[Disclaimer] All things Twilight belong to Mrs. Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Hello my lovely readers out there. Thanks & hugs to all of you who faved & alerted this story. I can't believe I managed it to get over 700th reviews with my little soap opera here. I wouldn't still be here writing this if you wouldn't encourage me to continue.

This one is dedicated to queenred12. Thanks for loving my story although Carlisle and Esme seemed to make you pretty angry in the last chapter.

**Chapter 36**

"You're not honestly jealous of Jazz, are you?" she asked me while she added another spoon of brown sugar into the cup of tea in front of her.

"Yes, no…I don't really know. The way she looks at you makes me feel awkward somehow."

"Bella…"

She leaned over and cupped my face between her dainty hands. Her gaze softened and I felt myself drowning into the depth of her caramel eyes.

"I love you, just you and no one else." Slowly she lowered her head until her sweet breath tickled the skin of my lips. A heartbeat later her mouth was on mine and I twisted my hands into the spikey curls of her hair. She tasted sweet, so incredibly sweet and a low moan escaped her throat as the tip of my tongue slipped between her slightly parted lips to taste more of her.

I pulled her on my lap and planted several kisses down her collarbone.

"I love you too and I'm sorry for being jealous."

"I think it's cute actually, but completely unnecessary. I have zero romantic interest in her. Jazz is just a friend… technically she's my best friend and I really care for her but I'm not in love with her anymore. She knows that, well I hope she knows that."

"I hope that too." I mumbled while I continued stroking up and down her back in small circles. My fingertips stroked over the small stripe of exposed skin between her shirt and her jeans. God, I wished we had enough time for that right now, but when I checked the time on the silver watch on my wrist I realized that I was already late.

"You have to go now, Bella. Are you sure that you don't want me to come with you?"

I shook my head although I wished that I could have her there with me, constantly holding my hand as if I was a little child on the first day of school.

"It's not like I never had a job interview before, I'm just a little nervous..." or a little more nervous, I added in my head. "…because it's the first one after such a long time and it's the first time in a place like that."

She raised one eyebrow in confusion.

"I thought you worked in bookstores before?"

I nodded my head.

"Yeah of course, I did, but only in regular bookstores and not in one for gay people."

XXXX

I wiped my sweaty hands on the sleeves of my shirt and took a deep breath through my nose before I opened the door of the small bookstore. Come on Bella, get your grip together. You can do that.

The first thing I realized when I walked into the shop, were the dozens of half-naked or completely naked men on the covers of several books. Jeez, what the hell was I doing here?

"Miss Swan?"

I turned around and looked at a copper skinned beauty that looked like a modern version of Pocahontas. She was beautiful in an exotic way. Her eyelashes were so long and thick that I wondered if they were actually real.

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Leah Clearwater. You spoke to my brother on the phone I guess."

I nodded my head and cleared my throat before I spoke up again.

"Yes, I did. So you and him own this place together? It's really beautiful."

It was cozy and crowded and smelled of old books and leather.

"Technically Seth owns most of it but as he's off to University in Florida in the fall we need to find someone who can work here while he's gone."

"So your brother is gay?" I asked her while we sat down on a small couch in a corner of the shop. God, Bella what a stupid question, are you fucking stupid? This is a gay book shop; of course the owner isn't straight.

She chuckled slightly and poured me a glass of water that I emptied in one big gulp.

"You're nervous, aren't you?"

"Yeah, kind of, Miss Clearwater, I haven't worked at all since my daughter was born."

"Hmm, I see. But you really don't need to be nervous and you can ask me whatever you want to."

"Thanks." I mumbled and forced my lips into a grimace that was meant to look like a smile.

"And as for answering your question, Miss Swan…let's just say that my brother likes other men a lot…and women. He's a little bit in love with love if you understand what I mean."

"Hmm, yeah, of course, I understand. Look, Miss Clearwater…"

"Of please call me Leah and your name is Isabella, isn't it?"

"Just Bella, please."

"Fine, Bella. So my brother told me that you've worked in a bookstore before. So I guess you know how everything works."

"Yeah, I did but to be honest. The shops I've worked before didn't sell the same kind of books that you have here."

"You don't need to be nervous about that. Benjamin our other employee can tell you the basics about them. Most people that come in here know what they want anyway."

"That's a good thing I guess."

"Hmm." She seemed to hesitate for a moment before she continued.

"You can't bring your child here while you're working. Here are too many books that are not really appropriate for little kids."

"I know, Leah. I wasn't planning on having her here with me." I knew my daughter far too much to know that she would ask me a lot of unpleasant questions if I brought her here one single time.

