A/N: I didn't mean for this to be the last chapter before the epilogue, but when I wrote it the ending came out very ending-ish. Is it too abrupt for this to be the last chapter? Maybe say yes or no in a review and I'll go with whatever has the most votes?

EDITED A/N: I'm adding this after editing, and it does feel too abrupt to me. There will be one more chapter that's Lilly's 1st birthday, and then the epilogue.

As always, thank you for reading and reviewing:)

Awakenings

Bella blew the plaster dust off her husband's face, then very slowly, and very carefully, she leaned down to kiss him. Extraordinarily pleased that she didn't break his face, she pulled back with a brilliant smile.

"I did it!"

"Well done, sweetheart," Jasper laughed. "No broken teeth. How are you feeling?"

"Slightly overwhelmed," she answered immediately. "It's a lot. Like a lot a lot."

"It is," Jasper whispered as he leaned up to give her an Eskimo kiss. "But I have no doubt you'll have it nailed in no time. Thirsty?"

Bella tried to block out the ridiculous amount of information and sensory input flooding her mind and just focus on her throat. Slightly scratchy. "Peckish. I could go for a bite. Or a sip, I guess. Whatever."

"Why don't we go outside and one of the others can heat up some blood for you and bring it out," Jasper suggested. "I'd rather not risk you smelling it for the first time while you're inside and destroying the kitchen to get to it."

"Fair enough," Bella nodded. "You'll stay with me?"

"Of course," he assured her, then waited for her to get up. Then waited some more. Then waited a little bit longer. After about a minute of their staring contest, he laughed a little. "You're going to have to get off me if you want to eat, sweetheart."

"Oh! Right!" Bella laughed and quickly hopped up. "Sorry about that. There's just a lot going on inside my head."

"I know," he nodded as he hauled himself to his feet. He took a second to brush the dust from his clothes, then did the same to Bella's. Feeling her remorse when she looked at the new hole in the wall, he smiled and shrugged a little. "Coulda been a lot worse. We'll have it fixed up in no time."

Esme was waiting in the kitchen when they walked in, a proud smile on her face. "Look at you, Bella! Awake less than five minutes and already holding civilized conversations. And before you beat yourself up too much about the wall, just try to remember all the stories you've heard about Emmett's awakening and newborn period."

Bella nodded, relieved at the reminder. Even with as disoriented as she felt, she was confident she wouldn't cause any Emmett-level of destruction. "Can I hug you?" she asked Esme. "I promise I'll be careful."

"Of course," Esme laughed, standing still so Bella could come to her.

Bella took very slow and careful steps, then very slowly and carefully and gently wrapped her arms around her. 'No crushing, no crushing, no crushing' she chanted to herself the whole time. "Ha! I did it!"

"You did perfectly, darling," Esme assured her with a smile. "Now, why don't you two head out to the garden and I'll get your meal ready. Everyone else is already out there. They thought meeting the new you for the first time would be easier outside. Less overwhelming."

"Oh, okay," Bella agreed. She didn't think 'meeting' her family would be overwhelming, but honestly, what did she know?

Jasper took her hand and led her out the back door. Everyone was sitting in the courtyard, and if Jasper had to guess, it was so they looked less intimidating than a group of five vamps and one wolf standing and staring at her would be.

Bella smiled at her family and pulled on Jasper's hand a little to speed him up. In the blink of an eye she was standing twenty feet away. "Whoa. That'll take some getting used to."

Lilly, seeing her mama, starting laughing and kicking her legs in Peter's lap. "Look who's happy to see her mama up and about," Peter laughed.

Bella stayed where she was, but smiled and waved at her daughter. "Hi, flower. Mama wants to give you a cuddle but I think maybe I should test my hugs on someone else first. Someone less breakable. Nana Esme was a success but I took out a wall trying to hug Daddy."

