Since you've all been so sweet to help me out with compiling a list of potential baby names, and your reviews have been so nice, I worked extra hard today to get this chapter up and ready for you.

I also figured I'd better do it sooner than later...the MTV Movie Awards are coming on soon and I don't want to miss the New Moon trailer. I know i'm a thirty-something woman, but I have a feeling I'll be squeeing with the best of the younger fans when it comes on. Don't even get me going on how much I loved New Moon. It was, hands down, my favourite book in the series. Needless to say I'm beyond excited to see the movie.

I wanted to dedicate this chapter to Entropic Kitten because she's going to be giving birth to her own Peanut any day now. Everyone think happy, healthy baby thoughts for her, please. She's good people. :)

Stephenie Meyer still owns all things Twilight, but I own a smelly cat and although he hasn't made me a bazillionaire yet, he gives me lots of love and smelly things.


After breaking the news to the parentals, Bella busied herself with cleaning up the studio before heading to bed. Her stomach was a little off, so she wanted to go relax for a while. Edward tucked her in, kissed her belly, and went to do some work. Before he settled in, he called his father.

"Hi, Dad," he said as he quietly closed the door to his study.

"Hi son. Congratulations again! We couldn't be happier for the two of you."

"Thanks. I'm still blown away by it all. I know it's real, but, wow. After being told for so long that it would never happen and now it's happened, well, it's a lot to digest. I keep waiting for that jackass Ashton Kutcher to pop out and tell me that we've been punk'd."

Carlisle chuckled. "That's to be expected, son. Just wait until you see the baby as it gets bigger. It will become more real then."

"More real than the first time I saw Peanut's heartbeat?"

"Peanut, eh?" Carlisle laughed, "Yes, son, the first time you see your baby's face it will become all too real."

"You're scaring me."

"Why are you scared? Well, besides the obvious."

Edward sighed. "I'm scared that I'm going to be too busy and I'm going to let them down; that I won't be here for Peanut's first word, first step, first time going potty. I'm scared Bella will resent me for not being around when she needs me. I'm terrified that I am going to end up like him."

Carlisle inhaled sharply. "Oh, Edward, don't ever think for a second that you are anything like your biological father. He was a hard, cruel, man. You are so very lucky that you were so young and have no real recollection of that monster."

"But half of my genetic makeup is that monster, Carlisle. What if it's genetic?"

"Oh son, don't ever worry about that. He was more a product of environment than genetics. Your father had a hard upbringing and came from a horrible, abusive home life. I know that it doesn't excuse what he did, but you have to understand that you will not repeat his errors. You are more Elizabeth than Ed, that's evident. You have her compassion, her gentleness, her calm demeanour. You have never exhibited any of Ed's violent tendencies in all of your 23 years, son. I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Big sigh from Edward. "I can't help it. You said he's mentally ill, what if it's a dormant gene, and I wake up one day, kill Bella and Peanut, and not even realize I've done it?"

"Have you talked to Bella and Victoria about this?"

"No."

"I think you should. It's not good to bottle this up. Trust me, though, you are not like Ed. You never have been, nor will you ever be. You are going to be an incredibly attentive and loving father, even with your work obligations. I have faith in you, son."

"Thanks, Dad, for everything. If learning good parenting comes from watching our parents, then I have been blessed to have had you and Mom as my teachers."

"You have always been an incredible son, Edward. You have always been and will forever continue to be a model son, even if you were having premarital sex with your adopted sister."

Edward laughed. "It's kind of weird if you think of it that way. Ugh. I feel like I need to go take a shower in holy water now."

Carlisle laughed heartily. "It was nice talking to you, Edward. Please don't hesitate to call me any time you need to talk, and please talk to Bella and Victoria about your fears. I truly believe they are unfounded, but I'm here if you need me, son."

"Thanks, Dad. I should go study. I'll see you soon."

"Bye son, oh, and relax a little, would you?"

Edward hung up the phone and moved to the living room. He sat in his chair, opened a textbook, and began reading, but he found that he was reading the same lines over and over again. His mind kept drifting to his conversation with Carlisle and the one secret he'd always kept from his family, from everyone.

