Edward
I don't think either one of us wanted to leave Chicago. Bella enjoyed spending time with my mom, a woman closer to being a real mother than her own, and I enjoyed spending time with my dad. We hadn't had enough father-son bonding time since I got my sight back. We also enjoyed exploring the city I had grown up in, because, for me, it was the first time. I saw things that just amazed me and I loved it.
"I almost asked you to marry me on the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier," I commented on the plane ride back. I knew it was rather random but the thought just popped into my head.
Bella giggled and smiled, "I know, love. I'm glad you didn't though. I wasn't ready then. Trust me, I couldn't have asked for a better proposal."
"Oh, was I just so sexy in my hospital gown that you couldn't resist me?" I teased as I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.
"I can't resist you anytime," she teased back, kissing the tip of my nose. I chuckled, snuggling closer to my wife as I relished her warmth and softness for the rest of the pleasant flight back.
Even though we had doctor's appointments almost daily afterward, we were both pretty relaxed. Bella's belly was starting to drop somewhat, but she hadn't dilated any which was a very good thing. I didn't want them to be early.
"Ugh, don't," Bella complained as I took a picture of her on the couch on the day of the baby shower. I had to admit that I didn't know a lot of the people coming. Alice had taken care of the guest list. Also, a lot of things were being sent to us by friends of my mother and father. We had more stuff than we knew what to do with already.
"Get used to it," my mother teased as she set up a large vase of flowers. "You're going to have your picture taken a lot today, my dear."
Bella huffed, putting her feet up on the couch. She was completely swollen and was staying in bed most of the time. She hated it but she got a lot of writing done. Bella still wouldn't let me read her novel, but she promised one day that she would. One day soon most likely. She wanted it perfect first though. She said it was just something light, but I could tell she enjoyed it.
"Can I get you anything?" Alice asked, kneeling beside the couch. "Something to drink?"
"Some fried chicken," Bella smirked.
Alice gave me a frustrated look and I started to laugh, handing her the camera as I went to help my mother with something. That's what she got for asking. I heard a soft sigh as the beeping of the phone began.
"Hey, Jazz... Can you do me a favor?"
"That girl doesn't need any fried chicken," Mom muttered to herself as she fussed over the refreshments table. "Lunch will be soon."
I shrugged. "She'll take two bites and be full. I just think she wants something to keep her busy," I told her honestly.
"Fried chicken as a hobby, interesting."
Bella
As much fun as baby shopping was, I was not having fun at the baby shower. I didn't know half the people giving me gifts! Though, Alice and Esme looked like they were enjoying themselves. I was extremely glad it was over.
"Aw, I hope I have a girl," Alice whispered as she ran her fingers over a set of bows I had gotten. I got a lot of stuff that was just for a girl or a boy since people didn't know what I was having. I would have a lot of stuff to return once I had the babies, either way. Everything had receipts taped to it.
Alice had been acting very strange lately. Very teary-eyed and kind of depressed. She said it was due to the fact that she had given up caffeine, but I didn't believe her in the least. Something was up, I was just sure of it.
"Alice, are you Jazz trying to get pregnant?"
She flushed a bright red, looking down at her hands as she quickly folded up a set of onesies.
"Something like that," she muttered.
"What do you mean something like that?" Rose said with a raised eyebrow. "You either are or you aren't."
"We aren't, at the moment..." She trailed off, shrugging. Alice looked around to make sure none of the boys were around. They were busy being slaves to my wonderful mother in law. They worked with... well, very little complaint. We had gotten a lot of bigger items for the nursery and they were putting them all together. "Because, well, I am..."
"That's fantastic!" I smiled. I considered getting up to give her a hug but I wasn't sure by her expression if that was the right thing to do. "Is that not fantastic?"
"I've had two miscarriages," she whispered, looking down at her knees. "Once while we were dating and once since we've been married. I wasn't that far along in either one of them."
"Why didn't you tell us!?" Rose asked, annoyed.
"Because I haven't told Jasper yet. I want to make sure it sticks before I do. I'm around eight weeks now. If I make it to ten, I will. We've just been talking about it so much lately since you guys got pregnant and Jasper is so excited about the idea. I don't want to get his hopes up though," she explained.
The conversation quickly ended when the men, followed by Esme, entered the room.
"Everything is put together and put into place! Want to come to take a look?" She smiled as she helped me to my feet. I nodded my head and grinned, urging my friends to join me. Though the nursery was decorated the day before, it seemed bare for some reason. It was missing something, something more than babies anyway.
Edward
"Oh, wow..." Bella breathed as she came into the room. She turned to me with a huge smile and wrapped her arms tightly around my neck. "Oh!," was the only sound she could get out.
