I do not own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.
CH 34 Upright (EPOV)
Bella slept in my arms as we drove up through New Hampshire's country side. We were getting close to our new home. My sweet Bella was exhausted after all the traveling and then our adventures in Boston. I was going to have to insist she take it easy for the next few days.
The trip from the west coast to the east coast took us longer than normal. However, it wasn't too surprising with a pregnant female with us. We had to make several pit-stops for both the bathroom and when she got carsick. We made up the time when she was sleeping in the car, as comfortably as we could make her, which did require me giving up the driver's wheel to hold her as she slept.
There were subtle signs of Bella being pregnant. She was glowing on the outside. Her mood swings weren't too bad. She had broken down a few times in tears, but giving the situation, no one could blame her. She only gained a small amount of weight. Carlisle has assured me she is right on track. In about another three weeks she will enter her second trimester. The baby's rate of survival would increase. I would never tell her this, but her scare shook me up. I was terrified that she might lose the baby and I wouldn't be able to prevent it. I was thankful the females in my family were there for her. They kept her calm, which helped.
My one regret was how things ended up with Charlie. I know that Bella's heartbroken over it. Her father was trying to do what he thought was best, 'Tough Love' some call it. However, I was curious as to what he plans to do now, knowing his plan backfired.
In a sad way, it worked to our advantage. We had no choice but to leave Forks when we did. The wolves were going to be a threat to our baby. There was no way in hell, I was going to allow her to stick around for them to find out that she was having my baby.
My baby. The thought always brought a smile to my face. Seeing Bella dressed in the maternity clothes, made me feel things I haven't before. I knew she was feeling self- conscious about how she looked. I don't know why, she looked beautiful and sexy. It's my baby she would be round with and carrying; it brought out some male tendencies that I would be embarrassed to admit. I couldn't wait for the baby bump to be real.
I rested my hand over her belly where our baby was located, the heartbeat was normal. I could even detect the slight sounds of the womb if I laid my head close to her. I swear I heard the baby move, but it was too soon for Bella to feel it.
Jasper turned into our new driveway as it twisted itself deep into the forest. We were located not to far from the hospital that Carlisle would be working at and the college where we will be attending. The driveway came to a head at a sprawling white farm house with a wrap around porch. Esme was going to enjoy restoring this house. There was a huge barn, that she already had plans to turn in to garage for all the vehicles, located not far from the house.
Jasper stopped in front of the house.
"Keep on driving," Alice pointed to a road. I suddenly saw why. We followed the road at the edge of the property to the cottage located about a hundred yard from the main house. This is where Bella, the baby and I will live for the next few years. I was debating whether or not to wake her for her to see it. She needed her sleep and it would be better in the daylight for her human eyes. However, she might be upset if I didn't wake her.
"Let her sleep," Alice turned to me, making my decision easier. We came to a stop outside the modest two bedroom cottage. I was trying to figure out how to get both of us out of the car without waking her. The door opened and Emmett held out his hands.
"Don't wake her?" I warned him.
I am not going to wake her. Don't get your panties in a twist. He rolled his eyes.
I gently passed her into his arms, adjusting the blankets so she didn't get cold. I slipped out of the car and immediately reached to take her back. Emmett just shook his head in amusement as he placed her back into my waiting arms, again.. She immediately snuggled into me and sighed my name. Esme beamed as we came over and adjusted the blankets for me. She kissed Bella's forehead before giving me a hug.
"How was the trip," she asked, stepping back and Carlisle wrapped an arm around her waist.
"Everything went very well. The cottage looks beautiful, Esme. Thank you. Bella will be sure to love it." She smiled sweetly at my compliment.
"How did she handle the trip?" Carlisle looked over her. Baby sounds good!
"She had a little car sickness, but other than being tired, she has been fine." I answered starting to walk up the path to the house. I entered the house and walked immediately up the stairs to the second door, which someone left open. I smiled when I saw that someone had lit a fire in the fireplace in our bedroom. Someone had also turned down the bed so I could lay her down, right away. I slipped off her shoes and placed them under the bed on her side so she didn't trip on them when she got out of bed. I covered her with the covers just as Alice appeared in the door way.
