Halloween arrived in Forks with the promise of late-night rain, falling crisp leaves, and the excitement of little kids eager to dress up in their costumes and go trick-or-treating after dinner. Mom and I had prepared goodie bags to pass out at the bakery; neatly placed in plastic purple and black spiderweb bowls next to the register, it was nice to see a customer's face light up when we handed them a bag of candy with their baked goods.

As the last few customers shuffled out of the door, the kids waving frantically to the "witch" and the "pumpkin queen" behind the counter, I blew out a puff of air from my cheeks. Mom grinned as she wiped down one of the countertops where sugar had been spilled, careful not to knock her witch hat off of her head.

"You feeling alright?" She asked as she tossed the sugar into the trashcan. "You look a little tired, Leaf."

"Honestly, I haven't been sleeping that well," I admitted sheepishly, grabbing the broom to sweep the empty shop before another rush came in.

"How long has it been going on?"

"A week or two?" I shrugged. "I just thought my body was finally catching up on all the sleep I missed when Bella and Edward came back from their honeymoon."

"Promise me you'll talk to Carlisle if it gets any worse." Mom raised an eyebrow as she shot a concerned look in my direction.

Before I could promise that I would, another small group of children burst through the door, followed by their parents. Mom immediately beamed at the children, gasping in awe at each of their costumes before putting a handful of candy in their jack-o-lantern buckets. The door opened just as Mom dropped the last handful into the bucket of a dark fairy and I nearly squealed when I recognized the group walking in.

"Excuse me, ma'am... you have the right to party with your friends tonight," Mike called out while he held the door for the parents, a genuine smile plastered on his face as he strolled into the bakery in a police officer costume.

"You guys came!" I ran from the counter and threw my arms around Angela, who was the closest person I reached.

"Of course, we came!" Jessica spoke up from behind us. "Nobody in their right mind would miss a Halloween party!"

"Especially at the Cullens' place," Eric added. "I mean, the graduation party was pretty awesome!"

"Actually, the party's at my house." I beamed. "Well, mostly the backyard. But Alice helped with the planning, so it's still going to be pretty epic."

"Even better!" Eric threw a celebratory fist pump in the air, causing Angela to giggle.

"So, what do we have here?" Mom looked over at my friends, pretending to contemplate their costumes. "We have Officer Newton - very nice, Mike. Angela... a black cat, love it! Jessica is obviously a zombie prom queen, and Eric is an international spy?"

"Yes, I am." Eric shifted into what he thought was a cool spy move, which looked more like 'Charlie's Angels.'

"Great costume choices!"

"Leaf, what are you supposed to be exactly?" Jessica asked curiously, eyeing the black gown with its skirt covered in pumpkins.

"I'm a pumpkin queen... ya know, like those vampire queen costumes? But it's pumpkins because I love to decorate for Halloween so much, I'm the 'queen' of the pumpkin."

"I get it!" Angela said, nodding at my explanation. "It's super creative and cute!"

"Thanks. It took me forever to make this tiara." I gestured to the top of my head where a pumpkin made out of orange and green gems sat proudly in the center of the tiara.

"How about a group photo?" Mom asked, pulling out a camera from behind the register. "I know there will be more taken later, but this will be one of those memories you don't want to miss out on."

"Sure, let's do it!" Mike said enthusiastically.

We squeezed together the best we could in the side parlor of the bakery, careful not to step on anyone's costumes. Smiling at Mom, we posed for a few shots, taking the time to simply enjoy being with friends again.

"Okay, we're going to head to the house," I told Mom once she was done. "Do you need me to take anything?"

"No, I think Margaret and Chloe grabbed all the treats earlier." Mom said carefully, looking around for any missed boxes. "Do you need me to pick up anything on my way home?"

"I think we needed some Sprite for the punch. Oh, and the onion rings from next door!" I reminded her as I grabbed my purse from the back room.

"Got it! I'll be home in about a half-hour." Mom glanced at the clock on the wall. "I want to make sure we don't miss any trick or treaters in town."

"Alright... love you, Mom!" I called over my shoulder as I headed outside with Angela and Jessica.

"Soooo... how are things with Jacob?" Jessica immediately asked once we were inside her vehicle. "Anything important we should know about?"

"Jess!" Angela swatted her arm as Jessica wiggled her eyebrows at me through the mirror. "Autumn doesn't need to tell you about her love life!"

"Oh, come on!" Jessica whined as she drove down the streets leading to my house. "She's the only one with an interesting love life, excluding Bella who went off and got married to Edward Cullen."

"Wait, what about you and Mike?" I asked, subtly changing the subject to her.

