Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, nor do I wish to own it.

Author's Note: Thank you to all the readers who review my story. You guys make my day whenever I see a review! Now on with yet another chapter.

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Chapter Twenty-seven: The Place Upstairs

You may think that because I was happy that I owned the bookstore meant that I was happy that Abigail was gone and had generously left me the bookstore to me. Well, you're wrong. I missed Abigail so much; she had become a great friend of mine. I know that everybody has to go eventually, but why did she have to go so soon?

I pondered this in my mind for a few days until I came to the conclusion that maybe it had been her time to go, that she was ready. Maybe she had given the bookstore to me because she knew I was the one meant for that shop and that I would maybe be able to look after it when she was gone, just as she had said in her letter.

The reason why I had taken the bookstore was because, when I unwillingly signed the papers, I knew Abigail had wanted me to take it for a reason. I only signed because 1) I did it for Abigail, and 2) I knew Alice would have pestered me about it for a million years to come.

Even though I knew I would be able to get through anything, I was still hesitant for a long while after signing the papers. I tiny bit of me was excited, while the rest was scared, nervous, guilty, and unsure that I had done the right thing.

I debated for hours with myself about whether or not it was self-centered and in-personal of me to be happy about owning the bookstore and Abigail not owning it. Finally, I came to the conclusion that Abigail had wanted me to have it. Even my grandmother had wanted me to.

A week after Abigail's death, Alice and I were sitting on the hood of my truck, looking at the bookstore that I had parked my truck in front of. We had just come from a doctor's appointment with Carlisle, where I got another Ultrasound done. Once again, Alice had asked for pictures, at which Carlisle chuckled, amused at Alice's enthusiasm.

"So, you ready to go in?" Alice asked, looking over at me.

I looked back at her and then back at the shop. I hadn't stepped foot in the store ever since Abigail had died, afraid that my hormones would take the better of me and I would break down crying. We had been sitting on my truck for about twenty minutes, and I knew that I couldn't put it off any longer. Sighing, I said, "Sure, let's go."

As we entered the shop, Alice said, "Let's try to find the place upstairs. I'm dying to see what it's like."

I couldn't help but giggle at Alice. Nonetheless, despite the fact that I didn't want to be there, I started looking for anything indicating that there was a door that lead to a 'place' upstairs.

About a minute later, Alice called me over to the counter. She was pointing to a door that I had thought led to a broom closet. It was a plain brown door, off to the right of the counter, facing one of the side windows that were next to the door leading into the bookstore.

"Do you think that this is the door that leads up to the 'place' upstairs?" Alice asked, looking over at me.

I shrugged and asked, "Why don't we find out? I've never opened the door; I just figured that it was a broom closet."

Alice giggled and turned the doorknob. Surprisingly, it was locked. She looked questioningly at me and I just shrugged.

"Maybe it needs a key," I said, my hand itching to go for the front pocket of my jeans, where I had been inclined to keep the key to the bookstore; I didn't want to lose it.

"Don't you have a key?" Alice asked.

Sighing, I pulled the key out of my pocket and put it in the key hole on the doorknob. Surprisingly, it fit. Looking at Alice, I turned the key and it turned. We heard a faint click, indicating that the door had been unlocked. I slowly turned the knob and the door opened.

Behind it was a set of stairs. I put my hand in to feel for a light switch and found one. I flipped it on and a light bulb came on at the top of the stairs, where I could see another door that obviously led to the 'place' upstairs.

"Huh. Let's go on up," Alice suggested and started up the stairs, me following reluctantly.

The door at the top of the stairs was unlocked and when Alice opened the door, she stepped through the doorway. I stayed in the stairwell, leaning against the wall, not wanting to go up. I heard her gasp with delight and say, "This place is amazing, Bella! Come on up, you have got to see this place." Her voice was getting lower as she spoke, and I knew that she had walked farther away from the door.

I took a deep breath and walked up the last two steps.

As I walked through the doorway, I was met by a bare room. I stepped in further and saw Alice coming down what I assumed was a hallway. She had an excited look on her face and she was grinning for whatever reason.

