"Edward. Psst. Yo Edward,"
"Mm?"
"You know what sounds really good right now?"
"What?"
"An egg sandwich,"
The mattress moved a bit underneath me until Edward sat up on the edge of his side of the bed. With a yawn and a long stretch, he got up and dutifully went downstairs to the kitchen to get me my sandwich.
If it were a couple of weeks ago, I would've felt guilty waking my husband at four in the morning to help me satiate my seemingly never ending cravings but with my due date getting closer, I needed help in getting up from bed. It was more time efficient and safer to just wake Edward so he could get me what I wanted instead of struggling to stand up and inevitably breaking something.
I sat up against the pillows and turned on the bedside lamp. I squinted a bit, my eyes adjusting to the light, until I could register our bedroom. The space was pretty and simple – the color scheme being beige and blue – but at the moment, it was kinda messy with jackets slung over the sofa and books piled on top of the dresser. Still, it was a nice reminder that we've been living in the house for quite a while.
"Hey," Edward greeted with a sleepy smile as he emerged in the doorway with my plate. He made his way back to the bed and handed it to me as he placed a kiss on my temple.
"Thanks. This smells amazing," I ignored the white smoke coming off of the sandwich, clearly showing that it was piping hot and picked it up before dropping it again.
"Easy," Edward laughed. "Give it a little time to cool off first,"
"But your kid is starving,"
"Hmm," he placed his hand on my bulging stomach just as the baby kicked. "Looks like Junior's going to have his mommy's appetite,"
Yes, we're having a boy. We aren't going to be calling him Edward Junior or anything like that though. The Cullen family has way too much Edward's as it is. Esme came by a couple of weeks ago and showed me the giant ass Cullen family tree which featured Edward Masen, Edward Carlisle, Edward Charles and about a dozen other Edward's until finally reaching my own Edward Anthony.
I figured our son deserved a little more originality.
That being said, however, we still didn't know what to name him. Ever the procrastinators, we decided to put that off until actually seeing him. Maybe he'll be born with a nametag.
"I just hope he gets the same metabolism as I do," I chuckled, waiting impatiently until the bread was cool enough to touch and eat.
"Well, even if he doesn't, I'm sure he'll burn off all the extra calories, anyway. Uncle Emmett's already planning all the sports he's going to be joining which is why I'm hoping he'll get my sense of equilibrium,"
"Yeah, yeah," I rolled my eyes. "Speaking of Emmett, he and Jasper are coming over tomorrow…or well, in a few hours from now, by the way,"
Edward sighed. "Of course they are,"
I raised an eyebrow at him. "You don't want them to visit?"
"No, I'm good with them dropping by every once in a while but jeez, Bella, they were here three days ago!"
I laughed. Ever since we finally had the game room in order at the basement just as the previous owners had, Emmett and Jasper had been coming over on a very regular basis to help us 'break it in.' Edward was cool about it at first since I was beginning to get too big or too tired to play like I used to and he wanted some serious playmates but clearly, he was getting sick of New Moon's drummer and bassist already.
You'd think spending months and months with those two in a cramped bus and everywhere else would get him used to spending a lot of time with them but apparently, that wasn't the case.
"We can kick them out," I offered, finally taking a bite of my sandwich.
"Meh. It's fine, I guess. Might as well squeeze in as much bonding time as possible before Junior arrives,"
"Good point," I nodded.
Edward's sentiment got me thinking of how much time I've spent with Rosalie and Alice. They've helped me with the baby shower and decorating the new house but I don't remember hanging out with them without the excuse of an event.
"Maybe I can go out with Rose and Alice tomorrow," I thought aloud. "Go do some girly things and such,"
"Are you sure you can?" my ever concerned husband rubbed my protruding stomach. "Your back's still giving you problems and your ankles are still a bit swollen,"
I adjusted my position on the bed as I thought about it. I couldn't really get around like I used to anymore and I was too lazy to go out anyway. "Yeah, maybe it'd be better if Rose and Alice just came with their men,"
"I like that idea better. And besides, I don't want the paps hounding you in your condition,"
"Hey, I can still fight them off despite my knocked-up state,"
"I wasn't worrying much about you. I was thinking more about their safety,"
I smirked. Apparently, my preggo hormones didn't only make me more emotional but it also made my anger levels rise to new heights. My patience for idiot reporters and their fucking cameras was at its lowest point. Add that to my protective mommy instincts and you get nosy photographers who get stomped to the ground unless someone holds me back.
