I'm not Stephenie Meyer. This story is written for entertainment, not profit...don't sue me. Pretty please?
As always, thanks to Meghan for beta'ing. Love ya!
I've volunteered to write a (sexy) Victim one-shot in support of our friends in Australia in participation with the "Fandoms Fights the Floods" inititive. Over 200 authors have donated their time to this cause. They're compiling hundreds of one shots and the like. For a $5 (or more) donation to the charity of your choice (that is helping with the victims of the floods in Queensland), you will get a copy of this compilation emailed to you!
(My one-shot will be a citrusy adventure in the kitchen for our beloved Edward and Bella. It will be a bit more raunchy than my other lemons...donate!)
For more information, please go to fandomsfightthefloods [.] blogspot [.] com
This is just some fluff before the real terror begins...enjoy!
[BPOV]
The ultrasound appointment was scheduled at week twenty two of my pregnancy. At that appointment, we'd find out whether we were having a boy or a girl. While I had heard women talk about how it was one of the nicest surprises in life, I knew it would make things so much easier for us if we just found out at five and a half months, instead of three and a half months later. Even though we had gone shopping a few times, we had next to nothing to show for it because we didn't know whether we would have to get girly things, or boyish things. We still had to create a nursery for our baby, which meant getting all the furniture, decorations, and clothing that he or she would grow out of quickly. Knowing the sex of the baby would help us - well, me - decide on a colour scheme for the baby's room, and the sorts of clothes we could begin to get for him or her. Edward was all for knowing the sex of the baby, too. He was sure that we were going to find out that it was a boy, and wanted to be proven right. On the other hand, I didn't care one way or another and was happy to find out.
"Ready to find out, guys?" Dr. Meinheim asked as she put the Doppler over my stomach and began feeling around for the heartbeat of our son or daughter. We both nodded and watched as she moved the wand and found the steady thump-thumping of the tiny heart growing within me. The screen displayed a fairly well-defined black and white silhouette of our baby; the round head, the outline of an arm lifted towards the little mouth, an outline of a tiny little foot. I gasped as I took it all in. Edward simply held my hand and wore an incredibly gorgeous smile.
"Well, let's see if we can confirm the sex," the doctor commented, swirling the wand minutely to change the angle of the view upon the screen. I watched, but became confused when she changed the angle. Edward shared in my confusion.
"Do you understand anything you're seeing?" I whispered to him with a smile.
"Nope," he replied, popping the 'p'.
At length, the doctor finally laughed and motioned to the screen. "Congratulations, mommy and daddy," she said, pressing a button on the screen to freeze the shot, "you are having a boy."
"I knew it!" Edward exclaimed happily. "You're sure, doctor?"
She nodded confidently and pointed to the screen once again. "That there is the outline of his penis."
Edward and I looked at each other with the same dumbfounded look, and then returned to stare at the screen.
"Really?" I had to ask. I didn't see it at all. Dr. Meinheim had obviously heard the same questions before because she shrugged and smiled at the question.
"Yes, I'm sure of it. Congratulations," she said good-naturedly; she hasn't answered the question in an annoyed or irritated way that someone normally would when their judgement was questioned. I was highly thankful for that.
When the doctor left us alone to clean up, Edward stopped me from pulling my shirt down and pulled me into a tight hug - as tightly as he'd allow himself that is.
"You've made me so happy, Bella. You have no idea."
"What, because it's a boy?" I teased, pulling back to watch his reaction. He shook his head.
"Not at all, love. If it was a girl, I'd be just as happy..."
I cocked my head at him, waiting for him to confess just the opposite. I wasn't disappointed. He smirked conspiratorially and laughed, showing me the flats of his palms.
"Ok, ok, maybe I'm a bit happier now that I know it's a boy - a tiny bit. But it's not my fault," he pouted briefly. "I'm a guy; it's in all of us to want boys to continue our legacies."
I had to giggle at that. "What legacy?" I scoffed, shoving him playfully.
"Hey," he said in mock-offense, pointing at his head, "this mop of hair isn't gonna inherit itself!"
"What about that shockingly dazzling crooked smile?" I asked with a huge smile.
