A/N: I'm sorry. I suck. I know. This has kind of been on the backburner with other fics + RL. Thank you for staying with me!

A few people were not too pleased by the Emmett POV I posted. Let me remind you of my (admittedly, vague) summary: This is a story about friendship and parenthood, love and other mistakes. If I felt like Em&Rose's story did not pertain to Edward and Bella, I would have listed that chapter as an outtake.

Also, if it wasn't for that chapter, this chapter wouldn't have happened. So smile. Hopefully. Thank you so much for reading/reviewing/following/favoriting. And a huge bear hug to Maplestyle for recommending this one to the lemonade stand. She just completed a fawkawesome fic called Love Hurts and you should check it out.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable character, settings, etc. go to SM.

One Week Later.

Edward

I was just trying to eat my KFC and state my opinion.

"I'm trying to understand, I really am—"

"No, you're not." Bella had a hand on her waist, one foot out and a finger in my face. "You're being an inconsiderate motherfucker!"

I tried not to laugh. I really did. We were fighting over nothing; a difference in opinion. She hit me with a chicken wing. Hit my leg, but still … she threw a fucking chicken wing at me.

I stared down at my friend, my firecracker baby-momma. She was red-faced, fists balled at her sides as she stared up at me with those dark brown eyes. She was so feisty, and it was turning me on.

I shook my head, trying to shake those thoughts out of my head.

I had been so close to dropping the 'L' word on her last week. It was a moment of weakness, and a terrible idea, but … it just happened. I had felt it, felt that fucking bump, and the word was on my tongue, unavoidable.

I tried to shake myself out of my feelings. I told myself that I was crazy.

It's the sex. That is what has got me all fucked up. I just like getting it in with Bella … and only Bella.

It was just once, but that was all it took.

All it took for me to knock her up (apparently I had super sperm), and all it took for me to go crazy.

I hadn't even looked at a fucking porno since that night. My spank-bank had been completely emptied and replaced with—

"Stop looking at me like that, you traitor!" she screamed, eyes welling with tears.

Looking at her like what?

"I'm done fighting with you." I shook my head, putting on my best 'Don't fuck with me' face. "We're not letting their shit-" I waved an index finger between us. "Get between our shit." I wasn't sure where I was going with that one, so I shook my head. "You're getting worked up over nothing, Bella."

I didn't want to call her out on being a crazy bitch, but she had been acting like this for a week. Ever since that night when she had her talk with Rose, those two were best fucking friends again. She fed us all this crap about violence not being the answer, but hit me with a chicken wing as soon as I called Rosalie a cunt.

It's those fucking pregnancy hormones, said rationality. And she's going to blame it all on you, motherfucker.

Feisty stared up at me, her knuckles turning white. Her cheeks were tinged pink, her jaw clenched and her eyes burning holes through mine.

"I'm taking a shower." She turned her back to me, marching out of the living room and down the hall. "Get your fucking facts straight, Cullen."

I snorted a laugh, scrubbing a hand over my forehead. "Yes, dear."

"Don't sweet talk me, motherfucker!" she yelled, slamming the bathroom door closed.

I stood in the middle of the living room, holding my chicken, staring at the place she last left, trying to figure out what exactly was going on.

"She'll be alright." I nodded to myself.

… Yeah, whatever you gotta tell yourself.

"You know..." She came out seconds later, wearing a tight tank top instead of the red sweater she had on earlier.

Her boobs are fucking huge.

"That was a shitty thing Emmett did, and you really have the audacity to defend him?"

I threw my chicken down.

Fuck it.

"He wasn't even having an affair, Bella!"

"He lied for months, a year about what he was doing." She waved a hand through the air. "It's that sketchy behavior that ruins marriages! I think your father can attest to that—King of the Players."

"What?" I shook my head as my blood began to boil, my head spinning. Keep it together, Cullen. "What does my dad have to do with this?!"

