Title: Futures
Parts: III. The Consequences
Rating: pg
Words: 2 385 words
Warnings: This story contains slash, and mpreg; if any of this offends you, turn back now.
Disclaimer: The Twilight series isn't mine; it's all the property of Stephanie Meyer. I do own the plot of this fic, but that's it, nothing else is mine; unless some other characters arise that don't belong, than I guess I own them too.

III. The Consequences

No matter what Carlisle told him, Jacob still found it too shocking that he was pregnant. Carlisle's theory made sense, though, and he stopped to explain it entirely to the young shape-shifter.

"I'll explain it to Jasper when he returns, but I think that you should be the one to tell him that the two of you are expecting," Carlisle began. "But I'll start with the mechanics of it all.

"Like I said, you're a functional hermaphrodite. My guess is that all shape-shifters in your pack have a dormant female reproductive system, but it only becomes active if one imprints on a male. Imprinting is, after all, a way for you to find the person who not only completes you, but is strong enough to help produce powerful offspring with you."

Jacob's hands stayed on his midsection, he was still too shocked to really comprehend everything that had happened to him. After all, it's not everyday that you get told that you're expecting a baby fathered by your very male lover. Well, Jacob had been incredibly sure about his own sexual identity, but he'd never thought that some part of his anatomy had been altered by his transformation into one of the shape-shifting protectors of La Push.

"So what you're implying is that not only is Jasper my soul-mate, my other half, but he's also the strongest available male to..." Jacob inhaled sharply, it was so difficult to simply say the words, as simple as they were. "To... father my children?"

"That's my assumption, yes," Carlisle nodded. "As well, it may have something to do with the alpha blood which you inherited through your father. There is no way that you could be without heirs, and so your body has decided that now is the perfect time for the two of you to have children. My guess is that the stress of the past three years has probably contributed to why you haven't conceived before now."

Jacob nodded numbly, accepting the information silently. He was still rather shocked about the entire revelation that he was pregnant, and that Jasper was the father. Wait... was it even possible for Jasper to father children? After all, wasn't he sort of... dead?

"Um, not to be rude or anything... but isn't Jasper dead, and been dead for a long time? Wouldn't his um... wouldn't it kinda be impossible for him to provide the needed... stuff for making a baby?" Well, Jacob knew that Jasper had an ejaculatory fluid of some kind, but since vampires didn't seem to produce anything other then venom, he'd never really put much thought to it.

"This is the part that confused me. As far as I know, it shouldn't be possible for Jasper to father a child in any way, even with a shape-shifter as the, ahem, receiving partner," Carlisle began. "I can only hazard a guess, and that it's something to do with the fact that he's ingested your blood over the years, which I'm assuming he has. I suppose that blood has given him some of your more human traits in this regard, and that's how he was able to produce the needed sperm to make this child, or children."

"Wait... there could be more then one?!"

"Of course, multiples aren't unheard of in pregnancies," Carlisle replied. "Though it's unlikely that you're pregnant with anything more then triplets. Some of these multiples, such as octuplets, are only possible through in vitro fertilization."

His hands covered the small bulge which had appeared on his stomach and which Jacob now knew the real meaning and purpose of. Whereas he'd been terrified only hours early (and it seemed like a lifetime ago), that he was suffering from some strange form of cancer; the idea that he was going to be a 'mother' soon scared him even more. Jacob had grown up without a mother, and he didn't know how he would ever handle the situation; his father, unfortunately, hadn't been too great of a role model.

"Jasper and I... we haven't really discussed anything like this..." Well, that was stating the obvious; neither had even ever suspected that Jacob could conceive. "What am I going to do...?"

Carlisle frowned, "This isn't my business, Jacob, but I think you should talk it over with Jasper. I think he'd be more receptive to the idea then you may think. At the very least, speak with him about this before you decide anything. If you decide that you don't want the child, or children, then I can perform an abortion for you." (1)

Jacob nodded, glad that at the very least he had an option for if Jasper didn't want to go through with this. While he wanted to keep this child (or children; he'd rather keep it a surprise), he wasn't sure how Jasper would take the news. After all, the subject of kids or starting a family had never been broached between the two of them. Come to think of it, they'd never really even talked about their future plans together.

The least that Carlisle did was escort Jacob to Jasper's old room, which was still furbished and smelled heavily of the vampire, and left him there with the message that he would be just down the hall if he was needed.

Left alone, Jacob gave into the dark thoughts and doubts which plagued him. What if Jasper didn't want the baby? What if Jasper thought he was a freak and wanted nothing more to do with him? Jacob had no idea, there weren't any certainties in his life anymore, and it scared him. He still loved Jasper, would do anything for him if it meant staying by his side. Though... Jacob didn't believe that he had the heart in him to give permission to take the life of his unborn child; even if it meant his life.

He couldn't cope with the reality, and fainted.

.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.

Jasper could feel the unsettled and pained emotional atmosphere the moment that he was close enough to the Cullen household. Worried that something may have happened to his mate, he hurried back, pushing himself harder then he had ever done so before. If he would have to deal with the bad news (and the worst case scenario was that his mate would die shortly), then he would rather have to deal with it sooner then later. After all, it wasn't like he had much more to live for other then Jacob.

Jacob was his life, and Jasper would never want to lose him. Losing Jacob meant his own death, and it was a relief to Jasper to know that if Jacob ever did die, that he wouldn't be too far behind him.

The house was dead silent when Jasper pushed open the front door and rushed into the main room on the first floor. He could hear the faint noises of Carlisle reading in his study on the next floor, and also the distinctive sound of his lover's heartbeat and breathing.

