I'm so sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. As you know, I was away for the weekend for my birthday (thanks for the birthday wishes!), and I had one of the most perfect birthdays at the cottage ever! Good friends, beautiful weather (the sun was out! not a cloud in the sky!), and afternoon high tide. It was fantastic.
So, here's Chapter 29. Chapter 30 is almost finished (the hand-writing stage) and will hopefully be up over the weekend.
Again, I'm sorry for the delay.
A HUGE thank you to everyone who voted for Branded and Road Maps in the Indie Twific Awards. Still waiting to hear if either story made the shortlist. I'll be begging for more votes if I do. :)
Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, but thanks to my girl spookybell (and awesome Twilight Twinnie) I now own my very own Angstward action figure. Man, he looks angry and I love it!
When we last left them, Bella and Edward had been cleared to resume mild n tangy sexual activity (in lieu of hot n spicy) and she was relieved to have a little more freedom.
The house was silent save for the hum of the refrigerator and the ticking of the antique cuckoo clock in the living room. Edward felt a little uneasy by the lack of noise. Bella's car was in the driveway; perhaps she was sleeping.
"Bella? Bella? Are you home?"
"I'm in the studio."
Edward breathed a sigh of relief, walked in, and his jaw dropped. "Um, what...?"
There before him was Bella: naked but for a pair of boy shorts, her body covered in paint.
"What? I was feeling bad about myself. I thought I'd beautify my stretched canvas."
"I guess you did. Wow."
Bella had painted her body; her protruding belly was earthy tones, her breasts were lighter, brighter, and more ethereal. He noticed a camera on a tripod.
"Capturing the moment?"
"Yup. Would you mind shooting some close-ups?"
"My pleasure."
Edward unscrewed the camera from its mount and set about shooting some more intimate, closer shots, playing with depth of field and the macro settings.
Satisfied with the shots he'd taken, he remounted the camera, stripped out of his scrubs, and grabbed a paintbrush. He dipped it in some pain and added to Bella's skin canvas.
"Hey now," she said, grabbing another brush, "you are entirely too blank. Allow me."
Pondering her next move, she looked at her palate of gouache paints and at then again at Edward's bare torso. "Hmm," she said as she charged her brush with a blue-green mixture.
Very slowly, she ran the wet bristles across the tops of his cheekbones, enhancing the already mesmerizing emerald colour of his irises. Grabbing another soft-bristled brush from the old apple juice can on her desk, she mixed some grey, black and white, then ever so slowly, dragged it up and down his abs and chest.
Shuddering, Edward was overwhelmed by the feel of the brush and paint on his bare flesh at first, but quickly felt himself becoming more turned on. He reached over and tucked some hair behind her ear. She smiled at him briefly before resuming her strokes.
Closing his eyes, Edward gave himself over to the sensations, opening himself to feel each stroke, each line, each wet inch of paint applied to his flesh. "Bella," he said, his throat thick with lust. "Are you almost done?"
"Almost." She bit her lip, made a couple of extra swipes, then smiled. "There. You're done."
Edward looked down and struggled to see what she had painted. She turned on the self-timer and ran back to stand with him.
"It's a tree; strong, centered, deeply rooted, and beautiful. Just like you."
They did several poses together before Bella did some individual shots. When she finished, she led him to the bedroom to look in the full-length mirror.
"Wow," he said, admiring her work. It was, in fact, a very incredible tree she'd painted on him. It was weathered and bare, but strong just the same.
Pulling her into a hug, he whispered, "I love you."
"And I, you. Now, what were you saying earlier today at the hospital about making me tired tonight?" She winked at him.
"Well, I think we might need to shower first. Not only am I covered in paint but I'm coated in hospital sweat."
"Ew, that's so not sexy."
"So, shall we rinse off in the shower and hit the tub?"
"Oh, tub sex!"
"We'll try, Bella. Promise you'll let me know if anything feels off. Peanut is far more important than an orgasm or two."
