Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight – nothing new there. Everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer and always will.

As always I hope you like it. Xxx Thank you to everyone that has reviewed I take everything you say and use it to improve the story where I can.

~*~ Chapter Ten ~*~

December.

January.

February.

March.

April.

~*~ May 27th ~*~

As I lay with my head on his cold chest, I tightened my arm around his waist, as if it were possible to pull him closer to me. The cool feeling of his body felt nice against my warm skin, like a cool breeze on a warm summers day.

"Do you miss being human?" I asked, the only sounds in the room were the sounds of our breathing and the loud beating of my slow heart.

He was silent for a few seconds. "I did at first, however over the years I came to except what I had become." he then added, "Why do you ask?"

"What if I had been human? Would you have turned me?" He brushed my cheek with his knuckles.

"It would have been very difficult for me to see you in such pain...but if that had been your desire...then I would have respected your wish." I leaned into his touch.

"I would however have missed, the flush of warmth in your cheeks, and the sound of your heart beating – I've become so accustomed to the sound, I could pick it out in a crowd." His sweet breath washed over my face.

I kissed him softly, as my hand wound it's way into his soft hair. My previous desire to sleep, disappeared as I felt my heat skip a beat – my skin became heated like there was a fire surging through my system.

That night I dreamed that I was in the forest. I was running as fast as my legs would allow, as I looked for someone that I could not find...I needed to find them, though I didn't know why. Sunlight streamed through the trees, yet they remained hidden from me.

Then from behind a tree I saw the small pale hand of a child, then I glimpsed her little face: big green eyes – like her father's had once been – and long bronze hair that fell down her back in neat curls. I stared at her in wonder, for she was beautiful, and I knew she was mine, yet I saw nothing of myself in her.

As I approached her, she ran away, her little legs moving her quick enough to keep her hidden from me.

I ran after her, yet every time I caught a glimpse of her she would run away again. Constantly out of reach.

The next day I woke up to see that the light in the room was too dim to be morning, and I realized that I had slept most of the day away. How had that happened? It took me less than a second to realize that Edward was not in the room, for he was usually never very far away from me when I woke up.

I laid there for a moment as I contemplated trying to go back to sleep, for I had been so tired these last few days. My fingers played with the corner of one of the squares on my quilt which had begun to come loose. But considering my mom had made it, I was shocked that it had lasted three years without a thread coming loose.

My stomach then made the choice for me, and with a grumble I got out of bed, then throwing the duvet back I walked into the bathroom.

After following my usual morning routine, I got dressed into a tank top, and a pair of leggings. Despite all the furniture in the room already being here when we moved in, the room felt comfortable with my quilt on the bed, my music box on the bedside table – next to a picture of the both of us on our wedding day. We had a couple more downstairs on the mantle–piece, since the living room looked so odd without photographs.

The couple of ornaments we had picked up from Florence sat on top of the large chest of draws that we shared.

I walked down stairs and paused at the bottom at the sight of Carlisle and Edward sitting on the couch talking quietly. My cheeks heated with embarrassment, for I had walked to the bathroom completely naked!

"Hi" I said, with surprise, looking at them both. Over the past four months Carlisle had come over every other weekend to 'baby sit' me while Edward hunted, and it had become nice to have someone else to talk to.

Edward looked over at me, and smiled. "I was wondering when you would wake up," he said, with a smile that made my knees go weak. His eyes were no longer the almost black colour they had been last night, which meant I had slept through the ache in my chest while he hunted. I must have been tired, I thought to myself.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"About twelve hours?" My eyes widened with surprise, for I had never been in the habit of sleeping half the day away. Maybe Edward was wearing me out.

Carlisle asked me, "Are you feeling alright, Bella?" I could almost feel him looking at me with a 'doctors' eye, and it made me feel a little uncomfortable.

I shrugged. "I feel fine."

"Are you hungry?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, I was just going to heat something up from the fridge," I said, with a shrug since I was really hungry and I really wanted something quick that involved little to no effort. I walked into the kitchen, a little surprised that he was allowing me to do myself something for myself, when normally he did not like me lifting a finger.

I listened to Edward and Carlisle talking while I took out the the leftover lasagna from last night and placed the container in the microwave. The smell of tomato and herbs filled the air, as I took a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water from the tap, then took a sip.

I looked at it with confusion for it left a metallic taste in my mouth, as if the pipes were rusty. Pouring it down the sink I poured myself some freshly squeezed pineapple juice – one of the perks of being married to a vampire.

I took a sip of the cool liquid, and felt the unpleasant taste disappear from my tongue. The ping of the microwave shouted through the air.

Taking the container out I placed it on the table, grabbed myself a fork and sat down at the table. I was surprised to see a newspaper on the table, for it was not often that Carlisle brought one with him, but I was thankful when he did, for it felt nice to know what was going on around the rest of the world.

As I ate I glanced over the pages, reading a couple of the articles, then my eyes landed on the real-estate page, and as I was about to turn it over, when my eyes caught sight of an advert, causing me to pause.

It took me a second to realize why I recognized the address – it was once mine. My house was up for sale! Sadness washed through me, for it had been in my family for Four generations and now it was gone.