"He's been married six times, Edward!" She held her fingers up to my face. "Six! It's no wonder why you can't commit to anyone, your dad is a manwhore, and you and your brother are the same way!"

Where. The. Fuck. Did that come from?

I told myself that it was the hormones again.

"I'm a manwhore?" I pointed to myself. "Me? Bella, I haven't even had sex since—" You.

"It doesn't matter." My bipolar baby-momma took a deep breath and shook her head. "I'm not accusing you of sleeping around, which I wouldn't care if you were, because that's your business." She looked up to the ceiling. "But Emmett lied to Rose, and he was wrong."

"He was." I agreed. But she's still a bitch.

"She didn't deserve to be lied to."

"No." I nodded. "She didn't. But, Bella, Rose has been—"

"If you call her a cunt again—" she showed me her teeth, like she was going to snap at me.

Fuck, she's so cute.

STOP.

"Distant." I nodded to appease her. "And—" She's kind of a total bitch.

I hadn't always thought so low of Rose, but I changed my mind sometime after she started treating Bella and I like dirt for deciding to have a baby together. Maybe if she had sucked up her pride and realized that we were going to do what we decided, whether she liked it or not, I would have helped her out a little. But no, she chose to be a bitch. I had no sympathy for her.

I did not have a problem with admitting that my brother was wrong; he was. He always had a stick up his ass, but I was starting to believe that Rosalie's cuntiness had something to do with that. I figured that if he felt like he couldn't speak with his wife, it was her fault.

We were supposed to meet his mistress—friend, whatever—the following weekend, and I was dreading it. I had no interest in being involved with this odd situation, but my brother asked that I be there just in case.

I shook my head as I gazed down at Bella, finding this argument oddly humorous.

My brother's an idiot. Rose is a drama queen. I'd rather rub Bella's baby bump and watch The Walking Dead than watch those two idiots.

Then again, I was curious about the girl. What the hell was Emmett thinking? She was a girl—could have been his kid. Emmett was acting like a child, meeting up with this woman each day, getting blazed and bitching about his life. He should have been at home with his wife and kids.

It was bizarre.

"I'm done fighting with you." She shook her head. "You're a jerk."

It's like she's fucking five.

I groaned, turning my back to her and fisting my hands in my hair.

Fifteen minutes later I joined Bella in the bathroom.

"This is so gross," Bella whimpered, her shoulders trembling as she hunched over the toilet. I winced as she started dry-heaving.

I held her hair in my hands, my feet planted on either side of hers while she retched.

"Sorry," I whispered, feeling my chest swell with remorse and admiration for the woman who was puking her guts out in the toilet to make my ridiculous dream come true.

"Me too," she whimpered again, and I felt even shittier.

Bella had been doing well the previous months. She had not shown any signs of morning sickness up until this point, and I worried it might have been the argument that did her in.

"Bllaugh," I cringed at the sounds she made.

"I mean I'm sorry I yelled at you—" the word transformed into a gag. I grimaced as vomit smell hit my nose.

"I am too, Honey," I used my free hand to rub circles in her back.

I gagged over my shoulder, my stomach telling me: 'get the fuck out of here, man'. I never became a doctor for a reason; this was it.

I held my breath as I leaned towards her. "You alright, baby?"

She nodded, closing the toilet lid and resting her cheek against it. "Uh-huh."

"You want to brush your teeth?"

She shook her head as I let go of her hair. "Not yet."

"Do you want me to call a doctor?"

"No." She wiped her mouth and sat back on her heels. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to go off on you like that, but just … "

"What?" I grabbed a towel for her.

"I can't really explain it to you, so will you just trust me when I tell you Rose isn't a bitch? I mean, she has her reasons, and she is sorry for acting how she did. Just give her a chance."

"Okay." I nodded. "I'll give her a chance. One. But we're never fighting over them again."

"Understood." She nodded, taking the towel from me. "Never again."

~Children of Friends~

One Week Later.

