Adult-FanFiction.org : Books

The Poet and the Pendulum	By : TwilightScribe Category: Twilight Series > Slash Views: 4180 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or make any money from this story.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
Part: Part X [ The Morning Dawned ]
Pairing: Jasper/Jacob
Rating: pg13
Words: 6499 words
Disclaimer: The Twilight series and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, who I am definitely not. This means that I don't own the characters or anything but the strange circumstances that I slap them into. I'll put them back once I'm done with them, promise. Anything unfamiliar you see is mine.

The Morning Dawned

After some difficulty, Setsune managed to make me promise that I wouldn't tell anyone about the revelation that he'd made to me the night before. It was a hard one to keep – especially from Edward – because it was constantly poking at my brain to think more on it, which was something I couldn't do. So instead I had to force myself to think about the wedding and remembering what I was supposed to do, and how the hell I was supposed to put on the suit that Alice had laid out for me.

I managed to stumble my way through putting it on, but the tie sort of stumped me. Luckily though, Jasper had kept his promise about coming back as quickly as possible; he'd been back by the time the sun was just cresting the horizon.

Needless to say he hadn't been very happy about finding me on the roof.

He sighed, exasperated, “Sometimes Jake I wish that you would be a little more careful; you're not indestructible, you know.”

“So you keep saying; I'm fine though. I didn't fall off the roof, and even if I did I still would've been able to land without hurting myself.” I'll admit, I was probably a bit shorter with him then usual, but the stress was starting to get to me.

Even though I was being a bit mean to him, his hands were still extremely gentle as he tied my tie, making sure it was snug but not uncomfortable. “I know, but you need to remember that you're not the only one who's relying on you for survival.”

I could feel his cool touch as his hand pressed softly to my stomach, letting me know that he was just as concerned about the baby as he was about me. And he was probably a little more concerned about me at this point since I'd had that very recent brush with death. I sighed; I just couldn't stay angry at him for very long, it was a bit of a hopeless cause.

Wrapping my arms around his waist, I mumbled out an apology into his shoulder; not feeling like I could meet his eyes without feeling a bit ashamed of myself. There were a few scattered times that I did forget that I was carrying our baby, and I hated to be reminded about that; it made me feel like shit.

Jasper just held me close to him, “It's alright... just try and be a little more careful.”

The two of us stayed like that for several moments that felt like forever, but it had to end because he needed to go and stay with Edward and I needed to go make sure Bella was ready. I was a little surprised that Edward had asked him to be his best man, but I wasn't going to complain. Eventually Jasper pulled away, kissing me one more time before leaving to go and join the rest of Edward's wedding party.

Alice came and got me a few minutes later, doing a little last minute straightening of my suit and tucking a flower into the lapel of my jacket.

“Bella wants to see you.” She pulled me out of the room, going at human speed. “And she wants you to see her dress too.”

It took me a few moments to figure out why she was, because Alice usually was always doing this at vampire speed. But then I remembered that we had a lot of humans in the house and outside, so she couldn't afford to arouse any suspicion about her family – well, more than there already was. People had hunches, it was a small town, you couldn't expect anything else when there's a shortage of good gossip and a family of very pretty people who call your town home.

Even on the reserve they were objects of interest; especially since they never came down to the beach like almost every other teen in the town did. Only those who knew about the treaty and the truth knew the reasons for why that was.

Bella was waiting in Alice's room with her parents along with two of her other friends from Forks High – I think their names were Jessica and Angela – who I recognized from seeing them down on First Beach on occasion. The blond was chattering away with Renée about Bella's dress and the decorations and everything, while the brunette was very quietly talking to Bella about what sounded like her plans for the future.

“You and Ben split?” Bella was asking. She paused and gave me a smile as I came in before returning her full attention to her friend. “Why? You two always seemed like you could weather any storm that life could throw at you.”

The brunette smiled, “It's alright, Bella. Ben and I both know that we don't really have it in us to keep up with the stress of a long distance relationship, so we decided together that it would be better if we just broke it off. We're staying friends though.”

“You really thought this through, Ang.” Bella frowned, “Are you sure about it though? I mean, I can't really picture you with anyone but Ben.”

