A/N: Fran is my beta, and May (2brown-eyes) preread for me :D

Disclaimer: I own nothing.


Are you only in this for sex?

Are you?

Don't answer my question with a question, Swan.

I love you.

He didn't reply immediately.

Why does this feel like a dream? Why doesn't any of this feel real?

I paused in search for the right words before composing my reply.

Maybe it was meant to be.

"All right, Mommy. Shirt up," Heidi, the ultrasound tech, instructed. I did as I was told and tucked my shirt under my bra. "Is Daddy joining us?"

I shook my head. "He has an important meeting today."

Edward was really disappointed that he couldn't make it. I couldn't deny I was a little sad too. There was a good chance we would find out the sex today and I didn't want to find out without him.

I explained the situation to Heidi, who immediately shook her head when I told her I would wait. "It's no problem. I'll just put it in an envelope for you two to open later if you want."

I beamed at this little piece of information, immediately concocting up the different ways we could unveil it. Did I want my parents to be there? Or would we do it in private? Or could I even make it out of the hospital building without peeking inside the envelope?

"Have you been thinking of any names?" she asked, distracting me from getting any slick ideas as she positioned the wand over my stomach.

I shook my head. "Well, Edward has." I smiled to myself. That dictating bastard thought he was running the show.

"Her name is Isabel," he stated, his face calm and impassive.

I stared at him for a moment before blurting out, "Fuck you."

He also thought up names for a boy, too. But I shot down those ideas as well.

"Collin."

I lifted an eyebrow. "Collin? You want to name our son Collin Cullen?"

He grinned. He was fucking with me. "It's catchy, right?"

I shook my head. "No way in hell."

"I was thinking Beverly if it's a girl," I admitted. "I really loved Beverly Cleary growing up. I guess the name sort of stuck with me."

Heidi beamed. "I love that name. It's a classic."

I nodded.

"Does Daddy like the name?" she asked, turning the monitor so I could no longer see. I assumed she was checking out the goods and flitted my eyes to the ceiling.

"He doesn't know … yet."

Heidi smiled. "Okay, Mommy. I'm going to write this down on a piece of paper for you." She turned her back to me and I assumed she scribbled down the sex on the notepad before she folded it and tucked it into an orange envelope. "And whenever you and the father are ready, you can go ahead and take a look. Sound good?"

I smiled excitedly and took the envelope from her. She handed me a towel to wipe the goo off my belly as she shut off the machine.

"What if it's a boy?" she asked, and her teasing smile was torture. I wanted to look in the envelope and find out immediately. "What name would you have for him?"

I narrowed my eyes at her. "You don't play fair."

She laughed. "I'm sorry, I know the anticipation must be killing you. Whatever you do, make sure you don't peak."

I glowered at her. "You're the devil."

.

.

.

After my appointment, I wasn't sure what to do with myself. I'd requested the day off work and was free for the rest of the afternoon. I knew Edward would be starting a new class soon so I decided to stop by the university and listen in on his lecture.

I trailed the halls until I found his room, stopping just outside the door to peer inside.

I smiled at the sight of him. My nerdy professor was wearing a buttoned down flannel with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, dark denim jeans, and his glasses. He seemed so animated, moving his arms around as if he were describing a scene.

My curiosity had the best of me, so I cracked open the door to listen in.

"… What life's about, right? Trying to figure out who you are—" he paused to take a drink from a water bottle sitting on his desk before taking a seat at the corner of it "—I know all you guys didn't just join this class to hear me drone on and on about Shakespeare."

The room filled with chuckles. I smiled. "We're romantics at heart. You can try and deny it, but it's always going to be there. It's embedded in our DNA."

"Are you saying you're a romantic, professor?" A girl asked, leaning forward to smile up at him pushing her chest out and batting her eyelashes up at him.

"Me?" Edward asked, pointing to himself. "No. I'm an English Professor." He paused before he outstretched his arms, a knowing grin spreading across his face. "Of course, I am. How do you think I fell in love with books?"

