A/N: Hi! So, I feel about 2 inches tall. I'm so sorry for the delay.

Last time: When it was getting dark, I took her back to the shore, getting her back and situated in the canoe. We went out a little bit and she watched in awe as the whales came out.

"This is the perfect spot to watch them."

Ari started tearing up, "Jake. This was perfect. Thank you!" She threw herself into my arms, sloppily kissing my face. I just laughed and redirected her lips to mine.

I never thought that I could be so happy.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story except for Ariya. She is my own little creation.

Ariya POV

I had no idea that I could ever be this happy.

Well, after I lost Taylor, that is.

Jake has been really great. After that first date, he's been really open to having a relationship with me.

I think that opening up about our pasts was a great way to try to explain who we are. I haven't felt closer to someone since Taylor. Jake was very understanding of my need to tell him about my past.

I really did appreciate the fact that Jake felt close enough to talk to me about Bella. I know how hard it is to talk about someone who you once loved. I don't understand how she could not see how amazing Jake is. Why couldn't she see that when he cares about someone, he cares about that person completely, with his whole heart. He would never ever betray that person, and would always give his whole heart and soul to protecting the person.

He's the closest to perfect I've ever seen anyone get to.

And it scares me to think that I don't deserve him. He can have much better than me.

But, I can't tell him that I think that. What would he say? What would he think, having such a weak mate like me? I don't understand why I'm the Alpha female. It just doesn't make sense to me. But I have to stay strong for Jacob. He deserves a strong woman by his side, so I'll do anything to live up to those expectations of me. I don't want to lose him or be deemed unworthy of him by the rest of the pack and council.

Man, I have got to let go of these insecurities. Jake would never forgive me if he found out what I am thinking.

I sighed.

Jake has been so amazing to me these past few months especially now. I definitely do not deserve his kind words and touch. The way he holds me, it's as if I'm the only one else in the world. And, I know that it's selfish of me to want his arms around me for as long as I can have them.

I shivered as I remembered his touch.

I continued to stir the mixture on the stove, smiling to myself. I lost myself into cooking, humming softly to myself.

Putting the casseroles into the oven, I started working on the innards of the apple pie. As I was using a peeler to cut the thin slices of the apples, there was a knock at the door.

Slowly waddling my way to the door, I smiled as I saw Sue and Charlie standing there.

"Hi Sue, Chief Swan! How are you guys!" I moved to the side, holding the door open. "Come on in!"

Sue gave me a hug and Charlie just patted my head as he passed. Charlie sat down at the table and Sue grabbed two more peelers, handing one to Charlie, and they both started helping me peel up the pile of apples that I had.

"How far along now, sweetie?"

"Oh I hope it won't be long now. I'm 34 now weeks and it seems like the due date is so far away. I feel like I've been pregnant forever." She smiled at me.

"When was the due date that the doctor gave you?"

"May 14." I rubbed my stomach absently as I looked for the ingredients that I needed in the spice cabinet.

It was only the beginning of April. I have so much longer to go. "I just can't wait for this little guy to come. We've been waiting for you for so long now, baby." My voice became childish as I spoke to my stomach, and I could hear laughter in the background.

"When's your next ultrasound appointment?"

"On Tuesday. Jake's going to take me, and we're going to see the doctor in Forks. He's been getting on our case when we say that we want to have an at home birth with a doctor from the Res. It's not like he can force us to go to the hospital, but he's worried about my health. Seems like my blood pressure is still a little too high. I've changed my diet, I get regular naps, and I am not allowed to stress out, but there's still something that I'm not doing right, I guess."

"Honey, it's a tough thing, trying to have the ideal health when you're pregnant. Especially when your hormones are so out of whack, it's easy to stress out, which causes your blood pressure to go up. And with our lives, it's stress central. Don't worry about it. You're doing an amazing job. And look on the bright side, Jake has finally learned how to change a diaper."

I laughed. Sue was giving us personal classes, working around Jake's busy schedule. Jake had a hard time with the diaper thing. It was hilarious to watch. And his face when he learned that boys sometimes pee when you're changing them was priceless.

