My Mate Saga (Twilight Fan Fiction)

Chapter Twenty-Five

  Edward had paced an actual depression into the ground outside his den, his copper hair had been pulled into disarray and the low whines escaping his throat would have been shockingly embarrassing if he had been aware he was making them.

As was custom, he and the other males had been expelled from the den once Esme had confirmed that Bella had begun to go into labor. It had taken both of his brothers to pull him from her side but his mother wouldn't compromise on his involvement. It went against a male's every instinct to watch his mate in pain and do nothing to sooth it. He being allowed to stay in the room would have been a disaster.

As it was, he could hear every single one of Bella's small cries and each felt like a hole being ripped into his chest. She was doing so well, such a strong little thing and although her sounds voiced obvious discomfort, there was none of the atrocious stretching and cursing that had occurred when Edward waited outside with Jasper during Charlotte's birth.

All of the coven's females, and her mother, were tending to her, whispering words of encouragement that even calmed Edward a little as he listened in. Esme was coaching her flawlessly and Edward knew she was in good hands. His mother had birthed three babes herself and had aided Alice during the birth of her first grandchild.

Bella panted with another contraction and both Edward and Jake cried out right along with her from the outside of the den. Carlisle choked back a chuckle and Edward gave him a searing scowl. He was surrounded by the Cullen males and Charlie, though he wasn't sure if they were there to offer their support or to keep him from darting into the room, as he had tried to several times. Emmett and Charlie playing with Phil, trying to distract the concern brother from his howling sister inside.

"Daddy, is Belly okay?" The five year old vampire asked, curiosity shining in his eyes reddish gold eyes. Ever since Emmett had picked up the Swans, he has introduced them to the new and safe diet of animals.

"I can't take this," Edward groaned, his face in his hands as he leaned the weight of his weary body on the rock of the cave's exterior, "I can't stay out here while she's in so much pain. This is torture."

"Well maybe you should have thought about that before you put your hands on my baby girl, boy," Charlie growled from his spot several yards away.

Under normal circumstances Edward would have been able to control himself better around his mate's father but he had barely a shred of sanity left and turned on Charlie with bared teeth, "I'm nearly 150 years old, boy," he snapped, "And if it wasn't for me, 'your' baby girl would be rotting in a human confinement."

Charlie's body went rigid and he opened his mouth to respond before Carlisle stepped boldly between the two, "Gentlemen, this is neither the time nor the place for this conversation. Everyone's on wits end and you are both the most important males in Bella's life. She needs your full support."

Edward hissed, Carlisle was always entirely too fair and diplomatic. He doubted he'd ever have the class and calm of his mentor but it was something he'd continue to strive for, to be the best mate and sire he could for Bella and their children. He nodded remorsefully in Charlie's direction, "I was out of line. I apologize, sir."

The male, who looked more like his Bella than he had originally gave him credit for, gave Edward a slightly guilty smile, the first time he had done so since he'd walked in during their coupling. "Right, I shouldn't be so hard on you," Charlie admitted gruffly.

There was a small, pained cry from within the den and the males could hear the females scurry around in preparation. Esme's soft voice was comforting but firm and commanding, "Okay dear, this baby's ready when you are. Let's try pushing next time you feel pressure."

Edward's body was singing with anticipation and fear. This was it. His son was coming. He was going to be a father in seconds. He suddenly felt extremely unsteady on his feet.

"Easy there, buddy!" Jasper chuckled as Edward swayed ominously. "Alice was angrier than a grizzly when she was birthing Char. Bella's been a saint this whole time. You have no idea how lucky you are."

Emmett scoffed from where he was tossing a ball to Phil, "Just wait till my Rose gives birth, now that's a disaster waiting to happen."

The redhead nodded with a nervous gulp. "Luck had very little to do with it, brother. My Bella's always been an angel. I wouldn't have expected this to be any different."

As if she was out to prove him wrong in the same breath Bella started sobbing at the top of her lungs. "Oh God! Oh God is hurts so badly, mom!"

Edward had taken three steps towards his den before he even realized he'd moved, desperate to get to his female. Carlisle and Jasper pushed him back by his shoulders while Peter struggled to restrain the snapping wolf that was frantically trying to get to his beloved master.

