A/N:
Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight. I just borrow the characters. I promise to give them back. :)

So the general consensus was pretty much equally divided between they're having a boy and they're having a girl. We shall see!

It gets a little dicey in this chapter, but fear not all's well that ends well!

Chapter 10

EPOV

One afternoon in late July, I invited Emmett and Jasper over to watch that afternoon's baseball game. I let Bella sleep in most mornings. Now that her morning sickness was gone, she's been able to sleep past seven o'clock.

Some random politician was about to throw out the first pitch when Bella came bounding down the stairs, dressed for the day and purse in hand.

"Hey, guys!" She greeted us brightly. She bent down to give me a kiss good morning and I rubbed the little bump on her stomach affectionately. "I'm gonna walk to the library. It's so nice out."

"What book are you after, Bells?" Jasper asked.

She smiled. "Some children's books so we can read to the baby." She gave me a small peck goodbye. "Love you, I'll see you later."

"Love you, too, baby." I called after her as she left the house.

About two hours later, sometime during the bottom of the fifth inning, the phone rang. Emmett who was closest to the receiver, answered. "Cullen residence, Emmett speaking." Jasper and I chuckled at the use of his formal voice. Emmett's face turned confused. "No, he's right here, hold on a second." He passed the phone to me and mouthed "The cops."

I raised an eyebrow at him and took the phone. "Hello?"

"Am I speaking with Edward Cullen?" the gruff voice said on the other end.

"Yes, who is this?"

"Sir, I'm Detective Johnson with the Boston Police Department. There's been an accident involving your wife, Isabella."

My blood ran cold and I felt panic settle in. "Oh my God, is she alright? What happened?" I asked frantically as I got to my feet. I felt Jasper and Emmett's eyes on me.

"She was attacked outside the public library on Boylston Street. She was taken to Mass General about thirty minutes ago. I'm on my way there now and I can fill you in when you get there."

I raked my hand through my hair and started looking for my wallet and keys. "Thank you, Detective. I'll be there." I said in a shaky voice and hung up. I dropped the phone and heard it clatter to the ground.

"What's going on, Edward?" Emmett asked in a concerned voice.

"Bella's been attacked." I choked out.

Emmett launched himself to his feet. "Well what the hell are we waiting for?"

"Give me your keys, Edward." Jasper said calmly. "Neither of you are in any state of mind to drive."

I handed over the keys to the Volvo and all three of us headed out. We made it to Mass General in record time and found a parking spot easily, thank God. We ran down the side walk and burst through the Emergency Room doors. I strode up to the reception desk.

"My wife, Bella Cullen, was just brought in. Where is she?" I asked in a frenzied voice.

Before the receptionist could respond, someone else spoke behind me. "Mr. Cullen?"

I spun around to see a tall man, slightly older than myself, standing a few feet away. "I'm Detective Johnson, we spoke on the phone."

I shook the hand he held out to me. "Where's Bella, where's my wife?"

Detective Johnson put a hand on my shoulder and led me away from the waiting room, Emmett and Jasper following closely behind. "The doctors are working on her now, Sir."

"What happened?" Emmett asked impatiently. Detective Johnson looked at him wearily. Emmett offered him his hand. "I'm Emmett Swan, Bella's brother."

Detective Johnson looked at Jasper expectantly. "I'm Jasper Hale," Jasper shook the detective's hand. "Family friend."

Detective Johnson was put at ease once he knew Emmett and Jasper's connection to Bella. "Mrs. Cullen was attacked by a man outside the public library on Boylston. Luckily, a few people passing by, including an off-duty detective, saw the whole exchange and stepped in to help. They called 9-1-1 and pulled the man off of her and held him down until officers arrived."

I raked my hands through my hair in distress. "Who is this guy?"

"The man's name is James Moore; he's a professor at Boston University. Any idea who he is?"

Realization hit me. "He was her professor. He starting hitting on her and making her feel uncomfortable. He asked her out twice and she turned him down both times. The second time she turned him down, he didn't take it very well and grabbed her wrist. The bruises lasted a couple of weeks. She switched classes halfway through the semester and we graduated in May."

Detective Johnson nodded and jotted some notes down in his notebook. "That's very interesting. I'll be sure to follow up on that." He flipped the notebook closed. "Okay, I'll take you three to see her now."

We followed the detective down a hallway and into the bustling Emergency Room. A tall brunette doctor spotted us came over. "Detective Johnson, I'm assuming you're here to see Mrs. Cullen."

