Chapter Nine

"Tanya?"

My breath hitch, she is Edward's ex!? She's a model! Her strawberry blonde hair is mostly pushed to one side, ending in light waves, her white sleeveless dress blouse tucks under her black slacks that rise up past her stomach, showing her tines and curves. She is just as perfect as my ex boss Rosalie, and that is saying something! How can I amount to that!?

"Hi," She says shocked, "Sorry, I've been using the spare key, a friend at your firm told me that you were due back in town so I wanted to surprise you…"

"What are you doing here?" He says, trying not to sound too harsh.

Tanya seems taken aback, she is about to answer when she sees me. Her eyes widen as she looks me up and down, her lips gap, before she looks at Edward, her expression suddenly changes to rage, "I thought you wanted to wait until you were married?!"

Edward's eyes widen and he looks behind himself at me, giving me an apologetic look, "This isn't what you think Tanya."

My heart pounds, this isn't what it looks like? Sure, we didn't go all the way, but we were at the base before. My eyes start to tear over, obviously Edward doesn't think too highly of me in that area of emotion as I thought he did. My hands grip the bottom of Edward's shirt and pull down self-consciously, and walk out of the room without looking back. I go into Edward's room and close the door as softly as possible so Edward doesn't notice I've gone and just let go and cry.

I hit my back on the wall beside the door, curling my legs up to my chest and crying into my knees. I feel as if my world is crumbling, more so worse than before, because Edward will know how pathetic I am, he'll see it in my face every time he sees me when he will inevitably be with her, Tanya. I can never hold a candle to her, she has the looks, the confidence, and the career. Me? My looks are just plain, I have no confidence, and I don't even have a job now because I actually believed that this would happen! I'm such an idiot!

My chest is about to explode, I must be having a panic attack. God what am I going to do?!

I jump when I hear the door open, I look up with teary eyes as he looks down with sad eyes to me. I quickly wipe them away with my wrists, but more just spill out, I don't want him to see me like this! Edward sits down beside me in the middle of the door way, his hand comes out to try and hold my cheek, but I flinch away. I cannot handle him touching me if he's just going to leave.

"Bella, she means nothing to me, I already told you." He coos gently.

I sniff, looking straight ahead as I wipe more tears away, "Right, that's because she still has a spare k-key."

"She got it from under the fire hydrant outside that I keep incase I forget mine inside."

"You don't need to explain yourself to me Edward, we, us, were nothing but a mutual agreement. She would make you happier than I ever could." My words practically spiting acid, "Don't let me get in the way."

I hear the floorboards squeak as he moves, he pushes himself across till he is directly in front of me, on his hands and knees. I look away, suddenly I feel his hands on both my knees and force them open, "Edwa-"

He moves in between my legs quick and crush his lips on mine, shutting me up instantly and making my heart pump double the oxygen around my excited body. I melt, I can't push him away, I know that this will leave me damage beyond repair, but I can't. I never saw myself as someone who would rely so souley on a man, even Edward, but I can't breathe without him.

I wrap my arms around his back to secure him to me as I move my lips more desperately with his. Before I am ready, he pulls back, one arm resting on the wall above me and his other hand holding my cheek, his breath streaming across my face, "I want you."

My face reddens, "This isn't the best time-"

"No Bella, I want you. Tanya thought there was something still between us, there was never something there, at least not for me."

"And there is something here with us?"

He still pants lightly, "For me there is."

My breath hitch, "But Tanya-"

"No, no, no 'but Tanya'. I know you Bella, you don't think you're good enough, you're pretty enough, or even worth anything." I hang my head in shame, knowing I feel exactly like that, he brings my head back up, "Do you not think that I feel like that sometimes too?"

"B-but you're so…Beautiful." I can't believe I admitted that to him.

He chuckles, "And you are so drop dead gorgeous."

I blush, "I'm not."

"You are," He pecks my plump lips, "You are so much more than that that I honestly cannot verbalize what I see."

"Then you need glasses." I tease, trying to lighten the uncomfortable subject.

Edward sighs in frustration, "You actually insult by the insult to yourself Bella."

I don't say anything, I stay sitting limp against the wall with my hands being the only thing keeping me from sliding downward, Edward still trapping me against the wall. After a few moments of silence, I ask, "Is Tanya still here?"

"Of course not." He frowns, "I explained to her that I am engaged to you, she wasn't entirely pleased, but she left all the same."

"Edward," I gulp as I try my best not to let my voice shake while I say this, "I-if you ever find someone else, I want you to tell me. Okay?"