All your bags are in the living room. Esme stocked the fridge and cabinets. Don't go into the spare room without us tomorrow. We will stop by after she is done with breakfast.
"Thank you," I whispered. I went downstairs for our suitcases and the bags of maternity clothes. I left the baby related items in the living room for now.
I set our stuff down in the room, hopefully out of Bella's way. However, she did have the ability to trip over nothing so I'm not sure if this would make a difference. Her sense of balance made me even more worried about what would happen when her belly would be so big she wouldn't be able to see her feet any more. I doubt Bella would consent to letting me carry her everywhere.
I was debating whether to unpack or get into bed with Bella, when she answered the question for me. She turned restlessly in the bed. "Edward," she started to mumble.
I went back into the bed and slipped under the covers with her. She seemed to sense me immediately as she curled into my side and laid her head on to my chest. I kissed her forehead, then placed my hand over her belly where I could hear our baby's heartbeat.
(BPOV)
I rolled over in the bed, realizing that I was no longer in a car. I sat up as sunlight filled a beautiful bedroom. The walls were light blue with a white trim. Across from the foot of the Black iron frame bed was a fireplace with a fire burning low. To the right of the bed was a door, to the right of that was our suitcases and bags. There was also a tall wooden dresser on the right hand side.
To the left of the bed was another dresser. Next to it looked like my vanity from Edward's house in Chicago? How did that get here? I slipped out of the bed and hurried over to it, the wooden floor cool under my feet. I looked over the vanity and opened the drawers. It looked just like it. What are the odds? Next to that was another door. I opened it to see a bathroom. The tub was huge; it could fit at least two people with water jets. In another corner was a glass shower. The bathroom also had granite his and her sinks. I turned to scan both rooms again. Where was Edward?
I headed towards the other door. I though I could smell the signs of cooking. I was half way across the room when the door opened and Edward walked in carrying a tray. My stomach let out a grumble letting me know that it and the baby were hungry.
"Get back into bed, love. I wanted to give my beautiful wife breakfast in bed on our first day here." He ordered with a beautiful smile on his face. I obeyed, climbing into the bed and fixing the pillows so they were better to lean against. Edward set the tray down before climbing in next to me.
The food looked amazing; a western style omelet with both bacon and sausage, toast and milk. There was a small vase with some wild flowers in it.
"It looks really good." I commented taking my first bite. It tasted good too. I kissed Edward on the cheek lightly. "Thank you, this is delicious."
"You're quite welcome," Edward answered with a smile. He started playing with my hair as I ate. We remained quite as I ate. When I was done I pushed the tray from me.
"So what are the plans for today?" I asked.
"Well, as soon you get ready for the day we can unpack and explore our house. Then, we can go to the main house to see that. I haven't seen it yet myself," Edward answered picking up my tray.
"Wait, what do you mean main house?" I asked. Edward placed the tray on top of one of the dressers before offering me one of his hands. I took it and he led me to a window.
"Well, right now, we are in a cottage at the edge of the property. It is two bedrooms and it is where we will be living." I frowned slightly, not sure if I like the idea of being away from everyone. Edward pointed at a window across a small field covered in the same wild flowers to a big white farm house.
"That is the main house, so everyone is not that far way but we have our privacy at the same time." Edward's arms wrapped his arms around my waist. I turned in his arms and wrapped my arms around his neck.
"Privacy will be nice." I smiled up at him thinking about the bathroom earlier. "Want to try out that shower with me," I asked. He smiled before kissing my nose. I thought I was going to get my way before he opened his mouth.
"I don't think we have time for that before the others barge down our door. How about I promise to try out the bathtub with you tonight?" He asked.
"Alright," I agreed, then unwrapped myself from him. I glanced around the room trying to figure out the layout. I assumed the dresser by the vanity was mine. I pulled open the drawers and eventually found a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. "This isn't the same vanity is it?" I asked turning towards Edward. He was placing the suitcase on the bed and opening them.