We talked more about random topics until my speech began to slur and I fell asleep again. I woke up hours later to the sound of loud voices downstairs.
With my pregnancy speed similar to that of a turtle, I got myself out of bed and presentable only after another sixty minutes. I made my way down the stairs and to the basement to see my band mates and their women talking and laughing with each other.
"Hey, there she is!" Alice announced brightly as she jumped off the couch and pranced towards me. "How are you feeling, Bella?"
"Oh, you know. The usual. Hungry, groggy, and a little hormonal," I smiled at her.
"That's expected. Look at you! You look like you're going to pop out Little Edward any second!"
"Feels that way sometimes, too," I huffed, sitting next to Edward. "Hi husband,"
"Hi wife," he tore his eyes away from the TV screen for a second to kiss me on the cheek. "Dammit, Em! I said go left!"
"I did go left!" Emmett insisted.
"No, you didn't," Jasper said from the floor. "If you did, then the ball wouldn't have gone past you,"
"Whatever,"
The boys continued to play in their own little world of Quidditch – yes, they were playing Quidditch – while Rosalie and Alice filled me in on whatever stories they've heard.
"Did you know that The Harley Quinns have broken up?" Rose asked. "Their manager released the official statement a couple of days ago,"
"Really?" both my eyebrows went up. "Why?"
"They said 'creative differences,'" Alice shrugged as if saying that that's what they publicized but she didn't believe it.
"I think it has something to do with the chick James is dating, though," Rose injected.
"What, like how Yoko Ono broke up The Beatles?" Jasper's tone sounded amused.
"When in doubt, blame the singer's girlfriend," Emmett snickered and they both turned their heads to look at me.
"Please," I rolled my eyes. "First of all, I'm not the singer's girlfriend but the singer's wife. The singer's very pregnant wife. Second, I'm also a part of the band so I don't count.
"Now if Edward was still dating Lauren Mallory, however, your argument would be very valid,"
"Whatever happened to her, by the way?" Alice wondered. "Last time I heard, she was dating some poor sap from a boy band,"
"She still is, I think," Rosalie answered. "Anyway, she doesn't matter,"
"She never did," Edward murmured from beside me.
Topics switched then and conversation continued for a long time. Alice and Rosalie engaged in an outfit related conversation – one I was definitely not interested in joining – so I ended up playing Tekken with the boys.
"Ha! Eat sword, sucker!" Emmett boomed as he threw his controller down on the floor in triumph and started dancing like an idiot. "Victory, thy name is Emmett!"
"We still have one more round, you doof. Sit your ass down," I rolled my eyes just as I felt a kick in my stomach. Baby C was having a ball exercising his legs these days so I wasn't surprised to feel it.
We played the final round pretty seriously. Neither of us liked the idea of losing in a video game and you could tell just by looking at the screen. We were both using heavy attacks and doing our best to dodge whatever the other threw.
I was surprised when Emmett's character suddenly stopped moving and just stood there defenselessly. I quickly took advantage of his paralysis and finished him off.
"And that's how it's done, son," I grinned cockily as the game announced my victory. I expected some cries of protests or something but unexpectedly, I didn't hear anything. Not from Emmett or…anyone, really.
"Emmett?" I turned to look at him and saw that he was staring at the sofa I was sitting on with his eyes wide and his jaw on his lap.
"What?" I asked. "What's going on?"
"Bella…your…"
"Um, Bella, do you want to go to the hospital?" Rosalie's tone sounded weird.
"Hospital." I repeated. "What for?"
"Baby, I think your water broke," Edward sounded as shocked as he looked.
"I think I'd be aware if I was about to go into labor, Edward," I chuckled, dropping the controller next to me then using the couch as support for me to get up. I was starving.
I was startled when my fingers encountered something wet. Apparently, the source was my soaked jeans.
Huh. How come I didn't feel that?
My hands ran through the wetness on my pants and I mentally thanked the good Lord that I didn't have an accident.
That only left my water really breaking, however.
"Yeah, okay, I think it really is time we go to the hospital,"
Everyone was in a flurry of activity all of a sudden while I just kinda…stood there. This was it. Moment we've all been waiting for. The arrival of Little Edward.
