Summary: Just when things are starting to look up and relationships are being mended, another threat has the vampires and wolves teaming up yet again.

Warnings: Fluff. Lots of fluff.And finally! It's finally over. And right before my birthday, no less. Haha. I'm not super happy with this, but it is what it is. I hope some of you at least enjoyed it.I also want to thank each and every one of you who stuck this out with me. I never intended for there to be four parts, but some scenes just kept dragging out and I couldn't stop it. So without further ado, enjoy!

◈◈◈

Sitting in the living room, you're on one side of the couch and Paul on the other, your legs stretched out so your feet are under his thigh. Sam has graciously given him the day off and thought he could use the time to mend things with you- and Paul surprisingly took him up on the offer. He had showed up with breakfast after your mom had left for work and you had settled with him downstairs so you weren't tempted to cuddle him in your bed- because dammit, staying away from him was proving harder and harder as the hours went by.

"That was a terrible movie," he grumbles. "Why did we watch it again?"

"Because Keifer Sutherland is a total babe." You manage to keep a straight face long enough to annoy Paul and only break when he reaches over to squeeze right above your knee. You squeal and punch out at him, laughing as you say, "Joking! I'm only joking."

He rolls his eyes, but doesn't move from where he'd fallen over. Instead he re-situates himself and drapes an arm over your legs. "No you're not. You're totally one of those people who was upset when the bad vampires died at the end of the movie."

You grin and shrug. "Well I mean.." Paul squeezes above your knee and you wisely don't finish that sentence.

"Please let the next movie not be about vampires."

"I know a couple about werewolves if you're interested. An American Werewolf in Paris?" Paul groans and you grin, already getting up to switch out the DVD for a new one.

As you're searching for a new movie, your cell phone rings and Paul picks it to see who's calling. "It's Alice." He frowns.

Holding your hands out, you catch your phone as Paul tosses it to you and then quickly answer it. "Hello?"

"She's awake."

You blink in surprise and Paul sits up in his seat, clearly listening in. "How is she taking it?" You ask.

"She's unusual for a newborn," Alice giggles. "Edward took her hunting and when she caught wind of a nearby human, she had enough self control to run away."

"That's good! That's really good," you say. "I guess it's going to be a while before I can visit again, huh?"

"Unfortunately," she sighs. "We need to make sure she has total control and it wasn't just a fluke."

"I understand. And hey, maybe when I do get the okay to visit I can have Paul go with me because you should see his face right now." You smirk and he pouts, and Alice giggles over the line. "He is not happy about me seeing newborn Bella."

"It'll be fine," she says. "And if Paul needs some cheering up, he'll be happy to know Bella found out Jacob imprinted on Renesmee. She was not happy."

Paul then grins. "I hope she kicked his ass."

"She almost did. Seth jumped in the way and she accidentally threw him into a tree. The situation calmed down right after that."

You gasp. "Oh no, not Seth. He's like the sweetest out of all the wolves." Paul pointedly clears his throat and you wink at him. "Well thanks for letting me know, Alice. Tell Bella I say hi and give Renesmee a hug for me."

"I will. Bye, Y/N."

Stepping forward to set your phone down on the coffee table, you then meet Paul's stare. "So that happened."

"Mhm."

You chuckle nervously, blurting the first thing that comes to mind to get Paul's mind off of vampires. "Lunch? I'm thinking burgers."

"Burgers sound good."

Paul follows you into the kitchen and as you start prepping the hamburger meat into patties he finds some potatoes that he starts slicing into thin wedges for some homemade fries. The two of you work comfortably side by side, hip checking one another and laughing as the cooking and baking starts.

Then once the food is plated and served up, the two of you waste no time digging in. Only halfway through, the front door opens and your mom's voice rings out.

"Y/N! Is that Paul's truck outside? Did you finally kiss and make up?"

You groan as Paul snickers, frowning at your mom as she steps into the kitchen with a too smug grin. "Yes it's Paul and we're working up on the making up part. Calm down."

"Paul!" She happily greets, completely ignoring you. "I'm so happy you're back."

"Jesus Christ."

Paul beams and quickly stands up to give your mom a hug. "I'm happy to be back as well. Y/N is really making me work for it."

Your mom giggles and you roll your eyes, swinging out at Paul and punching his hip. "You out for lunch, Mom?" You ask, hoping to distract her.

"Yes. Are there leftovers?"

"Yeah. Help yourself." You start picking at your food again, smiling as your mom takes a seat across from you. When you catch her gaze, however, you sigh at her too smug expression as her gaze darts between you and Paul. "We're just friends taking things day by day. Don't make it weird."

"I'm just happy," she amusingly defends herself. "I always thought you and Paul were good together."

You sigh, chancing a look at Paul only to see his own smug mug. "I cannot deal with the both of you."

◈◈◈

Sitting on the porch of Paul's nearly finished house, you scratch at the dried paint on the back of your hands. From the last time you had been here, he had gotten a lot more done and all the house really needed was some paint before it could be moved into. And since you and Paul were slowly trying to get back to where you were in your previous relationship, he wouldn't take no for an answer when he picked you up and drove you over to finish painting your house.

"So I was thinking about a dark green for the master bedroom," Paul says.

You scrunch up your nose and hit him with your shoulder as he's sitting next to you. "Seriously? No."

He huffs a laugh. "Then what do you think? And don't choose anything girly."

"What about a blu-ish gray? Not too bright, not too dark."

Paul opens his mouth to retort, but then closes it. "Huh. I think I can work with that."

"Of course you can. We have similar tastes, dum-dum." Paul smiles as you tease him, but before he can call you out on it, your cell phone rings. Digging it out of your back pocket, you check the small screen and frown at the name that pops up.

"Why is the leech calling you?"

"I'm not sure." Answering the call, you quickly place the phone at your ear. "Edward?" Paul immediately growls, but you weakly punch his thigh to shush him.

"Hey, Y/N." Edward greets. "Are you busy?"

"Not at all. Paul and I just got done painting for the afternoon. What's up?"

"This might be too soon, but Bella and I were wondering if you could come over for a brief visit."

"No. Absolutely not," Paul blurts, eyes already blazing with anger.

"Shut up, Paul," you say. Then paying attention to your phone call, you ask, "Are you sure? I mean Bella is only a couple days old."

"She's doing great on animal blood and is remarkable around Renesmee. We're still a little skeptical, but that's why Jacob is going to be nearby. Paul's more than welcomed to be here too. I'm kind of starting to realize just how protective they are of imprints." You snort, wondering how the new father is coping with having his daughter being an imprint to the boy who was in love with his wife for years.

"Y/N." You meet Paul's gaze at his pleading tone, but instead of using words to reassure him you reach for his hand when you see him shake his head. He doesn't want you to go.

Interlocking your fingers with his, you smile reassuringly at him and hold his gaze as you tell Edward, "I'm in, but only if Paul goes with me." Paul slumps with a roll of his eyes and you grin in victory.

"Thank you, Y/N."

"No problem. But I am curious," you muse. "Why visit now?"

"That would actually be Renesmee's doing. In the memories she keeps showing us, you keep popping up. We think she's wondering where you went."

"Aww." You coo. "Then I'm definitely in. We'll make sure Bella can actually keep her venom to herself and then I get some baby time. Two birds, one stone."

