Chapter 29

Dear Jake,

You and the guys would love the huge water park in the middle of this mall. We're in Edmonton and you should see this place. You would never know you were in a mall! The water slide is fantastic! I was in a shop with Alice when, suddenly, Emmett came up behind me and kidnapped me! With me in his arms, he jumped into the water. It was so funny. I couldn't believe Alice didn't warn me, but apparently Em didn't decide to do it until after he had me.

Anyway, we've already been to the Hockey Hall of Fame, Niagara Falls and Anne of Green Gables house on Prince Edward's Island; so beautiful and serene. The scenery here and all over Canada is so pretty. Confederation Bridge is so long! Can you believe it's actually 8 miles long? I've always loved bridges but that was crazy!

Niagara Falls was amazing. Jasper tried to trick Em into jumping over the falls with nothing to protect himself and make history as the first person to go over the falls and live…I took it upon myself to remind them that they aren't technically alive and someone would want to have a doctor examine him if that happened.

Emmett talked me into seeing the Hockey Hall of Fame which is in Toronto. We got to see the 'Stanley Cup'. Isn't that cool? Since we were already there, I decided to see the CN tower which has the 2nd highest public observation level on Earth.

We flew up to Winnipeg before driving to Regina which is in Saskatchewan. They needed to hunt so we went up to Reindeer lake. Emmett and Edward helped me do a little fishing and Charlie will be proud of me. I caught a huge trout!

We are almost finished here in Edmonton and we'll be on our way across the country to see my dad for Father's day. We'll be traveling through Jasper (that's a city in Alberta) and the family will hunt before we get to the border. There's a National Park called Jasper too. I thought it would be fun to see a little of it while we're here. From there we'll go through Vancouver and then on to Forks to see Charlie and the rest of you guys soon!

Love, Bella

I mail this letter from the hotel we have been staying at as we leave town.

Edward rolls his eyes. "Another letter to Jacob…? Bella, I love you, but do we have to keep him apprised of every move we make?"

I frown and get defensive. "No, of course not…I just thought he'd like to know about some of the stuff I've seen. He's still my friend and I thought he'd get a laugh from Em's antics. He likes hockey so he'd probably like to see stuff like the Hall of Fame and the Stanley Cup and…"

He lets his hand rest on my knee as we drive off from the parking lot. "I'm sorry, love, it's just that…I guess I just want to spend some time with you that's not taken up by eating, sleeping and writing letters to your ex-… Please?"

"Ok, what should we talk about?" I ask.

"The scenery and the family…And…" He takes a deep breath and says. "Bella, my love…I was wondering if you were having any second thoughts about this whole baby thing… We've only gone through the process twice, now but I hated seeing the way you looked so defeated when it didn't work the last time. I know that Dad started another round two days before we left and I do hope it works…" He looks deep into my eyes while we're at a red light. "…But what if it doesn't? I'm so very afraid to see that blank eyed stare again…you had the same expression for an over hour, last time…So I guess…what I really want to know is…How many times do you want to risk our sanity…to try for a baby we don't know is even possible…?"

"Oh…" I can't bring myself to speak as the light turns green.

"Bella, I'm so sorry for bringing this up. Please forgive me? I-I'm such an ass… We're on vacation…You should be relaxed…especially with the procedure still in the works." He says with a panicked look in his eyes.

"It's ok, Edward…I guess I should've asked myself that question before we even started…Why don't we see what happens this time and then I'll decide…" My voice comes out as a whisper. I close my eyes and feel a tear roll down my cheek as I try to take a nap…

A tiny voice whispers, "Momma? Daddy, is Momma awake yet?"

"No, little one…not yet." That was Edward's voice.

"But it's been so long…why isn't she waking up?" The tiny voice says.

"Soon… She'll come back to us soon." Edward's answer confuses me.

"Can I go play with uncle Em?"

"Sure, have fun…I'm waiting for Momma…"

I hear the sound of footsteps in a hallway.

"Bella…Bella…Where are you? Can you hear me, Baby…I love you…Come back to me…Come back to us…"

My eyes pop open to see my whole family looking down at me. "What's wrong? Why are you all staring at me?" I notice now that I'm in a room instead of the car. "Where am I? What's going on? Stop staring and talk to me!?"

Edward is the first to move. He instantly picks me up and holds me tightly in his arms. "Thank God, you're alright!"