"I know, Edward, trust me. I promise. I would never want anything to happen to Peanut."
"It's too early for you to go into labour. Chances are the baby would survive, but he or she could be physically and, or, mentally compromised."
Bella bit her lip. "I couldn't live with myself if this" she said, using air quotes, "hurt the baby in any way, shape or form. You must think I'm a monster. I've been so bitchy and whiny; you'll never want to make another baby with me again, will you."
He pulled her to his chest. "I want to make a million babies with you."
"I want to try this. We will both agree that neither one will get upset if it doesn't work."
"Agreed."
Edward turned on the shower and stepped in first, holding his hand out to Bella. They washed each other slowly, sensually. Edward paid special attention to her belly soaping it up lovingly, talking to Peanut as he washed away the paint.
Bella felt a sense of overwhelming love for her soul mate and her unborn child. "Edward?"
"Yes, love."
"My feet are swelling a bit, can we go to the tub?"
"Of course."
Edward turned on the water in the tub before escorting Bella to sit for a moment, wrapping her in a warm towel.
"I scoffed at Esme's heated towel racks but I have to say I'm glad she installed them for us. Feels nice." Bella said, snuggling into the towel. She watched the incredible nakedness of her blessing, her husband, as he finished preparing the bath.
"Ready, love?"
Frozen to her seat, Bella shook her head. "I'm a little scared. I don't want to jeopardize Peanut's safety. Can we just, I don't know, cuddle?"
"We can do whatever you want."
Helping her up and over to the tub, he stepped in first in order to help her get in. He sat down, making room for her between his outstretched legs. Hands firmly placed on her hips, he eased her down.
"Okay?"
Sighing happily, Bella held one of his hands to her mouth and kissed it. "Yes," she said, "I certainly am."
Reaching for his other arm, she wrapped them around her placing his hands on her belly and leaning back into him.
"Peanut's being active tonight," Edward said as he followed the baby's movements with his hands.
"Yeah, feels like a Gymboree going on in there. As frustrating as it can be, especially when I'm trying to sleep, I'm really going to miss it once the baby is born. I won't, however, miss being so big."
Edward began tracing the scars on her body. "I'm glad you decided not to have them removed."
"The scars? Why?"
"Because they're part of our lives."
"You just like the way they feel," she teased.
"Yeah, you're right. But then again, I love how all of you feels. All of you."
Heat trailed like vapours through Bella's body and she needed more contact with him. She tilted her head back to kiss him. What started out as a chaste kiss soon escalated into something a lot harder. Bella felt a surge and a need to dominate his mouth, nipping at his lips, stroking his tongue. She moved his hands over her wet body until they reached her swollen breasts. He tugged gently on her nipples, causing her to cry out. He moved his head down to nibble on her earlobe, inciting a moan.
"Edward?"
"Mm?"
"Nipples. Sore."
"Oh, sorry."
"S'okay," she hissed as one of his hands worked its way down to her swollen sex.
"You want me, don't you?" he said, more of a statement than a question.
"Mm...yes. Gentle."
"Always, love."
Edward gently entered her slick folds with his fingers, rubbing her lips and grazing her clitoris. "Is this okay?"
"Yes," she rolled her hips to increase the pressure, to encourage him further. He slid in one finger, then a second one, and slowly pumped them in and out of her.
"Harder," she begged.
"No, love; gentle, remember?"
He continued his slow rhythm and added a third finger, while his other thumb and forefinger gave her enlarged clit a tweak.
Bella cried out as the orgasm flashed through her, igniting a million stars and starting a chain reaction of somersaults from Peanut.
"Edward, stop," she panted.
"What is it? Cramping? Contractions?"
"No, I'm..." she took a couple of cleansing breaths. "I'm fine. Peanut's doing cartwheels, but we're fine."
"Why am I stopping?"
"It's my turn," she said smiling as she tried to turn around to take care of Adam's stiffness which was sticking into her back.
