CPOV
I love watching Esme sleep; she snores softly and makes little whimpering noises. It also gives me time to talk to our little peanut.
"You know I love your mommy so much" I whisper as I lay my head on Esme's stomach. "I want to spend every minute with her. I want to convince her to move into my room since she spends all of her nights in here, but I don't want to scare her off. You know I waited a long time to find her. I waited for almost 400 hundred years. Do you know how long that is? Of course you don't, but trust me it's a long time. When she finally came along she had you, and I was so happy that I get to be your daddy. Now, today you are 13 weeks old. I know you don't know what that means, but that's okay. It means that we get to do some tests to make sure you are as healthy as can be. We'll get to see you today too, so if you feel me pushing on mommy's stomach, don't worry, we just want to get to see your sweet face. Try to be good and let us take a good look okay? I know you will. I love you so much, baby. I can't wait to meet you. Now, all we have to do is convince your mommy to move in with me. How do you think we should do it?"
"Maybe you should just ask her." Esme whispers and puts her hand on the side of my face.
I quickly crawl up so we are face to face and kiss her lips.
"Esme Anne Evenson, will you do me the great honor of sharing my room with me?"
"Yes, Carlisle Cullen, I will."
She beams at me and I know my smile matches hers.
I lean up and give her a sweet, soft kiss.
"Thank you, angel. I love you."
"I love you too, sweetheart." She replies and I have to kiss her again.
"Why are you up? It's late." I say after a minute.
"Peanut is making my stomach sick. I think I'm gonna try some water. Maybe it will settle down some."
"Okay, I'll get it for you, love. Stay here."
I run downstairs at vampire speed to get Esme her glass of water. I grab some crackers too in case she wants to try some of those also. She's still laying in bed when I come back into the bedroom, and I put her midnight snack on the nightstand.
"Here you go, love. I brought some crackers too. They might help as well, but go slow."
"Thank you."
I kiss her forehead and lay back down beside her. I love sharing my bed with her. I can't wait until I'm sharing every inch of my space with her. I want her hairbrush on my bathroom counter, her bras hanging on the doorknobs, and even her dirty clothes on the floor. I want to jump out of bed and move all of her things in here right now, but I don't want to leave her.
Suddenly Esme throws the blankets off of her and gets out of bed making me wonder if she's going to be sick.
"Are you alright, love?"
"Yeah, I just have to go to the bathroom."
"Okay."
I let her have her privacy because I know she's very particular about that. Of course, I can hear everything as she relieves herself and washes her hands. I shamelessly ogle her as she walks back to the bed in a tiny tank top and shorts. She rubs her arms a little like she's cold and I make a mental note to turn the furnace up once she's asleep. She curls back into the bed absorbing the heat from the electric blanket. I know her belly is still upset because she keeps rubbing her hand back and forth across it.
She's taking small sips of her water and nibbling a little on her crackers. I hope they help her nausea. She needs to get several more hours of sleep or she'll be miserable tomorrow.
After a few minutes she puts the crackers down and cuddles into her pillow.
"Feel better, love?"
"A little bit. I hope it will continue getting better."
"Me too. Is there anything I can do?"
"Come here." She says and opens her arms.
"I can definitely do that." I pull her into my arms and she wraps hers around my stomach. We snuggle down into the blankets more and I make sure she's completely covered so she doesn't get cold.
"What else were you and peanut talking about so intently?" she asks me, sleep clouding her voice.
"Nothing for you to worry about. It's between us men."
"It could be a girl." She grumbles before falling asleep completely.
"Do you have to use a needle?" Esme whines as we walk into the hospital. I let her sleep late this morning before making her breakfast and whisking her away for her checkup.
"Yes, love, I do, but I've been doing this a very long time and I doubt you'll even feel it."
"Uh huh." She grumbles.
At this stage in her pregnancy, we need to do a test called nuchal translucency (NT) test. It checks for chromosomal abnormalities and heart defects. It's an important step in making sure our peanut is completely healthy. To do this test, however, I have to draw blood, which is what Esme is nervous about.
I managed to get us a private room again and I will be able to do everything myself, just like last time. I sit Esme down in a chair, and pull out the things I will need to draw her blood. She winces a little when the tourniquet goes on her arm and I smile apologetically.
"You're in the last week of your first trimester. Are you excited?" I ask, making small talk so she won't focus on the needle.
"Yeah I really am. I can't wait to get fat and to feel her kick."
"She's the size of a peach right now. We should be able to see a lot more in this ultrasound than the last one."
"Really?" she beams.
"Yep, I'll be able to see the intestines and make sure the neck his forming right. Did you know that she already has fingerprints?"
"That's amazing." She whispers.
"It really is." I agree. "All done." I retract the needle and snap the tourniquet off of her arm.
"You're done? I didn't even feel it."
"I told you I was good." I grin at her and she just shakes her head and smiles.
"Alright I'll send this to the lab, and we'll get the results in about a day. Now hop up onto the bed for me. I will be able to do this ultrasound on your belly, so it will be a little easier this time."
Once she's laid down, I lift her shirt up some and then unbutton her jeans to move them down out of the way. She doesn't stiffen when I do and it makes me smile. Her beautiful rounded belly is on full display and I love it. Leaning down, I lay several small kisses along her belly and nuzzle my nose into her soft skin. It must tickle because she giggles and swats at me.
"Do you have this kind of bedside manner with your other patients, Dr. Cullen?"
"No Ms. Evenson. Only you." I tell her sincerely and lay one last kiss to her skin.
She jumps when I squirt the cold gel on her belly and I quickly apologize. It only takes me a few seconds to find the heartbeat and I let the beautiful sound fill the room.
"The heartbeat is about 160 beats per minutes which is perfect. His intestines and neck look great as well. He's developing really well."
"Can you tell if he's a boy?" she asks and I know she's dying to know.
"Sorry love, not yet. Next time though." I tell her with a smile and she nods.
I take my time and show her the arms and legs and even his little toes. I just can't seem to get enough of looking at him. He's so beautiful and he isn't even fully developed yet.
I don't know how long we sit looking at him, but eventually I print out some pictures for us to take home, wipe the gel off of Esme's stomach, and kiss my peanut one more time.
We walk hand in hand out of the hospital and it feels so good to have her here with me. I'm so happy—Esme's on my arm, our baby in her belly, and Alice is at home moving all of Esme's things into my room.
"When can we find out whether peanut is a boy or a girl?" Esme asks in the car on the way home.
"Between 16 and 20 weeks. We'll come back and do another ultrasound like we did today, only without the blood drawing. I should be able to tell, and if I can't, we'll come back the next day and try again."
"I can't wait." She says with a smile. I love to see her happy and I hope I can make her stay that way for the rest of our lives.