A/N: Hope you all enjoy this, even though it's been a while again. Thanks for sticking along with me for the ride. :)
"Mom. Mom! Hurry! Dad's calling!" Mikey exclaimed as he ran through the apartment when the laptop began to ring in the kitchen with an incoming Skype call. "Can I get it?"
"No!" Bella cried out, hurrying over to the table once she'd turned the burner off on the stove. "Go wash the jelly off your fingers."
"But Mom!"
"I mean it, now," she replied firmly, moving the cursor with her fingertip to accept the call as Mikey ran down the hall to the bathroom. The pixelated image cleared as much as she knew she could expect and the static sound of the background noise filled the speakers. "Hey there, soldier."
"Hey, baby. How are you?" Edward replied with an unmistakable smile on his face, and she found herself running her fingertip absentmindedly over his image.
"Good. Got a call back from housing and it looks like we could be in the new house by the end of the month. But how are you?" she asked anxiously, trying to squeeze in as much as she could into the limited time she knew she would have with him.
Mikey clammered into his mother's lap and smiled as he gazed at Edward. "Hi, Dad! Did you get the cookies me and Mommy made for you?"
Edward smirked, raising one of the aforementioned cookies to his lips and taking a bite. Causing Mikey to giggle and bounce more excitedly on Bella's legs. "They are the best cookies ever, buddy," he replied, and then his eyes met his wife's again. "I'm doing okay, baby. I miss you guys, but I'll be home before you know it."
"I know. We miss you, too, honey. We can't wait for you to come home." Bella fought to hold the smile on her face while trying to keep the tears in her eyes from forming.
"Yeah, 'cause guess what?" Mikey said, rocking back and forth.
Bella attempted to hold him still and shook her head, rustling his hair lightly with her fingers. "Mikey made the honor roll with his progress report. Highest grades in the entire kindergarten class."
"Mom!" Mikey groaned through clenched teeth with his eyes widened, wiggling more on her lap.
"All right, Mikey. You obviously have something to say. Spit it out," Edward said with a laugh, unable to ignore Mikey's anxious behavior.
"I'm gonna be the big brother!" Mikey announced loudly, throwing his arms in the air and barely missing his mother's face.
Edward's breath halted and his features shifted momentarily with widened eyes and slackened jaw. He watched Bella biting her lip and running her fingers through the loose hair in front that had fallen from its tie. She nodded as her eyes met his, while still seeming slightly nervous, and his smile returned as he looked back to Mikey. "That is awesome news, buddy. I've only got a couple more minutes, though. Can I talk to your mom real quick?"
"Yep!" Mikey nodded excitedly and blew a kiss to Edward with his hand. "Bye, Dad! Love you!"
"I love you, too, Mikey," Edward replied, waiting as the little boy climbed down from Bella's lap and disappeared from the room. "You're pregnant?"
"Yeah," Bella responded with a sigh. "That wasn't the way I wanted to tell you. But I had to take Mikey with me to the doctor's because they had a half day at school I forgot about, and he's been busting at the seams ever since. "
"From that one night?" Edward asked, his eyes widening more.
"Well, one of the four times that night, but yes. It only takes once, Edward," Bella said with a small chuckle, tilting her head slightly as she gazed at him. "Are you happy?"
Edward's expression shifted once gain at her questioning tone, softening and he wished more than ever, if only for a second, he could reach out and touch her.
His thoughts drifted back to the night before their wedding, once Mikey had finally gone to sleep. As they lay in bed, they began talking about their expectations for the future and, naturally, the following evening. Not only was it their wedding night, but it was also the only one they would have together as husband and wife before he was half a world away. While risky, they both agreed that they simply wanted to be together, enjoy each other without a single thought to the precautions they'd been taking in the handful of times they'd made love in the preceding weeks. Leaving everything to fate, even though she admitted to him that the thought of having another baby alone scared her a little.
However, they had finally had "the talk" about children as well. After weighing all the pros and cons on both sides of the table, they each agreed that they at least wanted one more—a child together, making their family all the more solidified.