My eyes went back to the girl. She was still starry-eyed and beaming at him.

Actually, most of the class was. It seemed all of the ladies we're sighing in their seats.

But Edward, oblivious to his charm, turned around to face the whiteboard, having not a clue how much he'd affected all of them. "I can't try and change your mind about reading. If you don't like it, well …" he paused. "I'd tell you not to, but that would mean you dropping my class, and I'm sure your parents wouldn't be too pleased to hear that. By all means, do whatever you want. But, if you find yourself enjoying something, embrace it. Don't be shy and pretend to be appalled by the romantic literature I assign you to read. I'm talking to you, Eric." He pointed to a guy who seemed to be falling asleep in the front row. The room filled with chuckles. Eric sunk low in his seat, embarrassed.

I laughed quietly.

"Ignore this preconceived notion that reading some classic literature is going to kill you with boredom. If you come in here with that attitude, soon enough you'll find yourself hating everything I assign you to read. Open up your mind." He touched the marker to his forehead. "Life is short. If you're going to stay up all night reading Shakespeare because old Professor Cullen told you to, you might as well try to understand it to the best of your ability. Enjoy it."

I swore I heard the girls sigh, and the one from earlier fell further into her desk as she checked out his ass. I felt a hiss at my tongue, one that immediately caught the attention of the boy Edward addressed earlier. His eyes met mine and he brought his hand to his mouth, muffling a cough.

"Cullen, I think you have a visitor," he said in a deep orotund as if speaking into a megaphone. My eyes widened and I attempted to slip away but found myself being yanked back, as my bag became trapped on the other side of the door and the strap was holding me prisioner.

"Shit," I muttered. I contemplated just removing the strap and making a run for it. I started to do just that when I remembered the envelope was inside. "Dammit."

The door slowly reopened and Edward assisted me in getting my bag free.

"I'm sorry," I rushed out as he joined me in the hall. "I just thought I'd drop by and I saw that girl looking at you like she wanted to be your next wife and I hissed for some reason."

As I rambled, Edward's eyebrows shot up in amusement.

"I didn't think it would come out, maybe it was just instinct or something? I don't know. That was really inappropriate. I shouldn't have come."

"Bella," he said, stepping closer to me.

"You're really good at this. I mean, I've seen you teach before, I just never … I don't remember you being so brave," I stated. I grimaced then. "You just … you looked like you belonged up there, you know?"

His lips twitched at the corners.

"You really have a knack for making people listen," I babbled. I couldn't make it stop. "You know, it's crazy, everyone was just ... you just dazzle them, and they listen."

He sported a full smirk. "Really? It doesn't seem to be working on you."

"Sorry, I'll shut up now." I pretended to zip my mouth closed and grabbed his hand to give him the imaginary key. "There."

He gazed at me for a full ten seconds, and it took everything in me to keep my mouth shut. "You're adorable," he muttered finally reaching up to tuck a curl behind my ear. My heart seemed to skip a beat and I suddenly forgot all about using words.

"Did you go to your appointment?" he asked, furrowing his brows as he checked me over as if he expected me to be in hospital gown post-ultrasound.

I shook my head. "I-I went."

His concern grew more. "Is anything wrong? Is the baby okay? Shit," he sighed out. He stepped back and placed his hand on his forehead. "I'm sorry. I should've come."

"What? No!" I shook my head. "No, everything's fine. I went to the doctor and everything is great. The baby is good. You didn't have to come."

He dropped his arm, relief washing over his face. "Oh. Thank God."

I nodded.

"You didn't find out … ?" he asked, lifting his eyebrows, a glint of hope in his eyes.

I smiled and shook my head. "Not yet."

He sighed and reached up to run a hand through his hair. "Next time, I promise. I'll be there. When is your next appointment?"

"Two weeks," I answered.

He brought his bottom lip between his teeth. I fought a smirk. He was just as eager to find out as I was.

"Have lunch with me?" he asked, his eyes hopeful. "I have fifteen minutes left. You can sit in and listen. Since I'm such a good talker." He winked.

