The garden was beautiful. The early morning sunlight was filtering through the trees and casting light into the room. It brought the first strong rays of the day, the ones that brought true warmth. The grass was laden with the remains of the last of the winter snow and the buds of new flowers were beginning to make an appearance. 

Today was meant to be a day filled with joy, congratulations and excitement, but I couldn't help the envy, dread and jealousy that made its way into my heart each time these moments occurred. I couldn't help it, but every time there was a new 'pack baby' I felt this way. 

I should be used to feeling like this now, my fate was sealed. I had been a vampire-shifter hybrid for five and a half years now, still frozen at seventeen, when really, I should twenty-three.  

My breathing hitched as I tried to control my emotions, no one could know I still felt this way... Jacob couldn't know. I looked down at the tiny, blush pink onesie in my hands and ran my thumbs over the soft fabric. I'd just have to settle with being the favourite aunt.  

I cast my eyes back up to the blooming garden, the spring morning a perfect setting to bring a new baby home to. I tried to smile, letting the excitement of holding a newborn in just an hours' time take over. I sniffled again and wiped the tears from my eyes, that was enough moping for today. 

I turned away from the window and took in the completed nursery, accented with beautiful girly light pinks and purples. I just hoped that Sam and Emily loved what Alice, and I had designed for their new baby girl. 

A crash sounded from the kitchen downstairs and the booming laughter of some of the pack boys shook the house. Their minds filled with the image of Quil's weight crushing a kitchen stool he had decided to stand on. 

I groaned to myself, why couldn't they just show a little maturity? I put the baby outfit back where it belonged, gave the room a once over to ensure everything was in place, and then blurred down the stairs to the kitchen. 

"How hard is it to hang up a few banners?" I snapped as I charged into the room, the laugher silencing immediately. "And why the hell did you need a stool in the first place?" 

They were all imbeciles. Their heads practically touched the the ceiling anyway, why would they need a stool to pin banners up? 

"Funny." Quil shrugged as I fought the urge to scream. It was hard to believe — or even come to terms with — he was now technically my brother. 

Jesse, Tori and I were originally happy for our father when he began dating Quil's mother, Joy, about three years ago, but when they told us Joy was moving in, we became distraught... because that meant Quil was moving in as well. I did love Quil, but living him showed a whole new side to him. I truly was surprised he hadn't been murdered yet.  

The only perk to having Quil around was that he brought Claire with him. The gorgeous little toddler that I once loved to play with was now a cute, little seven-year-old. Quil still had a lot of waiting around to do, another nine years at least, so really, he wouldn't be in a relationship until he turned 32... that also earned him some lighthearted abuse from the pack. 

Seth, however, only had three more years to wait until Bella and Edward would consider letting Renesmee date. My beautiful no-so-little cousin was now four years old but looked around the age of an eleven-year-old. Luckily for her, Seth spent half his time staying with the Cullens, and half his time at home with his mom. Sue and Uncle Charlie still hadn't moved in together... they were using the term 'taking it slow' to the extreme. 

Unfortunately, shortly after Sam and Emily's wedding, Leah left La Push. She hadn't returned for longer than a few days at a time and had moved across the country to Maine. We got a few updates from her from Uncle Charlie, Sue and Seth; she was working as a book editors assistant and had a boyfriend named Simon — though he wasn't an imprint. She had managed to stop phasing and now had what she always wanted... a normal life. 

"Simple things please simple minds." I muttered, turning away from them to head towards the the dining table in the middle of the kitchen. "And clean that mess up!" I called back to them as I looked over the mouthwatering assortment of cupcakes, cookies and cake, adorned with icing in shades of pink, purple and yellow. 

On the kitchen surfaces was the savoury food, enough to feed over fifty people, though that would just about satisfy the stomachs of the pack brothers. With the help of the pack girlfriends/wives and Esme we managed to get together a wide range of foods for everyone, from roasted turkey legs to crab cakes. 

As I passed the dining table, my eyes caught the slither of a small, dimpled hand reaching out from under the table and towards the cupcakes. Their index finger dipped into the corner of a cupcake, sweeping half the buttercream from its surface, before the now pink hand dove back under the table. 

