"How many times a day do you do this?" I ask Carlisle. I watch him as he uses the tape measurer on Ellie. She stretches out in Irina's arms to help Carlisle. Probably so that he can finish quickly. I smiled. She was smart.
"About 4 to 5 times a day." He continues to measure her before moving on to Xander. I notice that he's not writing any notes down.
"That much?" I was astounded at how fast they were growing. I knew that they would be based on the books and movie but experiencing it first hand was completely new.
"They continue to grow quickly," he says. Human eyes wouldn't notice but I could tell the tiny changes in their appearances. Both of them were a little longer. Ellie's hair grew a couple of inches in a matter of hours. Her ringlets were becoming more pronounced. Xander's blonde hair has gotten thicker too. His hair still has its golden hue, but it looks more vibrant. Their faces were more oval compared to one hour ago.
I watch Carlisle finish measuring Xander. Xander doesn't look too happy in Kate's arms. Xander grumbles in her arms. I smile at him. He was already a handful.
Carlisle steps back and looks at the two of them. "Ellie's grown about an inch and Xander is almost two inches."
I watch as Carlisle puts his tape measurer away. He measured Renesmee before the twins.
"Renesmee's growing fast. All of them are," mumbles Bella. She's worried.
"It's slowing down," grumbles Jacob. Paul nods in agreement as he looks at Ellie.
"I know," says Edward to her.
"What do we do?" questions Bella. I smile at her and decide to reassure her.
"Don't worry. Everything will be fine." I pause and quickly glance at Jacob and Paul. I needed to be careful. I don't know if I should tell them about my previous life before coming to this fictional world yet. I look back at Edward and Bella. "They might stop growing in a couple of years. We will figure it out eventually." I added the last part for Jacob and Paul.
I watch as Bella relaxes and Edward gives me a small smile. To Paul and Jacob, it would look like I was being positive about the situation and trying to calm everyone down. To everyone else, they knew that everything would be ok. The children would stop growing eventually and would remain young and immortal with us.
I noticed that Carlisle went back over to Xander and observed him. I think Xander was thinking he was about to be measured again. Xander glares at Carlisle before growling at him. He stares at him before disappearing. I sigh. Great.
I don't know where he's going but I have my arms prepared just in case he decided to come to me. Sure enough, he lands in my arms. I guess he decided to come to me because I was farther away from Carlisle than the others. I was still trying to be careful around him. Around both of them. I still didn't trust myself fully because of what happened earlier.
"Has he been like this while I was changing?" I ask.
Alex laughs. "Unfortunately, yes. He doesn't like to have his routine check-ups. It seems that he can only teleport to places that he physically sees. I'm hoping it stays that way."
I sigh and stare at the baby in my arms as he smiles at me innocently. I was in my own little world that I didn't catch what was going on around me.
I felt a shift in the air and heard a thud. I lift my head and notice Jasper restraining Bella's arms behind her. Edward holds Renesmee in his arms and backs away from Bella. What happened?
"What did I do?" Bella panics. I widen my eyes and shrink back with Xander in my arms.
Edward looks frightened. Whether its for Bella or of Bella.
My eyes observe the scene before me. Edward sighs. "She's just remembering the taste of human blood, Jasper." I glance at Ellie and down at Xander. I couldn't help but to feel a pang of pain in my chest. I knew Bella had a lot of control, but I felt that I was barely managing.
My children's scent didn't bother me, but I couldn't help but to panic. I never realized that this would be so hard.
"I don't believe this," I hear Jasper say. Bella now holds Renesmee and stares at Jasper. "I can't bear this." I watch as Jasper turns around and walks out the back door.
"Did I do anything wrong? What's the matter with him?" I sigh at her question. I knew what was bothering Jasper.
"Don't worry, Bella. He's not mad at you. More so at himself," I tell her. I turn to Alex and hand Xander over to him. "I'll be back. I'm going to check on him."
