A/N: Hi everyone…here we go with the next chapter!

We of course have to thank our beta, dolphin62598, who got this back to us really quickly. Thanks for everything!

So without any further ado…here we go!

I'm staring out into the night, trying to hide the pain
I'm going to the place where love
And feeling good don't ever cost a thing
And the pain you feel's a different kind of pain
Well, I'm going home, back to the place where I belong
And where your love has always been enough for me
I'm not running from, no, I think you got me all wrong
I don't regret this life I chose for me
But these places and these faces are getting old
So I'm going home, well I'm going home

Home ~ Daughtry

*BPOV*

It had been a month since I returned home from my glorious honeymoon with my husband. My husband. Just thinking about Edward as mine, truly and legally, still overwhelmed me in the most splendid way. When we had arrived home, I was literally flying on cloud nine. I had just had the most extraordinary wedding that any girl could ever hope for. I was surrounded by friends and family; most importantly Edward's family, my parents, and my girls. Then we had the most romantic and sexy honeymoon that I could have ever imagined.

The girls had been thrilled to see us when they met us at the airport with my parents in tow. When we got back to the condo we sat back and watched with big smiles as they squealed with excitement over all the souvenirs we brought back for them.

Life settled back to normal for us as we both went back to work. I was getting bigger by the day, which left me feeling very tired after long days at work, but the morning sickness had pretty much subsided, so I was at least happy about that.

I almost began to get used to everything being perfect; thoughts of custody, lawyers and James pushed to the furthest, hidden corners of my mind…almost.

It was a beautiful Saturday when Edward had taken the girls to his parents for a day of swimming in their pool, leaving me with a rare day alone. I decided to treat myself to a manicure and pedicure, mostly so I could have my swollen feet massaged and pampered at the hands of an expert.

After that I ran a few errands, stopping lastly as the grocery store so I could pick up some stuff we needed in the house. I was debating over two different brands of the same item when I heard the voice that I had managed to forget about for the last month.

"Bella Aro…I mean Swan…or I guess I mean Cullen."

I froze momentarily before slowly turning to face the direction of said voice. Standing several feet away from me in the aisle was James.

I'd turned around, but before I could open my mouth in response, I was stunned by the look on his face. His eyes were wide with shock as he stared at my belly. Instinctively I dropped both boxes I had been holding and placed my hands protectively over my stomach.

"So I guess the rumors are true," he said. "I read in the paper that you and Cullen got married, but I see the pregnancy rumors weren't just rumors at all…you're knocked up again, huh?" he stated as more of a fact rather than a question since it was obvious by now that I was pregnant. "I guess that explains the quickie wedding."

My fists clenched at my side so tightly that I thought my newly manicured nails would break skin, but I quickly reminded myself that I could not let him get me worked up. If I allowed James to make me react irrationally again I could screw up any chances I had in our legal woes, plus Edward would be furious with me, and then in turn with James, and I needed Edward with me now, not in jail due to assault charges.

I closed my eyes and counted back from ten, breathing deeply, before opening my eyes again to look at him. "Why must you be so cruel?" I asked.

The expression on his face changed for a moment. It softened momentarily from the scowl he had been wearing, before it quickly hardened again.

"Cruel? Cruel! You want to talk about cruel," he said a bit louder than I would have liked, seeing that there were other people at the end of the aisle we were in. "You have no idea what cruelty is until you aren't allowed to see your daughter for two months, after you tried working so hard to find a space back in her life again. This isn't just about you, Bella! I read in the paper that your parents were at your wedding. I guess you reconciled with them," he spat. "They did something wrong to you, but you forgave them and have let them back into you and Elyse's life. I made mistakes too, ones that I'm trying to make up for, and you have pulled her back out of my life because I was late dropping her off one time!"

"It wasn't just about being late, James, although that was a huge scare for me. It's about you allowing your parents to be there as well that night when I specifically asked you not to. Do you know how cruel they have been to me? Do I not have a right to wish that my daughter doesn't associate with people who talk badly about me any chance they get?"

"Oh, like no one in your camp has ever said a bad word about me," he shot back.

