CHAPTER 29: Birthday present

Bella

With a content smile I put my phone back in my pocket and headed back to the living room, as ready as I would ever be to tell Edward that I would have to leave Seattle for a few days.

I had been on the phone for over half an hour, first calling Alice to help me come up with a decent excuse and after we had made up a story and called my boss to tell him I couldn't make it to work the next two days. He had grumbled a bit under his breath because it was a pretty busy time at Black Co. but I was one of his best employees so he knew I would do anything to make up for the lost time.

After taking another deep breath, I sat down next to Edward, looking as dismayed as possible even though it was hard to hide my excitement over the surprise I was planning.

"My boss has just called," I lied, "He needs me to go see a client on Friday."

"Oh okay," he said, not knowing that I'd be flying across the continent as well.

"In New Haven," I added softly.

"New Haven as in New Haven Connecticut?" he said, his eyes growing wide.

I just nodded, hoping he wouldn't lash out. There was no way he would stop me from going, he thought it was for work, but I didn't want him to get mad because of this.

"Friday? But will you be back in time for my birthday then?"

"I don't know Edward, it depends on how fast the client agrees." I lied smoothly. It helped that I had rehearsed this whole conversation with Alice a few times so I knew how to keep a straight face.

"Can't you go on Monday?"

I shook my head. "No, it's important. We might lose him to Volturi Ltd if we don't act quickly."

"Can't someone else go?" he groaned, his hands gripping his hair. He had asked almost every possible question by now and I hoped that he wouldn't go any further since I didn't like to upset him.

"I'm sorry." And I meant it. I felt bad. Really bad. Especially because I was lying to him. I almost wanted to admit the real reason why I was going to New Haven.

"I just want you here for my birthday, is that too much to ask for?" he pleaded.

"I'll do whatever I can, Edward, to be home by Saturday," I promised. And I had every intention to keep that promise.

"When do you leave?" he asked, avoiding my gaze.

"I was thinking about leaving early tomorrow, so I can try to get hold of that man early. Then I can get through it quickly and be back home by Friday night."

And that's how I ended up on the morning flight to New Haven, feeling excited yet scared. I had been happy to see that Edward had come to terms with it and wasn't mad at me for leaving him on a whim. I guess he was relieved to see that I was doing everything I could to make it back in time.

By the time I landed in Connecticut it was already 10 PM due to those stupid layovers. I was exhausted and almost falling asleep right where I was standing.

Did I already mention that I hate flying? Well I did. Everyone else seemed to able to sleep and I, for some stupid reason, couldn't.

I quickly jumped into a cab and gave the cabbie the address of the hotel I had picked out yesterday evening. After checking in I hurried to my room and the minute my head hit the pillow I was out cold.

The next morning I was up as quickly as humanly possible, a little too excited about what I was about to do. I had to remind myself several times that there was a possibility I would have to go back home without Emmett. As I was standing in front of the big university reality hit me again.

How on earth was I going to find that guy in here? A guy I didn't even know. Hell, I didn't even know what he looked like. There had been a picture on Madelyn's cupboard but that one was taken more than five years ago so that wasn't something I could go by.

Students were walking past me, hurrying to their classes and I wondered if one of them would know Emmett. Maybe he had already passed me without me knowing so.

I groaned as I didn't know where to start looking. This whole campus was freaking huge. So I did the only thing I could do in my position. I went to look for a secretariat or a place where they could give me information about Emmett. Every school had to have such a place right?

Luckily the secretariat here wasn't that hard to find. It was the first thing you saw when you entered the building. I was greeted by a middle aged woman with short brown hair.

"How can I help you?" she asked in a sweet voice.

"I'm looking for someone who studies here. His name is Emmett Cullen," I said, not wasting any time.

"We're not allowed to give you any personal information, ma'am," she said apologetic.

"Isn't there any way you could help me? I really need to find him as soon as possible," I tried, hoping she would sympathise.

"Well, I guess I could tell you about his schedule since you could find that on the internet as well," she said, already typing in stuff on her computer.

I wanted to pull her over the counter to hug her but at the same time I wanted to smack myself in the head for not thinking about that myself.

"He won't be here all morning but he does have an obliged lecture this afternoon in our biggest auditorium, so if he attends, he will be out by 5 PM," she informed me. I thanked her for the information but when I headed back out I grumbled under my breath. I had hoped to catch him this morning but that plan was shattered now. I would have to wait until after his class before I could do anything.

