Hello

Alright, so I was going to make you guys suffer and wait til tomorrow before I updated, but I'm kinda feeling really nice right now (=

I'd also like to say thank you for your reviews on last chapter, and the support for what I said about negative comments. It's nice to know my readers are responsive to what I have to say and actually listen to me, and read my unnecessary author notes.

More so, this chapter is more of a filler chapter. There is some 'action' or drama at the bottom but I was just looking to write a fun chapter. Also, I know I said there was going to be a skip in time here soon, and that's going to be next chapter. I'm not going to skip far, or leave out anything important, but for those of you that asked, yes the baby is going to be born in this story. I wouldn't just leave you people hanging like that (= So, I have 11 more chapters, plus an epilouge to get through 6 or so more months of pregnancy and the birth. As I've asked before, please be patient with me (= You guys are really great readers and I want to end this story really wonderful.

Enjoy!

OH! And P.s. Someone comes back in this chapter. Any early guesses? (for hint, look above to sentence refering to the 'action', or drama. (= )


Chapter 29 .. Bella

"Edward, no!" I took off running down the hall and to his bedroom.

I knew he was close behind, but I didn't look back. Instead I threw open his bedroom door and ran to the other side of the bed.

Just last week, Esme had broke down and bought a new bed. It was only a double, while his other bed was a king, but it was perfect for just visiting. The blood red sheets set off a different feeling then the gold ones did. It made the room look and feel much different, but it was a good different. It separated his old room from his new room back in Seattle, and eventually his room when we moved back home.

"Bella." I heard Edward's sing-song voice enter the room before I saw him. He was smiling and grinning at me like he was trying to stun me for an attack. I just giggled and shook my head. "Come here love." He put his finger out in front of him and started pointing it back at him in a come-here-motion.

I shook my head again and smiled. "Not on your life Cullen."

He chuckled and entered the room all the way, shutting the door behind him and locking it. He then looked back up at me and shook his head. "I didn't want to have to do this Bella, but you've left me with no other choice."

Then, before I could even register what he said, he lunged for me. I made an attempt to crawl across the bed, but only made it halfway before I felt my legs being pulled out from under me. I flipped over in time to see Edward crawl on top of me and lay himself against me.

I was laughing uncontrollably and trying to push him away, but he didn't budge. Instead, he moved down my neck with his lips and started sucking lightly on the base of my collarbone. When I stopped laughing, he looked up into my eyes and smiled triumphantly. I sighed and laid my head back, resting it against the mattress and closing my eyes. His lips were like magic when it came to me.

"Bella." He groaned against my neck and I felt him smiled again before he kissed me again.

I threaded my fingers in his hair and rubbed them gently and smoothly against his scalp. When he moaned I pulled gently, signaling for him to raise his head. When he did, I pressed my lips to his in a feverish kiss. He responded quickly by moving his hands up my body and around my back.

He rolled us over onto our sides and wrapped his arms around me tight, pulling me as close as he could as his lips moved with mine.

Then, before either of us wanted to part, we heard sounds on the steps. Edward lifted his head a bit and stayed real quiet as we heard, what sounded like, Esmes voice on the stairs. She was talking to someone and Edward froze. His arms locked around me and I tried not to giggle.

"Edward, what's wrong?"

He looked down at me and raised his eyebrows. "My mother is home. And she's about to catch us making out," Then his eyes fell down to my body. "in towels, might I add."

I laughed quietly and shook my head. "OK, honey, one, the door is locked. Two, we're married. Why are you so worried about being caught making out with your wife?"

He took a deep breath and shrugged. "It's not that exactly. It's just the idea I guess." Then he sat up, gently pulling me with him. "I wouldn't want to walk into a house knowing my parents were running around their bedroom in towels, making out like teenagers." Then he shuddered slightly. "Oh! OK, get dressed please." He jumped off the bed and held out his hand for me.

I just laughed and nodded. "Alright." I hoped off the bed and reached down on the floor for my robe. I traded the towel in for the blue silk robe and then leaned back against the bed while Edward pulled on his jeans.

When he turned to me, he gave me a half smile. "I didn't upset you did I?"

