Okay, I've got some good news and some really bad news. Which do you want first?

The bad news? Ok. Tomorrow afternoon my hubby and I are going to see his parents, who live in the middle of Michigan. No wi-fi, no internet. And we're going to be there from the 20th til the 25th. I won't be here to update on the 21st, which I am really sad about. I got my dates mixed up.

Ok, now for the good news.

I already had this chapter finished, so I'm posting it now, early. And that means…

AS OF RIGHTNOW, 'SECOND CHANCES' has officially taken off. I'm going to be updating whenever I can. I will be updating tomorrow, (TWICE if I can get the other chapter done…) then I'll be gone for a couple of days…and then I'll be back in full swing.

If I do pick up wi-fi while I'm gone, it will be put towards the other stories I'm occupying my free time with; "Family Affair" and "In Search of Euphoria".

I'm glad you guys are already into the sequel…I was really happy to be able to continue the story.

So, my husband got knocked in the face with a nerf ball last week, and all of a sudden he started snoring at night, when he slept. Loudly. It's been driving me absolutely nuts, and I had the hardest time getting this chapter done, because sometimes I write at night.

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EPOV

I still haven't told her. I watched as Bella slept; her arms curled around her protruding stomach, and wondered how I could bring something like this up. It was a little surprising, and I had no idea how she would take it.

Carlisle, Esme, and Marie would be in the same city as us. In a city of over 700,000 people, what were the odds of seeing them? But if we did see them, it would be unbearable. Bella couldn't even bring herself to look at the pictures of Marie, and I knew she struggled to even read the letters Esme sent, although she pretended it didn't bother her.

But I knew Bella. I knew that she saw this new life growing inside of her as her second chance, and I knew that she felt guilty for giving Marie up. But I was also to blame. I should have never allowed Bella to give Marie up, and I should have fought to keep our child. I had been weak though, and selfish. I had wanted to have Bella all to myself, and now that we were expecting another child, a child we could raise together, I was trying not to remember all we had given up.

"Edward?" Bella croaked, opening her eyes slightly and shifting into my body. "Can you not sleep?" I smiled ruefully, cupping her smooth cheek in my hand.

"I'm just a little preoccupied." I said softly. Bella sighed and trailed her hands up my bare chest. "Can't sleep."

"I could tire you out." She suggested playfully, resting her chin on my chest and kissing the skin there. I smiled and raised my eyebrows.

"Are you sure, love?" I asked as she gripped my arms and pulled me over to her.

"Yes." She murmured, preoccupied with pulling her nightie over her head. I smiled and moved so that I was hovering over her. I placed a torrent of kisses up and down her exposed body, paying special attention to her rounded stomach. My beautiful wife was round with my child. That was certainly an aphrodisiac all on its own. "I love you, Edward." She murmured as her hands hurriedly pulled down my boxers.

"I love you too, sweetheart. More than anything." I whispered against her lips, slipping into her body with ease.

We moved together, our hands wandering tenderly and our lips meeting over and over again. This was a dance we had experienced together countless times, and it never, ever got old. Because she was mine. And I would always be hers.

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"I've made my decision." Bella's soft voice startled me, and my eyes flew open. Light was streaming in the open window, and we were still both on the bed. Bella was sitting up, wrapped in her blanket with her tantalizing bare shoulders showing.

"About what?" I asked sleepily, sitting up as well and kissing one of her shoulders.

"I didn't mean to wake you." She apologized. "I've been up for awhile…thinking about it. And I've decided."

"Decided what, love?" I asked again, looking straight into her eyes.

"I'm taking this year off." Bella said, tracing patterns onto her belly with the tips of her fingers. "I want to stay home with the baby this year, and then go back at the beginning of next school year."

"That's great, baby." My hands found their way to her stomach as well. "You're sure about this, right? I don't want to pressure you into anything."

"I'm sure." Bella said in a strong voice, shifting on the bed and sliding onto my lap. "You were right; I want to spend time with our child. After giving up Marie…" She took a deep breath. "I just want to know that I can be a good mother."

"You will be, without a doubt, the most amazing mother in the world." I whispered, leaning down to kiss her belly. Bella was quiet, running one of her hands through my hair as I continued to kiss her stomach. When she didn't say anything for several minutes, I changed the subject. "You should call the school and let them know that you'll be leaving after September. I'm guessing you'll be able to work out a plan with them…and they'll have to find your replacement. Although I doubt they'll ever find anyone who is so dedicated and intelligent. Your replacement will have some pretty big shoes to fill."

"You're so sweet." Bella murmured. "I'll go make you some breakfast." She decided, rolling off the mattress and standing up, shedding the blanket that covered her naked body and quickly pulling on a pair of my boxers and a ribbed tank top that read 'University of Seattle'.

"You're so beautiful." I replied, starting to get up off the mattress.

"No!" Bella exclaimed, coming over and gently pushing me back onto the mattress. "I wanted to bring you breakfast in bed." She pouted as an explanation.

"How about this: we go make breakfast together and then come back up here and eat it in bed." I suggested, and Bella rolled her eyes.

"Fine." She huffed, pretending to be put out. Then she broke out into a huge smile, placing her hands on her hips.

"What?" I asked, pausing in pulling a pair of jeans on. Bella blushed and shook her head.

"I just love you so much." She said quietly. I finished getting dressed and then walked over to her, pulling my wife into my arms and cradling her against my chest.

"You're my everything." I whispered in her ear. "You've made me the happiest man in the world, and I can never fully express how you make me feel." Bella smiled and we stayed like that for a long time, not moving except when I would lean down and kiss the top of her head.