I don't wait for a reply as I race out of the house. I jumped over the river in one bound and breathed in to find the scent of Jasper. Jasper smelled of pine trees and vanilla. I race in different directions until I smell the familiar scent. I race in the direction of the scent and stop once he comes into view.
Jasper leans against a tree that's situated next to a small river. I watch him as he kicks some rocks away from him. I can tell he's frustrated.
"You can come out Soph. You don't need to hide from me," he says without looking at me. I sigh and walk over to him.
"Who says I was hiding?" Jasper doesn't say anything to me. "You ok?"
I stand in front of him and he stares up at me. He simply shrugs. "Yes. No. I don't really know anymore."
"You're too hard on yourself."
"I had a hard time adjusting and Bella has more self control than I do."
"Well, she wasn't part of a southern army and had to drink human blood for 75 years. Your power also makes you feel everyone's thirst. It's a lot worse for you because you are feeling what everyone else is feeling. You feel their thirst and hunger. Not just yours."
Jasper tries to stop the smile that is appearing on his face.
"I know your trying to make me feel better."
I grin at him. "Is it working."
He chuckles. "Slowly. I just feel that I'm the only one that can't control my thirst."
I smile softly. I glance at a log that's in front of us and sit on it. I hear his soft footsteps and a second later he's sitting next to me. I stare out and observe the water in front of us. "If it makes you feel better, I'm having a hard time."
Jasper knits his brows together in confusion. "How? You're fine around Ellie and Xander."
"They're different. I don't have the urge to suck them dry. Motherly instinct I suppose. You should have seen me hunt. I almost killed someone today. Even Alex couldn't stop me. I only stopped after I hurt him."
"You still stopped," he argues.
"Barely," I reply. "Don't worry about this. Just because Bella has control doesn't mean I do as well. I'm fine around the twins but not around other people. You have my full permission to restrain me or get me out of a situation if it seems that I could hurt someone."
Jasper quirks a smile. "Really?"
I nod. "I'm serious. You can be my own personal bodyguard. I'll need it. You might actually win your bet with Emmett on me slaughtering a whole village." I try to lighten the mood but I can't help but to feel guilty. I don't want to hurt anyone.
My sadness is soon replaced with a calming blanket. I look at my brother and smile. "Thanks."
"Anytime," he tells me. There's a pause between us. "So. What's it like being a mom?"
A smile comes to my face. "It feels amazing. I never thought about kids before because it was impossible for me originally. The fact that it happened, I couldn't think of anything but being a mom. Me getting pregnant showed me that I wanted kids. It was something I always wanted but didn't know that I wanted it. I wouldn't have gotten pregnant if Alex was human. It was only from him being a vampire that made it possible."
"You don't regret it." Jasper said it as a statement. It wasn't a question.
I look at him. "No. Not for a second. I made a decision that I was going to keep them."
"You almost died though," he states.
"Almost," I tell him. "But I didn't though. I'm still here."
"Barely," he replies.
I give him a playful glare. "Yet here I am."
Jasper smiles. "Here you are," he agrees.
I stand up and and smile at him. "You hungry?"
A smile creeps on his face as he stands up next to me. "Are you?"
I shrug. I just had my meal but couldn't deny a tiny burn in the back of my throat. This would take some time getting use to. "I could go for a squirrel or two."
"Not a rabbit?" he jokes.
I widen my eyes in mock horror. "I could never harm a bunny. They are so cute."
Jasper laughs at my antics. "Come on. I'll show you the best place to hunt away from humans." He races away and I soon follow after him.
That was how the rest of my day was spent. We would race against each other, hunt animals, and laugh at old memories. I was glad that we had this time together. I think the both of us needed a distraction.
I was happy that Bella had so much control over herself but part of me was jealous. I wish I could have that much self control. I knew it would come eventually, I just needed a lot of help and practice.
What felt like minutes turned into hours. I felt full from eating an elk and a couple of squirrels. Even though the squirrels weren't as appetizing. I looked up at the sky and noticed it was getting dark. Daylight was escaping us.