"Baby, the only thing making me unhappy at this moment is that I'm not there to kiss you and show you how much I love you, rather than just tell you," he replied and watched the smile return to her lips. "I didn't think it was possible to love you more, but apparently, I was very wrong."
"Well, soon there will be plenty of me to love if this pregnancy is anything like the one with Mikey," Bella teased, trying to keep their conversation light while fear tugged at her heart—something she would not let him see.
Edward released a heavy sigh and assumed the expression she'd become exceedingly familiar with—the goodbye face. His tensed brow, his tightened lips, the creases around his eyes disappearing along with his smile … and lastly, the words. "Times up, baby. I gotta go. I'll give you another call as soon as I possibly can. I love you, Bella."
Bella forced a smile while fighting back the tears that came with every goodbye. "I love you, too, Edward."
With one last smile, his face disappeared from her screen and the room fell silent around her as she sat back in her chair, rolling her eyes back to stare at the ceiling for a moment. "Mikey, it's time to get ready for bed, baby."
A little blonde head appeared in her peripheral vision and she looked to her side as Mikey slid his arms around hers. "Mom? If babies are a good thing, then why do they make mommies cry all the time? Do they hurt in your tummy?"
Bella released a soft laugh, watching Mikey's face scrunch in frustration and resumed as solemn of an expression as she could. "No, my tummy doesn't hurt at all. And I'm very happy about the baby."
"Me, too." Mikey drew in a deep breath, sighing heavily as he leaned his head against Bella's arm. "But you cry a lot. And Maggie Fischer at school said that when her mom had her brother in her tummy, she cried all the time and then more after the baby was out of her tummy. Is that gonna happen to you, too, Mom?"
Bella kissed the top of his head and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly against her. "I don't think so. I'm not crying because of the baby, Mikey. I just miss Dad a lot right now, and wish he could be here."
"Mommy?" Mikey asked with his eyes lowered, snuggling against her chest more as she hummed in response. "Did you cry like this about my other dad when I was in your tummy?"
Bella bit her lip as she looked down to him and his questioning blue eyes rose to meet hers. He so rarely mentioned his real father in any way, the surprise from his statement took her several moments to overcome. "Um. Yeah, I guess I did. I was very happy to be having you, I was just very sad that your father couldn't be there and I missed him a lot."
"More than Edward?" Mikey asked sadly, lowering his head again.
Bella closed her eyes and released a slow breath, trying with everything in her to keep herself composed. He hadn't called Edward by his name since the day he left for Afghanistan, and even after such a short space of time, it sounded odd on his lips. She took his hand and led him to his room, getting him ready for bed and then sat down beside him after tucking him in. "Mikey, your father was a very special man, and he was very important to me. There's not a single day that passes that I don't think about him, or see him in something you do. A part of me will always love him. He gave me you." Mikey sighed and nodded, his face falling more. She tipped his chin back up to look at her and shook her head. "But that doesn't mean that I love or miss Edward any less than I loved and missed your father. He's very special to me, too."
"Because he gave you my little brother or sister?" Mikey inquired, snuggling against her side and placing his small hand over her stomach.
Bella chuckled again and rested her own hand on top of his. "Well, that's not all, but yeah. That's definitely part of it."
"You really do love Edward, don't you, Mom?" Mikey asked with a slightly nervous tone to his voice, almost as if worried about her response.
Bella fought to hold back more tears, but her smile grew as she nodded. "Yes, I really do."
Mikey sighed contentedly, removing his hand from her and replacing it with his cheek. Tapping lightly on her still-flat abdomen with his fingertip, he whispered, "Hey, little brother or sister. You gotta hurry up and get big and strong so you can come out. We got the bestest mommy and daddy in the world. And please be a little brother."
x-x-x
In the quiet of her own bedroom later that evening, she slid into one of the t-shirts Edward had left at her apartment and climbed into bed, nuzzling under the covers. Her eyes burned from every tear she'd held back all day long, for Edward and for Mikey, and she finally let them flow as her hand ran over the empty pillow beside her.