Seth laughed and stood up. "You can try it out on me first. I probably don't smell great with your new nose but I'm a little less durable than the rest of the family so I'll be a good test for you."

Bella didn't think Seth smelled bad at all. Kinda outdoorsy, like an evergreen forest. Definitely not like food, so that was great. She waved him over to where she was standing so she didn't freak out the rest of the family, who were watching her a little suspiciously. Although it coulda been curiosity rather than suspicion. Whatever, either way, staying where she was would probably freak them out the least.

Seth walked over with no hesitation whatsoever. He trusted his sister completely. When she slowly and carefully wrapped her arms around him, Seth grinned like a lunatic and hugged her back. "Well done, Bella! Not even a single too-tight squeeze."

Bella laughed as she pulled back, thrilled she'd mastered hugging so quickly.

Rosalie slowly stood up and walked over to a tree, then pulled off a few leaves and walked slowly to where Bella was standing. "May I give you a hug?" she asked.

"Yes!" Bella answered immediately and stepped forward to carefully hug her sister. "Thank you for saving me," she whispered. "I know what you gave up in order to do it."

"You're welcome," Rosalie whispered back. "I love you, Bella, and losing you wasn't an option. And to be perfectly honest? I'm glad we have this extra bond between us. Are you angry it was me and not Jasper?" she asked a little nervously.

"Not even a little," Bella immediately reassured her. "I couldn't be any more connected to him than I already am."

"Okay, good. Besides, I still have a mostly perfect record," Rose added with a laugh as she pulled away. "I've still never actually hunted a human and look, my eyes are still gold. I'm happy I got to be your sire, so no feeling bad about it. Now, here. Take these," she said, holding out the leaves.

Bella was a little confused by that but she kept her movements slow and gentle and reached out to pick the leaves up from Rosalie's palm. Once she was holding them, she looked up at Rose. "Now what?"

Rosalie laughed a little and pulled Bella into a full-strength hug. "Now you know how little force to use with humans. They're as delicate to us as those leaves are and you got it right the very first time. I'm so proud of you."

Bella smiled a brilliant, beaming smile at that. Not only was her occasionally difficult to please sister proud of her, but she'd passed the leaf test on her first try. And she hadn't even known there was a leaf test! Maybe Jasper was right and she'd have the whole 'how to be a successful vamp' thing nailed in no time.

"Well done," Jasper said with a smile. He absolutely loved that his wife was feeling so proud of her accomplishments. After all the awakenings he'd seen, he was shocked at how well she was doing. Thrilled, but definitely shocked. He was also ridiculously proud of his twin. He could feel how much pride she took in being the one to change Bella. He knew she could've let Peter do it, he was right there, but he got the impression she was proud that she'd done something that was purely selfless. Well, maybe not purely selfless. She got to keep her sister and had eternal bragging rights that she was the one to save and sire her. That was no small thing.

"Who else can I hug now that you all know I won't break anyone?" Bella laughed.

At that, Emmett, Charlotte, and William all took their turn to get up and hug the newborn. When they were done, Peter stood up with a smiling Lilly in his arms and walked over to where she and Jasper were standing. He passed the baby to her daddy and pulled Bella into a hug.

Jasper bounced his daughter a little to make her laugh and then turned her to face her mama. "Look who it is, flower. You want Mama to kiss that perfect little nose? You missed her kisses, huh?"

Peter stepped back and Bella turned to her daughter. She looked up at Jasper with a little bit of worry. "You're sure it's safe?" she asked.

"As sure as I can be," he nodded. "She's not making you thirsty and you already know how little strength to use. I'll keep holding her at the beginning, though, just to be safe."

Bella nodded and took a deep breath. She could do this. Slowly, carefully, gently. Slowly, carefully, gently. Slowly, carefully, gently. She slowly, carefully, and gently pressed a quick kiss on Lilly's nose, making her daughter gurgle her adorable laugh. She pulled back with a pleased smile. That went well.

