AN: Here it is, the final ever chapter of "The Slap" :'( I'm sad to see it go, because it has been my baby for the past two years [sorry for the shoddy updating schedule].
This chapter is a bit skippy. There are about five different scenes contained in it, and I thought it would be a great way to go out, with a lovely long final chapter.

Just a couple reminders - Yes, I am aware Paul's last name is incorrect, but this was started before his last name was revealed, and I don't have the heart to change it to fit SM's choice. TS's Paul has always been a Lorimer, and will remain a Lorimer. Also, I've never gone through the birthing experience, nor have I looked after that new a baby, so that sort of information was winged from medical shows and other fanfics with pregnancies in that I have read.

Very special thanks to my cheer squad for this fic: Essa, Nica, Jess, Sarita, and Kitten. They are the ones who pushed me through my tears to give you this chapter.

The panic was rolling through my body as everyone stood in shock around me. My knees buckled beneath me as another wave of pain moved around from my lower back, through to my stomach. My eyes clenched shut as I tried not to cry out, not wanting to cause anyone any more alarm.

"Bell, come on. We need to get you to the hospital." Paul's arm wrapped around my waist as he supported the weight of my body. I shook my head, the sudden-ness of the situation having sneaked up on me. "Come on, baby. Our princess is on her way, and as much as I want to meet her, I don't think our living room is the best place to welcome her into the world."

Meekly, I nodded and let him direct me out of the house and to the car. As he helped me pull the seat-belt around my stomach, the situation registered with me, my eyes widening slightly. "Carlisle. Take me to Forks General, please. I want Carlisle to be the one."

"Okay baby," Paul interrupted, kissing my lips quickly before turning back to the pack. "Someone call the Chief and the doctor, and have them meet us at Forks General. Anyone else who wants to come can meet us there."

Even through the pain of my oncoming contraction, I couldn't help but think how sexy Paul was when he was ordering people around. I smiled as he slammed the car door shut, running over to the driver's side and getting in before speeding off towards Forks General.

I slid my hand over the console, taking Paul's hand into my own grasp, our fingers linking together. "Calm down, Paul. We don't want to get into an accident while trying to get to the hospital."

I felt as the car slowed down and Paul relaxed his grip on the steering wheel. I smiled over to him, before I felt a pain ripping through my stomach. My hand squeezed Paul's tight as my free one rest atop the swell of my belly, my eyes clenched tightly shut as the pain rolled through me.

"Think of it this way, babe. All of this pain will be worth it in the end when our princess is in our arms."

"If you keep up like that, there will be no sex, and I shall make Leah inflict upon you the pain I am feeling, and I am sure will triple soon." I don't know what caused me to snap so harshly at him, but whatever I did say caused him to flex his jaw and focus on the road ahead. I knew me being with him had helped him control his anger issues immensely, but even the most timid of people eventually snapped, and I didn't want to be on the receiving end when if Paul snapping this time brought out his furrier side.

"I'm sorry," I breathed out, my body on edge as I waited for the next contraction to hit. "I'm just..." Trying to grasp at the words, I sighed. "I'm scared, Paul. It hurts so bad and I'm scared shitless because I don't think I can do this."

The tears were clouding my eyes as I spoke, my heart clenching as I realized the truth of my words. I heard as Paul sighed, taking my hand once more and squeezing it softly. "It's okay, Bella. I kind of expected something like this to happen, but remember, at the end of the day, you are not alone. Yes, you're going through something that's painful, and it's natural to be scared, but you have me, baby. You have the rest of the pack too, and Charlie, Sue and Billy. You're not alone."

Through tear filled eyes, I looked up at Paul, smiling gently at him. I opened my mouth to say something, but the words wouldn't come. Instead, I whispered gently to him, "Thank you."

"You don't ever need to thank me, Bells. I'll be here for you, always and forever."

