I don't own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.

Cheryl and Gabby, thank you for pre-reading, and April, thank you for editing. Any mistakes left are my own.

Ch. 16

When we arrived at the diner, Edward found a spot far from the front door. He leaned over and cupped my face, tilting my head toward him. He kissed me gently at first then more urgently. He left me breathless when he stopped but he still held me close. His hand brushed my cheek tenderly.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you," he said softly. "Please, don't leave this car and keep it locked until I get back," he said, and his head shot up, but he looked relieved. "Emmett and Jasper are in the woods there." He pointed in the direction, but it was dark now and I couldn't see anything.

"I will stay in the car," I promised.

I watched as he hurried into the diner and returned within minutes with two bags and my drink in hand. Edward slid gracefully into the car, handing me the drink and then placed the large bag on my lap and the second in the back. I promptly opened the bag and stole a fry. Edward wrinkled his nose as he started the engine.

"This has to be the worst car I have ever driven," he muttered.

"Really? Even worse than my truck?" I teased.

"Your truck didn't stink like a pack of wet, smelly dogs," he complained.

I sniffed the air, and all I could detect was the scent of food. "Really? I don't smell it." I took a sip of my shake.

"Consider yourself lucky," he commented.

I started to nibble on another fry when I received a swift kick from one of the babies. "Omph." I cringed.

"What's wrong?" Edward's head snapped to me.

"Sorry. One of the babies kicked me in the ribs. It caught me off guard. That's good, right?" I rubbed the spot.

Edward nodded, looking relieved. He took his hand off the wheel and touched the spot. It was immediately bumped. He chuckled slightly as he pulled it away.

"Their heart rates are stronger now that you are relaxing. Perhaps all they needed was some food," he commented as he pulled into the driveway.

Edward helped me into the house and settled on the couch. He then disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a glass of water. He pulled my feet onto his lap and took off my shoes. He frowned when he ran his hands over my ankles.

"You have some swelling. After this meal we should watch your salt levels if it doesn't go down," he commented, rubbing them lightly.

I paused with a fry halfway to my mouth. "Are you saying I have preeclampsia? Isn't it too early for that?"

"It's rare this early, but with how much stress you have been under it wouldn't be surprising. Have you had any headaches?" he asked, and I shook my head.

"If you do, you need to tell us immediately. Even if you think it's mild and you can handle it." He gave me a pointed look.

"I will, Dr. Cullen," I told him.

"Actually, my medical degrees are under Masen." He took a deep breath. "I have something to tell you. Please don't argue with me on it."

"What? No good conversations start like this. The last time …"

"Shhh…love, I'm sorry. The last thing I want to do is upset you. But it's necessary, Jacob is still out there and he is dangerous…"

"No," I snapped. "You promised not to leave. I don't care if it's to hunt Jacob down. No."

"Sweetheart, breathe. I am not leaving. That wasn't what I was about to say." He placed his hand on my cheek.

"Oh…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions." I felt horrible.

He grimaced. "Don't be, you weren't completely wrong. I did think about it briefly, but he has proven so unpredictable I'm having a hard time trusting anyone but me to watch out for you. Which is why you need to move into the house. It's safer there. Charlie tried the best he could, but it is obvious it wasn't good enough. Jacob is still out there, though his time on Earth is limited. It's only a matter of time he before he comes to us."

"What about Rosalie?" I scowled.

"I could care less what Rosalie thinks about it at the moment." Edward frowned. "Your safety is more important than her selfishness."

"I was talking more about myself. I don't feel comfortable around her. Especially after you pretty much told me she abandoned me to the wolves on purpose," I said bitterly.

"I was angry when I said that. I honestly don't know why she wasn't there. I haven't seen her since this morning. But for her sake, she better have a good excuse." He scowled, and his jaw tightened. "Apology accepted, but it still doesn't excuse her yet."

I raised an eyebrow and nudged him with my foot, wondering who he was talking to.

"Emmett. He is blaming himself for leaving you even for a short time. He trusted Rosalie would be there," he explained.

"Emmett, you're not to blame. I told you not to wait. I was concerned about Edward's safety. I thought going to the lobby was safe since security was there and they said the delivery man needed my signature. I thought it was whatever Renée sent. I'm to blame."