"You've got this, dear. I can already see the poor child has my son's hopeless hair! Just a few more pushes," Esme urged. Edward choked with emotion. His son had his hair!

The more forceful cries of pain didn't continue long because not five minutes later the raspy wailing of a newborn infant broke through the air and a strange, awed silence was held both inside and out of the den.

Edward knew the exact moment the child, his child, was handed over to its mother because Bella breathed out a broken gasp, "Oh my."

"Oh Bella! Sweetheart, that's the most beautiful baby I've ever seen!" Esme's voice declared. Alice, Charlotte, and even Emmett all gasped at their mother's statement. Edward beamed with pride; he already knew his son had to be more beautiful than he as a child. The baby was half of Bella and she was as close to flawless as it was possible to be.

"Congratulations, son," Carlisle distracted Edward by pulling him into a fatherly embrace. The other males immediately followed suit, clapping him on the back and cheering his good fortune. Even Charlie gave him an only slightly awkward celebratory one-armed hug. Edward could hear the den mothers flutter into action all at once, cooing and fussing and talking over one another as they praised Bella's hard work. He knew he wouldn't be allowed in until the child was cleaned and dressed so he grinned hugely and enjoyed his brothers' admiration.

It was minutes later, when he heard a new round of highly unanticipated screams did Edward's rapture turn to panic so quickly that he felt as though the world was coming down around him. Bella was crying out in pain again and the child was already out. Something was terribly wrong.

The stolen blood drained from his face as he looked to his father for explanation. He received no reassurance when he studied the expressions of his present company. They were all glancing into the den entrance with various degrees of worry and distress.

Edward yelped, "Carlisle! What's going on? What happening to her?" he pled with his more knowledgeable sire. The afterbirth wasn't supposed to be all that very painful, yet his Bella was clearly screaming in agony over the voices of the other bustling females.

Edward took a step inside his den.

"Edward Cullen! If you put one more foot in this room I will personally rip you to pieces and scatter them across the territory, do you understand me?" His mother's strained voice warned, anticipating his move.

He wouldn't have listened to her, even despite such a graphic treat against his life, but his father and Jasper had taken the opportunity to once again block his access.

"Father, please!" He begged, craning his neck in an attempt to see into the room. "There's something wrong! She's hurting, she's in pain, and she needs me!" Edward could hear his child's healthy cries over the commotion within and was burning to get to them.

Carlisle didn't budge but his face was saturated with unease. "If your mother doesn't want you in there than there's nothing you could do. She'll handle it, son. I'm sure everything's fine," he said with mock confidence, "I've never so much as heard of a vampire female experiencing complications during childbirth."

Edward snarled, fully prepared to take a snap at him. "That certainly sounds like a fucking complication to me," he gestured towards the source of Bella's howls.

"Bella!" he yelled, pressing against his captors, "Bella, I'm right here, darling. Please be strong! Please be okay! We need you..."

He listened on edge as he heard Bella's weak voice from within. "Jesus. He's going to killing himself," she grunted through pain, "I'd meant to keep this a surprise not to torture him! Someone tell him I'm okay!" the small female screamed.

No sooner had the distracted command left her mouth did Alice's small frame pop out of the den arch. Her little eyes were sparklingly with joy, something Edward had in no way been expecting and it made his body relaxes minutely. Her normally perfect black spikes were tussled and haywire, like she had taken a page out of Edward's book and ran her hands through them.

"She's fine, Edward. We just hadn't been expecting...Well, you'll see," she smiled widely, "Give us a few minutes!"

She was gone before Edward could argue or beg her for more. He slumped to the ground, spent and confused. He stopped listening then, because there was nothing he could do and no one that would help him. He felt his father try to console him but he shrugged off his efforts. He wasn't going to be okay until he was allowed to see Bella and his child. Know they were safe.

He didn't know how long he waited there, on the dirty ground, and he was sure his family had been talking to him but he couldn't recall anything that had be said. At some point Jake had joined him, having also been denied access to Bella. The large dog curled around Edward and dropped his head into the vampire's lap. Edward ran his fingers through the red-brown fur absently.

