Daddy's Home

I was pregnant.

I'd thought that the nausea was from the stress of missing Edward and the little bit of extra weight had come from all the comfort food I'd been scoffing down lately, but boy, was I wrong.

My best friend, Alice Cullen, had eventually dragged me to the doctor, after I'd told her how I'd been feeling lately, where I discovered that I was 13 weeks pregnant and had no way to contact Edward, the father, the only one I'd ever made love with.

That was the very reason I'd been depressed and drowning myself in junk food these past few months in the first place, my husband had been shipped off to Iraq to fight in the war four months ago and I hadn't heard from him in two. I was going out of mind with worry. What if he was lying in a ditch somewhere dying and no one knew? Alice and Rosalie (my other best friend) had tried to reassure me since the letters stopped but the only thing that would really reassure me right now is if I heard from him.

I wanted to tell him about the pregnancy, I was ecstatic that we were having a baby and I knew he would be too. We'd been married two years now at the beginning of the year and they had been the happiest of my life. It had all started one day four years ago when, following one of my usual clumsy moments, I'd tripped and fallen into some one, sending both me and the stranger to the ground.

"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry, I–" I'd been stunned into silence when I'd laid eyes on the handsome stranger. He had soft, messy looking bronze hair, the deepest green eyes I'd ever seen and was wearing a crooked grin that made my heart rate pick up.

"No worries." The man's velvet voice said as he helped me back up, "You can make it up to me by having lunch with me now?"

I smiled and nodded, "Sure." I held out my hand, "I'm Bella Swan."

His eyes widened in surprise and he took my hand in his, "Bella Swan, as in Alice's best friend?" he asked.

I nodded, baffled, "How di–"

"I'm Edward Masen. Her cousin. It's about time I met you- I've heard enough about you." He grinned crookedly and the rest was history.

"It's about time I saw you smile again." Alice exclaimed, barging into my room and interrupting my day dream about my sexy husband. There was indeed, a small smile on my face. Right now I regretted giving her the key to our house, but the three bedroom house just felt so empty without him.

"I miss him Alice." I sighed.

She came over to the bed and hugged me, "I know, but you have little Edward to concentrate on right now."

She was right.

I wanted this baby to be perfectly healthy, my little piece of Edward.

The weeks passed and I still heard nothing from Edward. I'd tried contacting various people to try and find out if he was okay, but no one could tell me anything and that only served to increase the nightmares about him lying in a ditch somewhere.

"He's fine. Probably just in a battle and unable to contact you." I could tell that even Alice was nervous at Edward's lack of contact now.

Today I was finding out what gender my baby was.

Alice dragged me to the doctor's office and I hated the sympathetic look the nurse gave me when Alice told her that my husband was at war.

"Everything looks good." The doctor said with a warm smile- I liked her, I could tell she enjoyed her job. "Do you want to know the gender?"

I paused, at the same time Alice said yes. I looked at her in question, I was still undecided.

"We can decorate the nursery and buy more gender appropriate things if we know." Her eyes sparkled at the prospect of a shopping trip.

I smiled and nodded at the doctor- I needed a distraction, I wanted to throw myself into planning and decorating for this baby that I already couldn't imagine my life without.

The doctor slid the wand over my stomach once again and after a moment of silence, said, "Congratulations, you're having a girl!"

Alice squealed in excitement next to me and I felt a huge smile cover my face. A little girl. Edward's and my little girl.

"Wow." I breathed and as happy as I was right now, I wished more than anything that Edward was here to share this with me, that he actually even knew that I was pregnant.

More weeks passed and as much as I hated to admit it, I was losing hope of Edward coming home.

I remember the first time that the thought hit me. I was with Alice and Rosalie, painting the nursery a soft pink colour, when realisation struck me and I burst into tears.

"Bella! Shh, it's okay, it'll be okay." Both Alice and Rosalie came and put their arms around me, trying to sooth me, but there was only one pair of arms I wanted around me right now and I didn't know if I'd ever get him back.

"What if he's not okay?" saying it aloud only making me sob louder, "What if he's never coming back?"

My friends didn't have a reply, they just held me, having already obviously also thought of this.

"We have to have hope." Rosalie murmured, "Never give up hope Bella, it's only five more months until our soldiers are home, Edward will be on that plane." Her voice fierce with determination.

Another week passed and I'd been moping around the house non-stop, my remaining hope was going to end up killing me.

I groaned when the phone rang- my back was killing me and I didn't want to move from my comfortable position on my bed to answer it.

"Hello?" I answered, after having dragged myself to the phone.

"Bella, we are going out tonight. You need to get out for a while and just forget about things." Alice's authoritive voice came from the other end.

There was a new underlying tone of excitement in her voice and I knew I couldn't disappoint her even if going out tonight was the last thing I wanted to do.

"Okay fine." I sighed.

"Good," I could hear her triumphant smile, "I'll be over at five to help you get ready. The others will meet us there."