"I like the sound of that." The smile dropped from my face as another contraction hit me, tears falling from my eyes at the intensity of this one. Paul, seeing the pain I was in, laid his warm hand on top of my stomach, trying to soothe me as he made the final turn, pulling up outside Forks General. As soon as the car was brought to a stop, the passenger side door flew open, and I felt as I was gathered into a pair of icy cold arms. I looked up, shocked at the contrast of heat, my body relaxing once I realized it was Carlisle holding me.

"How long has she been having the contractions for?" He moved me into a wheelchair as Paul scrambled out of the car, and we soon made our way inside and down to the maternity ward.

"J-just before whoever it was called you, Carlisle. Although I've been having these weird pains for a few days now.…"

"Probably telling you to slow down, Bella. The events of today probably became too much and pulled the time of labor forth. When did your water break, or hasn't it yet?"

Carlisle and Paul helped me onto the bed, Carlisle turning his back as he fiddled with the monitors and such while Paul helped me change into one of the ridiculous hospital gowns. I mean, come on. You pay so much for the damn hospital, why can't they put a little of it into finding some more… appropriate and comfortable bed-wear?

Once I was settled, and the blankets were pulled up to my hips, Carlisle turned back around, plugging me into all the relevant machines. With a sigh, I looked over to Paul, who had already started pacing.

"If you're not careful, you'll wear a hole through the floor!" I let out a laugh, which soon turned into a moan of pain as a strong contraction rushed through me, causing me to wince and tighten my hands in the sheets. "Fuck, Carlisle, give me something for the pain!"

"I don't think it'll have any effect if I do, Bella. I don't know what the epidural could do, seeing as it's Paul's wolf genes within the baby."

"It's my fucking body you'll be sticking the giant-ass needle into, not Paul's! If I tell you to give me the damn drugs, you give me the damn drugs!" The anger sprung forth from me, and I knew it was because of the heat of the moment, but I still felt a little bad for yelling at Carlisle. He was putting a very good point forward, and there I was bitching at him; it was something that could help my pain and, in the long run, my baby.

I noticed Carlisle and Paul exchanging looks, and the doctor finally nodded. "Before I give you the epidural, Bella, I need to check how much you're dilated by. If it's too much, we won't be able to give you the drug."

I meekly nodded, the realization that he'd be getting friendly with my girly bits suddenly hitting me. I lifted my knees up toward my chest and heard Paul walk over, feeling his strong grip on my feet as he helped me position them in the stirrups. His warm hand came to rest on my left knee as he stood by my side, while Carlisle snapped on a pair of gloves.

Carlisle moved to the end of the bed, lifting the hem of the gown so he could see better. I felt his cool, gloved hand between my thighs, his fingers prodding where needed to be measured. Carlisle let out a sigh as he pulled away, shaking his head as he gave Paul and I a solemn expression.

"I'm afraid you're too far along for me to give you anything. In fact, I'll probably be asking you to push within the ten or so minutes." My jaw dropped open and I felt Paul squeeze my knee in comfort. That feeling was soon pushed away when another, strong contraction hit. A cry of pain spilled from my lips as I tried to push my legs back together, one thought running through my mind: If my legs stay shut, baby won't come out.

It was a stupid idea, I know, and the feeling of Carlisle and Paul coaxing me to relax and breath made me cease my movements. I lay back in the bed, just to be greeted a few moments later by another sharp contraction.

"I hate you!" I ground out as Carlisle was quick to react, moving back to the foot of the bed, resuming his earlier position and checking how dilated I was. As soon as his fingers were gone, I watched as he stood and slipped off his lab coat, draping it over the chair in the corner, leaving him in a set of scrubs.

"Is it time?" asked Paul, and Carlisle gave a sharp nod before calling in a couple of nurses. They set up everything as Paul helped me sit in the correct position. As I lifted myself up, I felt another contraction, and the strong urge to push came to me.

"Fuck!" Trying my hardest not to push until Carlisle came back, I grabbed onto Paul's hand, squeezing tight. The pain was overtaking my whole body and when the next contraction hit a minute or so later, I had to push.

"That's it, Bells." Paul murmured comforting words to me as Carlisle and the nurses moved into their position.