I should have known that when I left the that house, that something like this would happen, yet at the same time there had been a flicker of hope, deep down, that it would force Phil to change his life. Had I been wrong to hope? I had to have been, why else would my old house now be up for sale?

I was so consumed with my thoughts that I did not notice Edward standing next to me. How long had he been standing there?

"What's wrong, love?" I drew my eyes away from the newspaper to stare up at him, and I felt strangely annoyed at him for some reason.

"Why did you take me back to your house the night we met?" I heard a slight hint of annoyance in my voice.

He looked taken aback by my question, and I could not blame him for we had never argued about anything before. "What?"

I crossed my arms, and demanded, "You heard me...why did we go back to your house? Was my house not good enough for you?"

He stared at me as if I had lost my mind for a very long minute, then he said, "I knew how unhappy you were there...I thought it would make you happy, and since you never told me otherwise I assumed you were." I could hear the concern mixed with curiosity in his voice.

"My great–grandmother worked her fingers to the bone to be able to afford to buy that house...and if it wasn't for the fact that it had been left to my mom, my grandmother would have sold it years ago...and then it was left to me...did it ever occur to you, that I may have wanted to keep that house? Or that the reason I was so unhappy was because I was left to support an alcoholic step–father, which meant working all hours of the day, for minimum wage that barely paid the bills that were left on my shoulder."

My annoyance turned to sadness and in the next moment tears were rolling down my face. He took me into his arms as I cried, "Why did you make me wait so long?! If you knew how unhappy I was why didn't you help me?!" I cried into his chest as he held me close, one of his hands rubbed my back.

He held me until my cries died down.

"I'm sorry, I did what I thought was best...I'm sorry I took so long," he said, against my hair. I shook my head as I took a deep calming breath in.

"No, I'm sorry," I said, feeling guilty that I had snapped at him. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that...I don't know what came over me." His shirt was stained with my tears. His thumbs caught the ones that continued to run down my cheeks.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked, placing a cool hand over my forehead, but I did not feel unwell, I was just tired and with the combination of losing my childhood home for good it had resulted in an overflow of emotion.

I shook my head. "Yeah, I'm just tired...," I admitted, remembering the strange dreams that had been occurring for a few days now.

Edward looked at me with furrowed brows, "Bella, you've been sleeping like the dead recently...is there something your not telling me?"

I shook my head. "No, I've just been having these crazy dreams lately. I'm sure it will pass." I could only hope that it would, for it was not normal to go to sleep and still wake up feeling tired.

Carlisle then appeared next to the table. "If your having trouble sleeping, I could give you something to help." I blushed, knowing that he had heard what had just happened between Edward and I. How could I have forgotten that he was still here?

I smiled, appreciating the offer. "Thank you, but I used to take sleeping pills after my mom passed away, and I didn't really like them."

"Well, if you change your mind, you know how to contact me," he said, then looking down at his watch. "I should go. I have to be at hospital for the graveyard shift, and I have a very long drive back." Trying to ignore the puffiness I could feel around my eyes, I hugged him goodbye, before Edward walked him out. I cleared my food away before Edward could comment on the fact that I had hardly touched my food.

As he closed the door, I walked over to the couch, stretched out my legs out on the cushions. Edward lifted my legs up, placing them on his lap, and began to massage my feet. A long comfortable minute of silence past, before something he had said registered with my tired mind. "When you said that 'I had been sleeping like the dead' what exactly did you mean?" I knew it was a stupid question, but the tiredness was starting to make my brain cells go to sleep.

"I meant that you have not been talking in your sleep, which is odd since your usually a little chatter box," he said, as his hands continued their gentle movements on my feet. "Also, you've been unusually still in your sleep."

My brows furrowed in confusion. "That's strange, I usually toss and turn when I'm having a nightmare."

"You've been having nightmares? I thought you said you've been having dreams?" he asked, with concern in his voice.

How could I tell him that I had been having dreams of our imaginary daughter? "Their a mixture of both...but not in the traditional scary sense." The dreams felt so real that I could still remember how it felt to be in those woods alone, running, without anyone around to hear me or help me.

He frowned. "If these dreams are bothering you so much, maybe you should take something to help you sleep?"

I shook my head. "No, it's a phase, I've been through this before and it passed, so I am sure this time will be no different."

He sighed, as if he did not truly believe me. "Alright, I will make a deal with you...if it doesn't pass in a few days, then you will allow me take you to the hospital or have my father come here to you."

I bit my lip as I considered his deal, for although I did not want him to make such a fuss over me, I also knew him well enough to know that if I refused he would do what he thought was best for me anyway.

I thought carefully before I answered, for it could not hurt to negotiate. "Give me two weeks." It was a long shot, but I took it anyway.

He rolled his eyes. "No, I will give you a week, and no more than that."

"Fine," I said, knowing from the tone of his voice that I would not get a better deal than that. As the feel of his hands on my feet caused me to relax against the cushions.

