*BPOV*

It was early, very early, the sun was only just breaching the horizon. It was the only way Edward could safely fly to Florida without risking sun exposure unless we wanted to arrive at night, which wasn't ideal either.

I fully expected my mom to be anxiously waiting for me outside of baggage claim when our flight got in at Jacksonville International Airport. Instead, it was a tired-looking Phil, and he was alone.

"Lookin good, kiddo! College life agrees with you!" he said as he pulled me in for a tight hug. "Good to see you too, Edward," he added. Edward, whose hands were conveniently occupied with baggage, was unable to shake hands, but he warmly returned the greeting.

"Oh, hang on, let me open the trunk. Sorry about that, I haven't had my coffee yet," he explained sheepishly, running around to the other side of the car to pop the trunk for Edward to deposit our luggage.

"I know what you mean, Phil, I'm not much of a morning person either," Edward expertly hid a faked yawn behind his hand. He then opened the passenger side door and reached for the lever that angled the seat forward so that he could squeeze his tall, broad body into the backseat of the tiny two-door hatchback so that I could sit up front with my stepfather.

Phil was already behind the wheel and hurriedly cleared a well-loved baseball glove and an opened bag of beef jerky from the front seat so I could sit down.

I pivoted my hips in my seat as much as my seatbelt would allow so that I could see both Phil and Edward at once.

"Your mom's sorry she couldn't be here to pick you up. She was feeling a little under the weather this morning."

It was barely noticeable but I saw Edward's eyes widen at something Phil must've been thinking, but his face smoothed out so fast I was left questioning if I imagined it.

"Oh no! I hope it's not the flu," I said with genuine concern.

"Naw, it's nothing like that. You know how she gets those, uh, headaches," he said lamely.

I had no idea of which headaches he spoke of, but I hadn't lived with my mom in years now, so I couldn't really claim to know everything about her anymore. If she was having persistent headaches, that was something that could be serious, I thought anxiously, worrying my lower lip.

I looked back and forth between Phil and Edward. One had his eyes carefully on the road while the other was typing something into his phone, avoiding eye contact. I smelled a rat.

What the hell was going on? Renee was the healthiest person I knew. She was never "under the weather," and never got headaches.

Well, she would just have to answer for herself when I gave her the third-degree when we arrived.

Pulling up to the sunny yellow craftsman-style house a few minutes later, I drummed my fingers anxiously on the door handle as Phil waited in the driveway for the too-slow garage door to open.

Driving into the two-car garage, I could see my mom standing in the doorway in her nightgown and housecoat. She looked positively gaunt.

"Mom?!" I screeched, throwing the car door open before Phil had even put it in park.

"Hi baby," she greeted, wrapping her bony arms around me in a tight hug.

"Mom, what...happened to you? Why didn't you tell me you were sick?" I demanded. "I would've come sooner. I would've-" my voice was high-pitched with panic.

"Well hello to you, too" she chuckled. "Don't be silly, you had finals that you were studying for. Come sit with me and let's talk."

Edward and Phil filed in behind me now. Edward insisted on carrying our bags, so Phil showed him to the guest room where we'd be staying so he could set them down. I guessed Edward would busy himself "unpacking" to give me a moment of privacy with my mother.

"I was waiting to tell you in person," she began, taking a seat next to me on the plush beige microfiber sofa across from the red brick fireplace.

I sucked in a breath. Was this the part when I found out my mother was dying of cancer? How could I leave her like this, sick as she was? My mind reeled at what this meant.

"I see that look in your face. Stop worrying. I'm not sick. There's nothing wrong with me." Her smile would've been convincing if her cheekbones didn't look like they were going to pierce right through her sallow-looking skin. You could've knocked me over with a feather after what she said next.

"Congratulations, Bella, you're going to be a big sister!"

I don't know what opened wider, my eyes or my mouth at the complete shock of her admission.

After the initial shock wore off, the relief set in. It wasn't cancer. She wasn't dying. She wouldn't even turn 39 for another few months, so I guessed her age didn't make her pregnancy all that newsworthy.

The more I thought about it, the better the news was. She was getting another chance to be a parent. I wouldn't be leaving her childless after all.

