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Chapter 26

Bella

Edward and I made our way to the maternity ward and checked in. The nurse led us to my room and proceeded to give me multiple forms to fill out and hooked me up to a fetal monitor before getting everything ready to start an IV.

"Oh, God," I whimpered. I could feel myself getting sick.

"Shh, it's fine. It will be over before you know it." I looked over at Edward who was standing on the other side of the bed, watching anxiously.

The roaring in my head grew stronger, and I could barely focus on what was going on around me.

"Bella?"

"Is she all right?" the nurse asked Edward.

"She's just squeamish." He grabbed my free hand. "Bella? Love? Are you going to get sick?"

I nodded. It was all I could do. I could feel the nurse prepping my arm. I needed some sort of distraction. "Distract me, please," I breathed.

I squeezed my eyes shut and heard Edward chuckle lightly. "You know, this reminds me very much of the first time I met you."

"Oh," I groaned. "Don't remind me. I was so embarrassed."

"Why? Lots of people are squeamish." He rubbed my hand soothingly.

"I know. But not many people practically pass out the first time they meet their future husband." I knew the distraction was working because I could feel my cheeks fill with color.

He laughed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't laugh. I was just remembering how adorable I thought you being squeamish was."

"You thought it was cute?" I opened my eyes and looked at him.

He smiled widely. "Yes. I also remember being exceptionally relieved to find you like that."

"What?" I felt the prick of the needle and winced.

He quickly glanced over at the nurse before continuing. "After I told Jessica to get everything ready to stitch up your hand, I ran to the bathroom to try to get a handle on my feelings." He ran his free hand through his hair and smirked. "I suppose even though I didn't realize it then, I was already in love with you."

He smiled warmly at me. "So I came out of the bathroom and saw Jessica frantically running out of the exam room you were in and I pretty much had an anxiety attack right then and there." He chuckled. "The thought of anything happening to you, even after only knowing you for only a few minutes, was almost too much for me to handle. I was so relieved to see you were merely squeamish." He looked at me for a moment, still smiling. "Why were you embarrassed, love?"

"I didn't want you to think I was an idiot." His brows knit. "I was extremely nervous. I wanted you to like me," I said, quietly.

He shook his head. "I don't think there was anything you could have done that day to stop me from wanting to see you again. That's why I asked you to come back in the first place. I couldn't bear the thought of never seeing you again."

I smiled broadly. "Really?"

He laughed. "Yes. Really. Why else would I have invited you back to the hospital to remove your stitches?"

I blushed again. "I thought you were just being polite."

I sucked in a breath and gritted my teeth against the pain of the contraction that radiated through my stomach. I wiggled my toes and tried to focus on breathing in and out slowly. Lamaze had been thrown out the window at this point; all I wanted was an epidural.

Edward's face was a mask of horror as he watched me. I squeezed his hand tightly and waited for the contraction to die down. They'd gotten longer and stronger each time since my water broke. I wasn't sure I could take much more.

He looked at the nurse who was typing my information into the computer. "She's dilated enough for an epidural. And she's made it perfectly clear she wants one. So where the hell is the anesthesiologist?" he asked harshly.

"Edward," I chastised through my teeth.

"It's all right." The nurse smiled at me. "I've paged him and he's on his way. There were a few people in front of Miss Swan though, so it could take a while."

Eventually the contraction eased up, and my whole body relaxed in response.

Edward took in my expression and looked at the monitor. "It's dying down," he muttered, a frown on his face.

"It's okay, you know."

He looked at me with a confused expression on his face. "How is something that gives you pain okay?"

"Well, how else did you expect for her to get here?" I asked, laughing.

"That doesn't make it okay." He was scowling.

I squeezed his hand reassuringly. "I'll be fine." I took a deep breath. "You should probably call everyone, you know."

He nodded and pulled out his phone. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on relaxing. I remembered hearing somewhere that labor progressed faster if you stayed calm and relaxed. I was willing to try anything to get this over with.

I could vaguely hear Edward talking on his cell phone to our family and friends but was suddenly too exhausted to concentrate on his conversations.

I felt my abdomen tighten up again and braced myself for another contraction. "Ugh!" I groaned as the pain hit me.

