A/N: Thank you for reading and reviewing:)

An Averted Catastrophe

As April gave way to May, the whole huge Whitlock clan was reunited in Montana. The only exception was Angela, who still had a month of school left. She'd finally decided that she would move into the house with the wolves and take online classes. She'd told her parents about her relationship with Leah, and just as everyone had hoped, they'd been happy for their daughter. The sparkle in Angela's eyes was clear for everyone to see and her whole family was completely smitten by the woman who'd put it there.

Brady had become a wolf a week after Bella and Jasper got engaged, and he was adjusting just as well as Collin had. The tribe threw both boys a party to honor them. All of the Whitlocks were invited, but Bella wasn't up for making another trip so soon, so Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett had gone to represent their family.

Bella and Jasper had decided on a date late in June for the wedding. Angela was planning her move for mid-June, so they wanted her to have a little time to get settled in her new life. Collin and Brady would also be on their summer break so they'd be able to attend, along with both sets of parents. Emily was planning to travel to Montana with them.

Some of their Italian friends would make the trip also. Because Chelsea was already planning to be in Montana for Lilly's world debut, she was coming for the wedding and then staying until after the birth. Bella and Jasper had been a little surprised all three kings were planning to attend, but were thrilled by the news. They'd been even more thrilled when Marcus asked if he could officiate. Both had agreed immediately with huge smiles. Along with Chelsea and the three kings, Jane, Demetri, Felix, Jeremiah, Gianna, and Afton would be coming also.

So their small wedding now had a guest list of twenty-six.

Because Jasper and Bella were both about as casual as you can get, they'd decided on a simple ceremony outside. Although outside was really the only place it would work. Their house was pretty big, but fitting twenty-five people in it, and the bride and groom, would be a little too crowded.

After a whole lot of thinking went into who could stay where, because seven of their guests still required sleep, the vamps decided to build another house on the property. Because it had to be a pretty quick job, it wouldn't be a log cabin like the others, but Esme managed to design something that didn't stick out like a sore thumb. Bella found it wild that building an entire house was as casually thrown out as painting a few rooms, but if she knew anything about her vamps, it was that when they pulled together they could pull pretty much anything off.

Having come to terms with the fact that construction and the labor part of DIY weren't her thing, Bella had thrown herself into the 'picking out process' as she called it. She and Esme spent multiple days at the huge hardware and lumber store in town, and Bella had chosen everything from floors to showers. She'd loved every second of it, and had been thrilled that everyone else loved her choices.

"Told you you had a good eye," Rosalie had said with a smile as she hugged Bella.

Bella laughed and did a quick squeal of happiness. Everything was coming together.

"Have I told you lately how much I love your gift?" Bella asked as she walked in the kitchen one morning towards the end of May.

"Just my gift, huh?" Jasper laughed as he tipped her omelette onto a plate.

"I mean, you're alright, so I suppose I'll keep you, but it's mostly your gift that has me sticking around."

Bella probably should've seen it coming - he did tend to retaliate with water for some reason - but she still squealed in surprise when Jasper turned on the spray nozzle of the sink in her face.

"Not cool, Whitlock," she laughed as she wiped her eyes. In a surge of speed that honestly impressed Jasper, she grabbed her glass of juice off the counter and threw the contents in his face. She was fast, but not vamp fast, so Jasper could've easily dodged it if he'd wanted to. Instead, he'd stood still and let her give him a face full of orange juice. "That's why you're the best mate a human could ask for," she laughed. "Thanks for holding still so I didn't miss."

"You earned it, those were some lightning quick moves there," he laughed as he grabbed a dish towel to clean the floor. "Go put on a dry shirt and I'll have your smoothie ready by the time you come back down."

Because she was a sweetheart of a girl, she brought Jasper a clean shirt to change into.

"So why do you love my gift so much this morning?" he asked as he joined her at the table.

"You make it possible for me to get a full night's sleep even when I can't find a comfortable position and Lilly uses my bladder as her pillow. Plus you keep the bed from getting too hot when you lay with me," she explained. "This is delicious, by the way. Thank you," she added.

Bella was just about eight weeks from her due date and was finding sleep more and more difficult. If Jasper didn't ease her into slumber every night, she tossed and turned for a good hour before finally drifting off.