"Shut up. I do not want to hear you speak!" I squeezed my eyes shut as I continued to push when each contraction hit, letting Carlisle's somewhat soothing words wash over me. His gentle coaxing of me to push and to rest was helping me through this, and Paul's presence, although I hated him for the amount of pain I was in at that moment, was keeping me grounded.

"Okay, Bella, I can see the head. I need one, strong push." Pulling in a deep breath through my mouth, I used all the strength I could muster to push, my hand tightening around Paul's, hearing his slight hiss of pain.

"Very good, Bella. The head is out. Just one more push," he continued as I collapsed back onto the bed, breathing hard.

"I can't." Tears were streaming down my face, from the sheer exhaustion and the emotions running through me. Paul stepped closer, cupping my face as he brushed away my tears with his thumb.

"Come on, baby girl. Only one more push, and then you get to hold our little princess in your arms. I'm so proud of you, Bella. You've been so strong through all of this. I love you, baby girl." His softly spoken words brought more tears to my eyes, and I nodded gently before giving one final push, soon hearing the cries of my daughter filling the room.

Falling back onto the bed once more, I felt the sweat dripping down my body as Paul rubbed soothing patterns into my skin, intermittent with pressing kisses to my head and face. I tried to control my breathing as the nurses cleaned my daughter up, the tension strong in my whole body.

The nurse came over with our daughter swaddled in a pale pink blanket, and Paul helped me sit up. The nurse helped me position my arms before slowly shifting her into my arms, and I couldn't stop the torrent of tears that spilled down my face as I saw her chubby little face.

"She's perfect," Paul whispered, and I turned my head to see tears in his eyes, too. I looked back down to our daughter, and silently agreed. She was perfect; her skin was a shade or two lighter than Paul's russet, and she had a small amount of fine, brown/black hair. I moved my finger to her tiny hand, smiling at the softness of her skin, and wondered what color would greet me when she opened her small eyes.

"She is." I tilted my head back as Paul bent down, and our lips met in a gentle kiss. We pulled back and looked at our daughter, softly crying in my arms, and I smiled.

"Do the new parents have a name for the baby? And will we be listing her as "Swan"?"

"No," Paul replied. "It's baby Lorimer, and I do believe we have a name ready."

I looked up at him and nodded, before turning to the nurse myself, and telling her the name. She smiled and wrote it down on the birth certificate, setting it to one side before grabbing Carlisle some new gloves.

"That's a beautiful name," the doctor commented, smiling to us. I nodded back and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

The nurse came a few moments later and took her away to perform the standard tests, and I went through the afterbirth with no complications. After cleaning up, Carlisle and the nurses left, telling me to get some rest before the onslaught of visitors that were in the waiting room.

Paul and I both laughed, and I nodded, feeling the exhaustion pulling at my body. Paul covered me with the fresh blankets, pulling the bassinet with our daughter closer, and sat in the chair, holding my hand as I slowly drifted off.

I was woken a few hours later by the sound of shuffling, accompanied by gentle cries. As I blinked my eyes open, slowly adjusting to the darkened room, I saw Paul was standing, our daughter cradled in him arms as he rocked her.

Propping myself up with my elbows, I slowly sat up. "Maybe it's time to feed her?"

Paul turned at my words, smiling and nodding as he came to us. Not sure really how to do this, I unbuttoned the shoulder of the gown, pulling away the material, exposing my breast. Paul helped me position her in my arms, and I felt her latch on, my fingers stroking her back slowly as she fed.

As I stroked her back, Paul's thumb swept over her head, pressing kisses to my temples. As soon as she had her fill, he took her away, rubbing her back as I fixed myself up, just in time as Carlisle entered the room. A slight blush formed on my cheeks, and his chuckle met my ears.

"I see you've worked out how to feed her," he commented, checking my chart. "I was coming in to see if you were awake, so I could send the midwife in to explain it all, but it seems the two of you have it under control."