Edward chuckles. "Sure thing. Just come over at any time."

"Give us an hour. We need to shower and change into fresh clothes."

"Okay. See you then."

After hanging up with Edward, Paul's still not too impressed with your decision. "Come on, don't be grumpy." You squeeze his hand once more and then pull his hand into your lap to play with his fingers. "The baby wants to see me so we need to get Bella accustomed to my scent. You don't have to go, but I'd obviously feel a lot better with you there and shifted, standing at my side."

He sighs and you smother a grin. "What's the deal with that anyway? The baby can show memories?"

"Yeah. She's gifted. She touches your cheek and she can show you something she's seen. It's amazing."

"This is a terrible idea, Y/N."

"I know, but I'm doing it anyway. Now grab some clothes and take me home. You can shower in my mom's bathroom while I use mine."

With an extra set of clothes stashed in his truck, Paul grumbles the entire way to your house. He continues to grumble all the way inside and up until he disappears inside your mother's room. You can't help but laugh and then hurry upstairs to your own bathroom, quickly showering and hoping you don't smell too much like paint.

Paul's already waiting for you downstairs when you skip down there and you smile at him in hopes of soothing his obvious nerves. "Why don't you shift and meet me in their backyard? I don't want you shifting in the truck seeing as you're clearly worked up right now."

"Yeah. Okay. I'll go through your backyard." He digs out his keys from his front pocket, walking towards you and handing them over. But before he passes you up, he leans down to kiss your cheek. Unfortunately, fortunate really, you end up turning and he catches the corner of your mouth. You gasp, his eyes widen, and then the corner of his lips turn upward into a smirk when he catches your blush.

"I'll, um, I'll meet you there," you say. Paul nods and saunters out your back door, and you groan when the door is shut behind him. "Get yourself together," you mumble. "You've seen each other naked. An almost kiss shouldn't get you so flustered."

After quickly collecting yourself, you make your way outside and climb into Paul's truck. The drive to the Cullen's is a familiar one and once or twice you catch sight of Paul running just on the other side of the tree line. Then once you get to the Cullen residence, you think very loudly and hope Edward can hear you as you tell him you'd be taking the side gate into the back yard since Paul was shifted. And as you're walking into the back yard, Paul comes up behind you. You smile over your shoulder and hold your arm out, feeling a sense of relief as your hand slides into Paul's fur.

The back door opens and out steps Edward and Bella. Even from where you stand you can see her vibrant red eyes, and though Bella is attempting to make herself as small as possible, you can't help but gasp or feel a sudden bout of nervousness.

Edward, no doubt hearing your mental hesitation, stops and says, "We don't have to do this if you're feeling uncomfortable."

Paul immediately looks down on you and you roll your eyes, shoving his face away. "It's fine. The eyes just startled me." You meet Bella's gaze then and crack a grin. "I'm used to the gold, but I gotta admit the red suits you."

Bella chuckles. "You're the only one who thinks so. I can't wait until the red is gone."

Edward takes the lead in heading down the stairs and you take a few steps before stopping. Edward nods at you before looking at his wife. "How's your throat?"

"Itching," she says, "but tolerable."

"So my blood doesn't call to you?" You tease. Bella gulps, Edward sighs, and Paul quietly barks at you. "What? It's a legitimate question!"

"Can we get closer?" Bella asks. Paul growls and you tighten your hold on his fur, quietly shushing him. Edward and Bella creep closer, and Bella takes a deep breath in. She closes her eyes and seems to stop breathing all together before opening her eyes once more. "The thirst is there, but I don't have an urge to attack."

"Good. That's really good," Edward tells her.

"I would say we should attempt a hug," Paul growls even louder and you smirk, "but there's that little issue," you say while gesturing to the wolf at your side.

"Yeah, no. A hug would definitely be pushing it," Bella says. Edward chuckles as Bella then asks, "Should Jake bring Renesmee out now? I feel pretty confident."

"Sure. Let me go get them."

Edward heads back up the porch and Bella meets your gaze. "I want to thank you," she says. "I don't remember Renesmee's birth so Edward filled me in on everything. And in the memories she's been showing me, I saw glimpses of you treating her with such kindness. So thank you."

"She's practically my niece, Bella. Of course."

She laughs. "Auntie Y/N. It does have a nice ring to it."

"Right?!"

Edward comes back out with Jacob trailing, and in Jacob's arms is Renesmee. She looks about the same since you've last seen her and seeing her makes you beam. Edward stops at Bella's side, but Jacob keeps walking towards you. He nods at Paul as he gets closer and when Renesmee finally notices you, you can't help but laugh as she smiles.

You coo as you gently take Renesmee from Jacob's grasp, holding her against the left side of your chest with one arm and tickling her stomach with your right hand. Almost immediately her hand finds its way to your cheek and you see glimpses of her being passed around from family member to family member, and hearing them assure her that you would be by pretty soon.

When the memories stop, you blink and smile down at her. "Aw. I'm sorry," you tell her. "I had to stay away for a bit, but now I'm back. I can hang out with you now whenever mom and dad says it's okay." The baby gurgles happily and then her hand is back on your cheek. This time, you see a glimpse of you and Paul until the memory zeroes in on Paul in his wolf form. "Oh you're interested in him, huh?" You look at Paul and step closer, grinning as he steps away. "This giant puppy is Paul. He's like your Jacob, only he's.. mine."

Renesmee reaches a hand towards Paul and your gaze immediately darts to Edward and Bella. Both are smiling and nodding at your unspoken question of whether or not it's okay to introduce her. Jacob frowns when you get permission to introduce them, but doesn't say anything to stop you.

"Alright, Paul. Don't be a d-i-c-k." You step closer with Renesmee, smiling. "You let the baby pet you and you can start sleeping over again. No funny business though."

Jacob groans as Bella and Edward chuckle. "Please don't talk about funny business while my newborn imprint is in your arms."

"I wasn't. All I said was no funny business," you muse. You click your tongue at Paul when you notice him eyeing the nearest escape route. "You're gonna have to lay on your stomach, Lahote. Down you go."

Paul paws at the ground before huffing and lowering himself down. You step so you're standing in front of him and let Renesmee's small hand touch right between his eyes. She gurgles happily, patting his face, and then practically dives out of your arms in order to hug his snout.

"Oh my god." The sight is absolutely adorable and your heart immediately melts. She starts to babble happily at him and you meet Bella's far too amused gaze. "This was a mistake. Hurry, someone take her before I start thinking about wanting one of my own." Paul perks up and you glare at him. "Don't even think about it."

Jacob snorts, but does as you had asked. He takes Renesmee from you and Paul, and stands close since she seems far too enthralled with Paul in his wolf form.

Edward starts to chuckle. "Paul says ten minutes. Ten minutes of baby cuddling and then the two of you have to get back to work."

"Oh sure. He says that now," you grumble. "Now after he finds out I find him unbelievably attractive with a baby."

If wolves could preen that's exactly what Paul would be doing. You roll your eyes at him, but use the ten minutes to take Renesmee back from Jacob and briefly talk with Bella.

◈◈◈

After finding out just how weak in the knees you really were for him when Renesmee was involved, Paul took to being a smug little shit. He openly teased you more and was more confident with his flirting, and your walls started to crumble.

So when Paul asked you on a date- a picnic on the beach- you agreed.

