This begins at Christmas time, six months after Learning Curve ended. All is seemingly idyllic in the lives of Bella, Edward and all their family and friends. But, something will lurk just around the corner – waiting to ruin everything they've built over the past seven years.

BPOV

Christmas time, once again.

I've actually found it's somewhat refreshing to spend my holidays buying presents for my children. There's no more worrying about what to buy my friends or my dad or anything. It's all about these four little angels that live under our roof – and shopping for them isn't honestly that hard. They let me know what they want for Christmas months in advance!

Plus, I have still have Alice and Rosalie as shopping buddies.

Today, we're at Toys-R-Us and searching for what the kids had requested on their rather extensive wish lists. We would have come in earlier, but we all have pretty hectic schedules now. Alice is helping Jasper get his law practice up and running, while I'm working out of my home photography studio when I have the time. Luckily for us, however, Rosalie – who had majored in early childhood development – started her own daycare business.

Not that we ever let her watch the kids for free, but we were happy that the person in charge of our children was someone we know and love.

Today, all seven of them were with Grandmas Esme and Sue so the mommies could shop in peace.

"So…Keely wants a makeover kit and each of the new Bratz Dolls," I said as I wandered down the doll aisle. "And Aina just wants some doll and carriage thing."

"Ethan wants a drum set," Rosalie announced with a disgruntled scoff.

"Oooo, sorry," Alice and I said in unison.

"Not as sorry as I am – or as sorry as Emmett's going to be for suggesting it."

Alice laughed and continued to push the cart in front of her, "I'm glad Aiden's not to that demanding point – yet."

"He'll get there," Rose replied.

"I don't know," I said. "He seems too timid, he's too much like Jasper to be any sort of demanding kid."

"Oh, Jasper can be demanding," Alice said with a salacious grin, "He's just really good at keeping it on the down low."

"Too much information," Rosalie laughed.

We got our presents and made our way out to Rosalie's SUV, now free of all child safety seats for the day. I found a few toys that Owen and Alys would love and some things for the niece and nephews from me and Edward.

Rosalie took us to the Olive Garden for lunch where she and I immediately ordered glasses of Merlot to go with our pasta. Alice held off on the alcohol.

"Oh come on, Al, you're making us look like lushes here," Rose whined as Alice ordered water. "It's not like you're driving."

"No…but it's only 1:30 – bit early for wine, don't you think?"

Rose and I looked at each other, "No."

I looked back at Alice and she was looking at her hands shyly – she was hiding something. She was like an open book sometimes.

"Al, what's up?"

"I…I didn't want to say anything until Christmas," she said. "We were going to announce it in front of everyone…"

Before she finished, Rose and I were across the table, hugging her like maniacs.

"Another baby? Oh, Alice, congratulations!" I cried. "When did you find out?"

"Last month," she said, not able to contain her glowing smile anymore, "I'm due in June."

"That's amazing," Rosalie said, "Now Aiden gets to be a big brother."

We celebrated with some tiramisu after lunch and then went to pick up the kids at Esme's.

All of the families had become accustomed to rotating hosting duties for Christmas – this year is Dad and Sue's turn. It was hard to believe they have been married for five years. But, then again, I've been a mother for just as long – and that was, at times, unfathomable. Especially when I considered the fact that I'm married to Edward, the world's most amazing man.

We made it to Dad and Sue's a little after 1 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Once removed from their car seats, the twins ran directly to their grandparents while Edward and I pulled Alys and Owen out of their car seats. Both of the little ones were ready for naps, and Dad helped us take them upstairs, where my old room had been turned into the nursery.

Alys conked out right away, but Owen wasn't giving up without shedding a few tears. His daddy lay on the bed next to him and soothed him gently with a lullaby until he finally passed out.

EPOV

I gently grazed my fingers over my son's face and repeated my mother's little lullaby over and over again until his eyelids drooped lazily over his brown eyes and finally fell – his eyelashes dark against the blush of his cheeks.

I gave him a quick kiss on his nose and got up quietly. I gave Alys a kiss and ran a finger along her cheek to her chin before I sighed contentedly and closed the door quietly behind me.

All that time I spent bedding various girls without a second thought seemed like a lifetime ago. I have four beautiful children and sleep every night in the arms of the woman of my dreams.

I laughed quietly at this thought as I made my way into the TV room to find my twin angels – my little Bellas – sitting on their grandpa's lap watching cartoons. Charlie was becoming quite the softy in his old age. Not that fatherhood hadn't softened me completely – but it was even more of an amazing transformation with my father-in-law. Chief Swan, the enforcer, the intimidating tyrant who tried to keep me and Bella apart was the sweetest, most doting grandfather in recent history. He even put my dad to shame in the mushy department, and that's saying something.