While we were working, I looked at Charlie. The poor man looks so depressed whenever he sees me. I don't mean to upset him. "How's work, Chief Swan?"

"Fine… Ow!" Sue punched him in the arm for the short answer he gave me. I giggled. "It's been good. The kids are starting to grow up, though some of the younger ones are a little worse than the ones that came before them. I don't understand why these kids think that they can get away with some of the stuff that they try. It's a small town. There is no way that you can try to rob a bank, and the owner wont know you. Why even try?"

I shook my head. Kids these days, thinking that they're so superior to their elders because they grew up differently, with more technology. When I was a kid, I remember the earliest days of the internet, and not being able to use the phone at the same time as the internet.

"These kids are so young too. The youngest one that I had to arrest was only 15. And it's only a small group of them. The rest of the kids are pretty manageable with some slight scare tactics."

That was the most that I have ever heard Charlie Swan speak. And my jaw dropped.

"They really try to rob banks in Forks?"

No one ever really did that on the Res, both here and back at home. You were both too proud to take from your own people, and too scared of the punishment that the Chief would be giving out to you. Not to mention the public humiliation that would follow.

"Only a couple kids. We haven't seen this kind of activity in this age group in decades. Usually, the most we've had to deal with, in kids, are noise complaints, vandalism, and the occasional scam targeting the more senior citizens. But theft is usually left to the adults with more imagination and resources."

"Being the Chief of Police in a small town isn't as easy as some people might think, is it?"

Shaking his head, he sighed. "Not at all. Especially with the economy these days. Budget cuts really affect our Forks Police Department than they would the larger city police departments. And not having enough money, means that the men and women that work for us, have to do more and earn less. Any sort of changes that we think will help the town, even so much as a little change in the parking laws will have negative feedback from half the town. I never seem to do anything right when all I'm trying to do is help."

"I didn't realize that it was so tough. But I know that everyone does appreciate what you do for Forks, and even here in LaPush. You do so much here, trying to make it better for the people here, even though you don't have to. You are very appreciated, Chief Swan. By everyone."

He just grunted and went back to cutting the apples.

We went on, filling up the inside of the pie crust with the apple mixture, and topped it off with another crust, cutting up a small design on the top before putting it into the second oven.

"When did you guys get a double oven?"

"Well two weeks ago, Jake saw me looking through these kitchen magazines at double ovens, and within the next week, there were these people installing one. I guess he realized the old one was too old for us to try to keep using. When I complained that he didn't need to do that, and that we couldn't spend the extra money, he just kinda waved me off, saying that we were overdue for a new one, and that someone owed him a favor. I didn't ask."

"I'd imagine that was the case. Jacob does a lot for people both on the Res and in Forks, even going to Port Angeles sometimes. He's a good man."

I smiled. "Yes, he is."

"And you're good for him too, hon. He's really changed since you came here. I knew the Alpha in him, but you bring out something else. He's more focused, more responsible, but at the same time, he's so much more happy. He hasn't been really happy in years. And it's real good to see him like this."

"Sue, I haven't really done anything."

"No, you have. You, and this baby. You're both changing his life… for the better. Trust me. I've known that boy ever since his Mama popped him out. He's so much more of an adult than most men twice his age. He's better off now that you're here."

"Thank you, Sue." Tears were glistening in my eyes.

"Awe no problem hon. You're family. Right, Charlie?" She smacked him on the shoulder when he just grunted at her."

"Yeah. You're family."

I smiled at them.

"Thanks for coming over. Everyone else has been so busy lately, even Billy. I usually only have Luke here to play with." I tried to not sound as disappointed as I felt, but I found it hard to do. The house was perfectly clean now, with all of the extra time I had on my hands. And I was getting so bored lately. I had caught up on all of the TV shows that I began watching, and I even started re-watching older shows that were on Netflix.

Sue and Chief Swan shared a meaningful look. I tried to ignore it, but I couldn't.

"What?"

"Nothing, dear."

"Are you sure that there's nothing you want to tell me?"

"Nothing to worry about, my dear."

I opened up my mouth to question her, but then the oven beeped, creating a change in conversation.

"What's in the oven?"