"Son, let me look at her. Bella, we've been very worried about you. You've been asleep for a day and a half." Carlisle says as he examines me.

"I've been asleep for a whole day and a half?? I don't understand, Carlisle…How …Why…" I stutter as my stomach rumbles.

Alice hands me a happy meal from McDonald's and just says, "Here, eat this and we'll all feel better."

They stare at me as I eat the food.

"We're in a hotel, just outside Jasper. We've already hunted and well, you've had us all so worried." Carlisle says. "I'll buy a pregnancy test in Vancouver and then in Forks, we'll use the facilities at our house to see what exactly is going on with you, my dear." He looks at Edward. "Son, I want you to keep the conversation light …and drive with care. Try not to upset her today."

"I will, Dad…I promise." Edward clings to me.

"I'm sorry, Jazz, they need someone to drive them. I need you to drive my car and I'll go with them." Alice looks up at Jasper.

My brother-in-law just smirks and nods.

"Edward, get in the back seat with her; I'll drive." Alice says squeezing his arm.

He just nods and follows orders. It's a nearly silent trip and we don't stop for more than gas, and food for me.

Its morning by the time we pull into the parking lot of the hotel in Vancouver. I get out of the Volvo and stand on my own 2 feet for the first time in 4 days.

Edward points to the front door. "Look who's here, love…"

Charlie is standing there with his arms out and waiting. "There's my Bells! I've missed you, kiddo!"

I run over and hug him. "Hi, Dad; what are you doing here? Happy Father's Day! It's so great so see you! What've you been up to? Where's Sue? Have you heard from mom yet?" I ramble on.

"Slow down, Bells. Yes, your mom made her yearly call to thank me for giving her you, and I did the same, if you recall, last month." He says.

I nod as he continues.

"Edward called from the road and said you weren't feeling well so you had to stop somewhere and Jake's friend Embry has family up here to visit, so I asked what hotel to meet you at and your husband set it all up. So, do we know what's wrong yet?"

Carlisle comes over and says, "No, but we'll find out when we get to Forks, Charlie. I'm sure it's nothing too serious. It's good to see you again. Why don't you let us get checked in and then we'll treat for lunch."

Charlie nods as Alice comes over and hugs him too. "Happy Father's Day, Charlie, it feels like it's been forever! Let's go see if they've got a brunch buffet or something."

I wave to him as she drags him off in the direction of food. Edward is talking quietly with Carlisle when I turn around. "Look, there's a CVS across the street. I can get a test there."

"Rose already got you one." Carlisle says, handing me the card-key. "It's in the suite. Go on up as soon as you're ready, Bella."

"Thanks…Edward, you're coming with me…right?" I ask.

He smiles gently. "Of course…I'm not gonna miss this part of trying to become a father…Let's go."

"Good luck, kids…" He says as Esme comes to stand next to him. They watch us get into the elevator and as the doors close, she takes his hand.

Edward holds my hand as we walk to the door of the suite. I look around for a moment before we go into the bathroom.

Edward opens the box and takes out the three tests. I do what I need to do and we sit silently on the bed for the excruciating 3 minute waiting period. I tell him about the dream I had. "It will work, Edward, if not now…then maybe the next one..." I look into his eyes. "I don't want to give up yet…Ok?"

"Alright, love…but let's check the results." He says. We hold hands and walk back into the bathroom.

I look at the first one… Negative.

He looks at the next one… Negative.

I take a deep breath and pick up the third test…Negative.

I hold onto Edward for dear life as the tears come pouring down my face…I picture the child from my first dream sequence in my mind. "It will happen, Edward… I know it will…"

"I'm sure you're right, love…C'mon, let's get you something to eat." He suggests.

We join Charlie and the rest of the family at the hotel restaurant and tell them the bad news. "I do want to try again…but maybe we should only do it once more…I don't know how much more of this emotional stuff I can take…You know…?"

Alice glides over to me. "I ordered for you, Bella. Jasper and I are going to start out for Forks now, so I'll see you there." She hugs me and goes off with my brother-in-law. Jazz waves and sends me calming energy.

Rosalie looks as discouraged as I feel. Emmett pats the seats next to him and gives me a half hug as I sit with Edward on my other side. "I'm sorry, Sis. It'll be ok."

"Thanks, Em. So what have they been telling you, Dad? Have you heard all of my exploits?" I grin. It doesn't reach my eyes.

