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Chapter 142

Everyday Life in Pregnancy 2


Edward


"With this you can be shown up in New York on the weekend with a clear conscience!" Alice squealed enthusiastically.

"WHAT?" asked Bella and I at the same time - equally shocked.

I had assumed that the topic of Christmas shopping in the Big Apple had been settled for the time being. Admittedly, we had not talked about it, but I assumed that my sisters had enough foresight not to expect such a certainly exhausting trip from my beloved. Apparently a mistake.

Seeking help, Bella squeezed my hand.

"We can't do that, Alice," I put in. "We don't know what else we can expect under these particular circumstances. Bella is doing quite well, but it doesn't mean things will stay that way, considering the rapid pace. Rushing through the crowded streets of New York with you will certainly be too exhausting."

"Yep ... I'm already glad to be back on my couch after the past few hours, which were actually pretty quiet. How am I supposed to last a whole day with you guys?" Bella confirmed.

I could already see in the thoughts of all my siblings that they had somewhat rearranged the trip. So I was curious to see what Bella would say about it.

"You know, Bella. We were thinking we could spend a whole day just among us girls. Esmé would come along. We wanted to ask Becky and Leah too. And Sonya, so she doesn't have to worry about her various men for a day," Alice began to say cheerfully.

That met with my approval, generally speaking.

A day with Leah and Becky would certainly please Bella. Esmé would make sure that Alice and Rose did not overdo it with their ventures. With Sonya with her, who was struggling with physical limitations for the same reasons, Bella would feel less like a burden and also be more likely to admit that she was exhausted. And Rose had studied medicine and would take care of the expectant mothers in this respect. On the other hand, I was actually not willing to be without my beloved even for one day.

"We actually had a day like this planned for your bachelor party, but if we're being honest, we don't know what that's going to look like now with the wedding. It's possible that our baby will throw a little wrench into the plans," Rose went on to explain.

I smirked inwardly.

A discussion with Rose about the fact that it was Bella's and my baby first and foremost, and not a collective child for the whole family, would probably go on all night.

"The festivities were scheduled for January 3," Emmett took the floor. "While the ladies had scheduled a spa day among themselves so they would look good enough to eat at the ceremony like they already do, we were going to kidnap you."

He went through his plans in this regard in his thoughts.

An extensive hunt. A casino visit, where the ladies were quite lightly dressed. A strip club, which he had not been allowed by Rose, however.

I looked at him disapprovingly.

This was not only against Rosalie's taste, it also did not suit mine, of which he was well aware. But that's exactly why he found the idea so good. And he wanted to take Jake and Marcus with him, which my two princesses would probably also have noted rather with mixed feelings. To put it mildly!

Jazz rose and gathered his thoughts together.

"Of course, you are right about the fact that none of us can foresee how this pregnancy will continue. Therefore, various considerations have come to us. However, the fact is that we can't schedule anything for the time being. Since Jake and Leah said how well you were doing, we considered moving your wedding up just as long as you were doing so well. But the marriage license is not yet available, and we won't get it on such short notice ..." Jazz said, and I asked quietly, so as not to worry Bella, if there were any problems in this regard.

Mr. Corbin had assured us that there would be no trouble. Therefore, I was surprised by this statement.

He answered in his mind.

'No, it's all fine. Mr. Corbin just sees an increased chance that you can officially adopt Jake and Leah if he presents these applications to a judge at the same time instead of having these decisions reviewed separately by the authorities. However, the hearing is not until the end of next week due to the actual wedding date.'

I nodded - smiling in anticipation.

Jazz continued and squatted in front of Bella and me.

"... Since we also don't know how long you will be feeling so well, this weekend might be the last chance for you guys to get away from it all and see something different ..." He looked at Bella. "... A way to keep you busy with Leah and Becky ..." He looked at me, "... to do something with Jake and Marcus before your attention is all on the baby."

It was Rose's worried thoughts that caught my attention.

'It is also not foreseeable how Bella will be afterwards. A birth is already no walk in the park for a normal baby. It is uncertain when Bella will feel like celebrating afterwards. But you should also consider the possibility that she is facing her last human days. Carlisle isn't sure Bella can make it as a human, due to the impermeable shell the baby is in.'

Carlisle had already mentioned this yesterday, but Bella was just determined to let each day come to her. It was only a theory, after all, though Bella was not intimidated by such danger.

I had promised immortality to my angel. This was a fact that I could not talk my way out of. But in order to be able to keep Bella with me, my personal reluctance to take this step was meaningless.

We ended this topic after I pulled Bella into my arms a little more.

This uncertainty of what could happen caused me some trepidation.

However, my siblings had dared some other thought games as well.

Where should the baby live? After I had said as one of the first considerations last Wednesday that we would have to add on, I had not taken up this thought ... Last Wednesday. Not a week had passed so far since Bella had the pregnancy test in her hands and I held those malicious accusations against her. It felt much longer. A rather turbulent week. Nothing was left of our ghastly quarrel.

My siblings spread out various drawings.

"Alice!" my angel cursed angrily as she comprehended their contents.

"Is it supposed to sleep on the street?" she replied in a huff.

"Now, don't make a big deal out of it. Have you thought about it?" Emmett asked with a good-humored grin.

"No," Bella just muttered, crossing her arms over her stomach and pouting adorably.

I chuckled and kissed her on her forehead.

"But I'm still allowed to set it up myself!" Bella meekly tried to determine.