"That's...that's wonderful. But, shouldn't you be gaining weight and not losing it?" I frowned at her unhealthy appearance.

"Remember how I told you that pregnancy didn't agree with me?" Renee asked. I did indeed remember. It was one of the reasons why she never wanted another.

"Well this is what you have to look forward to when you and Edward decide to have a baby," Renee joked, gesturing to her wan, waiflike figure.

I flinched knowing Edward had heard that.

"But I promise you that your little sister is perfectly healthy and the doctors and Phil are taking great care of me! Nothing to worry about," she tacked on cheerfully.

"It's a girl?" I asked in little more than a whisper.

"Uh-huh. They can find out pretty early nowadays. I had to take a bunch of extra tests because it's considered a geriatric pregnancy," she scowled. "Do I look geriatric to you?... Don't answer that," she muttered.

"So when are you due?" I asked. squinting at where her bump should be.

"Baby girl was 14 weeks as of yesterday. She's the size of a nectarine!" she patted her stomach. "The doctors want to plan a c-section in early June, just to be on the safe side, since I have a history of difficult labors.."

From the doorway, Edward announced his presence by softly clearing his throat. We both turned to look at him.

"You're expecting, Renee?" Edward asked with unveiled enthusiasm. "Congratulations, that's wonderful news!" He walked toward us on the couch and stooped to hug her.

Her seated position made it so that the only real contact between the two of them was his long sleeve-covered arms around her shoulders and her arm that circled his waist and patted him daintily on the back. Edward kept it brief, obviously, and then sat down next to me on the far end of the couch.

"Thank you, Edward! She was a surprise, but a happy one," Renee smiled and then turned her attention back to me. She placed a hand on my cheek. "One all grown up and married and one in utero. Can you believe it?

"Anyway, I'm so sorry that this sort of throws a wrench in our plans for this weekend. There were so many things I wanted to do with you guys but I've just been so," she yawned, "tired."

"Mom, don't worry about it! You showed me around the last time we were here. Honestly, it'll be just as fun to hang out and watch movies and eat junk food. It'll be just like old times," I smiled.

And staying indoors would also significantly uncomplicate things for Edward, who thankfully wouldn't have to blame his fair (to the extreme) complexion for why he was "basically allergic to the sun." He was so pale that no one would dare doubt it.

I knew she secretly kind of hated that about him. So of course Edward knew that, too.

She hated the sunless climate of Forks so much that she ultimately left Charlie to live somewhere less depressing. She had wanted him to come, for us to be a family somewhere under the warm sun. But Charlie was caring for my ailing grandparents at the time and felt a responsibility to them. And Charlie was nothing if not dutiful.

The last time we visited, Edward, wanting nothing more than for my mother to approve of him, all but kicked us out the door to enjoy the sunshine whenever the opportunity presented itself. It helped warm him to her considerably.

"So here's the thing, I had gotten us all tickets to go to the Cheap Trick, Billy Idol, and Def Leppard show at the Florida Theater tonight, but the doc says I shouldn't go because a loud rock concert could damage the baby's hearing. But you two should definitely go."

"Billy Idol?!" Edward repeated with uncontained excitement.

"Aren't you a little young to know about Billy Idol?" Phil ribbed as he entered the room with two mugs of coffee in his hands. He handed one to my mother.

She opened her mouth to say something but he cut her off, "It's decaf. I remembered." Renee smiled sweetly and reached up to pat his cheek. "You're the best," she praised, taking the steaming mug.

"I grew up listening to my parents' music too, just like Bella did," Edward turned to face me and gave me one of those 'I'd jump on a live grenade for you' looks.

"Didn't I tell you he was an old soul, Phil? Just like our Bella. Well, that settles it, then. The newlyweds will go rock out to White Wedding." Renee shot up the rock & rock devil horns hand gesture and headbanged gently, so as to not spill her coffee.

"Besides, Phil's car would be terribly cramped if all of us went to the show, and my car just died for good. We're going to have to get something bigger before the baby comes," Renee said to Phil in a pointed way that made me think it was a topic that had come up between them before.