“You don't have to worry about me, Bella,” Angela – because I was pretty sure that was who she was – replied. “I've really thought this through, and I know it's for the best. Ben has his plans for the future, and I've got mine; they're just no compatible. It's really okay, I'll find someone eventually; I can wait.”

“If you're sure...”

“I am.” She turned to me, smiling. “Hi, you're Jacob, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” I held out my hand and shook hers. “And you're Angela?”

She nodded, “It's good to meet Bella's best man; I've seen you around Forks and La Push. I'm glad to see that you and Bella patched up whatever rough spot the two of you were having.”

I was a little surprised; I hadn't expected her to be as perceptive as she was. But I tried not to let that get to me – Bella also gave me this knowing little look as though to say 'she's always like this'. I could see why she liked Angela, though; she was sweet and thoughtful and while not the most talkative, she definitely was of the understanding sort. You know, the kind that you want to have nearby when you need a shoulder to cry on or something like that.

“You ready for this?” Bella asked. Her eyes were sparkling and wide, and her smile and joy was infectious.

“As ready as I'll ever be. I'll try not to trip, or mess up.”

She laughed, “I'm the one you should be worried about; I'll probably trip on my way to the altar and take out the entire wedding party with me.”

I took her hand and gave it a squeeze, “Nah, you'll be just fine.”

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

The wedding went off without a hitch, and Bella looked absolutely beautiful. I had to admit that Alice did have good taste; Bella's dress was beautiful and elegant, but no one could really tear their eyes off of her. Even the vampires seemed to pale in comparison to how stunning she looked.

She and Edward couldn't take their eyes off each other, both were smiling to beat all hell and kept blushing. I was happy to see her happy.

And Jasper didn't leave my side the entire time.

Charlie and Bella were both awkward in the father and daughter dance, but that didn't surprise me too much; neither of them were great dancers, and hell, I wasn't either. Watching them dance next to Esme and Edward... there was no comparison; but Bella was still happy to be able to share the day with her parents. It still didn't change my mind about marriage in my case.

I was a little surprised that Setsune was there, but he seemed to be just as happy as anyone else about the marriage between the two people. He didn't seem alarmed at the fact that Bella was human and Edward a vampire, but then when I thought about his own revelation of the night before it made a lot of sense. I couldn't help but wonder about what could have brought him and his mate back here after having been banished because of what had happened.

I wondered whether or not we'd get to meet his mate, but that was something that could wait; I could be patient. But it was something that I was kind of excited about happening, it would be nice to know someone who had been through the same things that I had.

“Alice really out did herself this time,” Charlie remarked as he sat down beside me. “I mean, I thought that she'd gone overboard with that graduation party, but this? It's just amazing.”

“Bella got her dream wedding to her dream guy,” I replied. “It's a lot better then what she originally said she wanted; you have Alice to thank for convincing her that this was a better idea and what she actually wanted.”

Charlie rolled his eyes, “I'm glad that she changed her mind. I might not like this sort of thing, but it's definitely made her happy. And it's good to see Renée so happy about her daughter getting married too...” There was a forlorn tone to his voice as he mentioned his ex-wife; I guess the feelings still hadn't changed on his side, he still loved her.

It was kind of sweet.

Glancing over, I could see Renée laughing with Carlisle and Phil about something that one of them had said. I'd admit that I didn't know Bella's mother all that well, but she did very nice. We'd chosen not to let her in on the fact that Jasper and I were an item, but we weren't sure how successful we actually were because at times it seemed like she'd caught on. Not that it really mattered; she hadn't actually said anything.

A few curious glances were thrown our way, but none of Bella's school friends were actually sitting close enough to see that Jasper was holding my hand under the table. He wasn't as affectionate as he usually was with me, but that was okay since we didn't exactly want to broadcast that we were a couple.

I was pretty sure that we were succeeding pretty well; no one was giving us any dirty looks or throwing nasty insults our way. We were good.

As the reception continued on into the evening, the crowd thinned out a bit. Some of the more casual guests and acquaintances of the bride and groom left, leaving mostly Edward and Bella's inner circle of friends. That was why the newcomer stood out so much.

