Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Thanks to my wonderful betas, I couldn't do the things I do without them. Beta(s): dannibags, piesmom
For those of your wanting to see Jake's POV about things, here it is. He finds out something that Bella was hiding. Do you think he will think they are his? Bella gives Edward her Christmas presents and they all revolve around the babies. I love Edward being excited about the babies. Bella has a few regrets about things, but all in all she is happy. Let's see where New Beginnings take our couple.
Happy Reading!
Exchanging Companions
Chapter 29
New Beginnings
JPOV
Bella didn't come to the Christmas celebration at Billy's; I was hoping she would for the girls' sake. They missed her something terrible and I did too. She was my friend first. I had damaged our relationship and I didn't know if I would ever have that kind of connection with anyone again.
I hadn't seen Leah in months. When I got home from LA, she came straight to the house wanting us to be a couple, and I was reeling from Bella being with Edward Cullen. I told her to leave and never come back. Bella, once again, had been right about that soul mate bullshit the elders where preaching about down at the council meetings. I thought I had it with Leah, but when she finally disappeared from my life, I didn't miss her nor hurt like I did over Bella. But I knew that Bella wasn't my soul mate either. I became accustomed to the life Bella and I had together. I guess I needed to stop believing the old tails or find a new venue to shop from.
A couple of months back a District Attorney from Portland came to talk to me about Kate and the time she spent here in La Push. I told them everything I knew and then some. I told them about Royce King and where he was now, and I told them about Seth Clearwater, Leah's little brother, being her driver. There was a good chance he knew more than I did. I avoided being around the house when Kate was here. The only things I did with her were what the show said I had to do.
Last month they aired the TV show, and I noticed the producers name on the credits was different from the producer we had dealt with. Apparently, something must have happened in the production crew. The show they aired painted all of us as whore hopping, domineering, and kid ignoring idiots. Even the things they showed appalled me, and when the black light illuminated rooms, you could see everything.
The main thing from here that was illuminated was the night I was caught cheating on Bella with Leah. All the rest of the time was of Kate talking to those damn girls plotting away. They even showed both Bella and Rose kicking her ass; now that was some funny shit, watching it on TV. The other illuminated scenes were of Bella and Edward. They had moments when they kissed. They talked about their lives and how they wanted them to be better. It broke my heart to see her be so honest about the things she didn't like or understand. When she told Edward she didn't love me like she should and that I was more of a friend, I knew I had to sign the papers. I was holding her back and suffocating her in the process.
I talk to the psychologist once a week. Together, we were working through the anger I had with Sarah for leaving so soon, the responsibilities I was neglecting with the kids, and the fact that I married someone just for the fact of comfort and I knew she would be there to take care of the kids, the house, and me. She wouldn't let me down; Sarah was her best friend. I had left everything about our marriage and the children resting on her shoulders, while I tried to get the garage off the ground.
The money I got for a nanny, I offered it to Sue, Leah's mom, to help me take care of the girls. She didn't really want anything to do with me since the Leah incident, but when I showed her the money, she accepted, but only for the girls sake. I knew she would make me walk the walk and I couldn't skate by like I did with Bella. I kept paying Angela to come once a week and clean the house. So, that was going well. I just had to worry about all the other things that came with being a parent.
I was sitting at the house having dinner with the girls and Billy, when Quil Ateara came over. We sat and watched the game, but the conversations turned south rather quickly.
"I saw Bella the other day coming from that baby doctor place downtown," he said looking over at me.
"Yeah, sometimes women go there that are not pregnant to get checkups. What about it?"
"I don't think she was there for a checkup man. I think she's pregnant," he said looking me right in eyes.
"What are you talking about?" I asked curiously.
"Well, she looked really big. I mean, about five or six months big. When was the last time you were with her? Didn't she bring it up in the divorce and all?"
"No," I said thinking, racking my brain. When was the last time I was with Bella? Hadn't it been two or three months prior to her going on the show? If that was the case, there would be a chance that she was pregnant with my child. I had to see Bella.
"You were getting it so much you can't remember, can you?" Quil asked while bumping my shoulder like I was a stud.
I couldn't answer him. I was stuck wondering how all this had happened. Wasn't she taking her pills, but then I remembered the pharmacy calling while she was in Portland. She hadn't picked them up before she left. How long had she been without them?