"Maybe…yes," I responded, "but never in front of Elyse. Your parent's attacked me at the park a few months ago right in front of my daughter. She was crying, not understanding what was going on. And let's remember one thing James, people in my camp, as you put it, have reasons not to like you. You are the one who did me wrong, not the other way around. I tried to make our marriage work, and when I couldn't do it any longer, I scraped by for years being a single parent when I was basically still a child myself. I didn't have the luxury of running home to my parents' house, without my responsibilities in tow, to spend a few years getting myself back together. I had to keep it together on my own for years, even when I didn't want to anymore. Even when all I wanted to do was crawl in a hole and forget everything. So do not stand there all high and mighty, expecting sympathy, or expecting anything from me!"

When I finished my little speech I stood up a little taller, feeling proud of myself for saying what I needed to say without losing my cool too much.

James and I stood staring at each other before he started to move forward with his cart. Just as he reached me, he leaned in close to speak quietly in my ear. "I don't expect anything from you. I just hope the day comes when this becomes about me and Elyse. I have Victoria now, you have Edward. We had a past together that was not good, but I just hope the day comes when you stop making this whole situation about me and you, instead of about me and Elyse. She has always been happy when I spent time with her. I have done nothing but respect her and try to gradually gain acceptance into her life. You are the only one who harbors all the resentment, and while I understand it, maybe you should start thinking about what she wants, and not what you want."

Swiftly he backed away from me, took his cart and began pushing forward. I turned and watched him walk down the aisle, and when he disappeared around the corner, my body sagged. He managed to do what he always did to me…unnerve me. I knew I was right in how I felt about him, and how I felt about him as part of Elyse's life, but why did he manage to make me question it? Was all that I was trying to do really based solely on my own feelings of our failed relationship, or was I trying to protect my daughter against some bad, evil man?

Suddenly feeling overwhelmed, I abandoned my cart and headed towards the exit of the store. I didn't want to risk running into him again, so my grocery shopping would have to wait. I just wanted to get home where I could feel safe and unexposed. I had to calm myself down for the sake of my babies, both born and unborn. I knew with the upcoming court appearance things were bound to get worse before they got better and I had to figure it all out so I could be prepared.

*EPOV*

I arrived back at the condo just after five in the evening. The girls were still at my parents' house since they had both worn themselves out running around and swimming all day, and had fallen asleep on the couch after we had come in for some food. My mother told me to just let them sleep and we could pick them up in the morning.

That actually kind of worked out perfectly because I had a big day planned for us tomorrow, so we could get the girls on the way to the big surprise I had in store.

The condo was dark and quiet when I arrived, so I figured that Bella wasn't home yet from whatever she was doing all day. I started walking through the living room towards the kitchen to start dinner when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. I stopped short and looked at the corner of the room and saw Bella sitting in one of our oversized chairs, looking out the big window.

"Bella?" I said softly.

Her eyes flickered over to mine and she gave me a soft, small smile, but it was the moisture in her eyes that I noticed immediately. In a second I was across the room, kneeling down in front of her. My eyes scanned her whole body, looking for any signs of injury or distress. When I saw nothing outwardly I looked back up into her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"James," was all she responded.

I sat back on my feet. "What about James? What now?" I asked more harshly then I meant to.

She shook her head and looked back out towards the window. "Just ran into him at the grocery story today. He heard about the wedding, he obviously got confirmation that I'm pregnant, and he also managed to make me feel guilty about keeping Elyse away from him."

"Bella, why do you always allow him to affect you like this? Of course he is going to say things, anything, he can to make his point and look better…" but before I could finish she cut me off.

"But what if he's right this time, Edward? He said that the real reason I'm keeping her from him now is because of my own feelings towards him and our failed relationship, and things we did to each other. But he feels like his relationship with Elyse should be separate from what we were, and even though I still think he has a lot to learn about responsibility and fatherhood, maybe he's right. Maybe I'm taking out all my hate for what he did to me as a wife, and putting that wedge between a relationship they have as father and daughter."

She sat up and rested her elbows on her legs, placing her face in her hands. She spoke again without looking up.

"If something ever happened between the two of us, and our relationship didn't last, no matter how angry we were at each other for whatever happened, would that be a reason to keep each other from the kids? I know James left me, but he was a drunk for all those years. I wouldn't have wanted him around her then even if he had wanted to be. Now he is sober, and I'm still trying to keep them apart at every turn. I don't want to make the wrong decision here, Edward, but I just don't know what to do anymore." She finally looked at me again. "I feel so lost."

I didn't know what to say. I still wanted to kill him. Why was it that whenever things seemed to be going good…great even…James managed to ruin everything in some way or another.