Bella was driving me insane. I almost positive that she was intentionally dressing this way to drive me nuts, and it was sick.

What kind of game is she playing?

I looked at my baby-momma, trying to figure out how to tell her to change her fucking outfit or get out of my face, but I really just wanted to attack her.

This isn't fair, said my inner teenager. This is not. Fucking. Fair.

"I'm drinking twelve-dollar water, and I have to tell you guys, it taste like two-dollar water to me." Bella tossed her menu on the table, releasing an exaggerated sigh. She started finger twirling a brunette curl. "This restaurant gets two stars if we have to pay for the toilet paper, too."

I heard nothing. My eyes were glued on her tits at the moment, and whatever was said went in one ear and right out the other.

We were supposed to have a nice, "quiet" dinner with Rose, Emmett, and this Lauren chick (she still hadn't showed up yet). I figured it would have been an okay night, until Bella met me on Madison Avenue after work, wearing a short black wrap dress that seemed to be missing the top five buttons.

I sat there, looking at my friend's boobs with furrowed brows, having little to no shame.

Okay, there was a little shame. It came and it went, as I imagined burying my face between her boobs and motor-boating those puppies.

You need help, said rationality; that bitch in my head who always knew what to do. You need to do something about this, because it's getting out of hand.

"Professor," Bella said in her sexy little voice, although I couldn't tell if it was just in my head at this point. "You need to avert your eyes to the waiter, he's waiting to take your drink order."

"Beer." I cleared my throat and forced myself to look away from her, averting my gaze to the ceiling.

"What kind, sir?"

"I don't care, just bring me beer." He wrote something down and I held my hand up. "No wait, don't bring me anything by Budweiser. Anything but Pissweiser, please."

"Of course, sir." He gave me this look that said: 'I would never make you drink that shit.'

I nodded, looking back to Emmett. My brother was sitting at the edge of his seat, staring off into space—not paying any attention. "He'll take a Bud Light," I ordered for Emmett.

The waiter, Derek, told us he would be right back.

Moments later, a short girl wearing a tight black number appeared alongside a boy who made me drop my jaw at his bizarre attire. The guy was wearing a stained gray blazer with a Radiohead tee shirt beneath. I felt my eyes go wide as I looked down at the holey white skinny jeans he wore.

He looked like he had just stepped off the set of a One Direction music video shoot.

"Who the hell is this?" I asked, earning myself a shoulder slap from Bella.

"Rude."

"L-Lauren," Emmett choked upon realization. He shot out of his chair and made to hug her, but abruptly dropped back down in his chair.

"I'm so sorry I'm late!" Lauren exclaimed, taking a seat in the empty chair next to me. "Oh my god, you guys will never believe the night I've had. It was totally insane, forrealskies. Oh! And this is Benny, my boyfriend."

Blazer guy lifted his hand as he took a seat in the chair beside Lauren. He gave me a chin jerk. "Sup."

Bella snorted a laugh.

Rose smiled, surprising the shit out of me.

I nodded back at him. "Sup."

"Wow," Lauren said, looking around the restaurant. "I've never been to a place like this before. Most of my friends just want to chill at the bar."

"Which bar?" Bella chimed at my side.

"The Blue Note—oh, you must be Bella!" Lauren smiled widely. "I've heard so much about you!" She stood up and reached across the table to shake Bella's hand.

I stared at Lauren skeptically, wondering if she was in one of my classes at one point.

"You have?" Bella put on an unreadable smile and shot Emmett a glare. "That's lovely."

Emmett cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah, Lauren, that's Bella. This is my wife, Rosalie, and my brother, Edward."

Lauren forced a wide too-friendly smile as she turned to Rosalie. "Hi Rose, it's so nice to meet you."

Rose smiled back.

"Lauren." She cocked her head to the side. "So nice to finally meet you."

I clenched my teeth in an attempt not to laugh. I had to give Rose a little credit; she was trying.

