All normal disclaimers apply.

Thanks to Sally and Nikky for all their help—there is even a special shout out to them in the chapter.

~BL~

Chapter: 25

**Some of you may not be happy with this chapter, but we ask that you keep in mind by the time this chapter takes place almost ten months have passed.**

Dear Dairy,

Wow, it's been a while. Here it is—four in the morning. When I woke up to use the bathroom, I saw you sitting on my nightstand and I realized I haven't written in you for MONTHS. Well, let me fill you in on what has been going on.

Edward and I are doing amazing. With school and my internship, things have been crazy busy. On a brighter note, we get to see each other a lot more. I love working with him, and I've discovered that we really do make a great team. I have learned a lot from the people I am working with, and I'm confident that I am going to make a career out of my degree.

The holidays have come and gone. My days passed so quickly that I could barely remember them. The best Christmas present I could ever get happened this year. Edward and Dad were being very sneaky and I had no idea why. I remember fighting with Edward over the sneakiness, but he just told me to mind my own business. That is something he really doesn't say often, so at that moment I was nosier than nosy! I needed to know what was going on. What was even stranger was that my own mom was acting weird, too! I asked Esme about it, and she was wondering the same thing, so I knew she didn't know what was going on. That or she knew how to play it cool. In all honesty, she had her hands full, but I'll get to that in a minute.

Anyway, this huge surprise was the best ever. I almost felt bad for nagging over it so much. I was told that Mom, Jim, and Char weren't coming for Christmas, and I was so pissed because all Mom said was that everything was going to work out. Luckily I had finals, so I really didn't have time to throw a fit. When I got home from my last day of classes, there was a piece of paper taped to the front door with an address and a note telling me to meet Edward there. At first I was pissed. For some reason, I thought Edward bought us a new house. I was upset because I loved our house and I didn't want to move. Needless to say, when I knocked on the door and the first person I saw was Char, my knees got weak. My whole family was now living in St. Louis and I cried like a baby. The only person missing was Jake, but he promised to visit when I talked to him. Almost everything felt complete in my life on that day.

Dad and Esme's lives have been so busy. They got married in the church as was initially planned. It was a beautiful ceremony—Char and Landon looked so cute holding hands and walking down the aisle together as the ring bearer and flower girl. Dad and Esme are finally Landon's legal parents now, and he is doing so well. Things have been hard on Esme, juggling Alice and Landon, but she has done great with it. For the longest time, Esme wouldn't let Alice come to her house. The trust just wasn't there between Alice and her ability to be safe around Landon. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder with slight paranoia, which was all triggered by postpartum depression. She is living with Gary and is doing well, though. She was released after being in the facility for a total of about three months. As for Dad and Esme's house—I barely go over there anymore. They do come see us at least once a week for dinner or a visit, though. I can't bring myself to go there and hang out because Alice is there a lot—I don't want to cause unnecessary problems.

Alice and I are going to same college now, but we steer clear of one another. I don't think either one of us knows what to say. She is on meds, and Gary and Esme are working as a great team to make sure their daughter gets and stays healthy. I have to admit that Ben truly stepped up. He was the one who got her talking, and it was him that really allowed Alice to open up and get help. He is still in contact with her, too, which to me is a very good thing.

The happiest day for Esme was when Alice acknowledged Landon by name and by not calling him 'the kid.' She is finally on her way to recovery, and I know no one could ask for more. I hope that someday Alice and I can be friendly to each other. I still love her, and now that I know that this was a sickness and not really the girl who was my friend—sister—confidant, I hope we can grow past all of this.

Edward and I have really grown together over the past few months. When we returned from Forks, one of the first things we did was get a therapist and start doing individual and couple's counseling. Alice's doctor at the facility she was moved to after the hospital stay, was clear that Alice and Esme should do therapy, too. Edward said he was glad we already started to see someone.

I have learned a lot in these sessions—my ability to communicate appropriately with Edward has been the biggest asset the sessions have given me. Edward has learned to curb his control issues. Turns out he had a few things bothering him. He never acted as if he was insecure, but he was. Growing up with an unstable mother caused both Edward and Esme to have issues with trust. Retiring from baseball was Edward's choice, but the retirement also bothered him. He has always strived to be the best he could be, and as a ballplayer, he was great. Taking his place at the agency and having to depend on everyone to teach him the business was hard on him. The stress and his feelings of inferiority caused him to be more and more domineering with me.