By the others she meant her and her husband Jasper as well as her brother Emmett, who was also dating Rosalie.

Three hours later I was dressed in a little black maternity dress that Alice had insisted on buying me, with my hair and make-up done to perfection.

"Where on earth are we going that I need to get dressed up so much for?" I asked Alice.

She grinned, "You'll see."

Alice drove me and pulled up in front of an expensive hotel that I'd always wanted to go to but didn't because of what I assumed the price would be.

I looked at Alice, confused when she didn't climb out of the car as well. "Are you coming?" I asked dryly.

She snickered, "Go to Room 10, I'll meet you there just now. Let me just park the car."

I was baffled at my friend's mysterious behaviour as I made my way inside, following the signs to the part of the hotel where the room was.

I was even more confused when I heard music coming from the other side of the door.

Positive now that Alice was up to something, I pushed open the door to the room.

And stopped dead in my tracks.

My heart sped up to an alarming rate as I took in the sight before me. Rose petals covered the floor, there was a table for two set up near the window and the whole room was lit by candles. But the most astonishing sight was the man standing there with his back to me, his lithe body and bronze hair so wonderfully familiar. I blinked several times, sure that this was a dream conjured up by the remaining hope I held that my husband was still alive.

Then he turned to face me and I gasped because this was real, there was no way that my imagination could do those green eyes, filled with love, any justice.

"Edward!" my voice was strangled as I ran, as fast as I could in my current state and tossed myself into his arms. Our gaze never breaking. I breathed in his sweet scent, the scent that I had missed so damn much and pulled his face down to mine to kiss him fiercely.

"Hello, love." His velvet voice washed over me when we parted.

I couldn't help it, burst into tears, my pregnancy hormones having a lot to do with it in that moment.

"Edward Anthony Masen! Do you have any idea what you put me through? I thought you were dead!" I sobbed, clinging to him desperately.

"Shh Bella." He held me tightly and ran soothing fingers through my hair. "I am so sorry sweetheart." I could hear the genuine regret in his voice, "But it's okay, I'm here to stay, I won't leave you anymore- I can't."

"How can you promise me that?" I asked, his words making me cry harder, "What happens when they want you back?"

Edward gently pried me away from him and led me over to a couch on the far side of the room where he sat me down and took my hands in his, "Bella, I'm not going back, not when I can see now how it's been killing you inside- I can't bear to be away from you either." He took a deep breath and looked deep into my eyes before speaking, "I got shot Bella. In my shoulder. I lost a lot of blood." He told me, making my eyes widen in panic, "This was four months ago. I was in a coma for a long while and when I eventually healed, I didn't contact you on purpose because I didn't want you to worry, but I see now that I hurt you more by not telling you. I'm so sorry, love."

I was too relieved that he was alive to be angry at him, "Ar..Are you okay?" I asked, the thought of him lying lifeless and alone in a bed terrified me.

He smiled and nodded, "I'll be fine, it's still a bit sore but I'll heal completely."

"Oh Edward, I've missed you so much!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around his neck, "More than you know."

He sighed and buried his face in my neck, "I've missed you too. Are you surprised?" he asked, motioning to the room.

I nodded, content to sit in his arms forever, "How come Alice knew you were coming home and I didn't?" I assumed that that my cheeky best friend had a lot to do with arranging this.

He chuckled, "I wanted to surprise you so I called her a few days ago." His eyes turned concerned as he studied my face, "I didn't realise that my going would cause such an impact on you, I'm so sorry Bella. She told me how you've been." He gently traced the circles under my eyes, his face held the guilt he was feeling.

"You're here now." I sighed happily and he kissed me again.

"So I believe you have something to tell me?" he asked with a chuckle as his hand slid down and rested on my rather round belly.

"I think you've already guessed daddy." I smirked, "Did Alice tell you?"

He shook his head with a grin, "I only knew when I saw you at the door."

"Bit of a surprise, huh?" I smiled.

He beamed, "I can't believe I'm going to be a dad."

"You are." I confirmed, "It's a baby girl."

I loved the awed expression on his face as his hand ran gently over my stomach, "A girl." He murmured happily.

Then I felt it.

"Oh!" I gasped, my hand flying to the fluttering I had just felt on my stomach.

"Bella?" Edward asked in concern.

I just laughed and took his hand to the spot where my hand had just been.

"The baby just kicked." I said in delight. I had been getting concerned that the baby hadn't started kicking yet.

Edward beamed as he felt it too. "Is this the first time?"

I nodded, also smiling widely, "I think that she was waiting for her daddy."

That thought made Edward's grin widen and he bent down to kiss my stomach through the dress, "I love you baby girl."

I laughed as she kicked again.

Edward's head came up and he met my gaze, his eyes filled with love and awe, "And I love you Bella Masen. Forever" Then he leaned in and kissed me passionately. We didn't break away for a long time.

THE END

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