Holy schmeck, I'm officially gonna be a mother!
An arm wrapped around me, effectively pulling me out of my haze, and ushered me up the stairs and into our bedroom in what seemed like a short minute. Alice or Rosalie – I wasn't sure who anymore – helped me change my clothes then led me down to the Volvo. Edward got in the driver's side and sped out of the driveway en route to the hospital.
"Where are the others?" I asked.
"They're following us there," he replied, sounding a bit panicked. He looked over to me with a worried expression and placed one hand on my stomach.
"Do you feel anything? Any pain?"
"Uh," just then, I felt a tightening in my stomach. It wasn't really painful, just uncomfortable. "I'm not feeling any pain but I do feel something. It's okay, just keep driving,"
His hand remained on my belly as he drove one handed in speeds way beyond the allowed limit. We reached the hospital about ten minutes later where I was immediately placed in a wheelchair and carted off to a room.
"How are you doing?" Edward pulled my hand between his and planted a kiss on my knuckles. "Still okay?"
"I'm…ah, good," I gave him a small smile. While my contractions may have been pretty weak back in the car, they were certainly increasing in intensity.
"Do you want me to distract you?" he asked just as the rest of the gang made their appearance.
"This is so fucking exciting!" Emmett boomed as he pulled up a chair. "I've never seen a live birth before,"
"And you're certainly not going to see one today," I told him.
"Aw," he sounded genuinely disappointed.
"Oh and Bella, I forgot to mention I already called Jacob. He, your mom and Nessie are on their way. And I called your dad, too," Alice informed me.
Renee hadn't gone back to Florida after the wedding, choosing instead to hang around California until her grandson arrived. I offered to let her stay at the house but she said that Jake already had her room set up at his. She still came by frequently, though.
"Ah shit, I forgot to call my mother," Edward muttered. "I'll be right back. You know she'll kill me if I don't tell her,"
"Go," I laughed, pushing at his hand. If there was anyone probably more excited than Edward and I about the birth of the baby, it was definitely Esme. As promised, she and Carlisle furnished the nursery despite my protests and even set up a trust fund for him.
"So do you guys know what to name the baby yet?" Rosalie inquired from Emmett's lap. "Oh, who am I kidding. You two are going to wait till the last minute,"
"As usual," I smirked.
"The fans have some really interesting ideas, though," Jasper snickered. "They have a poll going on at the website for what's the best name for The Golden Child,"
"Golden Child?" I repeated.
"Yeah, it's what they're calling Baby C,"
"Heh. Really?" I'm sure I sounded amused. "Anyway, what do they suggest?"
"Well, there's Isaward and Edwella,"
"How…original," I commented. "What else?"
Jasper recited all the names he could remember and I found myself getting more and more weirded out as name after name escaped his lips. I wonder how badly my son's going to be made fun of if we do name him Chocolate Lee as suggested.
"So you heard anything you like?"
"Er, not really," I admitted then later, added "Edward likes the name Erik,"
Speaking of whom, Edward entered the room again and sat down on his vacated seat.
"Okay, she and Carlisle are driving over here as we speak," he told me.
"Awe-" I stopped talking just as a contraction hit. "Awesome,"
"You okay, baby?" his hand stroked my cheek. I gave him a thumbs-up just as Emmett struck up a new conversation about one thing or the other.
I was starting to get drowsy which wasn't surprising considering that it was one-thirty in the afternoon. I gave in to my slowly drooping consciousness and closed my eyes for a few seconds.
What woke me up was a surprisingly more intense tightening in my stomach. It only lasted for about thirty seconds or so, but it caught me off guard.
"Bella?" Edward stroked my hair from beside me.
"Hi," I greeted him absently. "Sorry, that was just more painful than the others,"
He chuckled and kissed my forehead. "No need to apologize, sweetheart,"
"Hey Bella," another voice pulled my attention elsewhere. I turned my head to see Jacob sitting on the chair Emmett once sat on. No one else was in the room.
"Oh hey, you're here," I gave him a big smile just as he hugged me in as much as the bed would allow. "When did you arrive?"
"Around three soooo, two hours ago, more or less," he replied, looking at his watch. I blinked and looked at mine as well. It was five in the afternoon. Wow, I slept a long time…
"Where are mom and Nessie?"
