Chapter One
The Plan
Grace Cullen-Swan

"Bella?" I called her name softly as I entered the Cullen house, hating the way the house looked so deserted with the furniture covered in plastic. "Bella? Where are you?" I called out, not hearing her or the baby's heartbeat.

In a panic, I rushed up the stairs and started opening up every room. The bedrooms and bathrooms are all heavily soundproofed to avoid any mistakes in privacy, and so I thought she might've gone upstairs to lie down. I was screaming her name as I rushed from room to room, thinking the worst as I tried to keep myself from having a breakdown.

After searching all of the bedrooms and not finding her, I took a moment to think in the hallway, and that's when I realized I hadn't checked Edward's room at the top of the stairs. As I opened the door at the base of the stairs, I heard the soft crying sounds from up the staircase to Edward's room.

I ran up the stairs and paused in the open doorway, my heart breaking at the sight in front of me.

Bella, curled up on the floor, clutching her midsection with one hand and crying softly into the other one. The ache of losing Edward and the stress of carrying his child completely overwhelming her.

"Bella, you scared me." I exhaled quietly, calming my emotions as I entered the room and got down onto my knees beside her. "I know it must feel entirely too difficult now, but it's going to get easier. I promise. I just need you to keep fighting through. If not for yourself then for your child."

"I'm a child!" She sobbed. "I was so stupid and now I'm pregnant and alone and-"

"You are not alone." I swore to her. "You have me and your dad, no matter what. We are going to be with you every step of the way."

"He must be so angry." She shook her head. "I'm angry at myself. I can't imagine how upset he must be."

"He was upset." I nodded. "But I told him you both had no idea this was even possible. I didn't even think it was possible, but here we are and we need to move forward. He's calmed down now, I promise, and we both want you to come home so we can talk about what to do next."

"I can't do this." She shook her head. "I can't."

"I don't think we have any choice in the matter, Bella. I don't know how to safely preform an abortion, besides, I'm not sure if the baby has any kind of defense or not against it. It may already be showing some signs of vampirism like hard skin or a number of things." I sighed.

"It already has a hard bump around it." Bella nodded, sitting up and brushing the dried tears off of her face.

"A bump?" I worried. "Didn't you say you conceived the night of your birthday party?" I asked.

"Yeah, why?" She asked.

"You shouldn't be showing any kind of bump until sometime around your fourteenth week. It's October Eighteenth, so you're only five weeks along." I calculated.

"So it's growing abnormally fast, great." Bella muttered.

"Here, let's go into Carlisle's office. He stores some medical equipment for the hospital in one of his storage closets. I might be able to find something I can run test with." I told her, helping her onto her feet and down the stairs to Carlisle's office.

I found an ultrasound machine among the other large pieces of equipment and immediately felt so much more relieved about our situation. I had Bella lay out on the couch so I could conduct the exam, but I gasped at the picture it created.

"What's wrong?" Bella asked, a mixture of worry and apprehension.

"There's nothing there." I told her.

"So I'm not pregnant?" She asked happily.

"You are, all of the test were positive, but the picture on the screen is strange. It's like there's some sort of wall blocking me." I huffed in frustration.

"Maybe it just has hard skin like a vampire?" Bella offered.

"I'm thinking you're right." I nodded. "It's like your pregnancy is creating a protective barrier. I don't think I can get through it with any kind of test."

"Then how are you going to keep track of it?" She asked me.

"I guess I'll just have to resort to the old fashioned way." I giggled. "Sewing tape measures to tract growth." I answered her.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't be happy about this." She shook her head at me.

"It's okay, you don't have to be, but we don't have any choice in this. We can't take it back. So the best we can do is give it the best possible attempt we can." I explained as I cleaned her up.

"Okay, you're right." She nodded, standing to her feet with me. "Let's go home. I hate being here." She shuddered.

"Well, home might not be much better." I giggled as we descended the stairs. "We have a lot to talk about."

We drove home in silence. I didn't really know what to say to her to help her feel better about this, and I could tell she just didn't know what else could be said on her end. When we finally pulled into the driveway, I seemed to gain some sudden courage.

"Everything is going to be okay, Bella." I told her cheerfully. "You'll see. Everything happens for a reason." I nodded soundly as we climbed out of the car.

"I'll have to trust you on this one, Grace." She smiled softly at me as we went to the front door.

Charlie was suddenly there, standing in the open doorway, and I tensed as he rushed towards Bella.

"It's okay." He promised her, holding her in a tight loving embrace. "I understand this isn't your fault. I love you."

"I love you too, Dad." She began to cry, latching onto him just as tight, and my heart swelled in love for the both of them. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." He assured her. "Let's get inside before the neighbors start wondering what we're doing standing outside crying together." He chuckled, taking her inside and to the couch as I followed.

"So, where should we start?" I asked the both of them. "Should we talk about your actions or about the pregnancy?"

"Actions." Bella decided quickly, shying away from the word pregnancy.

