"Get on Skype, now!", Carlisle yells over the phone the second I pick up, and disappears.
We hear odd noises as the phone has apparently been thrown on the floor, until eventually Garrett takes over. "Hi there, it's a bit of a madhouse here. Rosalie's water broke and she is now having contractions. Esme and Kate are with her while Carlisle sets up the medical stuff, and Emmett is freaking out. We would like to have a direct line of communication open with you in case anything goes wrong that you can help with remotely.
Now it makes sense. Charlotte has fired up her laptop while we were talking, and we manage to get the call connected. Grainy footage of the Cullen living room appears, in which we can vaguely make out a very pregnant Rosalie waddling around in a wide nightshirt.
Peter quickly climbs on the roof to get the satellite dish into a better position, and as the video sharpens we can also make out the other family members that Garrett had indicated.
"Rose.", Jasper says to draw her attention. "I am so proud of you. You are so very strong. You have waited for this moment longer than any other mother, and I am so excited for you that you only have to wait a little longer to meet your baby." Rosalie starts crying, which she seemed to have been on the verge of anyway.
"And Emmett", he continues, "get your fucking shit together and support your wife."
Emmett's head snaps up and his panic seems to dissipate at least enough for him to think clearly. He moves to Rosalie's side and lets her lean on him as she walks.
"Another contraction coming!", she yells and urgently moves to the couch to let it pass.
"How far apart is that now?", we hear Carlisle yell, presumably from his study.
The chaos continues for hours. Vampires keep running back and forth as if they haven't been preparing for this moment for nine months. Every once in a while one thinks to yell an update at us when they pass by the laptop. I have never seen Carlisle so frazzled before. At one point Rosalie squeezes Emmet's hand so hard that she tears three of his fingers off. He is temporarily kicked out of the delivery room then and keeps us company while Garrett tries to reattach them straight. By that point Rosalie is apparently already pretty far dilated, and expected to give birth before the day is over.
Back at the ranch it is thankfully more quiet. Peter is actually knitting. Kate had tried to teach Charlotte while she was staying here, but the other woman did not have the patience for it. Peter on the other hand turns out to absolutely love it, to our considerable surprise. He quickly came to exceed even Esme's skill level, and thankfully has a preference for more modern designs. His large hands are now rapidly churning out delicate little baby booties.
Meanwhile Charlotte, Jasper and I settle into a ferocious poker tournament. I have racked up quite a debt by the time evening falls and things seem to be speeding up in Washington. There is a great deal of screaming and frantic yelling, but eventually it is over.
Carlisle comes out first, to reassure us that both mother and child are healthy.
"It's a girl!", he says, before disappearing into the kitchen.
"We have a niece.", Jasper murmurs softly, lovingly.
"I know." I hold him tightly. On a rational level neither of us had been truly worried about how the baby would turn out, but life had been throwing us so many curveballs lately that we could not help stressing out anyway.
We get a few more updates. The baby does not behave as a ravaging monster and drinks bloodshakes eagerly. She drinks breast milk as well, which Rosalie turns out to be able to produce a limited amount of. She does not seem to sleep, which we had not anticipated, but makes sense in hindsight as the other vampires do not either. I don't envy Emmett and Rosalie that bit.
An hour or so later the door to Carlisle's office finally opens again and they all come out.
"Iris Rosalie McCarthy.", the new parents say reverently.
This has to be the most adorable baby that ever was. Even I who had never wanted children am able to appreciate that. She is perfect, even when clad in one of Kate's frilly knitted atrocities. Her face closely resembles Rosalie's, but with Emmett's naughty spark in her eyes and a small tuft of his dark hair already on top of her head. The utter contentment exuding from Rosalie makes the picture complete. After nearly a century of yearning she finally has what she wants most and it shows. Emmett too looks like awed, like he can't believe his blessings.
We all wrestle in front of the laptop to get the best view.
"I already love her.", Jasper says. "I am so happy for you, and so relieved that all went well."
"Me too.", I add. "She is perfect."
"Thank you. And I'm glad you like her, because we have something to ask of you.", Rosalie answers. Her voice is a little rough, but still amazingly steady for someone who just birthed a child. She looks towards Emmett.
"Jasper and Bella, do you want to be her godparents?"
Jasper eyes light up immediately, but then he looks at me hesitantly. My position on motherhood is well known after all. When I look at little Iris however, nothing feels more natural than to immediately shout "Of course!".
I can feel relief and gratitude radiating off Jasper, and feel a little ashamed. Did he think I would turn this down? True, I did not want to have a child of my own, but if my two favorite siblings think I am the right person to trust with being a godmother to their daughter I would bloody well do anything that entails and be happy about it.
I squeeze Jasper's hand and lean in to him. His normally not very expressive face is practically split in two by a beaming smile.
Suddenly I am overcome with a yearning to go home to Forks. We have been in Montana for nearly two months now, while I adjusted to my vampire life. I have yet to see Carlisle, Esme, Emmett and Rosalie since completing the change. Christmas passed with little fuss while I re-learned how to button up shirts and use a keyboard.
Jasper recognizes my onslaught of homesickness and amplifies it with his own. The rest seems to feel the same.
"Please come meet our baby!", Rosalie tells us over the still open Skype connection.
We quickly pack our stuff.