... Hi? *Tentatively looks around to see if anyone's there*

I'm sorry you guys! I didn't mean for it to take so long, but honestly shit was goin' down. I forgot about updating twice and then writers block hit me. But... I'm back. This is an updating and according to my laptop, it IS Valentine's Day and a thursday!

...

Happy Valentine's Day - just thought I'd say that before I forgot. ;) I am quite forgetful when it comes to holidays...

Anyways, hope you like this... see you down the bottom!

Thanks to Dawning Juliet for beta-ing this. She will be beta-ing this story from now on.

P.S. This is longer to make up for my absence. I'm sorry!

The next morning, I woke up and immediately called my mother after some Edward loving. She was pleasantly surprised that I had called, and quietly responded that she would love to come see me, even if it was for business.

I quickly hung up after that, not sure what to think. On the one hand, I was still quite angry with my mother because of how much she'd kept from me, only to thrust it on me when I started having those damned dreams the week before my wedding. But then, on the other hand, she was my mother; I loved her and, as much as I didn't want to admit it, I had missed her. I could feel the swell of excitement and the prospect of seeing her again.

Edward and I showered together after that, and my husband washed me slowly, teasing my breasts as he paid fixed attention to my nipples, only to simply drop his hands when he was satisfied that I was "clean". Of course, I couldn't put up with that, being the pregnant, hormonal woman I was, so when it was my turn to wash him, I decided that my mouth could definitely do a better job.

We were in there with each other until the water ran cold.

My mother was going to arrive at about eleven, and it was ten by the time Edward and I were both dressed.

Edward watched me quietly as I ate, or at least, tried to eat. When I sighed and put the fork down, having not consumed even a bite of the amazing omelette he'd made, Edward sighed, too, and wrapped his arms around me.

"What's wrong?" he murmured in my ear, dropping kisses to my exposed neck and shoulder.

I bit my lip before answering. "Having Mum here is going to be awkward."

"Why?"

"Because of the whole situation with her about how we found out about our position in the supernatural world. She shouldn't have kept it from us."

"That's true, love," Edward replied quietly, relinquishing his hold on me only to turn me around. He cupped my jaw in both his hands and looked into my eyes. "But she's your mother, sweet girl, and she's awfully protective of you. She was only doing what she thought was right."

I sighed and closed my eyes as Edward peppered kisses all over my face. "I get that, I really do," I whispered when he stopped and leaned back. I opened my eyes to look into his gorgeous ones. "But I just can't shake how…I dunno…upset I am."

"And you shouldn't," Edward replied softly. "But keep in mind that she was doing it with her best intentions. I know that I would do anything to shoulder the worry, pain, and…complexity of this life from our little one. It was perhaps worse for her because she knew what your destiny is, how truly powerful you are."

I smiled up at him. "You're pretty fantastic, you know that? I don't know how you do it, but you always tell me what I need to hear, Mr Cullen. You keep me sane in all this fuckery."

He smiled at me, leaning down to kiss me sweetly. I licked my lips and purred when he leaned back and smirked at me, doing the same. "You do the same for me, Mrs Cullen. I'm only glad I have the same positive influence." And then he looked away, down at my meal and said, "Now please eat, love, for our child if not for yourself."

I smiled and nodded, turning back to the plate in front of me. I quickly ate it all, that small little conversation with Edward soothing my nerves and allowing me to eat to my heart's desire.

And boy, did it seem to desire much, because Edward made me another omelette after that.

After my plate was well and truly empty of all food—and remnants of food—I got up and cleaned it, much to my sweet husband and mate's protestation. I simply raised my eyebrow and, looking quite chastised, he quietened. I smiled and kissed his delicious lips, bringing that gorgeous smile of his back onto his face.

When I was nearly done, I felt Edward's arms wrap around my waist and I sighed, leaning back against him. I put the plate down in the drying rack and shut off the water before turning around in his arms, resting my head on his chest, breathing in his scent.

"How are you feeling now?" he murmured.

I smiled shyly to myself. "Good, thanks, baby."

I giggled when he growled low in my ear, and when I pressed a kiss to his neck, sucking just slightly, the growl morphed into a purr; I responded with one of my own.

Our little moment was interrupted then when the doorbell rang. My heart rate quickened, and I looked up at Edward, unsure of what to do. The last time I'd spoken to my mother, things had ended badly. I knew she had been at my wedding, but apart from the customary "congratulations" after the wedding, that was all I'd seen of her.

Edward took my hand and placed a small kiss on it before wrapping an arm around my waist in support. Together, we walked to the door, and I focused on taking deep breaths.

