A/N: And…. It's over…. WAHHHHHH.

I woke up in Quil's arms this morning, just like I had been for the last seven years since I graduated from Stanford. I smiled drowsily to myself, realizing it wasn't even six yet and wondered why I was even up so early.

And then I realized that the baby was crying through the monitor.

I groaned and kicked Quil in the shin. "Quil, get up. It's your turn." I mumbled with my eyes half closed and proceeded to slap him in the face. He, of course, proceeded to let out a snore and roll over onto his side. I groaned and blindly made my way out of bed. I didn't really expect anything else from him, he never wakes up. I opened up the door to the baby's room. "Alright, shh, Mommy's here." I cooed, lifting Molly up to my lips and kissing her head.

I changed her diaper and took her downstairs into the living room to feed her and after she was done and burped, she looked up at me and smiled her three month old smile at me and I realized she was wide awake. I sighed down at her. "Okay, fine but you're coming into the kitchen. If we're staying up to play, Mommy needs some coffee." Being just shy of five feet, having a baby that was big for her age was challenging. "You need to stop eating, miss. You're going to end up like your brother and your father."

I put her in her exersaucer cautiously, still worried about putting her in it so early. Quil had laughed at my fears because she's had such good head control for so long but turning my back for even a second made me absolutely terrified that she was going to hurt herself.

Keeping one eye out the whole time, I put on the coffee and decided to get an early start on breakfast. I cracked eight eggs in a pan to scramble them and put bacon in another. Just as I was halfway through scrambling, Molly got bored and started demanding my attention.

Just as I was about to abandon my food and claim defeat until Quil woke up, he bounded down the stairs in his basketball shorts and messy hair, rubbing his eyes. "I got her, don't worry." He yawned and her crying immediately ceased as soon as he came into view and she started reaching out desperately.

I rolled my eyes. "After all the care I give to her, she still favors you." I grumble. "It's not fair."

He gave me a cheeky smile and kissed my cheek. "Well, I still prefer you, if that's any consolation."

"Not really." I mumble, but smile at him anyway. "There's coffee in the pot."

He poured himself a mug carefully. "What time was she up at?"

"About quarter to six." I told him, glancing at the clock that flashed seven thirty.

He bounced her on his lap and she grabbed at his fingers happily. "Why didn't you wake me? I would have gotten up with her."

I clenched my teeth together. "Gee, why didn't I think of that? Next time I'll do that." I turned off the stove and made up three plates. "Teddy needs to get up now if you're going to get him to school before you have to go to the shop."

"Crap!" He swore and I gave him a nasty look. "You're right and I need to get dressed too. Here, take her."

Attempting to eat and balance a curious baby on your lap just didn't work and after her fifth attempt to grab my fork from my mouth, I gave up and stuck her back in her seat and gave her a bunch of metal spoons to play with.

When Quil came back down with our five year old son on his shoulders, both of them dressed in matching shirts, I had to try my best not to smile. There were some mornings that Quil and I got along great and some mornings when I just wanted to shove a fork up his ass.

This was one of the mornings where I was cranky, irritated and clutching my fork evilly. Not even two cups of coffee could get my spirits up. But I ruffled my son's hair and kissed his brown mop. "Hey Teddy, are you all ready for school today?"

He nodded his head happily and climbed into the seat next to me, eagerly shoving bacon in his mouth. "Mhm!" He cried and I cringed. He had gotten his table manners from his father. "Twday we're doing arts and crafts!"

"Don't talk with your mouth full." I chided, but couldn't help smiling at him.

Timothy "Teddy" Quil Ateara was a surprise, to say the least. I found out I was pregnant just about a year after I had graduated and moved back to La Push. It wasn't an ideal time, with me just starting my job at Forks hospital as a children's counsellor, but with a written recommendation from Carlisle because he couldn't show up in person without his appearance being suspicious, they kept me around through my pregnancy right up until he was born. I took a few months off to get settled and then Quil stayed home with him until he was about two.

All my babysitting paid off, because my aunt offered to watch him while we were both working. I think she missed being needed, seeing as the twins were twenty three and attending university out of state, Joshua at nineteen was working at the shop with the guys and running the Pack as Alpha now that Sam and the others have retired. A pack that included his sixteen year old brother, Carson.

Thankfully, she had agreed to do the same with Molly when I decided I was ready to go back to work.

"Okay baby, we have to go." Quil's voice brought me out of my reminiscing. "I'll be back by six okay? I have something I need to talk to you about." He kissed me gently and then kissed Molly's head. "I love you."

"You better have been talking to me." I joked. "Bye baby, have fun at school."