He didn't notice the soft echoes which beat in time to his precious lover's.

Immediately, Jasper made for the stairs; taking them three at a time in his rush to make it to Jacob's side as quickly as possible. He was down the hall in five strides, and had the door open in less time then it took a person to blink. What he found shocked and scared him.

Jacob was lying unconscious on the floor beside the large windows which made up the entire back wall of the house. Panicking, he raced to the young shape-shifter's side, immediately pulling him into the firm hold of his arms. If Carlisle had left his lover on his own, then that had to mean that it wasn't too serious.

As he turned his lover over, Jasper's hand brushed over the usually flat expanse of his stomach. He froze when he realized that Jacob's abdomen wasn't flat, and that there was, in fact, a small bump of relatively hardened and slightly cool flesh there. He pressed his hand gently down on it, surprised that the flesh didn't give way beneath his palm.

The source of the emotional anguish that he'd felt earlier was definitely coming from his mate, because he could still feel it swirling about in the air. Whatever Carlisle had told Jacob had obviously not sat too well him and had caused him great distress and pain.

Removing his palm from the curious bump on his love's abdomen, Jasper reached up and cupped Jacob's cheek in his hand.

"Jake? Jake, love, wake up. Please wake up..." he murmured as he leaned in, brushing his lips over Jacob's as he cradled the unconscious shape-shifter to him. "Jake..."

A soft groan told him that the shape-shifter was indeed coming too, and Jasper let loose a sigh of relief.

Jacob sat up swiftly, almost thwacking his head into Jasper's chin. When he looked up to meet his lover's now bright gold eyes, he didn't need to know how worried and panicked his sudden collapse must have caused Jasper. Even if the vampire hadn't been there to see him faint, just finding his considerably younger lover unconscious on the floor was enough to scare him.

"Oh thank God... you had me worried Jake," Jasper murmured, leaning in to press a more substantial kiss to his lover's lips.

Imagine Jasper's surprise when Jacob turned away, and his lips met his lover's cheek. Almost immediately, Jasper pulled back, feeling his lover's shame and depression flowing off of him in waves of anguish. Just what had Carlisle told him?

"What happened? Jake? What's wrong?" When Jacob continually refused to meet Jasper's eyes, the vampire started to become panicked. "Why won't you look at me?! Please, Jake!"

He was awfully tempted to shake the boy, but Jasper fought back that urge, instead holding him an arm's length in front of him, staring at the face which refused to look at him. Desperately, he knew that he was an emotional mess and that it wasn't helping Jacob at all, but he couldn't help it; Jacob would always be his weak spot when it came to his control over himself and his turbulent emotions.

"Jasper..." Jacob's voice sounded so sad, so lonely. It nearly broke Jasper's heart.

"Please Jake, tell me what's wrong. Nothing that could have happened to you could ever make me hate you, could ever make me want to leave you. So please... what happened? What did Carlisle tell you?"

A very long, almost too long, silence fell on them.

Finally, Jacob gathered his courage, and with shaking hands he took one of Jasper's hands in both of his and pulled it to his slowly ballooning stomach. His voice was soft, too quiet to be heard by the human ear, but Jasper heard it loud and clear.

"I'm pregnant."

"What...?" Jasper's eyes flew wide open, and he looked down at his hand and where it rested against his lover's abdomen. It couldn't be... there was just no way...!

"It's true... Carlisle confirmed it. I'm pregnant, and it's your child."

"How...? I mean... I can't..."

"He thinks it's because you've drank my blood," Jacob murmured, still not making eye contact. "You're the only one I've ever been with, which is how I know that it's definitely yours..."

Jasper stared at his hand and then looked at his lover's still averted face, quickly putting all the pieces together. Now his lover's strange behaviour made sense with the new information that he'd been given. If Jacob was pregnant, and it was with his child, then that meant he was probably terrified and ashamed of it; assuming that Jasper would think him a freak or worse.

"And what do you want to do, Jake?"

Brown eyes met light butterscotch, and Jacob felt his breathing hitch in his chest. It was too much like the first time they'd laid eyes on each other, and he doubted that he'd ever lose this feeling; no matter how many years passed, he'd never have that much control over his heart or his breathing.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you want to keep this child or not? I'll support you in any decision that you make."

"You'd... you'd actually want this baby?"

Jasper smiled, almost sadly, "Of course. I love you Jake, why wouldn't I love this child, our child?"

"I thought-"

"That I wouldn't want this? That I'd reject you?" Jasper was shocked that Jacob might have thought so little of him. "I'm ashamed to think that you'd think so little of me, Jacob, I thought that you knew me better then that."

The harsh words stung, and Jacob could feel the tears well up in his eyes. He'd always known that Jasper loved him, and that nothing could ever make him stop, and yet he'd still let those nasty doubts and fears take him. Jacob knew that he was going to be a mess later in his pregnancy.

"I love you, I've told you so many times; what more can I do to show you that I feel like that? You, Jacob, are the world to me, and I would never let anything come between us. This child only cements the bond that's already between us. I've always thought about a family, even though I knew I could never have one in this life, and yet, by some miracle, I've been given the chance to have one. I can only thank you, Jake, for giving me this little miracle."

Jacob sniffed, and leaned into Jasper's silently offered embrace. He fisted his hands in Jasper's shirt and started bawling his eyes out. He couldn't believe that Jasper had said that, only a short while ago he'd believed that his lover would reject him because of this.

"I can hear their heartbeat, you know," Jasper murmured. "I hadn't noticed before... but it's definitely there. Just an echoing noise, their heart beats so fast, almost like a hummingird..."

"... I love you, Jasper."

"I know, Jake, I know."