Bonjour!
Everyone, so good to see you all again! Did anyone miss me? I'm back after spending a week in France (Corsica to be precise). Vacation = not writing one single word apart from a few postcards.
So here it is, finally… the first chapter of Lethal Conclusion.
This is the third in a series of fics (the previous ones being Twisted Tale and Toxic Lullaby) You do NOT have to read those two first, but this lethal conclusion will probably make more sense if you do, seeing as it is meant to be the conclusion of the series.
I have a few chapters prewritten, but those of you that have read my fics before probably know by now that I am a rather slow writer. You can expect updates twice maybe tree time's a month. Currently I've got 22 chapters outlined and it's my ambition to not let this story reach more than 30 chapters (that's about a year worth of writing for me… ugh)
There will be some repetitive stuff in the first few chapters so that both old and new readers will know where the characters stand before the story line picks up and the plot thickens. Just like with the two previous stories there will be a bit of a parallel plot happening alongside the lovey dovey fluff and relationship drama.
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Complete summary:
Bella has done all sorts of stupid things lately...leaving home without her wallet, walked away from her vehicle leaving the door open, gone to meetings dressed in mismatched socks. The list goes on… Things have gone missing and turned up in odd places, appointments have been mysteriously cancelled and rebooked without any memory of such decisions being made…. Pregnancy brain? Or is there something else… something much darker and more disturbing waiting to be revealed as special agent Swan takes on the challenge of living full time with Edward and his 3-year-old son Tony.
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Chapter 1 - As the dust settles...
Bella woke, feeling sweaty and uncomfortable. Her cotton T-shirt clung to her chest like a second skin and the warm flannel of her pyjama bottoms made her skin feel itchy and overheated.
Frustrated, she threw her blanket off in hopes of cooling down. When that didn't work she pried her eyes open slowly and looked around the darkened room.
It took her a while to orient herself. Her vision was hazy with fatigue as she clearly hadn't gotten more than a few winks of sleep. She was lying in a bed, she knew that much. The only other thing she was certain of was that the bed was located in bedroom that was not her own.
Bella felt she should be used to this by now. It had been ages since she had slept in her own bed. Between her out-of-town work commitments, a shorter hospital stint, and a oh so lovely visit with the 'in-laws' over the holidays, she had woken up in countless of different rooms and different beds over the past few months. That didn't stop her heart rate from spiking for a second or two. Then she recognized the soft snores of her boyfriend, and with that her panic turned into frustration instead. No wonder she was warm. Edward was draped over her back like a second blanket and the two of them were surrounded by seemingly thousands of pillows; large, puffy, frilly pillows… ugh.
Suddenly, she knew with startling clarity just whose bedroom this was. Not that she had really forgotten - it was just difficult to hold more than one thought at a time when she was only barely awake. The bedspread, the decor and everything else about the room all screamed 'hand-picked by Alice Cullen'. The woman was a saint for swapping apartment with her brother, but her taste was a bit on the over-the-top, girly side. The only hint of a masculine touch in the room was the antique civil war rifle hanging above the door. Poor Jasper did not have much say in home decor matters, that much was clear. He was probably enjoying his stay in Edwards bachelor pad, which was all bedecked in leather, dark-colored wood, glossy white bathroom tile, and the latest in electronic devices… or maybe not, because it really, truly felt weird being in someone else's bedroom.
Note to self: You cannot unsee what you see in your boyfriend's sister's bedside drawers, so don't look!.
It's only a temporary solution, Bella felt the need to remind herself as she shuddered and then rubbed her eyes free of the last remaining traces of sleep.
Sometimes she wished she could fast-forward through time so she could be done with the whole ordeal. She couldn't wait to be all settled into the new home, the one that Edward had purchased for them little over a month ago.
Moving in together had not been as straightforward as they had originally thought it would be. Finding and buying a property to live in had been a bit of a hit-and-miss affair, to say the least. The house they had finally settled for certainly had the potential of becoming a great investment. However, in their rush to close the deal, they had misjudged the amount of work it would actually take to get their new home ready for habitation.
So while the necessary renovations were being carried out, Bella found herself being talked into staying in her previously mentioned compact but cozy, top-floor bachelor pad. Not the smartest of moves. The tight living space was obviously not ideal, but the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back, came when the elevator broke down five times in the first eight days of Bella living there.