"Of course!" I said immediately and gave Alice an appropriate look.

Alice pulled a face and did not dare to unpack her other drawings.

She had already planned the possible children's rooms down to the last detail. With Esmé, of course.

While Bella admitted defeat and took a closer look at the architectural drawings, I went into the kitchen.

Predator feeding time was approaching.

Rose and Emmett, both with architecture and structural engineering degrees, had spent all last night making different designs for our two houses. And Alice and Esmé had set them up separately.

I picked my favorites based on their thoughts and was more than eager to hear Bella's opinion.

"Well, Daddy," Em grinned, who followed me into the kitchen a short time later.

"Are you just teasing me or are you jealous?" I inquired.

"I'm not sure yet," he admitted.

Children had never been an issue for Em personally. He had spent his human time with alcohol, gambling, hunting, and women. In his fun-loving light-heartedness there was no room for the thought of a family of his own. He had retained this quality of carefreeness as a vampire. He commented on the transformation with a shrug. Likewise the fact that he could not have children with Rose. He never resented things that he could not change. Only for his wife, whom he considered a true angel since the delirium of his transformation, he was sincerely sorry and wished he could change it.

We chatted about school.

What highly charged teen dramas I was currently missing. Two faculty members were having an affair. The football team had narrowly won yesterday. Mr. Taylor had a flat tire. Cathlyn Turner was to be sweet-talked by some boys into handing over a copy of a class assignment due tomorrow. A ridiculous attempt, but one that amused Cathlyn. Brandon and Jake had argued during lunch. Over the last caramel pudding! Which was then simply shared by Leah and Lisa.

Em made bigger and bigger eyes.

He had never seen me cook alone.

"Are you sure you're doing all this right?" he questioned my ability.

"You don't have to eat it," I reassured him.

"You're turning more and more into a philistine!" he accused me.

I lifted my head and looked at him.

I wasn't sure if he really meant it as negatively as he said it.

"You call Jake and Leah your children. Have children-in-law. Even get another kid on top of that. You cook dinner for the family. Live in a pretty suburban house. You're looking forward to your wedding. You also regularly play the housecleaner here," he enumerated.

"So?"

"You've never looked happier or more content than you do now!" he said, looking melancholy under his smirk.

I was amazed.

"You envy me for this stuffy life?" I asked, dumbfounded. Actually, I rather fell off the deep end. Em was a go-getter who went against the grain of boredom and mundanity.

"Kind of. I've never had a problem with what we are and how we live. That we start all over again every few years. It's exciting, isn't it, what's waiting for us in the next town ...? But now, I don't know ... I'm kind of tired of wandering."

"You don't want to leave Saco?"

"It has less to do with the city. It's really pretty lame," he tried to say, but he didn't want to go on.

This was somehow now too embarrassing for him. He was afraid that I didn't think he was the oh-so-strong man he described himself as.

I shrugged my shoulders with a smile as my children just came through the front door. They greeted Bella and the others and immediately came further into the kitchen.

"Uhhh ... the prince and the princess have arrived," Em quipped, getting a punch on his shoulder from Jake.

He hated it when Em called him that.

I challenged the two to look at the plans and give their opinions.

I definitely didn't want to skip the twins.

Em looked after the twins with a good-natured smile.

"As long as my children are alive, I will not leave them!" I stated the obvious.

"And we will not leave you."

"Then you don't have to admit to anyone how much boring stuffy family life suits you," I laughed.

And exactly about that he was quite pleased.

Soon he switched places with Leah, who swung cross-legged onto the kitchen counter.

She had brought me my homework and was thinking in a huff about the essay she still had to write today. But at least that would distract her from the fact that Marcus wasn't here.

"He's been here every night since Sunday. Why should today be any different?" I asked her encouragingly.

"Do you mind?" she asked, however, a little startled when she realized that Marcus was here pretty much every night, rather inadvertently using his sister's guest room as had been the plan at one point. So slowly his entire closet should be with us or in their room with Carlisle and Esmé. Even in my house he had something to wear.

"No. We told you that," I immediately reassured Leah.

She breathed a little sigh of relief and, lost in thought and chewing on her lower lip, lent me a hand a bit.

She wondered how it came about that we did not object to Marcus living with us, so to speak. Whether it was simply a toleration. She knew from Lisa and Brandon that their parents had completely different views. That the two were together, both parental couples had first shocked to note, which was due to the already long friendship of the two. In this respect, they already knew the child's partner and did not have to get to know or examine him first. They all more than agreed with this connection and were happy for their children. Nevertheless, both mothers were of the opinion that the children should also spend the night in their own bed more often. And alone. Even though they were well aware that their children knew physical love.

"We don't just tolerate Marcus in our house. In the meantime, I've grown to like him quite a bit," I assured her. Actually, I understated the case.

My princess beamed at me.

"We have no reason to give you any boundaries. Because of your overall situation - with Marcus staying in Portland after school - you're both able to stay yourselves, pursue your own interests, see your friends and take care of schoolwork ... And we both know that you spend your time together not only holding hands. So why should we forbid you to spend your nights together? Even if it's every night? What makes you and Marcus different from Bella and me? Why should we have more right to togetherness than you?"

"And what about Jake and Becky?" she digged deeper once again.

She rarely failed to ask me about it when the opportunity arose.

"That is a completely different situation, which you know very well!" I reminded my undiscerning little daughter on this point.

I had already discussed this with her a few times.