"Bells, its ok…It'll happen. You can't rush these things…besides, it's not like there's a time limit…" He shakes his head. "They showed me pictures from your trip! The one of the trout you caught was great! I was curious about one of them though… something seemed to be sparkling…"

I start to panic as he flips through the digital camera but Edward whispers in my ear. "It's just the belly-ring, love."

He shows it to me and I see it's the one of me in a bathing-suit at the Edmonton Mall with my new belly-ring showing…**Oh Shit! ** I say nothing.

Edward says, "Now, Charlie…"

"Bella, you know how I feel about tattoos and piercings. What the heck made you do this to yourself?" He demands. "Are you a hooker…or a biker…or a rap artist… a punk rocker, maybe??? You could get infections… and what if that place wasn't licensed? Did you even think of that? You're trying to get pregnant…you need to be responsible." He shakes his head.

"Dad, it's just a belly-ring. The place I got it had the license on display and it looked very sanitary. I'm 27." I say looking over at him. "I've been through so much in my life…I think I know what I'm doing. I was with Edward and the guy was totally professional about the whole process, so just relax. Please."

Emmett breaks in here. "Yeah, Charlie, chill out. It's cool!"

"If it's so 'cool', Emmett, why don't you have any piercings or tattoos?" Dad asks.

All our eyes turn to him. "Uhmmm… I uh, guess, it's… Because… uhmmm…"

Carlisle rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "Did you forget, son…? You're allergic to most metals…and you did try once, remember the earring debacle? Your earlobe was 3 times its normal size and we had to take it out." He winks at me when my dad stops to shovel more food into his mouth. "Charlie, I promise you, I've been watching for infection and she's fine…and if the in-vitro works, she'll have to take it out anyway. Let's see what's going on here in town, today." He says pulling out a leaflet. "This was up by the front desk…"

"I'm sorry sweetie… I just can't seem to let go of the picture I've got in my head of you as my little girl…I have to keep reminding myself of the fact that you're not a kid anymore." Charlie says with a smile. "I'll mellow out…I promise."

"I'll believe it when I see it, Dad." I laugh.

Rosalie's voice sounds breathy as she says, "Em, let's go to the nature trail. We'll go for a hike up the mountain and see how close we can get to the peak…"

"Sounds awesome, Rosie. Let's go!" He gets up and they run out of the lobby holding hands.

"Charlie, would you like to join Esme and myself? We're going to check out this golf course. They're having a meet and greet of some sort." Carlisle asks politely.

"Well, it's a bit cloudy, but sure…why not?" My dad sighs. "Edward, when do we leave?"

"Uhmmm…" He looks at his watch. "Take your time guys. I wasn't thinking of leaving til later, anyway. How about 4 pm, Charlie…?"

"Sounds great, kids, you go relax. We'll be back later." He says before they walk off, leaving us alone.

"I think we should find a park and walk around a little. It's cloudy, with no chance of a sparkle, so let's have a relaxing stroll." Edward says, taking my hand. We walk down the main street and look around at all the people walking by. "Bella-love, I've been thinking…maybe doing the in-vitro while we're traveling isn't such a good idea…Maybe we should slow down. We can stay in Forks for a little while …" He stops by a bench and kisses my temple. "We can invite the Denali clan down here instead of going up there… and we can take day trips or overnighters if we want to see or do anything up here in Canada… Then you'll do the whole bridesmaid thing…"

As we sit down, I think for a moment… "Ooh! Edward…we can take our time with sight-seeing in LaPush! It doesn't have to be squeezed into one weekend!"

He chuckles. "Yes, love… I guess it doesn't."

Looking at his face my heart sinks… "But will you be ok with me going over the border to see Jake and Val…? Maybe your 'one time only pass' can be extended to be for this whole summer…? I'm sure Jacob would just need to assign you a 'guide'. What do you think?"

"I'm sure Seth has…better things to do for the pack than 'guiding' me and making certain I don't kill anyone, Bella…" He doesn't try to hide his amusement. "I'll be fine with my family."

"Fine…I'm still asking Jake though. You can't stop me…" I say matter-of-factly.

"Is that a challenge, Bella Marie Cullen…?" He asks as he narrows his eyes at me.

My breath hitches. "Say that again, Edward…"

"What…? About the challenge?" He asks cluelessly.

I shake my head and he seems to know what I mean.

He grins. "Oh, you mean…Bella Marie Cullen…?"