"I'm sorry you feel lost, Bell. There isn't much we can do about it now, so let's just try and stand the ground we've been standing as a family for now, and when the court stuff happens, we'll deal with it then. There is no use stressing over stuff that we can't do anything about right now."

She took a deep breath through her nose and nodded slightly. "Okay," she said. "So anyway, where are the girls?" she asked as I pulled her up off the chair and started leading her towards the kitchen.

"At my parents' house. They conked out on the couch after swimming and running around like the little monsters that they are. We'll pick them up in the morning on our way to…" I stopped short.

Bella, of course never missing a thing, looked back at me from where she was now standing in front of the refrigerator, looking for something to make for dinner. "On our way to what? She asked.

I could try and lie but that would be pointless since she could always see right through me. "Nothing," I said with a small, mischievous smile. "It's a surprise, so just drop it."

"Edward! You know that I hate surprises," she whined in a way that was only cute when Bella did it.

"No you don't. You just don't like them when you know they are coming beforehand, but just don't know what they are."

She stared at me for a moment before sticking her tongue out at me. "You suck."

"Well, no, actually you suck. I lick.."

"Eww, you pig!" she screeched through laughter as I ducked out of the way of a flying dish towel to my head.

I made my way around the island to where she was standing and wrapped my arms around her and she attempted to wiggle out of my grip.

I bent down and whispered into her ear. "And you love it."

I saw goosebumps form over the delicate skin of her neck as I leaned down and kissed it. She sighed and melted into me.

"That, Mr. Cullen…I do."

*BPOV*

I quickly squashed down the melancholy I had been feeling after my encounter with James. Edward was right; I couldn't let this bring me down at every turn. Things were bound to get dicier once the legal stuff truly started, and I couldn't allow myself to be pushed to the edge every time I had to deal with James. The situation would ultimately fall the way it was meant to, and I just hoped that whatever the outcome, it was what was best for my daughter. Although there was no way in hell I was handing her over to him fully. They would have to kill me first. I had no qualms about living in some remote part of the world on the run with my family if that is what it took to keep us together. So even though that was a worst case scenario, I let that attitude keep me sane, knowing that at least I had options in the back of my mind…no matter how crazy they were.

Edward and I spent the evening enjoying the rare quiet time. We had a nice dinner together, eating on our bed picnic style, and watching old movies on the television. We then got on his laptop and looked at stuff we would need for the babies' nursery. I was still getting used to Edward's money, our money, but it was nice to be able to see stuff that I truly needed for the babies and just be able to buy it with the click of a button, without a second thought. Most of the stuff I had gotten for Elyse was either hand me downs, or stuff I found on sale or at second hand stores. This was like a whole new experience for me.

"Do you think all this stuff will fit in the spare room we are turning into the nursery?" I asked as he finally shut down the laptop and placed it on the floor beside the bed.

"Yes, Bella," he said. "And if it doesn't, I'll kick Emmett and Rose out of the condo next door and combine the two together to give us more space."

I gaped up at him. "You're kidding, right?"

He just laughed at me and leaned down to kiss me. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. We'll make it work…don't worry about all that."

He kissed me again and it quickly developed into something deeper and hotter. I moaned against his mouth and he gently pushed me back so I was lying down. He spread along the side of me, leaning up to hover over my face to continue our kiss. I wanted nothing more than him to lay on top of me so I could feel the weight of him pressed down on me. It was always a feeling that I enjoyed, but I knew with my belly getting pretty large now, that wasn't possible, so I took whatever I could get.

His hand slid under the hem of my shirt and he rubbed slow, gentle circles around my bump. The feeling was amazing. I know a lot of times people just walk up to pregnant women and touch their stomachs' freely, but I wasn't a huge fan of that. Edward on the other hand was one of the only people who could freely touch my belly and make my insides turn to goo. But the sensation also relaxed me and inadvertently made me yawn against his mouth.

He pulled back with an amused expression on his face. "Am I boring you Mrs. Cullen?"

"Huh?" I said, and then laughed when I realized what I had done. "No, of course not, it's just being pregnant really sneaks up on you at the most inopportune moments."

He laughed. "I think you need to rest. Bedtime."

"What? Wait…no!" I said as he started to climb out of bed and walked over to the dresser where he slipped off his jeans and put on his pajama bottoms. The site of his body while he changed made me wish my stupid body would stop betraying me, and that I hadn't yawned when I did. "Get back over here!" I said. "I'm not done with you."

