Titles and Names

Because they were only a few days from Christmas, Bella didn't have a whole lot of time to organize gifts for her vamp loved ones. Instead, she went with her gut and asked Jasper to help her get a few things, then set herself up at the kitchen table and got to work.

"Want a hand?" Jasper asked as he came in and sat beside her.

"Do you have nice handwriting like Edward?" she asked. "I remember his script was pretty."

Jasper smiled and took a paint pen from her, then wrote out her chosen message on a piece of paper for her to see. "You decide."

Bella tipped her head as she looked at it. "Yeah, alright. That's way better than mine," she nodded and slid the paint pens in front of him. "And you're sure this won't upset anyone?" she asked again.

"I'm sure," he smiled and leaned over to give her a kiss. "They'll all be thrilled."

Bella nodded as she went back to her part of their task. She really, really hoped he was right, because the last thing she wanted to do was cause any of her family pain. There had been enough pain all around in her opinion. They were all overdue for some happiness.

Because they were planning on taking a day trip on Christmas, Bella and her vamps decided to have their Christmas on Christmas Eve. After talking it over with Esme - who was still the only one in that part of her family who knew she was pregnant - along with Chelsea, Jane, and Aro just to be completely fucking certain, Bella had made Jasper a Christmas gift as well.

Peter and Charlotte had gone off for a couple days on their own and weren't expected back until the afternoon, so when Bella woke up on December 24th, she and Jasper were alone. Which normally would thrill Bella honestly, because making love to an empath was fucking phenomenal, but she was a little too nervous that morning. So rather than rolling on top of her mate, Bella asked him to make her a cup of tea instead.

Jasper, being the sweetheart that he was, simply nodded and gave her a kiss, then hauled his ass out of bed to make his pregnant mate some smelly tea.

Bella took the fastest shower ever - only throwing up once! - and then pulled on the bottom half of her new Christmas pajamas and the t-shirt she'd made while Jasper was hunting with Emmett the day before. She'd even enlisted Esme's help so the handwriting was pretty.

Before Bella stepped out of their bedroom, she smiled as she remembered the moment just before she'd kissed Jasper the first time. At the time she'd thought fuck it, it would either be really great or she was about to make their future super awkward. That had turned out pretty fucking well so she sent up a heartfelt prayer that wiser heads than hers hadn't gotten it wrong and that this would turn out equally as well.

Because if not, this had the potential to make their future waaaay more awkward than a kiss.

Jasper felt Bella's nervousness, but also her amusement and her hope. He turned towards the door to the bedroom to see her step out and froze in his tracks as he saw what she was wearing.

The two of them had been making hand-painted onesies to give their family, but Jasper had never in a million years imagined that he would have a similar gift of his own.

But there Bella was, standing in front of him with her candy cane flannel pajama bottoms and a white, hand-painted t-shirt. Literally. Bella's handprints created a red heart around where the pea was growing, and above that was a message for him.

'Can I call you Daddy?'

"Holy fuckin' shit," he breathed, then his eyes shot up to Bella's face when she laughed. "Are you serious?"

"I am," she smiled. "Not only are you an exceptional man who would make a great father, but you're my partner for the next gazillion or so years. And since I'm Mommy—"

Bella didn't even get a chance to finish her sentence before Jasper was yanking her into his arms and kissing her until she was a little lightheaded.

When he stopped long enough for her to breathe, she laughed. "Is that a yes?"

Jasper kissed her again just as thoroughly, then rested his forehead on hers. "Yes," he smiled, peppering kisses all over her face. "Yes," he murmured as he kissed her smiling lips, then dropped to his knees and lifted her shirt up a little. "Yes," he whispered as he pressed a gentle kiss right above the spot where their tiny pea was resting.

Jasper looked up from his book as Bella walked into the living room to light the candles Esme had bought. "Our little pea isn't so little anymore. We have a blueberry now," he said as he held the page up to show her.

Bella plopped herself in his lap to kiss him. "Is that why I'm craving fruit?"

"Could be," Jasper laughed. "I washed a bunch of strawberries and raspberries while you were in the shower. Want me to get you some?"

Bella smiled at her mate's thoughtfulness. "No, I'm still full from that giant lunch. You fucked me straight into ravenous and I ate too much."

Jasper looked at her with the most fake ass concern on his face. "I'm sorry, I—"

Bella cut him off with a laugh and a kiss. "You've never lied to me before, Whitlock, no need to start now."

"You're right," he smirked. "I'm not sorry. And if we weren't expecting company you'd still be naked underneath me. Or on top of me. I'm an easy man to please," he shrugged.

Before Bella could do much more than laugh, there was a knock on the door and her nerves shot up.

"Hey," Jasper whispered as he held her a little closer. "I know my family. I've known all of them for a very, very long time. I promise that they'll love it," he reassured her.