Eventually, Bella's stomach growled loudly and we laughed and broke apart.

"Breakfast time for my wife and child?" I asked, taking Bella's hand and leading her downstairs. "What sounds good, my love?" I opened the door to the fridge and turned to face Bella.

"Hmm…" She tapped her finger against her chin; contemplating. "Eggs."

Seeing as we had just moved in yesterday, we hadn't really stocked up on food.

"Well, baby, you're in luck." I smiled and turned around to face my wife. "We have eggs."

"Yay!" Bella cheered, leaning against the counter. She went and found a skillet in the cabinets, holding it up proudly.

"Why don't you go get the paper and I'll start cooking this?" I suggested, taking the skillet from her.

"Alright." Bella said easily, pecking me on the lips and turning to walk out of the kitchen.

BPOV

I took a deep breath of fresh air, looking at the ground. I was so happy. I was here with my husband, the first and only man I had ever loved, I was pregnant with his child, and our lives were perfectly on track.

Retrieving the paper, I looked down the street. The neighborhood was beautiful, and very homey.

"Hello!" I turned around, paper in hand, to come face to face with a proper looking blonde woman in an argyle sweater.

Wow. This really is a suburban neighborhood.

"Hi." I said, smiling at the woman. I crossed my arms over my chest; embarrassed that I was wearing a pair of my husbands' navy blue boxers and a faded old tee tank top from college.

"I'm Bree Crowley, I live right next door. I saw that you moved in yesterday, and I would have come over if I wasn't in the middle of baking." She apologized, her eyes scanning my rumpled ponytail and clothing.

"Oh, that's fine!" I said in what I hope was a suitable tone.

"So you're Isabella Masen, right?" She asked, raising her perfectly plucked eyebrows.

"Yes, but please call me Bella."

"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Bella. Do you live here with anyone?" I saw her eyes focus on my rounded stomach.

"My husband, Edward. We just moved here from downtown Seattle." I explained, uncrossing my arms. "We're expecting a baby in December." I added.

"That's fantastic!" Bree said with unexplained enthusiasm. "Is this your first child?" My heart immediately sunk, and I was assaulted by memories of my first child. I had known her for a matter of hours before giving her up…

"Yes." I said with a forced smile. "It's our first."

"You and your husband should come over for dinner-" She began, but the front door to our house opened and Edward came out, obviously wondering what was taking me so long. He caught sight of Bree and his eyebrows crinkled slightly. Bree looked over at him and her smile grew. "Is this your husband?" She asked, extending her hand to him before I could answer.

"Edward Masen." Edward said kindly, shaking her hand firmly before putting his arm around my waist.

"Edward, this is Bree Crowley." I said, placing my hand on his chest. "She lives next door."

"Well, I wanted to be the first to come say hello, and I'm sorry we can't chat, but I really need to get back to my housework." I almost laughed at that, and I knew Edward was also holding in a laugh by the way his fingers tightened around my waist.

"It was great to meet you, Bree. We both look forward to getting to know you." I said, still trying not to laugh.

"Nice meeting you as well." Bree said, straightening her sweater before giving us a small wave and going back to her own house.

Edward and I stood there for a moment, a little overwhelmed.

"Let's go inside." Edward said after a moment, walking back into the house.

"Do you think all the people here are like her?" I asked nervously as Edward scooped a large portion on eggs onto my plate. "Do you think they'll all hate me?" He handed me the plate and then served himself, not answering me. "Edward." I prompted him as he started to walk out of the kitchen and towards the stairs.

"I don't know how people will be like." He said honestly as I followed him up the stairs and into our bedroom. "But I'm sure they'll like you."

We dropped onto the mattress on the floor and ate our breakfast, not talking much. Edward, however, held my hand the entire time, really calming me down. He had the 'sooth my pregnant wife' thing down. We finished eating and put our plates down; and Edward then pressed his palm against my stomach.

"I've been thinking about something Alice said." He said conversationally, rubbing his palm against my ever-expanding belly.

"Oh no." I joked, kissing his cheek, loving the way his stubble felt against my lips.

"She thinks the baby is a girl." Edward stated, looking down at me through his long eyelashes.

"Yes…"

"Are we going to find out the sex early, or wait?" He asked abruptly, looking from my eyes to my stomach. I contemplated for a moment, surprised we hadn't talked about this earlier. I was already five months pregnant, and we haven't even talked about the sex of our baby yet.

"I don't think I want to know." I said slowly. "I would really like to be surprised."

"That's fine by me." Edward said easily. "So what do you think it is?" He asked, massaging my shoulders gently.

"Honestly? I don't agree with Alice, although I'd never admit that to her. I think the baby is a boy." I said, leaning my head back to rest against his chest. Edward chuckled and pulled me down on my back on the mattress, trailing his hands down to my stomach.

"Well, you're wrong." He said, very sure of himself. "I think it's a girl." I laughed and shook my head.

"What do you know?" I joked. "He is growing inside of me, and I think I know better than you do!"

"It's a girl!" Edward insisted. "And I put her in there, so I think I know better than you do!"

"Hey, it takes two to tango, mister!" I laughed, jabbing him in the chest with my finger. Edward laughed quietly and lowered his lips to my stomach, kissing reverently along my baby bump, his eyes closed and a blissful expression on his face.

"It's a girl." He whispered against my stomach, and in that moment, I think I fell even more in love with him.

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I made this chapter very fluffy just to celebrate the official kick-off of this story.

Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie