what I found interesting…but...she also bought something else at the same time." Joy rambled a bit, wringing her hands together.

Finally, Connie sighed impatiently. "She also bought two boxes of pregnancy tests."

Erin froze, and she felt Jake's hand tighten around hers.

"And, well, I could just be seeing things because she bought the pregnancy tests, but she did seem a little…" Joy waved her hands around her middle, "like she put on weight? But I mean, that could be anything, that might not actually be a baby bump, but…I just…with her buying pregnancy tests and a huge bottle of vodka…I guess I'm just worried, and I felt like you at least had the right to know." she finished anxiously. Joy was silently wondering if telling Erin was even a good idea, she already had enough to worry about.

Erin stared blankly ahead, her mind reeling as she took in all this information. Pregnant? Her mother could be pregnant?

Her hand was released and suddenly Jake's arm was wrapped around her shoulders. She was pulled gently into his side.

"Erin? Sweetie, are you okay?" he asked gently in her ear.

She swallowed thickly, dragging her eyes up to his and focusing in on his worried, dark brown eyes.

"What do I do?" she finally asked weakly.

Jake's eyes switched back and forth between hers, searching the blue-gray depths to get a better idea of what was going on in her head.

"Erin, no one would blame you if you just want to forget about it. After what she's done to you your whole life, we'd get it if you didn't want to do anything about it."

Erin swallowed as she thought about everything this could mean. If her mother really was pregnant, and she was drinking, she could be damaging the innocent baby inside her. As far as Erin knew, her mother hadn't drank all that much when she was pregnant with her, so Erin hadn't had any health problems. But, as she'd been learning in one of her psychology classes, the umbilical cord transferred any nutrients the mother eats to the baby. Anything the mother eats or drinks while she's pregnant goes to the baby, and that includes alcohol. She could be causing the child to have mental problems before it's even born. And for some reason, Erin couldn't live with herself if she just sat back and allowed that to happen. But what could she do?

"I-I want to do something." she whispered, looking back up at Jake. "I can't let her hurt another kid. A baby. But…I don't know what to do."

Jake chewed his lip thoughtfully, glancing at his dad before looking back down at her. "Do you…want to go talk to her? I'll go with you, I'm not letting you near her without me after last time. But if you want to go talk to her and find out what's going on, we can."

Erin nodded slowly, thinking it over. "Okay. I…I want to go talk to her."

A couple hours later found Erin and Jake standing at the front door of her childhood home, if you can call it a home. Erin sucked in a deep breath, tightening her hold on Jake's hand before lifting her free hand and knocking on the door.

They waited for a few moments before the door swung open.

Erin's mother, Deborah, stood before her. Her black hair was up in a messy bun, her face was natural, with no makeup, and she was wearing yoga pants and a large, gray sweatshirt.

Erin's eyes glanced down before she could stop herself, but the baggy sweatshirt hid any possible bump so she dragged her eyes back up to her mother's.

"What are you doing here?" Deborah asked harshly.

"I…I heard you made a rather interesting purchase the other day." Erin finally answered.

Deborah scoffed. "What, Joy Ateara can't keep her mouth shut? What I buy is my business, not hers."

"So, you're telling me you're not pregnant?" Erin asked carefully.

Deborah's eyes narrowed as she met her daughter's eyes, which were about the same level. "It's none of your business if I am or not."

"It is if you're chugging alcohol." Erin hissed, her own eyes narrowing. "Do you have any idea what that can do to a baby?"

"Hey, don't tell me what to do. I raised you just fine on my own, I don't need an insolent brat lecturing me." Deborah snapped.

Jake growled lowly, tightening his grip on Erin's hand.

"I'm not going to stand by and watch you hurt another kid." Erin snapped back. "So just tell me if you're pregnant or not."

"So what if I am? What can you do about it? It's not like you can take that damn thing out of me." Deborah scoffed.

"So you're just going to see how much damage you can do to it before it's born? As much as I hate to even suggest this, if you're so against having this baby in your life why don't you abort it? That would certainly be the humane thing to do in this situation." Erin suggested, hating herself even as the words left her lips. Murdering an innocent child before it even had a chance at a normal life made her sick.

