A/N: Sorry for the long wait. A lot of things have been happened over the last few weeks. As you know from my previous AN, I was in the middle of moving, and I also pulled a muscle in my neck and shoulder making it hard to type for long amounts of time.

On the plus side, I'm finally moved into my new apartment. On the downside, my pulled muscle had started to feel much better, but then I re-pulled it trying to catch my cat to take her to the vet again. It's not as bad as it was before though, which is why you're getting a new chapter. :)

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight.

Chapter 21

There was a split second where the entire room was silent enough to hear a pin drop after calling for Dr. Cullen to enter. In that second, I discreetly glanced at Edward to watch his reaction, but his face gave nothing away, until the click of the door knob turning broke the silence, making him flinch and tense up.

The heavy wooden door opened up and my attention quickly turned towards it just as Dr. Cullen walked in while looking down at a clipboard in his hands.

"Hello, Mrs. Black. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. I was just finishing up with a delivery when you checked in," he said without looking up right away. When he finally did, it was with a smile, which quickly fell when he noticed my companion. "Edward! What are you doing here?"

I couldn't sense or hear any form of negativity in his voice when he spoke to his son, only surprise at seeing him here with me.

Edward looked at his father impassively for a moment, and almost as if a switch had been flipped in his brain, his whole attitude suddenly changed and his posture became rigid. I watched as his eyes grew dark and hard as he clenched his jaws before answering. "Long story short, Jazz and I were at Bella's, she needed some help, we brought her here, and she didn't want to be left alone. Does that satisfy your curiosity?" he asked, his tone growing more sarcastic towards the end.

Dr. Cullen let out a small sigh. "It does. But there's no need to be rude. Your presence just took me by surprise, that's all."

Edward glared at him defiantly and muttered, "Whatever."

Taking a deep, calming breath, Dr. Cullen ignored his son's remark and instead turned his attention to me. "According to your chart, you are experiencing very painful muscle contractions, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"On a scale from one to ten, ten being the most painful, how would you rate it?"

"Maybe a six?" It came out sounding more like a question than a statement.

He hummed in response as he wrote down some notes, before turning his pale blue eyes back up to me. "Are you in any pain at this very moment?"

"No."

"I think that's a bit obvious," Edward grumbled under his breath.

Upon hearing his son's comment, Dr. Cullen momentarily lowered his clipboard and shot Edward an exasperated look, his calm professional demeanor starting to crack. I guess it really doesn't take much to get these two men going once they are in the same room with one another.

But in order to prevent any further problems, I was the one who spoke up and chastised Edward for his behavior, before his father could do so and upset him even further. It seemed to work. Edward's posture deflated a little and a pout formed on his face, but he remained quiet. When I glanced back over to the doctor, his eyes conveyed that he knew what I had intended to do and he gave me a very subtle nod as thanks.

The fact that he didn't seem to want to fight with Edward, made me wonder if perhaps he wasn't as bad a person as he's been made out to be. Either that, or he's just as hot and cold as Edward. It was certainly a thought to file away for another time though.

The next thing Dr. Cullen did was scoot his chair over to a cabinet, open it up, and pull out a familiar sterile plastic cup with a lid on it and handed it to me, nodding to the little bathroom attached to the room, and said, "You know the drill."

With a small groan, I took the cup and got off the bed, heading towards the bathroom to do my business. When I came out, a nurse was waiting next to the door to get the cup and take it to get tested.

Once I was settled back in the bed, Dr. Cullen proceeded to question me about my health over the next few minutes, and as they passed by, it was becoming increasingly obvious that Edward was quickly growing bored or uncomfortable, if his sighs and fidgeting were any indication. So finally I decided to have some pity on the poor guy and said, "Edward, I almost forgot. Poor Jasper has been sitting out in the waiting area all by himself this whole time. Why don't you go sit with him for a little bit?"

"Are you sure? Because I can stay if you want," he offered quietly, his voice still laced with some agitation, but I could tell he really wanted to get out of this room.

"Go on. I'll be fine," I told him with a small smile.

He nodded and said, "Okay. I'll be back in a bit though." And with one more glare at his father, he turned and left the room, shutting the door with a little more force than necessary making us both flinch at the sound.

With a heavy sigh that echoed through the hospital room, Dr. Cullen reached up and ran a hand through his light blonde hair in the same manner I've seen Edward do often. With a rueful smile, he said to me, "Normally I'd apologize for his behavior, but with the way you handled him, I'm assuming you are used to it."

"Not really. This is only the second time I've seen him agitated like that," I corrected him.

"Really? He never gives you any problems then?" he asked, his curious blue eyes looking into mine intently as he waited for me to answer him.

With a smile and a shake of my head, I replied, "Nope. Not at all."

After staring at me for another moment, he realized I wasn't going to say any more and he quickly slipped back into doctor mode, just in time for the nurse to come back with my test results and hand them over before leaving again.

Dr. Cullen was silent as he read over the results, and it was making me nervous. "So, what's the verdict? What's wrong with me?"