"No, love, tonight was your night. Let's not overdo it."
After thinking about it, Bella agreed. Edward got up, helped her out and to the bed where Bella fell asleep almost immediately.
"So you finally got some, did you?" Rose said as she backstroked beside a breaststroking Bella.
"Yeah, not the whole kit and caboodle, but a whole lot of kit and a little bit of caboodle," she replied, laughing.
"Good for you, Bells. Any problems?"
"A little tiny bit of cramping but nothing out of the ordinary."
"Awesome."
"Yeah, I'm just glad I'm allowed to do this again. I hated feeling so restricted. Well, I'm not in full work mode, but this is better than bed rest."
They reached the end of the lane, flip-turned and started back. "So, Rose, where exactly is Lily?"
Rose laughed. "She's at work with Daddy. He complained he never gets to show her off, so he's got her at the dealership for the hour. I figured she'll give him a run for his money so I asked Adam to videotape some of it in case it got interesting."
Bella snorted. "I want to see it if it's good."
"Oh, that shit's going on youtube if it's any good."
"Alright, two more laps and I have to go. I've got laundry to do and muffins to bake."
"Ah, here comes the nesting. Spread the love, would you? I could use some of your peanut butter banana chocolate chip muffins."
"Okay, I'll set aside a dozen for you. Race you?"
"Bella?"
"Fine, then how about a restrained, slow motion, sprint to the end?"
A wave of chlorinated water smacked her in the face. When she cleared her eyes, Rosalie was laughing at her. "You're on. Slowest one wins."
"Dr. Dimitri will see you now, Bella and Edward."
Nervously, Bella entwined her fingers with his as they walked toward the examining room. Edward squeezed reassuringly before closing the door and helping her into a gown. She sat atop the examining table and chewed on her fingernails.
"Bella?" he asked nodding toward her fingernail nubs.
"Sorry."
"It's going to be okay, love." He gave her a hug.
Dr. Dimitri walked in and smiled. "Someone's had sex."
Bella gasped. "How did you know?"
"I can tell these things because I'm that good," he said, chuckling as he grabbed a pair of rubber gloves and tossed them to Edward. "You're nervous, Bella. I just assumed that you had and your reaction confirmed it. So, any problems?"
"Well, sir," Edward said as he pulled on the gloves, "there weren't any contractions or pain, but Peanut went a little wild after Bella's orgasm."
Dr. Dimitri smirked. "When Bella had an orgasm-related rush of endorphins, so did the fetus."
"I wondered if the baby could sense her orgasm. Fascinating."
"Um," Bella said, waving, "Bella's right here. You can talk to her, you know."
"Sorry, dear. You know how we doctors get. So, Bella, how have you been feeling?"
She gasped as she felt Dr. Dimitri's gloved fingers begin to probe her. "Well, uh, I've been feeling good. I've been swimming, been to yoga, baking, finishing up the nursery..."
"Ah, so the nesting begins. What about blood pressure?"
"A little elevated, but not dangerously so," Edward answered.
"EDWARD! He was asking me," Bella said, swatting at him.
"Sorry, love."
"Edward, son, I believe you've been told," he laughed. "Come here, I want you to feel Bella's cervix. Dear, do you mind?"
"No, not at all, but please be gentle."
"Fine." He positioned himself between her legs and gently probed her. "Is this okay?"
"Yes."
"Okay, Edward, have you reached the cervix?"
"Yes, I believe so."
"What you are feeling is the cervix of a woman who should be four weeks further along than Bella is. If it feels any different in the next week or so, I need you to come back in immediately."
Big sigh from Bella. "Bed rest again?"
"No, but slow down, please, and I hate to say it, but no more sexual activity for the remainder of your pregnancy."
"Okay."
"Now, let me finish my examination and we'll go talk."
"So, what's the dealio, sweets?"