I turn to him. "We should go. It's getting dark."
"Agreed. You have some explaining to do with Alice by the way." I look at him confused until he points at the clothes I changed into right before Carlisle started measuring the children.
I had taken off the outfit Alice had put me in and was wearing a simple shirt and pants.
I glance down and notice spots of red dotting along the shirt. There's a small rip in the new jeans right along my thigh.
I just shrug in response. "Well, at least I don't look half as bad as before. I looked like a nightmare coming back from my first hunt." Jasper laughed and nudged my shoulder.
"That you did. Come on. I know everyone is waiting for us." I smile as we run back to the house.
We jump over the bend of the river and stop right on the outskirts of our backyard. I smile at Jazz and look up to see Alex waiting for us on the back porch. I smile at him in happiness. Still waiting for me.
I make my way over to him and carefully hug him. Still getting used to my new strength. I give him a quick kiss before pulling away.
"How did everything go?" he asks me.
"Great actually. We hunted some elk and mostly raced against each other." Alex smiles at me adoringly.
"I'm glad you had a good time." I glance behind him and notice that Xander and Ellie are no where to be seen.
"Where's Xander and Ellie?"
"Sleeping. Their with Irina, Kate, and Paul." I purse my lips at the last name.
"Ellie?" I ask. Alex nods.
"I don't like it but at least she has another layer of protection."
"No! Alice this doesn't count! I stopped aging at eighteen! I am not celebrating my nineteenth birthday," I hear Bella argue with Alice. I smile as she emerges out of the house with Alice. Edward trailing right behind her.
Rosalie hangs out in the entryway, holding Renesmee in her arms.
"Oh come on Bella. Let Alice have her fun," I joke.
"Exactly!" chimes Alice. "Get over it. We are celebrating anyway. So suck it up."
Bella sighs in defeat.
I watch as Edward and Alice each pull out a key. Edward's being to Bella's new car. I look at the slender key being held by Alice.
I smile. It's a present from all of us. Bella can thank Esme mostly. It was her idea.
"Edward can show you his present tomorrow. Come on, come on." Alice starts pulling Bella into the direction of the back woods of our house. Edward rolls his eyes at his sisters antics.
I smile at her enthusiasm. "Have fun," I call out after them.
I hear rustling beside me and turn to see Aelx holding a key as well. A key to our house in the Snoqualmie Forest. I wrinkle my eyebrows but I have a good indication on what he's implying.
I quirk an eyebrow and a small smile appears on his face.
"With everything that's happened, I think we are in desperate need to get away for tonight," he tells me. I look at the sunset that was overlooking us.
"What about Xander and Ellie?" I question him.
"Your whole family is looking after them for us. They want us to have this one night to ourselves."
"It's a four hour drive to get there." I don't know if I'm stalling on going or not. I just met my children but it did sound nice for me and Alex to have some alone time. Just the two of us.
He gives me a cheeky grin as he puts the key back in his pocket. "Well, its a good thing that it's an hour run from here. If we go now, then we can get there just as the sun disappears." I glance at Jasper and he smiles.
"Go. We have everything covered." I smile at him and look at Alex.
"Ok," I tell him.
"Try to keep up," he tells me right before he runs away into the forest.
I laugh and race after him. I was getting used to running at top speed. I knew that everything was flying by us at an enormous speed but time seemed to slow down for us.
I could tell that we were getting closer to our house because the trees started to change. I never noticed before but I could see the texture and tiny details were different compared to the trees in Forks.
The sun was gone when we got to our house. I haven't been here since we left for Costa Rica. Before everything happened. The house looked the same but I could now notice the tiny grains in the wood and the polish on the porch. Everything was so clear to me now.
Alex stood next to me and smiled. "Why are the lights on?" I question the father of my children. "We haven't been here in weeks."
"You haven't been here in weeks," he tells me.
"You came here without me?" He holds his hands up in surrender.