"That, too! See?" He paused then, thinking. "He's going to be a stud!"
"Just like his daddy," I murmured.
"I wasn't a stud. I was always too involved with school and my family to think about girls."
"I'm sure they thought about you, though," I scoffed again.
"It doesn't matter, because the only woman that matters to me is you." With that, he silenced any further rebuttal with his lips softly pressed against mine.
We left the doctor's office hand in hand, so happy with the news that our son was growing properly and there were no abnormalities thus far. He helped me into the Volvo and closed the door. When he got into the car through the driver's side and turned on the car, he reversed out of his parking spot and began to drive us home. A few minutes into the drive, Edward reached over the stick shift and held my hand before clearing his throat and saying, "So, now that we know we're having a son, we can discuss names."
"Ok," I agreed, squeezing his hand in response. "What did you have in mind?"
Edward looked a bit sheepish as he kept his eyes on the road. "I kinda still like 'Nathaniel'. Nothing else has really caught my attention."
I cocked my head in mock-suspicion. "You've been looking up names?"
He nodded, glancing at me briefly, "And their meanings."
"Oh." I couldn't believe the initiative that Edward had taken to find names for our son. Wasn't that my job? "What does Nathaniel mean?" I asked curiously as we slowed to a stop in front of a red light.
He beamed at me gloriously before answering, "Gift from God."
I dropped my hand to my stomach and rubbed, nodding. "He absolutely is." I paused, contemplating the name. I envisioned calling our son Nathaniel in various situations–chasing after him as he crawled around the living room, cooing to him as I fed him, calling him to me when he inevitably broke a rule. I even pictured Edward calling out for his son Nathaniel–or Nate for short–when he returned home from work, when he held him, when he changed his diaper.
It was perfect, and I told Edward as much.
"Yeah?" he asked hopefully.
"Yeah."
"So, are we decided?"
"Yes, he's our gift from God. He's our little Nathaniel." At the words, I got teary-eyed and rubbed my stomach again. Those hormones were wreaking havoc on my tear ducts. Edward's hand joined mine on my belly and he gazed up into my eyes briefly but significantly before his gaze returned to the road.
"Our son." Even as he drove, I could see the beginnings of emotion in the corners of his bright green eyes, so I brought his hand to my lips and kissed it to show him that I understood the feelings that were bubbling within him. "I adore you. And Nathaniel." I felt him chuckling quietly to himself. "Nathaniel Cullen. I like the way that sounds."
I grinned, feeling our baby kick at that moment and looking down at my belly. "Ooh, I think he agrees!"
When we returned home from the doctor's office that day, the first thing we did was call our parents - first mine, then his. Both sets of grandparents were thrilled to learn that we were having a son and that everything was normal with his development. We even told them the name that we had decided upon, agreeing that we weren't going to change our minds about it in the next three months. We then called Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett to let them know the good news. Alice had been insistent that she be told the minute we found out the sex so that she had an excuse to go shopping. Who were we to deny her the opportunity to shop for Nathaniel? She and Rosalie were excited, and Emmett was already starting to map out the relationship he and his nephew would enjoy, including the sports that he and Nathaniel would play together. I had to laugh when I heard that from Edward. He and I hadn't even discussed the different sports that our son would play, or if he'd play any at all for that matter. Being Canadian, I'd be crazy if I didn't want my son to at least know how to ice skate and play ice hockey. Soccer was a close second, but Edward and I would let our son decide what he'd like to do when that time came. According to my calculations, we had another seven years or so to wait until that time came.
After we got off the phone with all our loved ones, I walked up the stairs to our bedroom and passed by the spare room that was no doubt going to be our son's room.
"We really need to take care of the nursery. July will be here before we know it," I commented, leaning against the doorframe leading into the guest bedroom closest to our bedroom. There were boxes and shopping bags on the floor, the wall was a drab grey colour, and the only pieces of furniture there were a single-sized bed and a night table with a small lamp on it. It had originally been Emmett's old room when the family all lived there. When Edward took the house over, he had converted the room into a guest room, but over the years, he'd neglected to truly turn it into a guest bedroom, opting more for a storage room feeling that happened to have a small bed and table in it, too.