Bella took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright, let's do this before I puke."

"Bella, I don't think that's how Christmas traditionally starts," he laughed. "This is meant to be a joyful fuckin' day."

"I know," she smiled as she hopped off his lap. "If I get too weird, you have my permission to dial back my anxiety some."

"Deal," Jasper laughed as they went to open the door to Peter, Charlotte, Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie.

After a long round of hugs, Jasper and Bella led everyone into the living room, where each vamp had a present with their name under the tree.

"This is to open before we do anything else," Bella said as Jasper handed them out. "Don't get comfortable yet, Em," she smiled as he went to lounge on the couch. "Take these first. Christmas can't officially start until you all go change."

Everyone looked at the two of them in confusion, but then laughed when they unwrapped their gifts at the same time to find flannel Christmas pajamas.

After everyone went and dutifully changed, they all crowded back into the living room. Bella felt her nerves edge up again, but the anxiety disappeared almost immediately. Damn, having an empath for a mate was fantastic. She smiled at Jasper and let him feel her gratitude.

Once everyone was sitting by the tree, Jasper got the stockings he and Bella had picked out - which he'd written their names on with the silver paint pen - and handed them to each of their loved ones. Jasper sat on the floor and pulled Bella into his lap, hoping the physical contact would ease her worry.

Bella gnawed on her lip as she watched everyone unwrap their gift. The pregnancy itself was only a surprise to Rosalie and Emmett at that point, and Jasper felt their shock when they unfolded the onesies.

Rosalie's breath caught in her throat when she realized what she was looking at. It was a tiny, pale green onesie, and a silver heart had been painted in the middle. Written in script that looked suspiciously like her twin's was 'Can I call you Auntie Rose?'

Rosalie's eyes darted to Jasper and Bella, then quickly to her mate, who was frozen beside her. The onesie he was holding read 'Can I call you Uncle Emmett?'

Hearing a quiet sob from Esme, she looked at her to see her onesie said 'Can I call you Nana Esme?'

Rosalie assumed Peter and Charlotte's were similar to hers and Emmett's, with Auntie and Uncle. She looked at Jasper and Bella again and it was clear as day on Bella's face that she was nervous about how they would react to the presents. So without saying a word, Rosalie scooted over and wrapped the worried human in a hug.

She held her for almost a minute, rubbing gentle circles on her back when she started to cry. "Shh, this is wonderful news. I'm so happy for you, Bella," she whispered, and Bella held her just a little bit tighter.

Rosalie knew that her empathic twin wouldn't miss the pang of sadness inside her, but she also knew that it would be minuscule compared to how much happiness and joy she felt.

Once Bella pulled away and moved over to hug Emmett, Rosalie launched herself at her twin and tackled him in a hug.

"Rose!" he laughed, but like the wonderful man he was, he just returned her slightly too-tight hug with one of his own, his hand gently cradling the back of her head.

After each vamp took their turn hugging Bella, they then joined the Jasper-Rosalie hug, until Bella was laughing at the chaotic pile of six vamps on her living room floor. Eventually she just said fuck it and plopped herself down on Peter's back to join the pile.

"So you really did knock her up?" Emmett asked as they all untangled themselves.

"No!" Jasper laughed. "She came pre-fertilized."

"What the fuck, Whitlock?" Bella laughed.

Jasper shrugged, entirely unrepentant. "It's true."

"So who's the daddy?" Peter asked.

Jasper shrugged again. "She won't tell me."

When all eyes turned to her in a combination of confusion and concern, Bella smiled. "Only because I don't trust him not to kill the guy. Not because it's anything bad or I'm ashamed."

"Why would he kill him if it's nothing bad?" Emmett asked suspiciously.

Bella huffed a little. "I'm not talking about this. As of this morning, Jasper is officially Daddy," she said firmly. Because this group wasn't made up of a bunch of assholes, everyone nodded and dropped it. "Thank you," she said as she smiled at her family.

When Bella opened the envelope from Rosalie and Emmett she found a hundred dollar gift card to an online bookstore. "Thank you! This is absolutely perfect. Since I've mostly been traveling, I haven't bought new books in ages."

When Emmett suggested she could use it to buy some books on pregnancy, Bella and the other Whitlocks burst out laughing, then explained about the pregnancy quiz and the various members of the Volturi buying out the entire town. After Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett said they wanted in on it, Jasper hauled out the twelve books that had been brought to their suite in the previous few days as the original owners finished reading them.

The rest of their Christmas Eve was spent reading and quizzing each other on their pregnancy knowledge. Turns out the Whitlocks weren't the only ones who were competitive as fuck.

Jasper had found a kind of expo center an hour or so away that turned into an indoor Winter Wonderland during the last two weeks of December. There was a huge ice skating rink and artificial hills of all sizes made with fake snow to sled down, along with an area to build snowmen.