"Edward! Edward!" His eyes flashed up to meet the beaming face of his mother. She was waving her hand in his face, trying to gain his attention. When he glanced around he realized they were all out there. Females included.

"Bella! Mom, how are they?" he breathed, pushing himself off the floor to rise to her level.

She responded by wrapping her thin arms around his waist, swaying her much larger son from side to side. He patted her back affectionately but was impatient to hear word about his newly expanded family.

"Go in there," she shooed him gently. "She's waiting for you. We've cleared out to give you time alone but I won't be able to hold everyone back for long," the pretty female half-warned, half teased.

He didn't need to be told twice.

He walked into his space cautiously; his gaze trained to the bed where he'd expected to find the female that had just made him a father. Bella was resting soundly in the middle of the mattress, cozy and pink cheeked in blankets and freshly changes linens. She was waiting for him, following his movements expectantly with smiling golden eyes. The new mother was positively glowing.

The relief that flooded his every pore was only trumped by the surprise and astonishment he felt when his eyes landed on not one, but two, tiny bundles tucked into the blankets at Bella's side.

He was trembling as he made his way forward; peering down at two of the most beautiful little things he'd ever seen. "Bella," he breathed, his throat thick around the words. "My God."

He dropped to his knees at the bedside, examining greedily the features of the tiny twins. It was extremely apparent that Bella's large size wasn't due to one large son but two identical baby girls. One had her little eyes clenched tight, content to sleep while her father took in the sight on her for the first time. But the second, perhaps the slightly smaller of the two, was looking straight at him as he melted. He couldn't keep himself from cooping her up into his arms.

She was as gorgeous as her mother, with Bella's nose and a shocking amount of his unruly red hair. He ran his finger over her perfect pink lips, as softly as one would touch the surface of a bubble. He adored her already.

"Ehhum," Bella's broke through his wonder, fighting for some of his attention.

He grinned up at her guiltily. "You knew!" he gestured to his two new angels. All of the amused looks Bella gave him when he'd mentioned their 'son' suddenly made sense. He'd come to terms with having to wait for the little girl he'd wanted so badly and instead she'd blessed him with two.

Bella picked up the swaddled newborn he wasn't currently bouncing and pressed a feather light kiss onto her sleeping daughter's forehead. "Of course I knew," she smiled, "Either it was two babies or one with eight limbs, so I'd hoped it was two," she giggled happily. "I wanted to surprise you, Edward. I honestly hadn't considered how badly it would frighten you to be listening in on that. I'm so sorry." Bella reached over to give his hand a consoling squeeze.

He shook his head because none of that mattered anymore. He'd live through it a thousand times over to have what she'd given him.

"They're beyond beautiful, my love. You really aim to please, don't you?" he teased with a grin. "Twins are practically unheard of. You must have really wanted to give me my girls."

Her eyes narrowed but did nothing to mask her obvious joy and playfulness. "Two for the price of one was a dirty trick, Cullen."

Edward didn't look the least bit apologetic. "I'll try to get it right when we start working on our boy," he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

The little one in his arms let out a short cry, as if angered over being ignored for so long. "Oh you're just going to be a nightmare when you get older, aren't you babydoll?" he crooned to the needy child. He wasn't going to complain. He'd gladly never put her down again if he could avoid it.

"So this is easy then," he smirked at his Bella, "I name one and you name one?"

She nodded in agreement and the couple spent a few moments of silence, looking down at their respective infants.

"Elizabeth," Edward decided. It was a beautiful strong name for the little girl in his arms and it suited her swimmingly.

"It's kind of common, no?" Bella questioned, her nose wrinkling a bit.

"It's perfect for her. My little Elizabeth," he hummed, gently rocking the child.

"I suppose it is pretty," she conceded. "Mine name is better though," she declared confidently.

Edward gave his partner an indulgent smile. "What's that, love?"

"Renesmee," she practically sang, "R-E-N-E-S-M-E-E... You know, combination of our mothers' names."

Edward grinned at his beautiful mate, "That is perfect my love." He then lay beside her, taking his new family into his arms.

"Thank you, Edward," she whispered into his shoulder. He's mind went blank. She had just labored for hours to give him his own precious family and he couldn't imagine what she could possibly be thanking him for. She seemed to read his confusion because she continued after a second, "For finding my parents. I can't tell you how good it was to have my mother here with me."