That we didn't want to punish Jake or Becky by having Becky stay home during the week. The emotional dependency that could have developed after her rape was no longer the determining reason for maintaining the sleepover rule. By now it was more that we wanted to prevent one of our children from losing themselves. Evelyn Carter, Marcus' mother, had clearly shown us how quickly and far-reaching something like that could happen. Jake and Becky already saw each other for several hours every day at school, and for the most part they also had the same classes. Of course, this was not to be compared with free time. But if they also saw each other at all times and shared a bed every night, the feeling could arise in both of them that they could do absolutely nothing without the other. So Bella and I also had to avoid becoming dependent on each other. No more than we already were. That's why I had gone hunting with my brothers on Thanksgiving. Therefore, I would not interfere when it came to the trip on the coming Saturday. I knew, of course, that my temporary time off from school was not conducive to that, but I rated the health of Bella and my baby considerably higher than my impending complete submission. I was not far away from that anyway.

"I am fond of you, Dad!" murmured Leah, hugging me.

She knew she would only lose a renewed discussion about Becky's overnight permit and conceded defeat right then and there.

"Me too, Little one!" I replied meekly. "Do you need help with your essay?" I asked though.

"Are you writing this one for me?" my princess smiled at me captivatingly.

Yes, I understood David's parenting problem with Emma.

"Certainly not!" Yes, my self-control was better than David's. "But I'll help you." Not really appreciably better than David's.

The children were enthusiastic about the remodeling designs, but almost casually mentioned that their rooms needed a makeover as well.

Bella slapped her hands in front of her face - she probably saw the apocalypse approaching - and I rolled my eyes as Alice jumped up jitterily and brought up some ideas about it so fast that Bella at least didn't understand all of it anymore.

Alice was hard to stop, and it ended up with me kicking my siblings out the door when they all had ideas about it.


Brandon came over after dinner, as he was preparing a debate with Jake for Politics.

Becky would field the rebuttal in class tomorrow and was with her project partner today to not let the boys have a chance.

Bella sat in the dining room with the plans and a bowl of ice cream.

I went to Leah and gave her the promised assistance by working with her to create a rough outline for her essay.

At least, until I heard something clanging in the kitchen.

Panicked, I jumped up and Leah and Jake immediately rushed after me, having heard it too.

Bella was standing in the shards of her ice cream bowl, clutching the doorframe to the kitchen and had put one hand under her belly. She breathed only shallowly and convulsively.

"Bella!" I spoke shakily.

I held her and put a hand on her belly.

"Mom?" the twins just arrived to us.

"Bella? What happened? Are you in pain?"

"No, I ..." she started to say, but broke off in the middle.

I became angry.

With Bella, who once again wanted to prove herself as a martyr. But also to this thing that had apparently done something to her. What I had done to her with it.

Hesitantly, she finally raised her gaze to me.

I bristled.

She didn't look frightened or convulsed. She smiled.

"I ... felt it!" my angel said delightedly.

My hand immediately became light as a feather on our Knob.

"It moved and I felt it!" my sweetheart rejoiced.

"No pain?" I asked again, though. After all, one could not trust Bella an inch with something like that.

"No. It just surprised me," she assured me.

I took her in my arms with relief and the children withdrew.

Leah mentally indicated to me that she could manage on her own. If not, she meant with a wink, she would break something.

I carried my angel back to the dining table. She had only socks on, and the broken pieces were still lying around, which I immediately swept together.

We sat together over Rose's and Emmett's designs.

Even though Bella felt overall left out of the plans, she praised how loving and detailed they were that she was already forgetting her annoyance about them.

"I question, however, to what extent an expansion of our houses will actually be necessary. If you follow me into immortality, you will have to leave this house," I interjected after some time into our deliberations.

Bella was aware of that.

"And maybe that will happen sooner than either of us actually thought," Bella understood what I was getting at and put her hands on our baby.

To completely disregard the possibility that Bella could survive the birth only by being transformed would be negligent. Therefore, in the long run, only my house on the Saco River was an option. There, we disposed of a guest room that could easily be converted into a nursery without requiring extensive remodeling. Leah and Jake had their own rooms in Carlisle's house and were not necessarily dependent on the guest room. However, to me the plan appealed, by which my house would be expanded by three bedrooms. A room for each of our children, without having to spare the guest room.

"I figured you'd like that idea the best," Bella smiled dazzlingly at me, crawling sideways onto my lap and ruffling through my hair. "Let's assume the best-case scenario. I survive the birth as a human ... How am I going to explain to our neighbors that I had a baby within a few weeks?"

"Does that mean you want to part with your house?" I inquired.

"Not really, but do I have any real choice?"

I had to think about my answer. In addition, we wanted to involve the children.

I knew they were both attached to their home, we really didn't want to take that away from them. Also, my house was a good distance from Saco. From their school, from their friends. Moreover, they were old enough not to accidentally demolish this house. I also knew that Bella only rented the house. In this respect, renovation work would have to be agreed to by the owner and approved by him. Continuing to pay rent would surely just be seen by Bella as an unnecessary expense if she actually moved into my house altogether. But such trifles were not an argument for me. In addition, I loved this cozy, yellow-painted cottage. Our own four walls. It had become my home. More than my own house. If our baby developed normally, we could say it was adopted. Perhaps from relatives who died, which would explain a similarity with us. Or our little angel would simply not be allowed out of the front of the house. But how long could this be prevented if it did not adhere to the human development stages?