Edward came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me, resting his chin on my shoulder. He took a moment to look over everything in the room and agreed.
"Yeah, I know. This room needs some work for sure. A change table, a dresser, a crib...what colours are you thinking for the walls?"
"Maybe light green? Something fresh and clean-looking. Oh, and bright. We'll have to paint soon, though."
"Uh-uh," Edward negated behind me. "You aren't going to be painting anything. I'll do it, sweetie."
"But I'd like to help if I can-"
"I know you would, but painting isn't something you should be doing in your condition."
"In my condition? For goodness sakes, Edward!" I laughed, turning around to face my fiancé. "I'm not an invalid!"
He had the good sense to look apologetic as he pulled his foot out of his mouth. "I know, Bella. Sorry, I didn't mean to say that you're incapable of doing anything, but paint fumes aren't safe for you to be inhaling, so I'd prefer it if I did the painting and you were out of the house."
"Ok, that works," I conceded. I knew he was just being a protective father, so I let it slide.
He cupped my face in both his hands and leaned in. "I don't mean to be an ass. I love you and I just want to keep you as safe as possible. You know that, don't you?"
"Yeah, I know," I replied genuinely. "And I love you for it. Why don't we talk about the nursery when you get back from the hospital tonight?"
"Good idea, love."
Early June
Edward left for his shift at the hospital early Sunday morning, leaving me with a gentle kiss upon my forehead. I drifted in and out of sleep for what seemed like a few minutes afterward until I finally returned to a deep, restful slumber, warm and comfortable in our bed.
All too soon, I was being woken by the incessant ring of the house phone. I had only recently gotten comfortable with answering the phone in Edward's home; at first, I felt as if I would give something away about my previous life or that it wasn't my place to answer his phone. But Edward didn't let it go and reminded me that this was my home now, too. I had every right to answer the phone because it was my phone line also. After that conversation, I began reluctantly answering the phone, but only after checking the caller ID display first. If it was a name or number that wasn't local or that I didn't recognize, I would let the answering machine pick it up.
Today, I reached over Edward's side of the bed and peered at the ID blearily. It was Alice. I cleared my throat, rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and answered the phone.
"Hey, Bella," Alice greeted me. "You busy?"
"I was asleep, but no, I'm not busy. Why, what's up?"
"Rose and I were going to have a spa day today, complete with facials, manicures, pedicures, and a massage. They have a 'Pregnancy Package', if you're interested in joining us..." she offered, though it sounded more like a question than a statement of fact.
"I don't know, Alice," I said sceptically.
"Oh, come on!" I pictured Alice pouting on the other end of the phone and laughed. "It'll be fun! And after Nathaniel is born, you'll have more reason to deny yourself," she reasoned, knowing exactly what to say to placate me. "Pleeeeeease?"
I sighed. "What's involved?"
"The regular mani/pedi combo, a gentle facial, and last but not least, a soothing prenatal massage performed by a Registered Massage Therapist. You know you're salivating at the thought already," Alice crooned.
I had never had a massage before, but I had heard that they were a great way to feel relaxed and peaceful. It was a prenatal massage, so it wouldn't be detrimental to the baby. And I couldn't remember the last time I had even had a facial, pedicure or a manicure. It sounded like something that I would enjoy.
"Ok, Alice, sign me up."
She squealed into the phone and giggled. "Awesome! We'll be over to pick you up in ten minutes to have brunch together before going to the spa in Port Angeles. Be ready! Bye!" She didn't give me any time to reply before she hung up the phone.
I shook my head and laughed as I stretched and rose from bed as quickly as my seven-month-pregnant belly would allow without making me lightheaded. I padded to the ensuite where I took care of my morning necessities. I returned to our bedroom and made the bed quickly, knowing that if I did things at my normal pace, Alice would probably arrive before I was dressed.
I took out a baby blue blouse and my maternity yoga pants - a staple of mine since I had become pregnant - and dressed in under a minute. My hair went up in a pony tail and I was walking down the stairs by the time I heard the doorbell ringing.
