All things Twilight belong to Stephenie Meyer, I just play with her toys.

So, this is a long time coming. I so sorry. I don't want to go into detail and will leave it at that.

Thanks to Missus Robinson for being a terrific beta! You rock! :)

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Reconciliation

It was Saturday night and Edward was sitting in the dark of his living room. His eyes were fixed on the lights of the skyline in front of him. Somewhere below, Bella was possibly still with his younger sister, Alice, shopping for clothing to fit over the ever growing bump that had become Bella's stomach.

He brought the glass of brandy up to his lips and took a sip. This was not how things were supposed to be. She should be beside him, snuggled in as they watched a movie, or read together, or shopping for things for the baby, not separated. Apart for almost a week.

He hated that she wasn't there, but it was only in the last day or two that he began to get angry at her as well as himself and possible even more so at Rosalie. Rosalie had kept them apart. He knew she was protecting her friend, but the only way things could be resolved were if he could talk to Bella. The office was not the time, nor the place

He heard the key in the lock and somewhere inside he lit up at the thought that it was Bella. That she was coming to show him her new clothes, model them for him. That's when it hit him. That was what Tanya would have done. Bella was not Tanya. Bella was not an avid shopper. Bella disliked people spending money on her. Bella did not like surprises.

His stomach dropped at the realization. All that he had done in the last weeks was just that. Surprise and spend money. Without a thought he had completely disregarded Bella. How the fuck had he done that?

"Yo, Edward, where are you hiding?" Emmett's voice rang through the empty halls. Edward could hear his shoes tapping on the hardwood floors. "Edward?"

"In here," he responded, his voice cracking from speaking for the first time in twenty four hours.

"There you are."

"What do you want, Emmett?" he questioned, his gaze still fixed out the window at the Chicago skyline.

"I came to get you out of your depressed funk. Get dressed."

"No."

"Listen, frumpy… get your ass up off of that fucking couch and let's go!" he exclaimed, walking to step in front of him.

"Why do you want to go out with me? Why not Bella? You two are so chummy lately," Edward sneered.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"You know. Everyone is siding with her, everyone thinks this is my fault, and I know a lot of it is, but no one has been seeing my pain this week," he said as he pressed his palm into his eyes before his hands moved to pull on his hair in exasperation.

"No, we are not fucking siding with her and you fucking know it," Emmett growled. "You're the one who won't answer the phone when we call. You won't return the calls or texts. You are the one pushing us away on this, Edward, not the other way around. We are all trying to support Bella as we would be you if you would just give us a chance! Mom… well she may actually be mad at you for not listening to her, but she doesn't want Bella to feel unwanted in our family. Especially since she's carrying a Cullen."

"What if she takes her away," Edward spoke, the sting of tears forming in his eyes.

"What?" Emmett asked as he finally took a good look at his older brother. Edward's eyes were bloodshot, his face full of stubble, and his clothes were the same he had worn the day before.

"What if Bella takes my baby girl away. What if she decides she doesn't want me after all?"

"Ah, shit, you're all fucked up," Emmett noted with a huff before plopping down on the couch next to him. "You shouldn't be drinking, what if Bella were to come over? Do you think your current state would be good?"

"No, but I did figure something out, that would maybe help my cause."

"What did you figure out?" Emmett asked, his eyebrow quirked in interest.

"I was wrong. I was so wrong in the way I… she isn't Tanya," he revealed with a sigh.

Emmett sat for a moment, a sad smirk playing on his lips. "Finally figured it out, huh?"

Edward turned to look at Emmett, his eyes wide. "You knew?"

"The whole family knew. We tried to warn you, but you just weren't hearing us. You were so caught up in making a life for your family you couldn't see what you were doing. You couldn't see Bella."

"Do you think she still loves me, if she ever really did?"

"Ugh, you're really being whiney. No more drinking for you, pussy boy."

"Fuck you and answer the damn question."