"We're taking a break." Jessica rolled her eyes. "Dating other people while at different colleges. Turns out he didn't want to do the long-distance thing so much."

"I'm sorry to hear that." I smiled at her weakly in support. "What about you and Eric, Angela?"

"Oh, we're still doing great!" Angela blushed. "Being at the same college helps, but we're still ensuring boundaries are set and we're able to discover ourselves and grow within our relationship."

"Aw, that's good. I'm happy for you."

"I am too, honestly." Jessica flashed a genuine smile at Angela. "You guys really are adorable together."

"Thanks." Angela smiled back before turning her attention to my house as Jessica pulled into the driveway. "Wow... Leaf, this looks incredible!"

"You really are the 'Pumpkin Queen!'" Jessica laughed. "How long did it take you to decorate?"

"Maybe a couple of hours?" I shrugged, getting out of the car. "I'm not sure... I kinda lost track of time when I was setting everything up."

"Not bad."

Nearly everyone had arrived at the party right before us or shortly after us; the only "latecomers" being Carlisle and Esme with a beautiful fall-themed wreath for the front door - a gift to Mom, Esme explained as Jacob hung it up on the door.

Laughter floated through the air, mingled with party music and shouts of "hey!" as old friends reunited. I beamed with a tingle of pride at the backyard as I stood on the back porch, a cup of fruit punch in my hand. Chloe joined me as we watched Casey teeter after Renesmee around the backyard under the careful supervision of Edward.

"You did a great job, Leaf." Chloe murmured as she took in the sight. "The pumpkin lanterns turned out nice with the twinkling lights."

"Right?! I wasn't sure if it would work, honestly."

A moment of silence passed between us before I felt Chloe turn to look at me, her gaze burning into my head as she studied me.

"Are you feeling okay, Autumn?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I reassured her. "Just tired."

"Okay..." I could tell by the look on Chloe's face she didn't quite believe me.

Just then, Mom appeared in the doorway beside us with bags of onion rings from the diner and Chloe held the screen door open for her to walk through. As soon as the smell of fried grease hit my nose, my stomach rumbled in retaliation and nausea hit me like a tidal wave. Panicking, I mentally uttered a teleportation spell and found myself in my bathroom in the nick of time; stumbling to the toilet, I flipped the lid up and emptied the contents of my stomach into the bowl.

"Leaf!? Are you okay?" Chloe called through the closed door, her voice full of concern.

"Just give me a minute, Peaches." I replied as soon as I could, wiping the corners of my mouth.

Rummaging in the cabinet beneath the sink, I grabbed one of the boxes kept in the back and ripped it open, my heart beating wildly in my chest. When three minutes passed, I looked at the counter in shock before I opened the door to reveal a worried Chloe waiting in the hallway. It took her a second to realize what I was staring at, her eyes widening as I spoke softly.

"I'm pregnant."

"Are you sure?" Chloe squeaked, her eyes wide as saucers. "Like 100% positive that's a positive on that stick?!?"

"Absolutely 100% positive." I held the stick up so she could see the solid plus sign.

"How do you feel about this?" Chloe took a subtle half-step back to read my face.

"I'm... happy." I admitted, letting the tears flow down my cheeks as the realization hit me. "I'm pregnant!"

"Aww Leaf, I'm so happy for you!" Chloe threw her arms around me. "Congratulations!"

"I have to go tell Jacob. And Mom." I sniffled, wiping the palm of my hand under my eyes. "Oh god, all of my friends are here."

"Just breathe, Leaf. In... out. There you go," Chloe grabbed my shoulders and stared into my eyes. "You don't have to tell everyone right now. We can wait until after the party and tell whoever you want, okay?"

"Okay," I mumbled, nodding absentmindedly.

I'm pregnant...

"Do you want to tell Jacob now? Or your mom?"

"No... no, I'll wait." I shook my head, coming back to reality. "I probably should stay away from the onion rings though."

"Yeah, probably." Chloe giggled. "I'll make sure Mom doesn't realize you're not eating them."

"Thank you," I said weakly, wrapping an arm around Chloe. "You're the best."

"Yeah, yeah... I know." She grinned. "Let's get you back out to the party."

"Give me a second." I turned back towards the sink and twisted the knob for cold water, filling the cup halfway before rinsing my mouth out. "Okay, I'm good."

Chloe and I made our way back outside without incident, sharing an amused smile as we watched Casey waddle over to Leah in her pink fairy princess costume, her arms outstretched as she babbled happily. Leah laughed and bent over to pick the little girl, causing Casey to squeal in delight from being lifted through the air. Chloe squeezed my shoulder reassuringly before heading over to her girlfriend and daughter, making kissy faces at Casey before kissing Leah on the cheek in greeting.