"Bella-"

"Please?" I sound so fragile saying it, I feel it too, also serious disgust that I have to act this way as well.

He tightens his jaw, "Fine. But I am yours Bella, as long as you'll have me."

"Then you won't be going anywhere any time soon." My lips start to curl a tiny bit.

Within a second, his lips are back on mine. Just when we start to get into it, his cell rings. Edward groans as he pulls away, pushing himself up as he grabs the cell grudgingly and answers, "Hello?"

His eyes darken as he stares back down at me, his face looking more as if he's day dreaming then paying attention. I look down and snap my legs shut as soon as I realize that they are still open, blushing. I get up and stand awkwardly, not knowing what I should do.

"Yes Aro, I understand, we can ship the materials over from Portland, that's no drama." He mouths 'sorry' to me.

I nod, giving him an understanding smile before walking into the bathroom to look in the mirror. I groan, I look terrible! My eyes are puffy, my hair is fine…In the front, the behind is all knotting in the back from me sliding down the wall- and Edward molesting me against it as well. I grab the brush that I left here this morning and brush it through, flinching every time I pull a little too hard. I give up as I'm not in the mood and tie my hair up with a band that I always tie on the end of the brush, then splash water over my face to try improving my appearance.

I stare out into the mirror, god only knows what Edward thinks of me now…

Walking out into the bedroom, I notice Edward isn't in sight, so I continue onto the spacious living room, where I see Edward on the couch, pinching the bridge of his nose. Some things just never change…Yet some things I'd rather just stay. Edward somehow notices that I'm staring at him, he sighs and drops his hand, patting his lap. Blushing, I walk over and stand in front of him, he looks up at me as his hands grab each side of my waist and pull me on top of him so I'm straddling him. His head rests in the crook of my neck and he sighs, "How can one day go from being so great, to so crap in ten minutes?"

My hands run through his hair, I feel him purr against my sensitive flesh, "What's the matter?"

"What? The fact that you are mad at me or that Aro is making things unnecessarily difficult for me?"

"Hey, I'm not mad at you. You said there's nothing there, so I believe you."

He smiles into my skin, making me smile as I feel ticklish, "You are too good for me."

I giggle, "C'mon, I'm sure nothing Aro said can be as bad that a big piece of pie won't fix."

Edward pretends to contemplate my offer, "It better be good pie…"

"It's not mine, it was from a box from the grocery store. So if it's not up to your standards, don't blame me." I say in my defense.

"Fine…But when we get back to Seattle-"

"Yes, yes, yes, I will make apple pie from scratch, you're so picky." I poke his chest and hop off his lap.

He laughs, "Sorry if only your pies satisfy me."

My face goes up in flames, he is not talking about pies…

He kisses my cheek innocently before stealing the pie before I can take it out of the tin foil casing. I frown, "Edward!"

I jog into the living room and find him sitting on the couch once more, he peals off the tin and takes a bite from the twelve inch diameter pie. I hear him moan, "You know, this pie does taste pretty good. If only I had someone to share it with…"

Rolling my eyes, I sit beside him and as he's about to take another bite, I move my head so that I grab a bite from the side before he does. He laughs, "You are stealing my pie!"

I poke my tongue, "My pie." I take another bite and chew.

He puts the pie down, "I think I'm going to have to punish you."

I raise a brow, "And how exactly are you going to do that?"

Smirking, he launches at me before I have the chance to move and tackles me to the couch, making sure that only enough of his weight is on top of me so I wouldn't be a Edward couch sandwich and starts to tickle me. I laugh embarrassingly loudly as I scream, "Okay! Okay! You're pie!"

"And who's the awsomist?" He laughs, not showing any mercy.

"You are!"

"I know I am." Edward grins, stopping and allowing me to breath.

He hops off me and I glare, "You know, you are more up yourself then I remember."

Edward mocks a hurt expression, putting a hand over his heart, "What are you saying?"

I laugh, "Eat your pie, your majesty."

He smirks, kissing my temple as we share the pie and watch movies for the rest of the night. It's nights like these I remember why I love the guy so much.

We wind up back in Seattle at three, and as much as it saddens me, Edward leaves to go straight to the construction site. But not without an apology, "Bella, I'm so sorry but I really have to check out what has been going on while I've been gone."

I shake my head, putting on a fake smile, "No, it's fine, go."

He sighs, "It's not. I'll drop you off at Alice's then pick you up for dinner, how does that sound?"

"You don't have to do that Edward, I am perfectly capable of cooking for us at home."

"I know you are, but I want to take you out." He kisses my forehead, "Go change, then I'll drop you off on the way."

