Chapter 25: Appointments

"So, how was your trip to Seattle?" Alice asked, sending a knowing smile my way as she drove us to Port Angeles to buy some baby supplies.

I had gloves on because of the cold winter air so she hadn't seen the ring yet and I gave her a wide-eyed look. "You know?!"

"Well, it's not like he told me or anything," she said. "I had a vision of you coming over with a ring on your finger and I sort of…helped him without saying anything."

"You didn't have to do that," I said. "But thank you. It was lovely."

"Let me see," she said expectantly. I pulled my glove off my left hand and held it out to her so she could see the ring. "Oh, Mel, it's beautiful. I couldn't see all the details in my vision."

"I know," I said. "I have no idea how he did this." I looked down at my hand and watched as the diamond glittered in the dim light shining through the windshield. The band was a beautiful white gold with smaller diamonds nestled around the larger one in the middle.

"You'll let me plan the wedding, won't you?" she asked.

"Alice…"

"I promise that it won't be anything big!" she said. "Have you decided on a date yet?"

"Honestly, I haven't had much time to even think about it," I said honestly. "I think I want it to be after the baby's born, though."

"How are you feeling, baby-wise?" she asked.

"I feel fine," I said honestly. "A few minor cramps, but nothing too bad. Nothing close to what I was expecting."

"Good," she said. "Your next appointment with Carlisle is tomorrow, right?"

I nodded. "At my last appointment he said that things seem to be going really well."

"He's very relieved about that," she said. "We all are."

We spent the better part of the day shopping for baby supplies. I could feel myself starting to get slightly overwhelmed and anxious but I didn't voice that to Alice. Actually purchasing things for the baby had made me realize just how real it was that in a few months' time, I would have a child.

In all honestly, I hadn't thought as much about that part of it before then. I'd been so consumed with the struggle I'd have to face to just make it through the pregnancy itself that I hadn't even given myself time to think about what it would be like when the baby actually arrived.

The next day, I was laying on a hospital bed for my appointment with Carlisle. It was one of our routine check ups and he told me that both the baby and I were healthy. This relieved Paul immensely and he held my hand tightly as Carlisle performed my ultrasound.

"I wanted to talk to you about something, Mel," Carlisle said. "I think it'd be beneficial if we performed a C-section instead of a natural birth. I don't know how well your body will be able to handle a natural birth."

"I agree," I said. "When would it be scheduled for?"

"May First," he said.

I felt my stomach tighten anxiously. Even though it was still February, it felt like that date was fast approaching.

"Thank you, Carlisle," I said.

"Thanks, Doc," Paul said.

Carlisle sent a warm smile to both of us. "My pleasure. Oh, and Alice let me know that congratulations are in order for the two of you."

"Thank you," I said, smiling warmly at him. Carlisle squeezed Paul's shoulder and then left the room to allow me to get cleaned up.

"So…May First," Paul said as he drove us back home.

"May First," I confirmed.

"How are you feeling about that?"

"I'm nervous," I admitted. "I can't believe it's so soon."

He squeezed my hand. "I'm kind of excited too, though."

I grinned at him. "I am too."

As the weeks progressed, Alice helped us set up the baby's room in our spare bedroom. We'd gotten Jacob to grant her permission to cross into La Push because I hadn't wanted to deal with asking Sam. The walls of the room had been painted a soft lilac and Alice had installed some star shaped lights to line the walls. There was a large crib against the wall with a rocking chair in the corner beside the crib. There was a playpen in the middle of the room and a small bookshelf across from the crib, filled with children's books that Alice and I had picked out, along with a small mahogany dresser that we'd filled with baby clothes and diapers.

I absolutely adored the baby's room and I sometimes found myself sitting in the rocking chair and gazing out the window, anxiously counting down the days until I was due to have my C-section.

Paul had been completely amazing through the whole thing. No matter what I needed, he was there for me. Whatever strange craving I was having, he'd prepare it for me. He'd held my hand and helped me through the few cramps in my stomach that I'd had.