Phil then changed the subject by asking if he could get Edward and me anything to drink, which we politely declined.

"I might need to borrow some clothes. I didn't bring anything to wear to a concert," I mentally inventoried the sundresses and skirts I'd packed.

"You might want to look again," Edward suggested, then merely uttered the name "Alice," as an explanation.

"Oh, how is Alice? And Esme? I had just the nicest time doing the wedding planning stuff with them."

*EPOV*

The morning was spent catching up over a long, lingering breakfast. Bella charmed Renee and Phil with Dartmouth stories, especially the one about how her professor called her Juliet for an entire semester because he overheard me quoting Romeo on the first day of class.

Bella, happy to keep the attention off of herself, peppered Renee with questions about the baby. Did she have any names picked out? Did she have any weird food cravings? Was she remembering to take her prenatal vitamins?

All the while, Renee's thoughts were addled with worry that Bella would feel replaced by a new sibling that she wouldn't get to be that involved with since we lived so far away.

Bella seemed genuinely thrilled for her parents' happy news. So thrilled that I couldn't help but wonder if this new development might be giving Bella cause to be less than "100% sure about everything."

Maybe having a relationship with the sister that yesterday Bella didn't know she had would be the circumstances that caused her to waver.

One thing was certain, after how cross she'd been with me the last time I'd asked her if she was having second thoughts, I knew I couldn't come right out and ask her again.

"A 4.0 GPA?! That's amazing, baby! I'm so proud of you!" Renee's eyes lit up with pride. "You didn't get it from me!" She added lightheartedly.

"Well, Edward is an excellent tutor," Bella's eyes twinkled with mischief. Under the breakfast table, my fingers were laced between Bella's and resting lightly just above her left knee. I felt her fingers tighten against mine at the secret innuendo.

I bumped her lightly with my shoulder and teasingly chided, "Don't you dare give me credit for your amazing accomplishment! Dartmouth doesn't just give A's away. You have a brilliant mind, Bella. It's the most beautiful thing about you, and that's saying something," I looked her over with an appreciative gleam in my eyes.

Bella's face turned bright red under the attention.

Who is this kid? He quotes Shakespeare on the fly and says things like that? No wonder Bella married him the first chance she got.

Phil's thoughts weren't exactly suspicious, but he hadn't spent enough time with us to suss out whether or not I was all talk. It never made sense to him why a sensible girl like Bella would marry so young.

Renee, on the other hand, was melting. Ohhh, how he looks at her! And Bella looks just as smitten as ever. That's all I could want for her...but thank goodness she's not pregnant. That was my worst nightmare, Bella coming out here to tell me the same news I told her. What a comedy that would've been!

As much as the commentary about Bella's unpregnant status stung, I smiled a little at her train of thought. A comedy for sure, a Steve Martin comedy, to be exact.

I could see both Bella and Phil eyeing with worry the small bites of dry toast that Renee was nibbling on. Phil was doing a better job of hiding it, though.

He had always wanted a child of his own, but Renee had always been clear that her baby-making days were over. He loved Renee, she was enough for him, so he'd always just assumed that was that.

The morning sickness set in very early, at 6 or 7 weeks of gestation. When Renee's "flu" just wouldn't go away, Phil had taken her, nearly by force, to see her doctor who'd run a few tests and said, "Congratulations, you crazy kids, you're going to have a baby!"

That was two months ago and the relentless sickness hadn't eased the way they said it probably would in the second trimester.

Phil had been watching his wife waste away carrying the baby he'd always wanted but secretly feared she decided to keep more for his sake than out of any maternal longings of her own. The guilt and worry were eating him alive.

Renee put on a good show, but the pregnancy was taking its toll. Phil's memory flashed back to Renee retching over the toilet and sobbing at the same time because she was too ill to pick Bella up from the airport.

I couldn't fathom it. I don't even know what I'd do if by some miracle Bella became with child and the pregnancy caused her health to deteriorate so rapidly. To know that the life I'd put inside her was slowly sucking the life out of her. The guilt, the anxiety, the powerlessness would surely kill me. I shuddered. Talk about your worst nightmares.

