I still don't own Twilight!
A baby. I was going to have a baby. There would be a little bundle of my own; one with curly hair and tiny feet. There would be little hands to hold and a tiny tummy to feed. A little baby to sing to and comfort…
I touched my belly again. I couldn't believe it! I looked in the mirror and I looked completely the same on the outside. I was the same old Bella: large eyes, short nose, thick hair and small breasts. But inside, everything was happening and different.
"I wonder just how far along in your gestation are you? Maybe a month or so I assume. We haven't been…"he cleared his throat "intimate that long. But we've definitely been...active so to say, much longer."
"Oh, I don't know." I shrugged my shoulders. "Maggie said I probably wouldn't see a big change 'til later on." I turned sideways and held my blue dress closer to my body. My stomach was still flat.
"Are you nervous?" Edward asked with worried eyebrows.
"Yes…are you?" I gave him the same worried look.
"Yes. But I'm more thrilled than anything. Now I have even more to smile about. For my life…I never imagined all of this for me. Despite all the tragedy, something truly beautiful came. I don't want to lose you or our baby. I won't let anything or anyone take me away from you two." Edward faced me and put his hands on my belly.
"Nothing" he said in a lower voice.
"What will your mama say?" I said as I put my hands on his.
"She'll cry because she'll be happy. She absolutely loves children, and she adores you. But more importantly, she'll want to know when we'll wed" he said with his crooked smile.
"I think my mama would like to hear about that first before hearing about a baby. No matter who the daddy is" I smiled.
"A wedding…for any other two people in this city would be nothing more than an announcement in the daily news. For us, it would be a headliner. How would you feel about all the attention?"
"As long as you're holding my hand…it won't be as bad." I said honestly. He looked down into my eyes lovingly. He bent his head down to kiss me.
"Margaret said that I have to wait a few weeks before I can make love to you again. How long has it been already? It feels like an eternity…" he growled.
"A little while longer. It won't be that bad, and I won't feel so under the weather." I smiled.
"Well, your health and happiness are certainly more important than that. Speaking of which, are you hungry? Margaret showed me a few things I could prepare you." He said.
"On the square? She taught you how to cook?" I giggled.
"I think to use the word 'cook' is misleading. Prepare is better. I can prepare a sandwich for you or warm a can of soup. And tea, I'm rather good at making that" he chuckled.
"Well anything you prepare will be aces, all aces."
"So you get back to bed, I will prepare something." Edward led me back to the bed and watched as I crawled into it. He kissed my forehead and left me. I leaned my head back against the pillow and started to daydream about our future.
I wouldn't want a nanny, no. I'd want my baby to go everywhere me. She'd be so beautiful and I'd be so proud. I'll have the most beautiful baby in the apple, and the most handsome husband.
"Your baby should be in advertisements. She should be in picture shows." They'd all say.
Then when we're back home from our strolls, I'd make dinner while she crawls around the kitchen. Then we'd wait for Edward to come home from work. He'll come through the door with flowers, chocolates and a stuffed animal for the baby. He'd kiss and hug us both.
"How are my fairy and little sprite doing?" He'll say with a smile. And I'll tell him all about my day. Then I'd ask him about his day. We'd all listen to jazz and play and sing…
When Edward returned with the soup and the buttered toast, I was already fast asleep. My daydream had turned into an actual dream. I dreamt about our baby with the beautiful eyes. I dreamt that I sang the baby to sleep to while Edward waited close by patiently so he could make love to me.
But we weren't at the mansion, no, we were somewhere different. It was a place I've never seen before. The windows were so high and I could see the rain rolling off the windows in sparkling strands…
"Bella...sing to me" Edward's raspy voice called to me as he stood in front of the window. He had on a thick white sweater, light brown slacks, and house slippers.
"What do you want me to sing?" I asked. I placed the baby in her bassinet. Her bassinet was covered in white lace like the long white dress I wore. I smoothed the baby's wild curls.
"The song you sang at my funeral" he said.
"What?" I asked confused. I looked at him and shook my head. "What are you talking about?"
"Where somebody waits for me, sugars sweet and so is he…" Edward sang as a red spot appeared over his heart. As he continued to sing, the spot grew larger with the blood that started to stream from it.
I ran over to him and placed my hand over the spot. My hand was covered in thick bright red blood. I screamed.
"Bella, wake up my love. Wake up." I could feel myself being shaken. "Wake up!"
I woke up with my heart pounding in my chest. I wiped my face and looked at Edward's concerned face.
"What were you dreaming? You started crying in your sleep" he said. I didn't want to tell him. I was afraid to. I just shrugged my shoulders and when he came closer to me, I placed my hand over his heart. I held it there until I could feel it's beat under my palm.
"It's still ticking" he whispered. "I'm still here" Then he kissed my forehead. He smiled at me, but I knew he was still concerned. It was in his beautiful eyes. I looked at my hand as it shook.
"Just a terrible dream," I muttered. I wanted to get the memory from that dream far away from me.