When Marcus arrived, I asked him to stay with us for a moment.

Leah had just had some very brilliant ideas for the conclusion of her essay. If Marcus went up right away, Leah would just cobble the rest of it along. That is, if she finished it at all.

Marcus chuckled in response, said he wouldn't have it any other way, and chatted with us for a bit.

He always did that anyway when he came, but now he stayed sitting with us for some time longer. And I noticed how my angel looked at me since she had heard from me this morning how I thought about my son-in-law.

Benevolent. Very benevolent. I liked Marcus very much. He had a pleasant nature, if one was not distracted from it by a supernatural gift. His feelings were sincere, and my princess was overjoyed. What more did I want? And I trusted Marcus. So much so that I wanted to leave the preparation of the blood transfusion to him in the near future. He was going to be a doctor, after all, and Bella let herself be less distracted by me every day.


So the next morning I showed him step by step how it worked.

I suggested that he could practice with Leah or Jake, after all he couldn't break anything with them, but they both left the bedroom in a hurry.

The day passed quietly.

At noon we were over at David and Sonya's house.

Sonya's idea. Why go away for lunch or start cooking when Sonya would prepare something for herself, Emma, and David anyway. Luces, however, was also at home. He had a sore throat.

I looked at it, but it was nothing more.

Sonya, Emma, and Bella fell asleep together on the sofa after the meal - for a change there was actually another Disney movie playing, but of course there was a princess there too - while I sat with David in his study.

When he came back from his business trip last week, he had brought work with him.

So to speak. A colleague of his, by now probably an ex-colleague, had been entrusted with an assignment that he had not executed to any significant degree in the three months time that had been made available to him so far. Now it was David's job to fulfill a customer's order. A completely new tool, for which David had just four weeks.

"You're really amazing!" opined David. "In just two nights, you programmed the entire basis for the software!"

I smirked.

That's why he had disturbed us yesterday morning in the bathtub. To pick up his work laptop from me.

"I told you I would help you as much as I could," I reminded him.

"Yes ... helping. Not writing the whole program by yourself."

"Well, I can delete it so you can start over," I offered, and he very quickly pulled the laptop to safety.

"Don't you dare! Thanks to your help, I can go to bed at night with a clear conscience and even talk to my wife or kids sometimes without thinking about work."

We went through the lines of code a little bit.

The basic framework was in place. David only had to add the fine details and the other additional functions and create a graphically appealing interface. With that, I had by and large eliminated his time problem.

I told him about the planned short trip to New York and that Alice and Rose had thought of taking Sonya and Emma with them.

He liked the idea, but ...

"Can you leave Bella alone that long?" he doubted. "After all, you were barely been able to tear yourselves away from each other at Thanksgiving."

"Of course, I'm not exactly in high spirits at the thought. Especially in terms of her health condition, which we don't know how long it will stay like it is now. Not having Bella with me always feels wrong. On Thanksgiving, it was more violent than usual. I think maybe that was already the influence of our baby. It wasn't just Bella alone who wouldn't let me go. I subconsciously felt exactly the same, and it is supporting my own desire to stay ... This time, however, it is only one day. Twenty-four hours that Bella can spend with her daughters and very good girlfriends. Women among themselves ... I will not interfere in her decision and change her mind to stay."

"Twenty-four hours? Wasn't the plan to travel there in the morning and back again in the evening?" David asked.

"Actually, it was. But they don't want to stress Bella or Sonya too much and give them a night's rest before flying back for one thing. For another, Esmé has discovered a revue being performed at Madison Square Garden. Esmé would like to see it and the others are certainly interested as well. It is a Century Revue. All the important events of the last century are thematized," I relayed Rose's thoughts, who was very much inclined to go there.

"Revue? With music and dancing and costumes and all that, right?" David's face twisted.

"Not your taste?"

"Well," was all he said, and then he added that he would be very happy if Sonya flew with them.

Thus he would be freed from this marital obligation for the time being. Theater, operetta, musicals and whatever else there was was not his métier. He preferred a decent concert. Preferably rock, but he could also get along with classical music, as long as it was live. In that respect he was very flexible. Except for 'Starlight Express'. He liked that. There was also a little boy in him who liked to play with locomotives.

"And what are we going to do when we're without supervision for twenty-four hours?"

"Any mischief our wives wouldn't approve of?" I spoke his own thoughts approvingly.

We should think about it carefully, if they were actually flying to New York.


I left Bella in Sonya's care while I drove to Jake's game.

An away game. So to speak. The opponent was the high school of our sister city, Biddeford. Mr. Taylor, Cathlyn Turner, and many other parents or teachers would be present, and Bella's pregnancy was now hard to miss. In this respect, Bella preferred not to come along, so as not to provoke any gossip. Instead, I took Emma along as a substitute.

Our team won without any difficulties.

Jake wasn't even a little out of breath. He merely gasped along a little out of solidarity.


Thursday.

Sonya and Bella had felt like swimming, so we had driven to Carlisle's house.

The two of them had no desire for an overcrowded and stuffy swimming pool.

Emma also came along while David sat at home at his PC, working.

When Esmé had brought the three humans something light to eat for lunch, she couldn't refrain from telling them about the revue and giving them a flyer about it.

With that, she had almost convinced them.

Esmé's plans for self-employment as an interior designer were also put on hold for the time being due to Bella's pregnancy.

If she was needed here at home, she wanted to be there. For her grandchild.

Sonya talked about New York at Christmas time.

