Nothing belongs to me, well the plot does and the OCs, but everything else belongs to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer and I am not her and I am making NO money with this story.
Chapter 7
I was staring at the first picture of my baby. In absolute wonder. Somehow the picture made it real. Of course I had felt the changes in my body. But this was different. It didn't look like a baby. Not even close. But it was my baby.
I looked to the side and watched Edward. He had taken the whole experience rather well. With a few exceptions.
Dildo? I was lucky that had been to the restroom before or I would have peed myself. I had to tell Angela when I spoke to her.
But Edward had been just as amazed as I had been. I was sure that he would deny it but I knew he had shed a few tears, too. It gave me hope that all would work out in the end.
Edward was driving me home now, after he had stopped by the drugstore so I could get my vitamins. We were just driving around the corner of my street, so I told Edward to look for a spot.
"You live here?" Edward asked as he took a look around.
"Near by, yeah. But if you want to park somewhere you need to start looking." I knew why I had no car here. It was nearly impossible to find a good parking spot.
"I thank every deity there is, that I don't have to worry about that at home."
Luck was with us today. We found a spot very soon. I had invited Edward to dinner after I had found out that he hadn't had something warm to eat yet. Men were really like children in that aspect.
The house I lived in was nothing special. It was a red stone house which was a hundred years old and was in need of some renovation. But it was a nice house with generous apartments. And the rent was cheap.
"Welcome to my home, Edward," I said as I opened the door and led him inside. "You can sit down while I heat up the lasagna. Do you want a salad, too?"
"That is not necessary. I am quiet content with the lasagna. You have a nice home. I like it."
"It is nothing special, but thanks." I knew that my home could not compare to his, but I was not ashamed of what I had. I worked hard for it.
I went to get our dinner ready and set the table. Five minutes later everything was ready and I called Edward.
"Mhm that smells great, Bella. Is the lasagna home made?" Edward asked as he sat down. He was nearly salivating which made me a little proud of myself.
"Of course it is. Home made food always tastes better, if you can cook that is." I learned that the hard way with my mother.
"Truer words were nether spoken. Alice, Jasper's fiancé, is obsessed with two things. Fashion and fitness. She tried to cook some vegan shit some months ago and it was not edible. Even Jasper, who adores the ground under her feet, couldn't force it down his throat. We went to KFC after we could leave." He still shuddered as he remembered the food.
"Wow. It must have been truly bad."
"It was worse." Edward made a face and burst out laughing. He was really something else.
My observation was interrupted by a loud moan. Surprised I looked up and saw a very blissful looking man.
"I knew I said it before, but you are an awesome cook. You are spoiling me. If you don't stop feeding me, you will never get rid of me," Edward said with wink.
I will have to keep feeding him then.
We talked about God and world while eating our dinner. I discovered that Edward was much more interesting than I had initially thought. He loved reading and played the piano. He was nearly to good to be true. For once in my life I met a really great man and I managed to get pregnant with his baby just hours after meeting him. I really didn't know what I should think about. My mother would say that it was fate.
I called it stupidity. But well, maybe I was just a little bit negative.
After we were done eating and had finished cleaning I remembered something.
"Hey, Edward. Do you want some cookies? I made them this Saturday."
"Cookies? Sure. What kind are they?" Edward answered and looked like a litte boy. Now I understood what Sue meant about men and food. Give them something to eat and they were happy. I grabbed the container with the cookies and handed it Edward.
"Here. There are white chocolate and macadamia cookies and nougat cookies. You can take some with you if you want. I made too much." The truth was that I could have killed for cookies on Saturday and so I had started baking. After several hours of baking, tasting and cleaning I had more than five pounds of cookies. And no fucking idea what I should do with them.
Stupid hormones. Stupid cravings. Stupid cookies.
But if I knew one thing about men then that they could always eat. And much.
And here I had a man with an obviously huge appetite. And lots of team mates.