The sight of them made my heart skip a beat, secretly knowing my life would look like that in about nine months or so.

"What's got you all smiley?" Jacob's voice murmured in my ear as he snaked his arms around my waist.

"Nothing," I replied. "I'm just really happy I have Chloe back in my life, and that she's safe and happy."

"Ya know, it's... nice, seeing Leah like this." Jacob nodded to our packmate. "I think finding Chloe has helped her heal from the Sam pain."

"I think so too. They're meant to be." I turned towards Jacob, my nerves shooting my stomach up into my throat. "Hey, I have to talk to you about something after the party. Do you have any pack-coven business tonight?"

"Edward and I were going to discuss a couple of things... perimeter, hunting trip, that kind of thing. He can wait a few minutes though." Jacob shrugged. "You're more important."

"I love you too." I planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Do you wanna dance with me?" Jacob nodded towards the area of the backyard Alice had transformed into a dance floor, the current fast-paced song slowly fading into a slow love song.

"I'd love to." I took his outstretched hand and let him lead us over to our friends.

Pulling me into his arms, Jacob rested his cheek on top of my head as I inhaled the scent of his cologne on his chest. Instantly, a wave of calm washed over me and I closed my eyes, snuggling against the warmth radiating from his body.

As we swayed to the music, my mind wandered back to the positive test stashed in the bathroom upstairs; although Jacob had said he wanted kids on two different occasions, would he still feel the same when I broke the news later? I had no idea for certain, but part of me hoped deep down that he wanted this too. Images of Jacob with our baby flashed in my mind; sometimes in blue, sometimes in pink, which seemed logical to me since I didn't know whether a boy or girl was growing inside me. I would be happy either way, as long as the baby was healthy and happy.

Autumn... Jacob's voice floated through my thoughts, and I noticed his body had tensed just slightly.

I stilled under his touch as I realized he had heard every thought through our mental connection, doing everything I could to avoid his gaze.

You're pregnant?

Slowly I nodded, the words spilling out of me as fast as I could think them.

I just found out a few minutes ago... I was going to tell you later when everyone left because I didn't want it to be public knowledge yet. Nobody knows but Chloe because she saw me almost throw up when Mom came home with the onion rings and maybe Edward because he can read everyone's minds but I don't know about that because he hasn't said anything. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner -

Jacob tilted my head back and kissed me thoroughly to shut me up, amusement radiating from his grin.

"Autumn, it's okay." He murmured just low enough for me to hear. "I understand. I wouldn't want to say anything in front of Jessica either... I remember her reaction to Bella and Edward getting married."

"I just know she's going to bombard me with a million questions that I don't have the answer to," I whispered, taking a deep breath.

"So, you haven't told your mom yet?"

"No... I wanted to tell you both at the same time."

"Well, let's go tell her now." Jacob spun around and dragged me back towards the porch, spotting Mom at the snack table. "Hey, Julie! Can we talk to you in the kitchen for a minute?"

"Sure thing, Jake! Give me a second to fix these trays." Mom beamed at us as she adjusted the trays to fit perfectly on the table.

"Take your time!" He called over his shoulder as he held the back door open for me.

I headed straight for the fridge to grab a bottle of flavored water, quickly taking a gulp to soothe my suddenly dry throat. Jacob chuckled under his breath.

"Breathe, Leaf. It's going to be okay."

"Alright, kiddos!" Mom shut the door behind her as she walked into the kitchen. "What's on your minds?"

"You might want to sit down for this." Jacob winked at me as he helped Mom into a chair at the dining table. "And try not to scream too loudly... Autumn doesn't want to attract unwanted attention."

"Okay..." Mom drawled out suspiciously. "What's going on, Leaf?"

"I just wanted to tell you," I took a deep breath, "you're going to be a grandma."

"What?!?" Mom's eyes widened as the news registered in her head. "You're pregnant?!?"

"Test upstairs confirms it." I smiled at them. "Thanks to the onion rings, anyway."

"I knew something was up!" Mom snapped her fingers. "You poofed off the porch so fast, I barely had time to say you look beautiful in your costume!"

"You're not mad?" I gazed at her curiously, confusion most likely written on my face.

"Why would I be mad? Sure, it probably would've been ideal to wait a couple of years at least, but you are an adult, Autumn." Mom reached across the table and squeezed my hand. "I will support your decision 100%... whatever you want."

"I really want to keep this baby." I looked from Mom to Jacob and back again. "I know I'll be a great mom because I was raised by a great mom."

"Let's have a baby, then!" Jacob laughed, picking me up in a bear hug and spinning me around.

Mom and I laughed along with him, the room filling with happiness and love as we celebrated our moment of pure and utter joy.