Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or the characters. Thanks a million to my beta, CrystalRaindrop!


A Child of the Night — Chapter Twenty-Nine

Previously ...

Neither of us moved, though we both knew that we needed to. Instead of moving from the bed, though, I took Edward's soft face in my hands, and kissed him soundly.

"Let's wait," I suggested. "Until after the wedding. It's so close. Please?"

He nodded, and as he kissed me again, I knew he was smiling.

"If that is what you wish," he breathed, and then he stood up, and captured me up in his arms once more. I squealed happily, and buried my flushed face in his chest as he ran us carefully down the stairs.

"Dinner awaits, my princess!" he cried dramatically, and I laughed even louder, my cheeks flushing even further with happiness.

Oh, how I loved this man ...

June 20th, Friday - 6:50 AM - Edward POV

"Happy birthdaaaaay!"

I smiled, even in my sleep. My angel was speaking to me. She was loud, and the way she drew out her excited words was slightly annoying, but her voice was still the msot beautiful sound in existence.

"Edward! Edward! Happy birthday!"

How could someone so small have so much energy? I grinned, alerting her to the fact that I was awake. She laughed. Her laughter, however, was cut off as I reached up, grabbed her around the waist, and flipped us over. My eyes opened, and I was greeted with the beautiful sight of my smiling, blushing fiancée. She wiggled in my grasp, and my eyes flowed over her lightly clothed body. The tanktop and shorts she wore left little to the imagination, and I licked my lips, groaning as my fingers brushed across the soft, pale skin of her stomach.

She giggled again, breaking me from my less than gentlemanly thoughts.

"Happy birthday!" she sang again, and I laughed, dropping beside her on the bed so I could better hold her. She scrambled into my embrace, and laid her head on my chest.

"How come you're up earlier than me?" I questioned, kissing her softly. "I'm always up first."

"I set the alarm," she said matter-of-factly, and I frowned.

"You need your sleep, my Bella," I whispered, and I ran my hands down the warm skin of her arms. "You're still weak."

"I'm fine," she insisted, rolling her beautiful eyes. I grinned, and kissed her eyelids as her eyes slowly fluttered closed. She grinned, and, without opening her eyes, whispered once more, "Happy birthday, Edward."

I grinned and buried my head in the soft skin of her neck. She was so beautiful, and so impossible to stay mad at when she was smiling so softy like she was.

"Thank you," I whispered, and she glanced at me, confused.

"For what? I haven't even given you your present yet!"

I laughed, and ruffled the tiny bit of hair that was just beginning to grow back. "For being you! For loving me, silly. For everything. For agreeing to become my wife so soon. I don't need any other presents. Having you is enough."

She was blushing, but still smiling as she scrambled out of my arms and to the bedside dresser. She ran her hands over it and, finding the handle, pulled it open eagerly. I was unable to see what she pulled out, though, because she hid it so well. But then she bounced back onto the bed beside me and held out a flat, neatly wrapped gift. I smiled and took it from her, kissing her softly before turning all of my attention to the present in my hands.

"What is it?"

"Open it, silly."

I chuckled lightly, and carefully tore away the wrapping paper, sad to see all her hard work go to waste. But I gasped when I saw what lay inside. I smiled softly, and flipped slowly through the pages, my heart pounding harder each time I saw the bright, little face of my angel staring up at me.

"Bella ... " I whispered, but I couldn't say anything else.

"Do you like it?" she asked nervously. "I remembered the time you said that you didn't know a lot about my past ... so I made this for you. Charlie helped me put it together."

"Tell me about each one," I begged her breathlessly, and she nodded as she climbed into my lap and laid her head on my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and sat the photobook in her lap, resting my chin on her shoulder as I whispered in her ear. "The first one is your newborn picture."

She giggled breathlessly, and her blind eyes were sparkling so happily. "I don't remember that one much," she teased me. "Charlie once told me that I looked like a dried raisin as a newborn baby."

"You were a beautiful baby," I countered, and I let my fingers flutter softly over the picture. The child was so small, and her skin was still bright pink. The tiny tuff of hair on her head was a dark, chocolate brown, and her tiny ... tiny lips puckered together. "One day, I want a baby girl that looks just like you."

She snorted and rolled her eyes, but blushed as she hid her face. "Next," she said, and I laughed, turning to the next page. I explained the picture to her, and she laughed.

"I was four months old, according to Charlie. I was already crawling by that point — I was a fast learner — and it was before my parents found out about my XP. I was playing outside, and crawled straight through the mud puddle. Charlie said I had eaten at least a couple handfuls of mud before he could reach me."

"Silly Bella," I laughed, and I kissed her forehead, looking at the next picture. "Your first steps," I whispered in wonder, staring at the tiny, glowing child. God, how I loved this woman.

"I was seven months," she breathed, relaxing in my lap as I curled a blanket around both of our bodies. She said nothing more, but I stared at the picture of the tiny, grinning girl in the picture for a while longer.