My gifts were like second nature to me now, I didn't need to think about what I wanted to do, it just happened. In this case, my brain immediately went to allowing me to read the child's mind to identify them: Finn Uley. 

"Finnley?" I coaxed in an endearing but slightly accusatory voice. 

Finn was Sam and Emily's first child. He was an adorable little three-year-old munchkin, with the beautiful long black Quileute hair — currently tied back in a low ponytail — and Emily's brown, almond shaped eyes.  

"Yes, Auntie Aria." His little voice called from under the table, giving him away immediately. 

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked, walking around the table to crouch before him. He was licking the pink frosting from his fingers, a cheeky grin plastered over his face showing his milk teeth. 

"I was hungry." He declared as he continued to clean himself like a cat. 

"Uh huh, well you need dinner first before dessert. Your mommy and daddy will be home soon with your sister, you can eat then." I told him, reaching under the table to pull him out from underneath it and settled him into my hip when I reached my full height. "Now where's your brother?" 

"COOKIES!" A second little voice screamed as their tiny feet pattered against the hardwood floor. 

Incoming Elliot. 

"Elliot, you can't run away from us like that!" Followed Tori's slightly out of breath voice.

Elliot was Sam and Emily's second little monster. They had been busy since their wedding in March 2007. Finn was born in the December of the same year, with Elliot not far behind being born in October 2008, and now their baby girl two years and five months later. I think the boys were hard work and they needed a slight break. 

Tori and Embry tumbled into the room a few seconds after Elliot had charged into the room. Tori upped her speed so she could scoop Elliot up into her arms before he could destroy the display. "No cookies until your parents are back." She scolded slightly as I searched for a napkin to wipe Finn's hands with. 

"When home?" Elliot asked, his bottom lip poking out. Emily and Sam left late last night for the hospital and poor little Eli had missed them through the night. 

"Soon." Tori said reassuringly, smoothing her hand over his hair. 

"Hey Tori, good to have you back." Brady smiled, walking into the kitchen to swipe a chicken drumstick. 

"Can people stop touching the food!" I shrieked quietly, setting Finn back on the floor. 

Tori ignored me. "I miss home, it's way too loud in New York." 

Tori had been studying fashion at NYU, no thanks to Alice corrupting her into her favourite hobby. She was now onto her third year, and with the great distance, Embry and herself had come to a great deal that every two weeks they would fly out to one another to spread the cost of travel between them. 

"Stop being a show off." Embry mused, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Catori hadn't let us forget she was a student at NYU, to be honest she only got in because Alice pulled a few strings. 

"Who's being a show off?" Seth demanded softly, making his presence and Renesmee's known as they bounded into the house. This house was going to be very crowded very soon.  

"I am." Tori beamed obnoxiously and I subtly glared at her... it needed to get old soon. 

"Aria! Mi sei mancato!" Nessie's excited voice filled the air as she flew into my arms, just about giving me enough time to catch her. 

Over the last five years Edward had made Bella, Ness and I fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. Italian was my favourite and Nessie's too; it was her desired language to speak to me in. 

"Anche tu mi sei mancato! Vedo che Alice ti ha vestito per l'occasione." I acknowledged her outfit, the subtle pink embroidered into her skirt matched with the baby girl colour theme perfectly. 

"Why can't you learn Italian?" Embry whispered to Catori. "It would be so hot." 

My head snapped over to look at him. "Gross, Em." He flushed slightly as Tori giggled. "Okay enough standing around, we need to get back to work." 

Another hour or so passed, and we got the house looking perfect. During that time Jared and Kim arrived with their six-month-old baby girl, Camilla. Thankfully, she had Kim's temperament, but she definitely took after Jared in her looks. Any indecency between Jared and I had dissolved over the last few years, and in my defence, I think Kim had made him promise to be nice otherwise she wouldn't have married him.  

