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Chapter 20

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Bella sighed and looked at the numbers of the alarm clock sitting on her bedside table. 5am. She was wide awake on a Friday morning at 5am. She didn't have to be out the door until 9am. She was awake two hours too early. She huffed and tried to remember just what had woken her up before her stomach churned again. Ah. Now she remembered.

With a groan, she raced to her bathroom just in time to empty the contents of said stomach into the toilet bowl. A gentle pair of hands pulled her hair back from her face as soothing words were whispered into her ear. She'd been like this for little more than a week now and she hated it. She'd come home tired in the middle of the day, she'd been forgetting simple things, and worst of all was the inability to hold down even the simplest of meals.

"Come on baby girl. Back to bed. I'm calling your boss, ok?" Paul said once her teeth were brushed and her face was cleaned.

Bella didn't even bother trying to argue. She handed over her phone, pulled the covers over herself and was back to sleep before her head even hit the pillow. With her boss called, the lights all turned back off and Bella tucked back into bed, Paul only shook his head and climbed back into bed with her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He loved and hated being a wolf sometimes; common colds didn't affect him like they did his mate. He only prayed that it would leave soon. He didn't like seeing her suffer.

Two hours later, the alarm clock went off, startling Bella from her sleep. She cursed and slammed her hand down on the annoying thing threatening to send it across the room if it didn't hush. Five minutes later in a form of protest from the brave piece of technology, it sounded again. Bella rolled her eyes at the annoying thing and turned it off with a smug smirk on her lips. She dared it to sound again only to hear a chuckle from the doorway.

"Are you always like this with electronics?" Paul wondered.

Bella sat up and shrugged. "Only the ones that bug me." She huffed.

"I'll have to remember that. Here… I made you breakfast." He said coming into the room with a plate of hash browns, eggs and toast.

Bella took one whiff of the eggs on her fork and whined when her stomach rolled. She made a mad dash for the bathroom and moaned just before throwing up again. A shiver raced down her back when she was finished.

"You ok?" Paul asked moving her hair from her face.

"No… I hate being sick. I hate that you're forced to take care of me and I hate that I need to be taken care of like this!" She huffed before scrubbing her teeth again.

Paul shook his head. "I don't. well I hate that you're sick, but I don't mind taking care of you. The wolf doesn't mind either. If he had his way, you'd never leave the bedroom again." He said with a shrug.

A chuckle escaped from her lips as Bella made her way back to bed. "Is that so?" She mused.

Paul nodded. "I don't mind taking care of you, Bella." He reaffirmed again.

"Even so, I'm making an appointment with my doctor. I want to know what's going on with me." She sighed.

A knock on the door revealed Seth wearing a grin on his face. "Hey guys. Sam sent me to grab you. Emily's feeling better and made breakfast this morning- holy hell, Bella you look like shit!" He crowed when he saw her sitting on the couch.

A growl from Paul had Seth apologizing. "I didn't mean that in a bad way… but are you sick?"

"Better, pup." Paul grizzled.

Bella sighed. "Yeah… I'm not feeling well at all."

"Up for some company? Sam wants to do a pack meeting but you're not feeling well… Paul, think we could have it here?" Paul huffed, reluctant to have his mate upset.

"What's the meeting for Seth?" Bella wondered.

"I think Jake's stepping up as alpha." Seth shrugged.

Paul fell quiet and raised his eyebrow. Bella closed her eyes and sighed, waiting for her stomach to stop rolling. Neither of them noticed as Seth canted his head to the side while Paul phoned Sam and Emily and offered to let them all come over with a warning that Bella had come down with the flu so it would have to be just the wolves. Seth listened closer and heard the fluttering again coming from Bella. Her heartbeat sounded so quick... Then again, she was sick.

"What's wrong, Seth?" Bella asked with closed eyes.

He merely blinked. "Huh?"

"You're staring at me. I can feel it." She mused.

He shook his head. "Nuh uh. Well, maybe. Have you been to the doctor yet?"

"No… I told Paul I need to make an appointment today. I've been like this for a couple weeks now. It's either time for some antibiotics or a flu shot." She said with a sigh.

"Here baby girl." Paul said offering her a mug of steaming liquid.

Seth recognized the smell and grinned. "Someone's been talking to Old Quil, huh."

"What is it?" She wondered.

Paul glared at Seth and kissed the top of Bella's head. "It's chamomile tea babe. It'll help."

Bella smiled and took a sip, taking a minute to savor the fresh flavor of the drink. "It's good."

"It'll help." Seth said with a nod.

Paul sighed and opened the door for the rest of the pack to enter. Bella was already curled up with her head on the arm rest of the couch, her eyes closed and her breath deep and even. The wolves smiled at her, each of them brushing a hand over her arm- their wolf's way of assessing just how bad she was. When they were satisfied, Paul picked her up into his arms, carried her back to his bed and closed the door behind him. He then made her appointment for her after scrolling through her contacts in her phone.

Sam only shook his head at his friend; Paul had changed for the better with Bella's help.

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"Isabella Swan?"

Paul shook Bella awake in the waiting room. "Baby, they called your name."

Bella stood and held her hand out for Paul. She grinned at the shocked look on his face. "You get to hear how sick I am too."

