Thank you so much for all of the reviews! Almost 50 for three chapters?! OMC. Thanks. And, as promised, a quick update and a new chapter.

I have started this chapter with a short EPOV to explain how he and Alice are getting on without Bella. I hope it's okay.

Untouchable, like a distant time or sky.

I'm reaching out and I just can't tell you why.

Caught up in you.

I'm caught up in you.

Untouchable burning brighter than the sun.

And when you're close I feel like coming undone.

- Untouchable, Taylor Swift (yes, her again. But she does rock ;))

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Edward POV

"For the millionth time, Edward, I don't know!" Alice cried in despair.

"Alice, I can tell that you're lying," I told her, "Why won't you just tell me who it was?"

"Have you considered the fact that maybe she doesn't want you to know?"

"What?" I asked, feeling my heart sink. Did this girl, whoever she was, look upon our short time together as a drunken mistake? True, it had been at the time, but if I had the chance to go back, I knew that I would do nothing differently. Yes, I had a reputation for dating girls to get them into bed and I had to admit that on some occasions that had been the truth, but this was possibly the one time when I had actually felt something. You're supposed to get fireworks and stuff when you kiss but I had never had that… until I met this girl.

"Edward, please stop asking me. Please," Alice begged, "I want to tell you, really I do, but I can't. I just can't, okay?"

"But… I don't understand," I said honestly, "Why doesn't she want me to know?"

"I don't know, Edward. She's embarrassed and confused, I think. Look, if I can ever tell you, I will," she sighed.

I sighed too, trying not to feel rejection and failing miserably. I couldn't believe that one girl could make me feel that way; I mean it was one night! Not even that.

"Edward, don't mope. You'll get over it," Alice commanded.

"I'm not moping!" I argued.

"Just… don't hang everything on one time, Edward. It can't have been that special."

"It was, Alice!" I exclaimed truthfully, "That girl is special. So special. I don't even know her name, but I know that she's pretty damn special to make me feel this way! And, since you won't tell me who she is, I'm going to have to find out for myself!" I vowed.

"Whatever," Alice said in a disbelieving voice, "Now, get out. I'm going to call my friend."

I sighed as she dialled her best friend's number and went downstairs to get myself something to eat. But just as I had finished making a sandwich, Alice came back into the kitchen.

"That was quick," I commented.

"She's not answering," Alice complained.

"Did you try twice?" I asked.

"Yes," Alice pouted, "And I left a message!"

"Oh. Well, maybe she's busy. She'll call you back tomorrow." Alice seemed reassured by my words, but a few days later, her friend still hadn't returned the call and was ignoring Alice. Alice continued to call every day for months, but every call was cancelled and, eventually, Alice discovered that this girl had blocked her. She was devastated, but must have got the message because she stopped calling. I didn't know why she wasn't speaking to my sister, but I despised the girl for making Alice so upset. They were supposed to be friends and suddenly this girl had blocked her right out of her life. It was cruel and I knew that if I ever met this girl, she would answer for the sadness she had caused Alice.

Bella POV

I don't know how long Rosalie had to comfort me for that day. I must have spent ages in her arms and felt no better. Emmett had been surprisingly sensitive and understanding and both he and Rose didn't say anything about my 'Edward decision'. I had come to the conclusion that I wouldn't tell him. Rosalie disagreed with me at first, but she gave in admitting that it was not her decision to make. I knew that she still thought that I was wrong not to tell him, but I strongly disagreed. What sort of a cold-hearted bitch would do that to a guy?

And then there was Alice. If I told her, she'd insist that I told Edward and I just couldn't do that to him. Why should I drag him down with me when he had such a bright future? So I couldn't tell her either.

I felt my heart break in two when I ignored the first call from her, but I couldn't do anything else.

I avoided her calls for three months straight. It hurt me so bad, but Rose and Emmett stood by me and they were my rocks.

"Bella?" Rose called, "Are you ready?"

It was the morning of my twenty-week ultrasound and I had to be at the hospital in half an hour.

"Yeah," I called back, coming down the stairs.

"Bella, you look great," Rosalie complimented.

"I do?" I looked down at myself. I was wearing a thin, aquamarine coloured cotton t-shirt and a jade green skirt. My baby bump was now obvious under my top, but it wasn't too big. I was adjusting to my pregnancy as the time went by and I was beginning to enjoy it. I had loved my baby ever since I had first seen it, but only recently had I actually began to look forward to the birth of my child.

"Yes, Bella!" Rose rolled her eyes, "Now come on, we've got to go or we'll be late!" Of course, I had asked Rose along, having no one else to go with. Emmett had agreed to watch my bakers' and had put his new chief member of staff in charge of the restaurant.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." I grabbed my bag and followed her out to her BMW red convertible.

We got there just in time and practically ran into the hospital.