With a few hours to kill, I went for a walk, doing some sightseeing as I had never been in New Haven before. I wanted to call Edward to tell him I might be home later than expected, but as it was only 9 AM over here, it would only be 6 AM in Seattle and he would probably still be asleep.

After another hour of roaming around, I made my phone call, silently pleading that Edward wouldn't get too upset because of this delay. But of course, he was. He was cursing under his breath and making promises to kill my boss at the first chance he got. I managed to calm him down a bit, hoping I would at least make it home by Saturday afternoon so I wouldn't miss out on his birthday party.

The hours were passing slowly so I ended up back at Emmett's campus an hour earlier than his class would end. I took place on one of the benches in front of the auditorium and just waited for the last hour to go by. My foot was tapping nervously and I was shifting in my seat, suddenly more nervous than ever.

When the door wiped open and the first students came out, I quickly stood up and walked towards them.

"Do you know an Emmett Cullen?" I asked to the first person that had came out. The guy just shook his head, next to almost ignoring me and made his way outside as quickly as possible.

Jerk.

I had more luck with the next person I spoke to, a girl this time. She pointed out a big muscular guy in the back of the class before heading out as well.

My eyes took the guy in while he was getting up from his place. Emmett looked buff but it didn't come off as threatening. He looked like a really nice guy if you'd ask me.

As he stepped closer, still oblivious to my attention on him, I could definitely see that zhe was Edward's brother. Not only did I recognise the teenager from the picture at Madelyn's place, but there were also a few other things that made it obvious. It wasn't very prominent but now that I knew they were related I just couldn't see him as anyone else besides Edward's brother and the realisation of really being this close to Emmett, someone who meant so much to Edward made me emotional. In a good way, of course.

I didn't know why but it felt like I already knew him, just by connecting all the stories Edward had once shared with me with the face.

When he had stepped out of the room, I drew in a quick breath and approached him.

"Emmett?" I asked, not really knowing how to start a conversation otherwise. It wasn't like I could just blurt out why I was here, right?

"Yeah?" he said, looking as confused as a human possibly could.

"Euhm, do you have a minute? I euhm..."

Dammit, this was so much more difficult than I had imagined. Why couldn't I just say it? It just sounded too weird to ask him to talk. I didn't even know him. And he had never even seen me before. He must have thought I was a psycho.

"Sure," he said, confusion still visible but he seemed to relax when he noticed that I was uncomfortable as well. He quickly motioned to his friends to go on without him before giving me his attention again.

"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" he asked. He looked kind of embarrassed, probably thinking he should remember me while he didn't. I had to bite the inside of my cheeks not to laugh at the look on his face.

"Can we talk somewhere else?" There were still people passing every second, talking loudly, and I didn't want to shout the information at him. And I figured out he might be shocked with the news, so a more private place seemed a better idea than a crowded hallway.

He scratched his hair, contemplating what to do before leading me towards another hallway that was almost deserted. I walked over to one of the benches, because seriously, my feet were starting to hurt. One of the things that I hated about pregnancy.

Emmett didn't sit down and kept quite a distance. It didn't offend me though. I guessed I would be doing the same if a stranger would ask me to talk. I didn't even know if I would have agreed to it in the first place.

He took in my form, trying to be subtle about it but he kind of blew that intention when his eyes went wide at the sight of my round stomach.

"Oh no no no," he exclaimed, backing up, "I am one hundred percent sure I've never seen you before so I'm not the father!"

I was surprised by his comment and less than a second later I burst out into laughter at the sight of him. I couldn't help it. The idea of him being the father was just too damn funny.

"What?" he asked, agitated, his hands on his hips and his eyes darting from me to the exit of the building.

Afraid that he was going to run I tried to get serious again while I silently thanked him for the confusion though because now I had a perfect occasion to bring up what I wanted to say.

"Don't worry, this is not your child," I giggled, unable to control myself. "But he is your nephew."

By the time I had finally managed to utter the words I was chewing my bottom lip uncontrollably, patiently waiting for his response.

He didn't say anything. For a very long time. A little too long.

"Emmett?" I asked, thinking he hadn't heard me.