"Bella, these smell really good." Before I had time to blink Edward had shoved a cookie in his mouth. "Mhmmm and they taste sooooo good."
"You can take the whole container. I have more in the kitchen."
Edward looked more than happy that he could take them with him.
"You are an angel, Bella. Perhaps I will even share them." He gave me an evil grin before he added, "If they are nice to me."
I shook my head at his behavior. "You are such a child. If I didn't know better, I would think that you were eight and not twenty-eight."
"Bella, how can you say such a thing. You don't know what you are talking about. For men food is very important. We only share with people who are close to us. Very close." He looked completely serious.
God, he was worse than a menstruating woman with her chocolate.
"Ooookay. So we will meet tomorrow at yours, right? Do I need to bring something with me?"
"The only thing you could need would be your ID. If you need something else, we can send it to Jenks later." He looked at his watch and grimaced. "I need to go. I still have to call my parents and I have practice in the morning. Sorry."
"Don't be. I also have to make a few calls."
I brought him to the door and asked him to give my regards to his parents.
"I will and thank you for the cookies." As he was about to leave he hesitated and turned to face me. His eyes were boring into mine and left me breathless.
"Bella," Edward said huskily. "Today was a really special day for me and I can not thank you enough for letting me be a part of this miracle. Sleep well, gorgeous." And then he kissed my forehead and left without another word. Damn, he was really perfect. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
Please, God, let this work out.
TBM
The next day I worked on autopilot. Edward was messing with my head and the hormones were not helping. Half of the time I had to stop myself before my daydreams got too pornographic. And THAT was not normal for me. I was acting like cat in heat.
And from what I knew about pregnancy it would only get worse.
At least Edward is was a body worth drooling over. Oh yeah.
After Edward had left I had called Angela. She had laughed so hard that I had been afraid she would hurt herself. Her favorite part was the dildo comment. But she agreed with me that Edward's behavior was a good sign for the future. I hoped so too, but I was more careful. The next months would show just how committed he truly was.
I was lucky that I had an early shift today so that I had enough time to get to Edward. Lake Forest was a beautiful place. It was much quieter and nicer here. Might have something to do with the fact that the people who lived here had money. Much money. But that was not my main concern right now. I rang the bell and waited for Edward to open. I was a little early but it was better than being late. I hated tardiness. By myself and others.
"Bella! You are early. I expected to in half an hour," Edward greeted me as soon as the opened the door.
"Hello, Edward. I am sorry that I am a little too early. I had the choice between being early by half an hour or being late. And that is not acceptable." I hoped that he was not angry. But it didn't seem like it. He just laughed and shook his head.
"You like punctuality, huh? Come in. Jenks should be here in a little bit."
Edward's house was just as amazing as the first time I've been here. Mrs. Cullen really knew what she was doing. You didn't see houses like these very often. Edward led us into the living room where we sat down.
"I made a few notes for the meeting with Mr. Jenks. I will be very happy when this part is over," I said as Edward made us something to drink.
"I know what you mean, but I will be more relaxed when everything is taken care of. Then we will have time for more important things. Oh, I forgot to tell you that Jenks knows why he is coming." I made a face at that. What Mr. Jenks must be thinking of me.. "Don't look like that. Jenks had seen and heard many things in his life. He works with many athletes and celebrities. Our case is nothing special for him, believe me," Edward reassured me.
In what kind of world did Edward live? It sounded more than a little..uhm...insane. And I was right in the middle of it. Great. Just great.
The time till Mr. Jenks' arrival was spent with smalltalk and sooner than we thought announced the ringing of the bell the arrival of Jason Jenks. He was a man in his forties and made a very professional first impression.
"Bella, this is Jason Jenks. He has been my lawyer since I began playing pro. Jenks, this is Isabella Swan," Edward introduced us.
I stood up and gave Mr. Jenks my hand. "Mr. Jenks, it is a pleasure. And please call me Bella."
"The pleasure is all mine, Bella. You can call me Jenks like everyone else." He was nice and after we sat down he started straight away.