"Bella's a natural mother," Paul spoke, laying our baby on my chest. "Are the others still here waiting?"

Carlisle nodded, and I told him to let them come in. I knew there'd be a lot of them, but it was nothing we couldn't deal with. The little one would have to get used to a lot of noise, seeing as the size of our true family was continually growing - with the Cullen's, who both Paul and I now considered to be family, still nearby, the gene would still be activating in some of the youngsters, and new wolves were bound to phase.

They all soon filed in - it was only the pack and the imprints, and Charlie, which wasn't too bad, but the small room was rather cramped. I laughed softly as they all arranged themselves, and once they settled, I smiled to Paul, before speaking softly.

"Paul and I would like you to meet our daughter, Ayasha Rayen Lorimer."

A few days later, Ayasha and I were discharged from the hospital. Paul had spent the morning getting "things" ready - god knows what "things" entailed, but he seemed very nervous about whatever it was. When he returned to the hospital, he was really jumpy, and wouldn't look at me much. I had no clue what was going on, though I suspected it was something to do with the fact that about twenty minutes ago, I received a text message from Renee saying that she and Phil had just gotten to Forks, and would meet us at Paul's place. Whatever the hell that meant.

As I changed out of the crappy hospital gown into my clothes, I realized something that Paul could be planning, and quickly whirled round to face him. "There better not be a surprise party waiting for us."

He looked like a deer caught in the headlights, and I couldn't help the small laugh that fell from my lips.

"What if I told you it was a gathering of close friends and family, which I was planning on telling you about on the journey home?"

"Then I'd reply with something along the lines of 'you're a lucky wolf, this time'," I said before laughing, moving over to him and wrapping my arms around his waist. I moved my cheek to rest on his chest, and felt his strong arms wrap around me. "I love you."

"I love you too, angel." His fingers lifted my chin up, and our lips met in a soft, tender kiss. Smiling against his lips, I returned the kiss before pulling back slowly, taking his hand in mine, watching as he put the various bags over his shoulder, before taking Ayasha's car seat/travel... thing... in his other hand.

We made our way out the hospital and down to the car, putting everything inside carefully before driving home. As Paul wove through the streets, I saw that his nervous disposition had come back, and I was starting to get really curious - and slightly worried, too - about why he was acting this way.

Before I had the chance to ask him about it, Paul pulled up outside the house, where various cars were already scattered. After picking up Ayasha and the most important of the bags we brought home from the hospital with us, we made our way inside. It suddenly hit me, the moment my eyes met the figures of Renee and Phil, that unless we were to come clean to them about the supernatural world, we were going to have to fabricate one hell of a lie to explain Ayasha and just why we had a newborn, when the last Renee heard, my heart was broken.

"She knows, Bella," Charlie laughed as he caught my expression, pushing through the crowd to wrap his arms around me and kiss my head in a rather affectionate way.

"Who are you and what have you done with my father?" The dumbfounded look on Charlie's face caused the rest of the group - pack, imprints, elders, Cullen's, Renee and Phil, and even Aylen - to burst into a loud round of laughter.

"I... you..." Charlie was spluttering, trying to grasp for the right words, but not getting anywhere.

"Alright, leave the new grandfather alone, everyone," Billy laughed, rolling over to us and pulling me into a gentle hug. I smiled as I hugged him back, before moving to take Ayasha from her car seat. I pulled her close to my body, breathing in the scent that only newborns have, and watched as everyone started mingling. Renee was deep in conversation with Emily and Leah, while Phil was being entertained by Sam and Quil.

Looking down at the small bundle in my arms, feeling tears come to my eyes, I felt Paul step up behind me, wrapping an arm around my waist. His breath was warm on my neck as he leaned into my ear, and whispered, "I love you so much, Bella. I don't want moments like this to ever end. Will you be mine forever, and marry me?"

It took a few moments for his words to register with me. I'm sure I looked like a fish at that moment, with my mouth open as I fumbled for words. The tears that had been behind my eyes started to fall as I nodded my head, choking out a single word: "Yes."