She knew damn well it would be difficult to give him the news that simultaneously brought her inexplicable joy and overwhelming sadness—she'd been through it all before, with small differences.
When Bella found out she was pregnant with Mikey while on their brief "honeymoon" before he was scheduled to deploy a few days later, she and Michael had been ecstatic. But while he'd actually been there with her when she got the test results, there was still the looming knowledge that within days, she would be pregnant and alone.
However, even the slight differences felt astronomical at that moment.
She'd spent the night in Michael's arms in the bed they'd shared for over a year, when she found out she was pregnant with Mikey; Edward was already thousands of miles away, and she was left clinging to a pillow that had cradled his head only a handful of times.
After Michael had gone overseas, she was able to sit in their closet for hours at a time, engulfing herself in the scent of his clothes in moments of intensified loneliness; as she'd realized that night, she only had a few of Edward's t-shirts that he'd left at her apartment, with the trace hints of his scent barely clinging to the fabric.
Her mind was so innocent and things were so much simpler back then, caught in the romanticized life of being married to a soldier; now, she couldn't pray hard enough that her soldier would make it home to see the beautiful life they created together.
But as she gazed at the band encircling her left ring finger, thinking about the man who placed it there weeks before, she also couldn't deny one other unmistakable feeling—that of being completely and utterly in love with someone, and having that love returned just as strongly.
x-x-x
Edward walked back outside to return to his unit, his mind in a daze.
Bella was pregnant. His baby was growing inside her, a part of him still with her even while he was thousands of miles away. Bella was pregnant. When he returned home that time, there would most likely be a new face there to greet him. Bella was pregnant!
A smile grew on his lips and his fist pumped at his side, earning several raised eyebrows and curious gazes from the men and women around him. He knew his behavior would raise questions and that it was far from his usual demeanor following a phone call to his wife, but he didn't care. He still missed Bella and Mikey more than he could ever express. Still could hardly wait to be back home and in her arms, and to play with trains and Legos with Mikey again. To have time together as a complete family. But the news Bella had just given him added an entirely new element to it all.
Edward thought back to the moment that Michael found out that his son was born. The tears in his eyes as he proudly announce that he had a baby boy and that he didn't care who saw them, even in the middle of the desert. The embrace they'd shared in celebration of Mikey's birth.
Then he thought of the first time he saw Mikey, only a couple of months old at the time, and how nervous he'd been about holding him for the first time. Michael had taken to it so naturally, instantly in love with his son. But still, it was like no other feeling in the world when the tiny baby was placed in Edward's arms, gazing up at him with his big blue eyes. It was amazing and intense, and something he never thought he would experience again.
Yet, when he returned from deployment, whenever that might be, he would be experiencing it again. Only it would be his baby gazing up at him, nestled against his chest. The realization was both exciting and terrifying.
He loved Mikey with all his heart, and couldn't love him more if he were his own son—that would never change. It was just the idea that it would be so much different watching Bella's waistline expand that time around; she was his wife with their baby growing inside her.
Another smile touched his lips at that thought as he reached his unit, grinning like an idiot as he proudly announced, "Bella's pregnant!"
x-x-x
Mikey sat coloring at the kitchen table as his mother spoke quietly on the phone, telling Edward about the doctor's appointment she'd had the day before. His head rested on his arm as his eyes locked on the paper, scribbling furiously.
"And now that I'm into my second trimester, I can make it from the bedroom to the kitchen without a pit stop in the bathroom. I thought I would escape morning sickness this time, but it just took its time creeping up on me. But the baby bump is definitely more noticeable now. So, soon I'll be trading nausea for sleepless nights with acrobatics," she chuckled, running her hand over the still very slight swell of her abdomen beneath the oversized t-shirt. Her eyes moved to Mikey at the table and sighed, thinking of a conversation between her and Mikey a few days prior. "Hey baby, I know you only have a few minutes, but I think Mikey has something to talk to you about."