I shook my head. "No. Not at all." Then I laughed quietly. "Just promise me once your mom is at least downstairs you'll want to kiss me again."

He chuckled and stepped closer to me. "I always want to kiss you. You have no idea how much I think about being able to kiss you."

I closed the small gap between us and put my hands on his chest. "Then do it." I smiled up at him and lifted myself up on my tip toes so I could lightly kiss him. He smiled and nodded, putting his hands on my lower back and pulling me against him more.

After only a couple minutes, we pulled back and I grabbed my towel.

"Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to take my shower now." I started to head to the door, but turned around before I left the room. "No distracting me this time Mr. Cullen."

He winked. "I'll think about it Mrs. Cullen. You know, you shouldn't be so tempting." He smiled at me before I turned and left the room.

I loved being in Forks. I loved what it did to mine and Edwards relationship. Edward was so laid back and comfortable and relaxed at home. He was OK in Seattle, but whenever he got back home, he turned back into the Edward I knew and loved so much. The Edward I was starting to miss. The Edward that didn't care about daily routines and everything else. He only cared about having fun and being with his best friend. He let himself go and let himself be so carefree.

I don't know what it was about Seattle, but it was just a different atmosphere.

Maybe it was because that wasn't our home. It was only our temporary home, and that's how we had looked at it since we moved there. We knew we'd never stay in Seattle. We knew it just wasn't for us. Forks was our home, it's where our families were, it's where we were comfortable. Where we were familiar. And we couldn't wait to come home.

I knew when we got back to Seattle; back to school, and work, and the lives we'd been living for months now, things would change a little. Not enough for anyone to really notice, but I would. When it came to Edward, I noticed everything.

After my shower, I went back into Edwards room to get dressed, then proceeded downstairs.

I heard Edwards voice coming from the kitchen, so I pushed the door open and entered without hesitation. But when I saw Edward embracing his mother in the middle of the kitchen, I froze and turned to walk away.

"Bella."

I turned back and saw Esme smiling at me and wiping tears from her face.

"I'm sorry Esme. I'll, um, be out in the living room." I pushed the door open just as Esme cleared her throat, signaling for me to stop.

"Bella, it's OK." I heard her stepped toward me and then I felt her hand on my shoulder. "I was just telling Edward how great it is to see you two. And with everything that's been going on with you two, it's wonderful that you're going to be coming home soon. I really love that you're going to be here when the baby comes." Her face lit up when she mentioned the baby. "My first grandchild." Then new tears started falling.

I didn't really know what to do. I'd never had to deal with a crying Esme. She's usually the one that held it all together.

I started to reach out to her, but Edward stepped up behind her and spun her around, bringing her into his arms again and nodding me out the door. He gave me a sweet smile and motioned for me to go ahead into the living room again.

I nodded and quickly made my exit. Once I was sat on the couch, I reached for the remote and turned the tv on low. I figured I'd give Edward the much needed time with his mother. It was hard for him to continue their close relationship with him now married and living three hours away. And, as Esme said, the baby was a big deal too.

After a couple minutes, I heard the kitchen door swing open and I looked over to see Edward smile at me as he walked across to the couch. He bent over the back and kissed the top of my head.

"I have plans for you today."

I looked up at him and creased my eyebrows. "I thought we were going to just hang out here today..?"

He nodded. "Well, we could, but there is something else I wanna do." Then he turned and lifted his leg over the back of the couch, plopping himself down next to me.

I shook my head. "Your mother would kill you if she saw you do that."

He shrugged. "She's really looking forward to spending a day with us. Are you alright with that?"

I looked over at him and nodded. "Of course I'm alright with that Edward."

He nodded and smiled. "I thought so. Why don't you go grab your purse and we'll get out of here. She wants to, um, take you," Then he jumped off the couch and started scratching his top lip, obviously trying to slur his words and make them very unclear. "shopping."

I jumped off the couch and made a grab for his shirt before he spun himself around the back of the couch and stuck his hands out. "Now, don't kill me Bella. She wants to. Not me! She. Her. All her. Blame her! Yell at her, but please don't kill me!"

I had just gone shopping yesterday! I didn't like shopping to begin with, now I had to go two days in a row. Now when did Carlisle say I could start using that swollen feet excuse?