Alice and Rosalie were standing there with big smiles. "God, Bella! You've gotten so big!" Alice exclaimed, pointing at my 33-week pregnant belly.
Rosalie rolled her eyes with a smirk directed toward Alice. "So tactful," she muttered as she wrapped me in a hug, albeit with difficulty since my belly was getting in the way.
"I don't mind the 'big' talk, Rose," I said honestly as I hugged Rose. "It's true; he's still growing every day."
"Oops! Sorry!" Alice said apologetically. I waved her off, then grabbed her and gave her a hug. As I released her, Alice looked down at the cell phone in her hand - no doubt to look at the time - and grew impatient quickly.
"Ok, girls, enough chit-chat! We have appointments we need to keep! Let's go get pampered!"
"But aren't we going to brunch first?" I asked, confused. Rosalie gave Alice a look that I couldn't decipher before Alice nodded vigorously, recovering quickly.
"Right! But in order to stay on track, we have to have brunch soon, so let's move!"
I locked the front door to the house and grabbed my purse right before they each took one of my hands and pulled me enthusiastically towards Alice's Acura MDX.
Brunch was fantastic. We ate at a small bistro a few blocks away from the spa. I had a massive craving for eggs Benedict and chocolate milk, so that was exactly what I had to eat. Alice, Rosalie, and I kept up conversation that didn't revolve around the baby, which was nice, since I hated to be the centre of attention. We talked about Alice's business and how she was thinking of taking night classes in accounting at the local community college. Rosalie told us about her and Emmett's struggles with trying to conceive. They were thinking about consulting with a fertility clinic in the near future. Alice and I were supportive, admiring their determination and encouraging them to try anything they needed to reach their goal.
After brunch, we headed over to the spa. It was a quiet and peaceful place with pictures of landscapes and tropical beaches on the walls and serene music drifting through the air. Light blues and greys were all over the foyer; the sofa, the pillows, the curtain in the one large storefront window which muted the harsh sunlight streaming in. They gave us robes to wear while all the services were performed, and led us to the manicure/pedicure room. The room smelled of lavender instead of the harsh nail polish removers one would have expected to smell in a nail salon. Before we knew it, we had our feet and hands smooth and polished, our faces fresh and exfoliated, and it was time for our massages. As my massage was a different kind, the attendant brought me to another room. It was darker, but it still smelled of lavender and had instrumental music playing softly.
The middle aged masseuse worked her magic (and I did feel magic) on my muscles and limbs, asking the general questions about my pregnancy at first – was this my first pregnancy? When was I due? Did I know what the sex of the baby was? – and then lulling me to drift in and out of sleep with her gentle touches.
"Bella," the masseuse's soft voice said quietly, waking me from my short massage-induced nap, "we're all done. Go ahead and get changed. Your friends are waiting for you in the lobby. Congratulations again. All the best to you and your son."
I stretched and gave her a bashful smile of thanks before changing and meeting with Alice and Rosalie, who were already paying the bill.
"Guys!" I shouted hotly. "What are you doing? I didn't agree to come here for you guys to pay for my treatments!" I reached over and held cash in front of the cashier, trying to block Alice's attempt to give the woman her credit card.
"Oh, hush, Bella. This was our treat," Alice murmured, a blissful smile playing on her lips, shaking her head at the waiting cashier and waving off my money. "Ignore my friend here. Please put the whole thing on the card I gave you." The cashier smiled sweetly and ran the transaction through. Rosalie stood beside me, smiling conspiratorially as Alice signed the receipt and handed it to the cashier.
"All done! Let's get you home!" Alice said as she took my arm in hers and led me out of the spa. I exited the building, flanked by Rosalie and Alice, the buzz from my massage evaporating due to the stunt they had just pulled. Sure, I didn't have a lot of money, but the last thing I wanted was for them to consider me a charity case. I knew the place was expensive judging by the atmosphere and attention of the staff, and I was fully expecting to pay for my facial, massage, pedicure, and manicure.
