Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or the characters. Thanks a million to my beta, CrystalRaindrop!


A Child of the Night — Chapter Forty-Nine

Previously ...

"Edward," I cried, and I felt his warm lips on my cheek, brushing away the tears. "Too soon," I whimpered. "It's too soon. Teddy is — !"

"Teddy will be fine, love," he murmured, and I felt his warm hands running quickly over my skin, quickly dressing me in the soft cloth that would protect me in the sun. "You held on long enough. Teddy is big enough, strong enough, to live now. Shh, love. Calm down. Let me bring you to the hospital. Your water already broke. How long has it been hurting?"

I tried to answer him, but all that slipped past my lips was a cry of pain. I felt Edward's arms tighten around me as he lifted me gently from the bed and began walking. The movement of his body calmed me a little, and I blew out a deep, shaking breath.

"A f-few h-hours," I stuttered, gripping Edward's shirt tightly and burying my head in his chest. "I thought T-Teddy was j-j-just kicking. I didn't ... "

But Edward cut me off by pressing his lips gently to mine.

"Shh, love. Not your fault. Calm down. Close your eyes. We'll be at the hospital soon."

I nodded, and let my blind eyes flutter closed.

My baby Teddy ...

October 27th, Friday - 7:00 PM - Edward POV

The day had been exhausting, but rewarding. My and Bella's house was finished — mostly. Of course, we still had to paint and furnish the bedrooms, but I wanted to do that part with Bella. The only rooms I'd painted were the kitchen, bathrooms, and the living room. I'd had to paint Teddy's nursery, too, of course, so that the paint would have plenty of time to dry. I didn't want the fumes to bother him.

It wasn't just a house, though — it was a home, too. A place that Bella and I could raise a family in. A place that we could call our own.

I turned the car off with a happy sigh, and bounded quickly to the front door of the small apartment that Bella and I had been living in for so many weeks. I smiled as I pushed the key into the lock and turned it swiftly. The door fell open under my hand, and my smile grew to dangerous proportions as I moved quickly through the halls, desperate to fine my Bella. She would be sleeping at this point, I was sure — either that, or she was still reading the book I'd bought for her the other day.

I opened my mouth to call out, but no words left my lips.

Instead, a very different voice called out. A cry of pain echoed through the empty house, and as I froze, my heart shattered.

"Edward!" my angel cried, and there was such anguish, such pain in her voice that I began to tremble. I dropped my bag on the floor, and stumbled forward, my hands shaking as I threw open the bedroom door. I wasn't exactly sure what I expected to find, but when I saw Bella on the floor, her hands wrapped tightly around her swollen stomach, my heart began to pound erratically.

I fell down beside her, and wrapped my arms firmly around her small frame.

I whispered soft, encouraging words to her as I moved quickly to grab her sun-suit. I knew what was happening. I knew ...

"Shh, my love. Calm down. Shh ... "

"Edward," she cried, and she clutched herself to me tightly as I kissed her tears away. "Too soon," she whimpered. "It's too soon. Teddy is — !"

"Teddy will be fine, love," I murmured softly, my fingers shaking so had that I could barely bring up the zipepr on the soft blue cloth that would protect Bella in the sun. "You held on long enough. Teddy is big enough, strong enough, to live now. Shh, love. Calm down. Let me bring you to the hospital. Your water already broke. How long has it been hurting?"

She moved her lips to respond, but all that came out was yet another cry of pain.

"A f-few h-hours," she finally stuttered, and her tiny hands gripped so tightly to my shirt that I was sure it'd rip. I didn't care. "I thought T-Teddy was j-j-just kicking. I didn't ... "

But I cut her words off by pressing my lips gently to hers.

"Shh, love. Not your fault. Calm down. Close your eyes. We'll be at the hospital soon."

I scooped Bella into my arms, and bolted through the door. I buckled her into the car quickly and yet still carefully before running to my side. I shoved the key into the ignition with such force that I was sure the metal had bent.