This was when Alice, bless her heart, came to the rescue and the swapping of apartments took place. A faulty elevator was seriously the last thing you'd want to have to deal with when you're lugging around a stomach the size of a pumpkin. Because yes, Bella was pregnant and quite heavily so, which was why she couldn't muster up the energy to deal with more than one or two flights of stairs at a time.
It was also the reason why she couldn't seem to get any quality REM sleep at night these days. It was kind of hard to relax and get comfortable, when your whole body was sore, swollen and achy. Mostly however, she placed the blame for her insomnia on those icky third-trimester pregnant hormones coursing through her veins.
Damn pregnancy. Damn hormones…. Damn it all!
Not for the first time, she cursed Edward and his super sperm (this being his second child, but Bella's first)!
Sometimes she regretted ever letting him near her in the first place. Only no, not really…. Bella was so very happy that she and Edward were having this surprise baby together - still a bit shocked and overwhelmed, but happy nonetheless. There was no one she rather share this experience with than Edward.
Also, it didn't hurt that pregnant sex had been some of the best sex they had ever had together, which would account for some of the soreness she was currently feeling.
Those damn hormones sure had a lot to answer for!
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Edward Cullen did not want to wake up just yet.
Something, or someone, was trying to rouse him from his sleep, but it was way, way too early to be awake for his liking. He groaned in frustration and buried his head deeper into his pillow. The room was still dark, quiet and child free, so he really saw no reason to get up anytime soon. In fact he would prefer to sleep for another three… or six hours, if possible.
It wasn't until he realized that his pillow was moving, and was made out of flesh, that he finally forced his eyes open, grumbling, "Where's the fire?"
"I need to get up," came the reply. "Edward, let go off my arm!"
"No, it's still dark and you promised we'd get to sleep in this morning."
"In your dreams maybe," his adorably grumpy, very pregnant girlfriend snorted at him, untangling her legs from his. "I've promised no such thing and I really, REALLY need to go to the bathroom,"
"Again?" Edward grumbled, as he rolled over and propping his head up on his elbow. "Ugh, it's like every other hour now, that can't possibly be normal?"
"I don't know." Bella pushed her body off the bed, steadying herself with a hand on his shoulder. Her other hand was curled around her swollen, nearly seven month pregnant belly. "All I know is that your baby is pressing on my bladder and if I don't get up now, I'll wet myself and the bed and then none of us will get any more sleep this morning," she informed which he only hummed absently in response, because as per usual, his mind began reeling the second she referred to her bump as his baby.
Holy crap! - there was an actual, living baby in there! And not just any baby, HIS baby!
Hearing those words coming out of that sweet mouth of hers… Itgot to him every time. It made his chest tightened with a mixture of emotions. Irrational fear of the enormous commitment he was about to make, being the primary one. The responsibilities that came with newborn babies were terrifyingand very much uncharted territory for him. However he also felt a great deal of anticipation and eagerness to meet this new little creature they had created together.
Another emotion that came over him, while watching Bella waddled across the room, was...awe. She was so beautiful like this, he could hardly think straight.
He loved how smooth and rosy her ivory skin looked. The whole pregnancy glow thing wasn't justbullshit, at least not in her case. Bella was truly radiant. He loved how her body was changing to accommodate their growing baby. He loved watching, and touching, her bump. He loved her fuller breasts, her curvier hips… and the two dimples in the small of her back... They had never been as pronounced as they were now and he just loved them.
Not that he hadn't loved her slender, lean frame from before, and would again, but there was something about seeing her like this, something about the silhouette of her ripe, pregnant body, that made him want to drag her into his arms and make love to her until they were both too exhausted to take even one more breath.
Now there was a thought worth exploring….
Forget sleep, sleep was overrated anyway, he decided fighting off a yawn. He could feel a new plan forming in his sleep deprived, horny mess of a mind; a plan that involved getting as much grown up time in as possible, beforethe three-year-old, currently asleep in the other bedroom, woke up and took over the joint.
Ironically that was the last thought that ran through his mind, before another jaw-cracking yawn came over him and he felt his eyelids succumb to the force of gravity.
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Bella wasn't too surprised to find Edward fast asleep again upon her return to the bedroom.