As you take your first bite of a sandwich, you chew and cover your mouth as you ask, "So what did you bribe Emily with so she would make this basket?"

"I have to watch the pups next week so she and Sam can have a date night."

"That's not too bad. Everyone already looks up to you when Sam isn't around. Just be glad you don't have Jacob to clash with anymore."

Paul chuckles and starts to eat his own food. The two of you eat in peace, laughing and talking about Paul's house that's just about ready to move in to. He asks if you're going to move in right away, but you merely shake your head and tell him that it's a little too soon for that. Your cell phone rings, but seeing that it's Jasper you let it go to voicemail. You can call him back later.

You're just about to open the container of fruit when your phone rings again, this time showing Bella's name.

Paul sighs. "Answer it. They're just going to keep calling if you don't."

"I'm sorry," you quickly apologize to him. Then accepting the call, you say, "Hello?"

"Y/N? Thank god." Bella's voice seems panicked that even Paul tenses. "You need to go see your mom asap."

"Why? What happened?" Your heart plummets into your stomach as you stand up and Paul quickly throws everything into the basket, bundling the blanket you were sitting on around it.

"Your mom knows."

"My mom knows what?" You frown as you start to slow down, her words confusing you as you signal for Paul to stop rushing. "What the hell's going on, Bella?"

She sighs. "Jacob realized that we were going to have to tell my dad I died and then move away. He didn't like that he was going to have to be apart from Renesmee, so he shifted in front of my dad. While your mom was with him. He said she deserved to know too since you were with Paul."

"What the fuck."

"I know. I'm so sorry, but Jacob did everything without us knowing. My dad is on his way here, but Jacob's assured us that he didn't tell them about vampires. They just know that apparently really large wolves exist and Jacob's one, along with a lot of others."

"Fuck. My mom is going to have so many questions. I don't know how to answer them without hinting around the fact vampires exist."

"Find a way, Y/N. You know how dangerous it is if someone finds out about us."

"I know. Thanks for the heads up. I'll call you later to tell you how it goes."

"Please do."

"The Elders aren't going to like this," is the first thing Paul tells you after you hang up. "They'll understand he did it to keep his imprint, but your mom-"

"We're going to have to explain," you tell him. He opens his mouth to retort, but you quickly cut him off. "Not everything, obviously, but we need to explain what she saw. Tell her very little and then explain that we can't tell her all she wants to know because it's actually dangerous for her to have the knowledge."

"That's only going to make her worry."

"I rather have her worry than have her dead because she found out about the vampires."

Paul takes a moment, studying your expression. "Are you sure about this?"

"No." You huff. "But Jacob kind of took this out of our hands."

He nods. "Then let's go."

The entire drive to your house, Paul keeps a hold of your hand after he had dragged you across the seat to sit closer to him. Your right knee bounces in your sudden state of anxiety and you're dreading the talk you're about to have.

Then when you get to your house, you slide out after Paul and he's quick to retake your hand within his own again. "Just breathe," he tells you. "It's going to be okay."

You sigh. "Let's just get this over with."

As you enter your home, you cautiously peer around the wall into the living room as if your mom is going to attack. "Mom?" You call out. "Where are you at?"

She's not in the living room, Paul mentions that the kitchen is clear, and her room is empty as well. You even check upstairs, but she's not there and it's Paul who gestures to the back door that's cracked open. So walking out the back door and onto the back porch, you're relieved to find your mom on the porch swing as she stares out into the back yard.

"Mom?" She blinks, her concentration broken, and turns to meet your gaze. Only she holds it for a second before her gaze lands on Paul. You see her tense and you're quick to take a seat next to her on the bench. "Hey. It's okay. It's just Paul."

"Jacob turned into a wolf today. A really large wolf," she says as her eyes land on you once more.

"I know and I'm so sorry you had to find out this way."

"You knew?" She quickly glances at Paul. "Of course you knew. Paul's one too, isn't he?"

"I am," he says. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but we have rules. No one outside the pack was to know our secret."

"Then how did Y/N factor into knowing it?"

You glance at Paul and he shrugs. "The wolves- they, uh, they have something called Imprints."

"They're our soulmates," he says. "And the first time I met Y/N, I imprinted."

And instead of focusing on the fact that your mom just heard you were the soulmate to a giant wolf, she focuses on something else entirely. "You've known since you met? Then what the hell caused your break-up a while back?"

Paul snorts and you roll your eyes, but in the grand scheme of things you're grateful she's not freaking out. "The pack and I just didn't agree on something." She opens her mouth to retort, but you quickly cut her off. "And before you say that not agreeing on something has no grounds for breaking up, this was something huge."

"But what could be so huge that it'd split you up like that?"

You smile sadly and take your mom's hand between both of yours. "Mom, I know you have a lot of questions, but please just trust me and listen when I say that you need to drop it. You know just enough and know what's most important- that the wolves are protectors. They're here to keep us safe."

"You want me to drop it? Y/N, this is huge!"

"I know. Believe me, I know."

"The elders will be upset that you and Charlie know," Paul tells her, "but they will eventually accept it so long as you promise to keep our secret. But there are other beings that exist and if they find out you know about them, it'll be bad."

The awe in your mom's expression slowly fades away. "How bad?"

"Dead bad." The color then drains from your mom's face. "That's why the line of questioning needs to stop. Don't ask about other beings, don't search into it. Just leave it be."

"Leave it be? But what about you?"

"I'll be fine," you assure her. "As Paul's imprint, I'm off limits."

"Imprints are precious," Paul adds. "We have a law within the pack that imprints are not to be harmed."

"But what about outside of the pack? What's to keep someone or something else from harming her?"

"The pack." Your mom doesn't seem impressed with Paul's answer. At all. "You might not like it, but it is what it is. You have my word that I'll do everything within my power to keep Y/N safe."

"You better, Paul Lahote. I'd hate to have to borrow Charlie's gun and take you out back like Old Yeller."

"Mom!"

Paul laughs and your mom finally cracks a smile. "What is it with you Y/L/N's? The two of you find out giant wolves exist and neither of you freak out."

"Oh I wouldn't say that. I nearly lost my shoe after I chucked it at Jacob."

This time you laugh, shaking your head in amusement. "What even is our life?"

◈◈◈

Things with Paul have finally gone back to as normal as they can be, but to those that personally knew you and Paul they can sense a lingering bit of tension between the two of you whenever you lightly bump heads with one another. Fortunately for the both of you, however, you've learned from your past mistakes and you and Paul are quick to squash whatever problems you have because the break-up had put a lot into perspective.

Another thing that has changed is his attitude where Renesmee is involved. He's still a prick when it comes to any other Cullen, but he keeps his aggression bottled up and rude remarks to himself if the little ears are anywhere nearby.

And speaking of Renesmee, you can't believe just how fast she is growing. Instead of looking a couple months old, she looks as if she's around three or four now. So when Bella and Edward surprise you one day when you're at home, asking if you could babysit Renesmee for at least half an hour while the family goes to hunt, you agree but can't guarantee your mom won't ask questions. They trust you to get her to drop the subject quickly if it is brought up and then leave to go get their fill of animal blood.