The six vamps and one human had arranged to borrow a couple of the Volturi vehicles, and they set off on Christmas morning to spend their day in a fake wintery scene to recreate their Christmases in the States.

Bella had already noticed over the course of both their friendship and their relationship that Jasper was nothing like Edward in how he treated her. He didn't see her as anything less than a full partner, one half of their whole. He always told her the truth, never tried to hide anything or blow her off, and was willing to answer any question she asked him.

Since they became a couple, he never made any unilateral decisions, always asking for her input so they could decide whatever it was together.

It was a new experience for Bella, who'd become accustomed to her opinion not holding as much weight as Edward's simply for the fact that she was a human and not a vamp.

So she shouldn't have been surprised when Jasper didn't try to steer her away from any activities at the Wonderland. He didn't say anything was unsafe or too boring, he was perfectly happy to do whatever she wanted. Because she was pregnant, she didn't go down any of the really steep sledding hills, but she spent plenty of time on the smaller ones and had a blast.

With her coordination being what it was, ice skating wasn't a thing she wanted to try, but she was happy to sit on the edge of the rink and cheer for Rosalie and Esme as they skated so beautifully that they looked like professionals. By the time they got off the ice, a small crowd of spectators had formed around Bella, all of whom gave the two vamps a round of applause.

Emmett and Peter had a competition to see who could make the tallest snowman, then enlisted Bella's help to make them even taller by hoisting her up on their shoulders and passing her snowballs to add to the top. Emmett ended up winning, but only by a few inches. He got a face full of artificial snow from Peter as a result.

When the rest of the group headed to the steepest of the sledding hills, Jasper and Bella stopped at one of the stalls to get her some hot chocolate, then the two of them went for a walk in an area that had been set up with trees and paths to give the feel of walking in the woods.

"Have you given any more thought to names?" Jasper asked as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Bella nodded. "I have, but I wanted to ask your opinion. I'm not sure if it's weird."

"I doubt any name you chose would be weird," Jasper smiled.

"Uh, you might rethink that when I tell you I had a dream that I named my daughter Renesmee," Bella laughed.

Jasper gave her an odd look. "Re-what? That's... awful, that's what that is, Bella. Please tell me it was a nightmare and not an actual plan."

"Definitely not a plan," she smiled. "But I do like the idea of naming the blueberry after our loved ones. What do you think of Lillian Charlotte for a girl?" she asked a little nervously.

Jasper stopped and pulled her into a hug for a few moments, then leaned down to softly kiss her. "I think it's absolutely perfect," he whispered. "Rosalie and Charlotte will be thrilled. Did I ever tell you my mother's name was Lily?"

Bella looked up at him in surprise. "No, but now it's even more perfect," she smiled as she snuggled into his chest. "I still don't have any ideas for boys names."

Jasper held her a little bit closer. "Well we've got some time yet."

Bella tipped her head back to look up at him. "Hey Jasper?" she said softly. "Thank you."

"For what?" he asked.

"I've never had a partner before," she explained quietly. "I had a boyfriend, but we were never equal partners. You don't treat me any differently just because I'm human. You don't think that the amount of time you've been on the planet compared to me automatically makes you right, or gives you the right to dictate my life choices. I just…" she shrugged a little. "I'm just grateful. Thank you."

Jasper smiled at her and then gave her a toe-curling kiss. "You're no less my equal just because of age or species. And I've never had an equal partner either, you know. Maria and I were obviously never equals or partners, and Alice always had more power in our relationship. In our early years, some of that was because I still felt so unsteady after leaving Maria. Living in a war zone with little to no human contact for seventy-five years meant the world was an entirely new place when Peter and Charlotte came back for me. I was still finding my feet when I met Alice ten years later. And after we found the Cullens, after I felt a little more grounded, had some more tethers to the world, her power came from her gift. If she wanted a particular outcome, she could look at multiple futures to see which would get her what she wanted. I loved her for a long time, and sometimes when you love someone, their happiness is more important than your own," he shrugged. "So I caved on a lot of things that just weren't all that important to me so that she could be happy. There wasn't a whole lot of compromise. You and I are already finding that balance between us. My wishes and needs, your wishes and needs, and our wishes and needs."

"And the blueberry's wishes and needs," Bella laughed.

"And the blueberry," Jasper smiled. "I'll never treat you as anything less than an equal half of this partnership, Bella."

Bella smiled at her mate as he leaned down to kiss her, and closed her eyes to focus on the tendrils of love for the man in front of her that were growing inside her heart. Jasper inhaled sharply at what she was letting him feel, then sent back his own feelings for her… his happiness and gratitude, his relief and hope, and those same warm tendrils of love that were making themselves known inside of him.

