A/N: I own nothing and BellesYellowRose beta'd. There's a trailer for this story and I would love if you would pop over and watch it. I think it encompasses everything that this story is about. On my profile page is a link to my YouTube channel, the trailer is located there.

Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it once. Lillian Dickson

Monday February 5, 2007

Twenty-Five Years Old

The Third Terrible Day

Edwards POV

With knowledge comes power, that's what I tell myself. Knowing when my third terrible day was coming gave us all a chance to prepare for what might happen.

Just because I had five terrible days though didn't mean nothing bad ever happened. Two years ago Bella fell off a ladder at the bookstore and broke her leg. I once needed fifteen stitches in my arm when Emmett cut me with a knife while he and I were practicing.

Yes, practicing with a knife.

Prepare became my middle name. I could now load and expertly use a gun, fight with a knife, and beat a man to a bloody pulp if I needed to. We installed a top of the line alarm in the house with panic buttons throughout. One push would contact the police and therefore immediately Charlie and Emmett. We also had a safe house in Seattle.

In the closet of the bedroom was a hidden wall safe that held fake identification for both Bella and I, five hundred thousand dollars in cash, and account information for two hidden off shore accounts.

Overboard? Maybe, but we weren't taking any chances this time around.

For the first time Bella and I was in agreement with what to do on my third terrible day. We were staying home, just the two of us.

The police were planning on making regular drive by's to check on the house of course the blizzard heading this way was going to complicate that task. Another complication that had everyone worried was that Bella was due to give birth in two weeks.

We had been trying for three years to have a baby and every month it just never happened. I asked her if she wanted to go to a fertility specialist, but she insisted it wasn't necessary.

"Edward," she had told me, "We have a direct line to fate who calls us regularly. If we're meant to have a baby we will. After your final day if we still haven't gotten pregnant we'll adopt."

I agreed and stuck to her idea, my only concession was that in the month of April 2006, I wanted to use condoms. I was afraid that our baby would be due on or around my third terrible day. The thought of somehow losing my child or Bella would send me into a panic attack. She was upset but agreed. Imagine our surprise when after years of trying all we needed to do was use a condom to get pregnant.

Yes, fate is a cold hearted bitch.

Bella's pregnancy had been perfect except some mild nausea in the beginning that tapered off in her second trimester. She didn't really complain either of being fat or uncomfortable. Her belly was full and round but not gigantic, and that was the only part of her that had gotten bigger.

Rose was pissed. She had constantly thrown up, gained ten pounds in her ass she couldn't get rid of, and could barely get out of bed the last month she was so huge. She was waiting for Bella to wake up and suddenly grow a double chin or have her ass spread, but it never happened. Emmett and Rose had a gorgeous daughter to show for it though.

Charlie was a dutiful grandfather, and my parents often babysat treating Em and Roses' daughter Iris as their own grandchild.

Songwriting was going well. I only wrote for artists who specifically requested my work and I still had to turn people away.

Bella's bookstore was doing well for a small town and Angela was still there. She had been trained to take over for Bella for the next eight weeks since she wanted to focus on our son.

My boy.

We had decided to name him Maddox Anthony Cullen. Anthony after myself and my grandfather, and Maddox because it meant 'little fortunate child.' We figured we would give him all the luck possible, especially if the kid was going to have to endure two of my five days.

So here we are, 4pm on my third terrible day, and it had honestly been semi relaxing.

However, I kept peeking around corners waiting for something to jump out at me but so far nothing. It was snowing like crazy outside, we already had five inches on the ground and it was still coming down hard.

Bella had suggested we pop some popcorn and start a fire. I said yes to the food but vetoed the fire. What if the house burnt down?

Bella just laughed at me, "Whatever you want is fine, Edward." I think she was just humoring me.

Halfway through the first movie it was nearing five and I started thinking about what I could fix for dinner that I wouldn't need to use the stove for. What you just never know?

Bella had gotten up to pee for the hundredth time, when I heard a panicked "Edward" come from the bathroom.