She couldn't fault him for it. She knew he had been through an absolutely exhausting week, slaving away to make his newly purchased, four bedroom, semi detached townhouse livable before the arrival of the new baby.
Sighing, she climbed back into the bed, arranging the blankets around her swollen abdomen. Surprise babies had a tendency to turn everything upside down. The larger her belly grew the more obsessed Edward seemed to get with his plans for the new house. While she had no doubt his heart was in the right place, it all reeked of some sort of male testosterone thing,which Bella found a little bizarre.
Who cared if the second bathroom didn't have a tub? Or if the kitchen only had open shelving as the above counter storage? It didn't have to be perfect, just structurally safe, weather resistant and child proofed.
The thing was that Edward, despite his good intentions, had turned out to be a rather mediocre fixer-upper. He was a musician and song writer, not a builder, or a carpenter, or electrician, or plumber. He wasn't a hopeless case, or anything, just a bit disorganized and perhaps not the fastest learner out there. The entire project was beginning to lag behind schedule.
Bella couldn't help but worry that this less than stellar start was a premonition of some sort. That it was a bad omen, rather than simply a matter of biting off more than you can chew. But then again, there was also a slight possibility that she was overthinking things. She seemed to have been doing that a lot lately.
As if to say 'stop being ridiculous mommy', the baby in her womb chose that precise moment to make its presence known, delivering a particularly sharp jab to her gasped in equal amount of awe and pain from the undeniableforce of it.
It was both scary and exciting to think that in just twelve weeks time (or possibly sooner) they'd have a newborn baby to attend to. It would be a full time job, no doubt, and the prospect of having to do it while stumbling around piles of moving boxes was not a very appealing one.
She'd very much like for them to be all settled into their new home before her water broke. Was it even possible to get the house finished, furnished and unpacked in three months time? That was the question. Bella had her doubts. She'd never voice those doubts out loud though. Their relationship was still new and somewhat shaky and she wasn't going to be the one that rocked the boat. She knew from experience that Edward possessed a pig-headed stubbornness. If he said he could do it, he'd do it… or die trying.
She also knew that real, actual progress had been made over the last few days. All the floors were now sanded, stained, and sealed, perhaps mostly thanks to Edward's mother's experience and contacts in the interior design field, and his sister's excellent project managing skills, but still… it was progress none the less.
While the color of the finished floors was a little darker than what Bella would have preferred, she knew that this was not the time to be picky. So what if it wasn't perfect? It had a beautiful handmade look and feel to it; full of heart and full of love. Frankly, at this point, any progress was good progress.
The baby kicked again, as if in agreement. Bella placed a hand over the ruckus, hoping to soothe it. Sometimes rubbing circles along sides of her belly seemed to calm the movements and she hoped that would be the case tonight, because she really needed to get some more rest. Edward wasn't the only one feeling exhausted.
Bella was having a rather rough first pregnancy with several complications. She had been hospitalized twice for blood pressure issues, but thankfully her bp had been at a fairly safe level over the last five weeks.
They had also had a bit of a heart related scare where they had been told the fetal heart rate was a little higher and the beats slightly more irregular than what could be considered normal. However, after seeing a specialist and having a fetal echocardiogram preformed, they had gotten the good news that the baby's heart looked 100% healthy. The same could be said about all the other internal organs… Yes, there had been extra sonograms just to make sure because another great concern during the first two trimesters had been the slow pace of which the fetus was growing. However, once Bella had hit her third trimester, the baby had hit a growth spurt. While their baby was still a bit on the small side, it was growing bigger with every passing week. Bella swore her belly had literally tripled in size this past month. Great news for the baby, bad news for Bella's sore back and swollen feet.
Due to her blood pressure issues she had been advised to not return to work until the baby was born, which sucked major a**, but also made a lot of sense, seeing as she held a rather physically demanding position as a FBI field agent. There was also the small, tiny matter of having gotten herself suspended for acting in personal interests rather than in the best interests of the Bureau… It was no big deal, but it meant that showing up at the office, for anything other than a brief visit, was not an option at the moment.
Needless to say Bella had also been forbidden, by both her doctor and her boyfriend, to partake in any renovation tasks around the house. This all left her feeling rather restless and unproductive of course… Or, she would have felt rather restless and unproductive, if it wasn't for Anthony.