It wasn't just the fact that I didn't recognize her, but also the fact that she wasn't dressed in a dress like all the other female guests had been. To me, it looked a bit like a robe; it was a rich red color and embroidered with leafed branches with flowers on them and cranes and looked rather elaborate. As for the belt which held it closed, it was a simple dark almost burgundy red and tied in a weird knot at the back.

Her hair had been pulled back from her face into what looked like a bun. I couldn't place her ethnicity, but something about her was kind of familiar.

I couldn't help it; I pointed her out to Jasper, “Hey, do you know who that is?”

After all, it was entirely possible that she was some friend of the Cullens who I'd never met. She'd stopped to talk with Setsune near the banquet table, and I was pretty shocked when she wrapped her arms around him – and he even returned the gesture. I wondered if she was the mate that Setsune had been talking about the night before.

Jasper looked to where I was indicating and shook his head. “I have no idea.”

No one else had seemed to notice the appearance of the mystery girl and I was dying to know who she was, so I grabbed Jasper's hand and tugged him in their direction, “Well come on then, let's go find out!”

Jasper went along with me, probably to keep me out of any potential trouble. As we got closer, I could tell that she wasn't Quileute; her facial features didn't quite fit the bill, but she looked a lot like Setsune.

She spotted us coming and beamed, and in the blink of an eye, she was in front of us. It was vampire speed, and it set Jasper a little at edge because he edged his way between me and her just slightly at the move. But luckily, she didn't notice, or at least didn't seem to.

Now that she was closer, I could see that she did look a lot like Setsune – almost scarily so. Her eyes, though, were wide and a golden-flecked hazel color.

“You're Jacob right?” she asked, looking at me for confirmation – so I nodded. Then she turned to Jasper, “And you're Jasper?”

“Yes, and you are?”

“Kosuke,” she replied, then added, “Otou-san was telling me about the two of you.” I think that she noticed my confused expression, because she flushed a light pink before quickly clarifying, “Oh, um, sorry. Sometimes I forget myself... I meant my father.”

That caught Jasper's attention, “Your father?”

“Yes, my father. You've met him.” Her strange eyes flickered between the two of us, her eyes wide and her grin just as much. It was weird, because Setsune was usually pretty subdued, and yet she was like a maelstrom of energy – it kind of reminded me of Alice. She paused there and turned back to Setsune – who had come up right behind her as she'd been speaking – and let loose a stream of gibberish.

Setsune seemed to find what she was saying amusing, because he just chuckled before responding to her in the same gibberish. I had to guess that it was their native tongue.

I was sort of glad to see that Jasper was just as confused as I was. Although, he might have had a better idea of what was going on then me since it was entirely possible that he'd learned a little of whatever language it was that they were talking to each other in.

But Jasper did seem a little more at ease, so I felt calm and my stomach stopped doing flips. His arm tightened around my shoulders and I felt a wave of calm wash over me, combined with the affection and love that I was so used to. He gave me a warm smile as he looked down at me, casting around a quick glance before leaning down and pressing his lips to my temple very quickly and briefly.

Finally, it seemed that the two were done with their gibberish conversation, and Kosuke turned her full attention back to us after giving Setsune a dirty look.

“Sorry, I just assumed that you knew...” she muttered. “But apparently it's supposed to be a surprise.”

“What is?” I asked.

She grinned and winked at me, “I can't tell you; it would ruin the surprise and I'd probably get in trouble with my parents if I ruined their fun.”

“Don't mind Kosuke too much,” Setsune interjected. “She is very easily excited.”

Kosuke ignored Setsune, turning her attention back to me, pitching her voice low so that it wouldn't carry across the room, “You're expecting, right?”

Jeez! How many people knew and could tell that I was pregnant? It wasn't like I was advertising that fact, and even Jasper couldn't really tell and he spent so much time with me! It was really starting to bug me that these people could tell that I was pregnant right off the bat.

Before I could reply, Jasper cut in, “That's supposed to be kept a secret.”