"Bella, for some reason, is head over the fucking moon for you. She loves you, a lot. I can see it, but you're scaring her away with all this. She isn't used to it and she is very independent. She doesn't like shit handed to her. From what Rosie tells me, she… well, she's never seen Bella like this before and it's not just the pregnancy thing," Emmett said. His arm reached out and pushed Edward's shoulder playfully, sending his brother rocking into the arm of the couch.

Edward let out a small chuckle in response. "That's good. I can fix this. I just need to get Rosalie away from her so we can talk without interruption."

"Good luck with that, man. I can't ever get her away with the prospect of my cock pounding her pussy."

Edward turned to look at Emmett and rolling his eyes. "TMI, Em, TMI. I don't want nor need to know about your cock and what it wants to do to Rosalie."

Emmett leaned forward and picked a remote up from the coffee table and leaned back on the couch, his feet crossing on top of the table. "Bears are playing today against the Colts."

With that the two brothers sat back and bonded over football, and later on over pizza as they watched the game in overtime.

Two days later, Edward stared at the clock on his desk. It was nearing six and he was still at the office. Alone. Bella had been picked up by Rosalie again. His fist slammed onto the desk in frustration. Right now Rosalie was what was holding them back. He was ready, they were ready, and he could feel it. Now was the time.

He was amazed how right Bella had been when she had said he wasn't himself since he saw the baby bump. He was amazed that he didn't see the change in himself. The overwhelming need to protect her and their child and make a home for them had trumped everything else. The bump made it real and, if he was being honest with himself, slightly terrified him. Hence, the overprotection.

So much could go wrong between then and delivery; he could lose one or both of them, a crushing thought. But if he didn't do something now, if they didn't fix this, he was going to lose them both now.

He knew what needed to be done. Launching himself from his chair, he headed out of the office and to his car. He drove as fast as possible to her apartment and flew up the three flights of stairs. His fist pounded on the door.

After a minute of pounding, Rosalie swung open the door.

"Where's Bella?" he asked, his heart hammering in his chest.

She moved so that her stance was blocking the way in. "Go away."

"Rose, who is it?" he could hear Bella ask from the other room.

"Get out of my way."

"No. Leave. Now."

"Rose, who… Edward?" Bella questioned, the surprise evident. "Rose, let him in!"

Edward pushed past her to get to Bella, stopping a few feet from her. He was there, in front of her. A smile bloomed on her face; she knew why he was there.

"It's time," he declared and Bella nodded in agreement.

"Bella, you don't have to."

"Get out," he demanded, his eyes not leaving Bella's.

"What did you…"

"Get the fuck out of here!" he snarled. "Stop interfering and go home, Rosalie!"

"Bella…"

"Go to Emmett, Rose. Talk to him, tell him. You can't just keep hiding here with me. Emmett is a great guy and he's perfect for you. He'll want to help… I know he can help. You just have to let him in, you can't keep this to yourself any longer, and he has to know so that you two can keep moving forward. You have to lift this weight from your shoulders."

Rosalie wrapped her arms around Bella. "I'm scared. I've never felt this way… never had to tell anyone."

Bella's hand gently brushed through Rosalie's hair. "It'll be ok. Emmett's the one. All that being said… get the fuck out." Rosalie stared at her with wide eyes. "Edward and I need to talk. You need to leave."

"That's my girl," Rosalie said with a smile before going to retrieve her purse and head to the home she shared with Emmett.

The door closed behind her leaving Edward and Bella alone in private for the first time in over a week.

The tension was palpable and Edward could feel his body shaking at her proximity. Their eyes met, both not sure how to proceed, when Edward quickly closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to hers. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, fingers twisted in his hair, as she pulled him closer.

"Bella, God how I've missed you,"

"I've missed you too, so much," she replied, her hands frantically pulling the fabric from his body.

His hands reached out to stop hers. "Wait, we should talk."

"Talk later," she said as she grabbed his cock through his pants. He grunted in response. "Fuck now."

"Fuck!" he cried out, his hips rocking into her hand.

His hands reached down to cup her ass, picking her up off of the floor. Instinctively her legs wrapped around his waist, nestling his cock right where he wanted to be most. Unwilling to stop kissing her, he took a few steps forward, pinning her against the wall.