Our power struggle could have ended us. However, it has only made us stronger. Together, Edward and I have only made things better every single day. We talk all the time now, and things couldn't be better. It seems odd to think of withholding anything from him—but something occurred to me when I woke up to pee, and now I am plotting. I plan to be sneaky about it today, so I guess I better get ready for work soon. The alarm is going to go off and Edward will be waking up. Wow, I am nervous. Wish me luck.

~BL~

"Oh my god!" I say to myself as I sit in the stall of the bathroom at work. I can't believe this was happening. I knew it could have happened at any time, but it is still a shock. I told Edward I was going out to lunch with a couple of the girls I worked with, but that isn't really what I am doing.

'When you get back, come to my office,' the text from Edward said. I finish in the bathroom and head to him in a daze. I know he is going to be happy, but I am freaking out a bit. It's scary. As I walk to his office, I giggle with excitement, and then shudder at the fear of the unknown.

"Hey," I say with a smile, walking in. I sit in the chair across from him.

"Hey," he says, taking off his sexy glasses. "How was lunch?"

"Life changing," I tell him as I cover my face.

"That good?" he asks as I giggle. "I saw Sally and Nicola right before I sent you that text. They looked at me like I was crazy when I asked how their lunch was," he says as I give him the 'O' face. "Yeah, so you lied—where were you?"

"Funny story, actually," I say as I dig for the stick that is wrapped in paper towels. "I went to the store to get this."

I hand him what looks like a wad of garbage. He lets out a sigh of annoyance and I watch his face. He doesn't look happy with me, and I know it's because he didn't know where I was. I thought once he knew why he would be excited. I watch him carefully as he sets the wrapped stick on his desk and just stares at it.

"This isn't a funny joke," he says, looking up as I giggle.

"Part of me wishes it was," I say with a sigh. "Aren't you at least a little happy?" I ask nervously.

"I'm ... yeah, but this wasn't what I was thinking," he says as a small smile crosses his face. "You need to make a doctor's appointment. How far along do you think you are?"

"A few weeks. I'm only like two weeks late, and I more or less bought it for a peace of mind. Imagine my surprise," I say, playing with my fingers. "I'm scared," I admit as I burst into tears. "I don't want to push a baby out of my vagina! I don't want to become a bitch like my mom, and I don't want postpartum depression."

"Bella, don't worry about things you can't control. We need to worry about this one right now," he says as he crouches down in from of me. "Honey, we're having a baby!" he says, smiling at me. I can see the love and excitement in his eyes.

"I know, and I feel so many emotions right now. I'm freaking happy ... excited, and yet I'm scared out of my mind. I didn't think it was going to happen so fast."

"It's been almost a year," he says, making me laugh. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"I need to call Esme!"

"NO!"

"Why not?" he asks as he cocks his head to the side.

"We just need it confirmed first. Can a stick truly tell you such a life changing thing? I would just feel better after it came out of a doctor's mouth," I tell him as he kisses me.

"Anything you want," he says with the biggest smile.

"Good, they can see me at three. Are you coming with me?"

"Without a doubt."

By a quarter to four, we are waiting in the doctor's office for him to return with the results from the lab. I've given blood and urine samples, been weighed, and have filled out more papers than I ever care to fill out again. I am nervous and can't stop bouncing my leg.

"Will you stop? If you don't, you will shake the books right off his shelf."

"I just can't help it. What if the test was wrong? What if there is just something wrong with me? What do we do if ..." I'm cut off by the office door opening.

I watch as the doctor walks around his desk and sits in his chair. I am about to scream in anticipation as I wait for him to say something.

"Well, Ms. Swan, you are pregnant," Doctor Uley says. Edward smiles just as big as I do, and he kisses the back of my hand. "I'm going to guess you are around five weeks, but we will know more in four weeks when you come back for an ultrasound."

"Should she be on any kind of restrictions? And what about sex?" Edward asks.