"So, from what I understood, Bella, you are pregnant with Edward's child and you are willing to do a paternity test. Is that correct?"
"Yes, that is right. I don't want there to be any doubt that Edward is the father. Once the media will hear of it there will be enough drama."
Jenks gave me an approving look. "That is a wise decision. I don't know if you are aware of it. There is a new paternity test which is non-invasive. The SNP Microarray method uses the baby's DNA found naturally in the mother's bloodstream. They can start testing in week nine. What do you think?"
I looked at Edward to see what he thought of it. Edward seemed to like the idea, which was good because I would like to go with Jenks suggestion.
"That is a great advice. They just need some blood then?" I asked. That was much better than the other pre-natal tests, which I would have never done.
"That is correct. Do you want me to make an appointment for you?"
Edward and me looked at each other and nodded Jenks our okay. I liked that Jenks was willing to help us with the test. That made it much easier.
"Good. I will call Edward tomorrow to give you date and place. Now let's talk about how you want this to work."
That was the start to a very long discussion. Edward and me had decided that we would share custody, but that our baby would live with me most of the time, seeing as Edward had to work more than me and was often away. Especially during season. We also agreed that we would continue to live near each other. Another point was that neither me nor Edward were allowed to sell our story or use our child in any way or form. That point was more for Edward's security than mine, but his fears were understandable. It was disturbing what some people would do for fame and money. I tried to calm Edward's fears by stating that I did not want any money from him. But Edward had other ideas.
"I want the best for my child. I know that due to my work it is better for the child to stay with Bella, but I want to support Bella and our little miracle. I wish that Bella receives a monthly payment over $ 1500. I gue.." Whatever Edward wanted to say was interrupted by my shout of surprise.
"What! I thought we didn't want that." I was more than confused right now. The whole point of this meeting was that I would not demand money or other things, or so I thought.
"No, Bella. I was shocked and overwhelmed the last time we talked about it. But now I had time to think about it and I want you and the baby taken care of. If it makes you feel better, then we can wait until the result of the paternity test. Okay?" Edward said with a stubborn look on his face. I just knew that he would not budge. Oh well...
"Alright. That is something I can agree with."
Jenks was also happy with our agreement. And after a few more points we were finished. I was shocked that we had needed more than two hours for everything. Jenks left soon after and we decided to make us some sandwiches. We made enough for at least four people and went into the living room where we sat down in front of his huuge TV.
"Okay. What do you want to watch? A movie or something else?" Edward asked before he sat down.
"A movie. What do you have?"
"Come here. You can choose," he said and showed me his collection. And what a collection that was. It made choosing really hard. But I needed something with action tonight. A chick flick here and there was nice, but not my favorite.
Oh. Independence Day. I loved Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum.
"Here let's watch this."
"Good choice. I am impressed."
Edward was just putting the DVD into the player when the bell rang.
"Who the... I will be right back, Bella," Edward, who looked confused and a little irritated, said.
Just a moment later a loud voice boomed through the house.
"HI, EDWARD! Surprise!" The voice sounded like Edward's teammate Emmett. The response I could not here but soon after the unexpected guests were entering the living room.
"Bella! What are you doing here? Something naughty? Huh?" Emmett said and wiggled his brows. The women behind him, the most amazing woman I had ever seen, slapped him across the head.
"Emmett, can not embarres yourself. For once. Sorry, Bella, I am Rosalie McCarty. This idiot's wife."
I laughed at her response. I didn't know her, but I liked her attitude.
"Nice to meet you, Rosalie. And no, Emmett, we are not doing something naughty, we are eating and watching a movie."
For a moment he looked disappointed but then he brightened at the mention of food.
"Awesome. What are you watching? Oh sandwiches," Emmett exclaimed and took one.
"Emmett! I did NOT invite you in. And what are you four doing here?"asked Edward who had just entered the room with Jasper and a tiny woman with short dark hair.
