You guys really came through with the reviews, and I really appreciate it! This chapter isn't as long, but it's still important. Hope you like it!
CHAPTER TEN
Time stood still. The kiss was everything I never expected. It was pure, and real, and right. It was so charged with emotions that it almost overwhelmed me, but it didn't. It completed me.
It was innocent, yet filled with desire. It was scary, yet comfortable. It was a need, yet a want all the same.
I couldn't remember my name. I couldn't remember where I was. I couldn't remember what I had been doing up until now. I was completely and utterly absorbed in him. Lost in this blissful moment when all was right with the world, like a million little shining stars had all aligned perfectly into place.
Our lips moved together in a synchronized rhythm as if they were made for each other. It lasted for a perfect 3 minutes until he pulled back. He looked me square in the eyes.
"Bella? Are you okay with this?" He asked nervously.
I would have rolled my eyes had I not been so blissfully content, his breathing still jagged in my face. I responded to his question by throwing our lips together once more. He eagerly accepted my kiss and kissed me back, harder this time. We probably stayed there for 45 minutes, just making out. He planted kisses up and down my neck, and I did the same. He was so sweet about it though. So worried about my own pleasure, but manly enough to go for it. It was perfect. That was literally the only word that could accurately sum it up. We finally stopped kissing long enough to talk. He led me to a special spot that he told me he liked to go to think. It was the most beautiful meadow I had ever come across, and it meant even more to me that Edward shared such a special place with me.
He leaned up against a tree, while I lay across his lap. It was the most peaceful position imaginable. Our fingers intertwined as we talked.
"So… Bella. About the kiss, I want you to know that I don't ever want to make you uncomfortable. If you want to take things slowly, that's fine with me. But I want to tell you that even know I've only known you for a few short days, I'm in love with you."
I gasped. He picked up some flowers out of the ground and placed them delicately in my hands while kissing my hand. I could see he was nervous.
"Bella, I know what love is supposed to feel like. I've seen it with my family members. And it's the only thing that completely depicts what I feel for you. You're it for me. If you don't feel the same way, that's fine. But I need you to know how I feel. I'm never going to hurt you, or leave you. I'll respect you and treat you like the goddess you are to me. I love you." He looked at me apprehensively.
I realized I had been silent during his whole speech. I didn't know quite how to follow words that beautiful, so I just said the only thing that I knew to be true in that exact moment. "I love you too Edward." Wow. Never thought I'd say that. Especially after such a short time. But I can't explain the undeniable pull I feel to him. I know it's love. He beamed at me. "I love you, but I would like to take things slowly… if that's okay with you?"
He smiled warmly. "Of course, my love. Anything for you." He paused and looked deeply into my eyes. "So what would make you happy right now?"
I pretended to think it over, and then held up a finger as if I had just come up with the greatest idea. "I think I'd like you to kiss me again."
He grinned playfully. "Is that so? And what if I refused?" He said, even though his face was drawing nearer as he said it.
Mischief filled my face. "Well then I guess I'd have to do this." I then used my power to bring his lips to mine. He didn't seem to mind.
When the storm was letting up, we grudgingly decided it was time to go back home. He carried me home, and we were halfway there when he got a text from Carlisle. It read, "Edward, please bring Bella back soon. I think I've found adequate enough information to get her started on ultrasounds." He read the text to me, and then checked my face for my reaction.
I was nervous. I was excited. I was terrified. I was thrilled.
"You ready for this, Isabella?" He said in a very concerned voice.
I nodded. "I've been ready for a century. Let's do this."
He laughed and carried me the rest of the way home. He set me down as we reached the door, which was almost immediately opened by one squealing Alice Cullen. We shushed her. We didn't want to tell everyone immediately. Lord knows what Daddy would do. She merely beamed at us, and we followed her into the house after one last kiss on the front porch.
Carlisle was waiting for us in the living room. He quirked a brow at us as if he knew of our new status, but he didn't say anything.
"Bella, I assume Edward has told you that we're ready to do an ultrasound?"
I nodded.
"Good. Oh, but before I forget, I got this for you." He pulled a shiny black card out of his wallet. "You're a part of this family now, so here is a card for you. There are unlimited funds. Don't ever worry about money again." He smiled warmly at me as my eyes bugged out of my head.
"So shall we get started?"
He led me to a table set up in a spare room, and tried to get rid of Edward. "Don't you think Bella should have some privacy, Edward?"
Edward looked at me and said meaningfully, "I'll go if you so desire."
I smiled at my love. "Edward can stay." Edward's face lit up the room and Carlisle merely chuckled.
"Okay Bella, if you could just lie down right there." I did as he asked, and then he lifted my shirt up just enough to expose my stomach. I looked at Edward, and his face held nothing but worry and concern. Carlisle then spread some weird, gel-like substance over my belly and got all his fancy medical equipment adjusted. A strange pulsing sound filled the room.
It was the most beautiful sound in the world. It wasn't quite a human heartbeat, but it was a beat nonetheless. Proof that I wasn't crazy. My baby was alive. He moved his tools over my stomach in various ways, and then he got a picture on the monitor. I think I was smiling so brightly that my face cracked. I didn't care. I just couldn't believe this was happening. Could life seriously get any more perfect? Carlisle pointed around different angles of my baby, and I really tried to listen. I just couldn't process more in that moment other than the fact that I was looking at my baby.
"Do you see that there, Bella? Do you know what that means?" He asked, unable to mask the evident joy in his voice. I shook my head. "It means you were right. It's a girl." He smiled at me.
Before I had the chance to vocalize my joy, Daddy burst into the room. "It's a girl? I'm a grandfather to a baby girl for sure?" He smiled breathlessly at Carlisle and I. It took him a minute to notice Edward in the room, who was smiling just as brightly. "What is he doing here?" He asked.
"Dad, can you just cool it for now? Just focus on your grandchild?"
"Of course, Bella. I'm sorry sweetheart." He kissed my forehead and didn't mention Edward's presence the rest of the ultrasound.
Carlisle talked in a lot of medical terms, so I really didn't get into all the details until he said the sentence I'd been waiting to hear.
"It looks like with some development, we might be able to deliver little Whitney Jasmine in about a month."
Daddy, Edward, and I all shouted in joy. Pure, unrivaled joy. I was touched that Edward seemed to care so much about the baby, and I found myself wondering if he would take on a fatherly role to my child.
I thought about all the things in life that would change in just a month. My baby, my miracle. My whole world would turn upside down once more, but I didn't want it any other way.
"What kind of development is necessary? Can we start now?" I asked, ready to get started.
Carlisle laughed. "Well, she needs some more nutrients. I strongly suspect that drinking blood will supply those, but the problem is that the animal blood you've been living off of hasn't been doing the trick. Luckily, I have a surplus of human blood stored from the hospital. With rest and monitored progress, it should give her just what she needs to be born."
And with that, I tuned out. My imagination carried me away into the joys of motherhood. Edward and Dad both immediately peppered Carlisle with questions concerning my health and safety. It wasn't something I was concerned about. I was having a baby. It was all going to be okay.
I honestly believed it.
A lot going on here. Edward and Bella have proclaimed their love, and Whitney is making her appearance pretty soon here! I can't wait for her to be born, how about y'all? Let me know what you think, and I'll post chapter 11 in fifteen reviews.