"Well, I have something that should make you smile. Jasper will be back sooner than expected. While you were asleep, Alice telephoned the great news." He smiled.
"That is great news!"
"Certainly. This whole time, I felt as if I were the reason for what happened to him. I blame myself for it. He was nothing but kind to me and I got him shot."
"You didn't shoot him. It was that goon. That goon who is still out there somewhere" I sat up and Edward placed a tray on my lap. I smiled. He was serving me…if only Angie or Jane could see this. Even if mama could see this, they would all have a giggle.
As I tasted the soup, Edward watched me closely. He wanted to make sure I would eat it all, and the toast. The noodles were a little mushy, but I liked them. I sipped carefully and tried to enjoy it. I didn't like cool food but it helped against my queasiness. After all it wasn't just for me, it was the little bundle too. I bit the toast.
"How is it?" he asked.
"Not bad" I said. "I think I'll ask Maggie to get you to take Jane's place in the kitchen."
"Is that so?" he blushed softly.
"Mhm."
A few weeks went by and I started to feel a lot better. Maggie's remedies had worked. I felt more like myself. I even had strength to do my hair like I used to. I washed it and braided it while Edward watched me with quiet anticipation.
But he didn't bring up the idea of dancin', but I could tell that he wanted to. His kisses and his touches lingered longer against my skin. He held me tighter…that heavy feeling I felt before we had our first kiss fell between us all over again.
The day Jasper was supposed to return home was happy, but it sad too. Edward soon realized that when Jasper returned, I would have to go back to the mansion. My 'work' would be done, and all the housemaids and servants would return as well.
"I'll never forget how perfect our time here was," Edward whispered to me.
"Me either…" I said sadly.
"I'll think of you every day, and moment. I'll think about our little baby, until I can see you both again" he said sadly.
"This feels like the kiss off…like a last goodbye." I said as I started to cry.
"It isn't", he said. He started to kiss me slowly and I closed my eyes. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. I didn't know the next time I would feel him against me or hold him again. My fingers touched the crisp cleanness of the light blue dress shirt he wore.
We stood like that and kissed deeply. Edward's hands slip down my back and onto my backside. I heard a car's horn blow outside. He exhaled slowly…
"That's Jasper and Alice," he said in his low voice. "Let's go greet them"
We went downstairs and the same time they were came through the door. The driver held suitcases for Jasper and placed them by the door.
"Heaven, I'm in heaven!" Alice sang as she saw us. She had an orange and yellow scarf wrapped around her hair. It matched her short orange dress and her orange shoes. Alice must have been shopping for spring fashions. The weather had been much nicer, rainy but nicer.
Jasper hobbled along with a cane. He looked better than I had expected him to look. His hair was slick back under his tan cap. He wore a nice tan suit with a flower in the jacket. He gave us all a big smile.
"Jasper, you're looking on the mend. Welcome home," Edward told him as he put his hand on Jasper's shoulder.
"Thank you. I hate this cane…it's so too bland for my taste. Plus it makes me look like a old man." He huffed. "Perhaps if I had a gold and silver one…"
"FDR uses a cane sometimes and he looks distinguished right, Bella?" Alice said.
"Yes" I smiled. I remembered one photograph of the President in the newspaper. He did have a cane, but he looked happy and healthy.
"Bella, how are you sweetheart? Been keeping our ole boy busy and on the right path?" he asked me with a smirk. I giggled.
"Is there anything you need?" I asked him.
"Please, Bella. You aren't my servant. Alice has been telling me all about her breakfast expertise. I know she can whip something up."
"I may have exaggerated a point or two," she rolled her eyes dramatically. "Do you want to have a nice bath first?"
"That sounds like heaven." Jasper sighed.
"Heaven, I'm in heaven" Alice started to sing again. "And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak. Da da daa da da daa."
As much as I wanted the day to last, it quickly slipped away and turned into night. Dinner was eaten. The dishes were cleared, cleaned and put back in the cupboards. I was quiet while we all sat in the living room. Edward on the floor with his journal, Alice draped over the couch, Jasper in the armchair, and I sat on the loveseat with my feet tucked underneath me.
Music played and Jasper spoke and spoke about the nurses and doctors at the hospital. He talked about how happy he was to be home and all the things he missed. This was the most time that I had ever spent with Jasper. I could easily see why Alice loved him so much. He was handsome, funny, most of all he was calm. I felt relaxed around him.
"Most of all, I missed alone time with Alice" Jasper said with a dreamy stare. Alice sipped her wine slowly. She had rosy lips and cheeks. She gave him the same look.
"Oh, alone time. I've missed that too. Terribly" she said. Then they were quiet. Jasper touched her hand softly. I felt my face get warm; I looked down at my hands. I heard them kiss.
"Edward, Bella, goodnight." Jasper said without taking his eyes off of Alice.
"Goodnight" I said shyly.