"Alright, well then, Grace and I understand why you've been so torn up over Edward but that has to stop now. You can't continue to miss school and avoid your friends or they'll only keep making rumors about you and you'll only be proving them right. You're going to go to school religiously, keep up your grades, and go out with your friends whenever possible." Charlie demanded.

"Also, you're going to have to start taking better care of yourself. You need to start eating like you should, sleeping better, and start drinking water. You don't want to get dehydrated in your state as it only acts as a catalyst for other health conditions." I tacked on.

"Okay." Bella nodded. "Yeah, you're both right. I'll start trying to do better."

"Great." I smiled widely at her, a new feeling of hope rising in my chest. "Now, onto the pregnancy." I tried my hardest not to grimace. "Your dad and I have already decided on it, but you deserve to know what's going on. I'm going to be using my illusionist gift to cover you during school and in public. You won't look any different to the people around you, no matter how much you might be showing." I explained to her.

"Then how do we explain having a baby when it comes?" She asked me. "Or, are you planning on getting rid of it?" She asked, looking a little panicked at the idea.

"No, no, we're not getting rid of it." Charlie spoke quickly. "I have to believe this baby is meant to be here, and so we're keeping it. No matter what that might mean." He stated soundly, and I was actually kind of surprised by the sudden conviction.

"Besides, putting a half-vampire baby up for adoption doesn't really sound responsible." I teased Bella, lightening up the mood.

"So you're not going to send it to the Cullens or anything, right?" She asked, almost sounding like she was pleading.

"Bella, I have no contact with the Cullens." I confessed to her. "I tried to call Carlisle, and the others, but they're all disconnected numbers. Also, our friends the Denali's wouldn't give me their new number or location. So even if I wanted to send the baby to the Cullens, I couldn't." I explained softly.

"They left you entirely alone?" Bella cried. "How could they do that to you? I mean, as much as I hate that they did it to me I can understand why, but you?! That makes no sense."

"It doesn't." I agreed. "They seem to think I'm being treacherous by choosing you two over them. And I suppose I am in a way, but that's beside the point."

"So then what are we going to say about having a baby?" Bella asked, getting back on topic.

"Well, my gift isn't subject to only one person or thing at a time. So, if it's okay with you, I'm going to use my gift to appear pregnant in your place. Your dad and I will claim the baby is ours." I told her gently.

"You would do that for me?" Bella asked me quietly. "Why?"

"Because you're my daughter, silly girl." I smiled at her, reaching over to tuck a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. "I love you and can't stand to see you in any kind of pain. I know all of the rumors have been tearing you up inside, and so it's time to let me take some of the burden."

"Thank you, Mom." She said, suddenly reaching out to give me a soft hug.

"Of course, sweet girl." I cooed, smiling at Charlie from over her shoulder. "Now, why don't we all go out for dinner tonight, hmm? Ease you back into society." I teased her.

"Sounds good to me!" Charlie chuckled, standing and pulling Bella and I up with him. "I'll agree to anything if it means I get to spend time with my favorite girls." He smiled at us lovingly.

Bella ate a decent amount at dinner. I kept trying to persuade her to eat more, but I was happy with her progress in the end nonetheless. As soon as we got back to the house, Bella wished us both goodnight before climbing the stairs to her room to try to sleep a good amount before school tomorrow. I was honestly so impressed and excited that I couldn't help but turn to Charlie and plant a heavy kiss on him in my enthusiasm.

"Woah, slow down there." He chuckled, pulling my hands out of his shirt. "At least wait until she's good and asleep."

"I'm sorry, I'm just so glad she's improving so much." I smiled up at him. "Maybe this baby is a good thing for her. Maybe this will pull her through."

"Maybe." He agreed with me. "I'm sure she would still be unresponsive if she hadn't had figured it out." He nodded. "I hope what I said earlier was alright, about not giving up the baby or anything."

"Of course it was." I cooed. "I was touched actually. Did you really mean it?"

"I did." He nodded. "We're keeping it. Even if Bella isn't ready to be a mom or doesn't want it, we're perfectly able to take care of a baby ourselves. Plus, I can't imagine having a grandchild and not being a huge part of their life. It may not be ideal or planned, but I'm excited to be a grandfather." He explained to me and I couldn't help but kiss him the moment he stopped talking.

"I love you so much." I swore to him.

"I love you too." He smiled back, just as enamored with me as I was him. "I should get to bed. I'm gonna have a long day at the station tomorrow. Are you coming?" He smirked at me.

"Unfortunately, I need to get some hunting in." I frowned, really feeling conflicted between my two different lusts. "I have something I want to try with Bella and I have a feeling it's going to be a difficult task." I sighed.

"What are you planning?" He asked me, looking slightly concerned.

"I don't want to scare you by telling you all of the details, but the stories of hybrids I've heard before have all been horrific. They're much stronger than their mothers, being half-vampire, and so I want to try something I haven't heard in any of the stories. It may be the only real chance we have here." I explained to him.

"What are you wanting to try?" He grimaced.

"Well, the baby is half-human and half-vampire. Right?"

"Right." He agreed.

"And what does a vampire need to survive?"

"You want my daughter to drink blood?!" Charlie paled before dropping to the floor.