"Mmhmm…" I whimper. "We've been married since April and every time you say my name that way, I can't help myself…" I maneuver into his lap and place my lips on his.

When I need to breathe he peers into my eyes. "Can I take this back to the suite, love…? Please…?" He says tossing me on his back and jogging up the road.

I nod and laugh almost giddily. I can't wait to be alone with him again…

The 'jog' back to the hotel takes only minutes. We're alone in the elevator and he presses me lightly to the wall. Our lips make contact again and we just kind of 'make out' for a bit.

As soon as we reach our floor, he leads us to the door. The door beeps as his key card slips in and out. The knob turns under my hand.

The door shuts and our clothes disintegrate on our way to the bed. Suddenly my breasts are in his hands and the feel of his breath on my neck and shoulder makes me moan. The soft touch of his hands and fingers all over me is driving me crazy.

"Please, Edward, don't tease…? I need you… I need to feel you in me. Please?" I nearly beg him.

"Patience, love…I want to make this last…" He says while his mouth moves over the planes of my body.

I feel his tongue on my nipple and cry out. "Oh, my…Edward!"

His finger finds my opening. As it slips into me, I feel the contrast of his cool touch and my heat.

I moan and move my hands to his shoulders. I try to keep my senses from running wild but he keeps moving his finger.

Two fingers are in me now… and he's stretching me and pumping them into me. I already feel the pressure building. My eyes open as I fall off the cliff's edge.

Edward stares back into them with a crooked grin. Positioning himself he enters my core smoothly if not with his usual gentleness. His eyes hold mine as he rolls us. I'm on top and he helps me move on him.

"Bella…Oh, Bella…my love…yes…" He groans and pants as I ride him. "I'm so... close…!" A strangled shout of pleasure from his lips drags me with him past his climax to find my second of the day. "I love you, my Bella!" His eyes flutter closed.

I giggle. "Have you decided to try sleeping, Edward?" I sigh and rest my head on his shoulder. "I don't know what's up with my day and a half of sleep but I know that was amazing and just what I needed. You take such good care of me, Edward. I love you…" Out of nowhere, something occurs to me. "Wait…I don't have to ask him! Jake promised to show us around himself! We won't be taking Seth from any important pack duties! The Alpha himself will be taking us around! I can't believe I forgot that!"

Edward hugs me with a loud laugh. "After this hour of pleasure, all you can think of is your ex-??? You've got to be kidding me…"

I'm sure to be blushing because I can feel the heat in my cheeks. "I can think of nothing but getting you alone near one of the waterfalls on the rez. I want to…"

"I don't think the Alpha will be too happy to be chaperoning a tryst for you and I, my dear wife." He chuckles.

As I smirk at him, my cell phone rings. I look at the display. "That's weird." Jacob Black… "Hey, Jake; what's up?"

"It's me, Bella. Jake and I need to see you when you get to Forks. I think we've figured out what was happening with Jake…" Valerie answers. "His father, the rest of the pack and I were worried about him, so the Council of Elders called in a psychologist to talk to him. Jake, ever the Alpha, was more worried about keeping the secret, so the doctor was asked to sign a confidentially agreement before the meeting. Anyway, the point is this: Dr. Johnson thinks that the bond between you and Jacob is almost as strong as an imprint. He wants to speak with you and Edward about your relationship to see if maybe there was imprint interference…or something like that…Would you mind, Bells?"

I sigh. "Ok, Val, tell the doctor and Jake that I'll call when I get to town. See ya soon, Valerie." I hang up and look at my husband's face. "What do you think of this theory?"

"I suppose it's worth looking into… for the sake of his marriage and his own peace of mind… We'll be in Forks for a while anyway." He looks calm but sounds nervous for some reason.

"Edward, you know this won't change anything with us…right? I love you more deeply than him. The issue is whether our bond interfered somehow with his imprinting on her…" I say.

"No, Bella-love, my understanding is that they think my relationship with you interfered with his ability to imprint upon you. If my family and I had never moved back here, they think you would've gotten together with Jacob." He scoffs. "They don't realize that, under those conditions, he wouldn't have changed in the first place. His wolf and imprint genes would never have activated…"

"But, Edward…If you left after that first biology class but your family had stayed and activate the genes… the same thing would've happened…" I say.

"So it is a possibility, then…" He pulls me closer. "What do you think the council will say about this?"

I bury my face in his neck and shoulder. "I don't know…"