Detective Johnson nodded. "Dr. Morgan, this is Mr. Cullen, the husband."

I shook the woman's hand. "How's my wife?" I asked her desperately.

"She's doing well. She was unconscious when she was brought in, but woke up a few minutes ago. She has minor contusions and lacerations on her arms, legs, and face and her wrist is sprained. We did a CT scan of her head to make sure that she doesn't have any internal injuries. The only thing we found is that she has a minor concussion." She sighed. "She'd been asking for an Edward, I'm assuming that's you."

I nodded. "How's the baby?" I asked anxiously.

"Baby?" Detective Johnson asked, confusion evident on his face as he flipped through his notebook. "There was no baby found on scene."

"No, Bella is eighteen weeks pregnant." I informed them.

Dr. Morgan turned to a nurse walking by. "Page someone from OB/GYN and get them down here quickly." The nurse nodded and walked swiftly away. Dr. Morgan turned back to me. "I'll take you to her now, but only you for the time being."

"Call Alice, Rose, and Charlie and Renee." I told Emmett and Jasper before Dr. Morgan led me away.

Dr. Morgan led me through the Emergency Room and stopped in front of a room with a big glass window with the blinds shut. Dr. Morgan opened the door and gestured for me to go in.

I hurried inside and gasped when I saw my Bella lying in bed. There were bruises and cuts all over her body. Her left eye was black and blue and had a cut with a few stitches across her right cheekbone. Her right wrist was in a brace. My eyes stung with tears when I took in my wife's small beaten body.

"Edward?" It was then that I noticed my Bella's big brown eyes were open and looking at me.

"Bella!" I choked out and ran over to her bedside. I sat in the chair by her bed and pulled her hand up to my face. "Oh my God, sweetheart, I'm so sorry." I sobbed.

"Why are you sorry, baby?" she croaked. I felt her hand run through my hair and lightly scratched my scalp with her fingernails.

"I shouldn't have let you go alone." I whispered, pressing kisses to her knuckles.

"Don't be stupid." Bella said. She continued to stroke my hair for a few minutes before she spoke again. "Come here,"

I looked up at her. "What do you mean? I'm right here."

She rolled her eyes. "Kiss me, Edward, I need to feel you." She whispered.

I moved my chair so I was up by her head and leaned over and pressed my lips to hers. She held me to her with her good hand. A knock on the door a minute later pulled us apart.

The door opened and Dr. Denali walked in. "Hey, guys," Kate said with a smile. "They paged me to make sure everything's okay with your baby."

Bella nodded. "Of course, Kate, I think I felt a kick a few minutes ago."

"That's good sign." Kate murmured as she set up the ultrasound equipment. When we heard our baby's strong heartbeat fill the room, Bella and I sighed in relief.

"Yep, she's a-okay." Kate said.

"She?" Bella asked, breathlessly.

Kate nodded. "She's in the right position for the first time so that I can tell her gender. Congratulations."

"We're having a girl?" I asked her.

She nodded with a small smile on her face. "I'll see you two at your next appointment." She said as she left the room.

"We're having a girl!" Bella gushed with a huge smile on her face.

I wiped the tears from her cheeks. "She's going to be beautiful, just like her mother."

She sobbed and laughed the same time and the tears started flowing steadily. She took my face in her hands and stroked my cheekbones with her thumbs. "The things you say to me…" she shook her head. "If our daughter has any shred of your good looks, we'll have to keep her away from boys from an early age."

I groaned and rested my forehead against hers. "She's not even born yet and I'm already over protective of her."

Bella giggled. "That's perfectly fine. It just means you love her."

"I do, very much." I kissed her again and let my hand run over the small bump on her stomach.

Someone knocked on the door a few minutes later. "Mr. and Mrs. Cullen?" Detective Johnson poked his head in the room.

"Yes?" Bella said.

He stepped into the room with another uniform officer. "Hi, Mrs. Cullen, I'm Detective Johnson. I need to take your statement and then the doctors said you can be discharged."

"Okay." Bella sat up a little farther against the pillows. She looked over at me. "Can Edward stay?"

Detective Johnson nodded and took out a silver tape recorder and pressed a button.

"Where do I start?" Bella asked meekly.

"Why don't you start when you woke up this morning?" Detective Johnson nodded.

Bella took a deep breath. "Well, I slept late this morning. Ever since my morning sickness stopped I've been taking every opportunity to sleep late. When I got up, I took a shower, got dressed and decided to go to the library. I wanted some children's books so my husband and I could read to our baby." Bella absentmindedly caressed her bump. "I decided to walk since it was only two blocks away and it was such a nice day.