Edward rubbed his hand across my stomach as he talked to my father. "She's having another contraction, Chief Swan. I should go."

He waited a moment before answering. "I'll see you in a few hours then," he said before he quickly shut the phone.

He watched me anxiously. "Is there anything at all I can do for you, love?"

I shook my head and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly.

"I feel so useless!" he yelled in frustration.

"You're not being useless," I breathed. "I couldn't do this without you." The contraction was finally dying down.

"Yes, you could. Bella, you're doing so wonderful."

I scoffed. "Yeah."

"No, really. Do you know how many women come through the ER in labor screaming and yelling at the top of their lungs?" He chuckled. "You're doing amazing."

I blushed. "Thanks."

"So listen." He hesitated. "We didn't get to talk about the Lauren thing."

"There's nothing to talk about." I shrugged.

"Bella. I don't want this to cause a problem in the future. I want it to be perfectly clear that I met her on the plane ride from Houston when I was on my way home. I talked to her a bit, found out she was getting ready to start her internship, and that she knew who my father was. I didn't say anything to you because I never thought I'd see her again. I don't want you to think that I was hiding something from you."

He looked so worried, I couldn't help but laugh. "Edward. I didn't think you were hiding anything from me."

He looked me over and nodded his head. He knew I wasn't lying. I could never lie to him convincingly.

"All right. You're not angry?"

"Not at you." I was furious with Lauren. "I just wish I knew why no matter where you are or who you're with, you always seem to have girls hitting on you. I mean, I know you're gorgeous and all, but my God! Don't these girls have any self-respect?"

He laughed. "I have a theory about that. Would you like to hear it?"

"Yes!"

"Well, I'm pretty sure it has something to do with you." He smirked.

I looked at him blankly. "How?"

"I was always so closed off to people before I met you. My whole life was focused on one thing--becoming a great doctor. I met you and my life became about something else--you. And now Claire. I can only assume that because you've made me so happy, women are no longer afraid to ask me out or express interest." He shrugged. "Like I said, it's just a theory. I can think of a way that will probably help keep it from happening as frequently, though."

"Oh, yeah? What's that?" I wasn't sure about his theory, though it did make a little sense.

"You putting a ring on my finger." He grinned crookedly at me.

I laughed. "I'm sure that will make it worse."

His eyebrows shot up. "How's that?"

"Because. Women are always attracted to unavailable men. I put that ring on your finger and it's just going to make things worse." I sat there, pretending to think for a moment. "You know, maybe I should just save myself the drama and cancel the wedding."

"I don't think so. You will marry me, Isabella." His eyes narrowed playfully at me.

I grinned. "No, I don't think so."

He leaned over and kissed me passionately. "Yes, you will. I want to world to know you're mine."

"The world already knows, Edward." I could feel another contraction coming on.

He opened his mouth to reply, but quickly shut it as soon as he saw my expression. "Another one?" he asked softly.

I nodded. We sat there quietly as I battled with the pain that threatened to squeeze my organs until they turned to jelly.

Edward concentrated on the monitor, watching the intensity of the contraction. When it finally started to ease up, he let out his breath in a gush. "Better?"

"Yeah." I was breathing heavily.

The door opened and Dr. Brown came in with another doctor with graying brown hair and dark brown eyes, whom I assumed was the anesthesiologist.

"Hi, Bella! Edward! I see she's coming a bit early!" Dr. Brown exclaimed excitedly.

"Yes. Bella came in to meet me for lunch today and was already in labor," Edward said, in full doctor mode. "She complained of having tightness in her abdomen on and off all morning and had her first painful contraction while we were discussing where to eat for lunch. I examined her and found she was already four centimeters dilated. Shortly after I examined her, her water broke." He looked at his watch. "That was over two hours ago."

Dr. Brown smiled warmly at Edward. "You have no idea how nice it is to have a patient with a doctor as their partner." Edward nodded. "This is Dr. Michel, the anesthesiologist. He'll be giving Bella her epidural as soon as I'm finished with my examination."

I smiled gratefully. "Thank God."