"Yes, it is actually. It is one of the pieces of furniture that was saved at my parent's house. Rose and Em picked it up on their way. Is that okay, I thought you liked it?"
"It's more than fine. I love it, thank you." He smiled as he started unpacking his bag.
"Would you like me to unpack yours, too, while you are in the shower?" He asked pausing in the middle of his chore.
"That would be nice. Anything I wore though will need to be washed. Do we have a laundry room?" I asked hoping. Unlike Alice, I believed clothes could be worn more than once.
"We do, in fact, inside the closet." He pointed to a door behind me. "There's a laundry chute." He walked over and opened a massive walk-in closet. "Plus, this right here, is a dumbwaiter. You can put clean clothes on it and push a simple button for it to be delivered upstairs." Edward looked excited to show me this feature.
"Is this really necessary?" I asked thinking that was a frivolous investment.
"Considering your grace, and the fact that you would have to carry a basket upstairs while pregnant…yes. Please, promise me you will use it," he answered honestly. I guess he might have a point.
"Okay, I will use it." I sighed. Edward seemed happy with me agreeing easily.
"I'm going to take that shower," I mentioned. I headed to the bathroom and took my time getting ready. I exited the room to find Edward waiting on the bed with his arms behind his head; he was staring up at a skylight that I had missed before.
"We will have to stay in during the morning, but the afternoon will get cloudy. How do you feel about shopping for a car?" Edward asked.
"If you want to," I shrugged, looking around to see if there was anything left to do.
"Try to curb you enthusiasm, Bella," Edward chuckled sitting up.
"Sorry. Let me try, again. Goody goody gosh, can we really?" I clapped my hands and plastered a fake smile on my face. Edward threw back a deep laugh.
"You are a horrible actress, Miss Swan." He got up and walked over to me.
"I can't be that bad. I mean I think I did a decent job back in 1918 not messing up too badly." I pouted.
"I will give you that. You made only a few mistakes. My human self just brushed them off or didn't notice them. I noticed, reliving them, but then, I knew who Alice was or why you would know my middle name." He took my hand and started to lead me out of the room.
"You missed me asking Carlisle about over the counter drugs and when I mentioned TV." I giggled.
He laughed as he placed his hand on the doorknob.
"Ready to see the rest of our house, Mrs. Masen?"
"I am." I was truly excited this time. Edward opened the door and held it for me.
Directly across the room was a railing that looked out over a living room. The ceiling was high and had several skylights. There was a stone fireplace on one wall. On the opposite wall a wide-screen television and there was a black leather couch, two matching chairs, a small coffee table and an area rug in the center of the room. The room had been painted a cream color.
"Wow, did Esme do all this?" I asked. Edward nodded. He led me to the stairs, on the way we passed another door.
"Wait, what is in there?" I paused outside it.
"That will be the baby's room. I have orders that we can't go in there, yet," Edward told me regretfully. I cast one more look to the door before following Edward down the stairs.
"The kitchen is over there. Esme already stocked the refrigerator and cabinets. But if there is anything you need, we can get it while we are out." Edward led the way under the stairs into a kitchen that was much bigger than the one I was used to. In the corner, by the window, was a breakfast nook. "The pantry, slash laundry room, is through that door." Edward pointed to the right next to the double door fridge.
"What about that room." I pointed to a door. Edward led me over to the door. He opened it to an empty room. It was almost completely glassed in. The floor had a soft but tight-knit beige rug.
"The plans for this room are to be a play room. With that door leading out to a small fenced in play ground." He indicated to an area covered in trees. I nodded. I was slightly worried about the windows. I suppose it could be baby proofed more.
"The house is beautiful. Where is your piano going to go?" I asked, not recall seeing it. Edward frowned before running a hand through his hair to respond.
"The piano is going to be at the main house. There's no real space for it here." He explained. I'm not sure why this disappointed me as much as it did. But I started to cry.
"Sweetheart, why are you crying?" Edward looked alarmed. I just shook my head knowing that it was more my hormones more than anything else.