I bolted off of the couch faster than I thought possible and threw the door open without bothering to knock. The sight before me would have brought any expecting father to his knees. Leaning against the countertop hunched over with a hand on her belly was my wife.

A large clear puddle of liquid on the floor in-between her feet.

Holy shit!

"Love, are you having contractions?"

"Yeah, I think I've been having them all day. I wasn't sure though because it didn't feel like what the book said, they also weren't regular."

I took a deep breath and tried not to get angry, it really wasn't her fault. She was two weeks early, and while I was expecting something to happen today but this was definitely not it. At this point I think I would have welcomed James at my front door.

"Okay love. Let's get you in the living room and I'm going to call our dads."

"Will you get me some dry clothes too?"

"Of course, love."

I walked her into the living room having to pause once for a contraction, and helped her sit into the chair.

"I'll be right back, don't move."

"I'm not going anywhere, Edward." she chuckled and took a deep breath.

I ran upstairs to the master bedroom like someone had lit a fire under my ass. I grabbed Bella's already packed hospital bag, a change of sweats for her, and pulled out my phone.

"Chief Swan speaking."

"Hey Charlie it's Edward. We have a problem."

"What? What's going on?"

"Bella's in labor, we need to go to the hospital. How are the roads?"

"Slick, son and damn near impassible. I can call an ambulance but they're backed up. The retirement homes heat went out so they're moving the old farts to another location. You're gonna have to drive it."

"I was afraid of that."

"I have a friend that owes me a favor and he has a plow on the front of his truck. I'll call him and see if he can help clear you a way. If I don't hear from you in say an hour I'll know you got there okay and I'll leave."

"Sounds good Charlie, see you soon."

Heading back downstairs I called my parents' house and my mother answered. After telling her what was going on she told me that my Dad had already been called into Forks General. They were short staffed and the hospital was getting full. She agreed to call Alice and Jasper to pick her up and give her a ride to the hospital.

Walking into the living room I saw that Bella had moved over to the couch and was putting her cell phone back into her purse.

"I called Dr. Montgomery's office they said she wasn't at the hospital but they would page her."

"Okay, love let's get you changed and into the car."

I helped her pull her soiled pants off and put on the sweats. I put on her shoes and grabbed her coat throwing on my shoes and coat too. Making our way to the garage we had to stop two more times because of contractions. After helping her into the passenger seat, I reset the alarm on the house and started the car.

It took fifteen minutes and four contractions just to get out of the driveway.

To say I was scared of delivering this baby in the backseat was an understatement. Forks General was normally a ten minute drive on a good day. Though the roads had been cleared the snow was just coming to fast for the plows to keep up. I was guessing we had at least a forty-five minute drive ahead of us, if not longer.

At the halfway point I was starting to feel slightly better, the roads weren't too slick but I still had to drive slow for the fear of black ice.

Bella's contractions had leveled off and were three minutes apart. I turned to tell her that we would be there in plenty of time, but the sight of a car racing up in my inside mirror made my heart stop. Before I could warn Bella, the car smashed into our rear bumper and made us veer off the road. The car was sent into a spin with the slick snow. Tumbling into the ditch the car rolled over onto the roof and back onto the tires. Stopping at a standstill in the deep snow in the ditch off the pavement. I don't know how long I sat there, but another contraction from Bella pulled me out of my shock.

"Breath baby. Are you alright?" I glanced at Bella who had a gash on her forehead that was bleeding freely.

"Yea, I'm okay. You should check on the other driver."

"Bells, I have a bad feeling. I want you to keep the doors locked and don't open for anyone but me. You understand?" She groaned in pain again but nodded her head yes.

I got out of the car, climbed out of the ditch and started walking toward the blue car. Before I could reach it though the driver side door opened and out walked my worst nightmare.

James.