"Isn't this place great? It actually has a sink, stove, and cupboards!" Alice pulled me forward to a place that I assumed would have been a kitchen should someone live here. There were white and light blue tiles as a boarder around the counter, which made an L shape. There was a sink and a refrigerator, and it had a window over the sink. The whole 'kitchen' area wasn't that big, but it made it look…I don't know, homey?

"Someone could live in this place!" Alice said as she walked around the room that I assumed would have been a living room.

"I guess," I said.

Alice turned to me, an excited grin on her face. "You could live here!"

A look of shock came to my face. "What? Are you crazy, Alice?" I asked.

"Oh come on! You would live above the bookshop. You wouldn't have to drive to work every morning!" Alice said. "There're even rooms that could be turned into bedrooms." She pulled me to the hallway, which was off to the side a little bit from the kitchen.

She pulled me into the first room. "It's the perfect size for a nursery! There's a window, and I can imagine this being a baby's room. There's three rooms in all up here, plus a bathroom. One could be your room, another one could be the baby's room, and another one could be a guest room or something."

Alice pulled me out of the room and led me down the hall to another room that was the size of my bedroom at Charlie's house. "Wouldn't this be perfect?" she asked as we stood in the middle of the room.

Elizabeth kicked as if she agreed with Alice and I put my hand on the place where she kicked, giggling. Alice smiled widely and walked over to me. Placing her hand on my extended belly, she said, "Elizabeth seems to agree with me. But what about you?"

I sighed. "I don't know, Alice. I would have to buy, like, a million things, and I don't have that money."

Alice took my hand and smiled. "Does that mean you'll live here?"

"I didn't say that. I said that I didn't have the money to live here, let alone buy all the essential things to living in an apartment," I said. "I still have to buy things for the baby, and I have no idea how I'm going to do that. I mean, I still have to pay for the hospital bills."

I saw Alice's eyes light up, as if she had just gotten a great idea. "You would have a place to live after your still unnamed daughter is born. By the way, have you named the baby yet? I really want to call it something other than 'the baby' or 'she'," Alice said, eyes still gleaming at the idea of whatever was going on inside her head.

I giggled. "I'm not saying. You'll just have to wait until she is born, and don't you dare try to wheedle it out of me, because I am so not telling. Not even Charlie or Edward knows. So basically, no one will know until she is out of my body."

Alice sighed reluctantly, still smiling. "Alright, you win. So, are you going to live here or not?"

I groaned and walked back to the hallway. As I was walking down it, Alice caught up with me and I said, "I don't know, Alice. It's way too expensive."

"You didn't have to buy it. It was given to you, along with the bookstore. So, yes or no?" Alice asked, stopping me and turning me around so I could face her. Her eyes were pleading with me, and I knew that she badly wanted to design a baby's room. Only Alice, only Alice.

I sighed, thinking it over. Finally, after a couple minutes of staring into space, debating whether or not it would be a good idea to live here or not, I said, rather reluctantly, "I guess."

Alice shrieked with excitement and hugged me. "I knew you would want to. Now we get to go shopping!"

I slapped a hand to my forehead and laughed as Alice went on and on about the things I would need to buy. In example, for the kitchen, utensils, plates, bowls, cups, pots and pans, etc. For the living room, a couch, a chair, a lamp, and, of course, a TV. And for the bathroom, trashcan, etc. And then she rattled on about the things needed for the baby's room.

Finally, I got fed up about her rambling that I began to walk back down the hallway and towards the kitchen area, Alice following.

"This is so exciting!" she said.

"Hmhm," I said. "You know, I'm going to have to tell Charlie that I'm moving out. I mean, I've been thinking about moving out for a while, because I don't really want to disturb Charlie with a screaming baby during the middle of the night."

Alice giggled. "I suppose you should."

We spent the next few minutes walking around the 'apartment' and imagining what would go where. I had to admit that just a little bit of Alice's excitement was rubbing off on me.

When we were leaving the bookstore a few minutes later, Alice asked me excitedly, "Want to go shopping now?"

I rolled my eyes and proceeded to lock the door with the key. "Alice, I need to tell my dad first. He knows that Abigail left me the bookstore, and everything in it, but he doesn't know about the place upstairs yet. How do you think he would react if I said to him over dinner, 'Guess what, Dad, I'm moving out after the baby's born.' Yeah, he would react well. Carlisle would probably diagnose him with a concussion. Besides my feet are already killing me."