I watched as Kosuke blushed a deep red this time, “Oh. I'm sorry, it's just – I recognized the signs and um...”

“Kosuke.”

Her head spun around, and she immediately averted her eyes as though realizing that she'd probably said too much. She muttered out something that I guessed was an apology in that language that I didn't recognize to Setsune before continuing to stare at her feet for several long moments as an awkward silence fell between all of us.

Setsune sighed, “My apologies; I mentioned to Kosuke that you pregnant, Jacob. I didn't expect her to be so forward about confirming it.”

“It's alright,” I replied. “I don't mind that she knows, as long as she doesn't tell anyone; I kind of don't want Bella to find out.”

“Huh? Why not?” Kosuke asked, before slapping her hands over her mouth. She looked sheepish, “Eh, sorry... I shouldn't be asking so many questions.”

I shrugged, “I kind of figure that Bella just might blow up if she figured out that I'd, you know, gotten pregnant; especially since I'm just sixteen. I don't think she's ever been very keen on kids, so I don't know how she'd take knowing that she's going to be an aunt in about nine months.”

“We want to wait until we're sure that she can control herself before letting her near the child,” Jasper replied, softly. I guessed that he figured that since the cat was out of the bag, he might as well answer her questions; even though Setsune seemed a little exasperated by her constant badgering. “And at least by then we'll have a better idea of what our child will be like.”

“I'm sure that they'll be beautiful,” Kosuke chirped, beaming. She quickly elbowed Setsune in the side and muttered darkly, “Don't stop me now; I want to know, and if you try and stop me I'll be telling okaa-san about it.”

“In this matter, I'm sure that your mother would side with me,” Setsune replied evenly, before he sighed again, “I should have known better than to try and keep you quiet; it's not in your nature – you're too much like your mother.”

I finally let the question that had been eating at me out, “How do you two know each other?”

The two of them exchanged a knowing look before Kosuke turned back to me, grinning like an idiot. Setsune looked amused too, which just confused me even more. I felt Jasper's curiosity burning at me too.

Setsune chuckled, “I should know Kosuke very well; not only have I known her for nearly a century and a half, she's my daughter.”

Oh, well that explained her resemblance to him and all – wait, WHAT?

“Wait.. you two are–”

“She's your daughter?” Jasper interrupted, his eyes burning as he looked between them.

Kosuke grinned and nodded, “Setsune is my father; you can't deny the familial resemblance.”

At that moment, Jasper and I both looked at each. I was just as shocked as he was and wondering how the hell this was possible when it hit me like a giant ton of bricks. Now it all made sense. Why Setsune was in the area, why his mate had been banished and now called back; it all just clicked together in my mind at that moment and I realized just what the hell was going on.

“You're here because of me and because I got pregnant with Jasper's child,” I replied, feeling a little light-headed at the thought. “Because your mate went through the exact same thing.”

Jasper looked at me, eyes wide. It was a little comical; I'd never seen him look so shocked before – like he'd stuck a fork in the outlet, “Jake, what are you–”

“He's quite right,” Setsune replied. “I told Jacob last night that my mate is of Quileute descent and was banished in the nineteenth century after we met. It wasn't just because of the fact that we were meant to be together, but also–”

“–because I'd been sneaking off to see him and I wound up pregnant.” A new voice interrupted.

All of us looked over at the newcomer. Just like Kosuke, he was wearing a robe only his was a lot more subdued; it was a dark charcoal grey without any patterns embroidered on it and the belt was cream colored and tied in a simple knot. I hadn't realized before, but Kosuke was wearing wooden sandals and that Setsune was holding a similar pair in his hand. The newcomer wasn't wearing shoes, but accepted the ones that Setsune had been holding, letting the vampire help him put them on.

He wasn't nearly as tall as I was – his shoulder only came up to Setsune's armpit and Setsune was only 5'11– but in terms of looks, I could definitely tell that both of us came from the same tribe. I recognized some of his facial features too – he looked a bit like Sam, he had the same high cheekbones as him, and very similar hazel eyes. He'd probably passed those on to his daughter. But his skin was a little paler than mine; he probably hadn't spent as much time out in the sun.