"So beautiful," I said, and I was afraid to raise my voice above the whisper that I spoke in now. I flipped to the next page, and grinned.

"My first birthday," she said, without even having to see. I ran my hands over the image, forever frozen in time, of the little girl covered in chocolate cake. "Instead of just shoving my face into the cake, as tradition demands, I decided to throw it everywhere. I liked messes."

I laughed, and looked to the next picture. Bella blushed suddenly, understanding my silence.

"I told him not to put that in there!" she cried, and she covered the picture she couldn't see. I had already seen it, though, and her actions were useless. I grinned brightly.

"Wow, Bella, I — "

"Shut up, mister," she said, glaring at me as she clapped a hand over my mouth. I pulled away and sang, as loudly as I could, "Awww, Bella! What a cute baby butt!"

"Edward!" she cried, burying her head in the blanket as she blushed a million different shades of red. I laughed softly, pulling the blanket from her face and kissing her lips quickly.

"I think you look adorable when you're being potty trained," I said, and I couldn't, for the life of me, wipe the grin off of my face. The picture stared back at me, now that Bella's hands were otherwise occupied covering her face in embarrassment. The little girl — who couldn't have been older than two — was grinning brightly and blushing as she pumped her fists in the air, victorious as she used the big-girl-potty for the first time. I laughed, and my face was glowing as I stared at the tiny girl I'd never known.

"Next," Bella pleaded, and I couldn't say no. I flipped the page, still chuckling. "Which one is it?" she asked, and I smiled softly as I decribed it to her.

"You're still very small, and you're sleeping on the couch, curled up in a bright yellow blanket. You're so beautiful, even as a baby."

She smiled, and relaxed agaisnt me again, all traces of embarrassment gone. "I was three," she said, and I stared at the picture for a while longer, imaginging the day when I could watch my own daughter — my and Bella's daughter — sleeping so peacefully.

"Next."

I nodded, and turned to look at the opposite page. "You're outside, jumping up and down in the still, black night, your arms stretched toward the sky. You look so happy, Bella. Even as a child, you weren't afraid of this plague that haunts you."

She smiled, and breathed out slowly. "I was trying to catch the moon. I told my father that night that I was strong enough to do anything. I wasn't going to let anything keep me from holding the moon in my arms." She paused and chuckled. "Until I learned that it was several hundred miles away."

"You are strong enough, Bella," I whispered, my heart pounding painfully in my chest as I listened to the childish, hopeful wishes that the beautiful, amazing woman before me had once entertained. "You are stronger than anyone I've ever known."

She just smiled, and reached out to flip the page. I continued to stare in wonder as the years of Bella's life slipped slowly past my eyes. She explained the story behind each image, and with each word that she spoke, I felt as thought I grew closer and closer to her. With each story she shared, I felt as though I'd glanced further and further into the past I hadn't been able to share with her.

"What about this one?" I asked, brushing my fingers over Bella's soft arm and explaining to her which image it was.

"Oh!" she grinned, and wiggled nervously in my lap. "That was when I was ... thirteen. My father tried to set me up on a play date with one of the guys in town — Mike Newton, I think his name was. Anyway, I wanted to refuse, but didn't outright state my denial until the day of the date. I was so scared that I began to cry hystrically, messing up my dress and my make-up. It was a disaster. I fell asleep in Charlie's lap that night, still crying. I think Billy — Charlie's best friend — took that picture."

I smiled as I imagined the night Bella spoke of. But what really made me smile was the tender look on Charlie's sleeping face as he held Bella close, protecting her even as he, too, dreamed.

"You look so beautiful."

She snorted. "My make-up ran and my face was blotchy."

I chuckled lightly. "Why did you even bother with make-up? You're so beautiful even without it."

She just blushed and grinned. "Smooth, Edward. You managed to call me beautiful twice in as many sentences."

I shrugged, and then pressed my lips softly to her ear. I spoke very quietly, letting my warm breath caress her soft skin. "I will tell you how beautiful you are for the rest of eternity and then some. You're beautiful, my Isabella. So beautiful. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful."

She was giggling softly in my lap, her eyes bright and her cheeks flushed. And, in that moment, she looked more beautiful to me than ever.

"So beautiful," I whispered once more, and I captured her lips with mine. She pulled away, though, grinning and blushing.

"Next!"

I smiled at her eagerness to share her past with me, and then turned the page once more.

"Bella!" I cried, and my amused tone told her everything she needed to know. She had placed every single one of these photos in the album I now held, and as she did, I imagined she had dreamed of my reaction to each one. I loved her all the more for her thoughtful, amazing gift.

"I tried to make pizza," she explained, and grinned sheepishly. "Charlie tried to help. It ended up in a food fight."

I just continued to laugh as I stared at the thirteen-year-old girl that stood, with a deer-in-headlights expression, in front of the kitchen oven. Her brown hair was smothered in flour, and her tiny body was slathered in pizza sauce and various pizza toppings.