Deborah glared harshly at her. "Believe me, I'd love nothing more than to be rid of this creature. But unfortunately my job doesn't offer that kind of insurance, and since I'm already in the second damn trimester the cost can be anywhere between $600-$10,000! You think I have that kind of money?"

"Maybe you would if you didn't spend it all on alcohol and partying." Erin muttered angrily.

Deborah glared at her. "I don't have to listen to this." she stated, starting to shut the door.

"Wait!" Erin quickly placed a hand on the door, stopping it from closing in her face. She desperately searched for some kind of solution. "What if…What if you gave it to me?"

Deborah eyed her in surprise. "What?"

"What if you gave the baby to me after it's born?" Erin explained. "You could sign your parental rights over to me. You'd never have to have anything to do with the baby again. You just carry it until it's born, you give birth, and then you don't have to have anything to do with it ever again."

Deborah's eyes turned suspicious. "Ever again?" she repeated doubtfully.

"Ever again." Erin assured her before thinking of something. "On one condition." Deborah's eyes were instantly on guard again. "You quit drinking this instant. No more alcohol until after the baby's born. Who knows how much damage you've already done to the baby? Taking care of a healthy baby is hard enough, taking care of a baby with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is way worse."

Deborah grimaced to show her dislike for this condition.

"Please." Erin begged. "Just quit drinking for the rest of the pregnancy, please, and then after the baby's born you'll never have to see it again. I'm begging you."

"Why do you care? Why do you want this baby so bad? It's not your responsibility." Deborah pointed out.

Erin carefully thought over her words. "I want this child to have a chance at the kind of life I didn't get."

Deborah eyed her for a moment before accepting her answer. "Alright fine. I'll quit drinking until it's born, and then you can have it and I'll never see it again. Now that that's settled, are we done here?"

Erin almost nodded before Jake spoke up. "Maybe we should check your place to make sure there isn't any alcohol for you to drink."

"What, you don't trust me?" she asked coyly.

"No, I don't." Jake answered bluntly before pushing past her into the house. After searching the house, bloodhound style, Jake found the bottle of vodka Deborah purchased earlier in the day. Luckily, it was still 2/3 full. There was no other alcohol in the house, but that wouldn't stop her from buying more.

"Remember, the deal's off if you continue drinking or doing anything that might hurt the baby." Erin reminded her when Jake was back at her side.

"Don't worry. I just want to be rid of this creature, I won't risk changing your mind." Deborah assured her before closing the door.

Erin and Jake made it to the end of the sidewalk before everything finally caught up with Erin.

"Holy crap." she muttered as they walked. "I'm adopting a baby." Her mind instantly starting running. "I'm going to have to get a new place, and set up a nursery, and how am I going to take care of a baby while going to college and working? And-"

"Erin," Jake grabbed her shoulder and pulled her to a stop, turning her to face him. "Baby, you did the right thing. You're right, that baby will have a much better life with you than with her."

"But-"

"You're not in this alone, Erin. And I highly doubt my dad'll want you out of the house. We've got my sisters' old room that we could turn into a nursery. And there're plenty of people around that I'm sure would be willing to help out babysitting while you're working or in class. Like Sue, Joy, Emily, maybe Kim or my aunt Connie. Maybe even Rachel. You certainly don't have a shortage of babysitters at your disposal."

"But what about money? I've only got a part-time job at River's Edge, and a lot of that money goes into groceries and bills and college." Erin pointed out as she stared worriedly up at him.

"Well, for one you've got some scholarships that're helping pay for most of your schooling, and we can take out student loans if we need to. And we can both work extra during breaks. If she's in her second trimester, that means the baby will probably be due sometime between…February and April? That gives us a few months to get ready. I'm sure the council can help figure out the legal aspects, and I know the girls would be more than happy to set up some kind of baby shower to get most of the things we need."

Erin stared up at him with wide, shocked eyes. "…I think you just figured out more in the past minute than I would've in a month." she whispered.