Bella sighed into her phone. "Well, Rosie, my cervix is still too thin, so no more sex and I have to ease up on the swimming and yoga. I hate to stop, so I'm still going to go but I'm going to pace myself a little more. At the rate I'm going, Peanut's going to be early."
"Did he say anything else about delivery?"
"Nothing he hadn't already said. He also mentioned that the baby was starting to turn. I'm only 32 weeks, Rose, Peanut's not ready."
"Maybe you should forgo the yoga?"
"I'm thinking I might have to. Oh, we're meeting with the hospital people about a water birth."
"I figured you'd have learned all you need to know when Lily was born, I mean, you were right there with me."
"To be honest, I don't remember much more than trying to keep Emmett focused and watch you go through it all without any drugs. Please be honest, how bad was the pain?"
"Can you hold that question for a second? Lily woke up. Just let me grab her, she's probably hungry."
"Okay, it'll give me a chance to go pee."
Bella waddled to the bathroom, peed, and when she stood up, the room started to spin.
"Shit," she said as she went down on her knees. She crawled back out to the phone. "Rose?"
"Yeah, sweets, what's wrong? Something sounds off."
"I need help."
"We've been telling you that for years, Bella," Rose said, chuckling.
"No, I really need help."
"What's wrong?"
"Dizzy. I need Edward."
"Hand tight, I'm coming right over."
Bella hung up, then hit #1 on speed dial.
"Bella?"
At the sound of Edward's voice, her voice threatened to crack when she spoke next. "Edward, I'm in trouble."
"What's wrong?"
"Dizzy. So dizzy."
"Where are you?"
She could tell that it was taking a lot out of him to remain calm as he spoke to her. She tried to keep from crying because she knew that it would upset him further. "Kitchen floor. Rose..."
"Bella? Bella? Are you there?"
"Meet me at the emergency room. Rose is coming."
"No, Bella, don't move. I'll be right there. DO. NOT. MOVE."
"Okay."
"Stay on the phone with me, love. Talk to me until Rosie gets there."
"Shit."
"What?" Edward's voice was clearly tainted with panic.
"Nothing."
"Don't nothing me, Isabella Marie Cullen."
She could hear him telling someone he had an emergency at home.
"Bella? Are you still there?"
"Yeah. Edward?"
"Yes, love."
"I'm sorry."
"Why? Why are you sorry?"
"I should have been less selfish. I should have stopped yoga and swimming. We shouldn't have done that in the tub."
"Please stop talking foolish like that, Bella. This isn't your fault."
She heard a car alarm chirp, the sound of a door opening and the sound of the Volvo starting quietly.
"I'm leaving the parking lot and I'll be home in a few minutes."
"Ow!"
"Ow? What happened?"
"Leg cramp. Oh, Rose!"
"Bella, is Rose there? If she is, can you put her on the phone?"
"Edward?"
"Yes, Rose. What's going on? How does she look?"
"Pale. She's white as a sheet, she's breathing funny and oh, hang on. She's got a leg cramp. Are you coming or should..."
"No, I'll be there in a minute or two. Help with the leg cramp and get her feet elevated. I'll be right there. Put her back on the phone, please."
Edward thought he heard her mumble something about being polite even during an emergency.
"Edward?" Bella said, weakly.
"I'm going to be there in a minute, love. Are you feeling any better?"
"No, not really. The room is still spinning."
"Okay, hang on. I love you."
"Love you more; see you soon."
Rosalie massaged Bella's leg, trying to ease the cramp. "Belly, are you okay? You're panting."
"No, I'm scared."
"Buck up, kiddo. I know you're having a hard time but this is not the time to get scared. This is when you need to be strong for you, Peanut and Prince Charming. Can you do it?"
"Yes."
"No more whining or blaming it on the hormones or yourself. You need to...oh crap, Lily honey, now is so not the time to be fussy."
"Go get her, I'm okay."
When Rosalie got up to get the baby, Bella silently begged her body to stop messing up. She closed her eyes and tried to centre herself.