The girls sat quietly in his lap, enthralled by the program, while Charlie watched them in turn out of the corners of his eyes – he couldn't contain his smile. And neither could I. I left them in peace and walked into the kitchen to find my Bella peeling potatoes at the sink while Sue was pulling the innards out of the turkey.

"Anything I can do, Sue?" I asked as I leaned into the counter.

"Well, right now we're just getting stuff ready," she said as she pulled out something that looked gray and kind of gross – I looked away quickly. "Do you want to help Bella peel potatoes?"

"Sure," I replied as she handed me another peeler and I stood next to my wife at the sink.

"Owen finally get to sleep?" She asked as she reached up to kiss me softly.

"Yup, he's a stubborn little bugger sometimes," I said.

"Sounds like somebody I know," she said.

I pretended to be shocked, "Do you mean me?"

"No," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I think he's like his grandpa," Sue said as she started to place the turkey in a roasting pan and put baby carrots around it. "But, yeah, he might have a little bit of his daddy in him, too."

Bella chuckled along with her as I smirked at them, "There's nothing wrong with turning out like the old man."

"Nothing at all," Bella said as she reached up and kissed me again.

We peeled the potatoes and then Bella cut them into cubes and put them around the turkey along with the carrots, celery and onions that Sue had put around it. Sue then put some butter and herb mixture under the skin of the bird and popped it into the oven.

"Well, that's it for now," Sue said. "The rest of the stuff will only take a few minutes once the turkey is done – but it should take about two or three hours."

"Well then," Bella said as she took three beers from the fridge and handed one to me. "It's Miller time."

I laughed as she handed the last one to Sue and popped the top of my can as we sat around the table. We sipped our beers and talked for a bit until the others began to show up. Rosalie and Emmett were first – Ethan walked in and sat on the coach, looking a bit put out that his cousins were occupying his grandpa's time. I decided to step in and lifted the girls up and started playing with them so Ethan could have his time with Charlie – after all, it wasn't as if Ethan knew his other grandfather very well.

Rosalie was on the way to take Madeline upstairs for a nap. Currently the youngest of the grandkids, Madeline was only 10 months old now, and we were all excited to give her a great first Christmas. I love that this hasn't become old hat for any of us yet.

Keely began to grow tired of our little game and stood to grab onto Emmett's leg.

"Uncle Emmett! Play with me!"

"Play with you? OK!"

He lifted her above his head and started walking her around the room like she was flying. She squealed with glee and I turned to Aina who was still engrossed in playing with her doll. She was more like Bella – very easy to please. I stroked her head gently and she looked up and smiled.

"Daddy, let's play that I'm a princess and you're the prince who has to rescue me," she said quietly as she stood up and held out her tiny hand to me.

I stood and took it gently while we walked into the front living room and began to play. I spent the next hour battling invisible dragons as Aina sat on an overstuff armchair that stood in as a tall tower – the white blanket wrapped around her was her gown.

The doorbell rang again and my parents walked in with Alice, Jasper and Aiden in tow. Aina jumped off the chair and ran to her cousin.

"Aiden," she cried as she hugged him tightly. "Grandma! Grandpa!"

She flung herself at my parents and my dad took her up into his arms. "Hello Angel! How have you been?"

"Good," she said shyly.

"Your grandpa has missed you terribly; I haven't seen you in two whole weeks!"

"I missed you, too."

"What about me?" Mom asked as she held out her arms to Aina.

"I missed you too, Grandma," Aina laughed as Mom began hugging and kissing her.

I led everyone into the TV room so they could set their presents under the tree. Aina was sitting on my lap with Aiden on hers when more began to join the party. First was Seth, who walked in to the shrieks of joy emanating from my daughters. "Uncle Seth!! We missed you!"

"Oh, there are my little girls," he said as he picked up both of the twins – plus Aiden, who was still in Aina's arms.

I had to marvel at the kid, I think he's gotten taller since the last time I saw him, and he was already approaching about 6' 5" then. He sat next to me on the couch and we continued to watch Finding Nemo, when there was a knock at the door.

Everyone looked around, confused. I took an inventory of all who were present and accounted for – my family, my parents, Charlie, Sue, Emmett, Rosalie, their kids, Alice, Jasper and Aiden. That was every person we were expecting to drop by today.

I became highly suspicious as I opened the door. I froze in angered silence at who I saw standing on the porch.

"Hey Cullen, long time no see."

James – standing there with that evil smirk on his face. And, to make matters worse, he was holding hands with none other than Leah Clearwater. I wanted to strangle them both.

"Oh, sweetie do you know Edward?" Leah asked, feigning ignorance.

There was no way she wasn't aware that James knew me – it had to be some kind of trick, there was no other explanation.

"Yeah, Eddie and I go way back. So, you gonna let us in, Cullen?"

"No."

Leah crossed her arms over her chest and tried to stare me down, "My family happens to be in there, Edward. And I have a right to see them."