Why is the man on the book naked? Why is this one wearing a mask? Geez, it would be far too embarrassing to have her here.

"Bella?"

"My girlfriend Ali works mainly at home. She can watch her while I'm working."

"That's good to hear. So how long have the two of you been together?"

"Just a few weeks, but it feels much longer to me. Isn't that weird?"

She shook her head and refilled the empty glass in front of me.

"Sometimes you know people for a very long time and then something happens, and it's like you suddenly discover that you didn't know them at all."

There was a bitter tone in her voice, like she was trying to suppress anger. I decided that it would be better not to ask her too much about that.

XXXX

I walked into the kitchen and realized that it smelled deliciously of cinnamon. My stomach started growling almost instantly. I remembered that I didn't have any breakfast before I left the house. Lilly looked up from her drawing and started biting on the end of her pencil.

"Hi Mommy, I helped Auntie Ali to make cinnamon rolls."

"Yeah, I can see that, sweetie."

"So, did you get the job, Bella?" Ali asked me cheerfully while she dipped the rolls into a milky colored frosting.

"I got it. They're taking me."

She wrapped her arms around me and planted kisses all over my face.

"Awesome. See, I told you that you'll get the job."

"Thanks for believing in me."

"I'll always believe in you, Bella." She whispered softly before she cupped my face between her hands and stroked down my jaw with her fingertips.

"I love you."

The shrill sound of the doorbell stopped me a split second before my lips nudged against hers.

"That's probably my sister. She kind of invited herself in when I told her that I'm baking cinnamon rolls."

She went to open the door while I put a wisp of my daughters copper hair behind her ear.

"You're okay with Mommy working, aren't you?"

"I don't know."

Something russet colored rushed into the room and almost managed to make Ali fall down to the ground.

"Fido!" Lilly called out and wrapped her arms around his huge neck. He licked her face and she wrinkled her little nose in disgust.

"Fido, you know that it's gross when you lick my face. Fido, stop that. Fido…"

"Come here, Fido!" Rosalie instructed as she entered the room. The dog whimpered slightly but obeyed instantly. She waved her hand at us and I realized that her hair looked pretty today. Did she get new highlights or something?

"Hi Bella, how did the job interview go?"

"Quite good actually,"

"That's good to hear." She mumbled and pulled out her cell to type a text.

Ali put one cinnamon roll on the empty plate in front of her blonde sister who started nibbling on it, carefully making sure not to burn her mouth.

"God, I'm starving. Can I have another?"

"You're quite hungry in the last time, aren't you?"

She dropped the tiny rest of the cinnamon roll down on the plate and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Yeah, I know. It's so embarrassing and Em is making fun of it all the time."

"Emmett is making fun of everything. He should consider working as a comedian when his security company ever goes broke."

"I just wished I could stop eating all the time, but everything smells so incredibly good right now and the taste…god, don't even get started on me with the taste."

"Rose, I don't think that you need to worry too much about that. It's not like you're close to being overweight or something like that."

"But I've already gained six pounds. I feel like a fat whale."

Six pounds, are you kidding me? Six more pounds would probably turn Thumbelina into a whale but not a regular woman.

Ali chuckled slightly and placed a second roll on her sister's plate. Rosalie seemed to hesitate for a moment but then she took it between her perfectly manicured fingers and nibbled on it.

"Do yo…ve…mu..rd?" she mumbled with her full mouth.

"What?"

"Do you have mustard?" she repeated and wiped her mouth on a napkin.

I raised one eyebrow.

"Yes, we have." I opened the fridge and handed her the small glass with mustard. She added a little bit on her plate and dipped the roll into the yellow mustard.

"Auntie Rosie, why are you eating your roll with mustard?"

"Because it tastes good, Lilly. Do you want to try some?"

"No, I don't. Mustard is yucky." She stated while she continued stroking the fur of the dog with her fingertips. He purred slightly but his head stayed rested on Rosalie's lap, his ear pressed against her stomach.

Rosalie's cell vibrated and started moving all over the table until she grabbed it and flipped it open.

"Hi Em."

"I'm having cinnamon rolls with mustard with Ali and Bella."

"Why are you sounding so pissed? Did my mother call again?"

"Good, I'm glad she didn't. We all need a little break, I think."

"Yeah, I missed the follow-up examination."

"God, Emmett, I was a little bit distracted getting your ass out of jail and listening to my mother's sobbing on the phone."

"What for? It's a waste of money and completely unnecessary and you know why."

"Yeah, I love you too. Bye."

She stuffed the cell back into the red leather handbag and sighed deeply.