The moment he'd joined us and was wearing shoes again, Setsune had him tucked under his arm and pressed a very quick kiss to his lips. He frowned at the vampire, and Setsune just smiled and shook his head, muttering something in gibberish as he did so.

“You're supposed to be speaking English, love,” he chided. “We're not in Japan anymore; and as much as I love your endearments, I'm sure that their meaning would be lost on our audience.”

I was so distracted by both his sudden appearance and the fact that he was obviously Quileute and how he probably understood me more than anyone else in my pack, that I didn't notice one detail about him that was pretty important.

Unlike Kosuke who's belt was wrapped around her waist, his was wrapped a little higher around the torso above what definitely looked like a baby bump.

Setsune just shrugged at the chiding, “I doubt there's anyway even you could get me to change my ways koi.”

“That's true,” he remarked. “You're an old man in how set you are; it's a little scary sometimes.”

“I'm not that old,” Setsune replied with a frown. I'd admit, it was pretty cute to see the two of them bicker; they acted a bit like a cross between an old married couple and a pair of teenage lovers.

“Older than me,” came the sharp retort. But then his face softened and he turned in Setsune's arm and reached up to pull him down for a kiss. “But that's fine, because I love you anyway.”

“Good.” I didn't imagine how Setsune's other hand traced over his mate's bump, which only drew attention to the fact that yep, he was definitely pregnant.

Kosuke was the one who interrupted the fluffy scene in front of us by clearing her throat and giving them dirty looks, “It seems I'm the one who has to apologize on behalf of my parents because they've apparently forgotten all sense of proper decorum.”

“Oops.”

“Kosuke, you should know better than to insult your mother,” Setsune chided his daughter, but it was quite obvious that he was just teasing her. There was an amused glint in his eyes that I hadn't seen before in the short time that I'd known him.

They acted like a family; it was pretty heart-warming and made me feel more comfortable with my own situation. I'd always been confident that Jasper would be a great father but it was me that I'd had insecurities about being a mother. For one thing, I was male and I wasn't sure if our child would take that well since it was supposed to be impossible; not to mention how they'd deal with it if they ever had to interact more with human society. But seeing the three of them, I didn't think now that I had so much to worry about; if Setsune and his mate could manage with just the two of them, then we could too. We had the rest of Jasper's family to help.

“Now, now Setsune, Kosuke's right.” His mate untangled himself from Setsune's arms just enough so that the vampire's hand settled into the small of his back. He held his hand out to me, “Sorry about forgetting to introduce myself; my name's Kieran. You're Jacob, right? Setsune mentioned you before.”

“Yeah.” It was a little surreal to be talking to someone who was way older than me but had been through the exact same thing – and going through it again – but also someone who was from a generation that wasn't even alive anymore.

I kind of wondered what he thought of the pack as it was now, if he thought it was any different than it had been when he'd been a member. But I bit back all the questions that I wanted to ask; now really wasn't the time.

Kieran turned to Jasper, “And you're the lucky guy?”

“Jasper,” he replied, accepting the other's hand. He seemed a little uncomfortable, but it might have had to do with some of the emotions that he was getting from the family standing in front of us. I offered him a small smile and felt his arm tighten around my waist, which did seem to help his comfort levels. “And yes, I suppose I am. Though, I am a little surprised to find out that this isn't a first time occurrence; from what I've seen, the elders were quite...”

“I wouldn't worry about them; they've always had sticks up their asses about anything different,” Kieran replied, almost offhandedly. “Well, back when they banished me, I think they thought it was just a fluke or something, and that they'd gotten rid of the 'bad genes' that would have caused something like that to happen. They're pretty set in their ways.”

“Tell me about it,” I grumbled. I couldn't help it; I was thinking about my dad.

“I'm sure that your parents will come round,” Kieran tried to reassure me. “Mine didn't, but that was because they were pretty horrified about the entire thing. I don't think it mattered to them that Setsune was... different from the others of his kind that we'd encountered, hell when I first met him he'd been hunting down another vampire.”

Setsune growled, a low and threatening sound. “That was because he'd drawn too much attention to himself; killing indiscriminately and making a spectacle out of his abilities.”

