Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. I do own Arianna and the Plastic Pink Horror. Thanks to my beta, Macy!

My Miracle, My Angel — Chapter Twenty-Five

Previously ...

"I love you," I whispered, kissing her softly as she pulled her sweater on again. "Never doubt that."

"I love you, too," she whispered, and I took her into my arms and held her close for several moments. I never ... never wanted to let her go.

And I knew I never would.

September 28th, 10:44 AM ( Edward POV )

As soon as we got home, Bella went straight for the phone.

I knew the number she was dialing before her fingers even hit the buttons, and I smiled as I headed into the kitchen to start lunch. Bella was sure to be hungry. Quickly, I threw some water in a pan to boil and started heating some spaghetti sauce from a can. I chopped onions and peppers to go in the sauce, and I was just about to start searching for the noodles when Bella began talking — Alice, on the other end, had picked up.

"Hello, Alice ... we're home!"

I smiled as I listened to Alice squeal happily for a few moments; thanks to my sensitive hearing, I could hear every word my sister, on the other end, said. My smile grew as I took the lettuce from the fridge and began a salad. Bella joined me seconds later, and she was holding the phone between her shoulder and her ear. I wordlessly handed her a tomato and a knife; she began to cut as she talked.

"We got to see Arianna on the ultrasound today!" she said, and her eyes were glowing happily as she glanced at me and smiled. "And I got to hear her heartbeat, finally. Oh! And I felt her first kick today, too!"

"Oh, wow!" Alice gushed, and I wished I could hear her thoughts for once; she sounded like she was holding something back. I frowned. Alice continued, "But most first time mothers don't feel the first kick until well into their fifth month. Did Edward feel it, too?"

Bella nodded, but then, realizing Alice couldn't see her, said softly, "Yes, he did. We saw it, too, on the ultrasound. It was amazing. Beautiful. I can't wait until she's born."

Alice laughed softly, and the two talked baby talk for several more minutes. I finally found the noodles, and as I was pouring them into the boiling water, Bella threw the tomatoes into the salad and said into the phone, "Alice, hold on a sec, all right?"

I looked up curiously, and Bella was staring at me like I had a second head.

"Since when can you cook?"

I laughed happily, and kissed her forehead before answering. "I've watched you do it enough. Don't worry; it still smells horrible to me, love."

She laughed, and shook her head before turning back to the phone. She brushed a lock of soft, brown hair out of her eyes as she moved around the kitchen. "Alice, when did you brother start cooking?"

"Edward cooks?"

Alice seemed just as surprised as Bella, and I laughed once more.

"Yes," I said, leaning over to speak into the phone. "I cook. Not much and not well, but I do cook."

Bella stuck her tongue out at me, and I couldn't help but raise my eyebrow in amusement. I shrugged, and turned back to the pot on the stove, listening and looking. While I strained to hear every word of Bella's conversation, my eyes swept over the kitchen — still new to me — and the soft, blue walls, the wooden counters. The light was dim, but it was comfortable, and the tiny table in the corner had been covered in a light blue tablecloth — to match the walls, Bella had said. I smiled.

"Oh! And Dr. Ciro gave us an ultrasound picture; I made a few copies so I could send you one."

"Really?" Alice asked, her voice bubbling with happiness and excitement. "Oh, thank you! I can't wait to see it. Can you see Arianna real well in the picture?"

Bella was practically beaming as she answered; she was slowly making her way into the living room, too. I followed after making sure the spaghetti sauce was only simmering, but I paused in the doorway — where I was sure Bella couldn't see me — as I listened to her answer Alice's question.

"Yes. I can even see her tiny fingers; it's amazing. Oh, Alice, she's so beautiful. I already love her so much. I know I said I wouldn't regret not being able to be a mother if I became a vampire, and I wouldn't have, because I have Edward ... and he's all I'll ever need. But now ... now, it's like Arianna's a wonderful, beautiful gift ... and I don't know what I ever did to deserve her."