I left the girls with Billy and headed towards Forks. I had to talk to Bella about the pregnancy, if there was one. Quil might have been talking out his ass, but I needed to make sure. I pulled behind the Sporting Goods store and noticed that her vehicle was gone, but what I did noticed was the Volvo with Oregon tags parked in one of the spots.
I slammed my fist down on the steering wheel and honked the horn in the process. Shit! I didn't want to talk to Mr. Perfect; so I peeled out of the parking lot. I had to get to the bottom of this shit.
~EC~
BPOV
Finding something for Edward was hard at first, but when I got to thinking, Edward loved anything that had to do with the babies. So, I went with things I thought he would enjoy and things that would announce the fact that he was going to be a dad.
I found this really cool T-shirt that said 'Dad to Be Twins' with four little baby feet on them. I decided that when we went back to the 3D Ultrasound place during our twenty-eight week appointment, I would have a shirt made with the twin's pictures on it. I would have used the first ones, but the babies where still a little small and all their features where not present yet. All of my gifts were special and held some kind of meaning for him; something that represented our love and our children. When the babies were born, I wanted to get him a set of dog tags with our kid's names and footprints on it for him to wear. I had a wild feeling that Edward was going to be a proud dad.
Before heading to see the house that Edward bought, Alice called out of the clear blue. I hadn't talked to her since the day I was in Portland after the filming of the show.
It's not that I minded talking to Alice, but I couldn't figure out why she was calling now. My phone had been broken for so long, there is a chance that she did call and I just missed it somehow. How did she get my new number? Edward was the only answer.
When she started asking all these weird questions about marriage and how I felt about it now, I knew Edward had something up his sleeve. I was honest. I would marry Edward in a heartbeat, if he asked, but he hadn't yet. I told her I didn't want some big flashy engagement ring, which I knew Edward would buy. I was having trouble reeling him in when it came to things for the babies. Hell, the 3D Ultrasounds weren't cheap, and with his level of money, he could have them done every week and not bat an eyelash at the cost. He had gotten enough DVDs for everyone in the family. That was how I knew to get the bear; he wanted it too, but I scolded him and said 'no'. He pouted, but took what I was allowing.
I told Alice no flashing wedding either. I had already experienced the whole have your father walk you down the aisle routine and I would still allow Charlie to do so, but I was over it. When I got married again, I was having the simplest affair possible in the back yard of my house or the home we lived in.
I wasn't thinking that everyone would be at the house in Seattle, and I was shocked at first to see Alice. She had grown so big and she looked like she was ready to pop any minute. When Jasper rounded the corner and came into view, I was glad she wasn't here alone. To me that would have been scary, if something did happen.
They didn't hover like I thought they would and everyone settled for a little while waiting for the others. It wasn't long before the others arrived and gifts were exchanged. I was a little thrown back about how they work their Christmas. We always gave a little something to the people who we loved. Hell, the girls would get the most, but I have never seen something so … present less. They all seemed to be excited about the donations made to their charities.
Esme finding out about the pregnancy was exciting and then seeing the DVD from when we had our first 3D Ultrasound session made me cry. It made the gifts I was planning to give Edward even more special. I wanted to wait until no one was around to give him his things because I felt bad that I couldn't afford something for them or knew that anyone was coming to the house.
Esme talked forever after the DVD was over about how things were when she had Emmett. She scared the shit out of me a couple of times with the way she talked about the pain, and how big he was. Emmett was cute making all kinds of faces while his mother talked.
When everything had settled down, I watched as Edward slid down to one knee in front of me. He was holding a box from Tiffany's. I kind of panicked at first thinking he got me a huge engagement ring anyway.
"I know you just got divorced, and I know that when you went on the show Exchanging Companions, you never thought your life would turn out like this. The moment you walked into my house in Portland, I was stunned and mystified that someone as beautiful as you existed in this world. You, Bella Black, are the woman I have dreamt about all my life, the woman I wanted to truly share my forever with, and the one I want my children to call Mom. Would you do me the extraordinary honor of becoming Mrs. Edward Cullen?" he asked looking deep into my eyes.
"Yes," I whispered with tears streaming down my cheeks.
