A/N: I love to be able to update the chapter sooner than normal…I hope you guys like this chapter, it was fun until the end; the end was hard to write. We do have a little update on Alice and Jasper here.

Once again, thanks to torisurfergirl and starpower31 for their awesomeness (I know, ladies, that is not a word, but it fits so well!)!

Chapter 14 – Considerations

"Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom."

Bertrand Russell

EPOV

Cinnamon, musk and mint swirled around me as I wrapped my arms around Bella. Since the tension in her body was palpable, I was attempting to sooth her. I knew that she was worried about Alice–so was I, if I'm being honest–but I needed her to come back to me, to us, and focus on what we're dealing with and let Alice deal with her own issues for now.

We walked toward her bed, hand in hand, in a comfortable silence. She still looked a little green, so laying down seemed like a great idea. Looking up at me, puzzled, she pointed to the bed.

"Um, man, you work fast…"she mumbled, cracking a small smile. I chuckled, helping her to sit down on the bed. Her slippers came off easily, and before she could throw another joke at me, I had her lying down under the covers.

"Sleep, beautiful. It's been a long day for you, and you're clearly not feeling well still." She started to protest, but I silenced her with my lips. Kissing her awakened my body, my cock specifically, but I resisted the temptation as I leaned away. "I promise I'll be here when you get up. I just want you to rest."

Smiling, she nodded, and closed her eyes easily. With all of the stress she had gone through today, I wasn't surprised to see her breathing become steady as quickly as it did. Leaning over her once more, I kissed her forehead, breathing in her smell again.

"I love you, sweet girl," I whispered, knowing she wouldn't have heard me. Silently, I stood up and closed the bedroom door behind me.

I took a few minutes to wander around her apartment. I remembered my first impressions of her space; the pictures on the wall, the colors in the living room, and the picture of the man that must have been Charlie, hanging in a place of honor on the wall. After learning more about Bella, I knew that my first impressions were correct.

She was an intelligent, fiercely loyal, inherently shy person. But, even after all of that, she loved with her whole heart, 'to the moon and back,' as the saying goes. Judging by the way she broken down when speaking of her father, I could tell that his death had shaken her to her core. The pain felt when losing someone that close to you, whether a parent or not, is tremendous. That was an area where I knew quite a bit.

Making my way to the couch, I threw myself down. Bella had to know about my past, too; my lack of relationships, save one—which resulted in pain and heartache that had consumed me for the last three years. Since we were starting fresh, and having a baby, she needed to know everything about me. She had shared her past—told me about her pain; it was only fair that I tell her about mine.

Having a baby…that definitely hasn't sunk in yet. It was terrifying, but I had to just power through. Bella was going to need me, so I had to put my feelings behind me for now. The relationship was too new for me to tell her all of the fears I have about the baby. I needed to concentrate on building trust with Bella, so that everything else will fall into place.

The vibration of my phone in my jeans pocket startled me back to reality. I fished it out and checked my caller ID. Not recognizing the number, I picked it up anyway, just in case it had something to do with the accident this morning.

"Hello?"

"Edward?" Alice's almost frantic voice said over the phone.

"Alice? What's wrong?"

"I'm kind of freaking out, and I can't get a hold of Bella…" her voice carried off. There was sniffling on the other end of the phone, so I assumed that she was crying.

"I'm sorry, Alice, Bella's sleeping. She still looked a little green, and she's worried about you, and us, so I thought she needed a nap." I raked my hand through my hair, knowing Alice would be going through a lot right now also, I tried to pull myself together to see if I could help her. "I know we haven't known each other that long, but I'll be happy to listen, if you want."

She sighed and was silent for a moment. "I…don't really talk to others well," she said, snickering a little. "That came out wrong. What I meant was, it's hard for me to open up to people. But, I'll try. I assume that Bella told you that I'm pregnant also?"

"Yes, I was with her when she got your text."

"OK, well, that saves time. In case you hadn't figured it out, the only person I've been with in the last…year"-she whispered the last word so quietly I almost couldn't make it out-"was Jasper. So, it has to be his."

I inhaled sharply. My brother was notorious for not handling bad news very well. He was still complaining about Bella breaking up with him two months ago—mostly complaining that he had never 'gotten any' from her beforehand. Of course, I had an inkling that Alice was having Jasper's baby, but because of my own problems, I had chosen to sidestep that issue entirely.

"I assumed it was. Bella didn't say anything to me about it, but I figured," I said, shrugging. Alice was going to have a rough time discussing this with my brother. "Jasper is, well, he can be pretty rough around the edges sometimes. He is a good person, but he doesn't accept change well."

"Yeah, that's what I'm worried about. I honestly don't know how to bring it up…I haven't spoken with him since the morning after it, er, happened." Alice's voice sounded small and frightened. This entire situation was almost too much to take in, and I had no way of calming her down. Truth was, I was pretty shaken myself.

"Alice, let me text you Jasper's phone number. Invite him over for dinner, make sure it's a steak or something, and just tell him." I sighed, sitting up. I did not envy her in the least. "I don't know how this is going to go, but you need to tell him. And trust me when I say, Bella and I will be here for you no matter what."

"Thank you, Edward. I, um, I'm happy that you and Bella have each other. She really missed you."

"Thanks, Alice. Good luck," I said, silently crossing my fingers for her.

We hung up after that; I really couldn't think of anything else to say. After texting her Jasper's number, I put my phone back in my jeans pocket and decided to check on Bella.

The apartment was very quiet as I made my way back to her bedroom. Opening the door just a crack, I noticed Bella sitting up in the bed, her arms hugging her legs. Quickly, I walked over to her and sat down on the bed. I pulled her into my arms, and her sobs shook me to my very core.