"I left around one. My husband and my brother and another one of our friends were watching the baseball game on TV. I walked the two blocks to the library and picked out a few of my favorite books from when I was little. I'd started walking back down Boylston Street when I felt someone grab my arm. It was James, an old professor of mine."

"Yes," Detective Johnson interrupted. "Your husband told me he's been harassing you."

Bella nodded. "Yes. I told him to let me go and he only held me tighter. He said 'you got knocked up?' and then he called me a filthy whore and punched me in the face. I dropped my purse and the books I'd just borrowed. It all happened so fast. He started punching me and hitting me everywhere. Thankfully, he didn't hit my stomach. I yelled for help but he just kept hitting me. He pushed me to the ground and I smacked my head on the concrete. I blacked out. The next thing I remember is waking up here and the doctor explaining to me what happened."

Bella wiped a tear from her eyes after she finished. I squeezed her hand and kissed her temple.

"Thank you, Mrs. Cullen," Detective Johnson said and switched off the recorder. "I'll call you in a few days to give you an update on the investigation."

A couple of hours later, Bella and I walked through our front door. "Are you sure you're okay?" I asked her again.

"I'm fine, baby," she reassured me.

I caught her hands and pulled her against my chest. "I could have lost you and our little girl today, sweetheart." I brushed her hair away from her face and kissed the tip of her nose.

"I know, but you didn't." she squeezed my hand. "How about we heat up some leftovers and spend the rest of the night in bed watching some old movies?"

"Sounds perfect." I answered.

About two hours later, I hugged Bella against my chest as we watched Captain Renault and Rick walk into the mist and Rick saying "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

"I love that movie." Bella sighed as the end credits rolled.

"Casablanca is a classic." I mused.

"Hey," Bella said, turning to face me. "Will you go get the books for me? I want to start reading to her."

I nodded and hopped off of our bed to retrieve the books Bella got at the library off of the desk. "Why do you want us to read to her anyway?" I asked her as I handed her the books.

"I read in one of my books that she'll get used to the sound of my voice and associate it with warmth and shelter. And she'll get used to your voice and it will help you two bond after she's born. It also said singing works."

"Okay, love, I'm on board." I sat with her back against the pillows while I stretched across the bed and laid my head in her lap.

"Which one should I read?" She asked. She'd picked out a great selection of children's books; most of them were ones I loved when I was little. She got The Giving Tree, Where the Wild Things Are, Love You Forever, Goodnight Moon, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, and Madeline.

I pointed to Madeline and laughed. "How did you know we were having a girl?"

Bella picked up Madeline and smiled. "Even if she was a boy, I would have read her Madeline. It was my favorite book."

Bella opened the book and began to read. I didn't listen to the words. I just closed my eyes and listened to the soothing sound of my wife's voice. When she was finished she set the book next to her and looked down at the others. "Do you want to read one?" she asked.

I nodded and picked up Love You Forever. "This one always made Mom cry when she read it to us."

"It made Renee cry, too." She laughed.

I turned over onto my stomach and propped myself on my elbows. I put the book in Bella's lap and opened it.

"A mother held her new baby and

And very slowly rocked him back and forth,

Back and forth, back and forth.

And while she held him, she sang:

I'll love you forever

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living

My baby you'll be."

By the time I was done reading the book Bella had tears streaming down her face. "Now I know why they were crying!" she cried.

I wiped the tears from her eyes and chuckled. "It's not a very cheery children's book, is it?"

"It's very touching." Bella nodded. She put the book in the pile with Madeline. "Read another, Edward. You have such a nice speaking voice."

I could never say no to Bella. About two pages in to Where the Wild Things Are, Bella gasped. I looked up at her. She looked surprised about something and nodded her head for me to continue. "Keep reading." She insisted and laid both of her hands on her stomach.

When I kept reading, Bella gasped again. "She likes your voice, Edward. She's kicking while your reading."

I grinned and kept on reading. I knew I couldn't feel her kicking yet even if I tried. I finished the book and sat up I pulled Bella in to my arms and kissed her soundly. "She's not even born yet and she's already a Daddy's girl." I said amidst a laugh.

"Just as it should be." She chuckled.

A/N: They're having a girl! And the Creepy Professor situation is resolved!

What do you think they'll name their daughter?

See you tomorrow with chapter 11!