"Yes," I answered louder so everyone could hear that I wanted him forever.
"Yes," I screamed as I jumped into his lap kissing all over his face.
He opened the box exposing a charm bracelet. He explained each charm he had purchased and why. He even assisted me to put it around my wrist.
"Forever," he said leaning down to kiss my lips.
"For Always," I whispered back as our lips met.
The whole family jumped up to offer us another round of congratulations. My Christmas was wonderful. As Edward and I lay in bed that night, we talked about when and where.
"I don't want to get married on New Year's," I said snuggling in the nook of his arms. New Years was something he suggested and I wasn't thrilled about it. I wasn't opposed to getting married while pregnant. I didn't really care about that aspect.
"How about January?" he asked stroking my arms.
"No, I have school and the apartment doesn't have a backyard," I snickered.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" I asked looking up at him.
"I want to be attached to you and those children in every single way," he said tapping my nose with his finger.
"Well, how about spring time?" I asked.
We could ideally get married during spring break, right around Easter.
"No, that's too far off, but no. Springtime showers bring May flowers and all that. Too rainy," he stated.
I laughed, "You do realize you are living in a state that has the most rainy days in the continental US right?"
"You're wrong Portland outranks Seattle. Portland had 164 days and Seattle only has 149 days of rain. You forget your talking to the weather man," he said winking at me.
"No, you're wrong. Forks, Washington gets more perception than your state, and it also has the highest number of days with 213. There is only one place in Oregon that outranks Forks and you didn't live there," I said sitting up and narrowing my eyes at him.
"Let's just agree to disagree on this. What about July? Should be nice by then," he said rubbing his chin.
"Not long enough after having the twins."
"I thought it didn't matter if you were pregnant or not?" he questioned.
"It doesn't, but I know that taking care of babies is hard at first. Plus, we will have two not one."
"I know how hard it is to take care of twins, Bella. Kate laid on her ass after having the girls. If it wasn't for me, they wouldn't have made it."
"Sorry, I didn't mean," I whispered lowering my head.
"You have nothing to be sorry about," he said lifting my chin.
He leaned up and kissed my nose.
We debated back and forth, but eventually set on the date that we first met, August the 5th. It would be exactly one year since we had meet on the show, and it would be a good distance from when the babies were born.
~EC~
The following morning everyone parted ways. Edward and I had to be at Charlie's this afternoon; so leaving early was necessary.
When we finally pulled into Charlie's driveway, I cringed when I saw the beat up Rabbit parked in the driveway. I didn't want another scene like the day Edward had brought me home from LA. Jake and I were divorced and he should behave that way this time. I don't think Edward would tolerate his behavior this trip around, and I almost wondered if I should just ask Edward to hand me a couple hundred dollars for his bail.
"What's wrong?" Edward asked opening my door.
"Jake's here," I said motioning my head over to the rabbit.
"Really? This should be interesting," he said.
"Just hand me a couple hundred dollars. I've got a feeling you might need to be bailed out later tonight."
I held out my hand waiting and he didn't disappoint either. He handed me a thousand dollars in a matter of minutes. I was completely stunned.
"Just in case it's a large bond," he said smirking.
"It won't be that much," I mused.
Charlie walked out the door holding up his hands.
"I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen. The girls are still with Billy; just thought I would tell you," he said getting closer to Edward and I, while I was trying to hide ten hundred dollar bills in my bra.
"Bail," he asked snickering.
"Yeah," Edward and I replied at the same time.
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that, but I hope you understand if he presses charges, I have no choice," Charlie said looking at Edward and then me.
"I know," I whispered and Edward nodded.
"Let's get this over with," Edward said grabbing my hand and leading me to the house. It was cold out and I really wanted to get in the house before I froze to death, but didn't want to be around Jake.
We had just stepped in the house when Jake came from the kitchen. He stopped dead in his tracks.
"Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?" he asked.
"It wasn't any of your business," I said pulling my jacket off with Edwards help. I guess he was trying to keep himself busy so he wouldn't choke the shit out of Jake.
"If that child is mine, it is my business. How far along are you?" he demanded to know.
"Well, it's still none of your business because these babies are not yours."
I walked over to the couch in the living room to have a seat. I had to pee but I knew I wouldn't be allowed to until Jake had his say about something.