Not quite a declaration of love, but the knowledge that they were both well on their way had them each smiling as they rejoined the rest of their family.

On the ride home, Bella was sitting in the back of their car with Rosalie, who had a beautiful smile on her face.

"Today was so much fun," Rose laughed as she thought about the spill she and Emmett took while sledding that resulted in the two of them tumbling down half the hill. "Why haven't we ever done more stuff like that?"

"Because the fun police would have vetoed it," Jasper answered dryly. "Alice and Carlisle wouldn't have found that kind of thing fun, and Edward would've thought it was beneath him."

"True," Emmett agreed. "Looking back after learning all this shit with those three, but especially Alice and Carlisle, it's easier to see that most of the fun I've had in this life was with you two and Esme. And you, Bella, for those six or so months," he added.

Jasper caught Bella's eye in the rearview mirror and sent her a little bit of curiosity. They'd really gotten their empathic shorthand down so she immediately smiled and nodded her agreement.

"So you guys know I've been back at the house in Montana, and there are two extra bedrooms. Assuming Bella doesn't mind sharing my room, you and Esme are always welcome to come back with us when we leave," Jasper offered.

"I suppose I can put up with you," Bella laughed. "You don't snore and you keep the bed from getting too hot, so yeah, alright."

Jasper smiled and could feel both the hope and the concern in Rosalie and Emmett.

"Are they going to let Emmett and Esme leave?" Rose asked hesitantly. "They still have to deal with the kings on the issue of exposure."

"Oh damn," Bella said as she rolled her eyes at herself and her absentminded brain. "I talked about that with Aro. Given everything else that's happened, they're dropping those charges."

"Then I say hell yes," Emmett smiled. "But it's Rose's decision, too. What do you think, babe?"

"I think hell yes, too," she laughed.

Bella let out a happy sigh. "I'm so relieved. I really wasn't looking forward to saying goodbye to you guys. And it'll be nice to have you and Esme around for the pregnancy."

Rosalie reached over and took her hand. "What happens when the baby comes?" she asked. "The law being what it is, when are they expecting you to be changed? And how does that even work with a human child who's going to be growing up with at least one parent who doesn't age?"

"Jasper and I talked about that with the kings, too, actually. For now they aren't giving me a set time frame that I have be changed by. They're willing to be flexible on that. They are, however, a little less flexible about how and where we raise the baby. When they're really little, it doesn't matter too much, but once they're old enough to notice that our family is a little strange but still too young to understand that they can't say anything about that strangeness, they want us to either keep to somewhere isolated like the house in Montana or come stay at the castle," Bella explained.

Jasper jumped in then. "After that, once they understand the need for secrecy, we have a little more flexibility. Homeschooling will probably be the way we go, but making friends and play groups and stuff aren't off the table, as long as we don't stay somewhere long enough that others notice we're not aging. Pretty similar to the pattern when we were under Carlisle's roof."

"And Aro may want to read them every so often just to be reassured that the secret is kept," Bella added.

"I have to say, the kings are nothing like I thought they'd be," Rosalie said as she shook her head. "The guard, too, for that matter."

"It was a shock to both of us, too," Jasper laughed, then hesitated for a moment before continuing. "There's something y'all should know before you make a firm decision. We're gonna be havin' another couple long-term houseguests. And before I tell you who, let me just say right up front that it's nonnegotiable. It's not open for discussion or debate, so if you don't think you can be polite, then I hate to say it, but you're gonna have to find somewhere else to go. I won't put up with any petty rudeness."

Bella smiled and reached forward to squeeze Jasper's shoulder and let him feel her love and gratitude.

"Well that's not ominous sounding, brother," Rosalie drawled as she rolled her eyes. "Who are these houseguests we're going to have to be so polite to?"

"Two of the Quileute wolves. Paul Lahote and Leah Clearwater," Jasper answered.

"Seriously?" Emmett laughed. "Wait, are those the two that helped protect Bella and her dad?"

Jasper nodded. "They are. And they've been kicked out of both their families and the Reservation for it," he said angrily. "Bunch of conniving fuckin' assholes," he muttered under his breath."

Rosalie and Emmett both nodded as they thought about that. Having their own family ripped apart in the previous week, their ties cut so severely, they could understand Jasper and Bella's desire to give the wolves a home. Given that all of them had become untethered so recently, they both agreed that they would treat the wolves with the kindness and respect they'd treat any other family member with.

Rosalie looked out the window and thought about all the changes in her life recently and all the changes to come. Six vampires, two wolves, one human woman, and one baby. All coexisting together.

Wild.

But maybe a little wonderful, too.

A/N: Thank you all for reading, and for all the follows and favorites. An extra little thank you to everyone taking the time to leave feedback, I always love to know what y'all think:)

~ M. x