"No heavy lifting. I would say nothing over twenty-five pounds. She's needs as little stress as she can get, as well. She will feel tired and maybe sick for the next few weeks. Eat healthy and drink a lot of water, milk, and fresh juice. There are no restrictions on your normal everyday sexual life. As long as it isn't rough or painful—it is fine to proceed as normal," the doctor says. I feel like I should be taking notes.

"She's in her final year of school and she works part time. Should she quit working?" Edward asks as I huff.

"Ignore him," I tell the doctor as he chuckles. "I'm pregnant, not dead. I'm working." Edward chuckles at me and I can't help but to shake my head at him.

"I just don't want you doing too much," he says as a sly smile comes across my face.

"Well, I guess I could give up cleaning the house. That could be your job!" I say as we all laugh. It was truly meant as a joke, but I have a feeling he will start doing more around the house.

~BL~

"You know what all this means now, right?"

"Yes, it means that we are having a baby," I say smartly, knowing he loves my sass—especially when delivered with a smile.

"Cheeky! Now as I was saying, this means a few things. First, we have to tell your parents and I have to tell Esme. Second, we need to be setting a date for the wedding sooner rather than later. When we get home, we can look at the schedule and see when the best time is while the team will be away on a long road trip. I don't want to miss too many games."

"We can wait and get married after the baby comes ..."

"Ah, no, we can't," he says, cutting me off. "I told you long ago that my child would come into this world with two parents, and not only will he or she have two parents, their parents will have the same name."

"Awesome, so you're going to be a Swan, too?"

"You're just full of spitfire today, aren't you, my angel?"

"Maybe," I say coyly. "Can we go home now and celebrate?"

"Most definitely. Any special celebration practices you have in mind?"

"Oh hell yeah, I have this itch that I suddenly can't scratch."

"Do you now?" he questions, pulling the car into the garage.

"Uh huh," I say, slipping out of the car and running for the bedroom.

He is fast, and catches me before I am all the way in the house. Picking me up bridal style, he wastes no time in getting me to the bedroom. There is nothing but love and emotion in our joining. As he undresses me and worships every inch of my body, then I return the favor. This is more than sex, and I'd say it is more than making love. I've never felt like this before. As we come together, it is like a calming clarity, a promise, a union, a parallel joining of souls—it's perfection.

~BL~

DING-DONG.

"Honey, can you get the door? I am pulling the ham out of the oven."

"Yes, Baby, I told you I would do that."

"I got it, just get the door," I say as the doorbell chimes over and over again. I start laughing, knowing it has to be Char. When Jim holds her up to ring the doorbell, she goes crazy.

Today is Easter Sunday and everyone is coming here for dinner. Alice won't be here, though. She and Gary went to Forks—Ben's family invited them. Today we are telling our family about our little bun in the oven. The morning sickness has really sucked, but I had my doctor's appointment Friday and we are officially ten weeks along. We have little framed sonogram pictures for my mom and Esme to open, along with a necklace that says "World's Best Grandma." For my Dad and Jim, we got them each a ball cap that says "World's Best Grandpa." We got Char a t-shirt that says "Hey, I'm Too Young to be an Aunt." Landon has one that is exactly like Char's, but it says Uncle instead.

I smile as I hear everyone coming in; they must have all arrived at the same time. I chuckle as Edward comes bouncing over to me with a kid in each arm. Char squeals out "Belda," as Landon starts squirming and motioning that he wants me with his hands. Landon talks, but not a lot—he is more the strong, silent type. Especially when he is around Char. He lets her do all the chattering.

I tease Esme and my mom all the time. They need to get some new friends for them, or in the future, my family tree will fork even less. I take Landon, and then of course Char wants me, too.

"Sorry, Char, you have to wait your turn. Bella can't hold you both right now."

"I have seen her hold them both and carry three grocery sacks," Jim chuckles.

"Well, she can't do that anymore and for quite the next little while," Edward says seriously.

The room falls quiet, and I can see that my mom and Esme have it figured out. All because of Edward and his over protectiveness and big damn mouth.

Before they can say anything, I set Landon down. "Don't ask and shut it now. If you two women ruin this for me, I will never forgive you!"