"Bella, something set off the tears." Edward pulled me into his arms and started to rub my back.
"It's silly. It's just my hormones making me overact," I whispered. Edward sighed heavily, his pointed looked made realize he wasn't going to let it go, until I told him. "I don't know, I just thought you would have a piano here. I just had the image in my head of you playing the piano for the baby and me at night." I admitted with my face buried into his shoulder.
"Come with me for a moment." Edward pulled me back and led me back into the living room. He scanned the room looking thoughtful.
"What if I get an upright? It could go over there." He pointed to an empty space near the stairs.
"Do you even like uprights? I don't want you to go to any trouble. You already have done more than enough." Edward turned to face me brushing my tears gently from my face.
"Bella, if it will make you happy, then I am happy to do it. I don't want you feeling guilty about asking me for anything. I much rather you did. Uprights aren't my favorite, but they will do in a situation like this."
Before I could say anything else, the front door opened and the rest of the family walked in.
"Good morning," Alice bounced across the room and hugged me.
"Good morning." I replied. Hopefully it didn't look like I just had a meltdown.
"The house is beautiful, Esme" I thanked her while going to give her a hug.
"I am glad you like it." She gave me a smile and gentle hug back.
"Alright, are you ready to see the baby's room?" Alice was her hyper-self as she came to my side.
"The baby's room is already done?" I asked trying not to be too disappointed. It was the first time I wanted to decorate it myself.
"Not completely. There's still plenty to do. Like a theme and colors. You will see what I mean." Alice started pulling me to the stairs, the rest followed behind us. Alice paused outside the door.
"Cover your eyes," she demanded.
"Why do I need to…" Alice was impatient and did it for me.
"Here you go." Alice led me forward. She stopped, then turned me slightly. She finally uncovered my eyes. The room wasn't as big as the other bedroom, but still was a good size. It had two large windows, but no skylight.
In front of me was a beautiful crib and a rocking chair. They were unfinished and looked freshly made.
"These are beautiful." I ran my hand along the rails. It felt like silk under my finger tips.
"Emmett, made them," Edward spoke up from behind me.
"You made these?" I turned to the gentle giant, who for once looked a bit sheepish.
"Yes, he did," Rose beamed looking up at him proudly.
"Awww, that is so sweet. Thank you, Em." I went over and hugged him, tears came to my eyes.
"No, thanks necessary. I was happy to do it for my niece or nephew. Do we know yet which?" Emmett asked eagerly.
"Only I know, as I told you, Bella will be the first to know." Alice answered. Did I want to know? I still had a strong feeling that it was a boy. I hoped he looked just like his daddy. I looked around the room everyone, everyone was looking at me expectantly.
"Do you want to know," I asked Edward. He shrugged and tried to appear uninterested.
"Please, you do to. I can sense it," Jasper snickered.
"I already know she's going to be a girl," he announced confidently.
"Is not, he's a boy," I responded putting a hand over my stomach. The family watched in amusement.
"Do I sense a bet?" Emmett rubbed his hands together. "I agree with Bells. I hope it's a boy." Emmett came to stand by me.
"Girl," Rose answered. "She's going to be fun to dress."
"I say girl, too" Jasper agreed with a nod.
"I'm going to have to go with boy," Carlisle smiled. He looked as Esme.
"Hmm, I think boy too." She agreed giving me a smile.
"Well, Alice, who's right?" I asked her. She tilted her head from side to side. Giving Edward a smirk as she continued to block him.
"It is a…." she paused from dramatic effect. "Boy!"
"I knew it," I squealed. Edward pouted slightly, but I could see the smile he was trying to hide. My green eyed baby was a boy.
"Sweet. So are you naming him after Eddie?" Emmett asked.
"I doubt it, A wise women told me not to name my child after the father," I laughed at Edward as he scowled.
"Who was that?" Rose looked amused.
"His mother actually." Trying unsuccessfully to maintain my giggles.