"You're welcome," Jasper smiled. "Both for the sleep and the breakfast."

"What did you do different with the smoothie?" Bella asked after she took a huge gulp, then another.

Jasper smiled at her and leaned over to wipe the corner of her mouth. "Added pear. Do you like it?"

"I do," she nodded. "Very much. The texture's a little different but I like it. Weird how spinach works so well with fruit."

"It's all weird to me, sweetheart," Jasper laughed.

"Considering you drink blood on the regular, I'm not sure you have the grounds to criticize her food, Jas," Leah laughed as she walked in. "Can I have what's left in the blender, Bella?"

"Of course," Bella nodded. "Help yourself. I'm not going to be able to finish this, you want half the omelette and a piece of my toast?"

"Like you have to ask," Leah smiled as she grabbed a plate and fork and sat down to have breakfast with two of her favorite people, even if one didn't eat.

Which, honestly, thank god. She didn't want to see the shade of green Bella's face would turn if Jasper rocked up to the table with a glass of bear blood or whatever.

"Either of you feel like going into town with me?" Leah asked as she gathered their dishes and took them to the sink to wash. "I made a deal with myself that if I successfully put up drywall in one full room I could treat myself to a few new books."

"Which room did you do?" Bella asked.

"The smallest," Leah laughed. "That little laundry room tucked in the back corner."

"Smart," Jasper nodded. "Congratulations on accomplishing your goal. I'm gonna stick around here and get some shit done, but I appreciate the invite."

Bella agreed to go but had to run up to pee for the sixty-third time since she'd woken up so she left Jasper and Leah to finish the breakfast clean-up. By the time she got back downstairs, Leah was closing the dishwasher and Jasper was filling up her water bottle, which he then tucked into her bag.

"I put some almonds and an apple in there also, just in case you're gone longer than you plan and you get peckish," he told her as he handed it to her and pulled her into a hug.

"Thank you," she murmured against his lips when he leaned down to kiss her.

"Do you mind if we take your truck?" Leah asked. "I was planning to take the Jeep but your truck's blocking it in."

Sadly, Bella's truck had given up the ghost shortly before the wolves had come back to Montana. Rosalie looked it over when they arrived for Collin and Brady's party, but even with her considerable talent, she couldn't save it without basically rebuilding the entire engine block. It was currently in the garage of the old Cullen house under a tarp.

Jasper grabbed his keys and tossed them to her. "One of these days you're gonna have to decide on a car."

"I know," Leah grumbled. She wanted a car, she did, but narrowing her options down was harder than she'd thought it would be. "There's too many cars on the fucking market. How the hell do I pick one?"

They'd had this particular conversation more times than Bella could count. "You wanna drive over to Bozeman and test drive the Subaru you like?" she offered.

Leah looked at the clock as she debated it. "Do you care if we're gone that long?" she asked Jasper, who gave her a little bit of a weird look.

"Why would I have a problem with that? You're both grown ass women fully capable of both making your own decisions and taking care of yourselves."

"Right," Leah laughed. Sometimes she forgot Jasper wasn't an overbearing dick like Sam was. Or Edward, for that matter. Jasper never tried to control Bella in any way.

After Bella gave Jasper one last kiss, they said their goodbyes and hit the road.

Jasper had just pulled a load of clothes out of the dryer when he felt Peter running towards the house in a panic. Before he could find out what was wrong, his phone rang. Looking at the display, he saw Leah's name and his world came to a standstill.

"What's wrong?" he answered, just as Peter came through the door.

"She's fine," Leah said quickly. "I promise you she's fine, but we got in a car accident. An SUV ran a stop sign."

"Are you fine?" he asked as he grabbed Emmett's Jeep keys and flew out the door, Peter right behind him.

"Mostly. They hit my side so I'm a little banged up," she admitted. "I can't risk a hospital so we convinced the guy we were okay and sent him on his way. He was more relieved than anything, I think, because it meant no police being involved. I can't explain a broken arm that heals in an hour."

"Motherfucker," Jasper swore as he tore out of the driveway. "Your arm's broken? What else?"

Leah hesitated a second. "Maybe my collarbone."