Alice burst out laughing. "He probably would. But tomorrow, we're going shopping!"

I sighed, rolling my eyes. "I think I'm going to have to suck up to Charlie if I want to make it out through that conversation about moving out."

Later that day, I was in the kitchen, getting ready to make supper. I had decided on making Grandma Swan's recipe for stroganoff. The thought of stroganoff was slightly nauseating, but if I planned on sucking up to Charlie, I had to make it; it was one of Charlie's favorite foods, and I was sure it would work.

When he came home from the station, he strode into the kitchen, taking a deep whiff of the smells wafting through the kitchen. "Is that stroganoff that I smell?" he asked.

I nodded.

Charlie enjoyed his dinner. After he had forced down two large helpings of the stroganoff, he pushed his plate forward and sat back in his chair. "That was good, Bella. Now what is it that you want to talk about?" He looked at me, and I saw the curiosity in his eyes. "You obviously are sucking up to me; you always make stroganoff when you have something to tell me."

Darn, he caught me. "Well, you know how Abigail left me the bookshop?" I asked. Might as well start out simple, I thought. Charlie nodded. "Okay. She also left me the place above it. It's perfect for living in, and Alice sort of wheedled me into living there. She said that I wouldn't have to drive all the way to the bookstore when I opened it."

Charlie looked at me for a long moment, a thoughtful expression on his face. "So, you're telling me that you're planning on moving into the place above the bookshop?" I nodded. "I think that's great, Bells. You'll get a chance raise your daughter in a place other than her grandfather's house."

I looked at him, slightly surprised. I thought that he would pass out and bonk his head on the floor at the mention of his only daughter moving out. "So, you're not mad that I'm moving out straight out of high school, when I'm not even going to college?"

"No. Is there any other reason why you're moving out?" Charlie asked, giving me a pointed look.

"Well, I'm moving out because I don't really want to disturb you after the baby is born. I heard that babies like to cry at all hours of the night, and I kind of want you to keep your sanity," I said.

Charlie smiled. "Oh, you wouldn't disturb me. I put up with it for the first few months after you were born. Even though I'm pretty sure that you wouldn't drive me crazy, I understand you completely."

"You do?" I asked.

Charlie chuckled and reached across the table to ruffle my hair. "Just promise me that you'll stay here until she is born."

I smiled. "Maybe, we'll see. Depends on how long it takes to buy all the essentials of living in an apartment. Alice is really excited about taking me shopping tomorrow. Just so you know it was not my idea to go shopping."

Charlie just laughed.

Before I went to bed that night, I was leaning against the head board of my bed, making a list of things that I would need. I knew it was silly, but I wanted to be organized because who knew how crazy Alice would go the next day. I made a list for every room: the kitchen, the living room, the bathroom, the bedroom, the baby's bedroom.

When I was finished, I settled back down on the bed on my side, trying to find a comfortable position. As soon as I did, I drifted off into an easy and comfortable sleep.

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Author's Note: So? How did you like this chapter? If you were wondering, there's going to be a further description of the apartment above the bookstore when Bella moves in. To give you an idea of what it looks like: when you walk through the door, you walk into the 'living room'. Off to the left is the 'kitchen'. It has a stove, a refrigerator, a sink and cupboards, and the counter makes an 'L' shape. It's not very big, just big enough to fit into a small apartment. Inbetween the kitchen and the living room is a hallway. The first room you come to is a bedroom' a little further down the hall is a small bathroom, just big enough for a toilet, tub, and a sink.

Anyways, the next chapter should be up soon. Since I've done all my homework and I write this story whenever I have time, maybe it will be up tonight. The next chapter: Baby Shower! Now, I've never been to a baby shower before, so I don't know what one is like, but I hope that it will turn out okay. Until Next Time: NerdyGuRu2 P.S. Remember to Review!

P.P.S. If anyone wants to know what happened at the mall the day before Edward's birthday, I'm going to be posting it as a one shot and side story. I might add more to it. In example, Bella going shopping with Alice, Edward, Jasper, and Emmett for the things needed for the apartment. Okay, enought babling, Until Next Time!