If you thought it was pretty, with kitschy decorations, you would fall in love with the city. When she lived in Philadelphia, she had tried to go every year at this season. And every year there was something new in the city.

She and Emma would fly along.

I splashed around with Emma while the ladies relaxed a bit in the lounge chairs.

Even though the two of them were basically doing really well, they were both exhausted equally quickly. Worrying too much was simply in my nature.

But eventually we had to leave again, school would soon be over.

We climbed out of the water, I freed the little whirlwind from her water wings and dried us both off. Very carefully we walked towards the lounge chairs - they had dozed off.

While Emma awkwardly and almost recklessly climbed onto her mommy's legs to wake her up, I gently stroked over my angel's relaxed face.

Sonya let out a strangled cry of shock, but Bella only twitched briefly and continued to sleep. So I kissed her tenderly and persistently over her strawberry lips until she returned my caress.


In the evening we just lay on our reading couch.

Our kids were in Portland with their group of friends, and Leah would come here with Marcus afterward, when he finished his shift at the diner.

We waited for them to tell them that Bella would be flying to New York. With Becky and Leah, if they felt like it.

Of course they wanted to, we knew that since the suggestion was made, but in Becky's case we would still have to look into permission.


At night I was on the way to the kitchen.

Marcus had woken up, sat on the kitchen counter, and was drinking something.

I didn't like his thoughts, which is why I wanted to keep him company.

It had started quite harmlessly.

He thought about what he would do on Saturday if Leah wasn't here. He hadn't talked to Jake at all about whether he had anything planned, but if he did, it would probably be something with 'his boys', which he didn't really count himself as one of. Jake was not Leah. The two of them got along really well with each other, even with the others from their group, but Marcus belonged only because of Leah. His own friends from Portland, on the other hand, knew that he spent the weekends here and didn't plan on him for any possible activities, if they were not specifically arranged. So he didn't really know what they were up to. Maggie and Ethan would be out all day, Jules as well. So the only thing left for him to do was to spend time with his ma. But that wasn't necessarily something he could do for a decidedly long time. He had never understood how she could allow Marcus to be raised by his father with his scoldings, antiquated views, and increased beatings. Even if his way of life in the past years gave reason for it, he had also been a child who tried to please his father. That hoped that his father would be proud of him and praise him for something. That he simply showed him that Marcus was not superfluous. He had never been successful with that. To be angry about his father because of that, he had given up a long time ago when he started rebelling. But for that reason, the relationship with his mother did not get better either. He loved her, she was his mother after all, but it was more a family bond than a real feeling. It was different with his sisters ...

"You worry too much," I interrupted his nightly musings.

By now I knew these digressions. Whenever he thought about something in a quiet moment, he would eventually arrive at his family.

"Edward. Did I ... forget it," he smirked.

'Wake you up' was the missing words in between, the absurdness of which had then occurred to him of its own accord.

"Your reflections brought me here," I said vaguely.

He ran his fingers through his hair indecisively and hung his head a little caught.

He knew himself how his train of thought kept slipping back to his parents and was grateful for the interruption. A few days before Thanksgiving, he had once gone so far with this that he had considered himself the reason for their divorce.

"I was hoping you'd spend Saturday with us."

He looked at me drolly confused.

"Why? Leah is ..." he asked.

"You asked for my blessing, and I gave it to you. But one don't get Leah alone ... You belong to this family. Just like Becky," I clarified.

An embarrassed smile appeared on his mouth.

There was one thought that made him uncomfortable. He felt it was inappropriate and intrusive, so he tried never to think about it in my presence. Without resounding success. He felt comfortable with us. Actually more than that. In these few weeks that he was together with Leah without secrets, he felt more accepted and welcomed here than in his own home. Marcus had found in our family what he had always missed in his. Respect, friendship, and the feeling of belonging. Even now he suppressed this thought. He belonged to Leah and Leah belonged to this family. Nothing more.

"If you tolerate me here so much, why did you fight me so much in the beginning?" he therefore asked, pulling it a tiny bit into ridicule so as not to think about a possible seriousness in my words.

I smirked.

Fought was an exaggerated choice of words, although he was basically not wrong. I was just waiting for a good reason to get rid of him.

"I already tried to explain to Leah the other day that you are not merely tolerated here,. I'm pretty inexperienced in things that involve children. ... I was afraid of losing Leah. After all, I haven't been here very long, and I didn't want to have her taken away from me right away ... I didn't expect to have another son instead," I said honestly.

Marcus looked at me.

A mixture of embarrassed, surprised, and touched.

"A son?" stammered Marcus, swallowing audibly.

With his father, this word always sounded like an accusation. A fact he would like to have changed. But I said it meekly and extremely pleased. He thought about this word. He was eighteen. Of age. Except for a few minor things, such as alcohol, he could legally do whatever he wanted. He no longer needed a father. But having one ...

"A son!" I confirmed and kissed him on the forehead.

He didn't know what to say.

Jake did the talking. He had also woken up, wanted to go to the bathroom, had noticed lights and voices from downstairs and found his bed somehow desolately empty without Becky in it.

"I already share my sister with you. Now my dad, too ... What's next?" asked Jake, but he wasn't serious.

He smiled.

He had been standing in the doorway for a few moments, but Marcus had not noticed.

Marcus had to chuckle as well and coyly wiped along his eye so that his emotional tear wouldn't even fully form.

"Becky maybe!" Marcus teased him directly.

Ouch!