"Some asshole hit you so hard he broke your arm and your collarbone?" Jasper said through gritted teeth.

"Yes, but I'll be fine in no time, you know that," she reminded him. "I think you should see if the Clinic can get Bella in for a scan or something. She says she's fine, and she doesn't appear to be injured - she's actually eerily calm, to tell you the truth - but better safe than sorry, right?"

Peter immediately whipped out his phone and called Bella's doctor at the Women's Clinic.

"Yeah, Peter's calling now. Where are y'all?"

"On the far side of Livingston, kinda near that campground. You know where I'm talking about? We're about half a mile down the road from there."

"Alright, we'll be there in less than twenty minutes. Can I speak to Bella?"

There was a rustling on the line as Leah handed her the phone. "I'm fine," she said right away.

"Does anything hurt?"

"No, not really. I knocked my shoulder against the window but it doesn't hurt much. Definitely no broken bones, not even cuts or scrapes," she reassured him. "Did Peter reach the doctor?"

"Yeah, hang on," Jasper sighed and listened in on his brother's conversation. "She said she'll see you as soon as we can get you there. We're about fifteen minutes out, maybe less. Are you guys pulled off the road?"

"We are. Leah's a little nervous a cop might drive by and see the truck's all bashed in. If that happens, I'm not sure how we avoid having her taken to the hospital. She's very clearly in pain," Bella said worriedly.

Jasper thought on it a second. They couldn't risk Leah being forced to go to a hospital. Even if her bones didn't heal as quickly as they did, her body temperature was ten degrees higher than a human's.

"Is the truck able to be driven?" Peter asked.

"Do you know if the truck'll start?" Jasper asked. "Wait! Do y'all smell gasoline? You know what, hang on a sec, sweetheart. Damn the fuckin' sun. Peter, do you know if I have a clear shot from here?"

"All I can tell you is it's not a disaster if you run," Peter said after a few seconds. "My best answer is run like the fuckin' wind. At best, you're all clear, and at worst, you're a glittery blur that confuses the hell out of a few people who make appointments with an eye doctor."

Jasper immediately pulled off the road. "I'm gonna run, sweetheart. It'll be faster."

"Okay, be safe."

Jasper shook his head and smiled. "I'm pretty indestructible, Bella, I'm a little more worried about the two of you," he said, then covered the phone and looked at Peter. "Meet me at the campground. Either the truck is safe to start and I'll drive it there, or it's not and I'll carry them one at a time."

Peter nodded as Jasper hopped out, then climbed into the driver's seat and pulled back on the road.

"You with me?" Jasper asked as he took off as fast as he could.

"Yeah, I'm with you," Bella assured him. "Can you maybe stay on the phone with me, though?"

"Of course," he said softly as he pushed himself as hard as he could. Bella was stronger than most but he knew she was scared. She hated seeing her loved ones in pain, and Leah was likely in considerable pain, and there was always the fear that something could be wrong with Lilly even though everything on the outside looked perfectly fine.

It didn't take Jasper longer than three minutes to get there, but those three minutes felt like a fuckin' lifetime to him.

When he saw the truck, a low growl rolled out of him. The entire driver's side door was caved in. Only the fact that the window was down saved the girls from being covered in shattered glass. He skidded to a stop next to Bella's door and very carefully opened it. Before he did anything else, he bent down so his ear was against her stomach. Hearing that Lilly's heartbeat was the same as it always was, he quickly reassured his worried mate.

"Her heartbeat is normal and my best guess is that if she was in distress, it would either be faster or slower, depending on the problem."

Bella immediately started crying tears of relief.

Jasper gently kissed her forehead and looked at Leah. "Holy fuckin' shit," he breathed. Leah wasn't just 'banged up' she looked battered and broken. And a little green. "How are you conscious?"

"I'm not sure," she answered shakily, a little surprised herself. "I think my worry about getting caught and my worry for Bella kept me awake."

"How the hell do we even move you without causing you more agony?"

"I can move," Leah assured him. "Just not that fast and not that far just yet."

