Beta'd by my beautiful friend, Dollybigmomma, who never stopped harassing me to finish this story, so as a birthday gift for her, I will work on this and finish it this month. Wish her happy birthday and send her some love.

Chapter 37: Growing Phases

Just as Bella's six weeks of healing were up, her little patch was ready to implant. I gave her a week to move around and get things done she had been putting off. We also had copious amounts of sex, because we knew there would be another six-week break after her next procedure. I planned to double check her ovaries again when I went in there, just to make sure they were still in functioning order.

Nurse Taylor stood by my side, as I prepared to work on Bella. Nurse Rachette once again voiced her disagreement with me working on my wife, but it wasn't like I could have another doctor do the procedure.

I kissed Bella and put her to sleep. I did a little finer cleaning on her tubes and was able to clean one out completely and clear the other side enough that it was passable. I carefully patched her uterus and double checked everything before backing out, making sure there was no hemorrhaging. In the next few days, I would be able to tell if the patch fully integrated. I set up a bed in the lab, and Bella and I would be staying there, until I was sure it was safe to take her home.

On the third day after the procedure, I used the endoscope to check on the patch. There was pink growth on the edge of it. It was taking!

"It's working!" I shouted out excitedly. Taylor gave me a high-five, and we carefully woke my sweet wife. "It's working," I said again, so she'd hear it. "The patch is taking. I'll check again in another six weeks. Hopefully, by then, it'll be fully integrated and part of your functioning uterus. I was able to clean out your other tube as well. I think both will be working, when we start trying for a baby."

She smiled widely and sleepily at me and pulled me down for a kiss. If things went as planned, she'd be pregnant within the year.

Bella and I had settled nicely into married life in our new home, and we were looking forward to beginning the next phase of our future, starting a family. As her organs began to heal, I couldn't wait for the next miracle, watching her body change, as my child grew inside her. If I thought she was beautiful now, I couldn't imagine how much more beautiful she was going to be carrying my baby.

I think my mom was even more excited than we were about the prospect of us having kids. We weren't the only ones, though, that she was eyeing for grandbabies. Rosalie and Emmett had become inseparable, and I knew for a fact that he had acquired that "big ass ring" Rosalie wanted and had the prenup already drawn up, favoring her heavily, of course. Now, he just had to propose.

Since Rosalie had left the showbiz life behind and stepped out of the spotlight, she had mellowed out considerably and had become much nicer. She had also gained a few pounds, which I thought looked good on her, but she didn't agree and had herself and Emmett exercising regularly with the help of her bodyguard, Rico, who also happened to be a certified personal trainer. She had turned one of their numerous bedrooms into a workout room, and I couldn't believe it, but my brother was now forty pounds lighter and sporting some impressive muscles. Who would have thought he actually had those hidden under all those Girl Scout cookie pounds?

She had also overhauled his wardrobe, tossing out his worn-out vender swag t-shirts and sweatpants, trading them for what she called "normal" clothes. He actually did look good. She tried to convince Bella that she should do the same for my wardrobe, but my beautiful girl refused, saying she loved my "geek chic" style. However, she did replace my white plastic pocket protector with a matte-finished clear one that was less conspicuous. She even made sure it had the extra separate slot for our favorite mechanical pencil. My girl was just awesome like that.

My father was still struggling with being out of the bio-dome, but my mother was loving that he would come home every night. Emmett and I found out the hard way not to show up unannounced and just walk in the front door like we used to, when we popped in for my mother's birthday. I knew people called it your birthday suit, but I really didn't need to see my mom and dad's birthday suits.

Mrs. Clavic was still coming into the lab. Hers was a much more invasive procedure, and I was a little nervous. Her uterus was finally in its final growth stages, and I had a theory I wanted to try out. I was going to do the final growth hormone treatment after I transplanted it, in hopes that it would attach faster and stronger. I also had a second uterus started for her, just in case this one didn't take, or if something went wrong. Better to have a spare than not.