"Name?" the receptionist asked.

"Isabella Swan," I told her.

"Ah, yes. You're just on time." She smiled at us politely and pointed us down the corridor. Rose and I thanked her and went down the corridor.

"Bella, I'm so excited!" Rose squealed, gripping my hand tightly.

I laughed. This was the first ultrasound Rose had accompanied me to and also the most important.

"Ah, Isabella." Dr Delaney nodded at me as we walked in.

"Hello, Dr Delaney," I greeted her politely.

"And who's this then?" she gestured towards Rose.

"This is my good friend, Rosalie," I introduced her and Rose shook hands with the doctor.

"So, Bella, take a seat. How have you been recently?"

"Good, I guess," I shrugged.

"Anymore developments on Dad?" she asked gently.

Rose threw me a pointed glance and I shook my head miserably. Well, I regretted it, but what was I supposed to do? Doom Edward to a life of diapers and baby puke? Yeah. Right.

"I don't want to push, you, Bella," Dr Delaney said, "But if you want to talk about anything…"

"No, I'm good," I replied firmly.

"Okay. Shall we get started?"

"Yes please." I lay back on the bed and pulled my top of so that my stomach was exposed. Dr Delaney dimmed the lights and Rose grabbed my hand and squeezed it tight. I stifled a laugh; to be honest I thought that she was more nervous than I was.

Dr Delaney told me to relax and tapped a few buttons on her machine before squeezing the cold jelly on my protruding belly.

A few minutes later, she had the image up on the screen that Rose and I were watching intently.

"There you go," the doctor said, "There's your baby." She began to point out different parts, "There's the head, see? And that's one of its little arms, there. Its hand is tightened in a ball. Your baby will have fingernails, by now."

"Aw! Bella, fingernails!" Rosalie squealed and I grinned widely.

"Now, as I'm sure you know, from this stage onwards, we can find out the gender of your baby…" I was shaking my head before she had even finished.

"I don't want to know. I want it to be my little surprise," I told her.

"Okay," Dr Delaney nodded knowledgably and continued moving the THING over my stomach. I was barely listening as she pointed out further body parts, I was just marvelling over the fact that the thing on the screen was actually my baby. It seemed unreal. My baby. I couldn't believe how I had ever even considered getting rid of it. How could I kill such a perfect thing? A part of me… and a part of Edward.

That was my problem. Edward. Every thought that went through my head was 'baby- Edward. Edward- baby.' Nothing else mattered anymore. Whilst I felt that I was cheating my baby out of having a father and Edward himself out of having a child, I was convinced that I was making the right decision.

I was so deep in thought that I didn't notice when Dr Delaney turned the lights up.

"Bella?" Rose asked gently, "Are you okay?"

"What?" I looked up at her, only then noticing that I was crying. I wiped away the tears, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

"Would you like a picture of your baby?" Dr Delaney enquired.

I nodded vigorously, "Yes please."

"Okay, then." She tapped away at her computer for a minute and then the special printer buzzed into action.

"Here you go, Mummy," she joked, handing me the little pictures. I laughed uneasily; that would take some getting used to.

"Aw, Bella, it's going to be adorable!" Rose exclaimed as we walked out of the hospital and she looked again at the photo. She hugged me tightly, "I can't believe you're actually going to have a baby, Bells!"

"I know, me either," I admitted.

"But, admit it Bella, aren't you excited?"

"Of course I am, Rose!" I cried; how could she think that I felt otherwise? "I'm kinda nervous as well, though."

"That's understandable," Rosalie nodded as we crossed the road, "But also completely unnecessary. You're going to be a great mother, Bells."

"Thanks," I said. My tone reflected all of my doubts.

"You will be. Don't even think otherwise."

"Okay." I couldn't help but smile softly to myself. Maybe this baby wouldn't screw up my life completely. Maybe it would change it for the better?

The next few months passed in a blur, now that I wanted them to slow down. I couldn't believe that time could pass so quickly. Now, with the birth approximately a week away (the baby was due on Christmas eve), I was pretty much ready: the nursery was finished now, painted a light shade of yellow so that it could be a unisex room for whatever the baby was going to be; I had picked out a name for a girl and a name for a boy; I had been to pre-natal classes; I had an overnight bag packed; practically everything was ready. Apart from me. I was pretty sure that I wasn't ready to be a mother, despite the numerous reassurances from Rose and Emmett: whether the stress or the hormones, I always seemed to be crying, dissolving into tears for no reason and I was beginning to feel really, really nervous. And there was the one thing that was always at the front of my mind: when my time came to give birth, I would be doing it alone.

Well, not completely alone. Rose and Emmett were to accompany me, but they weren't going to be the parents, not the real parents, anyway. They had agreed to be the godparents, but it just wasn't the same knowing that I would be alone. I would be the only one to look down at my child and know that it was my child. I wouldn't have someone who loved me in the right way by my side as I went through the labour. I wouldn't have someone who loved me to help me through every day, one step at a time. I wouldn't have him. I wouldn't have Edward.