As if she had read my mind, Rosalie turned to me before we reached the car and smiled knowingly. "Look, consider it a present. Alice and I wanted to treat you and get you relaxed. We had a feeling you'd never done the whole girly spa day thing before, so we figured it would be a nice change of pace for you. Don't be mad at us, Bells," she asked, using my new nickname sweetly. The pleading look in her eyes made my irritation disappear instantly. I sighed in defeat.
"Alright. You guys should have told me, though. But...I forgive you." I smiled to show them my forgiveness was real. Alice smiled warmly at me and Rosalie and continued walking toward the SUV. It was as if she knew my annoyance with the two of them would pass. Cheeky.
We drove back to Forks in blissed-out and companionable silence except for when Alice called Jasper to let him know we were a few minutes away from the house. When we arrived, she parked in the driveway; it was Alice's way of telling me that they intended to come in to the house with me. I didn't mind, but I thought that they might have had other plans for their Sunday afternoon. I knew Edward would be at work for a while still, so the company was fine by me.
I unlocked the front door with my keys and let the ladies in behind me before locking the door. Something immediately was off about the smell in the house; I inhaled and detected something...like paint thinner in the air.
"Do you guys smell that?" I asked turning to Alice and Rosalie. They both took deep breaths of the air and frowned.
"Nope, nothing."
"No, what do you smell?"
"Are you serious?" I asked incredulously, ignoring the question. I put my purse down on the floor in the hallway closet and started walking, inhaling through my nose, trying to locate the source of the smell. I only had to take a few steps to realize that the smell was coming from upstairs. I climbed the stairs, carefully holding the railing; I was so big that I could have easily fallen backward if I had gone up too quickly. I could hear Alice and Rosalie following me up. When I got to the top step, I turned right, towards the bedrooms. Strangely, all the doors were closed. It was strange because we usually kept at least our bedroom door open during the day. I was about to walk towards it when I felt a hand stop me; it was Rosalie. I looked up at her with a frown. She wore a sneaky smile that stunned me into incoherency.
"You may want to check the guest bedroom first."
"Huh?" I asked dumbly. Alice giggled at my response.
"Come on!" Alice said, laughing, pulling me along with her toward the closed door to the room that would eventually be our son's bedroom. I was still confused, but went along anyway. I gripped the handle and opened the door, gasping as it swung open.
There, in the centre of the plastic covered room, stood Edward in his lazy-day jogging pants, a grey UDub hoodie, and in his hand a paint roller. There was a slight smudge of the same baby-green paint that now covered the walls on his cheek. Beside him, Emmett and Jasper stood in their own jogging pants and sweatshirts. Emmett was still holding a paint brush, trying to conceal it behind his back like a naughty child, while Jasper was trying to straighten his hair by running his paint-covered hands over it.
"Ta-da!" Emmett exclaimed, lifting his arms over his head and with them, the paint brush he was hiding, which apparently was still a tad bit wet because the others threw their hands up over their heads to shield themselves from flying specks of paint.
"Dude!" Jasper called, forcing Emmett's arms down at his sides and taking the paint brush away from him. "Watch the hair, man."
I laughed for a few moments before realizing that about an inch away from the furthest wall, there were pieces of furniture lined up that were covered with semi-opaque plastic sheeting to protect them from the paint. Edward noticed that I was looking around the room and he stepped toward me with an apologetic sigh, putting down the roller in a nearby paint tray.
"We had planned to have the paint on the walls and the furniture in place by the time you guys got back, but Alice didn't give us much time to do everything. The paint's still wet, but once it's dry everything'll be ready to set up and the nursery will be done. Do you like the colour?"
I nodded silently, still gazing around the room. Without all the boxes and the excess furniture, it appeared bigger than before. I counted five different plastic-covered units. A dresser, a change table, a tall bookcase, and of course a crib. The last piece of furniture created an odd slated shape under the sheeting.
Ah. A rocking chair.
"Wait, so the spa day was-"
"A great way to begin the day, I think," Rosalie interrupted.
"And a perfect excuse to not only spend time with you, but to get you out of the house while the boys did the work," Alice added.
Alice and Rosalie had masterminded the entire undertaking and it boggled my mind.
Wow.
"Thank you so much for doing all this, you guys," I said gratefully, looking at the men and then Alice and Rosalie with a smile.