Bella cried out again, and I knew that I needed to hurry. There wasn't much time left ...

I gripped my cell phone with shaking hands as I sped through the streets of Forks, desperate to get Bella to someone who could help.

"D-Dad?" I whispered, my voice shaking, as soon as he picked up. "Bella went into labor. She ... she ... oh, God, it's too early."

Despite my reassurances to the Angel sitting beside me, I couldn't help but be fearful that it was too early. Would Teddy be all right?

My father spoke quickly, softly.

"Edward, calm down. Take a deep breath. How far along, exactly, is Bella?"

I took a deep breath like he'd asked, but immediately began to panic once more when Bella grasped my hand tighter than ever. She cried out once more, biting her lip as tears flowed quickly down her ashen cheeks.

"Thirty-five weeks. Dad, it's happening so quickly. She's been in labor for hours, but just didn't know it. S-she thought Teddy was simply kicking her. The contractions are only minutes apart now."

"Everything will be fine, Edward," my father reassured me softly, gently. "Thirty-five weeks is good. Very good. Teddy probably weighs around five pounds. He's healthy, Edward. He can breathe on his own now. He'll be fine. Trust me, Edward. He will be fine. Are you at the hospital?"

I nodded, but then realized that my father couldn't see me. So I took a deep breath, and forced myself to answer. "I just pulled up. Dad ... can you come down? I ... I want you to be here. In the room, if possible, when they deliver the baby. Please."

"I'm already on my way. Keep Bella calm, Edward. Don't let her panic. Hold her, talk her through this. I'll be there in a minute, all right?"

I nodded again, and then hung up without saying goodbye. I tossed the phone into the backseat, and moved quickly from the car. As I was opening Bella's door, however, she cried out once more, and my heart sputtered hyperactively. I gently lifted her into my arms, and moved quickly toward the Emergency Room doors.

"Help me!" I cried out, running straight into the main room. "My wife is in labor. Help, please, help me ... "

Three nurses quickly moved to my side, and within seconds, they had Bella on a bed, the side rails pulled up. I stood uselessly in the background, watching as they quickly hooked her up to both a monitor and a fetal monitor. I smiled the tiniest bit, though, as I listened to Teddy's heartbeat. It was fast, strong.

"Edward," Bella whispered, and I moved to her side without thinking. I took her hand into mine, and smiled at her.

"Yes, my love?" I murmured gently, brushing the sweaty hair from her beautiful eyes. I smiled, and kissed her forehead gently.

"It hurts," she whimpered quietly, and my smile slipped the smallest bit. But I held her hand tighter than ever, and continued to run my shaking fingers through her soft hair.

"I know, love. I know. I'm sorry. So sorry." I turned to the nurse then, the young lady that was monitoring both Bella and Teddy's vitals. I spoke quickly, and my voice was strong. The frightened trembling had been forgotten to make way for the need to whisper the words that were so important. "Teddy — our baby — had a prenatal operation at twenty-two weeks to repair a Spina Bifida defect. We need to see Dr. Kane. He was suppose to induce labor at thirty-eight weeks, and preform a c-section. Is he here? Can you page him?"

"O-of course!" the nurse stuttered. She was about to say something else, but another voice cut her off.

"Edward!"

I felt first fear, and then relief pour through me as my father's voice cut through the thick tension in the air. I turned to him, a breath of relief slipping past my lips. I smiled, finally.

"Dad," I breathed, but my attention didn't stay on him for long. Bella cried out once more, but this time, her cries didn't stop. She continued to whimper even after the initial pain had passed. Tears made their way slowly down her pale cheeks, and I turned to my father with frightened eyes.

"This baby won't wait!" he yelled, upset at the slow nurses. "Page Dr. Kane now!"

"Y-yes, sir!" the young woman stuttered, and she ran from our side in the same moment that my father moved to place a loving hand on Bella's cheek.

"Does it still hurt, Bella?"