"Alright, kid. Whatever shall we do?" Perched on your hip as you walk towards the living room, Renesmee smiles and gently touches your cheek. Before your eyes flashes a memory of Alice sitting down with Renesmee, surrounded by coloring books. "Hmm. I don't have any coloring books, but I can print you out some pages. Would you like that?"

As Renesmee nods, you change direction and head towards your room upstairs. You set her down on your bed while telling her not to move around too much and then quickly set out to find some coloring pages on the internet that you can print out. Then once you have a handful of pages, you pull out a container of markers and place it all on your bed before finding a lap desk to place in the middle of your bed so Renesmee has a hard surface to color on.

You get one page finished, praising Renesmee on a job well done with her own when your mom makes an appearance.

She's surprised to see you've got company and can't help but briefly gape. "Charlie wasn't kidding, was he?" She wonders aloud. "She really is a fast grower."

Renesmee looks up and shyly smiles, and you falsely smile at your mom. "Drop it," you sing-song. "You're stepping too close to the line that shall not be spoken of."

Your mom sighs. "Fine. Charlie's cooking me dinner tonight so you're on your own."

"That's fine. Paul's picking me up later."

"Mhm. Okay. Bye, sweet girl," your mom then coos in Renesmee's direction. "I'll say hi to your grandpa Charlie for you."

Renesmee smiles once more at your mom before going back to her coloring. Your mom leaves and the quiet of the room becomes a little too much for you. So for some background noise, you turn on your TV and leave it on the channel of nothing but cartoons. Renesmee then lasts about another ten minutes coloring before she gives that up in favor of watching TV.

Seeing that she's more intrigued by the TV, you put away the lap desk and coloring materials. You and Renesmee decide to get comfortable, and it's not long before she's yawning.

With your left arm outstretched and Renesmee using your arm as a pillow as she curls into your side, your eyes start to droop for longer and longer periods of time. They only fly open when you feel the bed dip behind you and you turn your head to see Paul quietly laughing.

"Having fun?" He asks.

"M'sleepy," you murmur. "We were coloring and then got distracted by cartoons."

"I can see that. Scoot over."

You whine and shake your head. "Get in on the other side. If I move her, I'll wake her." He seems to hesitate, frowning at Renesmee. You swat at his thigh, smiling softly, and then curl your body around the baby/toddler. If he wants to get in bed, he'll just have to get in on the other side of her.

Paul eventually sighs and climbs into bed as gently as he can and you're relieved to see he's kept his shirt on. He tries to get as comfortable as he can with what little space he has, and when he's finally found it you have to smother your laughter when Renesmee suddenly turns in her sleep and curls into his side.

Eyes wide, Paul stares at you. "Get. Her."

"Nope."

"Y/N."

"Sorry, bub. I just- I can't." Smiling, you move to curl your now free arm beneath your head and stare at your boyfriend. "She seems really comfortable right where she's at."

"Y/N," he frowns.

"Please, Paul. It's just for a little while longer. Bella should be back soon anyway." You scoot closer behind Renesmee, sighing softly as you start to relax once more. "Besides you have no idea how attracted to you I am right now. Guys and toddlers have become my goddamn weakness and it's so not fair."

He slowly starts to smile. "Well in that case.."

"Yeah, yeah. Shut up and go to sleep."

You don't know how long you've been asleep, but you do know that some time has passed. Renesmee is still with you, however, she's moved in her sleep and is now sprawled across Paul's chest. You smile sleepily and then startle more into awareness when the doorbell rings.

"Hmm. Would you go answer that?" Paul mumbles.

"It's probably Bella," you tell him. "I wasn't supposed to have Renesmee this long." Then turning your head, you let your voice carry downstairs. "If you're here for Renesmee, come on up. She's sleeping still." Not even five seconds later both Bella and Edward are standing at the foot of your bed. "Hey, guys. Good hunt?"

"Sorry we took so long," Bella says. "We had to head further out than we normally do."

"Don't even worry about it. Renesmee colored, watched some TV, and then fell asleep. Paul joined us soon after and I don't know when she abandoned me for Paul."

You sit up and carefully extricate Renesmee from Paul's arms, shushing her when she whimpers in her sleep. "She abandoned you not even two minutes after you fell asleep." Now free of the toddler, Paul turns on his side, facing away from you and the vampires in your room.

"She's a magnet for some warmth," you muse, letting Bella take her daughter back. "At least Jacob has nothing to worry about."

Bella snorts as Edward quietly groans. "Please don't ever mention that again. I'm dreading when Renesmee gets old enough to even think about boys."

"And on that note, we should get going," Bella says. "Thank you so much for watching Renesmee for us."

"Don't even mention it. Next time you need a babysitter, you know how to reach me."

Bella and Edward then take their leave, leaving just as quietly as they had come.

You have thoughts about getting up, but Paul turns over and throws his arm over your lap to keep you in place. "Go back to sleep. It's my turn to cuddle you now."

"If we go back to sleep, we'll miss dinner," you say. You place your hand atop his hair, letting your fingers run through his short hair. "Get up."

"But-"

"But nothing," you chuckle softly. "Come on, babe. Nap time's over."

◈◈◈

With the snow now falling, you're more than grateful that Paul's house is finished and he's all moved into it so you can lay in bed and stare up at the skylight in his ceiling. You couldn't wait for the first thunderstorm to stare up through the window in his roof, but the first snowfall was just as pretty as you were hoping it to be.

The bedroom door opens and Paul enters, smiling at you in his bed. You watch him briefly struggle to kick off his shoes and then he's walking over to join you. Still in his jeans and beanie atop his head, he falls into bed next to you.

"Hi." You turn your head to continue staring at him, you hand subconsciously raising to lay against his chest. "What are the boys up to?"

"Nothing." Paul holds your hand on his chest before he absentmindedly starts toying with your fingers. "Everyone's worried about you. They haven't seen you in a few days."

You tiredly grin at him. "Online classes are no joke. Midterms are coming up and I need to be prepared."

"We know, sweetheart, but it doesn't mean we have to like it."

You shake your head in amusement before scooting closer to him, laying your head right next to his before you're staring up again at the falling snow. "I'll see them sooner or later, but let's just lay here for now. Okay? We deserve to be at peace for just a little while."

Paul hums in content. "We do, don't we? We've had a lot of ups and downs since you decided to befriend the leeches. It's nice to not have a threat looming over our heads."

"Shut up," you huff. Then with a groan, you roll over atop of him. Your knees land on either side of his hips and you place one hand atop the other over the center of his chest to rest your chin on. "You know you just jinxed us, right? Now something bad is going to happen."

"With you in this position, I don't think I'd care." His hands land on your hips to hold you in place and you snort.

"Such a charmer, Mr. Lahote." You lean up and then lean upward to kiss him. "How did I ever get so lucky?"

The two of you share short kisses, you giggling every now and then when Paul takes a second to kiss the tip of your nose or cheeks or eyelids. Eventually the shared kisses turn heated when you capture Paul's bottom lip between your teeth and you grunt when he hastily rolls you so he's on top.

Now beneath Paul with your thighs cradling his lower half, you let yourself get lost in the moment as he lazily thrusts against you, working you up to the point where he knows you'll lose control. His mouth finally leaves yours to trail wet kisses along your jaw, then choosing to leave behind a necklace of bruises along your collarbone.

With your fingers gripping his hair, you pull his mouth back to yours just as his phone rings. Paul stills and groans against your mouth, and you smile. "That's all you, bub."