He did remember his father. He had only been two years old, but he had memories of the night his mother died. He could remember his father hitting him, throwing him into his crib when he had been caught crying over his mother's bloody, broken, body. The memories used to come to him in vivid, Technicolor dreams. For years, he could never figure out why he dreamt about those particular things until he finally asked Carlisle what had happened the night his mother died and suddenly he knew that the recurring nightmare was actually a very real recollection of a harsh, cruel reality.

No one would ever believe that a child his age could retain a memory for so long, but he had. He would often have flashes of other violent memories from time to time. It scared him. A lot. How could he not fear that some of his father's violent temper hadn't passed on to him? His biological father was his age when this had all happened, so who's to say that it wouldn't happen to him.

Conversely, Carlisle had a point, his father was partially a product of his environment, and Edward had never known another day of violence until James had entered their lives.

Okay, I am not Edward Masen Sr. I am Edward Anthony Masen Cullen and I am not my biological father's son. I am a Cullen. I am not angry, violent, or ill-tempered. I have never felt the urge to hurt my loved ones. I will notever lay a hand on my future wife and child. I am a good person. I am my mother's son. I am Carlisle's son. I am Esme's son. I am Bella's fiancé and I am Peanut's father.

I can do this.

At least I hope I can.

Bella and Rose decided to take a road trip to New York to pick up dresses for the wedding. Edward insisted they take the Volvo because it was more comfortable. Both girls knew it was because it was structurally sounder than the VW and more economical than Em's Jeep.

A very excited Alice met them at the bridal boutique, a dozen fancy, flouncy gowns hanging over her arms.

"Alice my dress is already picked out! I'm just here to have it altered!"

"Please humour me. You have denied me so much by having this shotgun wedding that you owe me BIG TIME," Alice pouted.

Bella caved. "Fine, I will try on four dresses other than the one I've picked out. That's it."

The pixie squealed and jumped up and down. "I always win."

Rose rolled her eyes and whispered to Bella, "She only wins because she'd torture us until we caved anyway. Better to do it early and avoid the pain, right?"

"Amen, sister."

"Bella!" Alice screeched from the changing area. "Get over here now!"

"Okay, here we go," Bella said, gritting her teeth.

Trying on all the dresses was actually kind of fun. Even Rose tried some on.

When Bella finally put on her dress, the girls fell silent. Bella twirled around in front of the mirror and smiled. She turned to face them, almost afraid of their reactions. "So, what do you think?"

"Beautiful," Rose sniffled. "It couldn't be more you. It's beautiful, understated, and elegant."

Bella blushed and looked at herself in the mirror again. It was white, sleeveless, and constructed like the kind of gown a Greek goddess might wear. She loved how it was draped, folded, rolled, and she adored the high empire waist that hung so even if she was showing, Peanut wouldn't be the focal point.

Alice stood behind her and beamed. "Oh, Sister, Mine, you look like a goddess. All the dresses I picked out pale in comparison to this one. I will never doubt your taste again."

She turned to hug Alice. "I'm going to want that in writing, signed in triplicate, and notarized. I'm seriously going to hold you to it."

Rose was standing in front of the mirror running her hands over her pronounced baby bump. "We need to find a burlap sack to cover my ever-expanding belly, girls. I think Emmett impregnated me with a linebacker."

"Why not go with an empire waist like mine? You looked stunning in that wedding dress you tried on. If we could find a regular dress constructed like that one, then we're golden!"

Alice gapped out for a moment before she exclaimed that she knew exactly where to go to find it.

"Let me get my dress sorted out before you two take off on me."

The seamstress came over, put some pins in to mark where it needed to be hemmed, then sent them on their way.

They stopped for a snack on the way to the store. Since Bella and Rose were now eating for two they needed to refill more often, although not nearly as much as they needed to unload. Bella was in a bathroom stall at the coffee shop when she heard a familiar, nasally, annoying voice.

"Well, I wasn't expecting to see them out there. The pixie hasn't changed a bit but Rosalie got fat. I wonder whatever happened to that freak Bella Swan? I bet Edward dumped her ass as soon as they got to university. He probably realized that he'd been dating a nutjob. I never understood what he saw in her. It must have been pity. Or maybe he was crazy too, I mean, he turned me down."

LAUREN! In a city of a billion people, she had to run into that bitch. She quickly flushed the toiled and flung open the door to the stall, barely missing Lauren.