I pout, "Fine."

Going through my closet, I change into a casual pair of jeans and a nice blue v-neck sweeter with three quarter sleeves. I leave my hair down but quickly brush it before grabbing my hand bag and finding Edward at the door waiting for me, he compliments me before we leave to go to Alice's. I kiss Edward good bye and slam the door close before walking up the driveway.

I walk in without knocking and leave my bag on the coat rack nailed to the wall, heading towards the sound of the baby screams. I walk up the stairs and into the nursery to find Alice rocking on the chair, looking absolutely exhausted, trying to coo Annabelle to sleep.

"Alice?" I revel my presences.

Her head shoots up, she gets up, bouncing the crying baby to her side. She stops directly in front of me, pleading eyes as she says, "Would I be a bad mother and friend if I leave Anna with you while I sleep? I've been up since three keeping her occupied and she just started crying and she won't stop crying and Jasper is at work-"

"Alice, it's fine, pass me her and get some rest." I calm her. She really does look like she hasn't had too much sleep in a while, her eyes are veiny, her hair more out of control than usual, and she smells like she can do with a shower.

She sighs in relief, handing me the infant, "Thank you so much Bella."

"No problem, get some rest and take a shower as well." I tease.

She pokes her tongue, "There are some bottles already made up in the fridge, you just need to heat them up, and there are nappies over there beside the changer."

"I know, go."

"Thank you." She gives me a grateful smile before kissing Anna's head and leaving me with her.

Whoa, she didn't even ask where Edward is.

I become painfully aware that Anna is in my arms when I hear her screech, yep, definitely Alice's. I fix her up in my arms and cradle her, cooing and rocking her at the same time until she calms down. I've never been bad with baby's, I've had to look after Rosalie's Julian when she first started out and refused too much time off, she brought the baby in and I had to calm him down while she was in a conference because he didn't seem to like her secretary Lauren too much.

Anna –finally- calms down and stops crying, her blue eyes wide and watching me, I smile down and grab her dummy, I know she probably shouldn't have it, but I give it to her anyway and she sucks it ignorantly, not paying attention to anything around her but her blissful dummy. I smile, she's so adorable. Not too soon after that she falls limp in my arms, fast asleep.

I sit back into the rocking chair Alice sat in when I arrived and just watch the little bundle in my arms. She's so tiny, her entire being is tapped up in a baby pink blanket, her little head resting somewhat against the joint of my arm. I look at her and I can only imagine her future, how she's going to grow up spoilt, what she could be when she's older, who she's going to meet, she has her entire life ahead of her…

The midnight haired infant in my arms turns into a bronze haired little boy with rosy cheeks, oh yes, I can see Edward's baby in my arms. His father's hair, his slightly arched noise, chubby cheeks, I yearn for that picture to become a reality.

Great, my biological clock is alarming.

We haven't even done it yet, but already I can't help but think of all the possibilities. The new house we have, Edward and I could put up a tire swing, a paddling pool for the scotching summers, tiny bikes to activate the kids and riding around in natural parks in spring…I can see it all now. And it's perfect.

"Bella?" Jasper says at the door frame, suddenly my image of my little boy smashes, leaving me with Alice's and Jasper's child once more, "Where's Alice?"

"I took over duty," I say in a hushing voice, "She was so exhausted when I got here do I sent her to bed."

"You're a great friend Bella." Jasper smiles.

I smile back, "It's no problem, you don't look so hot yourself, why don't you go rest with Alice?"

"Are you sure? I don't have to-"

"Nonsense, what else do I have to do anyway, you go rest and I'll look after the bundle of joy."

"Thanks Bella." He smiles and nods before leaving me once again alone in the nursery with only the infant in my arms.

I put her down in her cot, putting another blanket over her before running off to the toilet and quickly grabbing a cup of coffee. I'm about to walk back up to the nursery when I hear a knock on the door, I go to answer it and no one else but my beautiful fiancée stands on the other side, he grins, "Ready to go?"

I shake my head, "Anna has been keeping both Alice and Jasper up most of the night so I sent them to bed, I'm going to stay and babysit, you can go home if you want, I can have Jasper drop me off."

He shakes his head, "No, I'll stay and help."

"Are you sure?" I ask.

"Positive." He steps up and kisses me, I start to kiss back when I hear the baby crying, and I notice the hot cup of coffee still in my hand.

I pass him it, "Here, you take this and go up to Anna, and I'll make another coffee and a bottle for her."

He solutes me, "Yes ma'am."