"Okay, uh…" Jasper pushed both his senses and his gift as far as he could, and was relieved to find they were on a relatively deserted stretch of road. He kissed Bella's forehead again, just for his own reassurance, then gently closed her door and walked around to Leah's side. Looking it over, he nodded. "This is gonna be loud for a second, I apologize," he said, then carefully pulled the door clear off and set it in the bed of the truck. After giving the undercarriage a careful look, he was confident he could turn on the ignition without all three of them going up in a ball of flames.

"Thank god Rosalie is as obsessive as she is," Jasper said. "It's impossible to live with the woman and remain completely ignorant about cars. Leah, hold as still as you can. I'm gonna reach in and start the truck, but try not to move."

Leah nodded, so Jasper leaned in and turned the key, then stepped on the still intact running board with his left foot, while reaching his right leg in to control the gas and brake. Leah had been shoved over enough by the impact that he wasn't at risk of hurting her more. He had just enough room to control the pedals and steering wheel without hitting her.

"Bella, sweetheart, can you put it in drive for me?"

Bella quickly nodded and shifted the truck to drive. Fortunately it was an automatic. He could have just pushed it but he had less control that way and didn't want to risk Leah getting bumped around more than necessary.

As slowly and carefully as he could, he coaxed the truck forward and steered them towards the campground to meet Peter. The road was a little uneven, and he didn't miss Leah gritting her teeth and trying to keep her upper body still.

"I'm so sorry, Leah," he said softly. "We'll be there in fifteen seconds and then I promise you won't have to move again until you're in less pain."

"I'm okay," she managed to say through her tight jaw.

Bella just kept her hand on Leah's knee, afraid to move it even an inch and risk causing her more pain, but also wanting her to have a comforting touch somewhere.

Rounding the last bend into the shaded and empty parking area, Jasper brought the truck to a slow stop. Bella shifted back to park and then turned off the ignition.

Now that they were somewhere far less likely to be seen, Jasper took the opportunity to check over as much of Bella as he could. Aside from what would likely be a pretty spectacular bruise on her right shoulder, she was in surprisingly good shape. She was a little bit sore where the seatbelt had tightened, but that was all. She even lifted her shirt without a moment's hesitation so he could check her whole stomach and chest. And while the girl Jasper met in Forks would've insisted she was fine even as her limbs fell off, Bella being pregnant meant she was completely honest about every ache and pain and twinge.

"Will you maybe listen to Lilly's heartbeat again?" she asked worriedly once Jasper was convinced she'd be okay.

"Of course," he agreed quickly. "Leah, do you want me to put you to sleep while we wait? Would that help?" he asked as he knelt beside Bella's open door.

"It's not dangerous?" she asked a little uncertainly.

"No," Jasper assured her. "It's not a drug so it won't mess with you heart rate or your breathing. If you don't want me to put you all the way to sleep, I can just relax you. Whatever you want," he said as he put his ear above where his Lilly was growing.

Her heart sounded just the same and he could hear all the typical noises he'd become used to. He was certainly no doctor, but nothing he was hearing or feeling made him overly alarmed. He knew none of them would be able to relax completely until Bella saw the doctor, but they were as reassured as they could be for now.

Before Leah gave him an answer, Peter pulled in next to them. "What the fuck?" he growled when he saw the damage to the truck, then growled a little louder when he saw the damage to Leah. "And the dude saw what condition you were in and drove away?"

"Don't worry, I got his license plate," Bella said.

"Good girl," Peter smiled. "How are you? And how's Lilly?" he asked.

Jasper caught Peter up to speed and then looked at Leah. "Alright, Leah, how do you want to do this? You and Peter can hang out a while until you feel ready to move, or we can try to get you in the Jeep as smoothly as possible."

"Jeep," she said immediately. "Even after my bones heal, I'm not sure what phasing would do. I'd rather not risk it."

"Good thinking," Peter agreed as he opened the back door of the Jeep. "Bella, let's get you in the back. The front'll be easier for Leah."

Jasper carefully helped Bella out of the truck, watching closely for any wincing or flare of discomfort, but she was steady and her emotions didn't change. Once she was settled in the back with her seatbelt on, he moved the front seat as far back as he could while still making sure Bella was comfortable. He wished Esme's SUV had been available, it would've made the whole thing much easier. After a little bit of debate on how best to proceed, Peter took his shirt off and made a sling to keep Leah's arm in the right position, making sure it was completely secure, and then Jasper gently nudged her to sleep.