This was no joke at all to Jake who let the back of his hand slap against Marcus' stomach. A bright red handprint conspicuously adorned his equally unmissable abdominal muscles.

"How are you going to explain that to Leah?" I asked casually.

Jake gulped and had no answer.

I asked Jake to say what was going through his mind with Marcus.

I knew his thoughts and they had evolved just as Leah's had with Becky.

Jake was a little embarrassed to have to tell him this, but he had listened long enough and therefore had sufficient knowledge of the background of this request. That I wanted to show Marcus that he wasn't welcome here just because of Leah.

"You are the brother I never had," he therefore admitted.

"But ... don't you have Brandon?" queried Marcus, who was by now aware of the implications of this friendship, which had lasted since childhood, in all its important delicate details.

"Yeah ... sure. But Leah and I aren't just siblings. We're twins and wolves. The bond between us goes beyond our genes. When she shares something with me as a wolf - whether intentionally or not - I'm not just hearing or seeing what she's experienced or thinking about. I see the images. I hear the words. But more than that, she shares all her sensations with me. I can't ignore her feelings; I feel with her. No matter ... what feelings. Anger, joy, curiosity ... but most of all love," Jake explained.

"Does that mean you ... love ... me?" asked Marcus, a little ... shocked.

Jake and I were already smirking while Marcus was still trying to figure it out.

"In a way ... yes!"

Marcus' eyes widened a little.

A declaration of love from Jake was about the last thing he would have been prepared for here in any way. He was about to flee to bed and write it all off as a 'bad' dream.

"You remember the night you two got to know each other at 'Twilight'?" I asked, trying to illustrate it to him in a slightly different way.

Jake knew what I was getting at.

"Um ... yeah. I was there," Marcus stated.

"Leah showed me how you wondered about Leah paying attention to Becky all night," Jake reminded him of the pivotal point of the evening.

"Yeah, I really wondered about that. No matter what we were talking about or doing, Leah's gaze kept going very intently to Becky. I thought that was kind of weird and I was starting to think that was her 'girlfriend' and she was just fucking with me."

Jake and I both had to laugh out loud.

Leah and being lesbian? Not in this life!

But by now Marcus knew that himself and he laughed with us.

"The reason was me!" stated Jake after the hilarity died down. "You know by now that Becky was raped just a week before. But that evening was the first time since then that I was not with her. That I knowingly and intentionally left her alone. I realized that nothing could ever happen to Becky as long as Leah was with her. Still, I was worried about her. And that feeling was so ingrained in me during those days that Leah took it over for herself. How my love for Becky transferred to her as well."

"And I can't escape the concise thoughts of two wolves!" I added.

Marcus understood it, which surprised me only a little with his cognitive ability. The spiritual connection between the three of us, which he knew about, was much deeper than he had previously thought.

"That is, if Leah should ever hate me ..." said Marcus indeterminately, already swallowing in advance.

"Do you have a serious problem!" made Jake clear.

Marcus believed him. He closed his eyes and tilted his head.

He searched for suitable words in response. In his mind and in his heart.

"I have never felt this for anyone like I do for Leah! Not for my parents, my sisters, none of my girlfriends. Not even for Lily ... I love Leah!" he said seriously, looking us in the eyes in turn.

"If it were any other way, you wouldn't be sitting here now," I replied, smiling good-naturedly.

That's how we stood there.

Three young men. Externally about the same age. We were even all equally 'un'-clothed. Only with pajama or jogging pants on, but with bare upper bodies. A chance meeting in the middle of the night at the refrigerator. And yet it was so much more!


On Friday, David sat with us, who abused Bella as a test subject.

A customer had called about a problem with the lab software, which he wanted fixed immediately.

Bella purposefully clicked around in the program she knew very well, while David looked over his monitor at the various commands that were running in the background on a programming basis to find the malfunction.

I left the two of them alone. After all, I had promised Bella - against my own convictions - that I wouldn't constantly get on her nerves.

So I went to the hospital to see Henry Young - Becky's strict father.

Well. The severity had diminished a lot since he tried to have an unbiased relationship with Jake. It worked better and better, which was mainly due to Jake's affectionate manner after the rape. There had been many moments when Henry had wanted to help or assist his daughter in some way, but just hadn't known what to say or do. Jake, however, the right way to deal with Becky was ingrained in his imprinting. He always sensed what Becky needed.

Accordingly, getting permission for Becky to fly to New York with them was not particularly difficult.

Henry even wanted to reimburse me for the cost of the trip - airfare and hotel weren't cheap on such short notice - but I sold it to him as Becky's Christmas present from us.

On the way home, I also drove by the supermarket.

The ice stocks in our freezer had decreased sharply lately. Not the only one, by the way.

By the time I got back home - Zoey was spontaneously visiting as well - David had a rough idea where the fault lay.

I looked at his display with him, showed him the code error, and went hunting in the woods for a bit.

As I disappeared across our patio, he mentally cursed about his own stupid mistake.

He was just a human being. They were allowed to make such mistakes.


We spent the rest of the day in very comfortable family company - Bella, our four children, and me.

We walked in the sparse remnants of snow in the forest as long as it was still light. Cooked a substantial dinner with six people in our increasingly cramped kitchen.

Afterwards, we sat in the dining room and played cards. Each couple present argued among themselves.

"What did you call me?" I asked Bella, upset.

"Ass!" she screeched.