"Some casseroles that I made for Jake and the rest of the pack. I was going to go take them over to Emily and Sam's as soon as the pies are done."

"When will the pies be done?"

"They take about an hour in the oven. I have some pumpkin pies in the refrigerator cooling off now."

"All you're missing now are some cookies." Charlie tried to joke, chuckling to himself.

I moved to grab a large serving plate. Removing some of the foil covering the top, I grinned at Charlie.

"Chocolate chip."

"The pack is gonna love you even more. Did you spend the entire day in the kitchen?"

"I was bored. Cooking and baking really help get my mind away from everything."

"It's also a good stress reliever. You're doing good here, hon."

"I'm doing as well as I can."

"Well under the circumstances, I'd say that the baby is very lucky."

I grinned. My baby is very lucky. He's going to have so much family, that he'll never be alone. I mean, between me, Jake, the pack and the imprints, the Elders and their families, and Will and Ma and Pop, and even some of the tribe members, my baby will never be put down.

"Yeah. He's gonna have the best family ever."

Later on, before they left, I handed them a pie to take home. Sue gave me a kiss on the forehead. Chief Swan ruffled my head and corrected me as I said goodbye. "Call me Charlie."

Getting a cooler, I filled it with the food, putting the pies on top and the cookies on the side. I rolled it behind me as I walked over to Sam's house. Humming along to the music in my headphones, I walked along the beaten old path to where I knew the little brown house was.

Unsure of myself, I knocked a few times, just quick little raps of the door with my knuckles. I knew if there was a pack member in the house, he (or she) would hear it easily.

I was right, as the door swiftly opened to reveal Paul.

"Hey sis. Why'd you knock?" He engulfed me into his arms, reaching behind me to grab the cooler from me.

Leading me into the house, he took the cooler into the kitchen.

"It's just a few casseroles and some pies and cookies. Just in case you guys were hungry."

"That's awesome, hon. Thanks!" There were a few cheers coming from different rooms. Paul leaned down to kiss my cheek.

I sat down on the couch, watching the younger guys playing video games and yelling at each other.

I guess I fell asleep, because the next thing I knew, I was opening my eyes to Jake holding me as he snored into my hair. We were still in the living room of Emily's, on the couch. There were more of the boys playing games and I could hear the girls in the kitchen.

All of a sudden, I felt something in my stomach… jump? It wasn't the baby kicking… He had the hiccups!

As soon as Jake felt the hiccup, he quickly woke up, quickly looking for something wrong.

The hiccupping continued, and I watched, enraptured as my stomach continued to move in the coolest way possible.

"What's going on? Is the baby okay?" His eyes were frantic, and his voice was filled with worry.

I started to laugh. It was too cute to see him this worked up over hiccups.

"He's fine, Jake. Just a case of the hiccups."

Jake closed his eyes and leaned back on the couch with a sigh of relief.

Grabbing his hands, I put them onto my stomach where the hiccups were the strongest to touch. His whole face lit up in awe, and he got that look of complete adoration in his eyes.

He started to laugh.

"That is so cool. What does it feel like to you?"

"It's just like a twitch in my stomach. I wonder why he gets them."

We watched as the twitching continued, and I started to laugh. Bad idea.

"Ooh. I gotta pee."

Jake laughed as he helped me to stand up.

Ughhhh.

"It's like I have to pee every other second. It's like he's just sitting on my bladder."

"Awwwe. Poor baby." Jake kissed my pouting lips.

I hissed, reaching my arms up, trying to relieve the pain of my son moving and stretching around in my stomach.

"Is he moving around in there?"

I nodded. "Yeah. He's trying to find a comfy position to sleep in."

Jake lifted up my shirt. "I wanna see this." He laughed as he saw the tiny hands and feet pushing at my stomach from the inside."

"Yeah, yeah. Yuck it up."

He pulled me into his arms. "He'll be here soon. Don't worry."

I smiled as I looked up at him, him rubbing around my swollen belly.

"Soon we'll be holding him in our arms." He kissed my forehead.

I sighed in content. This was perfection.

Sorry I've been away. My laptop and my laptop charger both needed to get fixed at different times. It's been crazy. Please review! Until next time

~Ariya-angels