Bella had managed to remove his coat and suit jacket, but became frustrated at the buttons on his dress shirt. Her hands grabbed at either side, pulling hard, the shirt burst open, buttons flying across the room. She could feel his mouth move down to her chest; his hands quickly removed her shirt and bra, before his lips were on her overly sensitive nipples.

"Oh, shit! Edward!" she cried out as his tongue flicked the hardening pebbled flesh.

Her face scrunched as her hands tried to pull him from the oversensitive flesh.

"Too much?"

"Too much!"

His teeth nibbled the flesh around her nipple before moving across to the other side, his tongue lapping at her skin, tasting her. Her hips rocked against his hard cock, her body begging for the friction as her hands pulled hard on his hair, her head tilted back against the wall.

"You taste too good, baby. I've missed this, missed you. I'm sorry," he noted with imploring eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Edward!" she cried out, her arms wrapping around his neck, her lips finding his.

Her hands worked their way between them, down to his pants, and found the buckle, quickly undoing it and pushing them down his legs with her feet and hands. His hands pushed her skirt up and tore the only barrier left between them.

In one swift movement he was buried to the hilt in the wet warmth of her pussy.

"Shit, fucking, Christ, so damn good," he cried out. "So wet and tight."

He began to thrust, quickly and with purpose. He needed this, needed her. Nothing else mattered in that moment than the fact that he was with her. She was crying out, screaming his name every time he slipped into her, her body rocking into the wall.

"Edward, oh, fuck you feel so good!" Bella exclaimed.

Her eyes were glazed over with lust, matching his. His teeth nipped at her skin, just below her ear.

"Baby, I'm not going to last… it's been too long," he grunted into her ear.

"Wait, wait, I'm so close," she panted.

"Fuck!" he cried out.

His pace quickened, hitting the spot that made her scream, pushing her over the edge. She clenched around him, pulling him along with her. She could feel him twitch inside as he released.

His forehead pressed into hers as he came down, their chests rising with their labored breath. After a moment he backed up, walking them to the couch and collapsing into it. Bella's head sagged to rest on his shoulder.

"Wow… that was…"

"Yeah," he agreed.

"We need more of that,"

"Definitely."

After a few minutes Bella sat back to look at him. "Hi."

"Hi," he responded, pushing the hair from her face. "So… talk?"

Bella quirked an eyebrow at him. "Like this? Still buried inside me?"

Edward chuckled before lifting her slightly and pulling out, placing her back in the same spot she was previously. "Better?"

She could feel the evidence seeping from her onto him. "You really don't want to let me go?"

"And give you the opportunity to leave? No."

"I suppose we can stay like this then."

"Sorry, it's just been too long since you have been in my arms. I don't want to let you go yet, not for anything," he admitted.

"The knitty gritty?"

"Let's have it out."

"Ok, here goes," she began. "Everything about 'us' is so intense. It's exhausting sometimes, especially lately when I am always tired.".uk

He nodded in agreement. "I'm the type of man that when I figure out what I, want I go after it. When I figured out I wanted you, I put myself out there in a way I have never done. You made me chase you, you fought with me, you are the only person I have met as stubborn as me," he said with a chuckle.

"I think that is one of our relationship faults, the stubbornness," she pointed out.

"I do as well, but it's something we can work on. It will be hard, but I think we can do it… I know we can. I promised we'd learn together, but instead I used my previous relationship as a template. It took me awhile to understand why you were so upset about the car and the house; to see that I was treating you like I did Tanya," he admitted, his fingers lightly dancing across her arms. He loved feeling her beneath his fingers.

"What?" Bella asked, confused. She had never heard the story of his relationship with Tanya; he didn't like to talk about it.

"Tanya… well, I think I can honestly say now that she was a gold digger. I was her meal ticket. She didn't work, not really, and she liked to be a kept woman and I liked to spoil her. I was in love with her and the best way to show that with her was in the form of gifts. When I bought us new cars, a new apartment, she was happy to have nice things.

"For some stupid reason I assumed you would like new cars and houses. I didn't think about how you were not like that. How independent you are. You aren't with me for my money, or status, or to have as arm candy," he explained.

