A/N: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight. I just borrow the characters. I promise to give them back. :)
I know everyone is excited to meet the baby so here you go! Its a little short but satisfying.
Chapter 12
EPOV
I have no idea what possessed me to do this. I knew it was a stupid idea from the start.
That's what I was thinking as I sat in a warm convention center in Dallas, over a thousand miles away from my very pregnant wife. Dad and I had planned on going to this medical conference months before Bella got pregnant and there was no way out now. Bella told me to go when I offered to stay with her. I made her promise to call me if there were any problems. Mom offered to stay in our house with Bella, to which I was eternally grateful.
I still had no idea why I was here! It was five days before Christmas – five days before Bella's due date – and Bella was about to pop any minute.
I was about to lean over and tell Dad that I was getting the next flight out, when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I jumped out of my seat and pulled my phone out of my jeans on my way out of the hall.
I looked at the caller ID and smiled. "Bella, love, I was just about to call you. I think I'm going to come home. I don't like that you're all alone now."
"Well you better make it quick." Bella huffed. It was then that I noticed her strained voice and labored breathing.
"What's wrong, love?" I asked worriedly.
"She's early, Edward. My water broke." Bella said. "Esme just drove me to the hospital."
I jumped into overdrive. "Bella, I'm getting on the next flight out. I'm on my way, sweetheart."
"Okay," Bella whined. "I love you, Edward."
"Love you, too, baby. I'll be there as soon as I can."
We hung up and I ran back in the hall. "Dad!" I hissed when I got back to my seat. "We need to go. Bella's in labor."
Dad jumped out of his seat and we both ran out of the hall. "I'll call the airline. You go back upstairs and get our bags." He instructed calmly.
An hour later, Dad and I sat in the airport, waiting to board our plane. I called Bella again.
"Edward," Bella breathed.
"I'll be home in a little over three hours, love. How are you doing?"
"I'm okay," she huffed.
"Put Mom on the phone, sweetheart." I wanted to be sure she was really okay.
I heard a rustle on the phone and then my mother's soothing voice. "Edward she's doing great. She's a real trooper."
I sighed. "Thanks for being there, Mom."
"Oh, it's no problem, dear."
I raked my hand through my hair almost painfully. "Does Dr. Denali know how much longer she has?"
"She said Bella is dilated four centimeters and that she could have a few hours left or she could have twelve hours left. There's no way to tell."
"Okay, thanks, Mom." I looked over to see that the door opened and the plane was boarding. "I have to go, we're boarding now. Tell Bella I love her and that I'll be there as soon as possible."
I hung up with my mother and Dad and I stood in line to board our plane.
Four hours later, our plane finally started to debark after circling over Logan International Airport for over an hour. It's snowing in Boston. Dad and I ran through the airport and out the door to find a taxi. Thankfully, there was one waiting right outside the doors. Dad pulled open the door and slid in first.
"Mass General Hospital, please." he said calmly.
I pulled out my phone and called Bella again.
"Edward!" Bella gasped in pain. "Where are you?"
I rested my head in my hands in agony. "I'm in the cab, love. I'll be there in ten minutes. What room are you in?"
"Room 4024. Hurry, baby," Bella groaned. "It won't be long now."
"I'm on my way, sweetheart. Don't wait for me. If you're ready, don't wait for me."
"I love you, Edward." Bella gasped.
"I love you, too, sweetheart." I hung up with Bella and leaned toward the front of the cab. "Please hurry. My daughter is going to be born any minute."
The cab driver smiled and nodded. I felt the cab speed up.
Fifteen minutes later, the cab pulled up in front of the hospital. I hopped out and ran inside while Dad paid the cab driver. The elevator could not have moved any slower. The second the doors opened, I ran out and down the hall. I stopped outside room 4024 and pushed the door open.
I walked in room and found the room full. Jasper and Emmett were sitting on a couch on the far side of the room. Charlie was standing awkwardly by the bathroom door. Alice paced around the room with her arms crossed tightly across her chest while Rose, Mom, and Renee stood by Bella's bedside, holding her hand.
Bella saw me first. "Edward, you're here!" her smile lit up the room.
I ran over to her and grabbed her hand. I kissed her fingers. "How're you doing, sweetheart?" I asked her.
"Well I'm about to push a tiny human out of my body so, how do you think I'm doing, Edward?" Bella growled. Emmett laughed loudly from across the room.
I chuckled and kissed her sweaty forehead. One thing I would not miss is the crazy mood swings.