"Phil, can you turn the air down? Edward is shivering over there." Bella then turned to me and gave me a questioning look. "Sorry about that, hon, this place is an igloo because I'm always so darn hot," Renee pulled the fabric of her blouse away from her chest and fanned herself a bit with it.

"Don't trouble yourself, Phil," I held a hand out to stop him as he moved to stand up from the table. "Renee, you just be comfortable, I can always put on a sweater," I smiled pleasantly, inwardly kicking myself for my involuntary physical reaction to Phil's thoughts. It was sloppy of me. Very sloppy.

Phil smiled, liking me a little better since I was willing to freeze without complaint so that his wife could be comfortable.

Once it seemed like everybody was done eating, I stood from the table and started clearing everyone's plates away.

Bella frowned and tugged at my sleeve. "Edward, I was going to do that…"

"Don't be silly, how often do you get to enjoy your parents' company? You just relax and leave the cleaning to me. Besides, it's the least I could do after that delicious breakfast. Thank you, Phil."

He was liking me a lot more now, which pleased me greatly. But it also made me appreciate how much sharper Charlie's instincts were. He wasn't so easily impressed by impeccable manners alone.

*BPOV*

After breakfast, Mom excused herself to go have a nap. Phil apologized for having to leave, but he had batting practice which he couldn't miss if he wanted to keep his spot on the Jacksonville Suns starting lineup next season.

I shooed him out of the house promising we'd take care of anything mom needed while he was gone.

As Phil's little hatchback backed out of the driveway, I relaxed into Edward's arms on the couch. Finally a bit of peace.

"A little warning would have been nice," I growled now that we were finally alone. "I thought she was dying."

Edward looked at me guiltily. "Sorry, love," his arms tightened around me. "I knew you wouldn't be tormented with worry for long. I didn't want to spoil the surprise. How are you doing with all that, by the way? That must've come as quite a shock."

I blew out a breath. "You can say that again! And I'm great," I said, not really understanding the question. "How else should I be?"

Edward's face was a little too cool as he shrugged and mumbled something about, "Just checking in."

I appraised him for a long moment and then laughed more out of incredulity than humor.

"You're unbelievable. You... what? Thought this would be the thing to change my mind?" I shook my head disapprovingly. "If you must know," I hissed in an annoyed whisper, "It's just the opposite. I'm thrilled that my mother will have another child to care for when I'm...gone.

"I know you're anxious, Edward, but try to have a little more faith in me...Is this how annoying it was when I thought you were going to leave me at every turn? If so, I'm sorry, cuz yeesh!" I cringed, exasperated, but tempered my tone so that I didn't sound so irate.

*EPOV*

Busted. She truly was so much more perceptive than I gave her credit for. While it was never fun to be on the receiving end of one of Bella's tirades, no matter how glorious she was when angry, when I'd processed what she'd said, I couldn't help but light up with a 100-watt smile.

I wondered if she recognized the significance of what she'd just said because I certainly did.

Is this how annoying it was when I thought you were going to leave me at every turn?

She had said when. When I thought you were going to leave me. Implying she didn't feel that way anymore.

When I'd made the decision to leave her, I never in a million years thought she'd believe my lies so easily. It was excruciating when she did.

For her to bestow her trust in me again just as easily after I'd hurt her, hurt her so badly...it stole the breath right out of my chest.

I took her left hand in mine and reverently kissed her ring. "Forgive me. You're absolutely right. How many times do I have to be proven a fool for doubting you?" Her deep, brown eyes softened at my apology.

"Seven more days," she said simply, squeezing my hand.

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, savoring the burn while it lasted. Seven more days.

*A/N This was about to swell up into another monster chapter that took several more days to write and edit if I included the concert in this one, so the next chapter will be a continuation/conclusion of Jacksonville.

As a final thought on this chapter, Renee is sure a piece of work for dumping Charlie over the weather, isn't she? I didn't make that ish up, that came straight from her Twilight Wiki page. And that's coming from someone who also lives in Northwest Washington.

*In my best Samara from 'The Ring' voice, "Seven Daaaaaays."*

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Nothing gets me to write faster than knowing people care what happens next!