"That went— Whoa, what's that smell?" Bella asked as she spun around. Seeing Esme standing there with a huge cup in her hands, Bella immediately locked all her muscles so she didn't lunge for it like she wanted to. She was vaguely aware of Jasper moving Lilly away from her, but only vaguely. Ninety-eight percent of her focus was on what Esme was holding.

"I'll put it down right here for you and you can come get it when you're ready," Esme said as she set the cup down on the low wall by the back door.

Bella waited until Esme scooted out of the way, then flashed over and drank her dinner down in about three gulps. "Yum."

"Would you like more?" Esme asked with a smile.

"Maybe a little? Like just one more? That was about six-thousand times less disgusting than I thought blood would taste."

Esme laughed and nodded as she took the cup from her. "It is good, I agree. I'll heat you some more."

"Thank you," Bella said, remembering to use her manners just before Esme closed the door behind her. "Hey, where's Gianna?" she asked as she walked back over to her family. "Is she still… sleeping? Cooking? Changing? Whatever, still laying down."

"She is," Jasper laughed. "You woke up a few hours before we were expecting you to. She's still got a little bit left to go."

Bella looked around, not quite sure what to do with herself, but fortunately her husband came to her rescue. He handed Lilly off to Peter for a moment and tugged Bella's hand to pull her down in his lap. Then he took Lilly back and carefully set her on Bella's knee, but kept hold of her.

"There," he nodded. "You can have some more up close time with her while I hold her. Just be forewarned, if your thirst spikes or you move too fast, I'm tossing you right on the ground."

"Well that seems unnecessarily violent, Jas," Bella said with a disapproving frown, trying to tamp down her amusement. "Can't you start with a strongly worded warning first?"

"If it was just me in the line of fire, absolutely," he laughed. "But with our five-month old daughter? Not a fuckin' chance."

Bella smiled and nodded. She was glad he was prioritizing Lilly's safety over everything. It's exactly what she would do, too. And for right now, she was the closest thing to a threat. She didn't necessarily feel like a threat, but she understood the worry completely. Knocking her husband straight through a wall just trying to hug him really nailed home the point that she could easily become a danger to her loved ones. She felt more comfortable knowing Jasper was right here and she knew he would do everything in his power to keep everyone safe, but especially Lilly.

With that reassuring internal pep talk out of the way, she got down to more important business and started singing to her daughter.

About two hours later, everyone outside listened as Gianna's heart sped up. Jasper had gone in a little while before to check in with Paul and see how he wanted to handle Gianna's awakening, and he'd said he preferred it to be just the two of them. He knew his family could be inside in a heartbeat if needed, but he wanted Gianna to wake up to only one face. Jasper had completely understood that, so he'd just nodded and said to holler if he wanted any help.

Everyone stayed perfectly still as they listened to Gianna's heart beat its last beat. Lilly had fallen asleep in Jasper's arms, so even she was quiet.

Jasper was laser-focused on the newest newborn's emotions, and smiled at the moment she practically exploded in surprise. She must've opened her eyes.

"Whoa," Gianna whispered, then exploded in even more surprise. "My voice. It didn't sound like that before, did it?"

"No, it's a little more… musical than it was," Paul answered quietly. "Oof!"

"Whoops. Troppo stretto?" Gianna asked.

"Uh… In English?" Paul managed to choke out.

"Sorry. Too tight?" Gianna laughed.

"Little bit."

Everyone outside smiled at the mental image of Gianna hugging her mate with a little too much force. Jasper was relieved that Gianna's most predominant emotion was love. Her thirst was stronger than Bella's on awakening, but her love still outweighed it.

"Where is everyone? Outside? Let's go!" she said excitedly. "Okay, another whoa. I am fast now!"

"You sure are, so careful you don't pull my arm out of the socket," Paul laughed, happy his imprint was still very much herself, even if there were some radical physical changes.