"What's wrong, beautiful?" I murmured in her hair, still holding her close. She shook her head, but wound her arms around me, holding me just as tight. Unable to push her to talk to me, I just held her silently as she wept. Finally, after several moments, she leaned back and gave me a small smile.

Smiling back, I wiped away a stray tear coursing its way down her cheek. "That's better. Now, what was that about, sweet girl?"

"I just had a freak out moment. I woke up remembering Alice's situation…and mine also, I guess." She laughed humorlessly, biting her lip. "Edward? I'm not ready for this."

I froze. She's not ready for what? For us? "What, beautiful? What aren't you ready for?"

"The baby," she said, sighing. Relaxing, I brought my lips to her forehead. Maybe it was a good idea to discuss both of our fears regarding the baby. "I just never thought this would happen."

Cupping her face, I forced her to look at me. "Me neither. I mean, realistically we should have assumed since we didn't use any protection…but the last two months have been so crazy." She smiled rolling her eyes, and I laughed silently. "I know, that was a tame way to describe it, love."

"Yes, exactly. It felt like I was stuck in hell," she agreed softly.

Nodding, I continued, "Yes, like being stuck in hell, exactly. Now, I'm scared too. Neither one of us was expecting this baby, but we will figure it all out. Today has been a roller coaster of a ride for us. I suggest we rest today, watch TV—something calming. Tomorrow, we can start making plans, doctor appointments, that sort of thing. But," I said, kissing her lips lightly, "first things first. Will you go out on a date with me tomorrow night?"

Her smile got bigger as she threw her arms around me. "Yes, Edward, I would love to go out on a date with you!"

I chuckled, kissing her hair. "Good, because we have a lot to learn about each other still…" Leaning back, I captured her face in my hands. "…and I can't fucking wait."

APOV

Tears streamed down my face, and my throat felt like a vice grip was holding it closed. My chest actually ached, and I felt like I was losing the hold on my sanity. The couch was lumpy and uncomfortable, but I couldn't make myself move. Jasper had left a while ago, but the pain he had left behind was unimaginable. I had known this would be difficult, but I didn't know it would be this bad.

I had called Jasper, like Edward had suggested, and invited him over for a steak dinner. He was surprised to hear from me; actually, he sounded more angry than surprised. But, I stuck to my plan and invited him over, explaining that I needed to talk to him. I may have indicated it had something to do with Bella, which did cause him to accept my offer.

I was a nervous wreck by the time he got to my apartment. The morning sickness wasn't as bad as it had been earlier, but my stomach was full of butterflies. When I heard him knock on my door, I was on my twentieth circle of my apartment. Pacing seemed to calm me a little bit, but as soon as I heard him, my heart picked back up and the butterflies came back in full force.

Opening the door, I plastered a fake smile on my face and invited him in. He was hesitant and demanded that we 'get to the point' almost the second he saw me.

"Listen, Alice, I don't know what's going on, but if it has something to do with Bella and me, then get to the point. I don't need your steak dinner, or your company. I just want to know what's going on…that you couldn't say over the phone." Blinking at him, I was shocked by his behavior—at his tone, more specifically. He only took one step in the living room, barely giving enough room to close the door behind him, before he crossed his arms over his chest and stood waiting for my reply.

"Um, OK, well why don't you come sit down, and I'll tell you what was so important that I couldn't say it over the phone." I couldn't help the sarcastic tone from entering my voice. This man was so pompous and arrogant that he made my blood boil. Interestingly, he still turned me on. How is that even possible?

Jasper followed me to the living room, choosing the chair rather than the couch and glared at me during the process. Sitting on the couch, as far away from him as possible, I stared right back at him. We sat in an uncomfortable silence, glaring at each other, while I tried to focus on my first sentence.

"So?" Jasper said, folding his arms across his chest. Leaning back in the chair, he propped his feet up on my coffee table while he smirked.

"So, you remember us fucking last New Year's Eve, right?" I watched him blanch at my wording, obviously not expecting that to come out of my mouth. "Well, I'm pregnant, and it's definitely yours."

The color slowly drained from his face as his feet fell off my table. He leaned closer to me while his mouth dropped open. This was an entertaining show, watching him come to terms with the fact that he was going to be a father.

"Wait, so from one night—one fucking night—you're pregnant?" Jasper stammered, standing up from the chair.

"Yes," was all I could say.

"What the fuck, Alice? How am I supposed to believe that it's even mine? You sure jumped into bed with me awfully fast, how do I know you didn't do that with half a dozen other guys?" He began pacing up and down my living while I started to shake.

"Excuse me?" I said, unable to think coherently. How dare he!

"You heard me, you little slut. I'm not speaking to you again until you've arranged to have a paternity test. This is just because you know my parents are rich…you probably just want a cash payout or something. Is that right?" he shouted, making his way toward my door. I shrank away from the slamming of the door, but I was able to keep my cool for exactly two minutes before the tears began streaming down my face.

Now here I am, who knows how much later, and I'm still crying. Jasper was the father of my child, of this I was certain. I had to be strong for this baby and not let Jasper push me around. But, because this situation was so new—and still so painful—I was unable to do anything but shrink into myself and cry.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow I will get up and forget that Jasper Cullen ever existed. I will make a doctor's appointment and start organizing my life to be able to accommodate a baby.

Knowing that I could do this alone was of small comfort to me. I didn't want to do it alone, but I could—and I would. The strength would come tomorrow. Today, I needed to get all of the hurt and fear out. So, I made my way to bed and cried myself to sleep.

A/N: So, more Edward and Bella, and a little glimpse into Alice. We will get more from her later, but the main focus of this story is E&B, so just keep that in mind. I am definitely not forgetting Alice…I promise.

OK, leave me some love!