I just stared at Edward as he stood behind the couch with his hands still up in front of him. I took a deep breath and shook my head. "You are so incredibly lucky I love you. I do not really want to shop."

He nodded. "I know love. But this is for Esme. She wants to help you pick out maternity stuff because she don't know when we'll be back, or when she'll have another opportunity like this."

I groaned. "I know, but.." Then I sighed and my shoulder slumped slightly. "alright. I'll be OK. But why do I need maternity clothes?"

He just shrugged and smiled. "I don't know. My guess is you'll be gaining weight here in a couple months or so, and you'll need them. And she kinda feels bad."

I was confused now. Why in the world would Esme feel bad?

"Why?"

He shrugged slowly and looked down. "I might have kinda told her what, uh, happened with you and your mother. She feels awful and wants to try and be there for you. She knows how hard it was for you the first time, and she wants to be there again. She knows she's not your mother, but she feels bad Bella. She wants you to know you have a mother."

I nodded. "She is my mother. None of this mother-in-law stuff, she's my mom. And I'll go. I'll do this for her."

He smiled even wider and nodded, stepping around the couch and taking me in his arms. "Thank you Bella. She really loves you. You know that." Then he kissed the top of my head. "And I love you too. And I'm looking forward to helping you pick out clothes too."

I looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. He laughed and nodded. I laughed with him and shook my head. "Don't get too excited. You might make me worry about you Edward."

He laughed again and kissed my forehead before letting me go. He kept his hands on my shoulders and smiled at me. "I just wanna spend a fun day with you."

I nodded. "Alright, well, then let's go." Then I turned around and jogged upstairs to grab my purse.

When I came back downstairs, I saw Esme sitting on the couch pulling her shoes on with her coat on her lap. When she heard me come into the room, she smiled up at me. "You sure you're OK with this Bella?"

I nodded. "I am."

She finished tying her shoe and stood up, grabbing her purse and her coat and walking over to me. She pulled me into a small hug with her one free arm and ran her hand over my back. "Thank you Bella." Then she pulled away and looked at me. "This means a lot to me, but I don't want to make you do something you don't want to."

I shrugged. "This should be more interesting then shopping for bridesmaids dresses with Alice."

We both laughed and nodded.

When Edward was ready, we walked outside. I offered the front seat to Esme, but she climbed into the back and smiled, waving me into the front seat. I slowly climbed in and when Edward got in, we sped off down the driveway and onto the highway.

We made it to Port Angeles in a little under an hour and Edward found the shopping mall and parked.

Edward got out and opened both my door and the back door for Esme. Esme smiled up at him and nodded her head.

I pulled on his shoulder after he shut the doors and lifted myself up to his ear. "Told you she was proud of you."

He nodded and kissed my temple. "She's proud of you too love."

I shrugged. "I guess. But she didn't raise me as much as she raised you. She has more reason to be proud of you."

I took his hand in mine before he could say anything else and we walked into the shopping mall right behind Esme. When we got in the doors, Esme turned around and looked at me.

"Where to first Bella?"

I shrugged slowly. "Um, I have no idea." I chuckled and looked at Edward.

He shrugged to, and we both looked at Esme. He smiled, "Why don't you lead us mom."

And lead us, she did.

First she led us to a small store just full of maternity clothes. I had to stop and take a look around. I didn't know if I was actually excited about this trip yet, because it's not like I was going to get to wear the clothes right away. I hadn't gained any weight, that I could see, yet.

Esme went straight to the dresses and skirts and tugged me right along. Edward just kinda stood back and laughed and nodded. He was having fun just being there.

"Bella, this would be so adorable on you."

I turned around and Esme was holding up a beautiful darker blue dress. It was kinda short, and the top was more of a 'night out' kinda look, but it was cute. It looked like something I might look good in.

I nodded, "I'll try it on."

She handed it to me and walked with me over to the dressing room. I walked into one of the rooms and put the dress on, then turned and looked in the mirror. I smiled and turned around to see the back. It was really beautiful, and it was almost the exact color that Edward loved so much on me. Speaking of Edward?

I stepped out of the room, and showed Esme. Her smile was huge and she nodded up and down quickly.