"Well, you have plenty of time to choose names. Now that we know the gender, can we chose a theme for the room," Esme mentioned. "Would you like to see the other house now, dear?" she offered.
"That would be nice," I agreed. I followed them outside. The weather was completely different than Forks. It was still sunny and the temperature was warm. I was comfortable in just my light long sleeve top. I may have to invest in sunglasses again with how sparkly the family will be this summer. Edward guided me over to a golf cart.
"Why do we have a golf cart?" I asked slightly amused.
"We figured it would be easier for you to travel between the houses. Especially, when you get further along." Edward waited until I was seated before getting in on his side.
"Does it drive like a car," I asked. Watching Edward start towards the house.
"Yes, and amazingly enough, it goes slower than your truck." Edward snickered. I stuck my tongue out at him.
"You're so funny. So did your first car." I grumbled as he continued to laugh. I thought about the truck and how it was a gift from Charlie when I first moved to Forks.
"What are you thinking," Edward asked.
"I was thinking about how the truck was a gift from Charlie when I first moved to Forks." I looked down at my hands on my lap. Edward's hand reached over to grab one of mine.
"I don't think I knew that. No wonder why you were so attached to it. I'm sorry for ragging on it," he squeezed my hand. He came to a stop outside the house.
"What do you think about the golf carts, Bells? Rose is going to see if she can tweak the engines to make them go faster so we can race them." Emmett helped me off the cart.
"You're going to race golf carts? That should be amusing." I turned to look at the house. It looked as large as the one in Forks. Although there wasn't a side nearly made of all glass; there were plenty of large windows. We had past a pool, before going to the front of the house.
Esme took me on a tour of the house. Edward and I had a room in here, just in case. I was told Emmett was going to make a second crib for us to have over there as well.
They were even going to make one room a playroom too. One thing was for sure, this baby was going to be spoiled by all his family members.
While I was eating my lunch Edward was sitting next to me on a laptop. He was on some car site.
"I thought I was going to be able to pick my car." I frowned looking at the screen.
"You can, but I am researching a good car for you and our baby. I know you like the Volvo so I thought I would check them out first. I like the XC70, only I think it would be best to get it in the 4wd. The weather can be rough in the winter. It also has a built in child booster seat." He showed me a car on the screen. It was bigger than his car. I looked it over. It wasn't flashy but it wasn't the truck.
"Can it come in blue?" I asked, Edward clicked a few buttons. The showed me the color options. He did a few more clicks.
"Would you like to test drive one? They have it used at the dealership. If you like we can order a new one." Edward was getting a twinkle in his eye.
"Sure, although we could just get the used one if I like it." I shrugged, finishing my lunch.
"I rather get it new so we don't have to worry about the history. There are also extras I would want added." Edward answered pulling out his phone. I shook my head as I finished eating. The car didn't need more but I wasn't going to argue.
When Edward hung up he turned to me.
"Our appointment is an hour and half at the dealership. I already requested the car to test drive so it should be as painless as possible." Edward brushed my hair back over my shoulder.
"Is there a craft store near the dealership?" I asked. Edward went back to the laptop to look one up.
"A couple." He showed me the screen.
"I would like to stop in one. I want to try to croquet something for the baby like your mom taught me." I bit my lip hoping I remembered how to and not only that it would come out well.
"That sounds nice. We can definitely stop for that." Edward smiled at me.
A/N:
A bit of a fluff chapter. They are in their new home. Who knew Em was talented sweetheart to make a crib and rocking chair for Bella? Skipping ahead to the wedding next chapter. Does anyone think Charlie will show up?
Thank You For All Reviews!
Preview:
As soon as we were pronounced husband and wife, Edward's lips descended on me jubilantly. Like always I got lost in the kiss. I vaguely heard a clearing of a throat and Edward pulled back.
"Jeesh, keep that up and you will knock her up. Opps, wait that already happened," Emmett snickered from his seat. Esme looked mortified while Rose buried her face in her hands. I wasn't sure if she was laughing or embarrassed. Jasper elbowed Emmett hard, but it looked like he was fighting a laugh.