He pressed a kiss into her extremely mused hair, "It was the least I could do. Though Emmett did all of the grunt work."

"How long will they being staying?" her meek voice sounded sad at the idea of being separated from them again so he was happy to share the news he had on the subject.

"Indefinitely, Bella. Your parents have no plans to go back to Washington. Alice is probably converting the guest den as we speak," he joked.

Bella squealed and pressed her lips against his, "Edward, that's perfect!"

"Yes, soon our coven is going to be so large, no one will ever dare of crossing us," he stated boldly.

The male that just months ago had been drowning in a sea of loneliness looked from his stunning second half to the tiny twins in their arms. He could hear the huge assembly of family just outside the cave, itching to be invited in to fussy over the lives he and Bella had created. Edward Cullen had gone from a lone vampire to a core member of a family, with responsibilities and three lovely females that couldn't live without him. This is what he'd waited a century for.

...Five Years Later...

The massive red-brown wolf paced relentlessly outside the den. Low, heartbreaking whines escaped his throat, much the same as they did when he was upset as a pup. Now nearing six years old he was a formidable hundred and fifty pounds of raw power but still just a docile.

His keen ears twitch tentatively at each sound that came from inside the stone shelter, waiting anxiously to be invited back in while he listened with baited doggy breath for signs of trouble. Even after several hours of waiting he had yet to take a more comfortable position to rest.

"Dude, this is fucking stupid. I'm bored!" Emmett huffed, not for the first time.

Edward shot him a scathing look. He was bouncing a perfect, tiny angel on his knee and the beautiful little girl was an academic sponge. Bella would dismember him if her newest learned word was 'fucking', courtesy of Uncle Emmett.

"Language," Carlisle corrected before the protective father had the opportunity. The blonde coven leader was rocking his granddaughter, the identical counterpart to the child in Edward's lap, with a smitten smile.

"Oh, I forgot us men have to watch what we say around these little girls," Emmett grinned down at his own blonde little boy and offered his palm up for a high-five. Anthony returned it eagerly with much smaller hands. "We're bored huh, Tony? This is lame."

The tiny toe headed child looked deeply conflicted, part of him desperate to wait out the arrival of Jake and Leah's long awaited litter, while fighting his constant desire to agree with his father. "I want to be here when the puppies come, Dad. If I don't pick mine out real quick the girls might get the very best ones!" he whispered, panicked at the thought.

"Puppies?" Nessie perked up in Carlisle's arms. She had nearly fallen asleep but the mere utterance of the word had her sleepy golden eyes opened wide and searching.

"Not yet, love," Edward chuckled, reaching over his father to push her chocolate brown hair out of her face.

Elizabeth pulled tightly at his shirt to gain back his focus. While her sister was very much her mother's child, tiny Lizzy wanted every ounce of Edward's attention she could beg, borrow, or steal.

"Can't we go play, daddy? Come back when the puppies are ready?" She batted her lashes sweetly, always bargaining and using every bit of the charm she inherited from her stunning mother.

Edward grinned and snuggled his pride and joy against his chest in a tight hug, "We have to stay here with Jake, babydoll. He stayed right by my side when you and your sister were ready to come out of mommy's tummy and now it's our turn to be a good friend to him." He reasoned with the child to the best of his ability.

Phil scoffed from his perch on a large rock formation next to his father. "Nessie and Lizzy are too big to fit in my sister's belly," he told Edward's indignantly. He looked to Charlie with his patented 'can you believe this guy?' snort.

While Anthony was a little gentleman towards the twins, Bella's baby brother was a bit of a beast. He was older than the newest generation of Cullen's, and since Charlie and Renee had never left the territory once settled in, his parents held more of a free spirited outlook on childrearing, which made for a less disciplined little boy. But since Phil had reached 10 years of age, he began to go into training to become an apprentice, just like Peter.

Renesmee peered around her grandfather's shoulder to glare at the brown haired boy. "We were real small when we were little," she tried to explain. "We grew inside like baby brother," she educated him petulantly.