~*~ Seven days later ~*~

As the days past it became clear that my prayers would remained unanswered. I yawned as Edward placed my breakfast in front of me. What was wrong with me? Was it the phase of the moon? I felt as though I could crawl back into bed, even though I had only left it ten minutes ago.

We sat in silence for a minute as I slowly ate. "Do you want me to take you to the hospital or would you prefer me to call my father?" he asked, with a firm tone in his voice, letting me know it was not up for discussion, and yet I argued anyway.

"Edward, you are not dragging me all the way to the hospital, just because I am tired," I said, fighting back another yawn.

His gold eyes narrowed slightly. "Fine, then I will call my father and he will figure out what is wrong you."

Before I had time to open my mouth and argue back, an unpleasant sensation shot through me, causing a thin layer of perspiration to gather on my skin.

"Bella?" I heard him ask, as I covered my mouth with my hand and shot up the stairs and into the bathroom, just in time to empty my stomach into the toilet. Cool hands pulled my hair back from my face, while a hand rubbed my back, as my stomach tightened a second time.

"Go," I said, attempting to push him away, for I did not want him seeing me like this, but he ignored me.

In that moment I had enough energy to lean back against the wall and close my eyes as I allowed my stomach to settle. A damp cloth brushed across my mouth and forehead, and this time I did not have the strength in me to tell him to leave – all the energy had left my body.

"Here," I heard him say. Opening my eyes I saw him holding a glass of water. "Thanks," I said, swirling my mouth out a couple of time, and spitting it into the toilet to help reduce the foul taste in my mouth, before flushing the toilet.

After a couple of minutes – I regained some of my strength – I put the glass down on the floor and stood up on shaky legs – Edward's hands stay on me, a support that I was thankful for. I brushed my teeth furiously until the foul taste in my mouth was gone.

"How do you feel?" he asked, brushing my hair away from my face.

"Better." The nausea had gone almost as quickly as it had come.

As I stood in front of the sink, my hands resting on the counter, I was just about to tell him to call Carlisle when my eyes caught sight of a small cardboard box that was sitting there so innocently, yet it caused my breath to catch in my throat. I stood there in utter shock for what felt like an eternity.

"Bella?" I heard him ask, obviously seeing the expression on my face. "What's wrong?" Time stood still, as I continued to stare at that little box.

"What's the date?" I eventually asked, my voice no higher then a whisper.

He paused for only a few seconds. "It's May fourteenth." I could hear the confusion in his voice as the calculations in my head repeated themselves over and over.

I had never had a problem with math, yet my mind refused to allow me to believe that my calculations were correct.

Edward continued to stand there silently waiting for me to say or doing something. Anything. There was complete silence in the room for the longest time, before I finally broke it.

"Could you give me a human minute, please?" I did not intend for it sound like a question, but I was tired, and now in shock and my mind was having trouble working right.

His eyebrows pulled down in confusion. "Sure." He hesitated for a long moment, but left the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Taking a deep breath, I reached for my bag of bathroom accessories and pulled out a little long box, for I had to be sure before I allowed myself to truly hope. Taking one of the sticks I did as it instructed, then waited, biting my nail as I stared at the little white stick.

The seconds ticked by agonizingly slowly as I waited for the two minutes to pass, by pacing back and forth.

I stopped suddenly with bated breath I stared at the plastic stick in my hand. "Bella?" When I did not answer he opened the door and was next to me in a second.

"It's positive," I whispered, as if I needed to say it out loud for it to be true, then repeated "It's positive." Was this really happening? Or was I in a cruel dream that I would soon wake from?

He looked at what I held in my hand for a long moment then the box on the counter. "Are you sure?" he asked, as if he did not believe me, yet at the same time I could see him holding back the happiness in eyes, just in-case I told him bad news.

I nodded. "Yes." It was not like me to be late, for I was like clockwork and always had been. How had I forgotten that the event which I dreaded each month, had not appeared? A couple of days I could understand, but two weeks made me feel like an idiot! Was this why I was so tired? I felt my hand move to my stomach of it's own accord, as a combination of love, joy and surprise washed over me like waves.

I was shocked out of my thoughts by the feel of his arms wrapping around me, as he kissed me with more love then he ever had before. I wrapped my arms around his neck pulling him closer, dropping the pregnancy test to the counter.

My heart speed up as my skin tingled with the flickers of electricity. Despite the exhaustion in my body I felt that familiar rush of excitement shoot through me at the feel of his hands around my waist.

He broke away to let me breath, resting his forehead against mine. "I love you."

"I love you, more," I whispered.

He shook his head. "That's not possible." I rested my head on his shoulder as I saw all the jigsaw puzzles of my life fall into place. I had waited months for this moment, and now that it was here, it did not feel real.

Was it possible to feel this much happiness in one lifetime? I wondered, for the millionth time, what I had done to deserve to have this man in my arms forever. If this was a dream, I hoped that nobody would ever wake me up, for reality is sometimes never as sweet as a dream.

Pressing my lips against his throat, I whispered, "Thank you." He had given me more then I deserved, and continued to give me everything, even though I had little to give him in return.

He chuckled. "For what?" I leaned back to look up at him.

"For giving me my dreams."

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