Peter very slowly, and very carefully, lifted her from the truck as Jasper kept her body as supported as possible. Between the two of them, they eventually got her settled in the passenger seat.

"What do you wanna do about the truck?" Peter asked.

Jasper eyed it for a minute. "I don't know. Normally I'd say light it up but it's been so dry this year that I'm not sure we should risk it."

"I'll come back out with Char and we'll strip it so it can't be traced back to us," Peter offered. "For now, let's get y'all to the doctor."

Jasper thanked him and climbed in the backseat beside Bella, who was cradling her Lilly-bump and trying to keep her worry from spilling over. Jasper scooted to the middle and wrapped his arm around her, gently covering her sore shoulder with his hand.

Immediately, she let out a sigh of relief. "You're better than an ice pack. I wish I'd thought to ask you to do that before now," she laughed.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as he kissed her temple, feeling like he'd failed on the mate front. "That was a lot to deal with in a very short span of time."

Bella frowned feeling his regret. "I didn't say that to make you feel bad, hon. I know we had to do everything in the order we did. You checked Lilly first, that's all that matters to me. Getting Leah somewhere safe, with minimal extra pain, so we didn't have to panic about anyone forcing her to a hospital was more important than anything after that."

Jasper smiled as her rested his head on hers. "Have I told you yet today that I love you?"

"Only four times, which is basically none at all," she huffed playfully.

"My apologies. Definitely failin' on the mate front all around today, huh?" Jasper smiled. "But I do love you, Bella. So much."

Bella closed her eyes and focused on letting Jasper feel all her love, and his lips tipped up in a smile.

When they pulled into the parking lot of the Women's Clinic, a familiar and very welcome face was waiting for them by the door.

"Why don't you take her home," Jasper said to Peter as he nodded at the sleeping wolf. Feeling Peter's hesitation, he was quick to reassure him. "We'll call you as soon as we know anything, I promise. But Leah should be in a comfortable bed."

"Yeah, alright," Peter nodded. "Promise you'll call?"

"The moment we know anything," Jasper promised as he hopped out and walked around to help Bella out. "She'll probably wake up in about five minutes. I'll keep her under from here as long as I can feel her."

Esme quickly walked over to the Jeep, grateful for a well-timed cloud. "Are you alright, darling?" she asked Bella.

"I am," Bella sniffled, her pregnancy hormones turning her relief that Esme had come to hold her hand into tears. "Thanks for coming. How did you know?"

"Peter called. I was on my way home from that bakery you like so I just turned around and came straight here. Good news is that I've got your favorite cupcakes for you and Leah's favorite cake, so at least you'll have a treat at the end of all this mess," she said with a smile. She looked up to thank Peter and gasped when she saw Leah. "Oh my goodness. And the man just drove away?" Esme asked in astonishment.

Jasper laughed as he waved goodbye to Peter and nudged the women towards the door before they lost their cloud cover. "Don't worry, Bella got his license plate."

Esme nodded sharply. "Good. I hadn't realized it was as bad as that."

"Leah being a wolf was a real blessing in this scenario," Jasper nodded. "Thank god you weren't driving," he said to Bella as he ushered her inside and to the desk.

"I almost was," she said quietly, wiping away a few more tears. "Leah handed me the keys when we walked outside but I changed my mind at the last second."

Jasper squeezed his eyes shut and hugged her as tight as he could without hurting her, sending his heartfelt gratitude to every deity he could think of. If Bella had been in the driver's seat, the damage likely would've been catastrophic.

And the addition of a single extra gene in Leah's ancestral line was all that stood between her and a different Whitlock catastrophe. Her increased resilience to injury and quick healing time saved her from a far worse fate.

The doctor brought Bella straight back to an exam room and did a quick check of her before beginning the ultrasound. When Lilly's strong heartbeat echoed around the room, all three Whitlocks let out the breath they'd been holding. A few minutes later, three pairs of eyes welled up with grateful tears when the doctor gave them the welcome news that - aside from a badly bruised shoulder - mother and baby were perfectly healthy.