Not even two seconds later, the back door of the house exploded. "Whoops!"

Gianna was standing in the doorway with wide eyes and her hands covering her mouth.

"It's perfectly fine, darling," Esme assured her as she stood up. "Adjusting your strength in the beginning is no easy task. You're doing perfectly," she said, seeing the embarrassment on her face.

"Didn't you notice that hole in the wall?" Bella asked with a smile. "A door's a way better thing to break than a wall."

"They're a piece of cake to replace," Emmett agreed. "And I still occasionally break doors so don't even worry about it. It's perfectly normal."

"Are you thirsty?" Esme asked her. Gianna nodded, but didn't answer, her hands still clasped over her mouth. "Okay, why don't you wait outside while I get you something."

Gianna nodded again and then slowly lowered her hands. "Grazie. I mean, thank you," she corrected. Realizing she was blocking Esme's way into the house, she scooted outside, trying to keep her speed at least somewhat normal. Easier said than done, but she thought she did alright.

Charlotte could see how nervous Gianna was that she'd do something wrong, so she very slowly stood up, always keeping her hands where the skittish newborn could see them.

Gianna tensed for a moment, because was that a… bite mark on Charlotte's jaw? Then she remembered the story of how she got her scars and her sadness over that chased away her worries. She also remembered that Charlotte was the one who saved her, so she very slowly took a few steps forward. Seeing that she was walking normally, she smiled and nodded to herself. She could do this.

"Thank you, Charlotte. For saving me," she said quietly as she came to a stop in front of her.

"You're welcome," Charlotte smiled. "Would you be uncomfortable if I hugged you?"

"No, I'd like that very much," Gianna answered immediately.

Everyone watching was proud of how well the newest newborn was doing, and that she wasn't hugging Charlotte with too much strength.

"Well done, Gianna," Rosalie praised her when they stepped apart. "And I didn't think it was possible for you to be any more beautiful than you already were, but look at you!"

Gianna smiled a little shyly. "Thank you, Rose."

Before anyone else could greet her, Esme walked outside with a steaming mug. Gianna was definitely less restrained than Bella when she smelled it, but Esme stayed perfectly still and Gianna managed to take the cup gently enough to not hurt Esme or spill any blood. The pride in the group skyrocketed.

"More please?"

"Of course," Esme nodded and carefully took the mug back inside for a refill. Gianna stayed motionless near the back door until she came back, then took the mug with the same gentleness as the first time. "You're doing so well, and we're all so proud of you," Esme said when she finished drinking and handed it back.

"Thank you," Gianna said with a pleased smile, then turned back to her family. Her eyes widened for a second as she saw Jasper for the first time with her new eyes, but she immediately squashed her worry and sadness. "Thank you, Jasper, for not making me drink a deer to begin with."

"You're welcome," Jasper laughed. "It's your decision what diet to follow, not mine."

After that, Gianna and Paul walked to the courtyard area and hugged their family hello. The only exception was Jasper, who was holding a sleeping Lilly.

As they sat around, talking and laughing just like any other evening, Jasper just shook his head every few minutes, completely blown away by how fuckin' calm things were.

"Wild, right?" Peter whispered from beside him.

Jasper nodded his agreement. "I see why you said we wouldn't believe it until we saw it, because you're right. I expected less chaos because of what you knew, but I still expected some chaos. This is…"

"A little spooky?" William offered when Jasper trailed off.

"Yeah," Jasper laughed. "It's unlike anything I ever imagined an awakening could be."

"Seriously? No fucking way!" Bella laughed.

Jasper tuned back into the conversation to realize that Emmett had just told Bella she could easily beat him if they arm-wrestled.

"Yes fucking way," Emmett nodded. "I'm like ninety-eight percent sure that you and Gianna are both stronger than me right now."

"Okay, before anyone moves, let me get out of the way please," Jasper laughed as he nudged Bella out of his lap so he could stand up. He didn't want Lilly anywhere near newborn strength challenges.