He pulled his other arm around from behind his back, uncurling his fist to show me a small, blue velvet box. He flipped it open to reveal the most beautiful, delicate ring I had ever seen. It was white gold, with a princess cut diamond in the middle, with a smaller one either side. Three tiny diamonds lay the other side of the smaller princess cut diamonds, and the band had a floral pattern pressed into it.

I held my breath as Paul withdrew the ring and slipped it onto my finger, before bringing my hand up and kissing it. Turning in his arms, I leaned on my tiptoes and gave him a gentle kiss, a promise for more later once I lay Ayasha in her crib. Paul understood and let go of me, and I did just as I needed to, laying my princess in her crib, switching the baby monitor on, and grabbing the other one, tucking it into the pocket of my hoodie.

As I reached the living room once more, gentle applause rang out through the room as everyone came up and congratulated Paul and I, not only on the safe birth of Ayasha, but on the engagement too.

"This is why you and Phil came," I murmured as Renee drew me into a big hug. She nodded as she held me tight to her body, gently swaying us.

"I knew for months that he wanted to do it, Bella. We were all waiting for the moment when he'd actually ask, and it seems like he chose the perfect one."

I turned my head to look over to Paul, who was receiving various slaps on the back from the other men in attendance of our party, Emmett's being the biggest. "I caught myself a keeper."

- Two years later -

My arms wrapped around his shoulders as I felt his wind around my waist. Our eyes connected as we swayed slowly to the soft music, my eyes closing as I tilted my head slightly, my lips meeting his for a slow, passionate kiss. I felt as his hands fisted at my lower back, trying not to grab at the white dress I wore.

As the music swelled and drew to a finish, Paul and I pulled away from each other, turning to applaud the musicians, led by Edward at the piano. Paul took my hand and led me back to the table, where I lifted Ayasha onto my lap, kissing her head as she played with the hem of her flower girl dress.

As I sat there, taking a small break from everything, I looked around at the family who had gathered here. Charlie and Sue were slowly dancing, joined by Seth and his imprint, Embry and Nevaeh, and Quil and little Claire, who was standing on his shoes to dance.

Over on the next table from us sat Renee and Phil, wrapped up close as Renee held a small bouncing one year old on her lap - their son. Kim and Jared were next to them, Jared looking dapper in his Best Man get up, while Kim, glowing from pregnancy, looked stunning in the bridesmaid dress. Also sharing their table were Emily and Sam, each with a sleeping six-month old in their arms.

The Cullen's were scattered through the crowd, mingling with the pack and elders, some approaching the dance floor, others having gone for walks down the beach, or other forms of "alone time".

Jake and Leah shared our table, and Leah was resting her head on Jake's shoulder, her hand wrapped in his. The sun glinted off her own engagement ring, and I knew it would be only a matter of months before they, too, would be wed here on First Beach.

As I looked around at my friends and family, I realized that life couldn't get any better than this. We were surrounded by people we loved, in a place that was filled with so many stories to pass onto future generations. Everyone had found their place in life.

As Ayasha fell asleep on my lap, Jake reached over and carefully pulled her into his. I laughed softly as she automatically snuggled into his warmth - my baby girl knew when she was being held by herwolves, as she so fondly called the pack. Paul took my hand and led me from under the tent and down to the shore of the beach.

His hands cupped my face as he brought his lips to mine, and we shared a deep, loving kiss, the wind mussing our hair as the sun set in the distance, casting pink and orange hues everywhere. As we pulled away, I licked my lips, savoring the taste of my wolf upon them.

"I love you, Mr. Lorimer."

"I love you too, Mrs. Lorimer."

Final AN:
Thank you for following Bella and Paul on this whirlwind journey. I may be posting other outtakes from this in the future, but there will most certainly be no sequel. I am happy with where I left these two and their lives. Please leave a review, just one last time :)

Bella's ring - replace the (dot) with actual periods: http:/www(dot)bluediamondring-s(dot)com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/engagement-rings-designs(dot)jpg