With Bella in the middle of her second pregnancy, the twins were being slowly schooled on the origin of new life. None of the five year olds had ever seen a pregnant female or even a younger child before, having only been exposed to each other. The girls were still getting used to the idea of their mother carrying their absentee sibling but had picked up on their father's excitement and were starting to get anxious.

"That's right, Ness," Edward encouraged her, reminding himself that it would be highly inappropriate to stick his tongue out at the smartass little boy. "Mommy's tummy is made to carry our babies, just like your new brother."

Elizabeth's little brows knit together like they often did at the mention of the new baby. Edward's protective instincts had become unrelenting since Bella had fallen pregnant with their third child. He tried his best to make sure the girls were shown plenty of love and attention but it was physically difficult to keep himself away from his expecting mate. Nessie was taking the changes like a champ, enjoying the extra attention she was receiving from both sets of grandparents, but everyone could tell a little storm was brewing in Lizzy. The gorgeous vampire child noticeably bristled every time her daddy fawned over her mother's growing bump.

"Might be another girl," Emmett snickered, "More variety aye, buddy?" he nudged his son with wiggling browns.

The little boy's cheeks burned fiercely.

Since the day the twins were born Emmett had constantly joked about Anthony getting his pick of the litter, even though he shared blood relation with either of his cousins. During nap times he would wait until Edward had turned away before sneaking the twins from their cribs and arranging the newborns like Anthony was lounging with one of the girls on each of his arms.

Esme has narrowly saved Emmett from a painful death on several occasions now.

"Emmett," Edward warned in a low, dangerous growl that was his best attempt at keeping himself from frightening the children.

The youngest Cullen brother's grin widened, smug that Edward couldn't attack while he was holding a little one. "I'm just kidding bro, I would never let him mate with one of his cousins."

"Don't be crude," Carlisle hissed, predictably backing his first-born.

Jasper snickered as he watched lazily from a strong branch of a nearby tree, cool as house cat. "Speakin' of family. Reckon' with my daughter's dog and your hound havin' a brood we're granddads now, Ed?" he wondered.

"It's taking so long. Why's it taking so long? You think everything's alright?" Peter fretted. He was almost as big of a mess as Jake.

Edward's tried not to laugh. The young male didn't have any young of his own and the dame, Leah, was like a child to him and Charlotte. Jake had become one of Edward's very best friends over the years and he was grateful that his pet's only contribution to the litter of pups was a short tryst in the bushes.

The grey female wolf had been laboring for half a night, every single one of the Cullen females by her side, offering the same encouragement they gave Bella and Rose years earlier. In return the coven's males and children waited loyally with the furry father-to-be in true birthday tradition.

"I mean it didn't even take Bella this long to birth two vampire babes," Charlotte's mate continued to ramble nervously. "What's going on in there?"

"Jake and Leah are large animals. I wager she'll have anywhere between four and eight pups," Carlisle mused, "Larger domestic dogs frequently have over ten a litter."

Edward hoped there wouldn't be so many. He and Bella had spent the last two months trying to count heartbeats but the tiny fluttering were so quick it was nearly impossible. The whole litter almost beat in tandem, much like his two sweet girls had when they fooled him into thinking they were a son.

They had already looked into having Jake...altered. Carlisle was confident he would be able to perform the procedure after extensive research and a raid on a local veterinary office in town. He'd already practiced on several wild bunnies who had all hopped away no worse for the wear. Although they thought it would be a good experience for the children to each have some responsibility for a personal pet, he had no intentions of hoarding domesticated wolves like some vampire style cat lady.

"Does that mean I can have two puppies, daddy?" Lizzy's eyes sparkled at the new development.

Edward chuckled, "The coven is keeping all of Jake's babies, remember? Mom says you just get to pick one special pup each to name and take care of."

Jake let out another distressed whine as he wore a path into the dirt outside of Peter's den. The huge dog was nearly as attached to his mate as Edward was to his, though the animal had never lost his adoration for Bella. He treated Bella and Leah like they were sister wives, spending the nights playing with his doggy counterpart and the days warming his master's feet from the bottom of the bed.

Edward gave a short whistle to summon his four-legged companion. Jake clambered over slowly and dropped his heavy head into the vampires lap with sad, anxious brown eyes. Elizabeth pushed her tiny fingers through the thick fur, comforting the vital member of the family.