A familiar hand cupped her face. "Bella?"
She opened her eyes and tried to focus on his green eyes. "Hi, baby."
"Why are you panting?"
"Hmm, I don't know. I didn't notice."
"Are you in pain?"
"No, I don't think so."
"Are you still dizzy?"
"Yes, very much so. It won't stop."
"Rose, can you grab a blanket from the closet? Bella, I'm going to check your blood pressure and then I'm going to get you to the hospital. I called Dr. Dimitri; he's going to meet us there."
"Okay."
"Don't be scared."
"I'm not."
Edward inflated the cuff and frowned as he released the air.
"How bad?" Rosalie asked.
"Not good." He took the blanket from Rosalie.
"Bella, I'm going to take you to the hospital now."
"Okay."
"Hang in there, sweets. I'll call the others."
"Thanks, Rose." Edward said as he picked up his wife.
The bright lights blinded Bella.
"Wake up."
"I'm trying," she grumbled. "Quit blinding me."
"That's a good sign," she heard Rosalie say, "she's grumpy. She'll be good as new in no time."
"What happened?"
Edward curled up on the bed beside her, rubbing her belly. "Your blood pressure went through the roof. You're at the hospital now."
"Peanut?"
"Peanut is perfect, still where he or she needs to be, but," Edward looked at Rosalie nervously before returning his weary gaze to Bella.
"But what?"
"Your cervix is even thinner than we thought. You're on total bed rest now. I'm sorry, love. You're going to be in the hospital for the remainder of your pregnancy."
"Okay."
Edward, surprised, looked deep into her brown eyes to see if she was truly okay with it. "You're really okay with it?"
"Rose and I had a discussion earlier and she brought up a good point; it's time for me to suck it up. Peanut is my number one concern, so if Peanut needs me to stay still then I have to stay still and I'm not going to spend my final weeks of my pregnancy being all weepy and miserable. I don't want to look back on this as having been a terrible experience, because it hasn't. As whiny as I've been, I've enjoyed being pregnant.
"I am, however, a bit disappointed we didn't get to do the photos and belly casting like we'd planned, but it's all small potatoes now. Peanut comes first."
Strong arms wrapped around her and she heard him take in a deep breath, inhaling her smell.
"There's a plus side to this," she said, cheerily. "I am closer to you while you work. Maybe you can pop in for lunch with me. Oh," she frowned. "Who is going to make your lunches? Who's going to feed the other residents? I promised them muffins."
"Don't worry about us, we'll all survive. Besides, if you have to eat hospital food, then so will I. We're in this together."
"I can cook dinner for you guys. I'll just make extra and run it over," Rosalie offered.
Bella smiled. "Thanks, Rosie, that would be great, but don't go out of your way for us. Oh, and no peanut butter and asparagus roll-ups, please."
"Look who's being all prissy, fussy pants," Rosalie joked. "Who died and made you princess?"
Bella yawned. "I'm pooped."
"Sleep, love, you've had a rough day. I need to go finish my shift. Buzz the nurse and ask her to page me if you need me. I'll wait until you're asleep before I go."
"Yeah, I need to go fee the poop monster before I start spraying milk everywhere or Em decides to try feeding her steak." She kissed the top of Bella's head. "He'll be by later to see you. I'll grab some clothes and books for you."
"My laptop—I need my laptop."
"Sure thing, sweets. Be good. I'll see you later."
Bed rest in the hospital would have been more painful and interminable had it not been for the many friends and family members occupying her time. The interns she had been feeding on a regular basis would stop in, bring her magazines, flowers, treats, even a bouquet of helium balloons. Dr. Black stopped by most days, still gushing over the painting she had done of his cottage. Dr. Carmen had been more than accommodating and the team working on the book projects had sent her several flower arrangements. Alice and Jasper hadn't been able to come visit but would be spending Christmas with them.