"Is everything okay?" Ali asked her as she sat down on my lap. I wrapped my arms around her dainty waist and pulled her closer, nuzzling my nose against the hollow of her neck.

"Yeah, of course."

"What kind of follow-up examination was he talking about? You're not sick aren't you?"

Rosalie rolled her eyes and sighed deeply.

"For the in-vitro stuff, but it's not a big deal. It didn't work. Damn it, I knew that it wouldn't work. I don't need my fucking gynecologist to tell me that." Her voice cracked at the end and her blue eyes looked glassy while she pushed the head of the dog off of her lap. He didn't seem to move at all.

"Go away. Why can't you leave me alone, you stupid mutt?" she burst out into tears and Ali stood up and wrapped her arms around her crying sister.

"Shhh, it's okay. It's okay."

"Mommy, why is Auntie Rosie crying? Is she angry with Fido?"

"No, honey, she isn't. Will you go and play with him in the garden for a few minutes."

"Hmm, yes I will." She grabbed the metal collar and pulled the dog out of the room.

"How can you be sure that the treatment didn't work?" I asked her worriedly while I sipped on the coffee in front of me.

Rosalie inhaled sharply between her teeth and pulled back from her sister's embrace.

"I don't know who explained the basics of the reproductive circle to you, Bella. But I guess my period is a pretty obvious sign that I'm not pregnant."

"Just for the record, Rose…it's not. A lot of women still get their period although they're pregnant. That's quite common actually."

She raised one eyebrow.

"Really?"

I nodded my head and searched for one of the pregnancy guidebooks I had bought when I had Lilly.

"See, there it stands. So that is no proof at all. You should see the doctor and let her do an ultrasound or something like that."

"I don't want to do that. Not alone and I saw Emmett's face when I had the last one. He tried to hide it but he looked so incredibly disappointed."

"We can come with you if you want to." Ali suggested while she handed Rose a tissue to wipe away the black trails of mascara from her cheeks.

XXXX

"Ali, would be please be so kind to remind me why we had to drive to a hospital at the other side of town just to let them do an ultrasound?"

She cleared her throat nervously.

"We're trying to avoid Dad."

"Good luck with that, Ali. The last time you tried to avoid him you moved to the other side of the world."

"I didn't move to Paris to avoid him."

"Yeah, whatever…"

She checked the time on her cell again and sighed deeply.

"I can't believe they're letting us wait here for almost two hours."

"What did you tell Emmett about where we're going when we dropped off Lilly at your house?" I asked her while I continued stroking up and down Ali's back with my fingertips.

"That we're shopping and he asked me if I needed some plus size clothes now. God, I really need to stop eating all the time." she mumbled and pulled an apple out of her handbag to nibble on it.

"You know what. I bet this would taste a lot better with chocolate on it…or mustard. God, I love mustard."

"Mrs. McCarthy?"

"Yes?"

"We have your test results now but Dr. Howard wants to make an ultrasound too…just to be sure. Would you be so kind to follow me?"

Rosalie's face paled slightly and I realized that her hands were trembling slightly. I took the rest of the apple and threw it into a trash in front of the examination room.

When we stepped inside I realized that the walls were covered with hundreds of Polaroid pictures of new born babies. Yeah, exactly what Rose needed to see right now.

"Hello Mrs. McCarthy. I'm Dr. Siobhan Howard. How are you feeling today?"

"Hello, Dr. Howard, can we just skip the small talk part for now. I'm really nervous and I'd like to go home."

"Fine, I'll just have to do an ultrasound to be sure."

Rosalie sat down on the plastic covered chair while Dr. Howard squeezed a little bit of gel on the top of the ultrasonic test instrument.

She cringed slightly when the doctor placed it on her stomach.

"I know that it's cold, Mrs. McCarthy. Try to relax a little bit. You don't need to worry. We'll just hope for the best…"

"That's easy to say for you, Dr. Howard." She mumbled and turned her head to the side, while a single tear rolled down her cheekbone.

Ali wiped it away with her thumb and took her sister's hand in hers.

"It'll be alright, Rose."

"Hmm," the doctor mumbled while the she moved the instrument over Rosalie's flat abdomen.

"Is something wrong?" I asked her, trying to read the grey and black shadow s on the small screen.

"I'm sick. God, I wanted to have a baby and now I got cancer or some other kind of crap."

The doctor shook her head and cleared her throat before she spoke up again.

"No there is nothing wrong and you definitely don't have cancer."

A smile flashed over her face as she wiped the rest of the gel away from Rosalie's stomach.

"You're healthy and although it might be a little bit more tiring I'm sure that you and the twins will do just fine."