"Y-yes," she cried, and I gripped her hand tighter as I swiftly kissed away her tears. "It h-h-hurts so b-bad!"

"Oh, Bella, love ... "

I wished, more than anything, that I could take away her pain. But even as she continued to cry, she smiled. Her blind, beautiful eyes met mine, and she smiled. I tried to smile, too, but my lips kept slipping back into a terrified frown each time she would cry out.

"I love you, Edward," she whispered, and it seemed odd that, in that moment, I was the one that needed to be reassured.

"I love you, too, sweetheart," I whispered, brushing my fingers through her hair once more. "Are you ready?"

Bella laughed. It was a soft, quiet sound. Her smile grew. "No, but Teddy sure as hell is."

I laughed, finally, and I felt my heart soar as I watched the woman I loved breathing in deeply as her body prepared itself to give birth to our son. My heart plummeted, though, as Bella cried out once more.

Everything after that was a blur.

Dr. Kane finally arrived, and quickly moved us to the the Labor and Delivery ward of the hospital. Teddy's birth wasn't a beautiful, breathtaking moment, though, like everyone described it to be. There was no glowing mother — really, who glows while giving birth? No one, that's who — and I was more of a nervous wreck than Bella was.

I was numb.

I barely remembered anything. I remember Dr. Kane instructing me to hold Bella's hand. I remember the tears, both mine and Bella's, that flowed so freely. I remember that neither of us spoke — the only words that we needed to say were already painted so clearly in our eyes.

The first moment that I can honestly say that I would never forget was when they placed my squirming, five pound, three ounce son in my arms.

My son.

"Theodore Addison Cullen, welcome to the world," I murmured in awe, brushing the sticky mess of golden-red fuzz away from his bright blue eyes. He wailed loudly, and kicked my hand away from him in the same moment that I cut the last remaining, physical tie between mother and son. "Do you want to 'see' him, love?" I whispered, and though I'd only known my son for mere moments, the thought of not having his warm weight in my arms made my heart clench painfully.

Bella nodded breathlessly, and I moved behind the white curtain that had been set up as a prop more than anything — Bella couldn't have watched the bloody removal scene, even if she had wanted to.

"Please, Edward, let me 'see' my baby."

I nodded, though I knew that I couldn't let her hold him until the nurse had cleaned him up.

"He's beautiful," Bella marveled, tears overflowing from her beautiful eyes as she ran her fingers delicately, softly, over Teddy's warm skin. I nodded in agreement, and Dr. Kane smiled at me from where he was swiftly, carefully, sewing the incision on Bella's abdomen shut. The nurse took Teddy away from me, and I felt like taking him right back from her. But instead of chasing her down, I held Bella's hand, and gazed deeply into her ice blue gaze.

"I wish that you could see him," I breathed, and she smiled a tearful smile.

"Me, too," she whispered softly. But as I continued to stare into her beautiful eyes, I could see that she had no regrets. I knew that she didn't regret a single choice we'd made. She didn't regret that she couldn't see our son as I did, because the reason she couldn't see him was the reason he was healthy, and alive.

I smiled at her, but my eyes wandered when I heard my son once more.

Teddy was protesting loudly to to the gloved hands that were handling him so carefully. His tiny lips puckered, and he let out a wail that seemed far too loud for his tiny body. His little feet kicked strongly back and forth, and his little hands, clenched into fists, waved around wildly.

Dr. Kane noticed my preocupation, and chuckled heartily.

"He's a feisty little one. You'll be able to take him home soon, I imagine."

Home.

I smiled, and a tiny laugh escaped my lips. But then my son was placed back in my arms — his hair fuzzy now that the messy afterbirth had been cleared from it — and I could concentrate on nothing but the tiny miracle that Bella and I had created together.

"I want to hold him," Bella begged me, and I turned to her, my heart clenching as I watched the tears flow slowly down her pale cheeks. I smiled and nodded, and gently placed our son on her chest. Teddy still kicked his tiny feet back and forth, but he was silent as he took in everything around him with wide, blue eyes that seemed so much brighter in contrast to the dull, blue bodysuit he now wore. His hands were curled to his chest, and his legs to his body. He was still curled in the same way that he had been in Bella's womb — old habits die hard, I supposed.