Emmett looked around but didn't see anything that would be good for arm-wrestling, so he just shrugged and stood up. He walked a little ways away from the house, then turned to face it. The villa was on a good chunk of property, so there was nothing behind him but lawn and trees.

Bella watched him curiously. "What are you doing, Em?"

"Proving my point. Come knock me down."

"What?" Bella laughed.

"Come knock me down," he repeated and gestured for her to come closer. "Push on my chest and see if you can move me."

Bella thought that was a little crazy. There was no way she could budge Emmett. Was he planning to do something to embarrass her? Because that seemed way more like something her big brother would do. She looked at her husband and let him feel her uncertainty, but he just smiled and sent her some reassurance. Then she looked at Rosalie, but she was smiling also. Okay then.

Bella walked over to stand in front of Emmett and put her hands on his chest. Feeling and seeing his muscles from that close, she snorted a laugh. Sure she could move him. Thinking they were all a little crazy, Bella pushed with almost all her strength.

And then stood there with her mouth hanging open in shock, because holy shit, Emmett flew away from her laughing his head off and landed with a bounce or two about thirty feet away.

"Holy shit," Bella breathed. She was so fucking surprised that she didn't even apologize or ask if he was okay.

"My turn!" Gianna shouted and ran over.

Emmett hauled himself to his feet, still laughing, and dusted off his clothes before walking back to his sisters. "Okay, give it your best shot."

Gianna put her hands on Emmett's chest and pushed with all of her considerable strength, and then squealed with excitement when he went flying back. Ha! She got even more distance than Bella did!

After that the property looked more like Jasper had expected it to with two newborns, with vamps and wolves flying all over the place. Unlike what he'd expected, the only growls were playful growls, and instead of angry shouting there was just a lot laughter.

Jasper just held his daughter and watched with a smile as his family cut loose and had a good time, grateful beyond measure that the events of three days prior hadn't damaged any relationships in the family. If anything, it only seemed to strengthen their bonds.

They'd already had their fair share of nightmares that had turned out to be blessings in disguise, so maybe he shouldn't have been so surprised by that.

By New Year's Eve, everyone had adjusted to their new normal with considerable ease. Peter was right that Bella and Gianna staying together meant that Gianna's adjustment was easier, and she often sought out her fellow newborn when she felt her emotions were a little too unsteady for comfort.

Jasper had asked Gianna about the emotions he felt from her when Angela said she believed this was meant to happen, and she admitted that she'd never stopped wanting to be changed. After she met Paul, it was less about specifically being a vamp and more about wanting to be immortal so she could always stay with her never-aging soulmate. The only reason she'd never brought it up was because she was afraid Paul wouldn't be able to accept her as a vamp. While she definitely wished the circumstances were a little less unexpected and slightly less traumatic, she was glad she'd been changed.

Bella might as well have been a decades-old vamp with her control. Towards the end of her second day, she was confident enough that she finally held Lilly on her own. She had Jasper stay an inch away just to be safe, but she'd tested her strength on just about anything she could think of beforehand - leaves, lightbulbs, fruits and vegetables, anything delicate that was handy.

A few members of the Volturi had stopped over in the two days after Bella and Gianna awoke, but only after Paul agreed. He didn't blame the kings, or Chelsea or Jane or any of the other guards, for what happened, only the vamp who'd attacked Gianna. When Aro came by with Jane, he informed them that the vamp and his mate had hightailed it out of Italy as soon as they realized what he'd done. The couple lived in Amsterdam, so it was unlikely they'd ever run into each other again.

Emily came with Marcus and was thrilled that Paul and his imprint were just as happy together as they'd been before December 26th. She'd arranged to have some testing done in a Volturi lab using Gianna's venom and Paul's blood, and was ecstatic to give them the news that they could continue being intimate with no fear of either being poisoned. The speed with which Paul dragged Gianna away was impressive to all the vamps.