He pecks your lips once more before pushing himself off of you, collapsing at your side so he can dig his phone out from his pocket. Seeing the screen, he frowns. "Why is Jacob calling me?"

This time you still and you lean up on your elbows to glare at him. "I told you! You totally jinxed us."

Paul answers the call with a grunt and you watch his annoyed expression turn to one of concern within seconds. "Okay. Yeah. We'll be there in five." He hurriedly gets out of bed, tossing, "put your shoes on," over his shoulder and proceeds to stick his feet back into his own boots.

"What's going on?" You get out of bed, searching for your own shoes and jacket.

"We're needed at Emily's. Something's happened and Renesmee is in danger."

"Shit."

You and Paul rush out to his truck, you still pulling your arms through the sleeves of one of his hoodies since you couldn't find your own jacket fast enough. Emily's house isn't far from where Paul built his, so the drive there is very fast. And once he's parked and the two of you have gotten off, he immediately reaches for your hand as you hurry inside.

"Everyone's out back," Emily says the second you step foot into her home.

She follows you and Paul, but you and her stop at the back porch while Paul jumps off to join the others who are standing around in a loose circle around a pacing Jacob. Before you can ask what's going on, Jacob jumps right into an explanation.

"The vampire kings are coming," he says right away. Your heart practically stops at hearing that, your mind not making sense of what the others have now started to say over each other in a panic. Sam quiets them down right away with his alpha voice, then asking Jacob to explain from the very beginning. Jacob sighs. "Bella and I took Renesmee out to play in the snow. We were far out, out in the open, when Renesmee jumped to catch a snowflake. Only when she jumped, another vampire saw her."

"Okay, so?" Paul grunts. "What does that have to do with vampire kings and Renesmee being in danger?"

"The vampires have many laws, but one of their main ones is that they can't bite children. It's happened before, long ago, and the child could not control it's thirst which resulted in them slaughtering an entire village and nearly exposing the secret."

Sam frowns. "But Renesmee doesn't have a normal vampire's thirst."

"That other vampire doesn't know that," Jacob says. "It was a friend of the Cullen's that saw her- the same friend who hates our kind because we killed her mate Laurent. Her sisters said she was coming to apologize for how she acted at Bella's wedding, but the anger was still there and after seeing what she's assuming is an immortal child, she went to the vampire kings to report that the Cullen's have committed a crime."

"Can't they just explain Renesmee isn't the vampire they think she is?" Sam wonders.

Jacob shakes his head. "The kings have it out for the Cullen's. One of them likes to collect gifted vampires and has had his eye on Alice and Edward for years. With them thinking that Renesmee is an immortal child, it's the perfect excuse for Aro to swoop in and slaughter the coven while keeping Edward and Alice for his guard."

The pack are all antsy, but they look to Sam for guidance. Alpha Uley stands tall, expression grim. "What do you need from us?"

"To stand as witnesses. Backup if it comes to a fight."

"What are the leeches planning?" Paul asks.

"Alice's visions change based on a person's decision, but so far she's seen a confrontation in a field of snow. Carlisle doesn't want to fight, nor ask any of his friends to fight, so they're asking people to stand as witnesses- to meet Renesmee so she can show them her memories of being birthed while Bella was still human."

Sam nods. "If your imprint is in danger, the pack will stand behind you."

Jacob seems to sigh with relief. "Thanks, Sam."

The pack hammers out a few more details before Jacob, Seth, and Leah take their leave. Paul makes his way towards you while Sam sends half of the others home and the other half to patrol.

"Come on," Paul says as he takes immediate hold of your hand.

"Where are we going?"

"Jacob mentioned us taking Renesmee for a bit. Everyone's on edge and she can no doubt sense it."

"Oh. Okay. Let's go get her."

◈◈◈

With it snowing and the holidays here, one would think you'd be in a constant good mood. And you would. Normally. But everything going on with the Cullen's, and now with Alice and Jasper's disappearance, it left you feeling quite somber and anxious. Especially after hearing the cryptic message Alice had left behind about gathering as many witnesses as they could before the snow really started to stick.

Thanksgiving kind of sneaks up on you and with so many people now in your life, you and Paul had to split time between his pack and your mom since he didn't really keep in contact with his dad. Your mom had dropped you off early in the morning at Emily's so you could help Em prepare for the lunch she was hosting, and the two of you worked your butts off preparing a feast.

Everyone had crammed into Emily's kitchen and living room, and laughs were shared as Sam carved the turkey and hams. Then when the boys started to fall off into their food comas, you remained long enough to help with the cleanup and wash up.

"Hey, babe," Paul says as he comes into the kitchen. "You about ready? We're expected at Charlie's in about twenty minutes."

"Oohh." Emily smiles. "You're having dinner at your mother's boyfriend's house?"

You chuckle. "Yeah. Bella, Renesmee, and Jacob should be joining us too. Edward had to make up an excuse so no one would question why he wasn't eating dinner. I don't know what Bella plans to say for her lack of appetite though."

"Well that's nice. I hope you have a good time."

"Me too." Then turning to your boyfriend, you say, "Take out the last couple bags of trash. I'll meet you in the truck."

Emily giggles at Paul's affronted expression, but he's quick to smile and do as he's told after quickly pecking you on the cheek. She watches you stare after Paul with adoration in your eyes before saying, "I'm glad you and him found your way back to each other. Sam never told Paul, but he was really upset when you two split up. He felt like it was his fault."

You smile as you meet her gaze once more. "Well Sam's decision so long ago was a huge factor, but Paul's attitude didn't help either." You shrug as she smiles sadly. "But that's done and over with, and everyone has learned from their mistakes."

"Exactly." Emily turns towards her refrigerator, pulling out a large container and then turning around to hand it over to you. "Here's some fruit salad. Your mom liked it that one time we had a picnic on the beach, so I thought I'd make her some for today."

"Oh, Em. Thank you! She's been going on and on about this for days." You both laugh as you take the container, holding it securely with both hands. A honk from outside tells you that Paul's now impatiently waiting. "I should get going, but you and I are going Christmas shopping sometime later this week. We'll make plans later."

"Sounds good. Happy Thanksgiving, Y/N."

"Happy Thanksgiving, Em."

Emily walks you outside and only disappears back inside her house after you're in the truck. Paul reaches for the container in your lap, but you swat at his hand. "Nope. This is for mom."

"Is that fruit salad?" At your nod, he groans. "I love that stuff."

"Well the sooner you get us to Charlie's, the sooner we can get dinner going and eat all the good food again, including Emily's fruit salad."

"Yes, ma'am."

Meaningless chit-chat fills the silence on the way to Charlie's and Paul assures you everything will be fine when he notices you staring out the window at the mush of snow that's not yet sticking.

At Charlie's there's only two vehicles in the driveway so you figure Bella has not yet shown up. Only when Charlie greets you at the door and ushers the both of you inside, Renesmee rushes up to you to hug you around the waist.

"Hey, kiddo! I didn't think you were here yet."

"Mom had an errand to run." Her rather musical voice brings a smile to your face, even more so when she lets you go and hugs Paul around the waist as well. He tenses, but quickly relaxes and pats her on the back in greeting.