"Tha-. How-. Bu-. " I would have found it amusing to see him stutter if it wasn't for the fact that his eyes were getting glassy. I didn't even want to think about all the questions that were going through his head now.

He was gripping his hair firmly now, reminding me so much of Edward I had to stifle another giggle.

"I'm sorry if I overwhelmed you," I said, "I just didn't know how to get to the point otherwise."

He was still looking at me like I was a ghost so I decided to just continue speaking.

"I'm Bella and I'm kinda, no, well, I am Edward's girlfriend."

"You... Wait, Edward..." He still wasn't speaking very coherently but there was some improvement as I could decipher some words now.

"You know my brother?" he finally managed to squeak.

"Obviously," I laughed, pointing at my round belly.

"Is he here?" he asked, looking all around the place as if Edward would have been hiding there.

"No, he couldn't fly over here, a few broken ribs. In fact he doesn't even know I'm here."

"Why?"

"Well, I was hoping we could surprise him, as it's his birthday tomorrow," I said, suddenly feeling stupid for asking him to just hop on a plane with a stranger. It's not like he had any evidence that I knew his brother. I was thinking about ways to convince him but he answered before I came up with decent proof.

"I'd love that," Emmett said, looking like he had a hard time keeping himself together. I smiled at him, getting emotional myself. I couldn't wait to see the look on Edward's face if I would be able to get Emmett in Seattle.

I quickly gave him some information about what my plan was and that I actually wanted to catch the last plane tonight. He was looking at me, nodding all the time but I guessed his emotions kept him from responding. He agreed to taking the first possible plane back to Seattle, much to my surprise. I was a bit worried about his studies but he said that he would arrange something with a few of his friends.

"Why do you trust me?" I blurted out as we were walking out of the building, heading towards his dorm to pack a few essential things. I didn't know why, but the fact that he believed me without even considering I could be lying to him bothered me.

"I don't know. I guess I just want to believe that you can bring me to Edward so I haven't really thought about it," he smirked, still not freaking out. "Oh and the fact that you asked me, kind of shows me that you really do know Edward."

He had a point there. A real scam would never ask why someone would come along so easily. They would just celebrate and move along as fast as possible without drawing attention to the stupidity of the person they were trying to lynch.

"I still can't believe I'm gonna be an uncle," he said, changing the subject. "And I'm going to see Eddie again." He was staring out in front of him now, the biggest grin on his face and I couldn't help but chuckle at his enthusiasm. He was so funny without even realizing it.

"Well, in fact, you already are an uncle," I said matter of factly, still laughing.

His eyes shot at me and he looked puzzled until something seemed to dawn on. "Wait? What! This isn't your first child?" he shouted out, pointing at my stomach.

"Oh god, no, I mean, yes this is my first child," I laughed. That boy made some quick assumptions, that much was certain. But then again, I might have been thinking the same way if I were in his shoes. "Madelyn already has a baby girl," I told him.

His eyes grew wide at the mentioning of his sister and only then I realized that he would be reunited with her as well.

Great way to inform him about that, Bella! "I can't take this much," he groaned, rubbing his forehead. If it weren't for the big smile on his face I would have freaked out.

"Sorry, I apparently don't really think about the things I say," I said, apologetic.

"Any other news that might shock me?" he joked.

I thought about it for a while before answering him. "No, nothing yet."

"Good, because I don't think I could take anything on top of that."

Once we were at his dorm, he threw some essential things in a backpack, rushing from one side to another to pick up more stuff while I sat on his bed, watching him with amusement.

"When does our plane leave exactly?" he asked before disappearing in his bathroom. Yes, he sure was very well equipped here.

"Euhm, I don't know," I said. I had booked a plane to New Haven but as I didn't know when I would be leaving here I hadn't booked a plane back to Seattle again. And the fact that I hadn't known if I should have to buy one of two had made me postpone the booking.

"You want me to check the correct hour?" he asked, pointing at the laptop that rested on his desk.

"Could you book the tickets as well?"

"Oh, I see." His booming laugh filled the room and I couldn't help but laugh as well. He quickly started the computer and soon he was tapping the keyboard and clicking faster than my eyes could follow. "There we go. The first available flight is at 10PM and we're on it," he said after less than two minutes later.

"Awesome."

He grinned before turning his chair around to face me. "Now, tell me, how did my brother get so lucky to find you?"