"Cafeteria. Nes was craving some pudding and pickles and mom offered to go with her,"
Jacob and Vanessa learned they were expecting about two months ago and were just ecstatic. I'll admit, I was a bit concerned but the worry disappeared quickly when I saw how much my brother grew up because of the news. Gone were the days of him spiking dairy products and other stupid stunts like that.
"Ah," I nodded. "Where are Carlisle and Esme, by the way?"
"Er, they got a little lost," Edward laughed. "Some malfunction in their car's GPS or something,"
"Esme must be furious," I chuckled.
"Let's just say I'm so glad I'm not my dad right now,"
Renee and Nessie entered the room a few minutes later and hung about for a while before my brother and his wife had to go home. While Nes was happy about her pregnancy, it was talking a serious toll on her body. Jacob mentioned that she was so tired some days that she couldn't even leave the bed.
Renee, however, stayed.
"I remember how it was when I gave birth to you," she sighed, smiling softly. "Took eight hours to get you out but it was worth it,"
"Eight hours?" I asked, bewildered. "And you spent all that time pushing?"
"Yes," she said, nodding slowly. "It's expected that first time births take longer. Your brother popped out in what seemed like seconds,"
"Damn," I muttered. I mean, eight hours? Good lord, what if it took me longer?!
Renee must've noticed the scared expression on my face and quickly came over to pat the hand that Edward wasn't kissing. "Don't worry. It may have been long but women of the Dwyer family have a very high pain tolerance. You'll do just fine,"
God, I hope so…
I spent the next few hours chatting with my mother and husband and watching TV. I could feel my contractions arriving closer to each other and increasing in force. I knew that meant I was getting closer and closer to the main event and I was both excited and downright terrified at the same time.
It felt like it was just mere minutes afterwards when I could feel the baby coming. Holy lord, he was coming! I didn't know what the hell happened exactly but pretty soon, the room filled with people and Edward and Renee were dressed in scrubs, ready to assist in whatever way they could.
I felt like I was watching a movie in the first person perspective or something. Everything felt so…surreal. I mean sure, I could see the glare of the light above, the doctor between my legs, some nurses scurrying about and I could definitely feel the pressure in my belly but I just couldn't seem to grasp what was really happening.
Soon, I was told to push and push I did. I honestly didn't how the hell you were supposed to shove the baby out of your downstairs but when the time came for me to do it, I just…did. I kinda couldn't do anything else, anyway.
"You're doing wonderfully, Mrs. Cullen," the doctor praised me. "Just a few more and you'll have your boy in your arms in no time,"
Just a few more, I repeated to myself. And it was about damn time, too. I felt like I was pushing forever.
"Almost there, sweetheart," Edward encouraged, squeezing my hand.
Almost there…
I kept up my work many times over until I finally heard what I've been dying to hear for the past months: the loud cry of my son.
Though I felt tired, I couldn't bring myself to relax until my baby was in my arms. I saw Edward cut the umbilical cord and very vaguely heard the nurse announce the baby's weight and length but I was too distracted to really pay attention because my beloved little bundle was finally handed to me.
"He's beautiful, Bella," Renee sounded like she was close to tears as she looked over her grandson. "So beautiful,"
And he was. The moment I laid my eyes on him, I immediately saw his father's perfect features in his angelic face. A tuft of brownish colored hair covered his head and he opened his eyes to reveal a shade of blue.
"Hi little guy," I murmured, tracing a finger along his cheek.
I turned to Edward. "He looks just like you,"
He gave a small smile and tentatively reached out to touch his head. "He does but it's his mother's attributes that make him perfect,"
I sighed and softly kissed the baby on the forehead. As I looked at him, something suddenly entered my head.
"Matthew," I voiced aloud. "His name his Matthew,"
"It sounds perfect for him," Edward agreed, leaning down and placing a kiss on my head while his hand remained in contact to our son. "I love you, Bella. Thank you,"
I smiled and murmured my love and gratitude for him as well.
I wanted to know the exact time and day of that moment, to remember it and be thankful for it always.
It was the moment Matthew Thomas Cullen was finally nestled in my arms.
It was the moment my loving husband's arms encircled us both.
And it was the moment I knew my life was finally complete.
The End/Ang Katapusan/Das Ende