Charlie smiles down at his granddaughter before looking up to meet your gaze. "Your mom's in the kitchen checking on the turkey."

"Thanks, Charlie. I should go help her before she starts talking about what an ungrateful daughter I am for making her do all the work." He chuckles and then you glance at Paul. "You good here, Cujo?"

Charlie snorts and Renesmee giggles as Paul rolls his eyes, placing an arm around her small shoulders. "Yeah. Me and the crotch goblin will just be in the living room watching cartoons or whatever."

"Paul!"

Charlie sighs. "For the love of God, please do not refer to my granddaughter as a crotch goblin ever again."

"No promises."

As Charlie makes his way towards the living room, Paul leads Renesmee after him with a far too smug expression. You shake in your head in amusement at them before heading for the kitchen. Your mom is busy as can be, fluttering about and preparing dishes.

"Emily sent this," you tell her, showing her the fruit salad before taking it over to the refrigerator.

"Oh bless her." You chuckle at your mom, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek. "Paul here too?"

"Yeah. He opted to watch cartoons with Renesmee though."

"Speaking of," your mom says, whisking together something in a bowl. You sigh. You have a feeling you know where this is going. "Renesmee's looking quite grown up, isn't she?"

"Mom."

"What? You can't blame me for being curious, Y/N. That precious little girl was born months ago and she looks like she's nearly seven. I'm with Charlie on just going with the flow, but how does that even happen?"

"Leaping over the line, mom," you mumble. "Drop it."

"Fine. But you can't blame me for trying."

You huff and help your mom finish preparing dishes. So while the turkey is finishing up, you get started on the green bean casserole while she starts the mashed potatoes. You prep the yams atop the stove that will later be tossed into the oven with marshmallows on top and your mom starts plating the table with dishware and utensils.

Jacob shows up right before everyone takes their seat and Charlie tells everyone to dig in when Bella calls to say she'll be running late and for everyone to eat without her. The food is as delicious as it smelled, but with your very human appetite, you can only eat so much. Paul and Jacob, however, steal the spotlight with as much food as they're packing away.

And it's only when the dessert has been served up does your mom bring up a subject that's apparently been weighing on her shoulders.

"So Y/N," your mom says, fidgeting with her spoon and fruit salad. "There's something that I've been meaning to talk to you about, but have been putting off for the past couple of weeks."

You look up, quirking an eyebrow at your mom and Charlie who apparently has found a scratch on his table far more interesting than it really is. "Okay," you drawl.

"Charlie's asked me to move in and I said yes," she blurts, cringing away as if you're going to explode at her.

Paul and Jacob both freeze with their spoons halfway to their mouths, gazes ping-ponging between you, your mom, and Charlie.

"Oh. That's nice," you say. "When are you moving? Do you need help?"

Your mom's eyes blow wide as she meets your gaze. "What? That's it?"

You nervously chuckle. "Yes? I mean you and Charlie seem pretty solid, and you're both adults. If you want to move in together, then move in together."

"Not that I'm not happy you're taking this so well," Charlie starts, "but we were only hesitant to bring it up because we didn't know where you would go. The house you're in right now is too big for just you, so if you need help finding a small apartment we can help you with rent until-"

"Oh. Thanks for the offer," you smile at Charlie, "but I'm good. I'm actually glad you brought this up because I've had something to tell you too, but I've been putting off it as well."

"Oh god you're pregnant!"

Jacob chokes and Paul snorts, and you cast your mom a horrified look. "What?! No!"

"Then what?"

"Paul asked me to move in with him." He's laughing now, so you don't feel bad whatsoever when you reach over and smack him on the back of the head. "Tell them."

Jacob and Charlie are laughing now, and your mom looks overly amused at everything going on. "Oh. Yeah. Right," Paul says. "My house is finally finished and we've been waiting for the perfect time to bring up Y/N moving in with me."

"Wait. You've got your own house?" Your mom asks, surprised.

"Yeah."

"Well alright then," Charlie says, mildly relieved. "That was easy."

"So says you," you mutter. "All you have to do is make space for mom. Me and her have an entire house to pack up."

"Oh my girl," your mom suddenly coos.

"Don't."

"You've grown up so fast!"

"Jesus, mom, do not start crying."

"But I'm so happy for you. For us!"

You sigh as Paul beams, he slinging an arm around the back of your chair. "You and me both, Ms. Y/L/N."

◈◈◈

For the past week, Paul, Sam, and Emily have been helping Y/N and her mom pack up their house. Both women were excited to be moving into their respective partner's houses and both Charlie and Paul couldn't be happier to have their partners in their homes before Christmas.

Paul's at home, alone, while Y/N finishes packing up her personal belongings that she wanted to do on her own with her mother. So when Bella Cullen pulls up to his house, without Renesmee, he's a little more than confused.

Standing on the porch, with his hands tucked into his jean's pockets, Paul frowns at the leech as she gets out of her car. "Y/N isn't here."

Bella smiles tightly. "I know. It's why I'm here. I wanted to talk to you alone."

"Please tell me it's not another threat. It's almost Christmas. I just want to relax."

"Trust me, us too," Bella says as she joins him on the porch, but smart enough to keep several feet of space between them. "I don't want to drag this out, so I'm just going to get right into it." Paul sighs and gestures for her to go on. "So when Alice and Jasper left, the note to Sam wasn't the only message they left behind." That catches Paul's attention and he stands a little taller, his full attention now on her. "I'm assuming she left me the second message because Edward can't read my mind and if he can't read my mind, then Aro- the Volturi king- won't see Alice's plan B should things go sideways."

He frowns. "What plan B?"

"Alice's second message was a meeting with one of Jasper's contacts," Bella says. "I didn't know what I was heading into, but when I received the documents from this contact I understood." She reaches into her jacket, pulling out an envelope and holding it out to Paul. "Y/N doesn't know what's going on, so please don't be angry with her. If you don't agree with the plan Alice has come up with, then you can take the ID and burn it. I'll leave it up to you since Y/N is your imprint."

Paul hurriedly opens the envelope, pulling out ID's and passports. He frowns at Jacob's face and the name Jacob Wolfe, but his frown only deepens when he sees the passports for Nessa and Y/N Lahote. He stills. "What exactly is plan B?"

"I'm not sure. My only guess is that if things go south, Jacob is to run with Renesmee and pick up Y/N along the way. Y/N and Renesmee have this connection that no one saw coming, so it's really no surprise that Alice saw Y/N alongside Renesmee and Jacob on the run."

"So you want my imprint to go on the run?" He asks, voice low and body starting to slowly tremble. "She's my imprint, leech! If she goes on the run, that only puts a larger target on her back!"

Bella takes a step back at his snarl. "This sucks, I know. Trust me, I know," she says. "I don't want to send my daughter away any more than you want to send Y/N away, but Paul.. you need to see reason. If we fall- if the wolves fall- then Y/N will be better protected with Jake and both of them will protect Renesmee." It takes everything in Paul to still his muscles and not attack the leech in front of him. He breathes deeply and swallows down another snarl. "We're gathering witnesses and Alice and Jasper are sending some our way as well in hopes of the Volturi hearing our case rather than delivering a swift verdict."

Paul's eyes drop back down to the passports in his hands, his eyes roving over the names. Y/N Lahote. Though he hates the plan, seeing Y/N with his last name seems to soften his attitude. "Well if shit does go sideways, I would prefer Y/N to be with Jake rather than unprotected on the Rez."