Thankfully, Nurse Rachette had recovery rooms set up and ready. She was a little disgruntled about our work at first, but when I gave her an open budget to equip two recovery rooms, she settled down. I pretty much put her in charge of my patients' recovery, and she was happy to be in charge. She insisted we hire another person, and so, Nurse Tami joined the ranks and was there for the nightshift. She was a nice woman, a mother of four, and thankfully, I didn't freak out around her.

After the third day in recovery, Mrs. Clavic didn't develop any complications, and there was definite growth happening. The muscles that suspended the uterus had taken hold, and it was looking like the procedure was a success. The joy on Mr. and Mrs. Clavic's faces was palpable. Then, Nurse Rachette came in to give them the discharge quiz. If you didn't get an "A" on it, you had to stay another day. At least, that was what we threatened. We'd only had one person fail, and that was Bella. She was mad, when I insisted that was the rules. Word spread among the volunteer patients that we didn't take risks on them being ignorant. They either studied their release papers, or they didn't get to go home. I had made it the same with their contracts they signed. They passed, or they didn't get treated. Nurse Taylor gave them the short quiz, before we started working on the women. He wasn't happy about it, but it was important for the women to know what they were getting into.

Nurse Rachette tapped on the doorframe of my office. "Ms. Donovan is in room two and ready for you."

"Thank you, Nurse Rachette. I'll be there in a moment."

Ms. Donovan was one of the cases Mrs. Clavic had presented to me that was urgent, and fixing her had been challenging. She'd had an aggressive type of uterine cancer, but her vagina was also malformed by a birth defect caused by her mother having had measles during her pregnancy. I'd had to grow her a whole new uterus and vaginal tissue to rebuild her anatomy.

Of course, I blushed ten shades of red, when she asked me to grow the tissue for her vaginal canal a bit smaller, so she would be nice and tight. I didn't know if I had achieved that to her satisfaction, but at least she would function properly and be able to engage in coitus.

"Do you need me?" my Bella asked, kissing me lightly. I had come a long way in being able to speak to female patients, all with the help of my Bella. My inhalers were lasting three times as long these days as they used to!

"I think I'll be okay, Nurse Rachette will be with me. Go ahead and enjoy your guitar lesson with Charlie, and remember to take it easy," I said, and she gave me another kiss and a smack on my backside, the cheeky thing.

Charlie Swan had become a regular fixture in our lives. He had sold his shop in Mesa and moved near us, wanting to get to know the daughter he'd never known he had. He opened another shop here and expanded his lesson offerings. We learned that, not only was he a talented guitarist, he also played and taught piano, bass, saxophone, and drums.

He and Bella had become very close, and he was extremely protective of her. Even though we were more cordial, he still gave me the stink eye when Bella wasn't looking, whenever we talked about me getting her pregnant. She was my wife, for heaven sakes! However, when Bella mentioned him teaching his grandkids to play an instrument, he did smile a bit wistfully.

That night, after a long day at work, I was ready for bed. I stumbled into the house and called for Bella. She didn't answer at first, but after a little searching, I found her asleep on the bed. I kept telling her to take it easy, and I was just glad to see that she was. I kissed her forehead, and her eyes fluttered opened.

"How were things with Charlie today?" I asked.

"Good, he came here and made me stay in bed, while we went over the different hand positions," she said, stretching.

"Want me to order dinner?" I asked.

"Vicky still at the office?" she pouted.

I shrugged. "It was either her or me."

"I'd much rather have you home, even if you can't cook," she said, pulling me down on the bed. I snuggled next to her.

"Yes, but I can order all your favorites like a pro," I said, giving her a light kiss. We still had a few more weeks, before we could start trying for a baby.

"Have you thought about making another robot, so you can spend more time at home?" she asked.

I hadn't, but it was a good idea. Vicky was able to do the work of several employees. "No, but I wonder what Emmett and Rosalie are doing with their Rosie bot these days? I can always program her to do a few extra tasks."

"I just really miss having help at home, especially since you have me taking it easy. I think after having a baby, I'll probably need even more help."