"Bye Mommy!" Teddy yelled, grabbing his bag and running out the door in front of Quil, who blew me a kiss before shutting it.

And my typical day started. I kept my diva of a baby entertained until ten and I had to force her down for a nap. This kid hated sleep, and I didn't understand why. Sleep was the best thing that was ever invented and I don't get enough of it.

Forcing myself not to curl up on my bed and sleep myself, I went downstairs and cleaned the whole house top to bottom, did the dishes and showered. After eating lunch, and feeding Molly as she woke up, I packed her up in the car and made my way over to Emily's.

She was aging well but nevertheless, she was still aging. At forty-seven, her laugh lines were starting to come in and all her crow black hair was getting strands of grey. She smiled at me as I came through the door. "You're right on time." She commented.

"Yeah well you and I both know that I have nothing better to do during the day."

She laughed and took Molly from my arms, placing her in her lap as she sat at the kitchen table. "So, what do you think? How are you feeling?" She asked softly and I furrowed my brows.

"About what?" I asked, confused.

"About Quil retiring from the Pack. I mean, I'm pretty sure we all saw it coming because you're both pretty close in age now, but I'm sure you have to have some sort of opinion on it. I know he wants to be able to spend more time with you and the kids, and with Jacob coming back for a little bit to give Josh some advice on leading the pack, I know this is the perfect time for him…" She babbled on and I just stared at her, wide eyed. "Oh no… You didn't know, did you?"

I shook my head slowly. "He's retiring? But what about Embry?"

"Well… You remember how Embry said he was going to keep phasing until he found his imprint? Well, he did." She quickly backtracked. "Please don't mention to Quil that I already told you, he'll be so upset with me."

"I won't." I whispered quietly. "Embry imprinted? Why didn't he tell me? We tell each other pretty much everything…"

"I don't know sweetheart, but I'm sure Quil will explain everything when he gets home." She said softly, touching my hand. There was the sound of a door slamming outside. "Oh, that's probably Sam back from work. Here, I think she needs to be changed anyway."

I took Molly from her, changed her quickly and made my way back into the kitchen to kiss my uncle on the cheek. It was weird seeing him looking older, as he had managed to keep his phasing under control for the past ten years and he was looking about thirty five now. I was proud of him, knowing that he had tried for so long to stop phasing, ever since Emily was first pregnant with the twins, but had been unable to succeed. He was the inspiration for everyone else and Paul, Jared, Seth and Brady all followed his lead soon after.

"Hey Sam, how was your day?" I asked him as he sat down wearily. Emily immediately started cooking for him and I sat down across from him. He worked part time at a construction company in Port Angeles, just to be able to live comfortably along with the fund that the council had given him when he first started phasing.

"Long and tiring. Working when you're no longer a werewolf is just exhausting. How was yours?"

I shrugged. "Typical housewife stuff. I can't wait until I can go back to work. Just a couple more weeks…" I looked down at my daughter, who had her fingers shoved in her mouth. "It's not that I don't love her…"

Emily giggled. "Don't worry. I know exactly what you mean."

I chatted with them both like I usually did, and around two-thirty I decided to put Molly down for another nap in the old nursery that Emily had kept around for Teddy when she was taking care of him.

Half an hour after that, the front door open and Carson came through with my son on his shoulders, with Tanner, Jared and Kim's fifteen year old son, followed behind. Emily, forever a supermom, was expecting them all and had made a feast for the two teenagers and a peanut butter sandwich for Teddy.

Teddy crawled into my lap and Carson and Tanner sat down across from me as Sam got up to help Emily clean up. Carson was stuffing his face with no remorse, but I could feel Tanner watching me and I sighed, meeting his eyes. He gave me a pitiful half smile. I knew what he was dying to ask but I could tell that he was trying to be respectful.

"She's sleeping right now." I told him and he frowned, but nodded. I refrained from rolling my eyes and kissed the top of my son's head. And just as if she sensed him, Molly woke up.

I went to set Teddy down on the seat when Tanner got up. "May I?" He asked quietly and I reluctantly agreed.

Just because that used to be Quil and I, doesn't mean I'm okay with it. I mean, I've barely had her for three months and he's already hogging her. Unconsciously, I tightened my arms around Teddy and hugged him closer to me. At least I still had one baby.

Five minutes later, he returned with my babbling daughter. "I think she's hungry. Can I feed her?"

"Sorry, I didn't pump any milk." I lied, hoping he didn't look in the fridge. "I'll take her into the living room." I held my arms out for her and he passed her over to me with reluctance. I held her tight to my chest, even when she squirmed around and reached her little arms out for him, I just kept walking.