I couldn't hear Alice's reply, but I could see the tears shimmering in Bella's eyes once more; I moved from the doorway until I was right behind her. Gently, slowly, I slid onto the couch behind her and took her into my arms. She turned to look into my eyes, and I smiled softly at her.

"Love you," I whispered, and she smiled as Alice spoke softly on the other end.

"If anyone deserves the gift of a child, it's you two," she said, and I could almost see the smile in her words. "You two love each other very much, and you've given so much up, time and time again. Look at this another way, Bella ... what did you ever do to not deserve this baby?"

"I ... n-nothing, I guess," she stuttered, and then a smile spread across her lips. "Sorry Alice, I'm kind of emotional today. Our appointment wasn't all good news."

And she preceded to tell Alice everything that had happened, including when she had asked about Arianna's health.

Alice listened quietly, and she didn't speak until Bella trailed off, her story ending when we'd left the pharmacy after picking Bella's vitamins up. There was silence all around until Bella yawned. I laughed and kissed her forehead.

"Arianna will be fine," Alice assured us, but, for once, she didn't sound so sure. "Oh, and Edward?"

"Hmm?" I asked, my eyes closed as I rested my chin on Bella's head and breathed in her scent. The intoxicating air surrounded and imprisoned me.

"Your spaghetti sauce will start burning in about three seconds."

My eyes flew open wide, and I was off the couch as quickly as I could manage without startling Bella.

And then I ran.

I could hear both girls laughing as I swiftly — without a second thought for my ice cold skin — grabbed the boiling pan off of the stove. I quickly dropped it on the counter top and hissed in pain while I waited for the burns on my fingers to heal; it would take only minutes, but it still hurt. The pain was numbed, though, when I placed my other hand — ice cold — on top of the burns.

"Edward?"

Bella's concerned voice reached the kitchen before she did. When she saw the expression of pain that passed over my features, though, she gasped.

"Oh, Edward! Are you all right?"

I smiled hesitantly and she walked closer, her warm hands wrapping around mine. I noticed she didn't have the phone with her and asked about it.

"Alice had to go ... Emmett was raiding her closet," she informed me, frowning as she reached into the freezer for some ice. She wrapped the cubes in a cloth and handed it to me, still frowning in concern. "I thought you couldn't get hurt," she observed.

I hissed as the freezing ice touched my scorched skin. "Fire is the only thing that can hurt us, remember?"

Her mouth formed a small 'O', and she kissed my fingers softly before kissing my cheek. "I'll finish lunch. Are ... are you going to be all right, Edward?"

I laughed and nodded, leaning down to kiss her softly before I moved to sit at the table. The ice felt nice on my hot skin, actually, and I briefly wondered if this was how Bella felt when I touched her — cold, yet comfortable ... nice, almost. It numbed the pain, the only kind of physical pain I could feel.

I closed my eyes and tried not to concentrate on my hand; it had been so long since I'd actually been hurt that it seemed so much worse than it actually was. But I could feel myself slowly healing, and by the time Bella sat her lunch on the table — spaghetti, drowned in sauce — the burns were almost completely gone.

I smiled, stood to my feet, and poured Bella a glass of milk. As I placed it beside her plate, I handed her the vitamins, and she sighed happily before leaning back into me.

"Thank you," she whispered, and I knew she was thanking me for much more than just the food. I kissed her forehead and my smile grew.

"You're welcome."

11:22 PM ( Bella POV )

"Mommy is beautiful," the quiet, gentle voice whispered, and I frowned sleepily before groaning. The voice continued. "She's strong, and pretty stubborn, too." Soft, musical laughter now. "She's very kind, and clumsy, and she's my favorite person in the whole world."

Through my sleepy haze, I finally managed to place the voice; it belonged to my only love, Edward. I smiled, and moaned quietly as his cold hands caressed my bare tummy. My shirt — a light tank top — was pushed up, and the side of his face was pressed gently to my stomach, his eyes staring into mine. His voice washed over me once more, and there was a light smile on his lips.