Following them came my Quileute cousin, Paul, and his beautiful wife, Rachel, who just so happened to be Jacob's older sister. Rachel and Paul were married in November 2009, Rachel insisted that nothing was going to distract her from her degree so hence their waiting until she had graduated. Rachel, unlike the rest of us, was consistent in wanting to leave La Push one day. She wanted to move away from the dramas and that was only if Paul was ready. He would have to quit phasing first in order for them to leave. So, in the the mean while they had spent their time making babies, and their first little girl Aubrey was born in September 2010. 

The good thing about being baron was — well, that's a debatable thing to say — I was never refused cuddles with the pack babies. To be honest I think my gifts helped out the new parents a lot when it became a little too much for them. I could read the babies minds and find out what they wanted if they were crying, and I could distract their minds with pretty pictures that lulled them off to sleep. 

These gifts made Jacob and I, well mostly me, the most desired babysitters. He hated it because it ruined our alone time, not that we got much alone time anyway, considering we both still lived with our parents. 

"I hope it's all ready." Just on cue the distant, husky voice of my gorgeous boyfriend filtered through the air. "We should have been there hours ago." His thoughts consisted of images of me scowling at him for his tardiness, but then he thought of himself coming up to me and pulling me into his arms knowing I would give in. And he was right, just a single touch from him melted my insides.  

"It needs to be." My brother's deep voice warned. "Sam warned me they'd be here in ten minutes." 

"Come on, you guys know Aria. Alice and Esme have rubbed off their party planning skills on her... it'll be done." My best friend, Scarlett, defended me but I couldn't help the small scowl that settled across my face. Being compared on an Alice level was slightly insulting, I was not crazy demanding like her. 

Scarlett and I had grown even closer over the years, reaching a new level of friendship as she became more and more involved in this new life. Our old school friends had dropped away, taking Ryan's side in the breakup of our brief romance. We hadn't spoken to them in four years. 

Seeing Jesse and Scarlett together at first was a little weird. Previously, before the imprint, they had never shown any romantic interest in each other. It was odd to witness. But now that Scarlett had finished college, she and Jesse were moving in together into a small two-bedroom house on the borders of La Push, just so she could be that little bit closer to Forks. 

All these changes made me wonder... when were Jake and I going to move on with our lives? 

"Hey beautiful." I looked up to see Jake beaming at me through the kitchen doorway, hardly fitting through the damn thing. He hadn't got any taller, but he was definitely broader, his muscles had expanded even more much to my delight. 

"Hey handsome." Quil called over my shoulder, causing me to drop my gaze off of Jake and laugh. It couldn't be helped. 

"Not you, you overgrown child." Jacob rolled his eyes, despite his smile, and made his way over to me. 

"You're late." I pointed out as placed his hands around my waist and brought my body against his. He was warm and smelt of his usual aftershave mixed with those earthy undertones. His angular jaw was now adorned in short stubble, as well as his cheeks, chin and above his top lip. He was going through a stubble phase, and I actually liked the look, he looked older, more rugged. 

"I know, patrol ran a little late." He tried his best to look apologetic before he dipped his head between my neck and shoulder and kissed the bare skin there.

I sighed happily, balling the front of his T-shirt up in my fists as I held onto him. He trailed his kisses up my neck and to my lips, giving them a soft, lingering peck. "You're forgiven." I whispered against his lips as I kissed him again. 

Our lives had been close to prefect. Only close because I felt like we were stuck in time and everyone else was getting on with their lives. 

I had enrolled in an online college course in modern history, I wanted to catch up on the world's past events and be around the same level as most of my adoptive siblings. I only had a few more months of that until I was completely finished, I didn't want to move away... being away from Jake, Renesmee and the rest of the families would have been too hard. 

Jacob got a job in a mechanics shop just a few months after our confrontation with the Volturi. He had started off as an apprentice but was now the shop's assistant manager. Jesse also happened to work with him, which put Jesse under Jake in another role in life. I don't think he minded. 

We had been saving where we could for a house, my earnings consisted of small investments here and there. Jake and I wanted to earn the money ourselves, not with the Cullens' help. We wanted to be as normal as possible... I just didn't think it would take this long. 