Dr. Brown came over to the bed and laughed. "I'll try to make it quick, I promise."

I nodded my head and shifted myself on the bed. Edward shifted nervously next to me. "It's okay," I said laughing. I felt like that was all I was saying to him today.

He only nodded in acknowledgement and kept his eyes locked on Dr. Brown. She smiled up at him after she finished examining me.

"She's five centimeters, fifty percent effaced. The baby's at zero station." Edward exhaled in relief. "She's progressing smoothly. No need to worry so, Dr. Cullen."

He looked a little embarrassed. "I can't help it," he muttered.

She smiled and looked down at me. "I'll be back in an hour to examine you. Dr. Michel looks to be all set up for you."

I watched Dr. Brown walk out of the room and took a deep breath. I can do this. It's just a needle. No need to panic. I could feel the familiar waves of nausea at the thought of the anesthesiologist sticking the needle in my back.

"Edward?" I whispered.

"I'm here, love. It'll be all right. I promise."

He walked around the bed to the opposite side that Dr. Michel was at and took my hands in his before kissing me gently.

"Okay, Miss Swan? I'm going to need you to sit at the edge of the bed with your legs hanging off the side."

I looked at Edward as I positioned myself on the side of the bed. I knew my eyes were wide with fear, but I couldn't seem to help it. I was terrified.

Edward cupped my face in his hands and nuzzled my nose with his. "Shh," he whispered. "There's nothing to be afraid of." He began humming my lullaby.

"It's been so long since I heard that," I said smiling.

"I know. We've been so busy I haven't played much lately." He continued to hum my lullaby from where he broke off.

"I'm going to give you a local anesthetic before I give you the epidural," Dr. Michel said from behind me.

I nodded my head and took a breath as he wiped something cold on my lower back. I focused on listening to Edward's beautiful voice as I felt a needle prick my skin, sending a stinging sensation around my spine.

"All right. Now, Dr. Cullen? I'm going to need you to hold her head down and keep her still so that she doesn't get a headache." Edward nodded as I tucked my chin into my chest. I felt his hands on the nape of my neck, holding me still. "I'm going to start now. Miss Swan? Please be very still."

"Okay," I breathed.

I listened to Edward hum my lullaby and realized that it wasn't the same familiar tune I was used to hearing.

"What is that?" I whispered.

"I thought of it a few days ago. Do you like it?" he whispered back.

"Yes. It's beautiful." There was a strange popping sensation in my spine.

"It's Claire's," he stated softly before continuing to hum in my ear.

I listened to the beautiful melody and felt my eyes fill with tears. He had written a song for our daughter. My tears slowly trickled down my face as I realized just how lucky I was to have found him.

"I'm finished. You should start feeling the medicine take effect soon."

I lifted my head up and quickly wiped away my tears while Edward watched me curiously.

I felt the heat from the epidural spread throughout my legs just as another contraction hit. "Edward," I gasped, grabbing his hand and holding it tightly.

I rested my head on his shoulder as he rubbed my upper back soothingly with his free hand. "I'm so sorry."

"Hush," I grunted. "Not your fault."

He laughed. "Unless there's something you're not telling me, I'm fairly certain this is my fault you're in position."

The contraction was dying down. "You're so funny," I muttered sarcastically.

"I know." He smirked again. He pushed a stray lock of hair out of my eyes. "What were you crying about a minute ago? Did the epidural hurt?"

"No. It was just uncomfortable." I paused, feeling the familiar heat in my cheeks. "I was just thinking about how lucky I was to have found you."

He smiled and kissed my forehead. "No, I'm the lucky one, Bella." He helped position me back into the bed. "Comfortable?"

"I can't tell." The epidural was working. "I can't feel my legs," I said, laughing.

"I thought that was the point." He smiled.

"I guess it is," I said with a yawn.

"Tired?"

I was exhausted. "Yeah."

He nodded. "You should get some rest while you can. I'm going to go out in the hall and call my parents and Emmett. I haven't had a chance to yet."

"Okay," I said, sleepily.

He ran his hand absently across my stomach. "I'm going to miss this," he said quietly.

"What?"

