Babies, Babies, Babies

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

A/N-this is for AprilShowers82 who guessed the end ages ago, LOL ;) Hugs! Nikki.

Epilogue

Seven Years Later;

Bella was just icing the last of the buns when she heard the crash. She dropped the icing bag and spun around. All her carefully iced buns were now lying on a heap on the floor. Marlon was standing next to his sister Jet with a horrified expression on his face.

"They jumped." He said when he saw his mother frown.

"No, you tried to grab one from the bottom of the pile and knocked it over." Jet blabbed.

Marlon gasped as he glared at his traitorous sister. "Did not." He protested.

"Did too." Jet smirked at him. "Somebody's in trouble." She jeered.

"Enough." Bella snapped as she dived down and tried to rescue some of her hard work. "You know its daddy's birthday today. I warned you both to keep out of the kitchen."

"But mommy it was Marley." Jet whined.

"I wasn't born yesterday, young lady." Bella said sternly as she inspected each individual bun for damage. She discreetly wiped off some of the dirt. It didn't really matter; they were all going to be eaten by a bunch of supernatural spirit wolves anyway. She put her hands on her hips as she faced her pouting daughter. "I know you asked Marlon to get the buns for you."

"I never." Jet gasped as she pretended to fake shock.

Marlon's red face gave Bella all the answers she needed. He would do anything his sister asked, which usually ended up in him getting into trouble. Bella shook her head at them both. "You are lucky its daddy's special day otherwise you would both be grounded."

"We're still grounded from the last time Jet….um…." Marlon gulped when his feisty sister shot him a glare. "From the last time I um…sprayed that bottle of water over Auntie Leah and Uncle Paul." He hung his head and stared at his feet.

Bella tried to hide her smile. That particular incident had been kind of funny. No one had any idea that Leah Clearwater and Paul Lahote had started seeing each other in secret. Leah had always been adamant she would never date a fellow wolf. She knew too much about them and after her troubled history with Sam, she wanted to try and establish a normal relationship with a man uninvolved with the supernatural. But it hadn't worked out that way. Being part of a pack meant she could not commit to anyone properly and her many boyfriends were less than understanding when she seemed to spend rather too much time hanging around other half naked buff men. So in a way when Jet and Marlon had caught her and Paul getting frisky together and chucked water over them to cool them down, which had been Jet's feeble excuse, no one had been too surprised that the she wolf and the hot tempered Paul had decided to make a go of it.

"Auntie Lee shouldn't have picked me up by my collar and brought me in. She ruined my best shirt." Jet rubbed the back of her neck at the memory. Paul had grabbed Marlon and Leah had caught hold of Jet by the back of her shirt as they hauled them in front of their parent's. Both seemed to have forgotten they had been found out and acted like smug children themselves when Jet and Marlon had been grounded.

"You deserved it." Bella replied as she smoothed her hair down, forgetting that her fingers were covered in icing.

"Auntie Rachel isn't coming, is she?" Marlon asked dubiously. He shuddered at the thought. Rachel was always such a grouch. She was invited to the family gatherings but she never enjoyed them. She would sit alone and complain about everything. Now if it was Auntie Rebecca, Marlon liked his Aunt Rebecca, it was a shame she was always travelling and they never got to see more of her. She was in Africa now, teaching young children to speak English. His eyes flicked to the latest postcard she had sent him and Jet. She sent one every week telling them all bits about her life. His parents would stick them on the fridge. It was littered with them.

"Of course she is." Bella's voice pulled Marlon back into the moment. He made a face as he exchanged a chagrined look with his sister. Bella noticed and hunkered down in front of them. "Hey, play nice. She finds it hard to be around other people, that's all."

"She hates everyone." Jet complained as she twirled her hair around one finger. "She's no fun at all."

"We should have thrown the water over her." Marlon suggested to his sister.

A wicked grin crossed Jet's face at the thought. Bella shook her head at them warningly. "You do and you will never get to leave this house again, understood?"

Jet and Marlon grudgingly promised to ditch this idea. "Now go and get washed and put your best clothes on. Daddy will be back from work soon and I need to get everything prepared before the others start arriving."

"Will there be cake?" Marlon licked his lips.

"Yes, Grandpa Charlie is bringing that. Your Grandmother Sue made it for me. One less thing for me to do." Bella ushered the two children toward their rooms so she could think straight. She walked around her large kitchen. Since the house had been extended about six years ago there was so much more space. Bella had insisted on a big kitchen with enough room for a long table to fit so they could all sit together when they ate. She had gotten her wish.