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't think it will come to that. The Volturi can't break their own laws in front of the witnesses. If we can just make them see Renesmee isn't an immortal child, all should be fine."

"I hope you're right." Paul reluctantly hands back the ID's and passports. "Can you tell Y/N the plan? I need to go for a run."

"Of course." Bella puts everything back in the envelope, stuffing it back inside her jacket.

Paul doesn't utter another word as he stomps down his porch stairs, Bella watching him with a frown as he disappears around the corner of his house. The ripping of clothing is the only telltale sign that he's shifted and took off running.

Much later, you're in a bit of a daze as you head home. Home, you huff at the thought. Just when things were going smoothly between you and Paul, the Fates had other plans to possibly rip you apart.

When Bella had come to you and told you the plan, refusal was your immediate reaction. You adored Renesmee with your whole heart, but you couldn't leave Paul. Not again. But Bella explained everything, including that Paul knew and reluctantly admitted the plan was a good idea, and then stayed with you while you had a mini breakdown over the thought of them losing the fight.

Then when you got control of yourself, Bella sent you home because she assumed Paul needed you. And when you walk in through the front door to find Paul sitting on the couch and blankly staring off into space, you know she was correct.

When the door shuts behind you, only then does Paul take notice of your presence. He smiles sadly and your expression crumples in return as everything Bella told you hits you all over again. He opens his arms in a welcoming embrace. "Come here."

Quickly toeing off your boots, you drop your bag and jacket on the way to the couch. With the way he's slouched on the couch, you end up straddling his hips and grasping his face in your hands as you press your forehead to his. "I don't want to go," you murmur.

"It won't come to that," he tells you. His hands find your hips, squeezing gently. "Plan B is just a precaution. It won't even come to a fight."

"You can't promise me that. Jasper's told me some stuff about the Volturi, Paul. They're not nice vampires."

"They're just making sure their laws are being followed, babe. That leech Bella told me that they can't break the law in front of witnesses. The moment they realize Renesmee isn't what they think she is, it'll be fine."

Closing your eyes, you inhale deeply and then softly exhale. "I really hope you're right. I don't want to have to give this up."

You feel Paul move, his lips pressing against your forehead, the tip of your nose, and then your lips. He grabs your hands to hold within his, pulling them down to rest against his chest so you're forced to lean back and stare him in the face. "Not gonna happen, sweetheart. It's me and you until the day one of us kicks the bucket. Haven't you seen your new ID's? You're a Lahote now. You're stuck with me."

You snort. "How did I know that would catch your attention?" You repeat the three kisses he'd given you- forehead, nose, and lips- and then lean back, smiling. "Don't get ahead of yourself. You still haven't asked."

"Alright," he shrugs. "Marry me."

Paul's serious expression gives you pause. "W-What?"

"Marry me," he says again. He lets go of one of your hands and nudges you up a bit to reach into his pocket. He produces a silver ring with a pale yellow stone, surrounded by two clear stones, and etches along the band that you'll later examine closer. You gasp and both hands fly up to cover your mouth in shock. "I've loved you since that day on the beach when you ate too many hot cheetos and burned your mouth. I've loved you since you punched Bella Swan for bad mouthing me and Sam, and I will continue to love you even when you're threatening to harm other people as if I can't stand up for myself."

You snort a laugh and Paul smiles when he sees tears glistening in your eyes.

"I want everything to be legal and binding. If worse comes to worse, it'll give me some peace of mind to know that you're well taken care of. So please, Y/N, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

You give him a watery chuckle. "You do know that if I say yes, we'll have to get married within a month. Right?"

"Babe, I'd marry you tomorrow if you agreed to it."

Tears fall. "Yes." And Paul beams. "Yes," you say again, tears falling faster. "A hundred times yes."

You raise your hand so Paul can slip the ring on the appropriate finger and then you're both grasping at each other's faces to seal it with a kiss.

◈◈◈

Keeping your engagement to Paul a secret was a lot easier for you than it was for Paul. All you had to do was hide your hand which the ring resided on whereas Paul had to keep his thoughts on anything other than the engagement when he was shifted. So you had a few days of pure bliss, enjoying your time with him decorating your house for Christmas before he dropped a bomb on you- that bomb being that got the Elders to agree to marrying you on the beach so long as you had two witnesses.

So on December twenty-first, you and Paul had Sam and Emily meet you at La Push beach at sundown. The other imprinted couple didn't know what they were walking into, so Emily may have shed a few tears when they walked up on you and Paul a little more than overdressed for the beach and a couple of Elders standing in front of a bonfire. Sam and Emily were shocked, yet overjoyed, that you and Paul were getting married and flattered that you wanted them as your witnesses.

The ceremony had lasted barely fifteen minutes and by the end of it, with you and Paul draped in shawls with wolves printed along the edges, you were then Mr. and Mrs. Lahote. The Elders had congratulated you before sprinkling something in the fire that turned it white to bless your marriage, and Emily couldn't stop gushing over how proud she was. And while everyone present was excited, they understood that you and Paul still wanted to keep everything a secret until after the mess with the vampires was over and done with.

Now happily and secretly married, you and Paul show up hand-in-hand to Charlie's for Christmas morning to swap presents. Renesmee answers the door with Jacob at her back, and you smile as she hugs the both of you before dragging you inside.

Paul drops off a bag of presents near the tree before greeting your mom and Charlie. You greet Edward and Bella, but Paul merely nods at them before joining Jacob in the living room.

"So what did we miss?" You ask as you take a seat on the floor with Renesmee, Paul, and Jacob.

"Not a thing," your mom says. "We were just waiting for you and Paul to show up."

"Nice," you muse. "So can we do presents now?"

"Isn't Nessie the one who's supposed to be excited for presents?" Jacob wonders.

"Can it, Teen Wolf, and let me live. Now pass out the presents."

You watch gleefully as Renesmee gets most of the gifts, her pure joy at even the simplest of them making everyone around her smile. You and Paul get joint gifts from your mom and Charlie for your house, and they too get joint gifts from everyone else.

And just when it seems like all the gifts have been passed out, Paul stalls everyone as he reaches into the bag he'd brought with him and pulls out one last gift. He hands it to Renesmee who takes it with a smile, and you can only shrug in response when Bella, Edward, and Jacob look at you in surprise. You and him had gotten gifts for everyone already, so you're surprised to see a gift he'd apparently chosen on his own.

Renesmee carefully opens the wrapping only to gently pick up a beautiful beaded dream catcher, and in between the dangling feathers is a small dangling wooden wolf. She gasps before hugging Paul and then gets up to show her parents the present.

As Bella assures her they'll hang it up when they get home, Jacob leans over to Paul and nudges him playfully. "Thank you."

He shrugs as if it's no big deal. "Don't mention it."

And before Charlie can disperse everyone once it seems all the gifts have been passed out, Edward gets up from his perch on the armrest of Bella's chair and hands his father-in-law an envelope. Charlie sighs and you smother a laugh, and Bella tells her dad what the gift is before he can even open the envelope.

"It's a week long trip for two up at that river you're always talking about. We figured you and [enter mom's name] could use a little vacation, so you leave tomorrow morning."