"I'm going to miss this." He pressed his hand gently against my stomach. "Don't get me wrong, I can't wait for Claire to get here. But I love seeing you like this. Seeing my child grow inside of you." He kissed me tenderly, tracing his tongue across my lips before pulling back. "Sorry. I'm getting all sentimental again," he said with a wink.

"I like it." I looked at him and grinned.

"I love you, Bella."

"I love you, Edward." I felt my eyes getting heavier and closed them.

"I'll be just outside if you need me, love."

Edward

I slipped quietly out into the hallway and dialed my parents' home number. Esme answered on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Mom?" I asked eagerly.

"Edward! What's going on? Is it the baby?"

I laughed. "Everything's fine. I just thought I'd let you know that you should probably make flight arrangements for you and Dad if you want to meet your granddaughter."

"Oh, my God! Bella's in labor? How's she doing?" She was squealing in my ear. It was almost as bad as talking to Ali.

"Yes. She went into labor this morning but didn't realize it until this afternoon. She's already five centimeters dilated, so today will most likely be Claire's birthday." I was grinning from ear to ear with the thought of August twenty-fourth being my daughter's birthday. "She's doing great. She just had an epidural and is now sleeping while she gets the chance."

"Okay. I've got to call your father at the hospital and make flight arrangements. I need to pack and get everything in order here at the ho-"

I cut her off. "Mom. Calm down. Bella will be in the hospital for two days. There's plenty of time to see her." I laughed at my mother's enthusiasm.

"I'm sorry. I'm just so excited! This is my first grandchild, you know."

"I know. Listen, I've got to call Emmett and tell him. I'll have Rosie call you after I've talked to them and you can discuss flights with her."

"All right. You need to hurry up and get back in there with her, Edward," she scolded.

"I know. But I can't do that if I'm still on the phone with you," I teased.

"Oh, right. I'll call you later with our flight details." She paused. "Edward?"

I shook my head. At this rate, Claire was going to be born before I got off the phone with my mother.

"Yes, Mom?" I asked, laughing.

"Congratulations, baby."

I grinned. "Thanks. I love you. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay. I love you, too. Bye."

I quickly hung up and dialed Emmett's number. The phone seemed to ring endlessly on the other end before going to voice mail. I hit the end button before I redialed. It rang before going to voice mail again. I redialed. I was going to keep calling him until he answered.

"Pick up, damn it," I muttered under my breath.

"Eddie! What's going on you persistent little ass?"

"Jesus, Em. What the hell were you doing?" I was dying to tell him.

"Talking to Rosie. What's so important?"

I chuckled. "Well, honestly, now I don't know if I want you here or not since I wasn't important enough for you to at least click over and tell me to hang on. I mean, I distinctly remember telling you that you needed to answer all my calls from now on until Claire got here."

I waited, grinning to myself, while he processed my hint. "Hold up. Are you telling me that Bella's in labor?"

My grin widened. "Yep. That's what I'm telling you."

"Holy shit! I'm sorry I didn't pick up at first! Damn, dude! How long have we got to get there?"

I laughed. "Well, she's been in labor since this morning, so I don't think you guys will get here before Claire does."

"What the fuck? Bella's been in labor all this time and you're just now telling me!" He was pissed.

"Well, she didn't realize she was in labor until a couple of hours ago and we've been getting settled in. She just had an epidural so this is the first chance I've had to call you. Chill out, man."

"Sorry." I could hear him take a deep breath over the phone. "We just really wanted to be there."

"I know. Look, I need to get back in there. Have Rosie call Mom so they can figure out which flight they want to take. I'll call you when she gets here."

"All right, man. Sounds good. Talk to you then, Eddie." He laughed.

I shook my head. "Later."

I shut my phone and quietly walked back into Bella's room. She was sleeping soundly with her hand resting on her stomach. I sat down next to the bed and listened to my daughter's heartbeat through the monitor. In a matter of hours, I was going to be a father.