He laughed again, a hearty laugh that warmed me from the inside out. "Bella, we have plenty of time for that, but you have had a long day, we have a…busy day tomorrow, and we should get some rest."

"But we have the house all to ourselves. That is a rare thing," I pouted.

He looked at me as if he were weighing his options and trying to decide what the right thing to do was, but when I couldn't stifle the second yawn that came out of me, the decision was made. He climbed into bed next to me…fully clothed in his pajamas I might add…and pulled me into his embrace.

"Sleep," was all he said.

And even though I wanted to argue like a petulant child, a few minutes later I was overcome by just that…sleep.

I woke the next morning wrapped up in Edward. It was nine o'clock and for us that was sleeping in. No little girls around to wake us up at the crack of dawn. I looked over my shoulder and saw that he was still sound asleep. It wasn't a common thing for me to wake before him, so I relished in seeing him fast asleep.

After lying awake for a few moments I slipped out of the bed quietly and made my way into the bathroom. I turned on the shower, and when the water had heated up, I stepped in. The hot stream felt wonderful against my swollen and achy body. I stood facing the spray for a good five minutes without moving. Suddenly I felt hands slide around my waist and rest on my stomach. I jumped a little at being startled, but slowly melted back into the chest that rested along my back.

"Good morning," he breathed into my ear.

"Good morning to you, too," I said in almost an embarrassingly panting way.

His hands slid up from my stomach, over my ribs, and up to my breasts where he gently cupped me. They had started to get sore as the months of my pregnancy wore on, so he was always mindful to be more gentle with that part of my body, but it still felt nice to have him touch me because he had learned my body just as well as I did.

I moaned and arched my back, pushing my chest further into his touch.

"Bella…" he moaned out as well.

I reached back and ran my fingers through his now wet hair, pulling it a bit roughly so I could grasp him, and then I pushed his face to mine, kissing him over my shoulder as he continued to touch me. As our kiss deepened his right hand slid down and lifted my one leg up onto the bench seat we had in the shower. I gasped into his mouth as his fingers found my ache, but I just pulled his face down again more intensely and kissed him with everything I had.

His sensual touching at the apex of my thighs made my one leg start to shake as I got closer to coming undone. He slowly pulled away and gently lowered my one leg back down to the floor. He kissed my shoulder and whispered to me. "Bend over and hold on to the bench, and be careful. Tell me if you feel unstable."

I nodded at him and did as he asked. Once I was situated, I felt his hands run down my back, over my ass, and then around to my hips. Then without any hesitation he pushed into me from behind. My hands squeezed the back of the bench that I was holding on to. It felt so good. I loved when Edward took me from behind. We had done it this way before, but usually it was in the bed, never before standing up in the shower. The slickness of the water falling over us, mixed with everything I knew he felt like, mixed together deliciously well.

He moved slowly at first, probably testing out how I could stand. I knew his overprotective nature would be afraid I would slip and fall, but what he didn't know was that I trusted him, I trusted us, and there was nothing about our lovemaking that would ever strike fear in me.

After several minutes of him being cautious, I felt him start to relax and let go. His rhythm picked up and I let myself get lost in it. His one hand slid off my hip and he bent over some, resting his chest on my back as his hand found my breast again. His other hand resumed its pleasurable torture where I needed it most, and after a few more minutes of all that combined stimulation, I exploded. I yelled out in a most unladylike way, but Edward seemed to like it because he moaned louder and picked up even more speed until he was yelling out himself, finally stilling behind me as he reached his own climax.

We both kept still, trying to catch our breath as we remained bent over. Slowly Edward stood up and pulled out of me. He helped me straighten up and turned me around to face him. His hands pushed my wet hair out of my face and he studied my expression carefully.

"You okay?" he asked.

I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing myself as close as my belly would allow me. "I'm better than okay. That almost makes up for me being mad at you last night for not putting out," I said before I kissed his chin.

He burst out laughing. "Not putting out? You are too funny Bella Cullen."

"I try," I said cheekily.

He kissed me all nice and proper, making my legs turn to goo for a second time in the shower, and then we helped each other get washed up since we had to pick the girls up and then go to whatever Edward's surprise was.

We arrived at Carlisle and Esme's house shortly before eleven o'clock. We brought bagels and cream cheese for everyone to have breakfast while I brought the girls upstairs to change into the clothes I brought for them from home. Once we were all done, we thanked Edward's parents and headed out towards the car.