"Jacob is to blame. And…." Edward clenched his jaw, stopping himself. "Either way, I assure you Rosalie won't be an issue when you move in. You may not even see her."

"You can't kick her out of her own house," I scoffed.

"Another reason for you to move in is you are going to be put on moderate bedrest for a while. You won't see her in my room, I can promise you that," he told me.

"Is that Dr. Masen or Dr. Cullen speaking?" I asked.

Edward gave me an apologetic look. "Both of us."

I sighed in defeat. There went this semester's classes, but these little ones came first. "What does moderate bedrest really entail? Do I really have to be stuck in a bed 24/7?"

"Carlisle is more concerned about the next few days. If your swelling and blood pressure go back to normal, then there will be no need to keep you resting. You'll be allowed up for short periods of time to shower and perhaps short walks. You'll probably be able to sit as long as your legs are up. If all goes well, it probably won't be for the rest of the pregnancy," he explained.

"What am I going to tell Angela?" I felt like I was letting her down.

"Why don't you wait a few days, and if things are good then there will be nothing to tell," Edward suggested.

"You want me to lie to her?" I was uneasy about it. "These are her and Ben's children."

"I'm not suggesting to lie. I think it's too early to worry Ben and Angela. Besides, you could hardly tell them what led up to it. The twins are fine right now and if you get your blood pressure back under control then they will continue to be fine. If the situation changes, then by all means you should let them know," he reasoned.

"I can agree to that. I hope I can make it to the baby shower." I frowned.

"When is it?" he asked, resuming rubbing my feet.

"Not this week but the following Saturday. Oh that feels good." I moaned when he hit the right spot.

He suddenly dropped my foot and straightened up as the front door opened. Charlie walked in looking worse for wear. I suddenly remembered he'd probably been up for over thirty-six hours due to the fire and everything else. He hung up his coat and took off his holster. He was about to lock his gun away like always before he stopped. He set the gun on the small table.

"Dad, you look exhausted, can I get you anything?" I offered, starting to get up but Edward placed his hand on my shoulder, preventing me from moving.

Charlie ran his hand over his face and shook his head. "You're supposed to be resting, not waiting on me. How are you doing?" he asked, coming over and sitting on the edge of his chair.

"I'm feeling a lot better. The babies are moving around," I told him.

"Good…good." He nodded.

"How is Sam?" I asked.

"Dr. Cullen had him stable and sedated when I left. There was no internal bleeding by some miracle of God. Only some broken ribs and his collarbone, but Carlisle is sure he will heal. He's lucky to be alive," Charlie answered.

"Do you want my cherry cobbler?" I offered since I had finished pretty much everything else.

He chuckled tiredly. "I know better than to take food from a pregnant woman. I'm going to take a shower and go straight to bed. Are you staying the night?" He focused on Edward.

"I would prefer to stay close, Chief. In case Bella needs something in the middle of the night," Edward said.

"Fine with me. Just no monkey business." Charlie stood and stretched.

"Dad," I said mortified.

"I'm overtired not stupid, Bells. You seem to have forgotten I was changing your diapers when I was your age. There are some things fathers never want to overhear, whether their kids are adults or not." Charlie smirked. "Do me a favor, I know you like your window cracked while you sleep, but keep it closed and locked tonight. Jacob has used it before, so let's not give him the opportunity to try it again. I will be keeping my gun on me in case he's stupid enough to show up. Do you know how to use a gun, Edward?"

"I can't say that I do," Edward admitted. "But both my brothers are very knowledgeable. I'm sure they could give me lessons."

"Good idea." Charlie nodded. "We will talk tomorrow about what we are going to do about your living arrangements."

"The Cullens have offered for me to move in with them, into their guest room," I told him.

"Their guestroom…sure we will go with that. I'll see you in the morning." Charlie yawned, heading for the stairs only pausing to grab his gun.

Edward watched him leave with an amused expression. "He already assumes we are practically living together. He must be where you get your astuteness from."

"Did he notice anything earlier?" I grew concerned.