He had an evil smirk on his face and he looked a hell of a lot different than he did five years ago. His once short hair was now long and stringy pulled into a low pony tail. His face had a sunken gaunt look to it, and he had some serious baggage under his eyes. The guy looked like he hadn't slept or ate in weeks. I wasn't sure if the changes were just from being on the run, or if the guy was seriously strung out. Caution would be the key to getting the hell out of this mess.

"Hey, Edward. Fancy seeing you."

"What the fuck do you want James? Are you still after money?"

"Geez Edward is that the way to greet an old friend?"

"You're no friend of mine; you hit my wife and tried to rape her. Add to the fact you beat the shit out of me and you're trying to extort money from me. I think most people would call that an enemy, you dumb ass."

"Yes," he chuckled darkly, "I still want your money, so this is what's going to happen. I'm going to beat you till your unconscious. Put you in your car with the heat on, we don't want you dying of hypothermia. Then you are going to send me 4 million dollars into an account. I will call you in a few days with where to send it."

"Why the fuck would I do that?"

"Cause I'll have your wife Eddie boy. I'm also assuming she is in labor, cause I can't think of another reason you'd be out in this weather. I think 2 million for each is reasonable."

"Why now? You could have tried to come into the house last night?"

"Ah, I've been watching for a while Eddie, I know all about your security system. Waiting for Bella to go out on her own would have been better, but you haven't left her side. This was my last chance."

Fuck Bella was still in the car. I needed to get rid of him quickly. The one good thing was he seemed to not know about my new fighting abilities. He was still acting cocky and self-assured, stupid fucker. I would have the advantage of surprise but he needed to attack me first, and it needed to happen soon.

"How the fuck are you gonna take care of a pregnant woman in labor no less, James?"

"Eddie boy, women have babies all the time at home. Besides let's just say I have a friend who knows what she's doing. My only disappointment is that I won't be able to fuck her fine ass."

Then he started walking toward me. I was tempted to look back to the car to make sure Bella was okay, but I could feel her eyes on me. I was hopeful that by this point she had called in for help, just in case.

That's when he took his first punch right into my temple; I was definitely not expecting that. That was the only punch he got though.

My frustrations were all taken out on him. Years of worry, stress, tears, and sweat. I could have had a normal life. Bella and our son could have had a normal life if it wasn't for this insignificant man in front of me. He became significant to my life though, when he hurt my wife and in turn hurt me.

I hated him and his father for that. Why did I have to plan my life around these days? Why did I have to worry about what would happen to me or my family? It wasn't fair; sometimes I wish my grandfather had never received those predictions at all. I felt like I had received a death sentence, and thirty years old was my dead line.

I just kept punching him over and over again, stuck in an angry haze I couldn't pull myself from. I felt a hand on my shoulder and jumped back away from it. Bella stood before me pale and ashen.

"It's okay Edward; he isn't getting up anytime soon. We need to go now!"

I hurried to take my coat off and wiped the blood off my hands and threw it on the ground. Gripping Bella around the waist, I helped her into James' car which was still running. In the distance it took to slowly walk to the passenger side we had to stop twice.

"How far apart?"

"A minute and a half." she gritted out.

I helped her into seat and shut her door and rushed to the driver side to get in.

"I called my dad, he is going to come here instead of the hospital and pick up James. You need to drive, hurry." she said gripping my hand tightly. I was tempted to run James over, but I had to get Bella to the hospital fast.

In twenty minutes we were pulling under the overhang by the emergency room. Jasper, Alice, and Emmett were all waiting at the door. Emmett rushed out with a wheelchair as soon as he saw us pull up. We eased her into it and Jasper said that he would move the car since it couldn't stay in the overhang.

Two right turns than a left and we were at the maternity ward check in.

"Dr. Montgomery, is she here?" I asked the nurse. "Her contractions are a minute apart."

"I'm Nurse Lauren, let's get her into a room." She led the way down the hall and I pushed Bella's chair right up to the bed and helped her up and ease into it.

"Here is a gown, get it on quickly. Dr. Montgomery is stuck at home; we have an OB/GYN on call from a different hospital here."

