Chapter Thirty-seven
I sat in my wheelchair in the doorway of Arwen's bedroom and shook my head. "She's supposed to be sleeping in her crib." I pointed out.
"I'll be working all day and won't get to see her, I wanted some cuddle time before I have to go." Edward whispered back.
Arwen was almost twelve weeks old now and still slept for at least seven hours at night, I would say that she never cries, but she never gets the chance. Someone inevitably picks her up the moment she so much as sighs. Seriously we always have parents and grandparents around, it's worse than a train station around here sometimes. Always someone waiting to get some cuddle time.
"You are spoiling her." I said, though watching him in the rocker with her on his chest was the most adorable sight in the world. She had his hair and eye color but otherwise, she looks like me, or so I am told.
"She will be spoiled for the rest of her life, it's the least she deserves, just like her beautiful Mamma." He said slowly getting up.
"Glad to hear it." Dad said from behind me, his arms sliding around my shoulders as he kissed the top of my head. "Morning Angel."
"Morning Daddy." I replied.
"Your first appointment will be in the shop in half an hour, get moving and open up." Dad said, grinning as he put the keys in Edward's hand and lifted Arwen from his arms.
"Hey?" Edward complained, "don't you have a client coming in soon?"
"Not for an hour, now bugger off so I can have some cuddle time." Dad said grinning.
Edward pouted as he walked over to me, he leaned down so I could kiss his pouting lips until he smiled, "we'll come and see you later." I promised.
"Good." He said and kissed me again, then he raised his voice so Dad could hear him clearly. "Love you, 'Mrs Cullen.'" I could hear Dad's annoyance from across the room.
"Get to work Cullen before I fire you." Dad said.
"My wife is your business partner, you can't fire me." Edward replied with a grin.
"There is always a chance I could change her mind about getting married to you again, divorce is really popular I believe." Dad said, a big grin spreading across his face.
"I doubt that, not after last night." He said waggling his eyebrows at me and kissing me before I could slap him.
Last night was the first time we had had sex since Arwen was born, I was worried about it, but I shouldn't have been. By the time we actually made love I'd had so many orgasms that I had lost count.
"I'll be done by three, so Alistair can pick me up on the way to the hospital." Edward said.
"You don't need to do that, it's just a first assessment." I pointed out.
"We are coming with you, Angel, it's not up for debate, we all want to be with you." Dad insisted. I was going to see a surgeon at the hospital who specialized in injuries similar to mine. This was to see if my injury was actually repairable, if so, this would be a long and painful process of operations and rehabilitation. It would not be easy but I knew that my family would be with me through every single second.
~U~
Alistair pulled the SUV to a stop in front of the hospital, Jared, Mom, Dad, Esme and Edward were all here for support. Jasper would have been here but he needed to stay at the shop and Ice was at home on bed rest, she was four days past her due date and had taken to doing anything and everything to start her labor. From eating raw chili's to taking bumpy car rides, Noah was where he wanted to be and didn't want to leave apparently.
Uncle Carlisle met us at the door, I wanted him with us so that he could explain all the medical jargon that would be well beyond my understanding. My grandparents all wanted to be here too, but Mom promised to have her cell on speaker so that they could hear everything that we did. I sat in his office between Mom and Edward, Dad stood behind me with his hands on my shoulders. Whilst the surgeon looked through all my x-rays and scans.
"Well, I can't say with absolute certainty until I actually get in there and see the extent of the damage. But from what I've seen of the x-rays and scans, I'm ninety five percent positive that this will be a success. I don't envision this taking more than two or three surgeries, but you will require at least three to four months to recover in between." He informed us.
"How long will it be before she can walk again?" Dad asked.
"Rehabilitation can take six months or more, so we are talking at least eighteen months to two years." He said, Mom and Esme gasped as Edward squeezed my hand.
"Why so long?" Mom asked worriedly.
"Isabella is going to have to build up the muscles in the legs that she hasn't been using, before she has to lean to walk again, it will be a slow and difficult process. I have arranged for you to meet some veterans who are in different stages of the program, they will be happy to answer any of your questions."
Two years... my daughter will be two and a half before I can stand on my own two feet. I know it isn't really that long in the grand scheme of things, but heck, it would feel like an eternity. Over two years before I could walk down the aisle, I didn't think it would take that long. But worse than anything, two more years of agony, hell, even longer with the pain from the scars... I was already tired of the constant pain, could I really bear it and worse for two more years?
"We will start you on daily physio as soon as possible, I should be able to schedule the operation as soon as next month, if that is okay." He said and then everyone turned to look at me. Now I wished that I hadn't left Arwen with Nanna and Grandma, I needed to see her face. I needed to have a reason to do this, I needed to know that the pain would be worth it. I couldn't look at any of them, Mom and Edward squeezed my hands but I barely felt it.
"Princess?" Mom asked, almost in a whisper.
"M-maybe I can speak to the veterans before I d-decide on anything." I stuttered as tears ran down my face. Only four months after giving birth I was going into surgery? That meant that I had a month before I had to wean Arwen off the breast, or rather, Arwen and Edward, my perverted husband had a thing for breast milk.