"So are you going to tell me yet what this surprise is?" I asked after we had been driving for about fifteen minutes.

He looked at me out of the corner of his eye, before focusing back on the road. "Okay, I'll give you a big hint," he said. "A few months ago I was working on something for a new client and you helped me out on some of the specific layouts. It's finally done and I want you to get a chance to see how well we worked together."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. What the heck was he talking about? Then suddenly I remembered. "Oh…that house you were building for your client? I remember. It's done? How did it turn out? Do they like it?"

Unexpectedly, we were turning onto a bright, pretty street, surrounded by beautiful looking houses. Edward didn't answer me at first since he seemed a little distracted. Finally, he turned into a driveway, and after the trees opened up I could clearly see the house that had been nothing more than a blueprint sprawled across Edward's work desk just months ago. It was beautiful. It was large, but not ostentatious. My man really knew what he was doing and I could tell why he was so successful. If all his clients received this type of outcome to the jobs they hired him for, there was no doubt why they kept coming back to him time and time again.

He cut the engine and the girls started to scramble out of their seats. He opened the door and I did the same. We met in front of the car and I was still staring up at the house in amazement.

"Is anyone home? Should we be here?" I asked.

He smiled at me. "They haven't moved in yet, but to answer your first question from before, yes it's done. As far as how it turned out, and whether they like it, you are about to find out the answer to that yourself."

"We are meeting them here? Are you sure it is a good idea to meet them here with children? I mean, I love the girls but that can't be very professional."

Edward laughed. "It's okay, they really like kids. Come on, let's go in."

Edward took my hand and led me up to the house with the girls in tow. As soon as Edward unlocked the front door the girls took off to explore. "Don't touch anything," I called out after them. Thank goodness there was no furniture in the house yet for them to break, but that still didn't make me any less nervous about them touching and breaking something!

Edward led me around the house, from room to room. He would point out things that I had specifically suggested when he had showed me his original plans. It was all perfect. From the kitchen, family room and bedrooms, to the outside patio and landscape…everything was perfect.

When we finally finished the tour we ended up back in the foyer by the front door.

"So you like it?" he asked.

"Do I like it? I love it, Edward. I have seen what you can do with the commercial side of your business, but this is the first single family home I have ever seen you work on and it really shows your artistic side, not just your architectural side. Whomever you did this for is going to be very happy here."

Edward pulled me towards him and looked down at me. "Well then I guess that answers your last two questions. It turned out good, and they like it."

"Huh…what do you mean…" but I stopped and put my hand over my mouth. "Edward…this isn't…ours, is it?" My voice cracked and I barely got the words out before the truth was already known to me and my eyes welled with tears.

He just nodded his head but didn't say anything right away. I was overwhelmed. How could this beautiful home be ours? It was everything I had ever dreamed of in a home…and so much more. A far cry from the little two bedroom apartment Elyse and I lived in just over a year ago. My life felt like it wasn't mine, but not in a bad way, just in a very surreal way. Just when I thought things couldn't get any bigger or better…he always found a way to lift me up just a little bit higher. By now though he had lifted me so high that I felt like if I raised my hands up over my head I could sweep my finger tips through the clouds.

There was no reason for me to ask my usual who, what, why, where or when. It didn't matter. So the only thing I could do, I did. I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him so tight that I was afraid I might hurt him, but if I did, he didn't say. He hugged me back.

"Thank you," I breathed against his neck, as I buried my face there.

"No…thank you," he said. He pulled back. "I'm glad I could give you this," he waved his hand around at our surroundings, "but what you can give me is something that I could never buy with money." He bent down and kissed my belly. I ran my fingers through his hair and closed my eyes.

When he stood up we both looked at each other like the two fools in love that we were. We probably made other people rather sick when they were around us, but I didn't care. He was all I needed; him, the girls and the unborn twins.

Suddenly I dropped my hand from his in panic.

"What?" he said, looking at me startled.

"Where are those two?" I said walking away to find the girls. "Now that I know that this place is ours they really better not have touched anything."

All I could hear was his laughter as I went to look for our two little Tasmanian Devils; a smile playing on my lips as I searched.

A/N: A lot of you had guessed that Eddie was really building that house for Bella a few chapters back…ain't he so stinkin' cute?

I wasn't going to have a lemon in this chapter, but I figured after the long wait, you guys deserved one!

Leave us some feedback and thanks as always!

Pauline & Holly
xoxo