Edward could clearly remember Jake curling up next to him on the floor outside his den as he agonized over the sounds of Bella's painful laboring.

"She's fine, buddy," he promised the suffering animal.

....

It was some time later, and a great deal of bitching from Emmett, until Edward's flawless mate popped out of the den with a brilliant smile. He could hardly breathe with her around, even years after their first encounter her presence still rattled him in the best possible way.

She was a little older and a lot more mature with her years as a mother having done wonders to smooth her temperament. She was still every bit the most beautiful of the female vampire species and still his Bella.

"Momma!" Nessie went flying into her like a child shaped bullet.

The Cullen alpha hissed, panicked and stood to pull the excited little girl off of his mate.

"Renesmee, what did I tell you about being careful around mommy? You can't just plow into her like that anymore," he attempted to pry the child from her mother's arms but it was very much like trying to pull a barnacle off an ocean rock.

"Oh, she's perfectly fine, Edward. She can't hurt us," Bella rolled her pretty eyes as she pressed kisses into their daughter's messy hair, though she knew well that he was incapable of curving his protective instincts, even if the assumed threat was his own progeny.

His female had been cross with him over the last few months. Edward had been trying to get her to agree to bear him another child for almost as long as the girls had been born and although Bella was a better mother than anyone could possibly hope for, she refused all of his attempts at convincing her. She insisted that she had given him two at a time and that should provide her with a few years of down time between babies.

He always strived to give his beloved what she desired but it went against his every instinct to keep himself from impregnating her the moment she went into heat. He lived to see her round with his child.

When the twins had turned five last fall and his female was still dragging her feet, Edward had taken matters into his own hands. When he'd scented Bella entering her fertile period where he would normally stay in seclusion for two weeks, he simply didn't tell her. He suggested they make a run to the coast for some alone time and leave the girls with his sister. Bella, always interested in an adventure, eagerly agreed and Edward had spent the peak of her ovulation making love to his oblivious mate off the California shores.

Needless to say she hadn't been pleased with him when he smugly announced that she was carrying his offspring.

Luckily for him Bella's impeccable maternal nature made it impossible for her to regret a child that was already being nurtured in her womb and she had mostly forgiven him by her 3rd month of pregnancy.

"Auntie, are the puppies here?" Anthony wanted to know.

"How many are there?" Elizabeth wondered greedily.

"Is Leah okay?" Peter asked with anxious eyes.

"If there's only one boy I already call him!" Phil demanded.

The pregnant female eyed them with indulgent amusement, leaning comfortably against her mate's chest as Edward wrapped his arms around her swollen middle.

She looked to reassure Peter and Jake, as though the animal could understand every word, first, "Lee lee's fine. She did great, took a pretty long break about half way through the litter so things took a bit longer than normal. There haven't been any more pups in a while and she looks very relaxed so Esme's positive they are all out."

Edward kissed her neck adoringly, "That's great, love."

Peter whooped and gave Jake a celebratory ear rub.

"We can go in now but we have to be very quiet, alright?" Bella continued softly, speaking directly to the children now, "Leah's really tired and she's going to be protective of the puppies until they're a bit older. Don't try to touch them or she may bite you and she could hurt her teeth." She warned.

Four little heads nodded earnestly.

She put a wiggling Nessie down and stood out of the way as the group went surging into the too small den.

Edward purred into Bella's sweetly scented hair, rubbing his palms over her smooth round belly. "You've been in there for too long, darling. We should really get you back to our den so you can rest."

Bella giggled as she felt him press his hard length into her behind; with two little one's still sharing their den it was hard to keep up the vigorous intimate life they enjoyed in the early days of their mated courtship.

"I don't think you have any intentions of allowing me to rest, mate," she challenged.

He growled playfully, dipping his head to nip at the flesh of her throat, "That's not true, my love. You'll be plenty tired when once we're through."

She wriggled herself free from his strong hold, skilled after years of practice. "Edward! Don't you want to see the puppies? They're really lovely and I don't want to miss the girls picking out their first pets!"

Edward rolled his eyes. "Bella baby, you make it sound like it's a common rite of passage, I don't know of any other coven that keeps animals at all. I most certainly didn't have a pet when I was a child."