"Who's the father? I want to know because when you left for Portland, you didn't pick up your birth control pills. How long have you not been taking them?"
"How in the hell did you know I didn't pick up my pills?" I asked. Had he been checking up on me?
"They called while you were gone. Now answer the question."
"She doesn't have to answer your damn questions," Edward chimed in standing off to the side of me.
"She will answer my fucking questions because if that is my child, I want partial custody," Jake yelled.
"I'll be damned," Edward said moving further in front of me.
"I can have a paternity test done now and I won't hesitate to do that," Jake threatened.
"I'll refuse and then you will have to wait, but the babies are not yours Jake," I said getting up from the couch. I couldn't hold it anymore.
"Then whose?"
"Does it fucking matter to you who as long as it's not you," Edward asked balling his fists up.
"Yes, I want to know if she was cheating on me. She looks like she further along than she should be even if she was fucking you," Jake hollered.
"I'm only going to tell you this one time and one time only …" Edward started standing close to Jake "… the babies she is carrying are mine. She got pregnant the night we were drugged. She is only four months along, and if you force her to do an amino, I will be pissed. No, let me rephrase that. She will not have it done. I will refuse your request. Do you understand the babies are not yours?" Edward said getting right in his face.
I stared from the hallway watching them face off in the middle of the living room. Charlie was off to the side watching everything unfold. Jake must have gotten the point and left. I finally walked out of the hallway where I had watched the boys argue.
The rest of the day was all right after Jake left, and Charlie enjoyed his gifts. I handed the money back to Edward. He tried to tell me to keep it, but I wouldn't. He had already given me more than enough.
We made our way to the apartment and collapsed in each other's arms.
~EC~
EPOV
When Bella presented me with my Christmas presents, I was excited and happy. I loved the shirt she had gotten me. The bear was the same one I wanted when we had the first 3D Ultrasound, and I was disappointed when she didn't allow me to have it when we left. I had entertained the thought of going back to the place and asking if they could make me one without her around. Maybe use the DVD I had purchased, but I never did. I figured I would settle with the DVD.
The first 3D session was the most exciting thing in the world to me. I was able to get an idea of what the twins would look like when they came out. However, the pictures made the twins look like little aliens. I was kind of scared of what might be coming out of Bella. I wouldn't tell Bella how many nights I had woken up after having nightmares that the babies were clawing and biting their way out of her body. I asked the technician while Bella went to the bathroom if they were okay, at which point she laughed in my face. That didn't set well, but she assured me that it was all part of the process of becoming a baby. She said if we had waited a little longer that we would get a better idea of what the twins would look like. So, of course I made another appointment. This time we would go when Bella was thirty weeks pregnant to see if they looked a little better. We could wait up until she was thirty-six weeks, but with twins, they sometimes came earlier than expected and I didn't want to wait.
The wedding date was set. I wanted to get married to her as soon as I could. I wanted to tie myself to her in every way possible, and getting married to me was the next step. It should have been babies last, but we had done it backwards. So, marriage was going to be our last step. Plus, I couldn't wait to change her name from Black to Cullen. I hated that she wouldn't go and change the damn thing back to her maiden name, but she didn't see the point. She would have to change everything; her social, her driver's license, everything. Especially, since she was going to have to change it again in nine months. So, I let it go.
I didn't want the nurses calling my children the Black babies when they discussed their care either in the hospital. They would never be a Black, even if their mother had the last name. I guess it was all a territorial thing with me. I wanted to pee all over her and the babies so no one would bother them. My idea of peeing or marking my territory would be the name change.
Jacob Black was a twit. She had told him they weren't his and it was none of his business. Didn't he hear the words coming out of her mouth? The babies were not his. She never said they were mine, but what difference did it really make. I had to set Jake straight so he would leave or I would have put my foot up his ass. I was also concerned that he was stressing Bella out and stress was the last thing she needed.
Right before Bella went back to school, after the New Year, we pulled out the baby casting kit. I wanted to have a molding of her belly as it grew and next month I wanted to do another. Bella was less than enthused with the process. She wanted the cast, but she didn't want to be uncomfortable during the process.
"I promise to try and make this as easy on you as possible," I said getting everything ready to go.