Christmas, ugh. Bella had hoped to do something special for their first Christmas as a married couple, but her plans had to change since she was trapped at the hospital, and she had to do all her shopping online with help from her sisters.
Edward rarely left the hospital, except to go home for clothes. He slept in the bed with her on his breaks and even on his rare days off he was with her.
December 23rd rolled around and started just like any other day until Edward and Rosalie arrived, smiling brightly.
"What's going on?"
"Merry Christmas, love." Edward walked to her side and gave her a kiss. "Merry Christmas, Peanut."
"Christmas isn't for two more days. I repeat, what's going on?"
"A little surprise. Here, let me help you up."
"Where are we going?"
Rose laughed. "It wouldn't be a surprise if we told you, now, would it?"
"I guess not."
They wheeled her down to the elevator, everyone smiling and waving to them. Bella wondered if the entire hospital knew what was going on. Traveling down to the basement, Edward wheeled her into a room set up with lights, cameras and backdrops.
"What the...?"
"You know the photoshoot you wanted? Well, since you couldn't go to the studio, we brought the studio to you. Now, let's get you ready."
Rosalie took Bella behind a curtain and began to prep her. She combed out her hair, then used a curling iron to create soft ringlets to frame her face. She used a light touch with the make-up, choosing to highlight Bella's eyes and her natural blush.
As soon as Rosalie was pleased with Bella's make-up, she helped her get into a pair of black boy shorts and out of her top.
"Topless?"
"You'll cover with your hands for some photos, I have a black tube bandeau for the others. We're going to start off with you in one of Edward's white dress shirts."
When Bella emerged, Edward was grinning at her. "You look absolutely incredible, love."
She blushed. "So do you." And he did. He was wearing a pair of black jeans and a matching white dress shirt, which was open and flashing his delicious body.
He helped her up from the wheelchair to sit on a stool. The photographer directed them in various poses; of them standing face-to-face, shirts open; staring into each other's eyes; then a series with Edward interacting with her belly—caressing, kissing, holding it, all while Bella looked on lovingly. She found herself crying a couple of times.
They reprised the same poses with Bella wearing the black bandeau and then with her covering her breasts with her hands.
Once they were finished there, Edward, Rosalie and the photographer rushed her down to another room.
"What the...?"
They were in a casting room. "You said you wanted a cast of your bump, so I pulled some strings and here we are. Melanie has been gracious enough to offer her services.
Melanie smiled. "Hi, Bella, hop on up and we'll get started. If it feels too uncomfortable or you experience any fetal distress, you let me know immediately."
Bella nodded, too dumbfounded to speak. She was in awe of her husband who had gone out of his way to make this special moment happen. As the tears slid down her cheeks, the photographer stood nearby, catching it all.
"Love, are you okay?" Edward said, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "Does it hurt?"
"No, I'm just so happy, so surprised. I can't believe you went to all this trouble for me."
He blushed. "I can assure you that this wasn't a purely altruistic act; I wanted to have photos of my incredibly sexy and beautiful wife glowing and carrying our baby. Can you fault me for that?"
"No, I guess not. Thank you," she said, pulling him close for a kiss. The photographer snapped away like a paparazzi.
"Any news from Jake and Leah?" Edward asked.
"No, which is strange. I guess with exams they must be too busy; I would imagine they'll be here soon."
"Okay, Bella, we just need to let it harden for an hour. Can you handle sitting still for that long?"
"Honey, I've been on bed rest for the past couple of weeks, what's another hour?"
"How about I grab us all something to drink?"
"Apple juice, please. With a straw."
"Man, Edward, you're creating a diva," Rosalie said, chuckling.
I hope this was worth the wait and no one is disappointed in the lack of action. As I mentioned, next chapter should be up on the weekend, and hopefully Peanut will reveal his or herself to us soon! I can almost feel the contractions now. :)
Big love to you all. I am still floored that so many of you have stuck around to read this story.