"We wanted to do something for you that you needed to have done," Jasper answered.
"Yeah," Emmett chimed, "and you definitely needed this room taken care of. Eddie never did anything with it after I moved out."
"But there's something else you need to see, too, right guys?" Alice said, turning her head towards Jasper and Emmett. They both nodded. She took my hand and began pulling me out of the room. Everyone followed us out of the nursery.
Alice released my hand as we came to a halt outside Edward and my bedroom door. She griped the knob and opened the door, making me gasp at what I saw there.
On the floor beside our bed were wholesale store-sized boxes of diapers, wipes, and baby powder. On our bed, in a laundry basket decorated with baby green ribbon, was a mountain of other necessities; bottles, pacifiers, bibs, rattle-like toys, teething rings, booties, bottle brushes, and so on. Surrounding the bed, five or six large mylar balloons filled with helium floated around. The balloons had pictures of blue teddy bears and baby bottles on them. I saw the flash of a camera go off at me; Alice was holding a camera when I turned around to face her.
"Wanted to capture the moment!" she gushed, beaming. Everyone laughed quietly, including me.
I stepped closer to the laundry basket. Everyone was silent again as I looked through the basket. After a few moments, I looked back at all of them. "Really, this is amazing."
It was Rosalie who spoke next. "We wanted to throw you a baby shower, but it would have been just the three of us - " she motioned to herself, Alice, and me, "- if it was traditional. We discussed it with the guys and we all decided to just get together as a family and give you some things you'll need when Nathaniel arrives."
"Mom and Dad even sent a few things. Well, they sent the money we used to buy the diapers, wipes, and baby powder at Costco. And this," Alice said, handing me a soft package wrapped in blue baby-themed gift paper. I opened it silently to reveal a white knitted blanket with a velvety ribbon running all along the edges. "Mom made that herself. Look," she said, pointing to the middle of the blanket. There, in the direct centre of the blanket, was the name Nathaniel stitched in a regal-looking script. "Mom said they're all set to fly over when the baby comes."
I ran my hand over the blanket, somehow feeling the sentiment and the pride that had gone into its creation. Tears began prickling at the corners of my eyes when I thought of the way I had been welcomed into this family, baggage and all, and how grateful I was that my son was going to be born into a family that cared this much about an outsider, someone who had come from humble beginnings and had been saved from something horrendous.
Edward's gentle touch on my shoulder stirred me from my thoughts. "Hey, are you ok?" he asked, using his thumb to wipe the few tears that had escaped from my eyes. I smiled and nodded.
"Just emotional. Thank you so much for doing all this. I didn't expect...I...it means so much..." I became even more emotional, unable to speak without sounding like a blubbering idiot, so I stopped speaking and covered my mouth with my hand. Alice giggled at my display and hugged me fiercely. Rosalie came up and hugged the both of us, laughing. My tears were quickly dried up and I was laughing instead almost immediately. Meanwhile, the men were chuckling at the gaggle of women before them, embraced in a hug.
"Sorry, guys, I don't do group hugs, but I will take a one-on-one hug with Bells once you ladies are all done," Emmett joked, pulling me into one of his own bear hugs.
"Careful, Em," Edward called out to his brother with a laugh.
"Thanks, Emmett," I said quietly as we hugged.
"Don't sweat it, Bells. You're family now. We Cullens stick together," he said as he released me so that Jasper could hug me briefly. I hadn't really spent much time with him, but I knew he was someone of great importance to Alice, and that meant that he was a good guy.
"Thanks, Jasper."
"You're welcome. I'm happy you liked everything," Jasper commented as our hug ended. "By the looks of all this stuff, this kid's gonna be spoiled rotten."
Edward came to me and put his arm around my shoulders as he proudly said, "If I have anything to say about it, he definitely will be." He kissed my temple softly and I leaned into his embrace, relishing the feel of his arm around me.
"Hey! I just remembered that we have some food in the kitchen, complete with dessert. I don't know about you, but this boy is hungry after hauling in all the furniture and painting. Let's eat!" Emmett exclaimed, waving to everyone to go downstairs. Jasper happily obliged, holding his stomach in a show of his hunger, followed by Alice and Rosalie. Edward and I lingered in our bedroom, admiring all the little things we had received from everyone. He picked up a package that contained three pacifiers of varying colours and nodded.