Bella smiled as she thought about her extended family. Billy and Charlie were out fishing and should be back just in time for the party. Leah and Paul had promised to bring some extra food with them. With so many hungry wolves in one place Bella knew she would run out of snacks in the blink of an eye. The other pack members would be coming over later for a bonfire party. The initial get together was just immediate family. This would include Rachel. Bella pulled a face herself at the thought of seeing her sister in law. Unfortunately Rachel had not mellowed over the years. Since she and Paul had parted ways, both agreeing to remain cordial acquaintances and nothing more, she had become very bitter. Bella guessed she was a little jealous that Paul had moved on so easily and was in a happy relationship with Leah Clearwater. Once a decision had been made between Rachel and Paul the imprint bond had lessened, which thankfully left Paul able to move on. He showed mild concern for Rachel's wellbeing but nothing more. Rachel would make herself scarce when Paul and Leah were together, she was too afraid of the she wolf's sharp tongue. Leah knew she didn't need to worry about Paul's imprint bond with Rachel, after all she could see inside his head.

Bella took a deep breath as she began to bustle around the kitchen like a whirling dervish. She wanted everything ready so she could jump into the shower, wash her hair and put on the dress she had bought specially for the occasion.

Jet complained loudly as Bella brushed her long, silky black hair and braided it into a long plait which fell over one shoulder. Marlon poked his tongue out at his protesting sister, enraging her further. Bella sighed in exasperation as she finally released her daughter and began to braid her own hair. Jet was now chasing her brother around the room as he chanted names at her. Bella winced as she saw them narrowly avoiding the pile of food. She didn't want a repetition of earlier. Bella glanced at herself in the mirror. She hadn't bothered with any makeup, Jacob preferred the natural look. She fiddled with the short skirt of her red dress and tugged out some hairs to frame her face as she studied her reflection.

"You look alright, mommy." Jet said grudgingly as she gave up on chasing Marlon and stood next to Bella.

"Thanks, sweetie." Bella ducked down and kissed Jet on the cheek. "You look beautiful."

"I know." Jet said without a hint of modesty. Bella had to smile. What it was to be so confident!

Marlon trudged over with his hands in the pockets of his best jeans. He shoved his sister to one side and smiled up at Bella. "I think you're beautiful, mom. Jet looks like one of Grandpa Charlie's fish." He blew out his cheeks for effect.

"I hate you." Jet scowled as she kicked out at her brother.

"Hey." Marlon whined as he rubbed his ankle. Bella rolled her eyes as she leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. Marlon frowned as he rubbed it off in embarrassment. "Don't do that again." He muttered.

"Behave will you." Bella chided them as she glanced at the clock. It was time. She grabbed their hands and hauled them toward the front door. "Daddy should be coming now."

Jet and Marlon let out big sighs as they allowed their mother to lead them out of the house so they could wait for their father's much anticipated return.

It was a gloriously sunny day. Bella smiled as she felt the unusual warmth on her skin. It was the middle of January, but somehow the weather had decided to play nice just because it was Jacob's birthday. She smiled down at Jet and Marlon. They could all see him now, Jacob was coming. She gripped their hands tightly. "Ready?" She checked.

"We're ready." Jet and Marlon said in unison.

Bella smiled as she saw Jacob duck down and hold out his arms toward his family. Then, as one, the three of them tore off across the grass and into his warm embrace. As she felt Jacob's strong arms wind around her Bella suddenly had an epiphany. She had seen this before, of course she had. This was the vision she'd had on the mountaintop when she had first kissed Jacob just after the newborn battle. The children she had seen were Jet and Marlon. Tears sprang into her eyes as she heard the two children sing happy birthday to the man she loved. He grinned at them and ruffled their hair playfully.

"Happy birthday, Jake." Bella whispered as he looked lovingly into her eyes.

"Thanks, honey. You look beautiful." Jacob said huskily as he leaned in for a kiss.

Marlon winced and made gagging noises as Jet bounced up and down and tried to get Jacobs attention. "Do I look pretty too?" She demanded.

"That goes without saying." Jacob praised her. Jet smiled smugly as she kicked out at her brother again.

"Hey." Marlon began to chase Jet as she sprinted back toward the house.

Jacob laughed and clasped Bella's hand in his as they wandered slowly after their energetic children. "I don't think life can get any better than this." He mused aloud.

"Definitely." Bella agreed as she joined in his laughter.

The End

A/N-thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews and for following this story. It has been a blast!

Nikki :)