ESPOV
A million emotions rush through me when I see that "Welcome to Forks" sign: joy, excitement, sadness, and homesickness to name a few. We've been driving for about two days and we're finally home. I'm covered in grease from the french fries Peanut demanded about an hour ago, and my legs are starting to cramp from being in the car for so long; even with all of that, this has been the best week of my life. Carlisle and I are closer than we've ever been—physically and mentally. All of the stress and negativity from Charles' death are long gone. Our baby is healthy and is currently rolling about in my belly as his daddy rubs his big hand along my bump. Carlisle's attraction to my belly seems to have grown and he can't keep his hands off of it—not that I'm complaining.
I let out a contented sigh and lean back against the headrest. I'm happy to be home, but I'm going to miss the island. My life is so perfect right now, I don't have any trouble pushing the sadness away.
"Feeling conflicted, love?" Carlisle asks with a smile.
"Yeah" I sigh. " How can you tell?" My brow furrows and he laughs.
"I can feel your emotions, remember?" He places a kiss on the back of my hand before returning his to my belly.
"I thought that was only when the emotions were strong."
"Well I think your hormones are making your emotions more intense. I've noticed it a little this week, but you were mostly happy, as was I, so it wasn't as evident."
"Good. Now you get to be a big ball of emotions with me." I tell him with a smile.
"I like it I always want to know what you're feeling so I can keep you happy."
"Well that's not fair." I huff. "You get to feel mine, but I don't get to feel yours."
He raises an eyebrow at me and grins. Thinking back over my words, I realize what I said and burst out laughing. Carlisle joins me, and I don't even realize we're home until Carlisle turns off the car.
Samson's big face is watching in the window and I jump out of the car when I see him.
"Sammy!"
His ears perk up at my squeal and he comes barreling out of the house, knocking his way through the new doggy door, which takes up half of the door. He looks like he's grown a foot as he gallops towards me, and I laugh when his big paws land on my chest and he gives my face big, sloppy kisses.
"Hey, runt! Back off my woman." Carlisle yells and Samson turns his sights on him. He runs to Carlisle just like he did to me only his paws land at Carlisle's waist. He whines and wags his tail until Carlisle bends down and allows him to sniff all over his face. I guess Sammy is happy to see him too, but still a little suspicious.
"Hey Baby Mama!" Emmett bellows as he comes outside carrying about eight suitcases and the rest of the family following him.
"Hi!" I squeal and run over to hug them all.
Emmett swoops me up in a bear hug before swinging me around. I'm pleasantly surprised when my stomach doesn't protest at the fast, circular motion.
"I missed you too, Emmett." I tell him through my laughter.
Once Emmett sets me down, he has to keep his hands on my shoulders so I don't fall over, and he seems to take pleasure in my humanness. Once I finally have my balance, Jasper and Edward give me soft hugs before going back to stand with their mates who immediately ingulf me in a group hug.
"You're so tan." Rosalie says, holding her shock white skin next to mine.
"That's what happens when you spend a week out in the sun." Bella retorts and turns back to me. "So how was the trip?"
"It was perfect." I sigh and they all smile while Alice squeals.
"I knew it would be. I'm so happy for you two."
"Girls, can we please do this inside?" Carlisle interrupts kissing my cheek. "It's cold out here and Esme isn't used to this weather yet."
It is cold. It's February in Forks. I have my winter coat on, but I can still feel the blistery wind blowing through my leggings.
We all file back into the house, even Sammy who takes up residence on my lap after we've all gathered in the living room.
"Traitor" Bella says to him from across the room and he just rests his head on my belly like he's done since he was a puppy.
"So what's with the suitcases?" I ask them.
"We have to go back to school, Baby Mama. Not everyone can spend their lives traveling to islands and spending the day with their mates…actually we could, but we don't. Why don't we?" He turns to Rosalie thoughtfully.
"Because we have lives, Emmett. If you want, we can do all of that the next time we move." She tells him and he responds with an excited nod.
"So anyway" Jasper says laughing "we want to hear about your trip. What did you do?"
