Bella grimaced as the blue gunk was squirted all over her stomach. The ultrasound technician smiled encouragingly at her as she pushed the goo around, spreading it over her bulging tummy.
"And there it is!" she pointed at the monitor. Bella, Esme, and Alice all gasped. A perfect little baby was looking at them through the fuzzy picture of the monitor. Bella burst into tears, and Emmet thumped Edward on the back.
"Here's a foot," The technician moved the ultrasound again, now showing a tiny little heel, and five perfect little toes. The foot kicked, and Bella winced.
"Well, there you go! would you like to know the sex?" All the Cullens looked at each other. "YES!" Squealed Alice, practically jumping up and down in excitement. Bella shrugged. "Ok."
The technician smiled and pointed at a little dot on the screen. "It's a boy."
Carlisle smiled, Jasper and Emmet both yelled, "Yes!" and Alice hugged Bella. But Bella turned to look at Esme. Her baby had been a boy, too, she remembered. Esme was blankly staring at the screen, and when she caught Bella looking at her, she smiled, but it was fixed, insincere. Bella turned away.
On the way out of the hospital, Emmet began to tease Edward, and Alice was talking to Bella about all the shopping they needed to do.
"We have to get a crib, and then we should get some baby toys, and some nighties, and diapers, too, of course, and-" She broke off, staring into space, her face oddly expressionless. Bella knew what was going on all too well.
"Alice? What is it?" Alice swayed on the spot. then she uttered a soft cry. "Bella!"
"I'm right here! What?"
Alice didn't answer, but turned to Edward with a horrified expression on her pixie-like face. Bella knew she was telling him something with her mind. Edward's eyes narrowed, and he deliberately took a step away from Bella.
"What!?" She demanded, glaring at them both. The rest of the Cullens had stopped, too, and were curiously frowning at the three of them. Edward sighed.
"Bella, come with me."