"Well, hello there," Bella said loudly, "it's so nice to see you after all these years, Lauren." Her voice dripped so heavily with sarcasm that she was afraid she might slip in it when she left. "Oh, is that you, Jessica? I didn't recognize you under all that make up."

"Bella Swan? What the...?" Jessica stammered.

"In case you're wondering, which you were, Edward and I are engaged," she held up her hand, thrusting the engagement ring in her face, "we're getting married in two weeks. I just graduated form Dartmouth, with honours, and Edward is in medical school. Oh, before you start twittering about me looking fat, I'm pregnant. With Edward's baby. Oh yeah, we fucked. A LOT! You don't know what you missed out on; Edward's got a big dick and boy does he know how to use it. Suck on that! Rose isn't fat either. She's also pregnant, with Emmett's baby. Oh dear, yet another guy you went after who wanted nothing to do with your skanky ass.

"So, what're you up to, Lauren? On a break between clients? Which street corner are you working these days?"

Bella moved between the two shocked women to wash her hands. She noted the look on their faces and stood up proudly. "Oh yeah, girls, I went there. Meek and mild Bella Swan-soon-to-be-Cullen, is gone, bitches."

She dried her hands and tossed the paper towel in the trash before walking out the door. Alice and Rose were standing in the hallway, mouths agape.

"Let's get out of here before I decide to go back in and shove their over-processed heads into the toilet."

The three friends ran out giggling and didn't stop until they were a block away from the scene of the confrontation. Rose hugged her. "What the holy hell was that? Where did that come from? That was fucking amazing!"

Bella laughed. "I have no clue. I wish I could have done that in high school. Man, that felt good!"

"I wish I had recorded that. No one is EVER going to believe those words came out of Bella Swan's mouth," Alice said, breathlessly, "good lord, I'm so glad we decided to check on you. I mean, you all but called them hookers! Oh, and that bit about Edward and his big dick—way too much information for me as his sister—but wow, Sister, Mine, way to go with the low blow! Man, I wish I could have seen the look on their faces!"

"Their jaws were on the floor. They never saw what hit them: one minute they were trashing us, and the next I came flying out and put a smack down on them. I don't know what possessed me to do it, but man, that felt good. Let's find another bathroom because I have to go again. I laughed too hard."

Rose was doubled over, "Me too. Oh god, too funny. Emmett's going to shit his pants when he hears this. Bathroom. Now!"

Alice looked around and spotted the maternity shop she had wanted to go to in the first place. "I bet they'll let you use the bathroom here, I mean, come on, they cater to pregnant women."

They ran to the store and thankfully, there were multiple bathroom stalls. They continued to giggle about Bella's outburst even while Rose tried on dresses. Luckily, it didn't take long to find one. Bella and Rose were both exhausted and Rose's ankles were swelling. As soon as the dress was bought and Alice had loaded them up with a few other 'essential' items, they headed back to the loft.

Jasper was home when they arrived and he absolutely lost it when the girls told him about Bella's close encounter of the Lauren kind.

"I always hated that bitch," he said, "She was always throwing herself at me and Edward. Yuck! Bitch got what she deserved. Way to go Bells!" He high-fived her, "so, were you all successful today?"

"Sure were, little brother. I managed to find something that doesn't make the Bean look like a beach ball."

"And you, Bella?"

Alice didn't let her answer. "Oh, Jasper, she's going to be such a beautiful bride that Edward's going to cry like a baby when he sees her."

He grinned. "Awesome. I love when Sapward comes out to play. Makes me feel like such a butch guy."

"Aw, baby, you're always butch to me," Alice said as she sat on her lap, placing a kiss on his cheek.

"On that note, I'm taking my swollen feet to the guest room and I'm going to flake out for a while."

Alice jumped up. "I'm going to go run an errand for a client. I'll pick up supper while I'm out. What do you want to eat?"

Bella's stomach gurgled. "Peanut says that anything is fine-oh wait-nothing too spicy."

Rose yelled out that she'd eat just about anything, which prompted Jasper to laugh. "Some things never change."

Alice gave them each a kiss on the cheek and taking off, leaving Bella and Jasper alone in the living room.

"Can I get you something to eat or drink, Bells?"

"Please! A glass of water and a plain piece of bread would be divine."