Claire Isabella Cullen was born just over five hours later at 8:36 pm, weighing in at 6 lbs 11 oz. She had a full head of curly bronze hair and her big, beautiful eyes were dark in color. Soon they would be exactly like Bella's. She was the most incredible thing I'd ever laid eyes on. As I held her in my arms and looked down at her sleeping face, the feelings that pulsed through me were unlike anything I had ever felt before. Since finding out that she was coming, there had never been a moment that I didn't love her--didn't want her--but seeing her for the first time and holding her in my arms gave me such joy, it was almost overwhelming. I felt a tear roll down my cheek and quickly brushed it away. I was going to have to get a hold of myself.

"You're crying again," Bella said sleepily, laughing quietly at me. I was practically sobbing when I heard Claire's cry for the first time.

"Yeah." I smiled at her sheepishly. "You're awake. How did you sleep?"

"Like a rock," she laughed, shaking her head. "I've never been so exhausted in my whole life."

I grinned. "Well, having a baby will do that to you. Speaking of which, how are you feeling?"

"A little sore." She started to sit up and winced. She finally managed to adjust herself and smiled at me. "Can I have her, Daddy?"

I wasn't sure I was ready to give her up. "Sure," I said reluctantly.

Bella laughed as I put Claire in her arms. "She looks just like you," she said happily.

"That she does. Only with your beautiful eyes." I said, grinning from ear to ear. "Do you need some more pain medicine?"

"No, I'm all right.

I looked at her carefully. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It's not too bad right now."

"Good," I gave her a mischievous grin. "Because I'd like to do this again as soon as possible."

"Are you crazy?" she asked, shocked.

"Nope. Just extremely happy." I looked at her, trying to find out how she felt about another baby. I couldn't decide. "What do you think?"

"I think we should wait and see how our lives are with one before we add another into the mix." She was going to argue. Typical.

"You don't want to have any more?" I asked, dropping my face into a false frown. "We make beautiful babies together, Bella." I was going to get my way.

She looked at Claire. "Yes, we do," she said wistfully.

"So we should have another one."

"Don't you think we should wait three or four years?" I could see her wavering as she looked at our daughter sleeping in her arms.

"No. Bella, I'm thirty-one. I want to have all of our children here before I'm forty. That means three or four years is too long." I suddenly wanted a house full of little Claires.

Her eyes were wide with fear. "How many kids are you expecting us to have, Edward?"

"We have four other bedrooms to fill. Do the math." I shrugged, feigning nonchalance.

"Five!" she shouted. She shook her head. "No. Uh-uh. You have lost your mind. There is no way I'm doing this another four times."

She had a point. She was the one doing it. "Well, then, how many times would you be willing to do it, love?"

"One more," she said firmly.

"No. Three more."

"Absolutely not!" she cried.

"Two more." I decided to pull out the big guns. "Please?" I asked, looking into her eyes and smiling at her.

She melted on the spot. I had no idea what it was exactly about me doing that, but I got my way each and every time.

"Fine," she huffed. "We'll have two more." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I cannot believe I just let you talk me in to having three kids. How on earth are we going to be able to handle them all?"

Four, actually, I amended in my head but she didn't need to know my plans yet. I'd find a way to convince her later down the road that we would in fact need that fourth little Cullen running around.

"It'll be easy, Bella. They'll all be perfect little angels, like their mother."

She rolled her eyes. Claire began fussing, crying her beautiful little tea kettle cry. "She's probably hungry," Bella muttered.

I looked at my daughter and smiled. Claire was already so beautiful, I knew I'd have to have Charlie teach me to use a gun--preferably a rifle--to keep the boys away. I pushed the thought out of my mind. I could worry with that later.

"When does everyone's flights arrive?"

I carefully sat down on the bed beside her. "Renee and Phil will be here around noon and my family should be here around two." I paused. "You should probably get some rest before Ali, Jasper, and Seth get here. You know they'll be bouncing around like the Energizer bunny on crack."

She laughed. "I'm sure they will. I'll lay down as soon as she's finished eating."

"You should eat as well," I said frowning. She didn't get to order anything for breakfast--she was a little busy when the menus were brought around last night.

She smiled at me. "And what do you want me to eat?"

"I'll run down to the cafeteria and get you something," I answered, leaning down and kissing her forehead.

"Thanks." She smiled ruefully. "I'm starving."

"Of course you are."