"So I understood correctly after all," I stated, pulled her into my arms and simply kissed my enraged angel. Yes, we had cheated on our sweethearts, we had really pulled the ladies over the barrel at poker, but did one have to be so abusive about it?

"How about a foot massage as an apology?" I whispered to my angel, who promptly became lamb-like. And a little red.

I lifted her in my arms, carried her up and very sensually peeled her out of her clothes.

It excited me to watch Bella exactly how the erotic fever took her more and more. It was even more breathtaking to watch than in the penthouse in Portland. Back then it had been a gentle upsurge, supported by alcohol and fantasy. Today she threatened to explode with lust. The way she lolled, and her eyelids fluttered. How her fingers clawed into the sheets, and she rubbed her thighs together with desire. But I did not let her climax. Not alone! ...

Completely exhausted, but also at least as happy, she fell asleep in my arms.

For the past two nights, Bella has been talking in her sleep again.

So she very matter-of-factly explained to me that a foot massage - for purely health reasons, of course - was appropriate at least three times a day! I demanded a medical prescription for it, and she stuck out her tongue at me defiantly. Our Knob also seemed to rumble in protest. In its sleep, mind you!

Meanwhile, I was certain that our baby had been created in Portland on Thanksgiving night.

That night something had changed between us. Something between us strengthened. The feeling that we should not leave the other for an hour. And that very night, the increased sexual desire of both of us had begun. It wasn't exactly the typical side effect of pregnancy, but at least it happened so often that it was mentioned in the statistics. What was the reason for this in my case, I was not able to say. Was it my nature, which I restrained only because of Bella's fragility? Did her changed smell have an effect on me? Did her steadily growing belly turn me on somehow?

I stroked over our baby while Bella slept peacefully.

I had read in the meantime that many men did not want to preform that act during pregnancy - for very different reasons.

'It wouldn't be good for the expectant mother.'

It stimulated the circulation and increased blood flow. In isolated studies, it was sometimes even said that sex reduced the risk of premature birth.

Others, however, considered this to be nonsense.

'It wouldn't be good for the baby.'

The fetus does not notice this. And at the end of the pregnancy, even the birth could be induced by sex. Therefore, the baby was protected in the amniotic sac and was thus also protected from vibrations. Rather, the unborn still enjoyed the physical reactions of the mother - the better perfused sexual organs, the temporarily faster heartbeat or simply the feeling of happiness during the togetherness. Additionally, vampire sperm was not harmful in any way, as Carlisle had found out the very first night.

'The men were uncomfortable with the purely physical union. The indeterminate presence of a third-party during lovemaking. What the baby would then see!'

Well, yes. The fetus really didn't notice, and it couldn't see it either. The amniotic sac was opaque.

'The changing mother no longer appeared erotic.'

To me she was. It was less the round belly or the larger breasts that attracted me. It was more the overall situation. Bella carried a new life inside her that changed her every day. Her hair shone more, her skin looked rosier, the glow in her eyes, her newfound hunger, an inner serenity and confidence that surrounded her. And I was responsible for this life!

'Likewise, a sense of insecurity set in for some fathers. Fear of responsibility and of the changes in their partner.'

Well. See my previous point.

I chuckled softly to myself.

I was just looking forward to this baby!


Marcus and Jake had tried to make similar amends, which I was once again allowed to participate scene-by-scene involuntarily. So I was surprised that all four of them were already awake before I could get up to wake them up.

However, it was not particularly late last evening, since we knew how early we would have to get up.

They were quite chipper and decided to make breakfast. Becky and Marcus jogged together to the bakery to get rolls while the wolves disappeared into the woods.

Fortunately, I had put my pajama top on Bella before she fell asleep completely, because the twins wanted to wake her up with their cocoa.

She had developed a downright reprehensible preference for hot cocoa in the last few days.

'Can we come in?' asked Leah mentally outside the door.

Bella was lying backwards in my cool arms, but however they discovered us was always indifferent to our twins.

"Of course!" I replied. As if we'd ever denied them entry before! I thought, rolling my eyes. After all, they couldn't really surprise me. Whereby ... one morning I had been a little distracted and had noticed them only a few meters from our door. And they had noted whereby they had disturbed us. My three humans had all turned terribly red and all three had disappeared pretty quickly.

Jake and Leah came in while Marcus and Becky remained standing in the doorway. They set down Bella's cup, which was decorated with cream and cocoa powder, and gave their mother a fierce kiss. Jake on the forehead, Leah on the cheek.

Bella was obviously startled by the unexpected warmth in her face and, as a greeting, struck first at our children in the heat of the moment.

It was only 6:18 on Saturday morning.

It was agreed that the vampires should be here around quarter to eight. So we still had some time until the female tour group had to leave.

To that extent, Jake and Leah also threw themselves on our bed to have their first coffee. Becky and Marcus needed an extra invitation to come closer in our bedroom and only hesitantly sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Are you excited?" I unnecessarily asked.

Becky and Leah were really excited.

Leah had never been to the Big Apple, but Becky had. Apparently there was - among other things - a shoe store that she absolutely had to show Leah.

I asked Marcus if he was confident in injecting the transfusion needle into Bella.

He suddenly turned very pale and choked on his coffee.

Bella looked calmly toward him.

I had discussed it with her, and she trusted my judgment. She knew that I would not let him do it if I had serious concerns.

I suggested Jake as a test subject.

"Why me?" the latter asked, half hysterically. Anxious, but he would not admit that.

Leah, on the other hand, appeared very relieved.

