Author Note: Thanks for the continuing great response to this story! We easily broke 3,000 reviews!
It looks like Edward may have to hide from an angry mob!
Thanks again to moosals and NKubie for pre-reading. Stephenie Meyer owns all characters.
Chapter 29 — Questions
I step down from the scale, opening my eyes as I turn to glare at Edward. He looks down at me innocently. "You've gained a lot of weight," he says with a shrug.
"I am growing a human inside me!" I growl.
"But the baby doesn't weigh that much," he insists, brow furrowed.
"There's also the weight of the placenta, the amniotic fluid, the extra blood in her body and things like that," the nurse explains. "Isabella is well within the normal range."
At least he has the decency to look contrite.
The nurse shows us back to a room where I sit on the examining table as she takes all of my vitals. "Looking good," she says with a smile, handing me a cup.
I head across the hall to the bathroom then return to Edward, who's waiting for me by the table. "No ultrasound this time, you said?" he asks as I slide back up onto it.
"No, I think we just listen to the heartbeat from now on, unless there seems to be a problem."
"I want to see what she looks like now," he pouts quietly.
"Hopefully just like you," I blurt out. I mean, he's beautiful. He stares at me, eyes burning into mine, until we're interrupted by the doctor's arrival.
"Good afternoon, Bella," she greets me with a smile. "Oh, and welcome back, Edward."
"Thanks," he mumbles.
We discuss how I've been feeling over the last four weeks, then she takes out the fetal Doppler, holding it to my bare abdomen. Edward watches fascinated as the sound of the baby's heartbeat fills the room.
Next, the doctor lifts my shirt higher and pushes my jeans down a little bit so that she can measure the size of my stomach. Just for Edward, I wore the hot pink panties today, in case they peek out. From the way he licks his lips as he stares at me — they do.
"Right on target," Dr. Gerandy smiles as she holds the measuring tape to my skin.
"What's on target?" Edward asks curiously.
"Oh, the distance between the pubic bone and the top of the uterus as measured in centimeters should roughly correspond with the number of weeks pregnant. Bella has just crossed 28 weeks and is at about 28 and a half centimeters — perfect."
The doctor feels my abdomen then checks my hands and feet for swelling. "You're doing great, Bella," she says. "No swelling at all."
"So can I fly to Washington in two weeks?"
"As long as your urine and blood tests come back normal, then yes, you can go ahead and book a flight. Try to get an aisle seat so you can get up and walk around, and a seat over the wing would be the smoothest ride."
"What about in First Class?" Edward asks.
"I can't afford a First Class ticket!" I exclaim, gaping at him.
"I can," he shrugs.
I notice my doctor eyeing him curiously before she speaks. "You'll have more room in First Class, but the ride may not be as smooth there. Up to you. When do you think you'll leave?"
"Probably Saturday the 13th? My finals are over on Friday and the dorm closes the next day."
"Hmmm… now that you're entering your third trimester, I need to start seeing you every two weeks. I don't want to wait a month to see you. Do you think you could come in Friday after your finals? Then we can schedule your next visit for the week after Christmas."
"All right, that should work."
"Good," she smiles. "Next time I'll schedule you for a Tdap vaccine, which is a whooping cough booster shot. I'll also get together a list of pediatricians in the area for you to look over."
"Ok," I nod.
"And your homework… you really need to pay attention to how much your baby is moving. If the movement seems to decrease, you need to call me."
I nod again, starting to feel a little bit overwhelmed.
"Do you have any questions, Bella? Or you, Edward?" she asks, turning to him.
"Is it really safe for her to travel?" he asks. "I mean, what about going through the x-ray machines at security?"
"Yes, it's perfectly fine for her to travel at this point. She shouldn't have any issues with the x-ray scanners at the airport."
The doctor turns to me. "If your test results look good, I'll have a note ready for you next time with your due date so that no one gives you any trouble. And once you're on the plane, fasten your seatbelt under your belly. You should try to stretch your legs and feet every 30 minutes and get up to walk around at least once an hour to prevent blood clots. Also, drink a lot of water. I have a paper with these tips and more that I can give you next time, all right?"
"Sounds good," I reply with a small smile, again feeling overwhelmed.
"You still have about 25 minutes to wait before you need to go downstairs for your blood test, so go and schedule your next appointment, then make yourselves comfortable for a little while."