"So wait ..." Bella straightened her shoulders out as Lauren reclaimed her seat. "What exactly did you hear about me?"

Lauren crossed her legs and opened her mouth, but didn't come up with anything.

I palmed my face, dragging my fingers across my cheek, praying that I would wake up from this nightmare.

This was a terrible fucking idea.

"I—um—I heard that you have a baby on the way with Emmett's brother. That's wonderful." She looked from me to Bella and back. "And that your brother also married Emmett's sister, which is crazy awesome, because you guys are such good friends."

"We are," Bella spoke through a dimply smile. "Such good friends. We tell each other everything."

I looked at Bella with furrowed eyebrows.

What game is she playing tonight?

"Anyway," Bella sighed, relaxing her shoulders as she turned back to Lauren. "Tell us about your crazy night, Lauren."

The girl relaxed back in her chair, looking towards Benny. "It was insane."

Lauren started rattling off some tale about how she took a cab all the way to Brooklyn earlier because Benny with White Skinnies googled the wrong address. I tried to pay attention, but my focus kept wavering with Bella's boobs being so close.

A few moments later, Derek dropped off my beer, and then proceeded to take Lauren and Ben's orders. As he was leaving, I lifted my head and tuned into the conversation as I took a drink of my beer.

"Anyway, that is how I ended up getting both nipples pierced tonight." I turned my head and felt beer shooting out of my nose and mouth at the same time, aiming it right at Bella.

The whole table busted out laughing. Bella dropped her jaw as my beer worked down her chest and soaked into her dress.

She bit her lip through a smile, looking down at her soaked chest with widened arms. "Thanks, Edward."

"I'm s-sorry." I coughed, still choking on my beer. I covered my mouth and looked at her through watery eyes. "Went down the wrong pipe."

"Miss, one of the waiters is fetching a towel for you." Derek kneeled down at her side, shooting me a disdainful look. "You too."

I shook my head, scooting out of my chair.

"I think I'm just going to go to the restroom," Bella said apologetically, smiling up at Derek, who was now checking out her rack. "Thank you."

I grabbed her hand to help her up, death-glaring at the back of Derek's head as he walked away. "I am so sorry Bella, I don't know what happened."

I tried to avoid looking at her soaked tits, but my eyes—having a mind of their own—went there involuntarily. Bella smiled, looking up at me with wide brown eyes. "I'm just going to go to the restroom, and you're going to help me clean this up, and I'll try not to kill you. Deal?"

Fuck yes.

"D-Deal." I couldn't tell if I was still choking on my beer or if it were her words. "Right, okay. Let's go."

"Wait! What do you want to eat?" Rose asked as we stepped away from the table.

"Surprise me," Bella told her. "No sea food."

I nodded. "Same here."

I took ahold of Bella's hand and led her through the tables, towards the back of the restaurant.

"What is up with you tonight?" she asked, laughing.

"Me? What's up with you? With your fake smiles and your flimsy dresses." I scoffed over my shoulder, practically dragging her along with me. "I can see your nipples, Bella."

"It was on sale at H&M," she insisted, as I located the handicapped restroom and pushed the door open.

"H&M? Are you a twenty-year-old hipster now? Dress like you usually do. Turtle necks. Khakis. Things like that." I locked the door behind us, searching the room for something clean Bella's dress with.

"I never wear khakis … and I thought I looked nice."

"Exactly," I blurted out, pulling an abundance of napkins from the dispenser by the sink. She took a seat on the counter and took some of the napkins out of my hands, shoving them down her dress. "Don't get me wrong, you look beautiful."

"Thanks." She smiled as she tried to clean the mess I made. I focused on getting the beer off her shoulders and out of her hair. "I just feel so old. I thought I'd try to spice up my wardrobe a little since I need new clothes anyway. I'm trying not to be so boring."

"You're not boring," I whispered, pulling a napkin through her hair. "And even if you were, I wouldn't change that about you. You're perfect just the way you are."