Mikey's eyes widened and his head shot up, shaking it violently in response to his mother's words as she made her way across the room toward him. "No way, Mom. Uh-uh."
"Dad's not going to be mad at you. Just talk to him," Bella whispered, watching his eyes begin to tear and his lip tremble.
Mikey took the phone from her hand and brought it to his ear slowly with a sniffle. "Hi, Dad."
"Hey, buddy. What's going on?" Edward replied and Mikey's tears increased, looking up to his mother as she gently urged him to continue. "Mikey? Is something wrong?"
Mikey lowered his head, his eyes falling to the floor shamefully as he whispered, "I don't want the baby to come out of Mommy's tummy."
"Okay," Edward responded slowly and took a long breath in. "Any special reason why? I thought you were excited to be having a little brother or sister?"
"I was. I am," Mikey said softly, glancing at Bella again as she sat down beside him, running her hand over his hair. "But you're gonna love the new baby more than me. Because you're the real daddy."
Bella felt her heart clench inside her chest just as intensely as it had when she'd first heard him say it, and she lifted him onto her lap as he cradled the phone to his ear.
At his birthday party few days earlier, Mikey had been uncharacteristically sullen and uninterested in anything going on around him. Even though it was a beautiful early July day, he didn't want to play or go into the pool, and even half-heartedly opened his presents. And that night, when she'd uploaded the video of the ultrasound she'd had done onto the computer, he'd run from the room crying as soon as he heard the baby's heartbeat through the speakers.
When she'd finally gotten him calmed down enough, he explained that some of the kids at the party had told him he'd be less important now that she and Edward were having a baby together. And no amount of her consoling or reassuring him had made a difference at all, and he'd started going to sleep at night, hugging a picture of Edward with Mikey on his shoulders at the park the year before. He was so afraid of losing the only father figure he could remember, he was holding onto every last shred of him that he could.
"Oh, Mikey," Edward sighed, his voice pained. "There is no chance of that at all."
"There isn't?" Mikey asked in a small voice with his head resting against Bella's chest.
"Of course not. I love you very, very much. And you're my train building partner, bud."
"But you could build trains with the new baby, too," Mikey replied sadly at the thought, his voice lowering.
"That's my special thing with you, Mikey. That's not going to change with a new baby. And who caught that huge trout with me out at the lake last summer?"
"Me."
"And who's the first one I always give a huge hug to when I come home, no matter what?"
Mikey's lips began to twitch slightly at the corners with Edward's words, turning on Bella's lap to lean back against her. "Me. 'Cause I run super fast."
"Yes, you certainly do," Edward replied with a chuckle and then it faded as he took on a more serious tenor. "Listen, I am very excited about and love the new baby very much. I may be the baby's real father, but that doesn't make me any less your dad. You always have been and always will be very important to me, and I chose to be your dad. That makes you pretty special, too, doesn't it?"
Mikey's smile grew more with every statement from Edward, until he was biting his lip with a nod. "Yup, and I choosed you."
Edward laughed and took a deep breath. "That's right. And I love being your dad, okay, champ?"
"Okay. I love you, Dad," Mikey said, and once Edward returned the sentiment, he held the phone up to Bella's ear. "Tell Mom you love her, too!"
Edward laughed as the exuberance he'd come to expect from Mikey return as he yelled up into the phone from Bella's lap. "I love you, baby."
"I love you, too. Stay safe," Bella replied in a soft tone, unconsciously leaning her head toward the phone.
"I will, I promise. Good night, Bella."
"Good night, Edward," she whispered before the call ended.
"Afgamistan is weird. Why do they have to have nighttime in the middle of the day?" Mikey huffed, sliding off Bella's lap to return to his chair and his drawing.
"Afgha-ni-stan," Bella corrected, as Mikey still struggled with pronouncing the word.
"Mom," Mikey groaned, throwing his head back dramatically. "That's what I said. Afgamistan!"
Bella smiled, standing up and kissing his forehead, leaving him to finish his drawing.