"I knew that they'd gotten a few things for us, but this is almost too much."
"I know. We'll need it all though," I replied, touching one of the bibs in the laundry basket. "You're so lucky to have family like them."
Edward immediately wrapped his arms around my expanding waist as best he could and pulled me closer to him. We came to stand face to face before he spoke, his arms unfurling from around me and taking my hands in his. He rubbed circles on the backs of them with his thumbs and took a breath.
"We are lucky to have family like them," he stressed, leaning back and kissing my forehead. "They are your family, too." He paused, contemplative. "Let's see if the paint's dry." He pulled me with him toward the nursery. He let go of my hand and dabbed at the wall with a finger tentatively at first, and then he left his fingers there and took them off, looking at them.
"It's dry. Let me show you the furniture," he suggested as he pulled the plastic sheeting off the crib. It was a beautiful piece, made of hardwood stained with a dark espresso-like tint. Under the crib, there was a built-in drawer. I tried to crouch down to take a look at it, but obviously my belly had other ideas. Edward rushed to my side and took my arm to help me keep my balance.
"Oops," I giggled. "I keep forgetting that my mobility isn't what it used to be."
"It'll be back to normal pretty soon, baby. He's only about a month and a half away from being here." Edward pointed at the crib. "I remembered that you really liked this set from Target. I bought the right one I hope."
"Yeah. It's the exact one. It's great."
"And I was actually hoping that you'd like this," he turned and held up a clear plastic package with a series of white and blue cartoon trains with happy faces and wide eyes on the fronts, "to put on the walls." He held up the flat packaging against the wall and looked back at me. "What do you think?"
It was a boarder to put around the room.
"These are so cute. You picked it out?" I asked. He winced and smiled.
"Well, not all on my own. Alice helped. She has a supplier who makes these. Each train is a little different. Different shapes, different expressions on the faces of the trains."
"They would be a nice theme for the room." The colour of the trains was a nice accent colour to that on the walls.
He smiled at me and said, "That's a relief. I was worried you wouldn't like the trains."
"No, no, I do. They remind me of Thomas the Tank Engine. I loved that little guy when I was a kid."
"So did I. That's kind of the idea I wanted to get with these. Once the furniture is in place, we can put these up together. Alice brought a few more packs just in case."
Edward set down the package of decals and then began pulling the plastic off of each piece of furniture, leaving the rocking chair for last. I didn't remember seeing this particular rocking chair at Target when we had seen the rest of the set; it appeared to have been stained the same rich espresso colour as the rest, though. The seat had a fluffy-looking white tie-on cushion added to it, and a matching cushion attached to the seat back. Edward rested his hand upon the top of the back and suddenly looked wistful.
"This was our rocking chair," he began, smiling down at the chair, and then back up at me. "When we were growing up," he explained. "I dug it up out of the attic a few weeks ago and stained it to match. I got some new cushions for it. Besides that, it's exactly the same as I remember it. And now my son—our son—will enjoy it, too." He glanced back up at me and then took a few steps toward me where he took me in his arms and hugged me tightly. "You've made all of this possible. I have the life now that I could only imagine I'd have before. I'm this close to having my dream job, I have the love of an amazingly strong and beautiful woman, and we have a baby on the way. Honestly, I have never been so happy in all my life. And it's all because of you. I adore you."
I hummed with contentment at his sentimental words and replied, "Oh, Edward. I'm so incredibly happy, too. Tired—" I gestured down to the belly coming between us, "—but happy. I love you so much." I sighed and brought his arms tighter around my shoulders. To me, he was never close enough. I never wanted to let him out of my arms.
We stood like that — in each other's arms, looking over the room silently for a minute before I heard Edward sigh.
"We'd better get down there before Emmett eats everything," he joked, planting a light kiss on my lips. I agreed and we went to meet the rest of our family downstairs.