Edward said goodnight too. He finished the bottle of wine they left behind. He poured the rest of it in his glass. He ran his hand through his hair…his wonderfully messy hair and moved it from his forehead. His eyes were low and warm. He stared deep into my eyes while the music continued to play.
"To you, because your love is a beacon that lights my way. To you, because with you I know, one lifetime could be just one heavenly place." Ella sang to us, and everyone who could hear in the mansion.
"I understand if, if you don't want to. If you don't feel physically ready to…" he started.
"Edward, I can't think of any other way to spend my last night here with you." I said softly.
"You'll have to be quiet…with Jasper and Alice here." he added. "I promise to be gentle and tender."
My breath felt heavy in my chest as my heart started it's skipping pace. I missed the way he felt. I missed having him inside of me, and over me. I missed how our skin felt together. I missed his touch so much, I didn't mind if he weren't completely gentle with me. I just want to dance with him. I wanted to dance with him all night long and until morning.
He stood up from the floor and walked toward the loveseat. "Join me upstairs?" he asked as he stretched his hand out to take mine. I took it, and got up. I held his warm hand tightly and we started upstairs.
I didn't know why I felt slightly nervous. Had it really been that long since we made love? Would I forget how to do it? Or what to do? I bit my bottom lip as we passed by Jasper's room. The door was closed, his cane hung from the knob. I didn't hear anything but Alice giggle on the inside.
Edward opened the door to his bedroom. Only one lamp was on. It lit only one side of the bed. The curtains were drawn open. Outside of the windows, I could see that rain had started to drizzle softly. I walked over to one and looked out of it. Tonight would be the last night I looked out of the window.
I heard the door close softly and lock. I glanced at Edward over my shoulder. He started to unbutton his dress shirt. I decided to should undress also. My dress was simple; it only had three large buttons on top. When those were undone, I pulled it over my head.
I placed it on the footboard next to Edward's dress shirt. He took off his slacks and sat down on the edge of the bed. The light from the lamp shone on half of his body. The other side of it was dark in a shadow. He stared at me, his eyes filled with desire and sadness at the same time.
I walked over to him and sat on his lap facing him. We were face to face. I could smell the sweet red wine on his breath. I felt the warmth from his lap on my bottom. I felt the stiffness underneath his underpants. He placed one of his hands the small of my back and eased me closer to him. Instantly, my skin started to awaken.
"I'm gonna miss you. I'm gonna miss you so much…" I said sadly. He touched the side of my face with his other hand. He moved hair behind my shoulder. Then rubbed his nose against my neck and inhaled.
"I…I can't even put into words how I will feel. Or even how I feel this very moment." He said as he wrapped his arms around me. I was surrounded by Edward's scent. I closed my eyes.
"Promise me that you're gonna to stay safe while you're here. Promise that you'll protect yourself. Don't go anywhere without that gun" I heard my voice start to squeak.
"I promise, Bella." He answered. He continued to touch me gently to comfort me. "Promise me that you wont get involved in any schemes…"
"I'll try not to" I couldn't guarantee that I wouldn't. I would do anything I could to help him. If it involved a scheme or two, I'd do it. But it wouldn't be nuts, after all I had to protect my bundle.
"Don't let Alice make you do anything you don't want to do. Don't get too close to Emmett. Stay away from that damned detective…" he said. "Promise me that"
"I promise" I looked up into his eyes. I had to; he had them focused on my face. They were dark and concentrated.
"Don't let anyone else kiss you, or love you." He said. His raspy voice commanded me.
"Never…I'm yours Edward. Every single part of me. You know that. Don't let any proskirts anywhere near you or any of those fancy rich dames."
"I can't see anyone but you. I don't want anyone but you. No one is half as beautiful…half as kind…" as he said all of the things he loved about me, he started to undress me. Edward unhooked my brasserie and slipped it off my arms.
Then in a smooth movement, he rolled over so that he was on top of me. My skin felt cool against white sheets. He unsnapped my garters, and slowly rolled down my tights. I started to breathe even faster. Edward slid my panties down slowly and placed them somewhere on the bed.
Now his face was completely in the light of the lamp. His eyes stared deep into mine. They were a warm deep green. His eyes were so beautiful that they caused me to hold me my breath.
"Bella, may I have this dance?" his asked. His sweet breath was warm on my face. I only nodded yes.
So is the dream really over? Jasper is finally back home, but now Bella must go back to mansion. Edward and Bella both made promises to each other, but do you think that they will keep them? Tell me all you think in a private message or a review! As always, I look forward to hearing from everyone!
Sorry for the extended delay! Again, I've been super busy but I haven't forgotten about all my readers, favoriters, followers and those who private message me. Thank you all so much for your patience!
Here are the songs from this chapter:
"Bye, Bye Blackbird" Gene Austin. Edward sang this in Bella's nightmare.
"Cheek to Cheek" Fred Astaire. Alice sang this when they returned home.
"Dedicated to You" Ella Fitzgerald. This played when Edward and Bella were alone at the dinner table.