"Hey, smile Bells," Emmett told me, coming into the front of the shop from the back, where he had been. I hadn't really gone on maternity leave because I loved my job too much and being self-employed, I could only take money off of the government, but that wasn't much. Emmett and Rose helped me as much as possible, though I knew that I would have to take up a staff member for after the birth.

That had been my job for the last few weeks: interviewing people interested in taking the job. I made sure that they were aware that I lived just above the shop and would be around as much as possible, although Rose didn't like me making this clear. She insisted that she and Emmett would help out as much as they could, but I felt guilty for accepting this help. They refused the money I tried to give them, though a lot of people wouldn't do the amount of work they had been doing with a very decent salary. But they refused to accept any cash at all, adamant that I should keep the money for the baby.

The best candidate for the job was a girl called Angela. She seemed willing to work, good at baking and a nice enough person to work with, congratulating me on the baby, rather than having second thoughts about the job when hearing the amount of work that would have to be done; I had to admit that, even with Rose and Emmett's help, it would be a full-time occupation and there could be no slacking on the job. Angela was the only candidate that I interviewed that seemed up for this, meaning that I practically gave her the job on the spot.

"Bella?" Emmett said, noticing my dream-like state.

"Yeah?"

"Have you decided on who you're going to employ? Rose has gone to a furniture store to check out some new tables and chairs we were thinking of getting for the restaurant, and she told me to remind you."

"Yeah, I have." I nodded, "I want Angela Weber. She was a really nice girl and seemed up for the work load."

"Good. Are you gonna call her now?" Emmett opened the glass cabinet and put the tray of fairy cakes I had baked this morning in it.

"Actually I will," I decided right then, "Thanks for reminding me, Emmett."

He laughed, "No problem." Then he went back out to the back of the store.

I leant over and picked up the phone. Then I flipped through the address book until I found Angela's number. I dialled it nervously.

"Hello?" she answered on the fourth ring.

"Hi, is that Angela?" I asked politely.

"Yes, it is. Who's that?"

"This is Bella, from the bakers'," I informed her.

"Oh, hi!" she said, "Is this about the job?"

"Actually, it is. Congratulations, Angela. I'd like you to take this position."

"Oh my God!" she cried, "Thank you so much!"

I laughed, "No problem."

"When do you want me to start?" she asked eagerly.

"Uh." I thought about it, "Whenever you can, I gue…ow!" Suddenly I felt a sharp abdominal pain, like a kind of tearing.

"Bella?" Angela's voice sounded concerned from the other end of the phone, "Are you okay?"

"Uh… I think so," I said, shaking my head, but then the pain shot through me again. I couldn't help but worry that they were contractions, "Actually, Angela… I think I might be going into labour," I told her, "Uh… is it okay if I call you back?"

"Oh my God. Of course. Good luck!" she said.

"Thanks," I replied, before bidding her goodbye and hanging up.

I moaned as the pain washed through me again.

"Emmett?" I called uncertainly.

"What is it, Bells?" he called back.

"I think I'm having the baby," I said.

Now that caught his attention. His head poked around the side of the wall less than a second later, his expression so terrified that it would have been comical had the situation not been so serious.

"Are you sure?" he checked.

"Pretty sure," I groaned.

"Um… okay." he came over, "Now what do I do?"

"Call Rose?" I suggested.

"Good idea." He nodded in agreement and picked up the phone.

I could hear her telling him to get me to the hospital as soon as possible and that she was on her way there right now. Suddenly, I was more scared than I had been in my whole life. Would I be able to deliver my baby safely? Would it be okay? I was in too deep here; I wasn't ready. But it was way, way too late to turn back.

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Yes, Bella's having her baby and Edward still doesn't know! I know a lot of you guys think that she should tell him, which would be a good idea, but that isn't how the story is planned really. It's planned so that they meet again after a long time and Edward still doesn't even know the name of the girl he slept with, let alone that she has had his child... see the summary, guys :P

Anyway, in the next chapter, Bella and Edward will have their big reunion. Yes, I will be skipping a few years, but that's okay isn't it? And I will definitely be doing more of Edward's POV.

This is the longest chapter yet so it would be really nice if you reviewed? Can we boost the total to sixty-five plus? Please? It would mean the world to me.

Oh, and I'm not going to tell you whether the baby is going to be a boy or a girl or what its name will be. You can have your guesses if you want- it'd be interesting to see what you think- but I already know what its going to be and what its name will be for certain reasons and I won't be changing it. But if you want to have a guess, by all means, go ahead.

Thanks for reading. Please review! They are totally my brand of heroin.

Steph