Epilogue

It had taken the vampire world years to recover from the loss of so many of it's previous leaders and to work out a new representative governmental system that was practical and effective. There were problems initially with tracking down and informing all the covens and nomads that hadn't been present for the confrontation of how much things had changed in a single afternoon. It was hard for many of them to believe and some tried to take advantage of the appearance of anarchy to take power for themselves, only to discover the hard way that the new democratic government was fully capable of dealing with power hungry madmen intent on ruling the world.

It was still agreed upon by the new government to keep the secret of the true existence of vampires and other supernatural beings from the human world. After all, nobody wanted the humans to develop the weaponry to destroy vampires, which they would if they knew there was a real threat. There were, however, certain exceptions now.

Telling a human was no longer an automatic death sentence for either the human or vampire involved, though death was still the penalty for any vampires who exposed themselves carelessly or recklessly and for humans who couldn't be trusted to maintain appropriate confidentiality. However, if a vampire had the control and wanted to maintain contact with his or her human family members after the change, those family members could be entrusted with the secret, provided they were trustworthy.

Also, if a vampire found his or her mate in a human, that human could have the choice of living out his or her life as a human, being changed only if or when the human desired. It was extremely rare for a vampire to find their mate still human and rarer still for the human not to be changed either immediately or shortly thereafter. Still, it was a possibility, and now that certain key people had been made aware of the existence of hybrids, the law had found its way onto the books.

Thus, you were able to tell Charlie the truth about what you had become. He was shocked to learn about vampires and shape shifters running free throughout his otherwise normal small town. He confronted Billy upon learning that his best friend had been hiding all this information from him and was gradually able to help Billy get over his small minded prejudice toward vampires. Not wanting to lose Charlie's friendship, nor the love and support of his own children, Billy learned to put aside the harsh words and ideas his own father had drilled into him since he was a young boy. Forced to spend time with the you, the Cullens, and the Whitlocks in close quarters for extended periods, if he wanted the company of his best friend and his own children, he was soon able to make informed decisions and choices based on his own experiences rather than unreasoning hatred and spite.

As much as you hated the delay, you and Jasper delayed leaving for your honeymoon until after you graduated high school, giving Charlie time to get used to the idea. Each couple went off on their own then to reconnect with their mates for a decade or so.

After they came back together, the Cullens and Whitlocks had then gone to South America, looking for Joham. While amazed by the children he had produced, the ladies were all disgusted with Joham's disregard for the human women he seduced and impregnated and with his lack of interest in his children until they were several years old, when he deemed them capable of interesting conversation.

It turned out Nahuel wasn't the only one who felt guilty about 'killing' his mother. It was a trait shared by his siblings. Once they found out the truth of what their father had been doing and the way things could have and should have been, with their mothers being turned into vampires at the moment of birth, joining them in eternal life to love and care for them forever, they turned on their father, ripping him to pieces.

The Cullens had taken the hybrids under their wing, teaching them to love and respect human life, encouraging them to partake of human food and drink animal blood. They brought the hybrids back to America with them and enrolled them in college.

Upon spending time interacting with humans on a daily basis, it became clear to the hybrids how wrong their father had been. Joham had taught them to consider humans inferior, as nothing more than animals. With help from the Cullens, the girls soon realized that in order for a vampire to be mated to a human and for humans and vampires to be genetically and sexually compatible enough to create life together, the idea of humans being inferior was a fallacy.

The eldest of the hybrids, Serena, upon hearing the story of Jasper and you, expressed her willingness to attempt a surrogate pregnancy. She had raised each of her sisters herself, since Joham had abandoned them into her care, and was curious what it would be like for a hybrid child to be raised by two loving parents. She knew her body would be tough enough to handle the growth of a hybrid baby without becoming drained or mutilated, and the baby would be delivered via C-section before it needed to rip its way out of her uterus. After much discussion, you and Jasper happily decided to accept her offer.