I hummed, deep in thought, realizing she was right. She really should have more help at home. I knew my mother would jump at the chance to help with a baby, but I'd be the first to admit, she was a bit overbearing. "I'll see what I can do. Is there someone you want it modeled after?" I asked.

She smirked. "How about you?"

"You want to replace me?" I asked, worried.

She laughed. "No, silly, but if we can get another bot that looks like either me or you, then when the baby needs tending to, they'll think they're being looked after by mom or dad, especially since you work so much. Maybe having one take your place at the lab wouldn't be a bad thing. You could work from home more," she said, sounding a little more excited.

"I'll look into it, if that's what you want."

My phone started ringing, and I saw it was Marvin. I knew he was butting heads with my father, but I hated being pulled into the middle of it.

"Hello," I answered glumly.

"Are we going to the asteroid belt or Mars? Because you need to clarify that with your crazy, obsessive father! We have ships we're designing to latch on to an asteroid, and your father came in again and told us to scrap it all, that we had to go to Mars, before we did anything else."

I sighed. My father would just not drop going to Mars. Every time I was sure he agreed with me on the direction the company should go, I'd get a call from Marvin, telling me he was back to obsessing about Mars again. "Focus on the asteroid ships, Marvin, you know the mission. It's never changed since you were hired. If my father doesn't start towing the line, I'm going to have to fire him."

"I'm sorry, Edward. He just keeps coming in and undermining me in front of my team. They're getting frustrated with him as well."

"I'll talk to him. I'm sorry, Marvin, really, I am. How is Padme doing?" I asked, hoping to put him in a better mood.

"We're doing great. Going to your wedding was the best decision I ever made. We've been talking about possibly getting a place together. I know it's a little fast, but she's awesome, and she just gets me," he gushed.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I don't think it's too fast. Bella moved in after a week. If it's right, it's right. Why wait around, when you can be happy together now?" I encouraged.

"You know, you're right. I was nervous about having her live with me, well…because I'm not the cleanest or coolest guy. I thought there should be some mystery to me, because let's face it, I don't have a lot else going for me."

"Mystery probably annoys her," Bella shouted. Apparently, she was eavesdropping. "Has she been to your house yet?" she asked him, and I moved the phone between us, so she could hear the answer.

"Yeah, a couple of times. We usually go to her place, since she has a bigger TV."

"She's probably already snooped around, then. Don't hold back with her, Marv. You've been together long enough that she should be to the phase of farting in front of you."

I giggled like an idiot. I said idiot, because she glared at me.

"Well, we did have chili the other night…" Marvin admitted.

"Did she fart in front of you?" Bella asked.

"Yes, but only after I accidentally farted first. I swear, I couldn't hold it in. I was worried I'd crapped my pants. I apologized up and down and turned on the fan, and she just sat there, pinching her nose. I thought she was going to dump me for sure, but then she just lifted her leg and let one rip. It was louder than mine and smelled just as bad. She started laughing hysterically, so I figured I was in the clear," Marvin explained.

"Yeah, you're in a good place now. You're fine to move in with her," Bella encouraged.

"Good luck keeping it from your mom," I teased, and Bella glared at me.

"Just buy her a ring, and then have her move in. Tell your mom it's one of the steps to getting engaged. Your mother will just be happy to have you settling down," she coached him.

"Thanks, Bella, you're the second best," Marvin thanked her. It always annoyed me, when he called her second best, but Bella reassured me it was a good thing, because Padme was supposed to be the best to him.

"You're THE best," I grumbled, as she hung up with my cousin.

"I know I'm your best, just like you're mine. How about ordering me some dinner?" she said and yawned.

I got off the bed and kissed her head. "I'll order the food, you rest. I'll wake you when it's time to eat."

"Okay," she said and kissed me again. "Love you," she whispered, as she snuggled down into bed.

"Love you, too."

I put the call in for some food and then went to my study to call my father. This wasn't going to be fun. It was time for him to fall in line, or he would be finding a new line of work.