We walk out to the receptionist together, where Edward pays the co-pay and I make a 4pm appointment for the last day of finals. I plop down on a chair in the waiting area, watching Edward curiously as he paces back and forth a few times before stopping in front of me.
"I'm coming to Forks with you."
My eyebrows must shoot all the way up my hairline. "What?"
"I don't… it's too dangerous for you to fly alone. I'm coming with you." He sits down beside me, exhaling heavily. "And I need to… be a man and help you tell your father," he adds quietly.
"Edward…"
"You're not talking me out of this, so don't even try."
"You're not seriously planning to spend Christmas in Bumfuck, Washington, are you? And miss enjoying the holidays with your family?"
He looks over at me, opening and closing his mouth a few times. "Is there a hospital in Forks?" he finally asks.
"Yes, of course there is. It's small, but…"
"So… maybe I can just stay a few days, then fly back home? Then I'll come back to get you after Christmas."
I shake my head. "It's a four-hour flight, Edward. You don't have to do that."
"I'm not letting you travel alone, Bella," he insists. "Please, let me do this. Let me show you that I can take care of you," he begs, taking both of my hands in his.
I sigh, watching him carefully. I never have been able to resist him when he asks for something. "If it means that much to you…"
He grins widely, once he realizes he's won.
"You're really willing to face my father?" I ask skeptically. "I mean, you can come with me to Forks and then let me talk to him by myself."
"He doesn't actually keep guns in the house, does he?"
"Um, yeah, he does."
He gulps, looking a little bit green. "Whatever I have to do," he whispers.
When the hour is up, we go downstairs and Edward holds my hand while the nurse takes a vial of blood. "Your doctor will call you with the test results in a few days," she says.
"What are the chances of a problem?" Edward asks before I have the chance.
"The blood sugar reading is too high about 20 percent of the time," she explains. "If that happens, you'll have to come back and take a three-hour glucose tolerance test to verify if you have gestational diabetes. The good news is that this screening test has a lot of false positives, so even if it is too high, there's still a good chance that you're fine. But if there is a problem, we need to know as soon as possible so that you can be monitored."
I must look a little dazed, because she smiles, continuing, "You're in a very low risk group, so I don't anticipate any problems."
"What do you feel like for dinner?" Edward asks, holding my hand as we walk out of the medical office.
"Your daughter wants a cheeseburger."
Edward laughs. "My daughter, huh? There's a Five Guys not too far from here, over on Wabash. It's not too long of a walk, if you're up for it?"
I nod in agreement. "I need to exercise anyway since apparently I've gained a lot of weight."
I shove his arm when he laughs hysterically.
~*~*GN*~*~
My doctor calls on Thursday to tell me that the glucose screening test results were normal, so I let Edward know that he can purchase our plane tickets to Seattle. I've reluctantly agreed to let him pay for them, though my own trip home was obviously a planned expense for me.
We celebrate that night by trying Lou Malnati's pizza in the South Loop, then actually go out to see a movie.
On Friday, Esme meets Edward and me for dinner and then a visit to Babies 'R Us to register for baby things, since Alice still insists on throwing me a shower. Given the fact that nearly everyone I know is a college student, I doubt they'll have the money for the more expensive gifts, but Esme says I should register for everything I'd like anyway.
Edward whispers to me that he thinks his mom and Carlisle are planning to furnish the nursery as a Christmas gift for both of us. Even though I was trying to choose reasonably priced items, I still feel bad about how much they'd have to spend to get everything, though I know they can afford it.
The only time Edward and I argue about anything is while picking out the bedding. I'm happy with the pink and green bedding set that we find, while he pouts that there is nothing with a musical theme.
Now that that's taken care of, I really have to dig in and get serious about studying for finals.
~*~*GN*~*~
By mid-afternoon on Sunday, I'm ready to scream — mostly due to Calculus. I text Emmett, who agrees to work with me Tuesday evening before my test the following day. The guys are busy in the studio this week, recording demos of nearly two dozen songs that Edward's written, trying to choose the best ones to flesh out for their new album.
Sighing, I move to my bed to lie down, just for a few minutes.
"Come on, Bella," Alice encourages. "Didn't you say how important it was to get straight A's?"
"I just need a short break," I reply with a yawn.
Sometime later, I'm awoken by a whisper of breath in my ear. Half conscious, I bring my hand up to swat at whatever it is, but it's caught by another hand.