"Buttercup?" Edward said, coaxing my chin up, "you don't have to decide today, if you are not ready for this, then it can wait until you are. No one will push you, I know its only been three months since you had Arwen, I'm really not sure any of us are ready, it can be another month or six months. You don't have to decide this minute, we are all here for you, but only you will know when you are ready, Baby." He said caressing my cheek and wiping away my tears with his thumbs. He kissed my forehead and then my lips. He stood up, stretched his neck before sighing deeply. "Right then, lets take you to a room filled with tattooed, muscled up men in uniform." He said, looking and sounding like it was the last place in the world he wanted to go.
"Allow me to lead the way." Dad said grinning at Edward as he wheeled my chair out of the room.
Far from enjoying my visit to the rehab center at the hospital, I was too preoccupied. Mom and Esme seemed to be enjoying themselves though. All I kept thinking about was the thunder I could hear in the distance, what if lightening hits the house? What if it hits the tree in the yard and that falls through the window, my baby could get hurt. What if someone breaks in? Well then they would get annihilated by Nanna, but what if there were too many of them? What if they take Awren?
This had been the first time I had left her anywhere, what if the electricity fails and she gets electrocuted? What if there is a fire? I pulled out my cell from my pocket.
"Everything okay there Angel? You're very quiet." Dad asked.
I gasped as I looked at my cell, what if answering it sparks the house to ignite? I shoved my cell back into my pocket. "Can we go home?" I asked Dad.
"Of course, is everything okay?" He asked, I shook my head.
"I need to see Arwen." Was all I could say.
"I'm sure that she is fine Angel..." He started.
"I need to see her." I insisted.
"You know your Nanna wouldn't let anything happen to her." He pointed out.
"I know." I said, I did know that, but... "I just need her." I said, my emotions getting the better of me as the tears began to fall again.
Edward, Alistair and Jared took me home, Jared taking the SUV back to get everyone else. Lucinda came out to meet us when she saw the car.
"Is everything alright?" She asked worriedly as Edward placed me into my wheelchair.
"Bella, was just worried about Arwen." Alistair explained.
Lucinda stroked my cheek. "Started to envision the end of the world? All sorts of disasters and kidnapping?" She asked, I gasped and nodded guiltily. "Sweetie, that is perfectly normal, the first party I took Robert to I was imagining that they were luring me there to take him into some sort of religious sect. I was scared to death the entire time we were there and don't even get me started on what happened when I did finally leave the house without him." She confessed, it did make me feel less guilty, well a little tiny bit anyway.
The moment that I had her back in my arms I felt the weight of the world ease off my shoulders. Maybe I was being silly imagining all those things but I couldn't help that. There was no way in this world that I would ever risk anything bad happening to her, ever. I could almost imagine what it would be like when Arwen was sixteen and met a boy she liked... Between Edward, Dad and my grandparents, poor kid didn't stand a chance. Hopefully anyone would be too scared to hurt her, well I could hope anyway. I can honestly say that I will never stop worrying about everything that effects her for the rest of her life.
~U~
I started weaning both Arwen and Edward off the breast slowly, by the time Arwen was six months I was almost back to normal. I could also take a bath and cover my belly with water, I was so happy that day, it was like I had won the lottery. Edward wasn't thrilled, he liked it when I'd lean over the bath and the hot water would make my breasts leak and it turned him on, like I said, pervert.
Eclipse was really busy all the time and we were booked solid for six months in advance. It was so busy that we couldn't even do walk-ins anymore, I didn't do any tattooing yet but I did a lot of the artwork while Arwen was asleep. Dad had made a subtle change to the shop sign, he'd kept the CCNW but he'd added, 'family business.'
I was finally ready, Arwen was just over six months, Ice was home with Noah on maternity leave. He finally came to join the family two weeks after his due date, Ice had to have a cesarean because she's barely five foot and Noah was just under eleven pound in weight, that explained why she was so big. Now she spent most of her time rubbing creams and lotions into her stretchmarks. Ice was looking after Arwen as the rest of the family were all at the hospital with me. I was going under the knife, this operation was going to take about four or five hours and I was terrified.
Edward clutched my hand as they wheeled me towards the operating theater, I was shaking, I was hungry and seriously considering changing my mind.
"I love you, Mrs Cullen, I'll be right here waiting for you when you are done. Stay strong my beautiful Buttercup, I have left my heart with you, keep it safe." He whispered, squeezing my hand and kissing my lips one more time before I went through the door where he could not follow.
~U~
Three and a half years later.
Alistair's car pulled to a stop in the grocery store parking lot, he carried my two month old son Seth in the baby carrier. I walk in holding Arwen's hand and the first people we bumped into, as we walked through the doors, were none other than Jessica and Lauren, both with toddlers in their carts.
"Oh look it's her royal highness slumming it with the poverty-stricken." Lauren hissed loudly.
"Don't you have people to do the menial jobs for you now? I thought you were too busy leaning to do the walking thing, are those even your real legs?" Jessica said snidely.
