SM owns the characters, I just claim the plot.

Huge thank you to Marlena516 and tiffanyanne3 from PTB for taking on the ridiculous beta roles for this chapter. My comma usage is awful and they suffered for the greater good of this story. Thank you ladies.

Song Credit - Revelry *Kings of Leon*


"We just got word that you've been accepted into the cancer treatment trial."

BPOV

6 Months Earlier…

"Alice, no. I'm still not feeling great," I begged and pleaded with my best friend.

"Bella, PLEASE. You've been in that house for days, and you owe me a shopping trip," she pleaded.

Alice and I had been best friends from the moment we stepped into the same dorm room. The petite, brown-haired girl was the polar opposite of me, and yet we clicked. She was the yin to my yang, so to speak. We did everything together, so it shouldn't have surprised me when she took a fancy to Edward's brother, Jasper. They hit it off and ran away with their relationship as quickly as Edward and I had. The only difference was they let the world know it and were married within six months. The minute we graduated, Alice was pregnant. It was only fate that she would one day become my sister-in-law and I the aunt to her beautiful baby girl, Aiya.

"Bella. Do you hear that?" she asked, while my angel of a niece screamed bloody murder in the background over what sounded like a decision between Cheerios and fruit snacks.

I just giggled. I loved that girl to pieces but was glad I got to send her back to her parents at the end of the day.

"Seriously. I NEED out of this house. If you love me at all, you will take me away from the madness."

"Alright," I sighed. "Give me thirty minutes and I'll be there."

"Twenty-five," she said before hanging up.

I lay in bed for a few minutes, willing the nausea to go away. I had spent the last week feeling like hell. I'd called in sick to work at the children's library, feeling horribly guilty for missing the story times I had lined up. I loved my job and all the kids to pieces. I rarely missed a day.

I was tired all day, every day, no matter how much rest I got. Edward had been a saint, as usual, coming home from his ten-hour days as a physical therapist. He would make whatever I felt like attempting to eat, not complaining once when I took one bite and refused any more. He was there to hold my hair back while I was praying to the porcelain gods to make it go away.

I finally got the energy to move and made my way to the bathroom. Twenty minutes, a few pit stops at the toilet and some saltines later, I was on my way to pick up Alice.

We lived three blocks apart in a gorgeous neighborhood just outside of Seattle. I loved the tree-lined roads, always filled with the sounds of children playing. In the summers, I would steal Aiya from her parents, and we would walk to the park in between our homes and play for hours on the lush green grass and hundreds of trees that were perfect for hide and seek.

I rolled my windows down in an attempt to keep the hot flashes and nausea at bay. When I pulled into Alice and Jasper's driveway, she was standing there, arms crossed, tapping her right foot. I looked at the clock on the dashboard.

"Oh, good gravy Alice, I'm three minutes late."

We spent the next two hours roaming in and out of stores along the outdoor mall a couple of towns over. Aiya was outgrowing a lot of her clothes so it was time to restock, a task I was happy to help with.

"Al, please. Let's go grab a bite to eat. I've got to sit for a bit."

The minute we hit the food court, I knew I wouldn't be able to eat anything; the smells were revolting and overwhelming. I settled on a smoothie.

"Seriously, Bella, you look awful."

"Tact, Alice."

"I'm sorry, but you do. Have you been to the doctor?"

"No, I'm sure it'll pass. They always do. I'm just so tired of being tired all the time. And it'd be nice to walk around and not want to blow chunks on every person with food in their hand," I rambled, noticing Alice's eyes begin to widen.

"What?" I asked

"Bella…"

"Whhaaaat?" I asked again, drawing out the word sarcastically.

"Do you think you could be pregnant?"

That stopped me short.

Pregnant? No, I'm on birth control.

"I'm on birth control."

"So was I, sweet cheeks. You know that's not one hundred percent effective."

But…pregnant? No way. Edward and I had talked about kids, yes, and were going to start trying soon, after Edward got things settled with the clinic he had just opened.

"I don't think so, Alice. I think it's just another one of those damn flu bugs I get every single year."

"I don't know, Bells. The all-day nausea, the tiredness? It all screams pregnant to me."

I just sat staring off into space, absorbing Alice's words. The damn pixie was right; birth control wasn't one hundred percent. I had never experienced pregnancy before, but the symptoms I was having all lined up to the pamphlets. And, if I were being completely honest, the symptoms I had were different from those I'd had with the flu.

"We have to make a stop on the way home…" I said flatly.

Alice just nodded and we got up to leave.

Edward came home late yet again, looking absolutely exhausted. He came into the kitchen where I was waiting, and when our eyes met, he perked up.

"Hey, gorgeous. Are you feeling better?" he asked as he pulled me into his warm, tight embrace.

"Not really," I laughed. "But I may know why."

"Oh? Did you go to the doctor finally?" he asked, pulling back but never taking his hands off my back.

"What is it with you Cullens and going to the doctor?" I asked, laughing.

"Our dad is a doctor, remember?" he smiled.

"Right." I smiled back, wrapping my hands around his neck and giving him a chaste kiss on the lips.

Despite the nausea and the pull from my warm, comfy bed, the possibility of being pregnant had given me a newfound energy.

"Sooo…?"

"Come with me," I said, moving my hands from his neck to his palm and leading him towards the bathroom.

Before he could spout off one of his subtle suggestions for what we could be doing in said bathroom, I turned around and handed him a bag.

"What's this?" he asked, looking confused yet intrigued.

"Just open it."

He pulled out the box containing two pregnancy tests. He stared at it for what felt like minutes before his eyes lifted back to mine.

"Are you…?" The confusion quickly transformed to both terror and excitement.

"I don't know," I said, softly. "My symptoms say yes, but I wanted you here when I took the test."

He looked back down at the box and gulped loudly. I took the box from him and grabbed his face between my palms.

"Say something," I begged, needing to know what was running through his over-analytical brain.

"I…Oh my God, Bella. I don't…how? You're on birth control…"

Not the reaction I was hoping for. I felt my heart sink just a little.

"I don't know. It happens," I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"Oh my God" He sort of laughed and sighed at the same time.

"Edward?" I asked, needing him to look at me so I could read his eyes. I felt myself starting to tear up as his wide eyes and dilated pupils came back to me.

"Oh, God, Bella. Baby, come here," he said, pulling me to him.

"You aren't upset?" I asked, still needing reassurance.

"Baby, shit, no. I'm thrilled, I'm just in shock. The idea of you carrying our child…oh my God." He moved his hand down my arm and around, placing his palm across the lower half of my belly, rubbing gently.

He brought both hands up to cup my cheeks before placing multiple wet, sloppy kisses all across my face before landing on my lips in one, long kiss.

"Go," he said, turning me back around to face the bathroom.

I walked in and turned around to get one more look of assurance from Edward before shutting the door. I opened the box, pulled open the little blue stick, and sat down.


A/N - I'm not a big fan of cliffhangers, so I promise this will be one of few. I am not above begging, so please go review and let me know your thoughts on this bad boy. I really want to get this entire story out of my head, but am going to need your help along the way.