Drive fast, I can almost taste it now. LA, I don't even have to fake it now. You're so sick, everybody said it. You're way ahead of the trend, get it. Elvis is the best, hell yes. Honey put on that party dress. ~ Lana Del Rey, American

EPOV

"I missed you," Bella murmured, placing a soft kiss to my chest. I was gone less than twenty-four hours, but I had to admit I missed her far more than was usual. It could have been my imagination, but I was certain that her baby bump grew while I was gone.

"I missed you, too." I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. She had been waiting for me when I got home. The moment I walked in the door there were frantic lips at my neck and hands on my belt. I vaguely remembered Emmett and Jasper talking about this aspect of their wives' pregnancies, but I tuned it out for the most part. I had no interest in my brother or sister's sex lives.

Bella had definitely started to show more symptoms as she got along in her pregnancy. Her belly was growing, something I loved but I could tell she was uncomfortable with it. Her face was a little rounder and her mood swings still unpredictable. She's complained with some cramps a few times and blamed it on her misplaced organs again. Most recently was some increased energy and sex drive.

In the back of my mind I told myself to enjoy it while I could because I knew the situation would be different in a few months. A lot of things would be different in a few months.

I tried not to dwell on that too much, but I couldn't look past the fact that things were about to change in a very permanent way. It wouldn't just be us anymore, there would be another little human added to the mix. A little human who needed constant care and attention.

Not once in my life had I longed to be a father. In my early twenties I was too distracted by work, drugs, and women to really think about it. It was always expected, of course, and I imagined myself ending up in a lifestyle much like my parents. Stuck in a seemingly happy marriage, and a few boys to carry on the name and business.

That wasn't what I had, though. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that my marriage was stronger than my parents. Bella worked just as much, if not more than me while Esme worked on planning parties most of the time. Bella never let herself fall into the typical role of mob wife.

I had heard stories of men who had to set strict boundaries with their wives. Men who cheated because they loved the power behind it and only had a relationship with their wife for public purposes. That wasn't us, and never would be. I was starting to see that it was my parents' lives, though.

Besides that, Bella and I spent the last ten years thinking we could never have a child. We had broken the biggest rule that had been set out for me the moment I was born, but we had both dealt with it in our own way. It had never been something either of us longed for in our youth, but it had become a hard pill to swallow as the years went on.

For me, it wasn't so much that I longed for a child as much as I wanted my wife to be happy. I saw the look she got when she saw Alec running around the house, or when Alice announced she was pregnant.

Now I had less than five months to get ready for a child. While I had never pined for a kid, I felt this pull toward it now. My chest tightened whenever I thought about meeting my son for the first time and seeing Bella with our child in her arms. I wanted to teach him things like how to throw a baseball or how to talk to the pretty girl in his class, but I also still wanted Bella and I to be us.

I wanted to take her out to dinner so she had an excuse to get all dressed up, and I wanted to fly her to New York with me just because. My biggest worry, after everyone's health, was that a child would slowly tear us apart no matter how much we tried to hold ourselves together.

"You're doing too much frowning for what we just did thirty minutes ago." Thirty minutes ago, I had her bent over the edge of the bed with her hands tearing at the sheets. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said rather unconvincingly.

Bella pulled the sheet around her, sitting up and staring at me. "What is it?"

I wasn't going to worry her with my errant thoughts. She had too much on her plate as it was. "Bella, it's nothing."

"I know I'm really high maintenance these days, but just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean you can't still talk to me."

She sat up completely now, crossing her legs beneath her and giving me a stare that I knew I wouldn't be able to get out of. Even with the melancholy thoughts running through my head, the sight of her tousled hair and swollen lips made me smile.

"I don't want to lose this," I told her honestly, tracing a thumb across her bottom lip. "Afternoons where we can't keep our hands off of each other, or weekends where I can take you to a cabin in the middle of nowhere just because we want to escape.