Jasper frowned at this; it seemed like he was trying to remember something. Then he spoke, “I heard something about that. I can't remember the details though, it was a long time ago.”

That seemed to surprise both Setsune and Kieran, they both turned to Jasper with wide eyes. It was Setsune who recovered first, “Really? You were alive to remember that?”

“Not much of the details,” Jasper replied. “It was something mentioned in a report in January about a week or so after the Emancipation Proclamation; there weren't many details included, but it apparently had a few of my superiors a little unnerved by the intelligence.”

“You weren't one of us at the time?” Setsune asked.

I was curious too; Jasper never really did talk about his background no matter how much I prodded him on it. I think it might have had to do with him not wanting to worry me or cause stress, but I still wanted to and deserved to know. At least, I felt I did.

“No, I wasn't turned until later,” Jasper replied.

“When were you turned?” I asked; I couldn't help it, I really wanted to know. I gave him a sharp look, “Come on, you can tell me.”

“August, 1863.” His voice was stiff; I'd been right all along, this wasn't a very comfortable subject for him. And holy crap, he was old; he was older than Edward and the rest of the Cullen family – excluding Carlisle of course.

Setsune was kind enough to offer a way out, “If it is something that you would rather not speak of, we will respect that. There are... things in all of our pasts, I believe, that we would prefer to forget and not drag out to open old scars.”

A comforting smile was offered to me by Kieran, “All vampires are secretive; there are things that Setsune won't tell me either.” He then addressed both of the vampires in our little party, “Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to Jacob. Alone.”

Jasper tensed beside me.

“He won't do anything,” I assured my lover. “And you can stay close enough that you can help if something goes wrong, which it won't.”

“As you can see Jasper,” he gestured at his stomach, “I'm not capable of doing anything at the moment. Your mate will be safe with me.”

After some more convincing on my part, Jasper was finally mollified when I promised that I'd sit down and that he wouldn't be too far away just in case. I'm pretty sure that he knew deep down that Kieran wouldn't do anything to me, but it was just his instincts and his own concern over me that made him so hesitant. He didn't want to leave me vulnerable since shifting was out of the question given my own condition. Setsune and him stayed close, though, having their own quiet conversation well out of earshot of us.

“Do you need me anymore okaa-san?” Kosuke asked. “Because if not, I want to go and talk to people and get to know the rest of the family. And congratulate the bride and groom of course.”

The smile Kieran gave her was warm as was his permission, “You're a grown woman now Kosuke, I don't think you need my permission to do anything anymore. But that reminds me, take this with you.”

He handed her a plain looking wooden box that she delicately took from him, “You and otou-san bought them a present?”

“Well, originally Setsune intended it for Carlisle's mate since he was sure he'd have found his by now, but with the current celebrations, I think it would be more appropriate to give it to the young bride, don't you think?” Kieran explained.

“I can see the reasoning in that,” Kosuke replied. “Anyway, I'll be off. There are some pretty cute guys here.”

“Watch yourself Kosuke, you know how your father gets.”

She gave her mother a one armed hug with a brilliant smile, “I'll be careful; I'm a big girl now, I can take care of myself.”

Almost immediately after she left us, she was broad-sided by Alice who was quick to engage her in conversation; I could guess what it was about. I couldn't hear it though, but I did catch a question about who she was and why she was there and that she'd better not be a wedding crasher. I was actually surprised that none of the other Cullens had noticed Kosuke and Kieran's arrival, but a quick glance around the room told me why.

Of course Bella and Edward didn't have eyes for anyone but each other, they were too wrapped up in their own conversation at the main table. Charlie was chatting amicably with Carlisle about something or other, and Esme was entertaining a few other guests like Bella's mother and step-father. And as for Rosalie and Emmett, well Emmett was just lounging around and watching Rosalie while she was talking up a storm with the Denali coven.

“So, do you know how far along you are?” Kieran asked, his voice surprisingly hushed. But then I remembered that we were surrounded by vampires and humans who we probably didn't want to eavesdrop so much on our conversation; Jasper and Setsune were the exceptions, of course.