"Trust me. I didn't want to leave your side while you were changing. I was forced to leave to go hunt but also had to come here with Emmett and Esme. The house needed minor adjustments before me moved back."
"Move back?"
"You didn't honestly think we would stay in that house with everyone forever did you? Come on. There's something I want to show you."
Alex takes my hand in his and leads us up the porch steps and unlocks the front door. He gently pulls me inside. I'm hit with an aroma of pine. The house smells earthly. It was a pleasant smell. I look at the kitchen that I would no longer need for myself.
"It's a good thing that there's a kitchen. We originally had it only for me. I'm glad that it won't just be sitting there for no reason. I hate having some things that aren't needed."
Alex grins. "Good thing that our children eat human food then. Though, I'm not too sure how much human food they will want. Especially Xander. That little ball of fire only wants blood. You're blood to be precise. Ellie seems more into trying both the human and vampire diet."
"We'll need to work on Xander. I understand why he was drinking my blood type but I would rather him have animal blood instead of human. Even if it was coming from a blood bank."
"Don't worry," assures Alex. "He's only three days old. He'll come around. Come on. I want to show you something."
I let Alex guide me through the house. We walk down the hallway and past one of the bathrooms. We walk past our bedroom and turn until we are standing in front of one of the guest rooms. The house had three rooms. I didn't need to go into the other two rooms since me and Alex spent most of our time in our bedroom. I glance at him right before he opens the door.
I step inside and am met with tan carpet and pale green walls. The first thing that I noticed was a small bookcase on the wall closest to the door. A rocking chair sat in the corner next to two changing tables. Along the back wall were two white cribs. Both of them had mobiles hanging from the ceiling. Blankets hanged over the railing.
I take a step closer to the cribs and notice little stuffed animals in each one.
"You all built a nursery for them?" I ask him in wonder. If I could still cry then I would. I was amazed that they did this for our children.
I look at the room around me before looking at my boyfriend. The love of my life. Someone who I didn't think would ever exist.
"It took some planning but it came together. Everyone agreed that our family needed to be here. Your family said they could run here if they wanted to visit. It's only a four hour drive also so we aren't too far away from everyone. Ellie and Xander with stay in here for the moment and when they get bigger, we will move one of them into the other guest room. It's a good thing that this house has three bedrooms. One for each of the kids and one for me you and me. I'm going to be honest with you on something," he trails off.
I lift an eyebrow. "Ok"
"I wasn't happy about the pregnancy at first but I am so glad that you had twins." I laugh at his expression.
"Why?"
"Now, Kate can't move in. There's no room for her or Irina." I laugh at his statement.
"They honestly want to move in with us?" Alex rolls his eyes.
"Kate was the first one to suggest that everyone relocates here so they can be closer to the children. Irina was the first one to agree with her. I think they always wanted children like Rosalie. Now that we do, they want to be around them 24/7."
"Would it be so bad for them to move closer to us? Denali is a little far away."
"Trust me. I was glad to be with Eleazer that short year I was with them, but I was glad to get away from Kate. She was always so annoying. Always played pranks on me."
I smile and walk to him. "Reminds me of someone I know," I tease him.
He laughs and guides me out of the nursery. "I had to get your attention somehow. I couldn't stand to be away from you. Told you that you would fall madly in love with me."
I give him a mischievous grin and lightly push him into our bedroom. "Mmhmm." I muse. "Against my better judgement."
We stop in front of our bed. One that I no longer needed to sleep on. "Do you regret anything? Everything that has happened in your life and between us?"
I shake my head immediately. "No. I don't regret anything. Especially you. You are my life now. Always and forever."
"Forever," he agrees. He leans in an captures my lips in his. It starts slow and then gets possessive.
I might not need to sleep in this bed anymore, but it was used for other purposes.
I'm going to be honest with you, I am getting major writers block. I'm wanting to stay with the timeline but go away from it also. I have some things already planned, I just need to flesh them out. I will try to update soon. Please be patient! Until next time!