"I'm excited about our child but it's a challenge we've never faced before. I don't want to lose you, us."

As soon as I was done Bella pressed a loud kiss to my cheek, pulling away with a big smile on her face. The smile confused me. "You never tell me what you're worried about. I get that a lot of it is work related and I can't know, but I like knowing."

Bella situated herself in my lap, her legs on either side of my hips. Despite our lack of clothing there was nothing sexual about the movement, just a way to get eye to eye for the conversation.

"I think now is a good time to make a promise." She held her pinky out in front of us, and I hesitantly wrapped mine around hers. "After the first few months with the baby we'll have date night once a week, just you and me. We could work out a system with everyone, where every few weeks we rotate who watches kids and one couple gets a quiet weekend. Or a not so quiet weekend."

We shook pinkies, then Bella wrapped her arms around me, burying her head in my neck while I did the same to her. "I thought the same thing last night, then I realized we're us. We didn't give up when you told me what you really did or when I was shot. You put up with me making movies about our lives and didn't leave when the press had something to say about everything we did. We survived my incarceration, trial, and your supposed death and we haven't fallen apart yet." Somehow, she made it sound so simple. We made it through all of that, and we'll make it through this too.

She pulled away slightly, her nose brushing against mine. "A baby won't change the fact that you're my best friend."

I had held many titles when it came to my wife; lover, boyfriend, husband… but best friend would always be my favorite. Neither of us were good with the friend thing; we didn't have many outside of our family. But we had each other.

…Dark…

"You won't be her primary security. I want you more on the perimeter of wherever she is. You'll report to the second in command, Eric Yorkie."

Tyler and Beau Crowley both nodded. The brothers were both former military and looked the part; buzzed hair, strong builds, and the kind of stoic glares that kept people from getting in their way. They came recommended from Liam, who was deployed with them for a year before an injury got him sent home. It took three weeks of background checks and surveillance for me to believe that they were trustworthy enough to go near my wife.

"Yes, sir."

The sound of the front door closing caught my attention. "Follow me."

Bella and I had gone to yet another doctor's appointment this morning, then she wanted to stop by her office and pick up a few things. She worked from home mostly now, because she was getting tired of trying to cover up her little bump. It was much more than little these days, now a completely obvious baby bump.

I sent her with Ben to the office and met with the two new members of her security detail at home. I didn't want to take any chances, not with her now being a much bigger target than before. Literally and figuratively. There were too many people in the area who would love to say they took not only my wife but my child from me as well.

Ben dropped a box in the foyer as he entered behind Bella. Eric followed closely behind. They both already knew of the two men, but Bella looked at them with a frown. I wrapped an arm around her waist.

"This is Tyler and Beau Crowley. They'll be part of your security detail for the next few months." I wouldn't let her know I was considering them for full time, especially once she was taking the baby out with her.

"Oh, hello." She shook their hands quickly, and they each gave her a quick nod.

"You're all excused," I said and within thirty seconds we were completely alone. I expected Bella to fight the new security, but she reached down for her box and grabbed a few personal items she had in her office out.

"Are you okay?" I asked, following her to her office down the hall. Bella was never one for the silent treatment when she was mad. She much preferred fighting about it immediately to get it out of the way.

"I'm fine. Kind of hungry. You?" She put her things on her desk and turned to me with a smile. Huh.

"Fine. Do you want me to get you a snack?"

"That's okay. I can fend for myself," she said, walking past me and giving me a quick kiss as she headed to the kitchen. Again, I followed.

"You're not mad?" I asked, finally growing tired of whatever game she was playing.

She pulled out a jar of peanut butter from the pantry and grabbed a spoon. As soon as I asked if she was mad she frowned up at me. "Why should I be mad? Did you do something?"

"No. The new security. You're not going to fight me on it?"

Bella shrugged, digging her spoon in the jar. "Well, no. Do you want to fight about it?"

"No."