"Love, how are we going to do this?" Edward murmured, his hand on the doorhandle.

I frowned and looked up at him. "Do what?"

He looked down at me. "Your mother doesn't know about…" he trailed off and pointedly looked down at my baby bump. I gasped just as he opened the door.

"You're pregnant?" was the first thing my mother asked.

I gulped, then nodded. "Yes. Yes, I am. We are having a baby."

My mother's eyebrows shot up. "And it's Edward's?"

I gasped and tears welled in my eyes just as Edward growled, his arms constricting around my waist. Suddenly, I snapped. "Yes!" I screamed indignantly. "Yes, it fucking is, thank you very much! And how dare you insinuate that I would cheat on my husband just to have a child. I don't want children if they're not half of me, and half of Edward. Got that?" I grounded out, glaring at my mother a growl building in my chest.

My mother sighed. "I'm sorry. I just…I didn't think it was possible. Of course it's Edward's, and of course you wouldn't cheat on him. You're mates after all. I should have known better."

"Yes, you should have," Edward–surprisingly–shot back.

I sighed as well and laid my head against my sweet vampire's chest. "Well. Now that that's done, would you like to come in and help us?"

Renée gave us a small smile. "Sure, dear. And I'm sorry for offending you. I was just surprised."

Edward snorted. "So was I when I found out, and I didn't think my wife had cheated on me," he grumbled. He'd obviously taken my mother's accusation to heart as I had, but was unable to let it go quite yet. I smiled at him, kissed his neck—it was all I could reach, he was so damned tall—and wrapped my arm around his waist.

"Thank you for defending me, baby," I breathed and he shuddered, growling under his breath. I licked my lips and looked away, toward my mother, who was watching the both of us with a soft smile. "What?"

She shook her head. "You're happy."

I frowned. "Of course I am."

She chuckled and nodded her head. "Very well, then; I'm glad. Now," she said as we walked through the door and sat on the sofas, Edward and I on one, and my mother facing us on the other "what do you need help with?"

I sighed. "The warlowitchas are after us. Alice had a vision. She said we were going to gain alliances with the wolf pack, vampires from around the world and ca-cons. We need your help locating them and getting them here."

My mother frowned and sat forward. "Which ones?" she asked.

I snorted. "The ca-cons, mother. I believe Carlisle and Esme are going to send word to the Denalis for help to spread the word that we need vampires down here ASAP. I can't be sure though; Alice only suggested it and we didn't get that far into the discussion."

"But you think that's the best way to go about things?"

I nodded. "Fastest and most efficient, yes. What do you think, baby?" I asked, looking up at Edward.

He thought for a moment. "I agree with going to the Denalis. Eleazar has many contacts, and I am sure he'll be able to get a hold of the Volturi, whom I believe we need, in this case, if Carlisle is unsuccessful or too busy, as I think he will be. More on that, I do believe that Carlisle and Esme should be the only ones to actively search for others; they know many—Carlisle more so—than any of us 'children,' given how much older Carlisle is. Anyone the rest of us know is through him, so there's really no point."

I nodded. "That's a good idea," I murmured to him with a smile before turning back to my mother.

"So what do you want from me?" she asked, looking between the two of us. "You seem to have everything sorted. What advice do you need?"

I huffed. "Tell us what to do, how to go about getting everyone here and getting this situation under control."

She smiled. "You don't need my help, dears. You two are the King and Queen of the supernatural world. You must do things your own way. You know that. I will tell you however that your coronation is going to have to be soon, and with everyone from both families present. You'll need that status when you face the warlowitchas, so perhaps once everyone that you can find and convince is here, we should do that. What do you think?"

I looked at Edward. "I think that's a good idea."

She smiled. "Excellent. Now listen, darling, I'd love to stay here and talk to you both, but I really do need to fly. It seems I have a few errands to run."

We smiled as she got up. "I'll see myself out. I think you need to talk to your family about this."

We both nodded and thanked her for coming, but she hushed us and shook her head.

As soon as she was gone, I sighed and leaned against Edward. "Well, that was interesting. What are we going to do now?"

"Exactly what she told us to," he murmured back. "But first things first. Are you hungry or tired at all?"

I smiled and shook my head. "No, I'm fine. But can we just have some time to ourselves? Just a few hours before we get into the nitty and gritty of what's coming."

Edward kissed my cheek. "Anything you want, love."

I smiled and leaned my cheek against his. "Thank you…for everything."

"No," he whispered back. "Thank you."

So, how was that? Let me know in the form of a review.

See you next Thursday (yes you will!)

bexie25