When he looked up at me, the smile that graced his face set me at ease. "Nothing that can't be fixed, I promise. Your test results show that you are a little bit dehydrated, but otherwise healthy. So, because you are not showing any signs of active labor, my diagnosis is that you are having Braxton Hicks contractions. The fact that you are dehydrated further confirms my diagnosis. It's just one of the many causes that can trigger them."

I frowned at him. "Should I be worried about these things?"

"No. Braxton Hicks are just a temporary thing. They may come and go over the next few days, though, and since it's causing you pain, you can take some baby Tylenol to help. As for the dehydration, I'll have a nurse come in and get you set up with some IV fluids and when that's finished, you can go home. Just make sure to try and drink a little more fluids though, alright?" he asked me with a smile.

"Okay," I replied, returning his smile. "Thank you."

"No problem," he said as he stood up to leave. "Would you like me to send Edward back in?"

"Yes, please. And Jasper. I feel bad for making him sit out there by himself."

"Will do. I'll see you in a bit." And with that, he opened the door and left.

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door and and it opened a crack.

"Bella? It's me."

"Come on in Edward." He pushed the door open the rest of the way and he strolled on through towards the chair closest to me with Jasper following behind him.

After Edward had taken his seat, Jasper took the one next to him and leaned towards me with a smile. "Hey there, Bella. How are you feeling?"

"Kind of the same as before," I replied with a small shrug. "I'm waiting for a nurse to come in and hook me up to an IV for a little while, and then I can go home. I'll need to stop at the pharmacy and pick up some baby Tylenol on the way back though."

"That won't be a problem," Jasper answered.

"So...you're going to be okay, then?" Edward asked me. I look from Jasper to Edward and saw the concern and worry on his face.

I reached over and grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze as I grinned at him. "Yeah. I'm going to be alright."

The smile that spread across his face after I reassured him, was possibly the biggest I've ever seen on him. And the way it transformed the way he looked was magnificent, and my heart beat faster at the sight. I probably would have stared at him a while longer, if I hadn't been hit with another contraction. I closed my eyes and breathed through it and once it was over, I looked back up to Edward's face and to my disappointment, the happy look was gone.

"I hate seeing you in pain," he said softly with a sympathetic look. "Do you want me to go see if they have any baby Tylenol here, so you don't have to wait until we leave to get some?"

I nodded gratefully. "That would be nice. Thank you."

Edward nodded silently and got up and left the room, leaving Jasper and I alone.

"He cares about you," was the first thing he said.

"Of course he does. He's my friend. I care about him, too."

Jasper shook his head at me. "It's more than that. I saw the way he looked at you a few minutes ago. You're special to him."

I looked at him skeptically. "You got that from a look?"

"Not just that one." Jasper looked deep in thought for a moment before going on to explain. "Bella, I've known Edward since we were kids. He's different with you. More...how do I put this? He's more open with his emotions."

"What do you mean?"

"Before he met you, he rarely let his emotions show on his face. It was like he was always wearing a blank mask. Today however, I've seen a whole new person," he explained with a smile. "Heck, I think I lost track of all of the different looks on his face just in the last few hours. It's a good thing."

Japsers smile slowly faded and he let out a small sigh and shake of his head. "That one look though, that was how I know you mean more to him. There's only been one other person that could bring it out."

I swallowed thickly and looked down at my hands. I had a feeling I knew who he was talking about, but I still wanted to hear him say it. "Who was it?" I asked softly, looking back up to his face.

"Edward's high school girlfriend, Tanya."

Tanya.

The girl he told me about the night he confessed to me about his heroin addiction. The one he loved so much, her death caused him so much pain and anguish that he turned to alcohol and drugs to deal with it.

The more I thought about all of this, the more I began to think that maybe Jasper was trying to tell me that Edward loves me. Whether or not that was true, I didn't know.

But for a moment, I let myself believe that it was...and that perhaps I could return his feelings. A sharp kick to my bladder brought me back to reality, and the realization that I just wasn't ready for love yet.

A/N: I'm not a doctor, nor have I ever been pregnant, so if I got anything wrong or missed something in regards to the medical stuff, I'm sorry.

Other than that, how was it?

On a side note, I discovered THE PERFECT SONG to decribe Edward's feelings about himself and Bella. I plan to use it later on, but if you want to hear it, it's called Save Yourself by My Darkest Days. Go to Youtube and find the lyric video on VEVO and pay close attention to the words. You'll see what I mean. Maybe you can even let me know what you think of it in relation to this story. :)

While waiting for my neck and shoulder to heal, I read a couple of really great fics that I'd like to rec.

The Blessing and the Curse by The Black Arrow - By pretending she is falling for Edward, Bella is fulfilling Esme's dying wish. But sexy, possessive Edward can read her mind. Will she ever get into his? Can Bella forget the pain of her teenage years, and can she resist his relentless seduction? AH.

Me and Mr Cullen by Catastrophia - It was just a long weekend in Vegas, so how did eighteen year old high school senior Bella Swan end up married to thirty one year old movie exec, Edward Cullen? This is the story of their awkward life.

See you soon! :)