"Mommy is awake and I think she's mad at me," he informed my stomach seriously. I couldn't help it; I started laughing, and I couldn't stop. Edward frowned playfully. "Mommy is also insane. But I do love her."

He gently — ever-so-gently — ran his hands across my stomach, and he smiled when he felt Arianna kick a little; I felt it, too, and it was an amazing sensation. It was a tiny life, living, moving, inside of me. My smile grew when I met his eyes again.

"Hi, Mommy," he whispered, and I beamed.

"Hello, Daddy." He smiled, too, and I glanced over briefly at the clock. The bright blue numbers shone back at me, and I groaned. Two AM. Too early ...

"Mommy should go back to sleep," Edward said, reaching over to take my hand in his. "I'm sorry I woke you."

I shook my head. "Don't be." I paused, then, "How long have you been doing this? Talking to Arianna, I mean."

He shrugged. "I only started tonight. I haven't talked to her before this at all ... and maybe I should refrain from talking to her while you're sleeping. I think she likes the sound of my voice; she always kicks when I talk. I think that was what woke you."

I laughed, and then sighed dramatically. "Does she ever sleep? She must take after you. Silly vampire baby," I teased him, smiling as he placed butterfly kisses all along my stomach. At eighteen weeks, I was very obviously showing; my stomach was perfectly rounded, too.

"Sleep, Bella, my love."

And then he began humming my lullaby softly, and I felt my eyes slip closed as his gentle, angel's voice washed over me. I still felt the little, fluttering movements in my stomach, and I fell back into a deep, dreamless sleep with a smile on my lips.

September 29th, 5:20 PM ( Edward POV )

"Oooh! Look at this one, Edward!"

I smiled at her enthusiasm and chuckled lightly as my eyes ran over the soft, blue fuzzy. On the chest of the fuzzy, there was a cute, roaring lion. But I gently took the garment from her and placed it back on the rack.

"We're having a girl," I reminded her gently, still smiling.

She pouted as I placed my hands on her shoulders and gently steered her toward the newborn baby girl section. Her pout disappeared as soon as her bright, chocolate brown eyes landed on the massive amounts of soft, pink clothing, and as she began to poke through the different aisles, I sighed; I'd created a monster.

"Edward, look at this!"

Shaking my head and suppressing another laugh, I followed the sound of her happy voice. This time, she was holding up a tiny jumper. Bright blue, pink, purple, yellow and green flowers bloomed all across the white fabric, and a large, yet soft bow stretched across the middle. I smiled; it was very cute.

"I like it," I said softly, and she nodded, smiling, and added it to the small yet ever-growing pile of clothing.

We'd decided it was high time to shop for Arianna only this morning, but I'd been busy with work all day. As soon as I'd gotten home, however, Bella had immediately hauled me out of the house and around to various baby stores. This was the only kind of shopping she enjoyed, she'd informed me; shopping for our baby. Shopping that wasn't for her.

When my phone rang, Bella was in the middle of gushing over the tiny baby socks. But really ... how small could a baby foot be, anyway? Most of the baby socks wouldn't fit my fingers!

I laughed and answered the call I knew was from Alice.

"Edward!" she whined, and I rolled my eyes. "Why didn't you wait until I could shop, too?"

"Because Bella could barely stand the twenty minute drive to the store; there's no way she would have survived the time it would take for you to fly here."

"Still, you could have ... Grrr. Let me talk to her."

"No," I said firmly; there was no way I was interrupting Bella when she was so happy. She deserved this happiness without Alice making her guilty. She'd endured too much in the past months, and this was the first time I'd seen her so carefree in a long, long time.

"Why not?" Alice demanded, and I explained my reasoning. She sighed deeply; I knew it was almost physically painful for her to know we were shopping without her. "Oh, and Edward, I've been having some ... strange visions. Just keep Bella close, all right? More than one of them have ended badly, and I'm honestly getting worried. If I keep having them, then I'm coming to Italy so I can be close, all right?"