"Do you like it?" My mother asked, smiling. She knew Bella loved it. She loved all the clothes hanging in the closet and the pictures on the wall. She loved the new mobiles hanging from the tiny white mini cribs in each corner of the room. Bella loved the big Winnie the Pooh rug and the curtains that matched. I knew she did. I knew because I felt it simply pour out of her body. A second later Bella began to sob, pressing her face against my shoulder as she nodded her head. I was finally used to it. What I wasn't used to was Alice bursting into tears as well.
"Alice, are you okay?" I asked as I turned to her. Jasper just seemed confused. He came to her side without a word, touching her arm.
Bella pulled away from me and walked to her friend, hugging her tightly. They both began to cry louder as Rosalie sniffled. Emmett backed away like she was a ticking time bomb.
"I want a baby!" Rose whimpered as she just joined the circle of crying women. I looked to my mother for help but she looked as lost as I was.
"I want it to be just like this," Alice said, gulping for air. "Can I have the hand me downs?"
"Of course!" Bella said with a laugh, her voice rough. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
"I think I missed something," Jasper said, backing away from the girls and coming towards me and Emmett. "Do you guys know something I don't know?" He whispered.
"I think your wives' biological clock just went off, gentlemen," my mother laughed as she walked out of the room, patting their shoulders as she passed.
"Oh, shit," Emmett muttered. "I need a beer."
"Me, too," Jasper said quickly, following behind Emmett as he left the room. There wasn't any beer in the house so I wasn't really sure where they were going. That left me in the room with a bunch of crying and crazy women. I licked my bottom lip, looking around for something I could do. Finally, I spotted a box of tissues. I grabbed it quickly and kind of put the box in the middle of their circle.
"Thank you," they all sniffled, each taking one. Rose actually took the box from me and hugged it to her chest with one arm.
"Edward, honey," Bella began, giving me a watery smile, "why don't you go get you something to drink?"
"Oh, thank you," I said, truly grateful. I loved all of those women greatly but there were too many tears in that room for me. If I had daughters, I wasn't quite sure how I was going to handle living with three women.
Maybe boys wouldn't be so bad after all.
Bella
After everyone calmed down, we sat on the floor of the nursery and continued to sniffle.
"Rose, why are you crying?" I asked, pulling another tissue from the box.
"Because I want a baby too," she said, dabbing her eyes. "And I'm not even married yet."
"You will be soon. Don't worry. You'll be able to start a family soon enough," I said, rubbing a gentle hand over her back. She sighed, leaning her head on my shoulder.
"I sure hope I can. I mean, we haven't been the most careful over the years and we haven't even had a scare. I don't know if I'm happy about that or not. What if we can't have a baby?"
"Then there is adoption and medications," Alice reassured her. She scooted over and wrapped a tight arm around the other side. "You can spoil our kids until then. Lord knows we'll need a babysitter."
Rose laughed, tiny tears still streaming down her cheeks. We both hugged her, snuggling in closer to her. I think she needed to be held at the moment and was just too strong to say so.
A quiet knock pulled us out of our circle. I turned my head and smiled. "Come on in, Esme."
She smiled sweetly at us, carrying what was left of the cake and four forks. "I thought you might need this."
Rose and I agreed, nodding our heads as we reached for the forks. She sat down in our circle just as Alice sprang to her feet, clutching her mouth and stomach as she ran out of the room. I sighed, wondering how quickly I could get to my feet. Rose saw what I was doing and hopped up.
"I'll go get her. Eat some cake but save some for me."
I smiled and nodded my head gratefully, going once again for the fork. I took a small bite from one corner as Esme took one for the other.
"So, how far along is she?"
"That obvious?" I smiled.
"She burst into tears in a nursery and just ran out of the room, clutching her stomach," she pointed out. I chuckled, taking another bite.
"Eight weeks. No one else knows yet. Poor Jasper."
"Why do you say that?"
"If Edward thinks I'm crazy with all this baby stuff, just wait until Jasper gets Alice in baby mode. She's going to put them in debt shopping for baby clothes," I said, licking the fork of the frosting. "But, she will get some hand me downs from me. Maybe she'll be able to pass those down to Rose." It was a nice thought, thinking about all our kids playing together. Growing up together.
I suddenly imagined if I was carrying girls and so was Alice. Maybe Rosalie could have one as well. And they would grow up the best of friends like we were. It was so wonderful. Or maybe if my friends had boys they could get married one day and we could become family. The thought was a little silly, but it made me wistful.
Maybe girls weren't so bad after all.
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