Edward shook his head. "Not from what I can tell. He was too concerned about you, and his overtiredness played a factor. He didn't notice Carlisle lifted the trees like toothpicks off of Sam. He is a bit confused how the trees fell like they did but is more focused on finding Jacob at the moment."

I picked up my dessert and took a big bite, savoring the sweet taste. After this, I wanted to take a shower and climb into bed myself—I was exhausted. The fork was halfway to my mouth when I realized I didn't have a change of clothes here. Anything I left behind, would be to small at this point. What I was wearing was too dirty to sleep in, which means I'd have to sleep naked and that made me subconscious.

"What's on your mind, pretty girl," Edward murmured, brushing the hair out of my eyes.

"I just realized I have nothing here to sleep in." I finished, taking my bite.

"Alice dropped off some things for you a few minutes ago?" Edward said.

"Why didn't she come in the normal way and say hi?" I asked.

"Alice thinks you might be upset with her for not warning you in time and wouldn't want to see her. She's blaming herself for what happened. I don't, though; I know for the first time in her existence she has been struck blind. She's starting to doubt her own visions about everything and feels like she is letting us all down," Edward explained.

"I'm not upset with her. She can't see everything. Let me see your phone, so I can call her." I held out my hand.

Edward handed it over. "Alice is also blaming herself for what happened with Rosalie. She had sent Rosalie because Rose is the better fighter. If the wolves…"

"If Alice was blind during a fight it would throw her off and she'd get hurt," I finished for him. "They had figured out how to get around her."

Edward nodded with a grim expression. "It would appear so."

The phone rang before I could make a call, and Alice's name appeared on the display.

"Alice, none of what happened is your fault," I told her rather than saying hello.

"You're sweet, Bella, but I know what I should've done. Now don't you worry about anything else. Esme and I will have all your things moved to the house first thing. Don't worry about bed rest, Carlisle will order it for a couple of days, so you'll be at the party as far as I can see," she rattled off.

"That's great to hear." I was about to ask her about the babies' birth but decided against it. The last thing Alice needed at the moment was to answer questions like a fortune teller. "Thank you, Alice."

"You're welcome. See you in the morning." She sounded subdued.

I gave Edward back his phone. "She didn't seem to believe me."

"I'm sure once this situation gets back under control, she will feel better. Jasper says thank you for trying." Edward gave me a smile.

"There's nothing to thank me for, it was the truth." I placed my container down on the coffee table. "I'm going to clean up then take a shower—I'm exhausted."

"I will clean up, while you're showering." Edward lifted me off the couch and carried me to the stairs.

"I can walk," I reminded him.

"Not today." He ignored my protest as he brought me to the bathroom. "I'll meet you in your room."

The bathroom was still warm and steamy from Charlie's shower. I hoped he left me some hot water. I took a quick shower myself and changed into the clothes Alice left me. I was settling in my bed when Edward entered carrying extra blankets. I hid my displeasure that he always insisted on keeping so many layers. But I knew he wouldn't believe me if I told him I was warm even with him holding me close.

"I'm surprised I beat you here," I said, sliding over for him.

"I wanted to give you time to change and have a quick word with my brothers. They will pick us up after breakfast tomorrow in the Volvo to keep up with appearances." He spread out the blankets before lying down, spooning me.

"Today feels like the longest day of my life." I yawned, snuggling into his embrace.

"Sleep, love." He ran his fingers through my hair and started to hum.

"Edward…" I muttered sleepily. "About our argument…" I was losing my train of thought.

His fingers stilled. "Shhh…whatever it is it can wait until tomorrow."

"I don't want to argue…with everything going on…so you win…it's shelved," I mumbled.

"Maybe I don't want to win." I thought I heard him whisper.

"Hmm…what?"

"Nothing, love, sweet dreams." Edward started to hum my lullaby.

A/N: I'm sure not many of you are surprised that Edward is going to be even more overprotective now.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.

Side note: I'm a judge and banner maker for A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Valentine Edition. Submissions are open to Feb. 10th. Check it out here: Facebook Dot Com /groups/ 460094101314978 or fanfiction dot net /u/ 13011621/ APictureIsWorthAThousandWords