My Dad and Jim are confused. Esme is smiling, but hiding it behind her hand as best she can. My mother, however, has a tear running down her face, so I turn to Edward.

"Could you please go get the packages now, since you had to open your big mouth?"

"I didn't say any ..."

My glare and bitch brow cuts him off quickly, and he sits Char next to Landon before walking into the den to get the gift bags. When he comes back in, he walks to me, and I motion for him to pass them out.

"Can we sit down?" Esme asks. I nod my head and motion to the couch. I am not really mad; I just wanted this to go so differently. Everyone sits and Edward picks up both babies and I carry their little gift bags with me. I have a few little toys in each bag for them, as well. I give them their bags, and of course all they want is the toys. Edward nods his head at everyone to say they should open theirs.

My mom is crying before she gets the photo frame all the way open. Esme is clapping and has a big smile on her face. Jim is looking at the cap as if he is confused. I look at my Dad and see that he has a tear on his cheek, and he is looking at me.

"You're making me a Grandpa, Bella?"

"Well, I didn't do it alone, but yeah—that is exactly what is going on."

My Dad stands up, comes across the room, and hugs me while kissing my cheek. He smiles at me and turns to Edward. "I don't know if I should shake your hand, hug you, or punch you in the face for knocking up my little girl."

I can't help but laugh as I hug Edward's side and smile at both of them. "I say punch him. He did let the cat out of the bag early and ruin my surprise."

"Wait just a minute here!" Jim says out of the blue. "I just became a father and now we find out we're ..."

He is cut off by my mother smacking his arm.

"Oh my God!" I yell as Char and Landon both cry because I scared them. "Are you pregnant again?" I ask as I pick up Char and Dad picks up Landon.

My mom nods and tells me her due date.

"Me too!" I laugh loudly—my due date and hers are the same damn day.

Jim and Edward both look like they are going to throw up and Esme is laughing at both of them. Dad, Mom, and I are all in shock, and Landon and Char are playing patty-cake together.

~BL~

"Are you okay?" someone asks just as I finish throwing up. My morning sickness isn't as often as it has been, but when it does hit, it's pretty bad. It has been a week since Easter dinner, and this is the first bad day I've had in a while. I know I'll feel sick all day.

"Yeah," I say, clearing my throat. "I'm fine." I dry heave a couple more times before I start feeling better.

"You don't sound fine," the woman says.

"Morning sickness," I tell her. I'm really hoping she just leaves me be, but that doesn't seem to be happening.

"Yeah, I was the same way when I was pregnant," she says— I suddenly realize it is Alice who is talking to me.

"Oh, do you have a girl or a boy?" I ask. I have a feeling she doesn't know it's me.

"He is a boy," she says, sounding sad. "I gave him up for adoption."

"I know," I say as I open the stall. I am standing face to face with her alone in a small space for the first time in over a year. We stare at each other for a long time without saying a word, and I'm sure our break is over, but neither of us seems to move.

"I didn't know it was you," she says as she fidgets.

"Yeah, I didn't know it was you either at first," I say as I pull my toothbrush out of my purse.

"No one told me," she says, sounding hurt.

"We just told everyone a week ago. I don't think anyone wanted to throw it in your face," I tell her with a mouthful of toothpaste.

"Maybe, but I can handle it," she tells me. Oh God, how I hope so. "I'm getting better every day."

"I'm glad, Alice. I truly am," I tell her as I look at her through the mirror.

"Landon's birthday is coming up ... will you be there?" she asks.

"I was planning on it," I tell her as I watch her face.

"Okay," she says with a head nod. "I've gotta go."

"See you around." As soon as she is gone, I let out a big breath. Maybe this is the beginning of mending things with her.

A/N: Well we think that a lot of good things came to play in this chapter. Alice is getting help, Edward is getting help, it sounds like therapy is helping a lot of people. There is one chapter left to post before the epilogue ... is there anything that you want closure on yet that has not been touched on? There will be a lot of closure in the next chapter, but we are curious to your expectations. Thanks for reading and reviewing.

Another SUPER big thanks to Nikky for being such a sweetheart and stepping up and answering reviews for us. Thanks Nik, you've been a true GODSEND!