She sighed. "The last time I fought you on security I got shot a few weeks later. If you think we need them, whether it's for the baby's safety or for some other reason, then I trust you."

"It's for you and the baby mostly. Just a precaution." It was the perfect opportunity to tell her about the murders that had been happening around town, but I didn't want her worrying.

"Okay," Bella nodded, taking one more bite of peanut butter before leaving the kitchen. "I told you Elena is coming over for dinner, right?"

"Yes. Eight o'clock."

"Good. I'm going to go find something to wear that doesn't make me look like a whale."

I followed her again, because I had seen this happen too many times lately. In half an hour Bella would be surrounded by clothes, close to tears because nothing fit. She had maternity clothes, Alice and Rosalie helped her find some stuff online, but she didn't like any of it.

"You know, I like the bump."

Bella snorted. "I think it's more than a bump these days."

"It's cute." I wasn't lying to make her feel better. It seemed like she got more adorable every day, the way her bump stuck out a little bit more, the roundness of her face, the glow about her that I always thought was a figure of speech.

"You used to think I was more than cute," she spat the last word out like it was the harshest of insults.

I pulled her to me, gently backing her up against our bedroom door. "You're much more than cute," I told her, trailing my lips along her neck. "Beautiful, alluring, sexy… all things that describe you. The bump is cute, you plus the bump is drop dead gorgeous."

I kissed along her cheeks and nose until she smiled. "You go sit down and I'll choose your outfit."

"What? No."

I ignored her and went to her side of the closet. There was one dress I saw that I knew would look perfect on her. It was a long sleeve navy blue flowing piece that would wrap perfectly around her.

I hung it up in the ensuite and went back to the bedroom. Bella sat on the edge of the bed glaring in my direction. "Your clothes are hanging up, I'll go put dinner in the oven."

Bella came back down thirty minutes later, wearing the outfit I set out. She shrugged and looked at the floor when I told her she looked beautiful.

"Hey," I said, walking over and lifting her chin up. "You do."

"I guess it's not that bad."

I hadn't expected Bella reluctance to gain weight, but I should have. She grew up in an age where any sight of excess weight was seen as a negative and she worked in an industry where people constantly told her to look a certain way. Before I could say anything else, there was a knock at the door.

"Are you ready?"

Bella nodded, and I went to get the door. Elena smiled as I let her inside, quickly asking how I was doing after the crash. Our moment of small talk stopped as we walked into the living room and she saw Bella standing in the middle of it.

"Hi," Bella whispered. I went to stand next to her, taking a shaking hand in mine.

"You're… pregnant?" Bella nodded. "I thought…?"

"It was a shock for everyone, doctors included."

Without warning, Elena wrapped Bella in a gentle hug. It took her a moment, but Bella eventually reciprocated. This would be a monumental moment for her, one I hoped was a positive one. As far as I knew, this was the most contact she had ever had with her mother. She didn't seem uncomfortable, so I stepped aside and let them have their moment together.

…Dark…

"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Cullen," Detective Ateara said, closing his small notebook. Someone was going on a murder spree in the city, but for once it wasn't me. They seemed to want the police to think it was, though. Something that was really starting to piss me off.

I hadn't told Bella, but I had talked to Detective Ateara a few times in the last week or so. Several past associates had turned up dead, and a few current ones. Of course, I was usually the first stop whenever a body turned up, but usually I had actually done what they could never pin on me. This time I was just as confused as them.

Ateara was somewhat new to the Chicago Police Department and seemed to be a stand-up officer. None of my research came up with any red flags, which was rare these days. Most people usually had at least one skeleton in their closet.

"Of course," I replied, wanting the man out of my office so I could go home to my wife. My adorably pregnant wife.

"There is one more thing."

Of fucking course there is. "What do you want?" I grunted. I had been fairly pleasant with the man. There was no reason for me not to be. He was doing his job, and I respected that. He hadn't appeared prejudiced at all toward me, so I had no reason to dislike him. The way he was talking now, though, made me tense.