While Edward was struggling to keep control of their gimongous house project, Bella more often than seldom found herself back at Alice's apartment with an overactive toddler on her hands. Becoming a step-parent to a three-year-old required a lot of patience and determination, but also a lot of running (read: waddling) around, chasing said child. Anthony was one strong willed, determined little fellow that's for sure.
Speaking of overly active and strong willed children… the little one in her womb finally seemed to be settling down for a nap and Bella shifted to lay on her side with the hopes of doing the same.
But nope… no such luck.
This position only seemed to trigger her lower back pains. She had already experienced a few minor bouts of what the pregnancy books called 'a pinched sciatic nerve'. The pain came and went with a few weeks interval. Annoying as hell, but thankfully nothing a trip to the chiropractor couldn't fix. She already had weekly appointments in place for the remainder of her pregnancy.
Bella heaved a sigh and propped herself up on some pillows, hoping it would relieve some of the pressure. It didn't quite work. Neither did laying on her other side. With another annoyed sigh, she adjusted her pillows again and rolled onto her back. This was her least favorite position to sleep in, but it actually did make her back feel a little better, for the moment at least…
She almost managed to float off into dreamland. Almost, but not quite, because all the moving around she had done, trying to get comfortable, seemed to have woken the baby again. She endured the somersaults and the rib kicking for half an hour or so, but then the baby landed a big one on her bladder and she was forced to make another mad dash for the bathroom.
If she hadn't been cranky before, she certainly was now. Getting out of the bed was getting increasingly difficult due to the growing size of her belly and in her struggle to get up, her elbow accidentally hit something sharp.
"Oomph," a startled Edward yelped beside her.
"Sorry," she muttered, not feeling sorry at all, just irritated…
"What's wrong this time, love?" he asked drowsily, while sitting rubbing his eyes.
Bella felt her irritation flare into anger. Cue mood swingin 3…2…1…
"You knocked me up, that's what's wrong. And now I've got someone using my bladder as a punching bag," she snapped at him.
Then she turned and stormed away as fast as her swollen ankles would take her.
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Despite his best intentions to stay awake this time, Edward had more or less dozed off again, by the time the door opened, announcing Bella's return. She started cursing though, as she accidentally stumbled into the corner of the dresser, and that's what saved him from repeating his previous mistake.
"Need help?" he asked, forcing his eyes open.
"I'm not an invalid. I'm still very much capable of walking on my own," was the reply he got.
As he listened to her crawling into bed, Edward got the distinct impression that she was munching on something. Probably another one of those barely ripe, green apples she seemed to love so much. Her cravings lately had him terribly amused… it was all mouth puckeringly sour stuff, that no sane person would even think to put in their mouth.
He flicked the bedside lamp on, only to discover it wasn't an apple, it was a kiwi and she wasn't just munching on it, she was practically devouring it, hairy skin and all. Gross!
He knew better than to show his disgust though. "Steeling my food again, Swan?" he teased, trying to pull her into his arms. While he had gotten the distinct impression that she wouldn't be up for anything amorous at the moment, he was still hoping for a nice, long cuddle.
She shot him down with a fierce glare. "You want me to starve, is that it? And also, your food, Edward? I'll remember that next time there are vegetables to chopand potatoes to peel."
She had a point there. While Edward did most of the grocery shopping, Bella was the one that did all the actual work in the kitchen.
"I didn't mean it that way, obviously, " he back-paddled. "It's just…you're always… never mind." He shook his head. Then a thought struck him. "Hey, wait a minute… I just thought those kiwis were meant to go in the cake you were planning on baking for the party."
"Oh, shoot I forgot," Bella frowned, because how could she forget Tony's much belated birthday party? The kid specifically wanted a green monster cake for the celebration of his third birthday. To make things worse, they were supposed to host said party in only a few hours time. Edwards's parents had flown in especially for the occasion. "I'm the worst step mother ever," she groaned, running her hands through her hair in frustration.
"No, you're not," Edward said, trying to sound reassuring. The last thing he needed was her bursting into tears over something as silly as a cake. He didn't have the patience to deal with something like that at five o'clock in the morning.