After a whole day of pampering my body, my soul was pampered by the love and joy radiating from the family as we ate. We sat at the dining room table, Bolt making an appearance every so often to beg for food, as most dogs tended to do. During the meal, conversation was definitely not scarce by any means. We chatted about Nathaniel and the men even started taking bets on who he'd look more like. Rosalie, Alice, and I were torn between the personality traits he might take on, while Emmett, Jasper, and Edward were focusing more on the features Nathaniel would inherit from the two of us.
After we ate, we called it a night because it was Sunday, and everyone had to get ready for another work week. We said our goodbyes and went up to get ready for bed. Edward shifted the boxes of diapers, wipes, and baby powder into the nursery, along with the laundry basket and balloons while I changed for bed.
By the time I finished up in the bathroom, the room had been cleared of the baby shower items and Edward was sitting in bed, reading a book in the light of the lamp at his bedside table. When I got closer, I realised he was reading the most clichéd pregnancy book around: What to Expect When You're Expecting. I had never seen him reading this book before, and the sight of it made me giggle. He was well into the book, too—almost half-way done. He looked up from the book when he heard me giggle and smirked.
"What?"
"It's sweet that you're reading that."
"Too typical?"
"A bit," I said as I pulled back the covers of the bed and slipped in beside Edward. He put the book down on the table and pulled me toward him with an arm around my shoulders, "But I love that you do stuff like this. Picking out names, reading What to Expect When You're Expecting, taking the initiative to get the guys together to paint the nursery and get the furniture...I love everything about you, but that's one of the best things about you."
"What's that?"
"That you're incredibly prepared. You always plan ahead and see what we need before we need it." I leaned in and kissed his cheek, then his lips softly. The kiss began chastely, but Edward's lips became insistent against mine. They were needy and hungry for more as he deepened the kiss by slipping his tongue against mine. I broke away from the kiss momentarily and gave him a lust-filled smile. "Actually, it appears that I know exactly what you need right now." I glanced down at his legs; a tent was forming beneath the covers. I looked back up at him and said, "Am I right?" in my most seductive voice. Edward sighed and nodded.
"Oh yeah. All day, actually." The lust in his voice was unmistakable.
"Well, let me take care of you, babe," I began, pulling the covers off of Edward slowly. Instead of helping me, he stilled my hand and brought it up to his lips to kiss it.
"We can both take care of each other, love."
We kissed for a few minutes more before Nathaniel kicked me sharply. "Oh!" I cried out annoyed.
Edward's eyes widened in momentary panic. "What? What happened?"
I rubbed my tummy soothingly over the spot where his foot connected. "Nathaniel is training to be the next Cristiano Ronaldo," I said with a loving smile, leaning back toward Edward to resume our kissing. It wasn't a minute later that Nathaniel kicked again, making me laugh into Edward's open mouth.
"I don't think he wants his old man to get lucky tonight, huh?" Edward asked wryly. I took Edward's hand from around me and placed it on my belly beside mine so that he could feel the next kick. We didn't have to wait long; our son kicked again right under Edward's hand.
He looked up at me and smiled happily, almost all the lust and desire faded from his eyes and unabashed joy replaced them. "I'll never get tired of feeling that."
"Neither will I. But I think he really is trying to tell us something. We've had a long and tiring day. He's probably just as tired as we are," I said, my tone apologetic. Edward nodded and kissed my forehead as he used his left hand to pull me back against him. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and put his right hand on my belly.
"Just having you in my arms is pleasure enough for me right now. Besides, what Nathaniel wants, Nathaniel gets. Even in utero."
"I'm sure he'll apologise for his cockblocking when he understands what that means."
We chuckled happily until we said our mumbled goodnights and fell asleep in a wondrous combination of bliss and anticipation for the few months we had yet to wait for Nathaniel's arrival.
A/n:
Sheldon Cooper said it best when he said: "If you only have one day in L.A., make it a train day!" Maybe Nathaniel will develop a crazed love of trains like our dear Dr. Cooper...or hopefully not... haha!
I just had to put some trains into this one... ;)
Two more chapters, kids! Hang on tight! The next one will be the culmination of everything our most hated villan has been working towards... uh oh!