Rosalie was ecstatic to hear about the engagement. As soon as Alice had shared the good news with her, she'd called me to congratulate me. She'd also promised me that she'd be there for me whenever I needed help with the baby.

Sue was also extremely excited about the engagement. When we'd told her the news, she'd thrown her arms around the two of us, holding us both tightly against her.

"There's something else," I said, grasping Sue's hands tightly. "We were thinking of having the baby's middle name be a tribute to Harry."

Sue's eyes filled with tears and she squeezed my hands. "I'm sure that would have meant the world to him."

"And…we were wondering if you'd be the baby's godmother," Paul asked.

Sue fought to blink away her tears. "Of course I will."

Paul wrapped his arm around her and hugged her. She pressed a soft kiss to Paul's cheek and then did the same to me. When she left our apartment, we curled together on the couch, Paul rubbing my baby bump gently.

I felt the tiniest flutter of life in my stomach and gave Paul a wide-eyed look. He moved his hand to where the flutter had come from and I felt it again, stronger that time. This was the first time I'd felt the baby moving around inside of me and I felt close to tears. Paul pressed the gentlest of kisses to my stomach, and rested his head against my chest, continuing to rub circles on my bump.

That night when we were in bed, I settled myself against him, trying to get comfortable. My stomach was cramping a little bit and I was finding it hard to actually relax. I shifted slightly and Paul noticed.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," I mumbled. "Just a bit of a cramp."

"How can I help?" he murmured.

I gripped his hands tightly. "Can I squeeze your hands when it hurts?"

"Of course," he said.

Over the course of the next half hour, the cramps got increasingly painful. It got to a point where I was gritting my teeth against the pain and squeezing Paul's hands so tightly that I was afraid that I'd break a finger.

"I think I should take you to the Cullens," he said.

I squeezed my eyes shut. "No, no, it's okay."

"Mel, it's so bad that I can feel it," he said. "It's not normally this bad—it hasn't been like this since that first one."

"This is what Sue warned us about," I reminded him.

He allowed it to go on for another fifteen minutes before he wouldn't take no for an answer. He lifted me out of bed and carried me to the Cullens' house. Once there, Carlisle gave me a painkiller and I drifted off to a painless sleep.

This became a weekly occurrence. Over the course of the next few weeks, I'd had to make multiple trips to the Cullens so that Carlisle could treat me. Paul got increasingly worried about me and I found myself having a hard time eating and sleeping.

I knew that Paul was worried, but he hadn't voiced his concerns to me. I felt like he was trying to avoid talking about it so he wouldn't upset me.

Every time we made a trip to the Cullens' house, Carlisle performed a sonogram on me to make sure the baby was still healthy. So far, he hadn't given us bad news in that regard—it seemed to just be that the baby's growth was taking a toll on my body.

A few times when the cramps had been especially bad, Jared had texted me asking if I was okay. I'd downplayed it for his sake—I didn't want him to feel like he had to worry about me more than he probably already was. That wasn't his responsibility anymore and he had more important things to worry about. His priority needed to be Kim and I wouldn't allow anything that was happening to me get in the way of that.

I'd been lucky enough through the first half of the pregnancy to not have to deal with the bad cramps that Sue had warned us about, but I understood exactly what she'd meant when she said that she'd thought that she lost her babies nearly everyday. There wasn't a single day that went by where I wasn't in some sort of pain.

More than once, Sue had come over and helped to try and ease my pain. She'd massaged my back and stomach gently, telling me that it was what she'd done when she was pregnant and it had helped her a little bit.

I spent majority of my days in bed, hugging my pillows close to me, trying to get some sort of comfort from them. I'd also taken more baths than I'd ever taken in my life—sitting in the tub, submerged in the warm water felt extremely comforting and had somewhat helped to ease the pain. Paul did everything he could to make me as comfortable as possible and I was incredibly grateful to him for it.

Instead of anxiously awaiting the day that we performed my C-section, I found myself longing for it. I wished for the end of this to come as quickly as possible—I wasn't sure how much more of it I'd be able to handle.