"Bella, you have to get that. Let me get it for you. Please." She stepped closer and lightly touched the fabric on the sides. "It's so perfect on you." She let go of the dress and turned around. "Now where is Edward?" She turned back to me and held up one finger, then smiled and hurried away to find Edward.

I smiled and turned around to look at the dress one more time. It really was perfect. And I was going to get it. Now I just had to convince Esme to let me buy it myself. That was going to be a feat I wasn't so sure I'd get away with.

"Love."

I spun around to see Edward standing right behind me.

He smiled down at me and gently put his hands on my side. "You look really great in that dress." Then he leaned down and kissed me quickly, but sweetly. "Do you like it?"

I nodded. "I love it. I think I'm going to get it."

He nodded, "Alright. Great." He kissed me one more time. "I'm glad to see you smiling. I really hoped you'd enjoy today."

I smiled back at him and laid my hands on his chest. "I am enjoying myself. This is actually a lot more fun than I thought it would be."

He chuckled and let go of me. "Well, I think Esme is out looking for more clothes, so why don't you get that one off and we'll go look some more."

I nodded again and pulled myself up to kiss his cheek before walking into the dressing room and changing back into my jeans and t shirt. When I walked out, Edward was still standing there. He took my hand and led me across the store where Esme was.

We spent another hour or so in that store, but only found a couple other things I liked. Mainly a couple pairs of tights that would match anything and still fit no matter how big I might get. And I could probably still wear them after the baby came. Which would make Alice happy.

Then I thought about Alice. She was going to be so upset that she wouldn't get to take me shopping for pregnant clothes.

I squeezed Edwards hand to bring his attention down to me.

"What is it Bella?" He smiled at me and took my other hand in his, turning to face me.

I started biting on my bottom lip and shrugged. "What about Alice. You know she's going to take it personal that she didn't get to take me shopping."

He nodded. "I know. But I already told myself, and my mom, that we weren't going to go overboard today. You're not far enough along to fit into most of these clothes and so we agreed we'd only get you a couple things. In a couple months, if and when you need new clothes, Alice will have her day." He smiled at me and kissed my cheek.

I nodded, "OK. Just promise me you'll be there on her day. I don't want to be left alone with Alice while shopping while pregnant."

He chuckled and nodded, pulling my hands up to his chest. "I promise." Then he leaned down and kissed me again.

I heard someone approach us, but they didn't say anything. It must have been Esme.

I pulled away from Edward and turned to look past him. Sure enough, Esme was standing there smiling.

"You two are too cute." She stepped closer and took one of my hands from Edward. "But we should probably feed the pregnant woman."

I nodded and looked up at Edward. "I agree. Feed the pregnant woman."

He chuckled once and nodded. "Alright. Let's go."

We found a little familiar diner right down the street and decided to just walk down there. It wasn't far and there was no sense in going all the way back to the car just to have to come back to the shopping mall.

When we got there, Edward found a small table and we all sat down and grabbed our menus.

The day, so far, had been going absolutely perfect. But all perfect days have a small flaw. Or a big flaw. Depending on how you look at it.

Right across from us, sitting at a table in the same diner, in the same town, at the same exact time, was someone I wasn't really looking forward to seeing. And if I wasn't looking forward to seeing him, I could only imagine how Edward was going to feel if he saw him.

I took my eyes off of him immediately. I didn't want Edward to notice him only because I couldn't stop staring.

I wasn't afraid of him. He no longer scared me. But that didn't mean I wanted to come face to face with him again. That didn't mean I was OK with being in the same place as him.

Lunch went pretty quick. Almost too quick. I didn't really say anything, just ate my food and tried my best to keep Edwards attention on me. A lot harder without words.

But as we got up to leave, Edward went tot he left to the front counter, so he could pay the bill, and me and Esme walked to the right to find the bathrooms.

Before I could walk into the bathroom, I heard my name being called. I closed my eyes and just stood there.

"Bella." The voice was quiet. "Is that you?"

I had my back turned to him, but I knew I had given myself away the moment I froze upon hearing my name.

"Bella, can I talk to you?"