Scooting closer to her, he added, "Firstly, I thought I had banned the term step mother. I don't like it. I don't care where he came from. You're the only mother he'll ever know." He saw her open her mouth to object and ploughed right through to his next point. "Secondly, we're out of milk too, so I'll have to run down to the grocery store first thing anyway… So forget I even brought it up. It's a non-issue."
"Still, I should have remembered," Bella sighed, snuggling up to his side. "But hey, if you're going to the store, could you get me some more apples? Pretty please?" She batted her eyelashes sweetly. "And rhubarb. I'd love some rhubarb."
"Suuuure," he agreed hesitantly, resting a hand on the sizeable bump that was their baby. "Anything else you want? More lemons perhaps?"
"What's with that tone? At least I'm craving perfectly normal, healthy things at the moment."
Edward snorted. "I don't think kiwis at five in the morning is 'perfectly normal', Swan. The kid is going to come out all green and hairy. He'll look like a proper alien."
"No SHE wont."
Bella grabbed Edward's hand and moved it lower, "Feel that? She's telling you to shut up and get her those apples. The greener the better."
"My God, bad-mouthing daddy already?" Edward said in mock horror. "What's wrong with the kids today?"
"I know!" Bella laughed. "I mean, she might look sweet and innocent when we get to see her in those sonograms, but she's been physically abusing my intestines for months."
Edward's face suddenly turned serious. "I don't think I'll ever get over that you're growing a LIVING person inside your body," he admitted with a shake of his head. "It's amazing."
"I can't take all the credit," Bella grinned up at him, cradling her bulging stomach. "We did this."
"We did," Edward nodded, feeling his face split into a smile so wide his cheeks hurt. "And we weren't even trying. This is our little surprise baby...in every sense of the word."
"It was a good surprise though, right?"
"The best," he agreed, pressing a kiss first to her forehead, then to her lips. "But, sweetie, it's boy. We're having another boy."
Bella rolled her eyes and threaded her fingers through his hair
"Girl," she mouthed against his lips.
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The all too familiar sound of small feet padding into the room came roughly thirty-five minutes later.
Edward, of course, had managed to fall asleep again, but Bella was alert enough to open an eye and help Anthony climb up and into the bed.
She tried to give the little boy a hug, but he immediately squirmed in her arms, demanding to be set free.
"Edda," he squealed. No prizes for guessing who his favorite person was.
Despite having only known his daddy for a handful of months the boy was clearly enamoured with him. The feeling was mutual, of course. But it hadn't always been easy—there had definitely beensome ups and downs along the way.
No parent should have to learn about their child's existence through a phone call from social services. Truth be told, Edward had not been overly thrilled to have a three year old toddler dropped in his lap. With time though, he had proven that he was both willing and able to make all the necessary changes to fit a child into his life. And if Edward could do it, Bella figured, she could too. Tony had no one but them now and while their parenting skills still needed a bit of work, they would get there... They had to, because soon there would be not one but two children depending on them. It was crazy how quickly things had changed and what this meant for the future.
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The next time Edward woke, a small body was bouncing on his back.
"Edda! Edda! Edda!" little Tony chanted over and over again, until Edward flipped him onto the mattress and tickled him into a giggling mess.
"No tickles," the boy gasped between fits of hysterical laughter.
Edward eased up when the boy started kicking. No need to risk getting whacked in the nuts. Also, he caught a glimpse of Bella, frowning disapprovingly at him from the doorway.
"So listen up, pantless son of mine, you're looking very dapper this morning, mismatched socks and all," he commented, sniffing the boy's pull-ups, to check the diaper situation. "Did you pick this ensemble out yourself? Or was there any help involved?" he added, throwing Bella a questioning look.
"I changed his diaper when he first woke up," she replied, maneuvering over to the bed. "As for the clothes… We only got halfway. He didn't like the pants I had picked out for him."
This was not an unusual occurrence. If it was up to Tony, he'd run around naked all day long, seven days a week. The only few articles of clothing he actually seemed to like, were his growing collection of groovy superhero tee's, his brightly colored socks (preferably mismatched) and, of course, his snow boots ( which he seemed to love for some obscure reason).
"Give 'em to me," Edward sighed, accepting the pile of clothes that Bella had brought over to the bed.
"Can't say I blame the kid," he snorted inspecting what appeared to be a pair of ridiculously fashionable toddler sized, designer jeans.