The other Cullens and Whitlocks were beside themselves with joy and excitement, not only with the possibility of a new baby, but with the possibility of other future surrogacies granting them children of their own if the first pregnancy went well. Of course, they decided they would purchase eggs from donors that closely matched the physical characteristics they had as humans, so the resultant babies would not only look like their mothers as well as their fathers, but so there wouldn't be any question in anyone's mind as to the rightful mother of the child. Egg donors, like sperm donors, were already a regular part of the human world, receiving on average $1000 or more per egg, since the process of retrieving the eggs involved a surgical procedure. Like sperm donors, egg donors signed over any and all rights, which also absolved them of any and all responsibility, to children produced from their genetic material, and the eggs were then used for in vitro fertilization.

Carlisle matured several of your eggs in a special hormone broth, then fertilized them with Jasper's sperm. Unfortunately, for some reason mature eggs couldn't be frozen for future use, like eggs still in the ovary and fertilized eggs could. Carlisle froze the extra fertilized embryos, only implanting one, not wanting to take the risk of a twin pregnancy which might be too hard even for a hybrid's body to handle. The very first embryo attached successfully, growing at a rapid pace, as expected.

Serena was given donated human blood to drink, as well as food and vitamins, to maintain her health and strength. You kept a careful eye on Serena, remembering the horror of what the original Bella had gone through, but Serena didn't waste away, bruise, or suffer broken limbs. Other than the speed with which the baby grew, Serena's pregnancy appeared as normal as a human's.

xxxxxxx

Finally the day of birth has arrived. Serena had opted to be unconscious for the birth, not knowing whether or not an epidural would provide sufficient anesthesia for her kind for something as painful as abdominal surgery. Carlisle performs the Cesarean using a scalpel he'd made out of vampire teeth for just this purpose.

As soon as he breaks through the amniotic sac, a tiny fist punches the air. Everyone gasps, waiting with baited breath as the hand is pulled back inside and the baby's head starts slowly pushing through the opening. You and Jasper step forward, ready to welcome your child into the world together. Once the baby's nose is clear, gorgeous baby blue eyes pop open, staring at your smiling faces. The rest of the baby's head slides out, revealing a sweet smile. Carlisle carefully helps out first one arm then the other, pulling the baby the rest of the way out smoothly.

"It's a boy!" you squeal joyfully.

"My son!" Jasper purrs, reaching to take him from Carlisle. He holds the squirming, messy bundle while you clamp and cut the umbilical cord. Carrying him over to the waiting baby bathtub, you and your mate cleanse your son together, washing away the blood, venom, and other birthing fluids, while Carlisle swiftly removes the amniotic sac and stitches Serena back together.

Once he is clean, you carefully dry him off and wrap him in a soft blanket, carrying him over to show the rest of the family. Rose eagerly hands you a metal sippy cup full of fresh animal blood she and Emmett had thoughtfully prepared. The baby happily accepts it, drinking it down without pause or protest. You hadn't wanted to start the baby off with human blood, just to transition over to animal blood at some point, remembering that Renesmee had been resistant to the change, so you're thrilled that he's satisfied with the animal blood.

"What's his name?" Esme coos, gently stroking the baby's tiny perfect fingers.

Looking right into his eyes, you point to yourself and say, "Mommy."

He smiles and gurgles, showing two rows of perfect little teeth. Holding him to face Jasper, you look at him expectantly. Jasper smiles and meets his son's eyes, then points to himself and says, "Daddy."

Once again, the baby grins and gurgles.

"He definitely recognizes your voices from when he was still in the womb," Edward gushes, hugging Vicki tightly. She smiles lovingly up at him, knowing he now wants to have a baby with her as soon as possible. "He loves you both so much already!"

"I know," Jasper chuckled. "I can feel it."

Cradling your son, you then point to him, declaring his name, the name you and Jasper had chosen together. His eyes light up with understanding. Reaching with his left hand, he touches your face, while his right hand reaches over and brushes Jasper's cheek, burbling, "Ma! Da!"

His hands fall back to his chest and he mumbles out a truncated version of the name you just gave him, demonstrating his grasp of the concept.

"Yes! Good boy! Oh, Jasper, he's so smart," you enthuse, beaming proudly.

"Of course he is, just like his mother," Jasper smoothly replies, hugging you both and saturating you with joyful emotions.

Feeling complete, you proceed to introduce your precious child to the rest of his family.

xxxxxxxxx

AN: Yes, I know, I didn't tell you the baby's name. That's because you, the reader, are supposed to be Bella, so you should have the right to name your own son. Lol.