"Even covered in dinner, you're beautiful," I said, and she rolled her eyes. I knew the effect my words had on her, though, because every time I spoke and every time I told her she was beautiful and that I loved her, her heart would speed up and a tiny blush would rise to her cheeks.

"Shut up and go to the next one," she whispered, but when I glanced at her, she was smiling. I laughed and flipped the page.

And burst out laughing.

"Oooh, nice, Bella!"

She stuttered incoherently for a second, desperate to know which picture I was staring at. I laughed, and decided to let her in on the secret — apparently, she hadn't been the one to place this certain picture here.

"Really, Bella, did the sissors attack your hair or something?"

"Or something," she muttered, and she turned the most delicious shade of red. The picture was of a young girl — older than in the last few pictures, but still very young — sitting dejectidly on the stairs, a pair of sissors in hand, surrounded by mulitated strands of long, silky hair. "I tried to cut it. Not a brilliant idea. Blind people shouldn't cut their own hair."

"You should never cut your hair," I whispered softly into her ear, smiling as I ran my fingers through the short, soft strands that stuck straight up. "It's far too beautiful."

She grinned, and I kissed her softly, briefly, before pulling back. I stared into her eyes for a long moment before speaking. "Are you sure, Bella? That you don't want to wait?"

She knew what I was talking about without even having to ask. She smiled, and nodded. "I'm sure. Edward, I want to marry you as soon as possible. I don't care what I look like. Besides," she said, and she blushed as she reached up to run her hands through the hair that was just beginning to grow back. "If you're beside me, holding me, does it matter what I look like? Everytime someone sees our wedding pictures, they'll see that you love me no matter what. That you love me even if I am sick, and weak. They'll know you love me the same way I love you. Forever."

I smiled, and laid my head against hers. "Is it even possible to love you more than I already do?"

She giggled, and curled into my lap once more. The photobook was placed in my hands again as she grabbed my hand in hers. "I hope so," she whispered, and she was blushing the smallest bit as I kissed her cheek, and then the soft skin behind her ear. "Next," she whispered, and I laughed, nodding.

A few more images and stories later, though, I sighed, glancing at the clock, dismayed that we weren't going to be able to finish the album.

"We need to leave soon. You'll need to wear your sunsuit, of course, because my mother has insisted that the dress fitting can be put off no longer than nine this morning. Also ... you need to be at the hospital by noon. My father ... wants to take some tests."

She stiffened as the words, so soft, fell from my lips. I did, too, though I hoped that she didn't notice my reaction.

"Just a few more pictures?" she asked, and her voice was so soft, so quiet, that I couldn't say no.

I nodded, and flipped the page.

And then I gasped softly.

Bella, who was leaning against me, smiled.

"That's the last one," she whispered, gripping my hands so tightly that her tiny knuckles turned white. My eyes grew wide as I stared at the picture that took up a whole page in the album. It was me and Bella, sleeping together on the hospital bed, holding each other tightly. Even in sleep, we looked so peaceful, so content ... and so in love. She smiled, and played with my fingers as she told me the story behind her reasoning. "This was the end of my life alone, Edward. When I met you ... when I fell in love with you ... this picture represents the end of the life I lived without you. Every day, every moment ... you'll be with me for the rest of forever. And I know that, even if I do get sick again ... even if the cancer comes back ... you'll be with me. Every single step of the way, you'll be by my side."

"I promise," I said, and as I slowly closed the album, I smiled. "Forever."

She sighed in content and let her eyes flutter closed as I pulled her into my arms.

"That's all I'm asking for," she whispered, and I sighed, closing my own eyes.

I knew that, even if the tests my father took today showed that my Bella's cancer had, indeed, come back ... I knew that I would love her forever. I would love her every single second of every single day, and if she didn't survive — I cringed even thinking about it — I knew I would follow immediately after her.

"Happy birthday," she whispered once more, and I smiled, standing slowly to my feet. I grasped her hand in mine and, together, we left to face the world.


So, I had to do something for his birthday. I had to. I hope you liked it! I loved the idea of Bella sharing he past with him. So cuuuute!

NOTE: So a lot of people have been asking "How much longer will this story be?" ... and, to be truthful, I have no idea. I'd estimate, however, about 15-20 more chapters. I think this will pass 50 chapters even. I have a lot left to write!

See you on TUESDAY!

Please Review! ( I also accept Anon. reviews. So you don't need an account to review. )


NEXT CHAPTER:

It wasn't until my father had finished taking the tests and we were waiting for the results that the fear — the agonizing, all consuming fear — set in. It surrounded me, and drowned me. My hands began to shake, and my heart began to beat frantically.

REMEMBER TO REVIEW! IF YOU DO, I WILL SEND YOU AN EXTENDED SNEAK PEAK OF CH. 30!