"I'd also like to speak to your wife. The man who just turned up, Royce King, was on her list from –"

"I know of the list," I snapped. "You can't speak to her."

"All due respect, Mr. Cullen, you can't stop me. I just need to talk to her, she's not under arrest."

"She's… ill," I lied, though not smooth enough for my standards. He would see right through me.

"I can go to her if that would make things easier."

I sighed. "Come to my home tonight at nine. Alone."

He nodded. "I'll be there." His bravery at coming alone was surprising.

I left right after him. I had two hours to get home and explain to Bella what was going on before she had to talk to him. She had nothing to worry about, obviously, but she was more sensitive than usual these days.

When I got home I found her puttering around the kitchen. She turned and smiled at me, though it faltered when she got a good look at me. I hated taking away her moment of happiness.

I decided to rip off the band-aid, so to speak. "A detective will be here in less than two hours to talk to you about the murder of Royce King."

Bella's eyes met mine, no longer shining with happiness as they were a moment ago. "Excuse me?"

"There have been a few disappearance and murders. They've talked to me about most of them, though I'm not responsible. Royce King is the latest, and he was –"

"On the list," Bella finished. "Shit. What do we – fuck."

She was panicking, which was expected. But she seemed to be forgetting a very important detail. "You didn't do anything, Bella. He'll come and ask a few basic questions and leave. That's it."

"Okay," she sighed. "But…" Her hands went to her stomach.

"I know. He seems to be a trustworthy detective. I'll make sure he doesn't say anything." The last thing we needed now was for word about her pregnancy to get out. We had told everyone we planned on telling, and that was that. Detective Ateara was joining a very small group of those in the know.

Precisely at nine there was a knock at the door. Bella sat at the dining room table while I got our guest. As soon as he was inside, I stopped him before he could go any further.

"I like you, Detective Ateara. You're a clean, reliable member of law enforcement and I have no ill will toward you. I'm going against my better judgement and trusting you with something very few people know. If you tell anyone, I will know and I will have to rectify the situation. Do you understand?"

"I assure you, Mr. Cullen, I simply have a few questions for your wife. That's all."

I nodded and led him to the dining area. Bella stood as we entered. Ateara gasped from behind me.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Cullen," he said, regaining his composure and holding his hand out to her.

Bella shook it, giving him a stoic nod and took her seat. Unsurprisingly, any kind of law enforcement made her uncomfortable.

"I just have a few questions for you about Royce King, if you don't mind," Ateara said, bringing out his notebook. He asked Bella much the same questions I got. She answered politely and honestly, something I was glad she was able to do. Ateara had told the truth and was simply marking us off of his list of suspects. He seemed to only be here to be able to say he was and get everyone else off of his back.

He stood when he was done, stowing his notebook in his breast pocket. "Congratulations, Mrs. Cullen," he said, leaving quietly after that.

Once I had gotten rid of him I found Bella in the living room, lying on the couch. "Was that okay?" she asked as I sat at the end, pulling her feet into my lap.

Silently, I pulled her shoes off and started rubbing gentle circles in the soles of her feet. "It was perfect. He's just talking to us because he has to, not because we're suspects."

Bella sat up, pulling her feet out of my lap and situated herself right next to me. "Is everything okay?"

Her question was simple, but I knew there were many layers to it, many different ways she needed me to interpret it so she didn't ask what she really wanted to know.

"Everything is fine, I promise."

The murders weren't anything for us to worry about. There were no physical links to us from the crimes, only the prejudiced ones the police had. Once they got those out of the way, they would move on from us.

…Dark…

"I don't know how I feel about this," Bella muttered, keeping a fierce grip on my hand. She was blindfolded, so I understood her concern. Not that I would let anything happen to her blindfolded, but having any sense taken away was disconcerting.

"Almost there."

I situated her perfectly centered in front of her gift. Standing behind her, I pressed a kiss to her neck and gave her hand a squeeze before pulling off her blindfold. She was silent for a minute, her head cocked to the side as she took in the sight in front of her.