"You mean the family you haven't spoken to in almost four years?" I spat. "Well, I'll go and see if Sue or Seth want to talk to you, and you can just wait right here."

They were both lunging forward to try and push the door open, but I slammed it shut quickly and locked it before they had a chance. Unfortunately, in my haste to be rid of such disturbing company, I woke the babies up.

"Edward," Rosalie whined, "Madeline hasn't napped this well in weeks! Way to go!"

"Sorry," I muttered as I walked up to try and help sooth Owen and Alys back to sleep. "There were some…unwelcome guests at the door."

"Who?" Rosalie said as we approached the nursery door.

"James – Leah brought him here."

"What the hell is that girl thinking?" Rosalie asked.

"She claimed that she wasn't aware that James knows us, but that has to be bullshit," I said quietly. "This just reeks of a James plot."

"Well, hopefully they'll get the message and just leave," Rosalie replied.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, "No such luck."

Rose and I went in to the nursery. I managed to get Alys back to sleep, but Owen wasn't having any of it – yet again – so I decided I'd let him up and just put him to bed a bit earlier than usual. I pulled him tight to me and wandered downstairs, not sure of what I would find.

And there they were, in all their filthy glory – James and Leah, in the foyer. However, much to my delight, they were met by the less than hospitable glances of Emmett, Jasper, Dad and Charlie.

"So, you're the one who got Edward into all that trouble, hmmm?" Charlie asked James.

"He got himself into it," James said, "He hit me, you know?"

"I'm sure you did nothing to provoke it," Charlie scoffed.

I tried to slip past, but the two intruders noticed me hurrying away with Owen.

"Cullen! Did you actually manage to procreate?" James laughed.

"Don't you talk about my son-in-law or my nephew ever you little shit!" Charlie snapped, getting in James' face. "You just stay the hell away from my family, you hear me?"

Even James was intimidated by Chief Swan, "F-fine, but you make sure they stay away from me, too."

"Puh-lease," Charlie spat, rolling his eyes, "Now get the hell out of my house!"

I hurried into the kitchen just as Leah was trying to argue, hoping Owen wasn't aware of the dysfunction going on. I turned him to look at me and he grinned – it must be nice to be so young and so oblivious.

The rest of the kids were in the kitchen with the women. Bella rushed over to me to take Owen.

"Did my baby boy wake up?" She asked as she nuzzled his nose with hers – she turned to me then, "Did they leave?"

"Charlie's getting rid of them," I said, kissing her forehead, "He had James shaking in his boots."

"Gotta love that Poppa of ours, right?" She asked Owen who replied with a laugh and a 'Poppa' of his own.

BPOV

Alice, Esme, Sue and I were in the kitchen, and suddenly I could hear angry voices coming from the front door. I recognized one of them as Edward's and the other one made chills run up and down my spine – it was James. How the hell had he found us?

Seth walked into the kitchen with the twins followed by Rosalie.

"Leah is here, and she brought James," Rosalie said, taking my hands.

"Who is James?" Sue asked as she turned from the oven.

"He went to school with Edward," Esme said, "They were friends once, but now he seems hell bent on making life a living hell for my son and everyone he knows."

Sue turned to me, "I'm so sorry Bella! I knew that Leah was upset, but I didn't think she'd go this far!"

"It's not your fault, you didn't know," I told her.

Once everything had died down, we went back to making dinner but I had noticed Sue was gone. I went to see if she was out in the garage when I heard her crying and talking to someone. She must have been on her phone.

"How could you? Why can't you accept the fact that I'm happy? Doesn't that mean anything to you? Oh, don't give me that! You did know that Edward and Bella know that boy! You did this deliberately to hurt Charlie's family! You are a selfish, ungrateful little bitch and I am ashamed to be your mother! Goodbye Leah!"

I back away from the door and into the kitchen. I hated that Leah was treating Sue like this – she didn't realize how lucky she was to still have her mother and that made me furious. Sue walked back in after she composed herself and I looked up to meet her gaze. She approached me and I held her close, "I'm sorry, Sue. I love you."

"I love you too, Bella."

The rest of our holiday went along swimmingly, especially after Alice and Jasper announced the pregnancy. Rosalie and I still acted surprised by the news, but we had been secretly discussing when we would be throwing a baby shower for her.

All through the happiness, though, I had an ominous feeling in the back of my mind. Something told me that James was not done tormenting me. I hadn't seen him since that dad at the bus stop when he dementedly confessed how much he likes to play this game.

And now we have a family; while most people – even the very juvenile – might take that as a sign to leave us alone and grow up, I got the notion that that fact would make James that much more keen on messing with me and Edward.

I just hoped Leah wasn't foolish enough to give him too much information about us.

I'm thinking I'm probably going to have this lead to an eventual confrontation between James and Jacob that causes the latter to grow up and move on from his Bella obsession.

Thoughts?