Esme took my hand and looked at me, completely confused. "Bella, what's going on? Are you OK?" She took her other hand and put her finger under my chin and pulled my face up. "There is a man behind you talking to you. Is everything alright?"

I nodded. "Yeah." My voice was weak, but I didn't really know why. The guy behind me wasn't someone to fear. That's what I told myself over and over countless nights. But I didn't know if I was to help me sleep better and nightmare free, or if it was true.

I still don't think I actually knew the real answer.

I turned around and he smiled a little.

"Hey Bella. I thought that was you."

I nodded. "It's me." Lame answer, but it was really all I had right now.

He put his hand on the back of his neck and started rubbing back and forth. "Um, it's nice to see you."

I nodded again, "It's, uh, nice to see you too."

He shook his head. "No it's not. You're not happy to see me at all. I know that. I know why, and I understand. I made a huge mistake, and I regret it. A lot actually." He broke eye contact with me and looked at my feet. "I didn't run into you on purpose. I hope you don't think that. I'm not following you anymore."

We both chuckled a little and his face raised back up to look at me.

"I know you're not following me."

He smiled, "You're all too forgiving Bella. I don't deserve it, but I wanna thank you. You kept me out of trouble, and I didn't deserve that either."

I shrugged. "I couldn't actually find the will to have you put away. It didn't seem very fair."

He shook his head. "It wouldn't have been, but I wouldn't have blamed you. I had an option, and I didn't make the right choice. I'm sorry."

I nodded, and before I could say anything else I saw Edward rushing across the diner. He looked angry and was heading straight for us.

I shoved him aside and stood right in Edward path just as he reached us.

"Edward! No."

He looked over my head and his usually happy green eyes turned dark and mad. Something I'd only seen a handful of times.

"What are you doing here?!" He tried to push past me to get to his target, but I wasn't going to allow it. I knew he was mad, and I knew he was upset, but that was no reason to jump on top of someone in public.

"Edward, come outside with me. We'll talk."

He shook his head. "What is he doing here?!"

I shrugged. "I don't know. But let's go outside."

Then Esme stepped in and grabbed onto Edward shoulders. "Edward." Her voice was calm, but very motherly. Very stern. "You need to listen to Bella. Step outside before you make a scene."

Edward never once took his eyes off of the man standing behind me, but took my hand in his and pulled me aside. He motioned for him to go before us, and as he walked by, Edward quickly followed. He was fuming. I could hear the ragged breaths he was trying to take and saw his jaw clenched tight.

Once we were outside, I had to step in front of Edward again.

"Bella, please step aside. I don't want to accidently hurt you." He looked down at me, but I shook my head.

I put my hands on his shoulders and pushed him back gently. "You're not going to hurt me. You're going to calm down and listen to me. He didn't do anything wrong. He apoligized, and remember what he did for us Edward."

He shook his head. "I need to talk to him alone."

I pushed him back, a little harder this time. "No! Edward, listen to me."

He tried to say something, but I heard a voice come from behind me.

"Edward, I'm not here to pose as any type of threat to Bella. Nor to you. I didn't follow you here, I swear. I was just in town visiting my family, and happened to be here. I'm sorry."

I turned around and saw he had his hands up in front of him. Then, I felt Edward lunge toward him. I didn't even have time to catch him.

The next thing I saw was Edward holding Jared back against the brick wall. He had both of his hands on his shoulders, holding him back and he was right in his face.

"Edward!" Both Esme and I screamed at the same time, but Edward didn't move.

He looked over at me for a brief second, but then looked back. "No Bella. He hurt you and I told him I didn't want him anywhere near you, ever again!"

I walked up behind him and put my hand on his shoulder. "Edward, he's not fighting back. Let go!"

Edward shook his head but didn't say anything. He seemed to be struggling with himself, until Jared finally spoke up. "Edward, I'm not going to fight you. I know you're angry, but I was being honest when I said I wasn't following Bella anymore. That was a big mistake, just like I told Bella, and I don't want to fight you."

Edward let him go, but didn't move from right in front of him. "Then what are you doing here?" His voice was broken.

Jared took a deep breath. I could tell he didn't want to say anything to upset Edward further. "I was in town, down in La Push, visiting my family. My mom wanted to go to lunch, but she got called away as soon as we got here. I didn't even know you were here until I saw Bella. I just wanted to apologize to her."