For the reminder of the evening I talked about everything that had happened since I met Edward and everything else Edward himself had told me about his life after he had been kicked out. A few times I stopped promptly to ask Emmett if I was talking too much but he always shrugged it off and almost begged me to tell him more.

By the time we were boarding our plane I had arrived at the story of how I had found out where he lived and how I decided to come to New Haven on a whim.

"And that's how we ended up here," I laughed, waving my hands around the airplane to make my point clear.

"And I guess you now want to hear my story?" he asked, shifting a bit in his seat so that he was completely facing me. He must have been pretty uncomfortable in that little airplane seat, but he managed to make it work.

"I do but I think you should better keep it for when we're home," I said. I didn't want him to have to tell it twice because he would for sure have to go over the story again for Edward and Madelyn.

Everyone on board was making an attempt to sleep so we decided that would be the best thing to do as well. Well, for Emmett that is, because like I mentioned before, me and sleeping on a plane doesn't go together.

On our last layover I was already looking forward to seeing Edward again. It was ridiculous how much I missed him. And I had only been away for two days. In a way it was pathetic.

The weather outside had probably turned for the worst as they kept our plane to the ground for another hour. And then one hour turned into two, and two turned into three. I was completely freaking out by then because if they would delay it any longer we'd be too late for Edward's party.

Emmett tried to calm me down by saying that there was nothing we could do about it and that Edward would understand it.

After another two hours we were allowed to board the plane again, much to my relief. I would be late to welcome Madelyn and it kind of bothered me, even though I knew she'd probably forgive me the minute she knew the reason why I was late, just like Edward would.

The closer we got to my home, the more exited I got. I was almost bouncing in my seat which probably wasn't very good for Masen, but I couldn't help it.

When we finally landed in Seattle, I quickly pulled out my phone to check for any missed calls. There was one from Edward. I motioned to Emmett that I would call Edward back and asked him to keep quiet. I didn't want to ruin the surprise.

"Hey babe," he greeted me as he picked up.

"Happy birthday," I replied, the biggest grin on my face.

"It'll only be a happy one once you're back home." It sure will be, Edward, it sure will be.

"Well, I'm going to be home in about an hour, so...," I giggled.

"Perfect. Madelyn, Peter and Caroline have arrived an hour ago so we'll all be waiting for you to come home."

I quickly finished the phone call and noticed that Emmett was intently staring at me, his eyes glassing over.

"I'm really gonna see them in an hour, aren't I?" he whispered. It was more of a statement than a question so I just laid my hand on his arm as I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't imagine what he was going through right now but I guessed this was pretty serious.

"Are you ready?" I asked, when a cab pulled up in front of us.

He nodded as he stepped into the car after me. The entire drive to the apartment, Emmett remained silent. I guessed it had just finally hit him that he was going to be reunited with his siblings.

"Everything okay?" I asked when we were approaching my apartment.

"Yeah. I guess I've only just realized the enormity of this all," he said, confirming my earlier thoughts.

When the cab pulled over in front of my house, Emmett's eyes flashed at me, excitement visible.

"Is it here?"

"Yes," I said, smiling widely.

Before I even could move Emmett was out of the cab, heading towards the entrance.

"Calm down there, I'm a pregnant woman!" I shouted, making my way over to him as fast as possible.

"Sorry, I keep forgetting," He offered his arm even though that wasn't necessary. I took it nonetheless, not wanting to make him feel bad.

As we were waiting for the elevator, Emmett was impatiently tapping his foot against the concrete floor.

"Maybe it would be better if I went inside first, you know, warming them up a bit. I don't want them to have a heart attack or something."

"You're gonna prepare them for the coming of the big Emmett?" he laughed, thankfully understanding me.

"Something like that," I shrugged.

"Don't take too long though, you might think that an extra minute of waiting won't do any harm, but I'm really impatient."

"I'll remember that," I giggled.

As I pulled out my key I could already hear the hustle and bustle that was going on inside. Edward's loud laugh followed by the giggles of little Caroline and after that Madelyn's reprimanding voice. I smiled involuntarily. I was home again.


A/N: Next chapter: Reunion :D

Reviews make me happy, AND make you happy 'cause then you get a sneak peek

All my love to MidnightSunSC17

Love, Ellen