I had placed plastic on the table I was using to wet the strips and plastic on the chair she would be sitting in. I bought Bella a nice rocking recliner for her to relax in and I planned on using it to cast her stomach.
"Did you make sure the door is locked?" she asked; worried that someone was going to come in while she was sitting naked in the recliner.
"Of course," I retorted. Like I wouldn't lock the damn door and who would just barge in on us anyway.
"Okay. I'm ready," she whined.
"Here we go," I laughed.
I walked over to her beautiful naked body sitting before me. I was going to have to do everything possible not to get excited with this first aspect. Prepping her body was going to be exciting. I grabbed the Vaseline and scooped out a good helping. Looking her over before we got started, I couldn't help my first reaction. The snake in my pants was coiling up and ready to strike. We had argued back and forth for days about how to do this. She didn't want to ruin her clothes. So, I offered to buy her more. She then got pissed. I eventually told her to go naked which ruled out the clothing aspect, but it also started a whole other discussion. She didn't want her tits in the mold, which appalled me. I loved how big they had gotten since she had gotten pregnant. They were great before, but now … they were busting out everywhere. When I said so, she was pissed again and called me a pervert.
"Okay, hold still," I mumbled as I rubbed large amount of Vaseline over her chest and stomach.
I finally won the whole debate about the having her breast in the mold, and I loved it.
"I think you have enough Vaseline on them," she said looking down at her chest. I can't stop looking at the ample flesh in front of me. I licked my lips and wanted to take just one swipe at her nipple, but wouldn't now because of the Vaseline. I shook my head to get rid of the lust driven fog that had radiated through my body, and focused on the task.
I placed some plastic on her body, making sure it was smooth with no wrinkles or anything in it. Once she was good to go, I wet the plaster strips and placed them on her breasts first, and then down around and over her stomach. I made sure every inch of her stomach and breast were covered, and then I added another layer.
When I finished layering her body with the plaster, we had to wait thirty minutes for the cast to heavy and pull away from her body.
"It's starting to get warm and it feels like it's pulling away from me," she said moving around a little.
"Hold on; let me get it," I chuckled.
I walked over to her and slowly, but gently removed the cast from her body. I quickly placed wadded up newspaper into the dips in the back and sat the cast somewhere safe to dry. I was glad we didn't have the girls this weekend. Otherwise, the cast probably wouldn't have survived them.
"Edward," she purred somewhere behind me.
"Yeah, baby," I inquired leaning over the mold working on getting it set still.
"I'm all lubed up and no one to play with," she hinted.
At hearing her words, my head shot up. I spun around and looked at her. She was still standing as naked as the day she was born with a huge smile on her face. She was shinny from the Vaseline that was on her skin.
She ran her finger down her breast and swirled it around her belly button. She circled around her navel and used her fingers to travel back up her chest. Her fingers glided lightly over her now erect nipples. She didn't stop and I watched intrigued as she stood there playing with her nipples and moaning.
She looked at me; licking her plump lips. She motioned me toward her; it was almost as if I was on a conveyer belt, moving without knowing it toward her body. I was shocked and motionless as I watched the sight of her in front of me. It was the most erotic thing I had seen in all my life.
She lowered herself to her knees and looked up at me through her eyelashes.
"Strip," she instructed.
I didn't waste any time. I had a naked, lubed up, and horny woman sitting in front of my junk. It didn't take long to take off everything I had on. As I stripped down for her, I noticed her hands slip down into her folds. She didn't waste time and moaned as she fingered herself, kneeling in front of me. Fucking hot and I wanted more.
Once my pants and boxers hit the floor, I reached down for my cock and worked up a good stroking rhythm. The motion must have alerted her that something was happening in front of her face. Her eyes shot open and she watched as I stroked my hardened member.
"Fuck my tits," she purred pushing her enormous globes together in front of me. I couldn't resist and lined my body up as she straightened her body to accommodate the height issue. I slid my dick through her oiled up tits.
"Hold them tighter," I instructed, watching as she quickly pushed them closer to my erection. When they were close enough, I rocked back and thrust between them again. I pulled her hair back, holding onto it behind her head and my shaft glided between her tits.