"Well, maybe the arm candy part. You are pretty sexy you know. I have to beat the girls off with sticks. There is teeth baring and growling, you just never notice."

He laughed and it felt so good to hear her banter. He hadn't realized how much he had missed it over the last month. "Well, I will just have to keep an eye out in the future." He kissed the top of her head. "I love that you are with me for me. We fought so much in the beginning because we were fighting against ourselves. That's when I knew we were real. It took me a long time to break down your walls, but as soon as I did us… well, we were just right. Everything felt right."

"Yes, it did. That scared me though, Edward. I won't lie."

"It scared me as well," he admitted. "Then when you left… everything was wrong, so wrong. I wasn't right, the world wasn't right."

"I hated doing it as soon as I was out the door and my head was a little clearer. I hated doing it, but I won't regret it. It was needed for us both to see. After we found out about the baby you just… shut me out, forgot about me. You wouldn't even listen to me, then you started making all these plans, spending tons of money and didn't even ask for my opinion. It hurt, Edward," she revealed, the pain evident in her eyes.

His hand reached out to caress her face. "I haven't been myself lately, you were right. Which reminds me, why did you smack me the other day?"

Bella's eyes lit up, her head thrown back in laughter. She tried to stifle the giggle as she brought her gaze back to him, her hand moving to caress the place on his face where her hand had struck. "Well, Emmett came into my office and told me to do it."

"And you went along with it?"

"It actually made some sense."

"Smacking me made sense?" he asked in wonder.

"Well… in a way," she began. "I asked Emmett if it was a reset button or something and he said it would make you angry. I thought to myself 'angry is good. I haven't seen angry in awhile.'"

"Well, I was. Furious and confused as all get out," he explained. "Though Emmett may have been right, as much as I hate to admit it. So, for the future… I give the ok… you could just smack me when I get out of line. I think only then will I realize what I am doing."

"Ok."

"You agreed to that too quickly."

"Yes. But that is only if you agree to kiss me hard when I get out of whack. Hard, pushing me up against the wall kisses always bring me back to myself."

"My lips are that magical?"

"I think it is the whole package. Your body pressed against mine, hands grabbing and pulling me to you, and your lips against mine. That is home to me. You are my home, Edward," she said, pressing her hand against his chest.

"Home," he repeated. "Home is where your family is." He placed his hand tenderly on Bella's bump. "You two are my family, Bella. I would do anything for you. You know that, right?"

"I do, Edward."

"I still want you to marry me."

Bella laughed. "Stubborn ass."

Edward shrugged his shoulders. "I'm old fashioned I guess and hopelessly in love with you. Is it so bad to want you as my wife before our child is born?"

Bella contemplated this for a moment. "No, I guess not."

"Does that mean 'yes'?" he asked, his arms tightening around her.

"Not exactly. It means you have explained why and I get it, I really do. And, if I am being honest, I like the sound of that. I'm not saying 'yes' though because we still have to see if we can do all of the things we just talked about. Let's see where we are in a month, ok?"

"How about at Christmas?" he asked as he dipped his face into her neck, peppering it with kisses.

"That's only two and a half weeks away," she protested.

"Yes, and look at where we got in a week, just imagine how much better we can be in two and a half. I know I'll screw up again, and you may again as well, but if we learn to communicate I know it will all work out. I want to be with you forever, Bella."

Bella sighed and let a little chuckle out before placing a kiss to his chest. "Ok, we'll see where we are at Christmas. But that doesn't mean I'll say yes and that does mean we have a lot of work ahead of us."

"We're both really hard workers. I know we can do it."

"Maybe we can make a 'laundry' date every week to air out our issues. If I have to pencil it in your work schedule, I will. I'd rather talk than walk out again. I felt like I lost everything I ever wanted, but didn't know until it was gone."

"I know exactly what you mean. I'll step back and let you be the confident woman you were when we met, even if that means going somewhere without me… which will be tough because I always want to be with you."

"And I'll make sure you get away from work and me and make Em and Jazz take you out for a testosterone filled night… especially if you are filled in a house of females."