"He's so little," Bella marveled, and she let loose a awe-filled sigh as she grasped Teddy's hand in hers.

I just smiled, and brushed back the soft fuzz of bronze hair that covered Teddy's head. I didn't have any words to describe the feelings that seemed to overflow from my very being.

"He has my hair," I whispered. "He has blue eyes, too, but all newborns do. I can't wait to see what color they turn. I hope they'll be brown, exactly like yours used to be. Or maybe they'll stay blue, like yours are now. He has your lips, but my nose, I think."

"He's beautiful," Bella said once more, and I smiled and nodded, not speaking as I continued to stare at the tiny being that had been hiding from us for so many months. I reached out, and touched his little foot. He squealed, and pulled his foot back towards him, puckering his lips as he worked up to another loud cry. I laughed, and Dr. Kane offered me one final smile before reaching his hands out to take Teddy.

"May I? Though he appears healthy, he needs to go to the NICU for some testing. We just want to be one hundred percent sure that everything healed fine after the surgery," he explained, and I nodded, gently lifting my son into my arms one final time before handing him to Dr. Kane.

"Be a good boy now," I murmured, letting my fingers dance delicately over the red, irritated skin of Teddy's forehead. "I love you, Teddy."

Teddy squealed, as if in agreement of my statement. Bella chuckled, but it was half hearted. I noticed that my smile was forced, as well. I chuckled sadly, and kissed Bella softly on the head.

"I miss him already. God, I love you, Bella."

She smiled, and rested her head on my arm as she took a deep, exhausted breath. "I love you, too, Edward," she whispered, and I squeezed her hand tightly as the nurses shooed me out of the room. They quickly changed and cleaned Bella up, and then she was moved into a small, bright blue room. I grinned at the "It's a BOY!" sign that hung decoratively over the bed, and shook my head in amusement. But the amusement faded from my expression the moment that I saw my Bella, sleeping so peacefully in the middle of the large, white bed.

She seemed so small, so fragile.

But this was different. The last time I'd harbored those thoughts, Bella had been fighting for her own life. Now, she was resting after giving life to another human being. A beautiful, perfect, tiny baby — a part of her, and a part of me, put together to make the most beautiful child in all of existence.

"Edward?"

I smiled, as I listened to my father's soft voice. I didn't — couldn't — tear my eyes away from Bella, however.

"Mmm?" I murmured, and I sighed in contentment as my father laid a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"Teddy has been moved to the nursery. Do you want to see him?"

I bit my lip, and I was torn between the decision to stay with my Bella, or to go see my son once more. I smiled, though, and finally tore my eyes away from Bella's soft, beautiful frame.

"Just a moment," I whispered, and I walked silently over to Bella's bedside. I kissed her forehead softly, and she stirred, her blind eyes opening slowly.

"Edward?" she breathed sleepily, and I kissed her once more before pulling back to stare into her beautiful eyes.

"I'm going to go check on Teddy, love. Will you be all right for a moment?"

She nodded, and reached out to take my hand into hers. She squeezed it softly, supportively, and smiled. "Go," she whispered, her eyes already fluttering closed once more. "Please. Make sure our baby boy isn't alone."

I smiled, and chuckled softly as I pulled my hand out of hers and gently brushed back the soft hair that fell to her shoulders. "He'll never be alone, my love. Never."

She smiled, even in sleep. And, surprisingly, my smile didn't slip even as I walked out of the door. I was too excited to concentrate on the feelings of emptiness that filled me.

My son.

And then we were there. My father smiled, and squeezed my shoulder encouragingly before he walked away. I stared after him for a second, and then turned to the observation window that was carved into the west wall of the nursery. My eyes flowed quickly over the children until I caught sight of the messy, fuzzy bronze hair that I would recognize anywhere.