I nodded. "Sure."

.

.

.

"So … you'll do it?"

I popped a cherry sour in my mouth, ignoring the heartburn lingering in my chest from my earlier brunch. I was being a pig but I didn't care; Cherry Sours had become my life.

"I'm working," I muttered, closing the tab I'd opened for perusing Facebook hours earlier. I was writing an editorial on dating; something my boss seemingly considered me a connoisseur on. I couldn't say whether I was offended or flattered by the insinuation.

"You're single, Bella," Victoria had told me. She smiled at me with that cunning little glint in her eyes. "Come up with a little something that the single ladies can relate to. We've been publishing all these relationship articles and ignoring all of our lonely readers."

Victoria's C.R.B.F aside, I knew she had a point. Twilight Times didn't focus on the dating world; it covered a wide variety of topics. It was one of the reasons I cared so much about my job; the opportunities were endless. I wasn't sentenced to one thing, I could travel and cover places all over the world if Victoria approved. She loved to spice the magazine up with new ideas, and the past year every issue seemed to be "Ten Signs He's Losing Interest" and "Finding Your Inner Diva". We needed to bring the magazine back to life.

Maybe my romantic could write something for me…

"You're not working," Rose huffed, and I noticed Angela peeping her head over the receptionist desk to check on us. She gave Rose a pointed look, which she ignored. Rose should've left a while ago, but she had no regard for the rules of the workplace and stood her ground when Angela shot her glares. She was relentless.

I cleared my throat, preparing it for another mouthful of sugary candy. "Shouldn't you be at home? Where are the kids?"

"They're on an adventure with the babysitter," she answered, shrugging. "McDonald's Playland."

McDonald's sounded amazing. "Would you mind running and getting me a ten piece—"

She took the Cherry Sours from my hand and I frowned. "I thought you were off Friday nights. Emmett and I wanted to get some alone time, you know?"

I sighed. For the past ten minutes, Rose has been pleading with me to watch her kids Friday night while she and Emmett went on a date. I didn't know how to properly let her down by telling her that I was already going on a date.

"I'm going out," I finally admitted.

Her face fell. "What?"

I nodded and turned my head away. "I'm going out."

"Out … as in …?"

"As in, going outside of the house. I have plans."

"But you're pregnant..."

"And …?" I raised an eyebrow.

Her eyebrows shot up. "But 'going out' usually suggests you're going with Edward to the bar and drinking until you can't walk straight."

"I don't always go to the bar." A part of me wished it were a bar we were going to. Maybe some alcohol would ease the awkwardness between us. Would there be awkwardness? God, I hoped not.

She waited for further explanation, and when I didn't bother providing one, she slid off my desk to move her face a mere, uncomfortable few inches from mine.

"What are you doing?"

"Reading you."

"Reading me?"

"I'm a mom, Bella. Which means I'm also a human lie detector."

"You're strange."

"I'm strange? You have six Cherry Sours sitting on the left side of your mouth." Huh? I counted them with my tongue.

She was right.

I chewed them. "Weirdo. Who counts how many items I put in my mouth?"

"Moms." She finally pulled away with a sigh. "I will find out what you're hiding, Bella."

I smirked at her as I reached for the bag she was holding and popped another candy in my mouth. "Mm, sure you will."

Her eyes went to my stomach. "So, when is the big reveal?"

I forced the candy down my throat and coughed, reaching for my water to chase it down. "I'm going to surprise Edward. He doesn't know I know. Well, I don't know. But you know what I mean."

She beamed at me. "Can I look?"

I shook my head, no. "You can find out when everybody else does," I smirked, loving that I had the power to hold this information from her. I couldn't lie about this since I technically didn't know. "Maybe we'll do the whole cake reveal thing."

Rose shook her head at me. "I don't know how you haven't peeked yet. I would've looked hours ago. No, I would've looked yesterday. What are you waiting for?"

I bit my lip. I couldn't tell her my plan without giving myself—or Edward and me—away. So I scooted around the truth. "We just haven't had the right moment yet."

