Chapter 45 - Jared

When I got back to La Push, I headed over to job site that Sam had asked me to help on. When I climbed out of my car, Sam looked at me. "Where've you been? I expected you this morning?" He asked me.

"Sorry. Had something I needed to do in Forks. I'm here now." I said, making my way over to him.

He cocked his head to the side in confusion. "What'd you have to do in Forks?" He asked as we walked into the house that we were building.

I sighed. I turned to look at him. "I went to see Charlie. I asked for his permission to ask Bella to marry me." I said.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Seriously?" He asked me. I nodded. "Damn. I didn't expect you guys to be there so soon." Sam said.

"I know. A while back, Bella and I had a conversation about what we wanted from our relationship. You know, the Elders are always saying that we'll be whatever the Imprint wanted. Bella took it a step further. She asked me what I wanted in our relationship." I told him.

"Wow. I don't think that's ever happened before. I know Em definitely didn't ask me. I mean, sure, our Imprint hasn't been easy but whenever I told her that I'd be whatever she wanted…she just accepted it." Sam said.

I nodded. "You know, Bella helped Paul and Rachel with their Imprint. She helped Paul explain everything to Rachel and even told her the story about our Imprint. It was incredible. Paul feels like he owes Bella or some shit. You should see inside his head. As things progress with Rachel, he's constantly trying to figure out if he should do something for Bella…like a way of showing his gratitude." I said.

"You know, now that you mention it…Leah's thoughts lately have been a little different. It's like ever since she and Bella reconnected and they talked…Her mind has been more clear. And since she and Jacob imprinted, she's slowly been allowing herself to accept all the changes that are happening around her." Sam told me.

Neither of us said anything for a minute. "Do you think that it's because Bella's the Omega?" I asked him. He looked at me confused. "You know, Old Quil told us that she'd be the one to help the pack in more ways than one. What if this is one of the ways that she helps the pack?"

Sam looked deep in thought. "It could be a possibility. It might be something to talk to Old Quil or even the council about." Sam said.

I nodded. "Has Leah decided if she's gonna quit phasing?" I asked him, changing the subject.

Sam shrugged. "She hasn't mentioned anything to me about it. Honestly, Bella might have better luck talking to her about it." He said.

I nodded. I guess I'd bring it up to Bella when I got home.

That evening when I walked into the house, it was unusually quiet. I knew Bella was home because I could hear her heartbeat coming from the kitchen. I headed in that direction. "Hey babe." I said when I entered the kitchen. She was sitting at the kitchen table, nursing what looked like a cup of tea. She looked up at me. Her emotions were all over the place and her eyes were a little red. "You okay? Have you been crying?" I asked her.

She nodded. "How was your day?" She asked me, avoiding my questions.

"It was okay. Had an errand to run this morning and then I went to help Sam with that house he, Paul and I are building cause Paul was on patrol today." I told her.

She nodded. "Can you sit down? I need to talk to you." She said.

"Sure. I have something I need to talk to you about as well." I told her. I walked over and sat at the table next to her.

"So this morning, I went over and talked to Uncle Quil, and he said that he could help me start learning how to commune with the spirits. When we finished talking, he asked me about my symptoms. You know, wanting to know if they'd started to go away." She said and I nodded. "When I got home, I started to think about what he'd said. That the symptoms shouldn't be lasting too much longer." She let out a small sigh. "I realized that I haven't had a period since we've started having sex." She told me.

Then it hit me. Was she telling me what I thought that she was telling me? Was she telling me that we were having the first pack pup? I looked at her and I'm sure that there was shock written all over my face. But for some reason I wasn't able to formulate any words.

"So, after realizing that I hadn't had a period, I called Sue to see if she was working at the Clinic today. When I explained to her what was going on, she told me that she could fit me right in. So I went down to the clinic and she did a pregnancy test as well as blood work. Which I wasn't happy about. You know how much I hate the sight and smell of blood. Anyway, it didn't take long for the pregnancy test. It immediately showed a positive result. She did the blood work just as a precaution and an official confirmation." Bella said.

Pregnant? We were gonna be parents. I finally snapped out of my zombie-like state at hearing that she was pregnant. "Your pregnant?" I asked her.

She had tears building in her eyes. She thought I was mad? At my question she nodded. I quickly jumped up from my chair and pulled her out of her chair and into my arms. "You're not mad?" She asked me.

I pulled her back a little to look at her and she had tears running down her face. "Baby, of course not. You know I want a family with you." I said, leaning forward to kiss her forehead.

She threw her arms around my neck and pulled me to her. "I was so scared Jare. I thought that you were going to be angry when I told you. I mean, we have been together that long and I know we talked about what we wanted but I wasn't sure if you thought that this was going to be too soon or if you thought…" She trailed off.

I let go of her and helped her back to her chair. I crouched down in front of her. "If I thought what, baby?" I asked her.

"If you thought that I'd be pushing you into something that you weren't ready for." She said.

I tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Baby, you mean everything to me. I am happy with whatever you want. Are you happy about the baby?" I asked her in a soft voice.

She nodded. "At first, I wasn't sure how I felt when I thought that I might be pregnant. But then while I was waiting on the results, I realized that I wanted to be. I didn't realize just how much I wanted it until I thought that the test might come back negative." She told me.

I put my hand on the back of her head, "Baby, I've told before…you are my top priority. You are the one that keeps me grounded. You and now this baby, come before anyone or anything. It's you, then the pack, then the tribe, then everyone else. If you want this baby, then I guess we're starting a family. Do you understand me?" I told her and she nodded.

"I love you Jare." She said.

"I love you too, Bella…so much." I said before I pulled her into a kiss.