“About a month,” I replied. “What about you?”

“Six and a half months,” Kieran answered, stroking his stomach fondly. “You know, it took me this long to convince Setsune to have another child. The first time round was tricky, but you're much luckier than I was.”

He smiled at my confusion, “You have modern medicine on your side; when I was pregnant with Kosuke, it was in the nineteenth century and we couldn't turn to anyone for help because not only am I male, but I was with child. If people found out, it was entirely likely that they would have killed me, or worse.”

“Carlisle's still trying to figure out how this is going to work. I think he's banking on cutting them out instead of seeing whether or not I'd be able to birth them naturally; Jasper's definitely going to side with him,” I explained. “He's petrified that it could kill me.”

“Trust me, giving birth naturally is nothing to scoff at,” Kieran replied softly, with a grimace. “It's nothing short of excruciatingly painful; Setsune won't talk about it much, but I know that I was screaming for death the entire time. It was worth it, of course, since I got my beautiful Kosuke after the entire ordeal... but after, Setsune swore that he'd never make me go through that again.”

I couldn't imagine the pain that he was talking about, but I'd never complained about Carlisle's plan for me to get a c-section before, and now I was agreeing with it even more. Jasper had probably overheard that, which would make him even more set on that course of action than before; but this time I was going to be in full agreement with him.

“I was planning to go along with Carlisle's idea. I don't really like the idea of squeezing something out from between my legs.”

“Good, I think that this visit is giving Setsune ideas,” Kieran continued. “He wasn't too sure if Carlisle would be here, but he was definitely hoping that he would. He's probably hoping to spare me the agony of having to birth another child.”

“Do you have any idea of what gender it is?” I was kind of curious; I hadn't given any thought to the potential gender of our child. Mostly because I didn't have a preference, but it was definitely something that I'd have to talk to Jasper about at some point down the line.

“Hm, I don't think Setsune has any preference, but...” He grinned. “I'm pretty sure that it'll be a boy.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, with Kosuke she was incredibly energetic, always kicking me and making sure that I knew she was there,” Kieran explained. “But this one has been quite restful, only really kicking me a few times to let me know that he's still there. I think that he'll be much like his father; very calm and serene.”

He smiled warmly, “But anyway, what I really wanted to talk to you about was see if you had any questions or concerns that you wanted to ask me since I obviously know what you're going through. It might be a little different – all pregnancies are – for you than for me, but I'm quite sure that I can be helpful.”

“Am I going to start looking like a beached whale?” I'd seen pregnant women around before, and they always started looking rather large towards the end of their pregnancy which looked not only uncomfortable, but also kind of awkward. Not to mention that it would be impossible to hide the fact that I was pregnant by that point in time.

“I can't say for certain, but I doubt that you'll be as round as a woman is,” Kieran replied. “Of course, it can depend, but while with Kosuke, I never looked like a beached whale, as you put it. I was still quite large, but it was never a problem.”

“Huh. Well that's one thing that I don't have to worry about so much.”

“And since you're very lucky to have a doctor in the family, I'm pretty sure that you'll be taken care of.” Kieran shifted in his seat, moving to a more comfortable condition. “There's no real remedy for the back pain as you get farther along though.”

“You guys going to stick around for a while?” It would be nice to have someone around who wasn't a vampire; not that I didn't like my adoptive family, but I'd like to have someone around who had a heartbeat and was alive. And understood what I was going through.

“Probably. We'll be here until I'm at full term definitely; Setsune didn't want me travelling at all in the first place, but I convinced him that it would be worth it. And he'll definitely want to catch up with Carlisle which might take a while, and also see about whether or not he can convince him to help me with the delivery.”

I felt a little bit selfish about asking what I asked next, but it was something that I'd appreciate, “Do you think you'd mind staying until I've... had mine?”

Kieran grinned, “Is that an invitation?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Then yes, I will. I'll talk to Setsune about it, it won't be a problem.” I believed him; Setsune obviously doted on him, so it was a good conclusion that Kieran would be able to convince him to stay without much of an argument.

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
- 12
- 13
- 14
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

The Poet and the Pendulum