She rolled her eyes and hopped off the desk. "Right moment? Keep waiting around for the right moment and you'll find you've wasted your life away."

Her statement was overdramatic, but I knew she had a point. I waited for 'moments' all the time. I shook my head to myself.

Weak excuse for a human being.

"Don't get all broody!" she exclaimed, reaching over to pinch my puffed cheek. "You decided you wanted a baby and didn't wait for that, so what am I saying? You obviously have some sense of reasonable timing. Since your—um—biological clock is ticking and all."

I flipped her off.

She smirked. "No thanks. I'll see you later. No, thank you for not sharing the sex of your baby, by the way. I'll get it out of you one way or another."

I hummed. "No thanks. That's the doctor's job."

"Oh yes. Doctor Sexy," she said in breathy whisper, wagging her eyebrows. I nodded. Dr. Greene was cute. Hot. Godlike, even. But I wasn't as attracted to him as I was when we first met. Maybe him checking out the cooch rubbed off on me?

I snorted to myself. Victoria popped her head in and noticed Rose sitting on my desk. "Everything all right?"

I nodded. "Rose was just leaving. She dropped off lunch."

Victoria's eyes went to the bag of Cherry Sours sitting on my desk then flitted them back at Rose. "Next time, let the rest of the office know. We love lunch."

I smiled as she walked off and Rose stuck her tongue out in her direction. She turned to me and rolled her eyes. "Go on, write your article. Talk about how glorious it is to be single when you're thirty."

She hugged me and pecked my cheek, disappearing before she could catch my sarcastic laugh. Angela looked up at the sound and I blushed, embarrassed.

"I'm fine," I whispered. She smiled at me.

"Sure," she said, and her eyes went to my candy. "Are you hungry? Want me to get you lunch or something?"

I contemplated it a moment before I nodded vehemently.

.

.

.

Date night.

It sounded so strange. But there wasn't anything strange about it, was there? Because here I sat, at a restaurant, with my date, and nothing about it seemed off. Well, not exactly. Things were different.

There were looks.

And compliments, and more looks.

And nothing about it was indistinguishable, and I wouldn't even dare to say it was awkward.

But maybe that was all in my head.

"You look gorgeous." A soft giggle followed.

"You look hot."

"Stop. I'll blush."

"I'd love to see you blush."

"I was paying you a compliment and you turn it around to make it about me."

Edward met my eyes and his lips twitched at the corner. The couple behind us continued to ramble on.

"Are you flirting with me?"

"I would never flirt with you."

The girl huffed. I smiled at Edward. "Oh, but you'll flirt with the waitress?"

"She isn't my friend," the boy said. "I don't flirt with friends."

I leaned into Edward and he leaned toward me, meeting me halfway. My eyes went straight to his lips. He was freshly shaved and smelled amazing. All Edward. When his lips twitched again, I forced myself to look into his eyes.

"Did you hire them for entertainment?" I questioned.

He blinked and looked over his shoulder. "No, but I think I know the girl."

I rolled my eyes. Edward knew everybody. He was like a grandpa; you went to the store with him and everyone there knew who he was and wanted to have an hour-long conversation with him.

I blame it on the eyes. Everyone loves his eyes.

I found myself laughing and Edward raised his brows. "Something funny?"

I shook my head and had to tell myself he couldn't read my mind, I was coming off like a crazy person laughing like this.

Edward smiled, though, never minding my crazies, as he pulled back to eat his food.

"I'm glad you're laughing," he said. "I was worried you were going to act out."

I composed myself. "Act out?"

He nodded slowly and pursed his lips, meeting my eyes. "Last weekend gave me that impression."

"Oh?" I forked some Chicken Alfredo. "Why?"

I was playing dumb. I knew damn well why. Me and my twelve-year-old hormone-addled mind were getting me nowhere but trouble.

As I chewed, he continued. "Well, you didn't seem to take me seriously, for one." I nodded, watching him intently. This shows maturity, I told myself. "And also … you seem to just be interested in getting in my pants."

I dropped my fork with a loud clank. "What?"