"Excuse me Ladies, but if you wouldn't mind moving your poverty-stricken arses out of the way. Some of us have better things to do with our time than belittling everyone in hearing distance." Alistair said, I couldn't help but grin at him.
"Oh lar-de-da, this must be the English butler, you should leave, you don't belong around here, no one wants you here." Jessica said to me. I found this most entertaining as my family owned more than half the properties in town now and had put so much money into the development of the town that the town was now thriving and growing.
"So have either of you identified the fathers of your children yet or at least narrowed it down to less than half of the town?" I asked sweetly.
"What makes you so sure that it isn't Edward?" Lauren asked getting right up in my face.
I looked down at my children, both of whom had Edward's bronze hair and green eyes. Then I looked at Lauren's blond haired son and Jessica's black haired son. "Oh, I'm only one hundred percent sure that he wouldn't come near either of you." I said, lifting Arwen up and moving to walk around them both.
"I can one hundred and twenty percent agree with you there, Edward has excellent taste." Alistair agreed.
"Edward's only with you for the money you know." Jessica said seething.
"Yes that would be why he was with me when I had nothing and why he is marrying me again next week." I said rolling my eyes. "Find someone else to be petty with girls or at least come up with something a bit more imaginative. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a really hot husband to get back to." I said leaving them both gaping. So yes, having children has given me a lot more gumption, as Lucinda puts it.
I have to say that I haven't been into town for a very long time and especially not since people that I knew in school had finished college and moved back home. Today was different, Arwen had asked for a card and some candy for someone in school as it was their birthday today. If I'd know earlier I would have had someone else do it, but I was on my way to the school before I took Seth to see Granddad Carlisle at the clinic for a check up. I had a two hour tattoo to do today, so I was running around getting things done before going to work.
I still only worked a few hours a week, but that was more so the grandparents could have Seth to themselves as Arwen was now at school. My back still played up and ached if I did too much running around or stood for too long but it was manageable. I was ready and sorted, my wedding was in a few days time and I was finally going to be able to walk down the aisle with my Arwen as my flower girl.
~U~
"Edward, why have you put a line through your next appointment?" I asked when I was working at the desk in the shop for a few hours, the following day, so that Mom could have time with Seth and I could have a break.
"Alistair told Lucinda what happened to you in the store yesterday and Lucinda told me. Obviously I would have preferred that you told me yourself." He said coming up behind me and sliding his arms around me and kissing my neck.
"Nothing happened, you don't have to lose a client because of it." I pointed out, I felt him shrug as he kissed up my neck. "Have you called to let her know?" I asked.
"Fuck no, I want to see her face when I tell her to go fuck herself." He said before tugging on my earlobe with his teeth, I rolled my eyes at him, even though I knew he couldn't see.
"So what are you going to do for the next few hours?" I asked.
"I think we should go and christen the back room again." He said into my neck.
"The last time we did that I got pregnant with Seth." I said feeling him grin against my neck. "And don't even joke about getting me pregnant again so soon or I really will be holding your balls instead of your hand when I'm in labor." I promised.
"Fine, I guess I'll have to wait until our wedding night then." He said sulking.
"As long as you are only talking about having sex by then and not inseminating me again, then I will have to agree." I said, I could wait another few days, we hadn't had sex since before Seth was born and had already decided to wait, to make our second wedding night special.
"But I want a house full of our kids." He complained.
"Hey, I don't even know if things have shrank back into place from Seth, I very much doubt it will if I have to pop out a third one. I'd probably have a VJJ like Lauren if I tried to pop out half a dozen." I suggested, making him shudder, just as Jessica walked into the shop, her face lit up when she saw Edward but then she scowled when she saw me.
"Hi Edward." She said all breathy, batting her overdone eyelashes at my husband.
"I've canceled your appointment, you can just leave." Edward said moving to my side but keeping one arm around me.
"Why, I'm here, I'm not late... am I?" She asked looking at her cell.
"You tried to upset my wife and actually succeeded in upsetting my daughter in the grocery store yesterday, why the fuck would I want to tattoo you after that?" Edward countered.
"Oh my god! You told him?" She said actually gaping at me.
"No, she didn't, it wasn't even worthy of remembering, but Bella wasn't the only witness." Edward said.
"Oh god, I'm sorry okay? Now can I get this done?" She asked.
"You really have no idea do you?" Edward asked her, she just stared up at him dreamily. "Even if that so called apology had been heartfelt it still wouldn't be enough for me, after you insulted my wife. So get the fuck out!" He said growling the last few words. She actually stamped her foot petulantly, before turning to leave. "And for future reference, you and your even skankier friend are barred, indefinitely."
"That was so hot." I said pulling his face down to me so that I could kiss him.
"Backroom?" He asked against my lips.
"Fuck yeah!"
A/N We're nearing the end now, sniff. Just one chapter left to go, sniff, sniff, possibly an epi too, sniff.
Beta'd by the one and only, Lady Seif.
Thanks for reading, see you next time
XXX Mysty.