Edward nodded slowly and took a step back. His mouth opened, but nothing came out.

I stepped up behind him and put my hands on his back. "Edward, it's OK."

He nodded again and turned around. I could see tears in his eyes and he looked completely confused. Like he wanted to just beat Jared to a pulp, but at the same time, couldn't.

"Jared, you should go." I looked past Edward and saw him nod.

"I'm sorry Bella. Maybe I'll see you around, if that's OK?"

I nodded and watched him walk away. Once he was around the corner and back in the diner, I drug Edward over to a bench on the side of the building. He sat down and put his head in his hands. Esme took the keys from Edwards pocket and walked over to the car, leaving us alone.

"Edward, talk to me." I sat down next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "It's OK honey, just talk to me."

He nodded slowly and turned to look at me. "Bella, I wanted to kill him."

I nodded. "I know. But you know he's not the bad guy anymore."

He shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me. He hurt you, and I told you that no one would ever hurt you. I let him get away with it."

I shook my head. "No, no you didn't. He didn't get away with it and it wasn't his fault." I pulled him closer to me and rubbed his back. "Edward, it's OK."

He looked up at me and tried to blink the tears away. They fell down his cheeks and I wiped them away. "Bella, I love you. And I want to be able to protect you. What happened to you, nearly killed me, and I can't do that again. I won't."

I nodded. "I know. It won't. I promise."

He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. "I love you so much Isabella. You know you're everything to me, and I'm gonna protect you."

I nodded. "I know, and I love you too Edward. We need to move on from this."

He rubbed his hands up and down my back and kissed my neck. "I know, and I am. Just slowly. Give me time Bella. I promise I'll be OK."

I moved my face so that I could see him and nodded, "Take all the time you need, but you need to be careful. You can't kill Jared everytime we see him. We go to school with him and he lives too near to us for you to be like that toward him. I know it was wrong what he did, but you can't want to kill him everytime he comes near us. It's all over, and we need to get away from all of the stress. Understand?"

He nodded and smiled. It wasn't a full smile, but it was a beautiful smile. "I understand." Then he leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. "I love you." He kissed me once more before standing up and taking my hand. "Now let's continue shopping for my beautiful wife."

I nodded and we both walked to the car.


So? Did anyone see that coming? I know Edward got a little emotional there, but I think it was necessarty. It shows he's moving on, for the sake of Bella and the baby, but he still harbors ill feelings for what happened to Bella.

I have to say, when I first wanted to write a 'villian' per say, I didn't want it to be Jared. He was more of an accomplice. But now he feels terrible about it. So I just had to bring him back. I was actually really fond of Jareds character in Eclipse and some of Breaking dawn. I really can't explain why, but I just was. I guess that explains why he's in my story lol (=

And if you go to my profile and click on the pictures link, there is a picture of the dress Esme picked out for Bella. It wasn't on a maternity site, but it was on a website I found for 'turn of the century clothing' and I fell in love with a lot of the dresses. They all have a very vintage feel to them, and not only do I myself love that style, but it plays well with the characters. Even though this is a modern story -no 107 year old vampires and all that- I still feel Edward has more of an old world feel to him, and I love that about him. So I tried to keep a little bit of that in my story. It's quite hard, but I try.

OH! And also, there is a picture of the onesie Bella bought the other day. I got a comment saying how someone loved the onesie, so I thought I would give you the visual I saw (=

So, is everyone excited about New Moon?! I'm freakin' ecstatic dude! Lol. My cousin makes fun of me because I bought my tickets early and stuff, but he just doesn't understand! Lol

Also, I'm working on a playlist for this story, and I'm short a couple songs. I have a LOT of songs on my itunes, but I just can't find the perfect song to set as the theme song for this story; like I did with Becomes Attainable. So if anyone out there has a song that they think of when reading this, or just have a really good song in mind, PM me or review with the name. I'm always excited to hear my readers suggestions (= I love it when you guys have opinions.

Don't forget to review! They just so happen to be my exact brand of heroin.

Ha ha, I was reading Twilight, and I came across that part today and it made me smile, again.

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