Jake chuckled. "That's what you got out of all that?" he teased before leaning down and giving her a gentle kiss. When he pulled away he looked down at her. "Lets get going. We can talk to my dad and start figuring everything out."

"Alright, that's all done." Jake announced, standing up from where he'd been crouched on the floor putting a crib together. They were in the twins' old bedroom turning it into a nursery. Jake had suggested painting it, but the walls were white and the flooring was wood, so Erin figured it was neutral enough that painting it would be more work than necessary.

"Thanks. Where do you think we should put it?" Erin asked, glancing around the small room.

"How about that corner?" Jake suggested, pointing at the corner right next to the window so the rare sunlight wouldn't shine on the baby in the mornings.

As soon as the pack and imprints found out about Erin deciding to adopt her unborn half-sibling, everyone had pulled together. Emily, Kim, and Rachel instantly started planning a baby shower of sorts, which Erin's mother wanted nothing to do with. At the shower, which had been the week before, Erin pretty much got everything she'd need for a while in regards to having a newborn baby.

Sue had been kind enough to give Deborah checkups and ultrasounds for free, or discounted. In doing so, she was also able to ensure Erin's mother was staying away from alcohol and tell Erin and Jake to expect a little boy sometime in March. She also gave them a car seat and a book for first-time mothers at the baby shower.

Rachel went shopping crazy and bought a bunch of onesies, socks, booties, and toys. She also contacted her twin, Rebecca, who instantly went baby crazy and mailed down a bunch of presents from Hawaii including; a Hawaiian print diaper bag, some outfits and onesies, and some baby books.

Connie had told her and Billy's other sisters. Emmie was traveling with her husband, but the other sisters came to the baby shower and gave gifts. Nora gave Erin her old stroller. Jennie knitted a baby hat. Connie knitted a baby blanket, because the two had gotten into knitting when they were younger; and Connie also bought some baby toys. Joy made her a quilt and also gave some toys. To Erin's surprise, Old Quil gave her Quil's old, oak toy chest.

Emily found a dresser with a changing table on top at a secondhand shop. Sam cleaned it up and repainted it to match the crib. The crib was a gift from Kim and her mom, as it used to be Kim's when she was a baby, and Kim and Jared also bought some toys. Paul, Quil, and Embry pretty much just bought a bunch of diapers, and Embry's mom sent a few toys with him because she had to work during the baby shower. Seth, being the adorable sweetheart that he is, managed to find a cute stuffed wolf toy that was reddish brown and looked a little bit like Jake. Leah and her imprint Grayson, who she had been living with for a few months, bought a baby walker.

Erin wouldn't have expected Jake to get anything, just him supporting her in this decision was enough in her opinion. But then he had to go and take it a step farther and hand carve a baby mobile with a wolf hanging in the middle, as well as a couple more wolves, a fish, and a bird.

"Does that look good?" Jake asked after moving the crib into the corner next to the window.

Erin looked it over and glanced around the room. The changing table was right next to the crib, in front of the window. There was a small waste basket next to it. All the clothes and everything were already inside the drawers, the many packages of diapers were on the floor next to the waste basket and diaper bag. Most of the toys were in the toy chest, which was in the corner on the far side of the room from the crib.

"Yeah, I think that looks good." Erin decided with a nod.

Jake grinned and also looked around the room.

"Feels weird, huh? We're setting up a nursery for a baby." Jake finally admitted after a few moments.

Erin nodded slowly, crossing her arms over her stomach. "Yeah…I'm still sorry this has to affect you."

"I'm not." Jake looked over at her instantly, his brows furrowed in worry and confusion. "Erin, this is the right thing to do. This baby will have a chance at a good life with you. With us. He'll be happy."

"But what if he's not? What if I mess up? Or I'm not good at it? I mean, I'm pretty much going to be a mom. I don't know if I can do this, Jake." she admitted weakly. She felt like everything was happening so fast, and she couldn't keep up. On top of that, she'd just finished college finals for her first semester, and she was sure she didn't do as well as she would have liked.