Bella, for her part, had never thought she was missing anything when it came to her own intimate life with her husband. Then she woke up as a vampire and realized how much Jasper had to temper his strength while she was human and her appreciation for her mate skyrocketed.

"I could never have sex with a tomato," she panted as she collapsed on her husband's chest.

A sharp crack of laughter escaped Jasper before he could stop it. "Uh, what?"

"Yeah, sorry, that sounds weird as I play it back," she laughed. "I just mean I don't think I could have sex with a human as a vamp. Humans are so fucking fragile compared to us. How'd you manage not to kill me?"

Jasper smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear. "I love you more than just about anything in this world. Literally fucking you to death would've killed me."

"Oh my god, can you imagine how mercilessly the family would've teased you if you'd fucked me to death?" she laughed.

"Nah, I'd have had one of them kill me before they got to the teasing stage," Jasper said with a smile.

"I'm more than happy to kill you if you don't get up and PUT SOME DAMN CLOTHES ON SO I CAN LIGHT THESE FUCKING FIREWORKS!" Emmett shouted, his impatience finally getting the better of him.

Jasper laughed and looked at the clock to see it was 11:56. "Come on, sweetheart. I know we rang in the new year with a bang last year, but we've promised Emmett we'd ring this new year in with an altogether different kind of bang."

Bella pouted a little but hopped up and flashed to the bathroom to take a shower at vamp speed. As soon as she stepped back into the bedroom, Jasper tossed some clothes at her.

"What about Lilly?" Bella asked as she carefully pulled on a pair of leggings. "Oh! I didn't even think about this when I packed."

Jasper smiled as he watched her pull her favorite soft sweater over her head. It was the outfit she'd worn the previous New Year's Eve at the party their Volturi friends threw for them. "She's already awake," he said as he pulled his own clothes on. "She's in her crib and quiet, but she's awake."

"Can she come outside with us?" Bella asked. "If the noise is going to scare her, I'd rather she already be with us, instead of alone in her crib."

"I don't think that's a thing you have to ask me, Bella," Jasper reminded her with a smile.

"Right," Bella laughed. Being such a new vamp, she asked before she did just about anything. Jasper had to keep reminding her that she was Lilly's mother and therefore didn't have to run anything by him. He preferred to be close if she was going to hold her, but that was about it. "Maybe she'll like the colors enough that the noise won't scare her."

Jasper held the door open for her, then took her hand. "She lives with this loud ass vampy family, and loud thundery noises haven't scared her yet," he pointed out.

"True," Bella laughed. "Will you hold her? I don't want to get startled or excited and squish her by accident."

Jasper gave her a little bit of a weird look. "When you put it that way, yes, I'll fuckin' hold her."

Bella laughed again. "Sorry, I really have a way with words tonight, huh?"

"COME ON, GODDAMN IT!"

"Oh boy," Jasper laughed as he picked Lilly up out of her crib. "Uncle Emmett's a little bit excited and a little bit annoyed with me and Mama. Should we go outside before he lights one of those firecrackers and tosses it into our bedroom?"

Lilly laughed and kicked her feet, letting out a huge string of both baby babble and baby drool.

"Cute, kid. Keep doin' that for like twenty more years so I don't have to worry about any guys or gals trying to date you and you'll make me a very happy man," Jasper laughed as he wiped her drool and kissed her nose.

"Finally," Emmett sighed when they walked outside. He looked at his watch for just the right moment before he lit the firecracker with the perfect length tail. "Ten!"

"Nine!" everyone shouted.

"Eight!"

"Seven!"

"Six!"

"Five!"

"Four!"

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

Brilliant reds and purples erupted in the midnight sky above them as Jasper pulled his wife into his arms. "Happy New Year, sweetheart," he whispered as he kissed the woman who somehow made each and every one of his days feel like a brand new beginning.