"They're almost here!" Seth's urgent voice broke Jacob and I apart in seemingly good timing. It was never appropriate when he started getting grabby with children around. 

"Ready to meet the next pack baby?" Jacob asked excitedly, a sparkle in his eyes. 

The stabbing feeling was back and all I could do was plaster a smile on my face and nod numbly at him. 

He reached down and took my hand as the rest of the guests moved to the front of the house to greet the new parents for their third time as they arrived. Finn rushed over to me, as fast as his little legs could carry him, as the usual clunking of Sam's truck came into human earshot. "Up! Up! Up! Aria, please!!" Finn all but screamed at me as he reached up, clenching and unclenching his fists. 

I released Jacob's hand and bent slightly to pull Finn up and into my arms with a light laugh. He clapped his hands together excitedly as the truck came into view, slightly obscuring a very tired looking Emily and Sam. Cheers and pink confetti erupted through the air as the truck stopped in front of the house. 

The blinding smiles of Emily and Sam were seen through the windscreen of the car. Sam turned his head to look at Emily with so much pride and adoration it made my heart skip a beat. "Mommy!! Daddy!!" Finn called, bouncing around in my arms as he clapped his hands together. 

"Hey sweetheart." Emily waved as she climbed out of the truck very slowly.

"Mommy!" Elliot chimed in from Tori's arms, waving ecstatically. 

"Hello my sweet boy." She called back to him as Sam put a steady arm around her. 

Sam and Emily moved around to the back of the car and opened the passenger door. The soft gurgles of a stirring newborn whispered through the air as we all became silent with expectation and wondering. I saw her first through the happy couples' eyes. Her twinkling dark eyes blinking widely at her parents, and her head full of short, fluffy black hair. She was perfect. 

"Congratulations. She's beautiful." I gushed as I held Finn tight on my hip. 

"Hey, that's cheating." Quil quipped lightheartedly, his own arms full of an excitable child. 

"I can't help it." I said a little too honestly, and Jake wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close to his body. 

From across the way Emily smiled at me knowingly before reaching into the car to lift their new baby girl from her car seat. The baby fussed a bit but settled almost immediately into her mother's arms, her little fists opening and closing until she grasped the front of Emily's t-shirt. 

Flickering her eyes between her baby and myself, Emily walked purposefully towards me. They would never admit it, but the imprints of the pack had agreed that the first person to hold one of their babies when they came home would be me. They knew of my struggle and my sadness, and doing this they felt it was only fair. I was so gracious that they even thought of doing something like that. But it still hurt all the same. 

"Everyone, I would like you to meet, Luna Eleanor Uley." Sam introduced as Emily stopped in front of me, Finn leaning out of my arms to get a look. 

"She's perfect, congratulations guys." Jake clapped Sam on his shoulder as everyone crowded around us to get a better look. 

"Thank you," Sam said endearingly. "Come here little man." He reached out for Finn, and Finn happily went over to him, snuggling into his father's arms after missing him overnight. 

"Ready?" Emily asked, no worry in her voice at all at handing her newborn over to me. I nodded silently and moved my arms, so they were ready to hold the small little bundle of pink blankets. Emily repositioned Luna so she would fit into my arms easily. 

The warmth of her sent tingles through my arms and I held back the need to cry. "She's got some weight to her." I chuckled through the tears that were brimming my eyes. 

"A hefty nine pounds exactly." Emily beamed and the small crowd around us laughed. 

"I'm not surprised." Quil snorted. "You ate the same amount as us for the last three months." 

"Hey, don't be mean—" 

The conversation continued but I was all too focused on little Luna in my arms. I blinked away my tears as I watched her shift herself in my arms and turn her head into my chest ready to drift off into sleep. 

"Hey pretty baby," I cooed as I rocked her from side to side, her eyelids fluttering closed. "I promise I'll be the best Auntie I can be." 

She was too young to understand anything, much too small to smile yet. But there was an underlying happiness and safeness inside her mind. It wouldn't be long until she would find out what an amazing family she had been born in to, and how lucky she was to have this many people that loved her.