"Don't be rude!" Bella smacked the back of his head "Those were a gift from Alice and she'll be pleased to see him use them."
"A little overkill though, even for a birthday party, don't you think?"
"I had a slim selection to choose from, all right," Bella responded sourly. "If you'd let me go down to the Laundromat the other day, like I suggested, we wouldn't be having this discussion."
"I was just saving you from your own stupidity. You're not supposed to carry anything heavier than a gallon of milk," Edward gave her a pointed look, as he lifted the toddler off the bed and carried him off towards the bathroom.
"You do realize I've been hand washing clothes for the past week and a half, right?" she shouted after him. "That's manual labor. I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to do that either. You should just fess up to your mistake and buy your sister a new washing machine."
He paused in the doorway. "Look, you know I want to try and fix it myself first. It's just that I haven't had the time to look at it yet. I promise I'll get to it tomorrow."
"Look at it all you want. I'm pretty sure it's unfixable. There were sparks coming from it and everything," Bella scoffed, but waved him off when he took a step back into the room. They had had this argument a number of times already.
Edward didn't want to admit to Alice that he had broken her washing machine by overstuffing it with things that were not supposed to go anywhere near a washing machine.
Long story short, Anthony had caught a stomach bug from his cousin Elliott about two weeks ago and had been puking all over his bedroom, twice, without warning. Thankfully, they managed to get the smell out of the clothes, carpets and drapes after several washes and a few overnight soaks in baking soda. The toys however, were a completely different story. They had made the empirical discovery that it was actually harder to get the sick smell out of plastics than anything else.
Edward had turned to big brother Emmett for advice (it seemed appropriate considering that's where the germs came from). The only suggestion he had for them was to run everything through the dishwasher for a few cycles.
It sounded like something that might actually work, but Bella couldn't live with the thought of letting anything that had been covered in puke inside the dishwasher. Even if she knew the high water temperature most definitely would kill of any harmful bacteria, it still seemed unhygienic somehow.
This prompted Edward to do some googling. In the end he decided to try and wash the toys in Alice's washing machine. Big mistake… The washing part went without a hitch, but when it came time to rinsed and dry the toys through centrifugation, something got stuck behind the drum and now the machine was kaput in every sense of the word. This was undoubtedly something they would all laugh about in a few years time. For the time being though, it was still a bit of a touchy subject.
"I'm pretty sure I can fix it," Edward insisted, bouncing a now squirming Anthony on his hip. "And if I'm wrong, there are pros that repair all sort of electric appliances for a living. I'm simply saying there is no need to tell Alice anything just yet."
"Whatever you say, Edward. We don't really have time for this today." Bella sighed, turning away to look for her reading glasses. She already had a headache forming and she knew it was going to be a long day. "We've got guests coming over in a few hours."
"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry," he said quickly clearing his throat. "I'll get the kid suited up for a trip to the store. Groceries first, then breakfast, then the cake and the rest of the party preparations…. Anything else?"
"No, Rosie helped me prep everything when she came by yesterday. All that's left is to finish that fu-…" she caught herself before the word slipped out. "The cake. I need to finish the cake, because we can't have a birthday party without Tony getting his green monster cake."
"It's not too late to buy one, if you're not feeling it."
"NO. I'll do it. I wanna do it. The cake base is already baked. I just need to make the fillings for the layers and the icing to decorate it with…. and pray it comes out looking like a monster. That's all."
"I'd offer to help, but…"
"Honey, if you value your life, you'll stay out of the kitchen."
"Yeah, that's what I thought you'd say," he laughed, ducking out of the bedroom.
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Bella was elbow deep in cake frosting when the doorbell rang, thirty-something-minutes later.
"What did he forget this time," she grumbled, thinking it was Edward that had misplaced his car keys or something.
Up until that point it had been a fairly normal morning in the Cullen/Swan household; a couple of table spoons worth of toddler antics, one fluid ounce of wounded male pride and quite a few cups of crazy pregnancy mood swings.
However, as Bella Swan would soon learn, this was no ordinary morning. Wiping her hands on a kitchen towel she went to answer the door, only to be greeted by none other then Renee Dwyer.
And just like that, her headache was back with a vengeance.
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AN: So what did you think? Share your thoughts or just a smiley so that I know you're with me...