You know exactly what the trip is for and it brings a pang to your chest knowing the inevitable fight that's on its way. However, you are glad that Bella and Edward included your mom in the trip so she wasn't around when so many vampires come to town.

"Bells, this is too much," Charlie says.

"It's really not," she chuckles. "You guys deserve it."

Charlie looks at your mom and she grins at him. "I've already made arrangements. Me and you are both off for the week. We're covered."

Charlie then glances at the contents of the envelope once more. "I have a sneaking suspicion that you guys are trying to get us out of town on purpose." You, Paul, and Jacob tense, fake smiles in place. "But you know what? It's fine by me. Thank you."

Jacob and your mom are the ones to pick up all the shredded wrapping paper, and then she and Charlie are politely shooing you all back to your own homes because they have baked goods to deliver to their friends and coworkers.

Jacob had caught a ride with Bella's little family, so they're all still lingering outside the house after your mom and Charlie have taken their leave. And it's as you're hugging Bella goodbye that she says, "So are we going to address the elephant in the room and you finally tell us you're engaged?"

You pull back with a brief gasp to find Bella and Edward smirking at you. Jacob's gaze darts between you, Paul, and your hand that you're not exactly hiding anymore.

"Oh, umm.." you stammer and Paul laughs. "Well actually.."

Paul slings an arm around your shoulder, smug as can be, but before he can correct Bella, Edward picks up on your thoughts. "You're not engaged," he realizes. "You're already married."

"What?"

"What!?" Jacob yelps right after Bella.

You nervously chuckle. "Surprise..?"

"You got married?!" Jacob says again, his expression clearly happy for you, especially when you lift your hand for them to see the ring up close. "Why the secrecy?"

You and Paul both shrug as your right hand reaches for his left, your fingers entwining. "With everything going on, we wanted something that was just for ourselves."

"I also wanted Y/N to be taken care of should anything happen to me," Paul says. "Marriage was inevitable and I knew I'd regret it if I didn't give Y/N my last name while I still could."

"As of right now, you guys plus Sam and Emily are the only ones who know."

Bella's eyes widen. "Your mom?"

"Not a clue. When everything has settled down, then we'll come clean and have a ceremony on neutral ground so everyone is invited."

"Wow. Well congratulations!" She says. "If you're happy, then I'm happy."

You smile. "I'm more than happy. Thank you."

Renesmee walks up to Paul and you grin as she smiles up at your husband. "So does that mean I can start calling you uncle Paul since you married my aunt Y/N?"

Everyone chuckles as Paul squats so he's at eye level with her. "Yeah. Yeah you can, kid."

◈◈◈

The snow is finally sticking.

It's sticking and gathering, and the vampires and shifters know exactly what that means.

So the night before the big showdown, everyone spends it either on their own with their significant other or with other members of the pack. You and Paul chose to stay shut in together, soaking up the comfort each of you were offering.

You and Paul wanted nothing more than to peacefully fall asleep in each other's arms, but the anxiety of not knowing what was to come, come morning kept you awake. So with nothing better to do and your minds not being able to concentrate on anything on TV, you and Paul found a way to pass the time.

With clothes strewn from the living room to the bedroom, the two of you stumbled into bed where you proceeded to relearn everything about each other's bodies over and over again. And then by the time the sun was set to come up, Paul grudgingly got out of bed to pull his clothes back on in order to go meet the pack.

With tears in your eyes, you watch him walk around the bed until he's seated on the edge nearest you. He brushes your tears away, smiling softly, before leaning down and pressing his lips to your forehead. "We're gonna get through this."

"You don't know that."

"You're right. I don't. But what I do know is that I will rip off every leech head I have to just to come home to you. Okay?"

"Okay."

"And if worse comes to worse, run. Grab the backpack in the front hall closet and don't look back."

You sigh as the tears make a reappearance. "You just had to ruin the moment."

"I'm sorry," he chuckles, pecking your lips, "but I had to say it. I will do everything I can to come back home, but if not then you need to be prepared."

Leaning up, you grasp him by the back of his neck and gently press your lips against his before pressing your forehead to his and staying there. "I love you so much." Your voice wobbles, but you manage to swallow down the lump in your throat and offer him a weak smile of reassurance. "I don't like it, but I'll be prepared. I promise."

"Thank you." Paul kisses you once more and then hurriedly takes his leave, not once looking back.

Your heart hurts, but you know he's hurting just as bad which is why he took his leave as quick as he did.

You remain in bed for another twenty minutes before getting up. You frown at the clothes you and Paul had left all around the house, and pick it up before showering. Then after showering, you dress warmly and put on some boots before grabbing the back pack from the front hall and sitting at the kitchen table.

The backpack consists of money Bella had put aside for an emergency and the forged ID's Jasper and Alice apparently had made for you, Renesmee, and Jacob. You try sitting at the table, but your anxiety wins out. So to pass some time you figured you could eat, but nothing seems particularly appetizing.

Groaning in frustration, you walk over to the phone to call Emily, but then hesitate in dialing and place the phone back down. Hearing Emily being just as worried as you was only bound to make you even more worried and that was the last thing you needed.

You end up on the couch, TV playing low for some background noise when your eyes flutter shut and you drift off to sleep.

You're not sure how much time has passed, but you're startled awake when you feel your boots being tugged off. You shoot upward into a seated position, heart hammering, only to gasp at the sight of your husband looking just as he did earlier that morning.

"Paul? What..?"

"It's over," he says. "It's finally over."

You throw your arms around his neck, voice muffled. "What happened?"

Paul allows you a moment to just hug him before he's pulling back to take a seat of his own and letting your curl up against his side. "When they realized Renesmee wasn't what they were led to believe, they killed the one leech who misinformed them and tried to provoke an attack so they could wipe out the Cullen's. When that didn't work, the main one in charge seemed to try and have his people inflict pain on our side, but Bella's mind shield thing protected all of us. Then Alice and Jasper swooped in-"

"Alice and Jasper are back?!"

"Yeah. Apparently they were looking for one witness in particular- another hybrid like Renesmee." You gasp and Paul chuckles. "Those leech kings couldn't say Renesmee posed a threat when they realized her aging so quickly wouldn't be a problem. She'll reach full maturity in a few years and then she'll just stop aging."

"That's good. Right?"

"As good as it can get, babe."

You give a watery laugh before climbing into his lap, your hands on either side of his neck as you bring him in for a kiss. "It's over."

"It is. We can breathe again."

You laugh, kissing him once, twice, and then a third time. Your emotions are all over the place, you laughing and crying and seemingly on the verge of a mild freakout that threatens to leave you breathless. "Whatever comes next, the vampires are taking care of it themselves," you mumble.

"I hate to burst your bubble, sweetheart, but the next big thing is telling your mom we're married."

You freeze and Paul starts to slowly smirk. "Alice. Alice can definitely soften the blow and still keep mom happy about her only daughter having gotten secretly married."

It only takes him a moment to think about it. "Huh. Always knew that little leech was good for something."

You give a surprised laugh, lightly swatting him. "You're a damn liar, Mr. Lahote."

"But I'm your liar, Mrs. Lahote. Now what do you say to us about actually getting some sleep and then figuring out how we're going to tell your mom and Charlie I'm officially family?"

Your heart gives a flutter and you melt against him, completely relaxing. "That sounds good. Lets go."