"Do you like it?"

"It's gorgeous." I saw the moment she realized what was really going on. "You bought us another house?"

"It's more of a cabin, really." It was, technically, called a cabin. It had every possible amenity anyone could want, but it was still a cabin.

"A luxury cabin."

"Well, yes."

I had started looking for a place like this before we found out Bella was pregnant. I thought a close vacation home might be good, get us away from Chicago from time to time without having to be on a plane for twelve hours. She liked the cabin I rented months back, so I thought this would suit her as well.

"I thought it would be a nice escape from Chicago whenever we needed it. There are too many people that just walk in our home whenever they want. This is where it can just be you, me, and him." I pressed my hands softly into her abdomen. At twenty weeks there was no denying she was pregnant after a quick glance. Some larger sweaters still concealed it, but most of the time I could see the delicate curve of our child whenever I looked at her.

A quiet sniffle caught my attention. "You're really good at making me cry these days."

"No offence, Bella, but it doesn't take much anymore." It was never my intention to make her cry, but it seemed like any time I tried to do something for her or the baby I got at least a tear or two.

"I know. I'm a mess."

"A cute mess. Come on, I'll show you around."

Grabbing her hand, I led her into the cabin. It was a beautiful piece of property, completely different from the more modern feel of our home in Chicago. Stacked stone columns met log posts. As requested, all of the lights were on, illuminating the windows in the front. As we walked in we were met with the foyer, a large wooden staircase slightly to our left, and an entryway toward some living space to the right. Nearly every interior was either dark wood or stone. We walked around the whole property, Bella gasping at every new room we went it. The stone fireplace in the living room caught her attention immediately, and she dipped her feet quickly in the chilled water of the hot tub in the backyard.

There were a few more tears when I showed her the room I thought we should turn into the nursery, a spare bedroom not too far from the master suite. Originally, I was going to renovate it before our trip, but I thought Bella would want to decorate it herself.

When we got to our suite, Bella gasped at the large window opposite of the bed, overlooking the mountains. She sat on the bed, looking out the window and not paying much attention to the stone fireplace to her left or the sitting area in front of the windows.

"Where are we?" she asked, looking over at me with wide, brown eyes.

"A little bit outside of Telluride, Colorado."

"It's so beautiful. This house is… amazing. You're amazing. You've been so good to me the last month. You bring me breakfast in bed and you listen when I complain about my misplaced organs." She sighed, standing to come over and wrap her arms around my waist. "Thank you."

I wrapped my arms around her and pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head.

…Dark…

On day two of our little vacation we were relaxing in the warm bathtub that was big enough to fit about three other people. Bella had her back to my chest, her fingers fiddling with the bubbles that floated around us.

I had both of my hands resting comfortably on her abdomen. I didn't want to bring much attention to it all of the time because I knew Bella was still slightly uncomfortable with how she looked, but it fascinated me. The fact that there was a human growing just beneath my fingertips was awe-inspiring.

I let my hands wander as I kissed along her bare shoulder. "Do you have any names picked out?" Bella asked, breaking the comfortable silence surrounding us.

"No." Fuck, a name was a big deal. The poor kid would be stuck with it his whole life. "Do you?"

"I have one that I like so far," she admitted, but sounded adorably nervous about it.

"What is it?"

"I don't want to give it away just yet. What kind of names do you like?"

"It'll need to be a strong name, something he can grow into," I told her. Typically, the men in my family were named after predecessors, but there was no way in hell I was naming my son after Carlisle. He may be slightly more reliable now, but the damage was done.

"Does it have to be Irish?"

"No. Is yours not Irish?" I asked, desperate for some kind of clue.

"I'm not sure. Probably. I think so." Bella looked awfully proud of herself, keeping her name from me. She smiled up at me, distracting me from my questioning.