"Are you sure that's all you want? We do have fixins to make sandwiches."

She smiled warmly at him. "I'm fine, Jazz. Some women have morning sickness; I have evening sickness. It's not really bad, I just get a little queasy, that's all. The bread will help settle my stomach, I hope."

Jasper returned shortly with a glass of water and a single piece of multigrain bread. "Hope you don't mind seeds and nuts."

"Seeds and nuts are fine, thank you."

He saw beside her and put his arm around her shoulder. "So, how's everything going?"

"It's really good, Jazz. At least I think it is. Edward is working twice as much right now to make up for the time he'll miss for the wedding and honeymoon. He's exhausted and I feel helpless. I'm trying to make things as easy for him as possible."

"There's not much else you can do, Bells. Once you get the wedding and honeymoon done, and he's back to a regular rotation schedule, you'll find your groove. You guys always do."

"I'm glad you're going to be his best man, Jazzy."

"It would be my honour. Edward was the first friend I made in Forks when we moved there. He walked right up to me and asked me to have lunch with him and Alice. She looked at me and said: It's about time! I've been waiting forever for you."

She giggled. "That's so Alice."

"Yup, that's my girl," he smiled.

Bella closed her eyes for what she thought was a moment, but it turned out to be two hours. She was sprawled out on the cushy sectional couch, covered with a blanket. Alice was rattling around in the kitchen, talking quietly to Jasper.

The sound of her phone buzzing in her bag pulled her from her daze.

"Hi, baby," she said, yawning.

"I was starting to worry. I've been calling for the past two hours."

"Sorry, I fell asleep. Is everything okay?"

"Oh yeah, I was just worried...you know how I am. So, how did you make out with the dress?"

"Oh, Edward, it's beautiful! I can't wait to show you."

His voice softened. "I can't wait to see it. I can't believe we're getting married in two weeks."

"I know," she whispered. "I love you so much."

Edward sighed. "I miss you and Peanut."

"We'll be home tomorrow night; it's not long now...Alice!"

Alice grabbed the phone and clicked on the speaker. "Brother, Mine, you will never believe what happened today in the bathroom!"

"Oh my god, Bella, are you okay? What happened in the bath..."

Bella jumped in. "No honey, this isn't like my last New York bathroom experience."

"Edward, you are seriously going to shit your pants when we tell you," Rose piped up sleepily from behind the couch.

"You're going to be so proud of her, man," Jasper added.

"Would someone please, for the love of all things holy, please tell me what happened! I'm tired of being kept in the dark about Bella's bathroom activities in the Big Apple."

Bella and Rose were still giggling about Edward's reaction to her tirade in the coffee shop.

"Holy fuck, I'm marrying one sexy, mean mama, aren't I? Way to knock the bitch down a few pegs, baby," Bella said, doing her best Edward imitation.

"Too funny," Rose choked out. "I always knew you had it in you, I just wasn't sure I'd ever get to see it, or at least hear it. You are the queen!"

"Thanks, Rose. It was about time I stood up for myself. I just wish I would have had the balls to do it sooner, like in high school." Bella said, before yawning.

"Tired?"

"Yeah, although I'm not as exhausted as I had been. It seems to be getting a little easier now."

"It will. Oh..." Rose squealed, surprised.

"What is it?"

She smiled. "Bean just moved."

Bella sighed, "I wish I could feel Peanut rolling around in there."

"You don't feel the flutters?"

"Oh yeah, Peanut flutters, I think, but I'm looking forward to feeling a hand or a foot or a head in there. It all still seems so surreal."

It was Rose's turn to yawn. "Mmm...let's sleep. We still have to drive home tomorrow, not to mention you've got company coming on Monday."

"Oh yeah, the Carlisle and Esme are coming. It never ends, does it, Rose."

"Nope, and when the baby comes, forget it!"

Bella sighed. "Great. Sweet dreams to you too."

Yeah, it's a shorter chapter...I know you guys like the long ones better. Hopefully the next one will be a little longer.

Please stick with me...I'm writing as fast as I can and i'm trying desperately not to compromise the quality of the story. I'm REALLY excited to write the wedding and honeymoon chapters, so maybe that'll kick me in the butt and keep me going. If not, I'll rely on your wonderful reviews to pick me up.