"Because Becky can distract you," I countered, giving Becky an encouraging wink.

I went to get the utensils, but when I got back to the bedroom, the proud Spirit Warrior was shaking!

After briefly inspecting the backs of Bella's hands and the crooks of her arms - they were already heavily strained on both sides by this daily procedure - I specified the back of her left hand. I explained it again to Marcus and he listened very attentively.

He was nervous, but it was merely fear of Jake. He still had his handprint on his stomach, although it was clearly fading. Leah had extensively thanked Jake for it and chased him through the woods.

Jake lay down on the bed, Marcus sat on the edge of the bed. Every move he made was watched and evaluated closely by his dark wolf eyes. Jake was just waiting for a mistake that would allow him to stop the action, but Marcus was confident.

After the back of his hand was disinfected, Becky crawled on top of the pale Spirit Warrior. She kissed him so sacrificially that Jake almost forgot they weren't alone. Only when he turned with Becky, and bumped into his mother, who was lying in the way, and he lifted his head to look for the reason for the obstacle, did the surroundings emerge in his consciousness. He looked at his hand in disbelief.

The needle was sitting perfectly and ready to function. He had noticed absolutely nothing about it.

We repeated it, only that no one lay in the way of Bella and me, since the children had retreated. As soon as the last drops ran through the tube, we got ready and went down to the breakfast table.

Not quite as inviting as when I arrange it, but still very appealing. And obviously tasty.

One asked what we were going to do today, but I didn't actually have an answer for that.

David and I had thought about it, and we had come up with some nonsensical ideas, but it wouldn't be just our decision.

After the table was cleared, we opened our Advent calendar gifts. For Bella and me, there were coasters printed with lots of little photos of Halloween.

Unfortunately Marcus was missing, because he was not with us on Halloween.

Jake was given a comprehensive high-tech craft kit for an airplane. A sheet of paper on which the crease lines were drawn.

Becky an 'antistress emergency set'(1). Convenient for her purse in case of a true emergency.

Leah unpacked a little pad of sticky notes. 'No matter what the question was, chocolate is always the correct answer,' it printed in chocolaty - partially nibbled - letters.

Marcus received a pack of paper handkerchiefs - with unicorns printed on them.

This led to him having to show Bella his tattoo.

He was visibly embarrassed.

"You couldn't find a slightly less macho motive?" asked Bella trying hard to be serious and matter-of-fact, but the chuckle was written all over her face.

When I announced the vampires, Marcus quickly packed up his rainbow unicorn. He wanted to avoid Emmett seeing it at all costs.

It was better that way, but I wasn't sure how long I would withhold this from Em. This knowledge was an excellent Christmas present for my brother. He would get something out of it for a long time.

The Mitchell family also all gathered in.

I went upstairs with Bella to pack her bag. She didn't need to take much with her. I put clothes in there, besides her things from the bathroom and my complete pajamas, so that she could change if necessary due to an 'accident'.

Since she wanted to shower here. With me.

Alice and Rose were already on their way to New York on foot. Carlisle was the only one of us who could get the blood Bella needed on board a plane. But New York was not so far away from us now, so my sisters had it with them in a refrigerated box along with the needed accessories and would be waiting for my family there at the airport.

"I'll be back in time for breakfast!" Bella reminded me. At the same time as a reminder that she expected a laid breakfast table.

I called my children, who were also just getting their bags out of their rooms, together again in the bedroom.

"Jake. Your credit card," I addressed my son.

He looked slightly puzzled.

Had he done something so wrong that I was demanding it back?

Leah also reached into her bag to hand it to me if necessary.

They both felt a little offended.

Again and again I had told them not to think about whether they were allowed to use the cards or not. Had they now perhaps exaggerated that I was taking them away from them?

But it wasn't like that. Hardly any charges had been added after I showed Bella the bill a few weeks ago.

I took the card from Jake and handed it to Becky.

"And you will use it!" I urged her.

Her mouth dropped in disbelief.

"That goes for all of you!" I held up my stern index finger to the three ladies.

Leah was still wondering if she had understood that correctly. Becky would be damned if she was going to pay for anything with my money. And Bella was reluctant anyway.

"Alice and Rosalie will make sure that you learn how to handle it," I stated with satisfaction. I had already instructed both of them in this regard.

Leah jumped enthusiastically into my arms, gave me a proper smack on the cheek, and thought a decisive and vocal 'Thanks, Dad!' before going down with Marcus to say a proper goodbye to him.

Becky hugged me hesitantly and only breathed an indecisive "Thank you!" In her mind she was convinced not to use the card.

She also left us with Jake.

So I stood before a defiant angel whose thoughts I did not need to hear to know her reasoning.

"You don't want to let our baby walk through the world completely unclothed. That's not proper," I reminded my angel that our child had absolutely nothing.

Clothes, toys, and whatever else a child needed. We didn't have any of that. That had to be changed in the short term. I had planned to take Bella to one of those huge baby supply stores to pick out all the necessities with her, but if I could convince her in that way that this black plastic thing in her purse could be useful for something after all, it would be fine with me. The one did not exclude the other.


(1) Includes a pack of emergency chocolate, a pack of strawberry flavored fruit gum strings for when your patience snapped and bubbles from the bag to blow away your stress.

'yagma Anti Stress Notfallpaket' - is a fun gift idea available for purchase on amazon ... and from what I've seen, apparently only in the one of Germany.


Thanks for reading!