He rolled his eyes. "Are you really going to deny it? Because I can give you a play-by-play if you'd like."

"Not everything revolves around your dick, professor," I stated, composing a glare I could hardly manage to keep. Finally, I gave it up and sighed. "I'm sorry. I know I acted … inappropriate."

His eyes danced between mine. If my heart could sigh … "Are you kidding?" He reached out to palm my cheek. Is he a cheek-palmer now? Was he a cheek-palmer before? I couldn't remember, my brain was cloudy. "Bella, I'd be worried if you didn't act inappropriately. You're just crazy, I get that. It's you."

Words every girl wants to hear. Swoon.

"I guess I thought it was funny? We've already had sex," I reminded him. I enjoyed just throwing that fact out there. It brought back a rush of memories of him posed above me, slamming—

He groaned. It was drawn out, a mixture of frustration and desire, and it made the girl behind us turn around.

I flushed and covered my face with my hands. "You're embarrassing … but please record that sound for me."

He chuckled. "You're all over the place, Bella. See? This is why we have to go slow." I dropped my hand to look at him. "You're already three steps ahead of me. It's like you've been waiting for the day I asked you out."

At his words, my eyes dropped to my lap and the blood rushed from my face down to my neck and through my ears.

I wouldn't look up for a full two minutes, and when I did peek at his facial expression, I averted my eyes right back to my lap.

"Are you … ?" he exclaimed, and I bit my lip. "Bella … look at me."

When I refused to look up, he grasped my chin to try and make me. I still looked down. "Did you want me to date you?" he whispered, and I felt his breath over my face. "Did you really think about us being together?"

Maybe he could read it on my face because he dropped the hand holding it. Curious, I looked up to see he'd closed his eyes and clenched his jaw.

"Of course, I have," I answered finally. He opened his eyes to meet mine. "I mean, isn't that obvious? We've been friends for over a decade. Didn't you ever think about me? Didn't you ever entertain the thought of being with me?"

I stared into his green eyes as they pooled with a mixture of sorrow and wonder. His lips pulled back into a small smile.

"All the time," he whispered.

I didn't like the look in his eyes, so I reached between us for my purse. His eyebrows furrowed as I pulled out the envelope and set it between us.

"What's this? A love letter?" he teased, then paled when I tilted my head to the side.

"I wanted us to find out at the right moment, but I'm not really good with moments, so maybe you can tell me." I pushed the envelope toward him. My hands started shaking uncontrollably and I had to shove them under the table to keep my nerves from getting the best of me.

Edward picked it up and removed the slip of paper, only to flash it to me when he discovered there was nothing written on it. All that was there was a sticky note.

A pink sticky note.

"What does this mean?" he asked, clearly confused, and I felt like an ass for not explaining it before. My eyes filled with tears and I smiled to let him know I was okay.

"Um, I guess that means we're having a girl," I answered, or choked out. I couldn't really speak properly; my voice was so filled with emotion.

Edward's jaw had dropped in surprise before a widebroad smile spread across his face. "Are you serious?"

I nodded. "Unless I'm colorblind. Is that pink?"

Edward nodded and continued to stare at me. "It's pink."

I took a shaky breath, even though I was no longer anxious, just filled with joy. Edward surprised me as he pushed out of his chai and grasped my hand, pulling me out of my own chair to envelop me in his arms.

I sighed into his chest.

"We're having a girl," he repeated. He pulled back an inch and took my face between his hands, brushing his thumbs over my cheeks. I realized he was wiping away tears. He smiled so wide and stared down at me. I waited, wondering if he would kiss me as he seemed to surprise me when he was so ecstatic. Instead, he dropped to his knees in front of the entire restaurant and kissed my belly.

I laughed and blushed, combing my hands through his hair. It wasn't exactly what I'd hoped for, but the gesture was equally as intimate.

I couldn't have asked for a better moment.


Hello ... *looks around* are you guys still with me? Thanks for sticking around waiting for my slow ass! I have more coming for these two, so it's not over yet :D