The door opened and Dr. Denali walked in dressed in scrubs. "Ah, good timing, Edward. We were just about to move Bella to the delivery room." Kate checked the read out of one of the beeping machines by Bella's head. "Yep, its time." Kate nodded. "Your family can wait here, while we go down the hall."
Two nurses came in then and started to prepare Bella to move down the hall.
"Esme, I need you there, with me." Bella squeezed her eyes shut and gasped in pain. "I mean, if you want to." She amended.
Mom nodded and hurried to follow us out of the room. "Of course, dear."
"Alright, Bella, just one more push. One more push and you'll have your baby girl." Kate said for the third time.
I looked over to my wife. My hand is definitely broken. She's been squeezing it pretty hard for god knows how long. I had no idea how long we'd been in the delivery room. It could have been twenty minutes or two hours. Bella looked exhausted. "Come on, baby, you're doing great." I urged her on as Mom dabbed Bella's sweaty forehead with a washcloth.
Bella fell back against the bed. "I can't do it. Edward, I'm so tired and it hurts! Can't they just cut her out?"
"Not now, sweetheart, you're almost there. I know you can do this." I kissed her temple.
"Get ready, Bella." Kate said. "On the next contraction I need you to push."
I leaned over and whispered in Bella's ear. "I love you, Bella."
A look of determination flashed on Bella's face. She sat up and took hold of my hand and Mom's hand. She gave every ounce of energy she had left and we finally heard the harsh cries of our little girl fill the room. Two nurses whisked her away to clean her up, but not before I got a glimpse of her.
Bella collapsed back on the bed, panting in exhaustion. I kissed her forehead and whispered in her ear "I knew you could do it, love."
She coughed out a chuckle and propped her upper body up on her elbow. "Where'd she go?" Bella asked in a slightly panicked voice.
"The nurses are just cleaning her up a little. They'll bring her back in a minute." Mom said in a soothing voice, continuing to dab Bella's forehead with a towel.
Kate came back then, carrying a pink bundle in her arms. "Here's your baby girl." She said with a smile as she handed Bella our daughter, who was still crying. Kate sat back down on the stool by Bella's feet and finished cleaning her up.
"Oh, she's so beautiful!" Bella cried as she stroked our baby girl's cheek.
"Beautiful just like her mom." I said my voice breaking a little at the end. I put my hand on my daughter's head and stroked her soft skin with my thumb.
"Hi, baby girl," Bella said tenderly, bouncing her in her arms. "Daddy thinks I'm as pretty as you are but he's wrong. You're much more beautiful than me."
Our daughter stopped crying and opened her eyes to look up at her mom. She made a happy cooing noise, making Bella laugh.
"Bella, why don't you give the baby to Edward for a few minutes? You still have a little bit of work to do here." Kate suggested.
I stooped down so Bella could easily transfer our daughter to my arms. As I stood slowly up straight, I felt the full weight of my daughter in my arms.
"Hi, sweet girl," I said to her softly. She opened her big eyes and blinked up at me. "I love you so much." I looked at her tiny features and my heart melted. "You're not allowed to date until you're thirty." I said, making all the women in the room laugh.
About an hour later, Bella and I sat with our daughter on the bed back in room 4024. When we'd gotten back to the room, our whole family was gone. I sat next to Bella while I cradled our baby girl in my arms, taking advantage of our down time. My baby girl pulled one of her arms out of her blanket and grabbed hold of the tip of my index finger and was squeezing it in her tiny fist.
"We still don't have a name for her." Bella observed.
I looked down at my daughter's face and said the first name that came to mind. "Vanessa."
"Vanessa…" Bella tried it out before a tired smile stretched across her face. "That's perfect." We both decided a few months ago that no matter what her first name was, our daughter's middle name would be Esme.
I leaned over and pressed my lips to Bella's in a tender kiss. She touched my cheek lightly and ran her hand up into my hair.
A loud knock on the door interrupted our intimate moment. "Can we come in now?" We heard Alice's muffled voice whine. "The wait is killing me!"
"Come in, Alice." Bella laughed.
Alice hastily opened the door and rushed inside, along with the rest of our family. The girls immediately huddled around me, getting teary-eyed and saying how beautiful my little girl is. But of course they don't need to tell me. I already know how precious my little girl is.
I cleared my throat to get everyone's attention. "Everyone, this is Vanessa Esme Cullen."
A/N: There you go, her name is Vanessa! And Edward made it back just in time!
Thanks for reading, I hope you liked the 12th chapter. Next up, a whole flashback chapter!
What do you think we'll be flashing back to?