I wasn't sure exactly what I was saying at this point. I had always felt so out of character except when I was with Bella, and it seemed ridiculous to me that she would try to be someone she's not.

"What if I want to act like a pregnant hipster?" She looked at me through dark lashes, the corners of her lips upturned with a teasing smile. "What if I wanted to act like a twenty-year-old, would you still love me?"

I looked up from her lips and into her eyes. "Yeah," I nodded. "Of course I would. Forrealskies."

I didn't have any doubts about that.

"Okay." Sending me a smile, she reached into her dress to pull the napkins free and threw them in the sink. She looked up at me and puffed her cheeks out. "Can you really see my nipples?"

Still gazing into dusky brown eyes, I shook my head once.

It wasn't a total lie; I wasn't looking, for once. I was afraid of what might happen if I did. I wasn't sure I could contain myself at this point. My sanity was hanging by a thread, and it would only take one small tug for it to snap.

"There aren't any other girls," I blurted out, blinking rapidly as I realized how idiotic my statement seemed.

She furrowed her eyebrows and dropped her hands to her side, confused. "What?"

I wanted to slap myself for saying something so random. "No, I—uh—I'm sorry, that came out of nowhere." I shook my head vehemently. "Last week, you said something about me sleeping with other people. You said it's none of your business, when it is, and I'm not."

"Oh." Her lips formed into an 'O' shape before she cracked a small smile. "Okay."

I wanted to ask if she had been seeing anyone, but I also knew it wasn't any of my business. I also knew that I spent every waking moment with her, so I didn't really have any reason to suspect she would be sleeping with anyone either.

I wasn't going to lie and tell her that I wouldn't care if she did, though. My blood boiled just thinking about her sleeping with someone else.

I knew it was wrong, and I suddenly felt all the dread of possibilities weighing down my shoulders.

Bella isn't going to stick around and be boring with me forever, said rationality, the voice in my head that I tended to pay attention to. She's going to find someone else. She's going to fall in love; this baby isn't going to keep us bound together forever.

I was starting to realize that she was so much more than a best friend to me. She was more than the mother of my unborn child, and that's precisely why she was the one carrying our baby in the first place. I couldn't think of anything else I wanted more at that moment than to kiss her and beg her to let me do it for the rest of my life.

I was in love with Bella; she was my wonderwall.

It no longer mattered to me how dangerous my emotions were, or that relationships never worked. I felt like I had wasted half of my life thinking those things, and I hadn't ever proved anything except that I was a coward.

What I had known was that we could be dead by tomorrow, and I couldn't think of anything else that I would rather be doing than kissing her.

I already had everything I could have ever wanted, but it meant nothing without her.

"You okay?" she asked, looking up to catch me gazing back at her. "Oh no, did he give you the Bud Light instead? Are you going to throw up? Just tell me, Edward. Oh God, please don't throw up on me."

She quickly hopped down from the sink and tried to step away from me.

"Ah!" With wide eyes, I watched as Bella slipped on one of the paper towels on the floor, so quickly that I didn't think I'd be able to do anything about it. I felt my hand shoot out to grab her by the forearm and another at her waist before she could fall backward.

Holding her awkwardly in my arms, I tried to assess her current state to make sure that she hadn't broken anything. Terrified, I didn't move a muscle as I looked over her. "Bella, are you okay? Does anything hurt? Is the baby—"

"Yeah." She lifted her head, gasping. "I'm okay—we're okay. It just scared me. That happened so fast. I can't believe you caught me."

With my heart slamming in my chest from the initial panic of watching her slip and possibly hit her head against the sink and die right before my eyes, I stared wide-eyed at my beer-scented wonderwall. I didn't even think about my next move, it was motivated by the immense relief I felt with knowing that she was okay.

I leaned down and pressed my lips against hers.

Bella gasped.

And I lost my grip on her waist, which sent her falling to the floor.