As soon as she was done and I had buttoned my shirt back up, Tanner appeared in the doorway like clockwork. "Can I burp her?" He asked desperately.

I sighed, giving up. "Sure, whatever." And I pretended not to be upset when her whimpers turned into giggles and I left them alone.

"You should probably get going." Emily mentioned, looking at the clock. "If you want to make it home and look nice for your dinner tonight."

"I can never manage to look nice with these two around."

She smiled slyly. "Good thing they're staying here for the night."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What?"

"I'm keeping an eye on them until tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll have Teddy ready for school and you can pick up Molly whenever you're awake and ready."

"You don't have to do that…"

"I owe you for all the nights you let me and Sam have together." She laughed lightly. "Besides, when was the last time you had a romantic night together?"

"Too long…" I murmured. "Thank you so much Emily, I owe you." I hugged her tightly and scooped my son up. "You be good for Emily okay? I will see you tomorrow after school. And maybe if you're a good boy, Brady will let Elliot come over and play." I hugged him tightly and kissed him multiple times and did the same to Molly, who got upset when she realized that I was leaving. Her fussiness was cut short after Tanner distracted her, and the anger in my stomach was blocked by my excitement.

I rushed home and spent nearly half an hour in the shower, scrubbing my body and shaving all over. Afterwards, I dried and curled my hair and I slipped on the black dress that I had worn to Quil Sr.'s funeral all those years ago. It was snug, considering I've had two kids since then, but it still fit and I put on a pair of red pumps and red lipstick.

As I finished up, I heard Quil coming through the door. Surprisingly, he didn't come upstairs and after a half an hour, I made my way downstairs carefully.

The dining room was completely dim except for the flickering light of candles that were lit and something smelt absolutely delicious. "You bought pizza?" I asked, giggling. "Our romantic dinner is a takeout pizza?"

He walked towards me, dress sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and brushed his finger across my cheek. "I didn't want to waste any time cooking when I could spend it with you." He whispered, pressing a kiss under my ear. "You look ravishing. I haven't seen that dress on you since you were seventeen."

"I figured you would like it. Neither of us got a chance to truly appreciate it." I bit my lip and he went in for a kiss, but stopped himself.

"Later. First, we eat. And we need to talk." He pushed out the chair for me and I sat down and put a few slices of pizza on my plate. "I want to retire."

"Aren't you a little young to retire?" I teased, trying to dance around the fact that I already knew what he was talking about.

He rolled his eyes. "I meant from the pack. I mean, everyone else has already, except Jake but he's never going to retire."

"Wait, Jake's never going to retire? Why is that?" I asked curiously.

"Oh come on, Claire. If you haven't noticed, Nessie is still eighteen. And she will never be anything other than eighteen. She's going to live forever, and if Jake stops phasing, then he's going to age and if he dies… That would destroy her. He's chosen to live with her forever."

I tried to process what he was saying, chewing slowly on a slice. I had been best friends with Nessie for eleven years, even after her and Jake moved away and I had never even considered this. When I was an old woman, Nessie would be at my bedside, forever young and beautiful, watching me die. I shivered and changed the subject. "What about Embry?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Well, you'll never guess. Embry imprinted last week. He wanted to tell you himself but I begged him to leave it so that I could explain to you why I wanted to retire. The Pack holds nothing for me anymore, Claire. The new boys are taking over and Jake is there to train them and help them out and all my friends have retired to be with their families. I think it's time for me to be there for my family too. No more pack responsibility means more time at home with you and the kids. What do you say? Are you okay with it?" He asked, holding my hands across the table.

"Are you actually asking me that? Of course I'm okay with it! Do you know how exhausting it is constantly getting up with the baby because you're literally out cold from being out late patrolling? And how lonely it gets around here when you're gone? God, I'm so happy!" I exclaimed, jumping out of my chair and into his lap. "Oh, Quil… I love you."

He pressed his lips to mine. "I love you too, Claire. I have always loved you."

And for the first time in forever, it felt like everything was finally coming together.

A/N: I just wanted to say thank you to EVERYONE who has been reading this story, those who came back to read it after my long absence and even those who just started reading it. This is the first story I've ever completed and I'm so proud of it, even though there are probably a lot of mistakes and cheesy plot lines and everything that you would expect from a fanfiction.

The sequel will probably be posted in a few months, after I finish Butterflies, and it will follow the lives of Quil and Claire, from the eyes of their daughter Molly and her relationship with Tanner. It is going to start when she is around four years old, and basically it's the life that Quil and Claire never got to have.

I'll see you guys soon :)