I poke my tongue and pass him the coffee and send him on his marry way, closing the front door before walking into the kitchen. I fill the jug and turn it on before grabbing the milk and Anna's bottle out of the fridge. I thump my fingers against the white marble counter waiting for the water when Edward comes in cradling Anna in one arm and his coffee cup in the other, "She just needed a nappy change."

I raise a brow, "You changed her nappy?"

"What? I read the instructions, it was simple!"

"Where's the nappy now?" I ask, almost fearing his answer.

He rolls his eyes, "I put it in the little nappy disposable bag and put it in the bin in the nursery."

"Whoa, you didn't even need to be told." I'm shocked.

"It's just common sense, love." He grins, sitting on the stool on the other side of the island and puts his coffee mug down, looking at Anna, "Uncle Edward is going to make sure you have lots of common sense like him, okay? Not like your mother, father or Aunty Bella."

"Hey!" I laugh, "Stop deluding her mind or else I'm going to have to take her off you."

"You don't want that do you Anna, you want your Uncle Edward don't you?" At that moment, she cries.

I laugh, "Don't seem so loved now, huh?"

He pokes his tongue before putting Anna on his shoulder, rubbing her back to calm her down. The jug of water is finally ready and I pure some into a tall container and put the bottle in before making myself an instant coffee. I lean against the bench, smiling at the sight, "You do want children, don't you."

"Do you have to ask?" He laughs.

I take a sip, gulping before speaking, "How many do you want exactly?"

"I was thinking maybe the traditional three, but maybe just two now."

I nod, taking another sip, "Two would be great."

He nods, "The house is a four bedroom, so there will be a spare room for people to stay in when they come over, and there's a study and a rumpus room, I was thinking maybe turning the rumpus into a library."

I grin, "I'm not apposing to that."

Edward laughs, "Of course you're not. How long do you want to wait exactly to have them?"

"As I said Edward, I want to get the degree and have us on natural bases with the company first so there's more time to raise them."

"Okay," He nods, "So two years?"

I nod, getting the bottle out of the container and trying it out on my wrist to see if it's too hot for her, but it's just right. I pass it to Edward and he starts to feed her, "Most likely."

He grins, "What do you think we should name them?"

I smile, "Have you already picked out possible names for out non-existing children already Edward?"

"I've been thinking about this since I was twelve," He laughs, "I always pictured myself marrying you."

My cheeks warm, "Really?"

"Yeah," He stares down at the baby, continuing to give her the bottle, "Think Bella, we were inseparable when we were kids, you were the only girl in my life –that wasn't a family member."

"What? So you had a…Crush, on me?" Whoa, shock realization.

"I would call it more than a crush," He grins.

I don't ask about it anymore, I just blush and look at Anna, I want to keep Edward happy, so I ask him, "What are the names you thought of?"

"I want original names, something we came up with, something that no one else has."

"Please don't say spider-man or the Halk."

He gives me a strange look, "Bella, I said names that haven't been taken."

I laugh, that's the thing he corrects me on, "Then have any suggestions."

"I was thinking about using Esme's and Renee's name and merging them together, Renesmee." He smiles triumphantly to himself for thinking up the name on his own.

I think about it for a moment, "Renesmee, a bit of a mouthful, but it could work."

Edward grins, "And for a boy I was thinking Carlie."

I try not to laugh, "Maybe that can be Renesmee's middle name, I mean, it's a bit feminine for a boy."

"Fine. Then what would you suggest for a boy." He asks.

"Well, you said your biological father's name is Edward, so maybe we could keep that as a tradition?"

"Edward the third?" He laughs.

"I think it gives off character." I smile in my defense.

Edward nods, "Okay, so we have two names, let's hope we have a boy and a girl so we don't have to argue about name calling."

"Hope so." I grin, taking another mouthful of coffee now that it's a bit cooler. I feel warm and giddy inside thinking about children, that I barely notice that I have no coffee left to drink. I put mine in the sink and grab Anna off of Edward to burp her. Edward drinks his coffee while I slap the baby's back lightly until I hear what I needed to hear, and she falls asleep. Edward follows me up stairs as I put her in her cot, I then tip toe into Alice's room. I smile at the sight of Jasper spooning Alice, they are so cute. I decide to tap on Jasper's shoulder and tell him that we are leaving and Anna is fed, changed and asleep in the cot. He thanks me before falling back to sleep and I leave the couple to sleep and find my man in the hall waiting for me.

"Ready to go?"

I nod, "Do you want to just drop into McDonalds and pick up some food before going home?"

He grins, "I knew there was a reason why I love you."

I stop dead in front of him, eyes wide, mouth gapping, what?!