I pressed both hands to the window, and chuckled softly as I listened to my son squeal as the nurse pressed his itsy-bitsy, ink covered foot against the paper she held. I grinned as I stared at the tiny ... tiny footprint that was stained forever onto Teddy's birth certificate.

"He's perfect," I murmured, and my eyes were only for him. There were many other newborn children in the nursery as well, but I didn't even spare them a second glance. My son was the only one I saw.

"He really is very cute. Has a quite a temper, though," a familiar voice chuckled. "Just like you."

I whirled around, my eyes wide.

"Jacob!? What are you doing here?"

The man before me grinned, and his shaggy, black hair hung into his sparkling eyes. "Angela went into labor, only hours before they docs were scheduled to induce her. See there?" he whispered, and he pointed to the bassinet beside Teddy's. "That's my baby girl. That's my little Emmy."

And I noticed, as I watched Jake watch his own child, that his eyes held the same adoring gaze that mine did, and his voice carried the same tone of awe when he spoke of his daughter. I grinned, and let my eyes wander over the little body of Jake's second daughter.

"Tough break," I said, laughing as my eyes wandered back to my son — he was wailing loudly once more as he tried very hard to throw the baby blue cap off of his head. "Two daughters. Beautiful, both of them. You're going to have to fight he boys off with a stick."

Jacob stiffened, and his smile fell immediately as his gaze flickered to my still wailing son. I grinned, and I could almost hear the thoughts running around in his head. I opened my mouth to tease him about the possibility of boys once more, but no words came out. I was cut off by the only partially joking voice of the man I considered one of my only friends.

"Keep your son away from my daughter," Jacob growled, and I laughed loudly. Jacob pouted, and I grinned, but I still couldn't manage to tear my eyes from my son. My next words were filled with awe; the momentary amusement was completely gone.

"He's so small. It's hard to imagine that I helped create him. That he's mine, and I get to care for him."

Jacob scoffed, and rolled his eyes. "Believe me, reality sets in very quickly once you get 'em home and the three AM feedings start." Jacob paused, and his eyebrows smashed together in concentration. "Every two hours. Oh, God, why did I agree to having another one again? Can I take her back?"

I laughed again, and shook my head. How could Teddy ever cease to be the amazing creature that he was? I couldn't imagine ever getting annoyed or upset at him!

"My baby boy," I whispered once more, still in awe as I reached out to press both hands against the glass once more. I grinned lopsidedly, and wished more than anything that I could hold him once more.

"Congrats, man," Jacob whispered, and he smiled as he clapped me on the shoulder. "You're a daddy."

And as Jacob whispered the words that hadn't seemed real before, reality suddenly came crashing in. The last few months had seemed like a dream, as all the while I had tried not to get to attached to the tiny being that might or might not live.

But now ...

I was a daddy.

Oh, God, what had I gotten myself into?


^_^ I think Teddy is adorable. A tiny, fiesty baby who has an aversion to baby blue caps ... OH! Pics as to what I believe Teddy and Emmy look like are on my homepage. Also, I edited Sarah's pic to include a new newborn pic, and what I imagine her to look like at 3-years-old. Go to my profile, and then click the 'homepage' link right above the avatar. ^_^

NOTE: So ... how did everyone like the Twilight movie? Please let me know what you thought! I LOVE IT! Sure, it wasn't the same as the book, but ( And I'm going to be quite blunt here ) anyone who thought it would be is an idiot. They had to stuff a 500 page book into a 1:45 minute movie. On top of that, in movies, you can't put in much thought. HALF of the Twilight book consists of Bella thinking and overthinking ... so YES, things were different. But it was still freaking amazing! Plus, the acting was GREAT.

See you SOON!

Please Review! ( I also accept Anon. reviews. So you don't need an account to review. BUT! If you review Anon. you will NOT get a sneak peak! )


NEXT CHAPTER:

"Welcome home, Bella."

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