"Hey," Jake gently grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him. "I get it, Erin. This is definitely overwhelming, I'm not gonna lie and say I haven't been worried about all this. I don't know if I'm ready to raise a kid, I don't know if I'd be a good dad. I'm just as worried as you are. But we're not alone. You aren't alone. Okay? I love you, and what you're doing, what you're willing to do for a child that isn't yours, makes me love you even more. And no one expects you to have everything figured out. Most women have at least six or seven months to prepare for a baby, you were given about four."

Erin looked down. "Yeah, I guess. It's just…I don't know. This is just stressful."

"I know." Jake agreed, gently pulling her into a hug.

"Jake!" Billy called through the house.

Jake lifted his lips from the top of Erin's hair to call back, "Yeah?"

"Could you and Erin come out here?" he called back before continuing in a voice only Jake could hear, "I'd like to go out to the garage."

Jake grinned, knowing what that meant. He gently pulled away from Erin and took her hand. "Come on."

Erin allowed Jake to lead her out into the living room, where Billy was waiting patiently in his wheelchair. Jake released Erin's hand and pushed Billy out the front door, around the house, and across the backyard toward the garage. When they reached the door, they stopped and Billy turned to Erin, who stood next to him.

"I haven't given you my baby gift yet. It needed some fixing and cleaning." Billy explained.

"You didn't need to get anything, Billy." Erin argued, crossing her arms to close her jacket against the chill. "You're already letting me, and now my baby brother, live in your home. You've done more than most people would."

"Still. I see you as another daughter, and I appreciate what you've done for my son. This is the least I could do." he answered before nodding at his son. Jake stepped around his dad's chair and pulled the garage doors open.

The garage was mostly empty apart from what was usually in there. Both the Rabbit and the Explorer were parked in the driveway or the street. However, there was something in the middle of the garage that was about four feet tall hidden under a white sheet. Billy wheeled himself into the small building and toward the object, turning himself around to face her. Jake gently urged her a few feet into the building before standing with his arm around her waist.

Billy glanced at her once more before reaching out with one hand and pulling the sheet away.

A beautifully carved, reddish brown, wooden rocking chair sat before her, making Erin's mouth fall open. After a few moments, she managed to take a few steps forward to get a closer look at it. As her eyes traced it, she noticed something carved into the top of the back, about where her shoulders would rest if she sat in it. Carved in intricate cursive were the letters 'S.B'.

That's when the pieces fell into place. S.B. Sarah Black. This used to be Jake's mother's rocking chair.

"But…why…" Erin looked at Billy, feeling lost.

Billy smiled gently at her. "I made this for my wife when I found out she was pregnant the first time. She loved it and would spend hours at a time sitting in it, either alone, watching over our children, rocking them, reading to them…They all loved it." he explained quietly; a small, reminiscent smile on his face as he looked over the chair.

Erin turned to look up at Jake, who also had a small smile on his face.

"But,…shouldn't you give it to Rachel or Rebecca? They'd probably want it for when they have their own children." Erin pointed out, turning back to Billy.

Billy chuckled warmly. "Don't worry, I wouldn't dream of giving this away without talking with them. They both admitted they'd like to have it, but Rebecca doesn't want to risk having it flown or shipped to Hawaii, in case it were to get broken, and Rachel doesn't want to have kids for at least a couple more years. So it was decided you could have it for a couple years, at least until Rachel and Paul start a family, which I'm hoping won't be for a while since they aren't even engaged yet." he ended pointedly, making Erin and Jake laugh.

"Billy, I…are you sure about this? I mean,…you don't have to." she pointed out.

"Of course I'm sure. As long as it stays in the family, I'm happy." Billy promised, smiling warmly at her.

Erin returned it with her own teary smile. "Thank you."

XXX

I told you it'd be extra long. I came up with the idea of giving Erin a half-sibling because you'd think with the number of guys her mother sleeps with she would've gotten knocked up more than once. The next 'chapter' will have the baby being born and we'll go from there. Let me know what you thought! : )