"Well my little ones will and I'm not going to miss it," she declared, grabbing his hand with surprising strength and pulling him into the den in her wake.

He grumbled unhappily about having needs too.

Edward studied the scene closely from his mate's side. The large grey female wolf was curled on a massive plush cushion in the far corner of the room. Jake was sitting just a short distance away, significantly calmer now that he was reunited with his female. The vampire could see five multicolored, pulsating balls of fluff suckling and resting at her teats. The Cullen children watching on in fascination.

Leah eyed the kids wearily but seemed appeased by the reasonable bubble of space they were giving her.

"Where are the puppies?" Emmett exclaimed, "Those things look like giant hamsters! I waited all that time for giant hamsters?"

"I think they're beautiful," Nessie sighed wistfully.

"There were always five pups? We didn't lose any?" Carlisle questioned.

Bella pointed to a little grey ball, "That big guy there came out bottom first and got stuck. By the time Leah got the...eh, sack open he wasn't moving or breathing. He needed some help."

The males grimaced.

"God Bella, you put your mouth on that thing? You're pregnant! Is that even safe?" Edward's nose wrinkled with distaste.

She shook her head. "I didn't give him CPR. Rose did."

Emmett's eyes went wide as they shot to his beautiful mate. He started gagging and furiously whipping his mouth against the sleeve of his sweatshirt. "Jesus, Rosie! You let my kiss you with dog placenta all over your face?"

Edward and Jasper snickered.

"The grey one is mine then," Anthony declared, "I want the one momma saved." He snuggled into Rose's side and receives a gentle hug. "His name is Embry."

Each of the kids picked quickly after that, by the grace of God choosing different animals and avoiding a war for the puppies. Phil immediately set his sights on a plump black-coated pup that was shoving its siblings out of the way to get to the most lucrative teats, he named him Sam. Lizzy zoned in on a flashy female with brilliant white fur, who she later named Kim. Nessie fell in love with a tiny, stunted looking blonde pup that was clearly a bit of a runt.

"His name is Seth!" She declared proudly.

Edward pointed out the remaining pup, an identical miniature version of his red-brown father. "Perfect. That leaves the red pup for our son," he rubbed Bella's middle, "He can have a good, manly dog like his father," he puffed with pride.

"That's fine... except that pup's a bitch," Alice giggled.

Lizzy gaped at her littlest aunt. "You're not supposed to say that word," she corrected politely.

"It means that the puppy is a female sweetheart. It's only alright to use that word in this context," Carlisle informed her, always aiming to educate.

She looked up at him thoughtfully, "Me and my sister are girls. Does that mean we're a bitch too?"

Edward turned red and his massive brother dissolved into a roar of laughter.

Rosalie rolled her eyes and ruffled the little girl's hair. "No, but your Uncle Emmett is, so figure that one out, kid."

"Can I name her father?" Lizzy asked excitedly, hopping up and down.

Edward nodded, grinning at his lovely daughter.

"Her name is Rachel, like the girl in the story you read to me last night."

"That's a perfect name," Edward agreed, hugging his daughter tightly.

Nessie reluctantly pried her attention away from her tiny puppies long enough to gaze at her mother with a pleading little whimper. "Momma, can we sleep with Cousin Charlotte today so we can be with our puppies? I don't want to leave her yet."

Bella began to shake her head no but she wasn't as fast as her mate.

"Absolutely!" Edward beamed, delighted at the prospect of alone time. He adored his daughters but he still never missed an opportunity to spend a day making love to his female.

The pregnant brunette opened her mouth to protest but Peter chirped in, always eager to please Edward, his mentor. "It's really fine, Bella. Char and I would love to watch the girls."

Bella reluctantly gave the young male her thankful agreement and the girls, Charlotte included, squealed their excitement.

The beautiful female glared at her mate playfully. "You always have to get everything you want, don't you?" she teased.

Edward looked around him reverently, his loving family, his perfect little girls, his faithful dog, before gliding his adoring eyes over the loveliest female vampire he'd seen in his very long life.

Bella was the perfect mate, a compassionate mother, his best friend.

He pulled her tiny body against his and shivered at the contentment the simple action brought him.

"Honestly love, I already have."

The End.