"We wanted to visit you. One could think that did not like us." Edward just sighed and than introduced the woman next to Jasper as his fiancé Alice. It seemed to me that they would be staying as they made themselves comfortable.
Edward and his teammates were just starting a conversation about this weeks game when Emmett tried to grad another one of my sandwiches but I growled at him and snatched the plate out of his reach.
"Woah, Bella!" Emmett shouted and raised his hands in surrender.
Edward chuckled, "Careful, Emmett. You don't come between a pregnant woman and her food. You could loose a hand." I blushed deep red. God, I had completely overreacted. And because of a sandwich.
I hated being pregnant.
"What!"
"Pregnant?"
"It is yours?"
Oops?
Emmett, Jasper and their women were all talking at once. Seemed that Edward had not told his friends about the pregnancy. He tried to calm them but it did not work. And the noise was getting on my nerves. So I did the only thing I could think of.
Whistle!
And then everyone was finally quiet and staring me?
"What? You were giving me a headache. And I want to eat," I mumbled shyly.
Rosalie was the first to find her voice. "So how did this happen?"
"Well, when a man and a woman are attracted to ..," I started but she interrupted me with a "Ha ha".
Edward rolled his eyes. And the others giggled at my response.
"Okay, listen," Edward said. "We met at Twilight after the game against Dallas and then everything happened really fast. Bella came to me last week and told me about the pregnancy and that I was the father. And before you ask, Jasper, yes, we are sure and there will be a paternity test. And we spoke to Jenks today." Jasper and the others had looked a little sceptical but after Edward's speech they looked calmer and more open.
"Do your parents know, Edward?" Alice asked, who was nearly vibrating with excitement in her seat.
"Yes, they know and they know Bella. And I know Bella's father. He is Chief Swan."
That comment was met with incredulous expressions on Emmett's and Jasper's faces.
"You knocked up Chief Swan's daughter. THE Chief Swan who first held you a lecture about speeding and then told you that your performance on the field was great?" Jasper asked trying to hold back his laughter.
Emmett was not even trying. He had tears rolling down his cheeks. At least Rosalie and Alice were being discrete.
"Oh man. That is just priceless," Emmett howled."You are so fucked, man. And the chief knows your parents. Only you, Edward, only you. I so don't want to be in your shoes. Hey, Bella, what did your father say?"
"My dad was really cool about it. Besides the usual threats of castration and mutilation. He thinks that you are a great uhm Quarter Back? That's your position, right?" Edward had first gone very pale and then blushed in embarrassment. The others were laughing again. I really didn't know what was so funny about my last comment.
"Oh, Bella, you really know nothing about football. Even Alice knows more," Rosalie said after she had her laughter under control.
"Hey! I know a lot about football. It was very hard to gain Jasper's attention. I needed every help I could get," Alice explained and gave me a little smile. Jasper was shaking his head and mumbling something about "stupid women" and "half-knowledge".
"But enough about me. How do you feel? Do you have any cravings? We have to look for maternity ware. You can be a sexy mama."
"Edward, will like it. Won't you?" Rosalie asked and once again everyone was laughing.
God, these people were crazy but I liked them.
"Well, gorgeous," Edward said. "You have passed the test and are now part of our crazy little family."
"You will never get rid of us now, Bella. As Edward said, you are now family and we take care of our own. And it is always useful to have the daughter of a Chief of Police in the family," Emmett said with a mischievous smile.
Should that be threatening or reassuring?
The six of us talked until after twelve. It was a nice night, but I had missed the last train. But Edward did not see a problem with it.
"You have to work late, right?" Edward asked after I had explained my situation.
"Yes, that is right."
"Good. You can stay here then. I have more than enough space and you can sleep in one of my t-shirts. So, are you coming?"
"Sure."
That was going to be an interesting night.
My dear readers, that was chapter 7. I hope you liked it. Leave me a review.
Next chapter we will Esme will make another call.
Love, Nini