"Wake up, sleeping beauty," Edward's voice says. I blink my eyes open to find him kneeling by my bed, smiling at me.
"Aren't you supposed to be at your parents' for dinner?"
He shrugs. "Alice said you needed me." I glare at Alice where she stands across the room.
"You're only going to distract me from studying," I whine.
He shrugs. "Not quite true. First I'm going to feed you, then I'm going to help you study."
I sniff as I sit up, smelling something good. "You brought food."
"I did," he smiles. "I brought a house salad and a family platter of the chicken carbonara rigatoni from Giordano's for the three of us to split. Come on," he says, pulling me up off the bed. Of course, with only two chairs, Edward ends up sitting cross-legged on the floor as he eats.
"So how exactly are you going to help me study if you've never attended college and taken these classes yourself?" I ask as I stab a rigatoni with my fork.
"Simple — I'll read your notes and quiz you."
When we've finished eating, Alice offers to study in the library so Edward and I can be alone. I feel bad for kicking her out, but she assures me that it's fine.
"Ok, my Biology final is first, on Tuesday, so here are my notes." I hand Edward my laptop and he scans the page, his frown growing by the second.
"I have no idea what any of this shit means." He shakes his head. "Why are you taking this if you want to study English, anyway?"
"We need to take core courses in a variety of subjects. That's the only reason I'm taking Calculus, too — trust me."
For the next several hours, Edward asks me various questions from my notes. I'm doing pretty well with answering them, but I'm still nervous about this test. Finally, he sets my laptop down, staring over at me.
"What?" I ask, a little uncomfortable under his gaze.
"You're so much smarter than me." He shakes his head, a frown on his face.
"And you're a much better musician than I'll ever be," I retort.
"I think your talent is more useful," he says ruefully.
"What are you talking about? Thanks to your talent, you're making more money than I'll ever see in my lifetime!" He's being totally ridiculous right now.
"Can we agree that it'll be a good thing if our daughter has your brains?"
"Is that what this is about? You're worried about our daughter?"
"No," he replies softly. "I mean, I am, but…"
"But what?" I ask, my brow furrowed.
"Do you remember when we met, you asked 'why me'? Why did I ask you to go around the park with me?"
"I remember."
"So let me reverse it… why me? Why did you accept? Why did you… let me do everything I did on our tour bus?"
I stare back at Edward as I try to think about how to answer his question. I know why, but I'm embarrassed to tell him. I've never wanted him to think of me as some obsessed fan, even though I kind of was. That may be how our relationship started, but I know Edward now. I hardly think of him as a 'rock star' anymore. He's just Edward.
"I'd had the biggest crush on you for the past year," I admit. "You're gorgeous, of course, but it was so much more than that. Something in your lyrics, they just… touch my heart. I'm the one studying English, but you're such a poet."
He scoffs and I shake my head. "Don't. Don't put yourself down. You've got such talent. Every single thing about you draws me in, Edward. When you asked me to go around the park with you, I couldn't believe it. I'd never been noticed by the boys in school, and now the boy I'd been dreaming about wanted to spend time with me. And then you gave me my first kiss—"
"What?" he shouts. "That was…" He trails off, his hands ripping at his hair. I reach up, gently pulling his hands away, but not letting go of them.
"That was a perfect first kiss," I whisper. "And then when you… when you started kissing me again on your bus, I'd never felt anything like that before. And I just wanted more and more. Even though I knew that it meant nothing to you, I didn't care. I was somehow affecting you, and that made me feel so good, so powerful."
Edward stares down at our joined hands for a minute, swallowing thickly. "It didn't mean nothing to me, Bella."
"You don't have to say that," I reply, shaking my head.
"It's true," he insists. "Even though you were obviously a fan, I could sense that you… that you didn't just see Edward Masen the rock star. I felt like you saw me."
"I did. I did see you," I plead. "You're right that I never would've done anything I did with some random guy, because he wouldn't have been you. But I didn't have sex with you because you're the keyboard player for The New Moons, if that makes sense."
"I get it," he smiles, pulling me with him as he gets to his feet. He wraps his arms around me, hugging me tightly.
A/N: Edward is going to Forks! I know many have you have suggested for quite a while that he needed to go with Bella. And while it wasn't the conversation, at least they talked about something of substance finally.
Next update on Sunday. Who's ready to go to Forks?