"No!" Bella ground out as another contraction hit, "Get Dr. Cullen, now!"

The nurse left quickly to page my dad and I helped Bella undress and get the gown on. She eased back onto the bed. Panting, "I'm sorry Edward. If Dr. Montgomery can't deliver I don't trust anyone else but your dad."

I looked at her and saw the traitorous tears run down her cheeks, "It's fine love, I understand. Whatever you want."

The nurse came back in and got an IV started on Bella and was hooking her up to a fetal monitor when I saw Charlie stick his head in the door. Silently motioning me to come to the hallway.

"I'll be right outside the door, love. I'll be right back."

All she could do was nod her head in agreement. Once I was in the hallway and shut the door Charlie started in, "How's she doing?"

"The contractions are a minute apart, she's hanging in there. Did you arrest him Charlie?"

He looked toward the floor, "I went where Bells said Edward, and I found your coat covered in blood and your wrecked car, but he wasn't there son."

"That's not possible! I beat the shit out of him, he was barely breathing. Charlie, he was threatening to kidnap Bella and my son, what if he comes here?"

"Shit! I'll post a guard at her door and see if I can get some more guys here. I'll alert security with the new description Bella gave me. If he enters this hospital we'll find him."

I saw my dad in his scrubs running down the hallway. "Edward," he shouted, "Lauren just paged over the intercom said Bella was ready to deliver NOW. What are you doing out here?"

Shit, he probably didn't know what happened with James yet. I would tell him later, Bella and my son were more important.

"Edward," Charlie told me with a pointed look, "I'll stand right by this door for now."

I nodded my head and went into the delivery room. Bella was inclined in a sitting position on the bed with her legs in the stirrups and a drape over her legs. Bright lights had been set at the foot of the bed and my dad was at the sink washing his hands.

I was instantly by her side and gripping her hand in mine.

"Okay Bells," My dad started while putting on his gloves and sitting on the stool at her feet, "I know there was no time for an epidural so I'm going to do everything I can to make this as painless as possible. It's going to hurt though, and you need to listen to my instructions. If I tell you to stop, you stop."

She nodded her head yes.

"Okay next contraction, Lauren and Edward are going to pull your legs back to your chest and I want you to push just like at Lamaze class, okay?"

She nodded again.

"Good girl, now push."

I gripped Bella's leg under her knee and pulled back like the nurse was doing. After pushing for 20 minutes my son was wailing on Bella's chest. My eyes began to tear; he was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. His hair was dark and matted to his head. His face though was all me though.

My dad handed me the scissors to cut the umbilical cord. When I handed the scissors back I noticed the tears in my dad's eyes.

"You know I never got to see you being born, this is kind of like repayment."

"Are you kidding? You had a front row seat Carlisle." Bella joked while softly stroking Maddox's cheek.

After weighing in at a healthy six pounds one ounce and nineteen inches long our family made their way in. Charlie had posted a guard at the door that would stay until midnight. He insisted we had constant security until we were able to go home.

When visiting hours were over at eight o'clock everyone had went home and Bella was dozing off in the bed.

I was holding my son, just staring at him.

"Mad," I whispered, "I have no idea what the future holds for me, but I promise you that I will protect you and your mother no matter what. And if for some reason I don't make it past thirty, I hope you know how much I love you both."

Maddox woke several times that night and Bella nursed him. I drifted in and out of a restless sleep, constantly checking with the guard who said everything was clear in the hallway. By nine in the morning our family came back, bringing flowers and stuffed animals. Emmett offered up 'It's a Boy' cigars which I had no intention of smoking. At three that afternoon Alice and Jasper came back to the hospital upset.

"What is it Ally?"

"Edward," she whispered not wanting to disturb my sleeping wife, "Jazz and I stopped by the house, we wanted to drop off some dinners we froze for you, straighten up a bit, get your mail…we found this in the mail box."

She handed me a piece of single white heavy paper folded in half. What it said made my blood run cold and my heart begin to race.

I will be back to claim what's mine.

Then you're dead.