The nurse smiled and held the door open for the couple. "How are you today, Ms. Swan?"

"Does feeling like I've been hit by a train, a bus, a tractor and then dropped from a plane count as ok?" Bella quipped.

The nurse- Allura- smiled. "Step over to the scales for me please."

Paul turned his head and looked away, knowing how most women felt about their weight. He noticed the nurse smiling and even caught the smile that danced over Bella's lips as well.

"Ok. If you'll follow me, we'll get you settled so I can get your vitals. Why are we here today, Ms. Swan?" She asked when Bella was seated on the bench indicated.

"I've been sick for the past two weeks or so now. But for the past week I've had trouble keeping any kind of food down, much less liquids. I've also been burning some high fevers if my boyfriend is to be believed." Bella sighed.

"Ok… if you can raise your left arm for me?" She asked slipping the blood pressure cuff onto her arm. "It'll only be tight for a minute."

Bella sighed and rested her head on Paul's shoulder when he moved to stand beside her. "Hm… it's slightly high, but overall not too bad. It just lets us know you're not feeling well, nothing to be alarmed with, my dear."

Allura ran through the rest of Bella's vitals and paused when she came to the last question. "When was the date of your last menstrual cycle?"

Bella frowned. When had her last period been? She was on birth control which regulated her periods to one every three months instead of one every month, but she was religious about taking them. "I don't remember. I'm on birth control…"

Allura smiled and nodded. "Do you think there's a possibility you're pregnant?"

Bella was quick to shake her head. "I don't… I don't think so."

Paul bit his lip and eyed her. There were tears in her eyes like she already knew the answer. And judging by the knowing look in the nurse's eyes, she thought the same thing. "Can she take a test here?"

Bella eyed him, afraid of what he must have been thinking. "If I can, I'd like to, just to be safe."

Allura smiled. "Of course. I'll get you a cup. We can test your urine." With that she was out of the room, leaving Bella and Paul to the quiet.

"Are you not happy about it?" Paul asked finally. "I heard your heartbeat increase... like you were scared."

She smiled wryly. "I didn't think you wanted kids yet. So much has happened… I just… I don't know when… I've been so careful."

Paul gathered her into his arms and kissed her head. "We'll take it a day at a time, ok?"

"You sure?"

"Positive."

A knock on the door had Allura leading Bella to the bathroom. She handed her a cup, told her what to do and left to wait for the sample. When Bella was back in the room, the door was closed again and Bella was in Paul's arms. The wait seemed to take forever as the clock ticking away above the door lulled Bella into a somewhat peaceful nap.

A soft knock on the door revealed the smiling face of her doctor. "So, Ms. Swan. I hear you're sick. What's going on with you?"

She sighed and told him her symptoms, explaining that she thought she had the flu. While she was right about that and given a prescription for antibiotics, both she and Paul were floored when she was told that yes, she was indeed pregnant. And judging that her last period was meant to be in December and it neared the end of February now, she was two months along. It would put her baby being born in September if they'd calculated right.

Bella chanced a look to Paul who sat grinning wide. He and the wolf were thrilled that she was pregnant. "Can we not tell the guys yet?" She asked when they were in Paul's car.

"Sure… but um… I have to phase with them… remember?" Paul asked.

"I'll talk to Sam. Maybe he can alpha order you to not think about it until we're past the first trimester and everything is alright. You think that could work?" She checked.

Paul took her hand in his, kissing her fingers. "I think… I'm positive that I love you, Bella."

She giggled at that. "I'm positive I love you too, Paul." She parroted as he allowed himself to cradle her still flat stomach. His little mate had their pup growing in her belly. He'd be a father in little under seven more months.

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Their news was blown out of the water two weeks later after Bella started feeling better. Emily invited her over to spend time with the rest of the pack, telling her that she wasn't to lift a finger since she was still recovering. The pack had just walked in when Seth called for complete and total silence.

"What is that?" He asked canting his head to the side.

Paul cursed the young wolfs amazing hearing, forgetting that he had the most sensitive ears in the pack. "What's what?" He asked, trying to play it off with an arched eyebrow.

"You guys don't hear it? Listen hard… it's like… humming bird wings…" Seth pondered.

Bella's eyes widened and she moved a few blankets over her body when Seth neared her. His head canted again when he stopped in front of her. "May I?"

Bella arched an eyebrow when Seth asked her to stand and he dropped to his knees in front of her. He put his ear to her chest and frowned. He ignored Paul's growling and moved his ear lower to rest against her stomach. His eyes widened when he looked up at her, shock written over his face.

"It's you…"

Bella smiled and held her hand out for Paul. He was only too happy to pull Bella away and lay his hands protectively over her belly. The other imprints caught on quick, squealing and kissing her cheeks. She smiled and leaned back against Paul, their secret now blown.

Sam clapped Paul on the shoulder, relieved that the order he'd placed on him would no longer affect either of them. "They wanted to wait." He explained.

Seth moved to stand in front of the two. "I'm sorry guys."

Paul grinned. "Don't sweat it, pup. I forgot about your damn ears."

"Yeah… they're good for something I guess." He grinned.

They spent the rest of the night planning baby showers, talking about clothes, things to buy and adding on to Paul's house. It was Jared however, who floored them.

"So, who's telling Charlie?" He teased.