"I'll try; I stress the word 'try', to tame my worrying and stressing out because I don't want to miss a minute of life with you two."

"I hate what you do to me, but I'd hate it more if I never knew what you did to me."

"I don't want to miss the small things that make the big thing."

"It's beautiful and it's messy, but that's us."

"Yes, yes it is. I love us."

"I love you, Edward," she declared with a smile. His lips met hers.

"I love you, Bella," he vowed before dipping his head to kiss her bump. "I love you, Baby."

"We are being sappier than the sappiest Hallmark card," Bella pointed out with a laugh.

"Yeah, well, this is one Hallmark moment I want to keep. Then we can go back to being a power duo. Get all of this crap out of our system and go back to the way things are supposed to be."

"That sounds like a fantastic plan, Mr. Cullen."

"I have some pretty great plans, future Mrs. Cullen," he said with a smirk.

Bella laughed and leaned in for a soft kiss. "I kinda like the sound of that."

"Well, I kinda love the sound of that," he declared.

They got up from the couch and headed into her bedroom, ready for round two and above.

The next day Angela found the office to be a cheery place for the first time in weeks. She breathed a sigh of relief when Mr. Cullen and Miss Swan exited the elevator together with smiles on their faces as they talked.

"What happened?" Mrs. Cope asked as she entered and watch as her bosses kissed before entering their respective offices.

"I don't know, but I think it's going to be a great day," Angela replied. She was curious as to what had gone on in the hours since they had seen them. Curious as to what had settled the fire and brought out the sun, because no one remembered ever seeing the power couple in such a great mood.

"So, do we get raises as compensation for all that we have had to deal with for the past week?" Mrs. Cope asked, her hands crossing over her chest. Her face was serious as Edward turned in his doorway and smiled at the two women standing at the reception area.

"Why not?" he agreed.

Just then Emmett arrived and immediately noticed the shift and yelled, "About fucking time!" as he walked back to his office, a smile lighting up his face.

At three, they left the office and headed to their scheduled appointment with Dr. Powers. After a few minutes of waiting they were taken back to an examination room. A nurse proceeded to take Bella's vitals.

A knock on the door a few minutes later and Dr. Maggie Powers entered the examination room.

"Bella, your blood pressure is still elevated and that concerns me. It is on the high side and I'm afraid of the problems that may come down the line. You are just in the beginning of your second trimester, but we need to keep an eye on it."

The doctor went on to explain the possible complications and problems, causing the blood to drain from Edward's face, his hand squeezing Bella's.

"Do I need to slap you?" Bella asked him in a hushed whisper. Concern etched in her features. He really did not like things being out of his control.

"Possibly. I really want to drag you home and chain you to the bed for the next six months," he admitted, swallowing hard.

"Edward, please don't get too worked up over this. I just want you to be aware as to why this is something we need to keep our eyes on," she stated. "Ready to see your baby?"

The couple smiled and readily agreed. After a few minutes of waiting a petite woman came in towing a cart behind her.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cullen?" she asked. "I'm Jane; I'll be doing your ultrasound."

After a few minutes of set up she instructed Bella to get on lie on the table and readjust her clothing.

"Now, Bella, Edward, I don't want to get your hopes up that we will know the sex today. It's still pretty early in your pregnancy, so we may not be able to tell," Jane explained as she squeezed the gel onto Bella's abdomen.

"It's a girl," Edward announced.

"Oh really, Mr. Cullen, and why do you think that?" the nurse asked with a smile, truly curious.

"I just know."

Bella looked at him curiously for a moment before it clicked. "Alice!" she exclaimed, a smile lighting up her own face.

"Alice," he agreed.

"When? And why didn't you say anything?"

"She called a few days before Thanksgiving… right before her last appointment," he explained before glancing at the nurse as he tried to figure out how to proceed. "Her psychic told her that she was having a boy and that we were having a girl."

"Well," the nurse interrupted. "It looks like Alice's psychic could be correct. I can't guarantee it, but it looks like you're having a girl."

If you like smutty hard lemons with an intense tourtured Edward check out my new story Breach!

Thanks for reading!