"It's starting to feel more real, I think. Is it to you?" I asked her. Sitting here with my hands on her stomach I was surprisingly calm. My mind wasn't racing with the thousand things I felt I had to get done in the next few months. I wasn't worried about things that could possibly go wrong. I was simply a man sitting with his pregnant wife trying to come up with a name for our child.

"Sometimes. I'm more used to the idea, I guess. But there are still times when I panic. Like a few days ago when I realized that I had unknowingly taken our unborn child to a junk yard to murder two people."

There was no way for me to stop the snort that came out after that.

"It's not funny!" Bella said, playfully splashing water my way. I ignored it and pulled her closer.

"You have to admit it is kind of funny."

"No. Ironic, maybe. I don't know the right word. It's definitely not funny."

…Dark…

"Edward."

I grunted and rolled over, toward the soft sound of my wife's voice. She talked in her sleep sometimes, so I threw an arm out to pull her closer. The bed beside me was empty, but warm. Then I felt her weight settle by my legs, and warm hands slide up my thighs.

My eyes popped open when soft lips kissed and nibbled down my abdomen. Bella looked up at me, smirking as she kissed her way down to my cock. How it was still functioning, I didn't know.

We had been here four days, and it seemed I had planned the trip at just the right time for Bella to be full of energy. Energy she seemed to want to only expel with sex. Christ even I needed a nap after a few rounds.

Bella seemed unfazed no matter how little sleep she got. Hence the fact that it was three in the morning and she had her lips around my cock.

"Bella," I sighed, reaching down to run my fingers through her hair. I may be exhausted as hell, but I'll be damned if I turned down anything she was offering. I had done enough research to know what came next in her pregnancy.

Her movements were slow and her eyes roamed my body as she worked me over. She knew I didn't want slow. I told her I didn't want slow, but she smiled around my cock and kept up with her unhurried movements.

"Come here," I grunted, carefully pulling her to lie next to me. I practically attacked her mouth, not caring about clashing teeth or swollen lips. Before she could protest I flipped her on her other side, her back to my chest. I ran my fingers lightly over her neck, across her arm, and down her side until I reached her knee. I hitched her leg back and let it fall over mine, opening her up just enough to slide into her slowly.

"Is this what you wanted, baby?" I whispered against her ear, forcing myself to slowly move within her. "Nice and slow?"

She was about to reply when I pinched her nipple and all I got was a quiet squeak. We kept our movements slow until eventually Bella started pushing herself back into me, whispered pleas leaving her mouth.

I wrapped my arms securely around her, one resting carefully around her stomach and the other wrapped around her chest. She screamed my name as I quickly went from slow and sweet to rough and hard movements.

Bella's head lulled back and I covered her lips with mine, swallowing every noise she made. Her hands gripped my arms where they were wrapped around her, nails digging into my skin.

I felt her entire body tense and watched her orgasm move through her. After another minute I found my own release, burying my head in her neck and surrounding myself with her scent as I came down.

A few minutes later Bella rolled over, pressed a soft, sated kiss to my lips, and fell back asleep against my chest.

I woke up alone a few hours later. It seemed like I was needing more sleep than Bella these days. I pulled on a pair of discarded boxers and went searching for her. I found her sitting at the kitchen counter on her computer. There was a plate of snickerdoodles next to her.

I watched over her shoulder as she scrolled through a website that seemed to be selling cribs. Damn, sometimes it still felt surreal that we would need one of those. She was adorable, wrapped in a fluffy robe with her hair a mess on top of her head.

Sitting next to her, I grabbed a cookie and helped her sort through the various crib options.

A/N: Just a heads up: there are some things in the next chapter that might make more sense if you've read the EPOV companion piece to reputation, Sick Boy. Specifically Chapter 16. You might wanna give that a read before the next chapter is posted!

Also, there's a poll over on my profile. I'd like to know what you all would like to see in another story from me! I have two categories up. I know which I'm leaning toward, but I'd love your opinions as well. Thanks!