"You've been having visions, and this is the first I'm hearing?" I said, trying to keep my voice low, but the rage ripped from me with unexpected force. I could feel the anger building, but I forced it down; Alice spoke again.

"Edward, calm down. I would have told you if there was reason to worry."

I knew she was right, and her words — calming, soft — washed away my rage; the only emotion that remained was worry. I breathed in deeply.

"All right. But ... what do you mean 'ended badly'?" I asked, my heart lurching as I looked around frantically for Bella — for she'd already run off somewhere else. I relaxed a little — but not much — when I saw her soft brown hair bouncing up and down near the baby dresses again.

Alice finally spoke, though hesitantly.

"In one of the visions, Arianna ... dies," she said, and she had to choke the last word out. I felt my heart tearing as she whispered, "But that was among the first ones. I'm not seeing that now."

"Then what do you see now?" I asked, speaking softly, quietly, so Bella wouldn't hear. I didn't want to concern her if there was no reason to.

"I see something happening ... Bella screaming in pain. But something's wrong. I know I'm seeing her change — nothing else can make a person scream out like that. But something's wrong. Very wrong. Edward, please don't let her out of your sight. Quit your job; I know you need to keep up appearances, but please, she needs ... "

But the trailed off, and I spoke softly. "I won't let her out of my sight. Not even for one second. Please, Alice, please tell me if you see Arianna, or Bella, dying again." And I, too, had to force the words out, for it hurt too much to even think it. It hurt too much to even imagine that they could be taken away from me.

"I will. I promise, Edward, I will do everything within my power to make sure we stop whatever this is, whatever is happening to them."

"Thank you, Alice," I whispered into the phone, glancing up to see Bella smiling ever-so-softly as she stared at a pile of baby hats; I couldn't help but smile a tiny bit, too, as I watched her so happy, so carefree. "You have no idea how much it means to me that you care enough to do this for me, for us."

"I think I might," Alice said, laughing. But her laughter was strained, forced. "She is my sister, after all." She paused again, and sighed deeply. "Should I come up to Italy, or maybe Carlisle, or ... or someone?"

"No ... I think we'll be fine. Whatever's wrong, whatever this is that you're seeing, I will stop it. If someone is trying to hurt Bella, I'll take them down. I will not stop until she's safe."

"I know, Edward. I know. Um ... I have to go now. I think I'm going to try again."

I didn't have to ask to know what she meant; I knew. She was going to glance at our future once more, to see if she could unravel the mystery that eluded us, to see if she could find out — to stop — what was going to happen.

I sighed and clicked my phone shut before returning it to my pocket. Bella bounced to my side, and, seeing the worry still lingering in my golden eyes, she reached up and placed her tiny, warm fingers on my cheek.

"Are you all right, Edward? What's wrong?"

Her voice was so soft, so sweet. I didn't know what I would do if she was ever taken from me. So I smiled.

"I'm fine. Alice called, and complained that we didn't wait until she was here to do the baby shopping."

Bella laughed at that, but I could see she was still concerned about me. So I forced all my worry, my concern, my uncertainty back, and left only the smile on my lips. I kissed her forehead gently.

"Everything's going to be fine, Bella. Trust me."

She nodded.

I only wished I could trust myself.

Hmm ... well, though it doesn't seem like it, this chapter is very important. Well, only the end is really important ... the rest is fluff. Lolz.

NOTE: Well, the final bits of plot are piecing together. Whatcha think is gonna happen? I bet no one can guess. Mwahaha. Anyone who does guess can ask one question, any question, and I'll answer it, if I know the answer. If anyone does guess what's gonna happen, I'll announce the winner in Ch. 26 and send them their answer through PM.

Please Review! ( You know the deal! Review, and I update! )

NEXT CHAPTER:

"Yes," I answered, kissing Bella's sweaty forehead softly. "Should I bring her to the emergency room?"