I watched Bella the entire time; she focused her eyes on my cock that slid with ease between her mounds. I used the tips of my fingers to rise her chin up. When she was finally looking in my eyes, I leaned down to capture her lips while still rocking in and out of her tits.
I pulled back from the kiss and the feeling of sliding between her two mounds was wonderful, but it was still nothing like sliding in and out of her body. I rocked back, sliding one last time before I pulled my cock away from her breasts. I lifted her to stand. I entwined our hands before looking into her eyes.
"I want to be inside you," I whispered into her ear, as I leaned down to kiss the side of her neck. I placed a couple of open mouth kisses there before leading her over to the couch. I spun her around, helping her to sit back on the couch. She was all spread open in front of me. I moved onto the couch positioning myself between her legs, leaving one of my legs on the floor, using the other to almost kneel on the couch.
I rose her leg letting it prop itself against my chest and shoulders. I ran my hands down her leg to her sex, allowing my finger to glide around her pussy.
The moans that came from Bella encouraged me to continue.
I eased two fingers into her entrance and curled them just inside of her to massage the warm walls that encased them.
"More," she moaned and I stroked deep inside her body.
I didn't want to pull my fingers out from inside of her body, but I wanted more too. I wanted to be buried deep inside of her. I inched closer lining my aching cock up with her dripping sex, but I didn't push into her body. Instead, I used the tip to stroke up and down her slit.
"More," she moaned louder than before.
"Patience," I moaned back to her.
Rubbing up and down her body like this made me hungry for more, and I knew that it made her that way, too. But, I loved holding out on her. I stroked her damp folds a little longer before I slightly pushed the head into her, but just the tip. The teasing was driving her mad, and I wanted her frantic with want.
"More please," she begged trying to move her hips to pull more of me into her.
"Hold on, baby," I cooed to her, pulling what little bit she had slide inside of her out.
"Now," she demanded when her patience was wearing thin. If she only knew, I had been battling with myself the entire time not to take what I wanted. To consume what was spread before me. It was at that moment that I knew she wanted it just as bad as I did and by me not giving it to her, I was denying us both the pleasure.
With those thoughts in mind, I lined up again and slammed into her body, listening to the audible gasp that slipped from her lips. I couldn't fight the want to be deeply seated in the warmth of her body. I grabbed her leg and held on to it as I watched her tits bounce, and her hand slid down to play with her nub. The pants and moans coming from the both of us were exciting and encouraged me to thrust harder.
"More," she cried as the she rocked her body against mine as I thrust with everything in me.
The wild thrusting was causing me to slide out of her, and I was already having to count backward from one hundred to keep from coming when she clearly hadn't yet. I continued thinking of work and things I had to do in the morning, but used my dick and stroked her folds. I wanted her still stimulated, but allowing me enough time to pull back just a little.
When she thought I wasn't going to push back into her body, she moved and spun around to where she had her back to me.
"Lean back," she instructed backing closer to me.
I placed my elbows on the arm of the couch, but didn't allow my body to rest. She backed onto me, as I entered her from this direction; things were a little tighter. I wasn't going to complain. With my foot still on the ground, I allowed her to rock back and forth on my body, only thrusting when I felt like I had to. When I couldn't take it anymore, I used the muscles in my stomach to thrust hard into her.
"Fuck Edward, I'm …" she cried.
"Oh God!" I exclaimed as her walls clamped down around my shaft milking everything I had from my body. I collapsed on the arm of the couch completely wrung out and satisfied. Bella was still perched in my lap with me sheathed inside of her. I could still feel her body convulsing around mine. I watched as a bead of sweat rolled down her shoulders and down her back.
We didn't move or speak for a little while. When nature took its course, I slipped from her body. She leaned back against me while I wrapped her in my arms.
"I love you," I said kissing the sides of her face.
She turned her head slightly and looked at me.
"I love you, too," she said leaning over to place a kiss on my lips.
A/N: All right, wiping brow here, pretty intense moment there. Hope all enjoyed. So, this chapter we learned about Bella's gifts and the first experience going to the 3D ultrasounds. I've never had one done, but some just look weird so, that is the avenue I took with Edward. Later, he will be more excited. Things are going to hit a snag, but no more apart time for our lovers. Don't have the heart to write it. So, as always be kind and show some love!