"Um we talked…a lot. I had a deep-fried twinkie, which is the best road food ever, by the way. We swam a lot and walked on the beach. We found a giant waterfall where Carlisle almost gave me a heart attack when he jumped off of it. We found out that Peanut loves ice cream, and her daddy." Carlisle's eyes sparkle when I look over at him. "She dances whenever he talks to her or touches my belly."
"Dances?" Rosalie asks wide-eyed.
"She moves around. I felt it for the first time on the boat to the island and her movements seem to be stronger everyday."
"Wow. Does it hurt?" Alice asks.
"No, not at all. It feels weird—something moving inside me, but it doesn't hurt at all."
"Can I feel?" Emmett asks with boyish wonder in his eyes.
"You can't feel it from the outside yet." Carlisle tells him and Emmett pouts. "The baby just needs to get a little stronger and bigger for that to happen."
"Okay." Emmett grumbles and I giggle.
"So you guys found the waterfall, huh?" Edward asks smiling.
"It's beautiful." I nod. "You've seen it?"
He grins widely and Bella ducks her face, I suspect she would be blushing if she could.
"Oh yeah. We've been there." He says and Bella elbows him, making him laugh loudly.
I scrunch up my nose and look at Carlisle to find a similar expression on his face.
"Oookay." Carlisle says breaking the awkward silence. "I think it's time for you guys to go. You want to get back to campus at a decent time."
"Okay old man, we're going." Edward grins and Carlisle just shakes his head.
We all receive hugs and kisses on the cheek before they pile in their cars and tear out of the driveway. I have a suspicion that Alice and Edward are racing.
"Come on, love."
Taking my hand, he leads the way upstairs. I'm confused when we go down the hallway opposite his bedroom.
"Carlisle? Where are we going?"
"I have something to show you."
He opens the door at the end of the hall and leads me in. At first it looks like just another bedroom until I see a small portable crib and sonogram machine.
"What is this?" I ask breathless.
"Happy Valentine's Day." He whispers in my ear from his place behind me.
I freeze. I had completely forgotten about Valentine's Day. Today Peanut is 18 weeks old, so that means today is February 18. Valentine's Day was while we were on the island, but when? Counting back, I finally realize—the candlelit dinner on the beach, the sunset, Carlisle's perfect cooking, the stars, and…our first time.
"Carlisle" I breathe. This is all so much and I didn't get him anything.
"I had the girls set this up while we were gone. It's a birthing suite. I would love if you would have our child here, in our home, where I can be your doctor and your partner. I can take care of you better than anyone else—medically or otherwise. If you decide that's not what you want, at least we have the sonogram here so we can see Peanut whenever we want."
I can tell he's nervous. He really wants this. Looking around the room, I can see he went above and beyond to make it perfect. The room is done in light blue and chocolate brown. The bed is in the middle of the room, but there's also a huge bathtub off to the side, I'm assuming that's for a water birth. There's a dresser with a mirror, although I don't know why I'd need it, and a flat screen television mounted above a gas fireplace. It's the picture of ease and relaxation, and I can think of no better place to bring Peanut into the world.
"Yes." I whisper and he's suddenly in front of me blocking my view of the beautiful room.
"Yes?" he asks hopeful.
"I would love to give birth to our child here. I trust you completely and I know it will soothe your mating instincts if you're 100% in charge of my well-being."
"Thank you so much, angel." He whispers and kisses me softly. "You have no idea how much this means to me."
He kisses me slowly again and I pull away with a smile.
"Can we see Peanut now?"
"Of course." He laughs and I run over to the bed.
The gel is cold when he squirts it on my skin, but it doesn't startle me. I'm used to cold on my skin. The thought makes me blush and Carlisle raises his eyebrow in question, but I just wave him off.
It only takes a few seconds for Carlisle to find the baby's heartbeat and the sound makes tears jump into my eyes.
"145 beats per minute." Carlisle says in what I've come to know as his doctor voice. "That's perfect."
A sigh of relief escapes me and he smiles gently.
"All of the organs look great. No sign of spina bifida or cerebral palsy. Everything's perfect."
"You can see her organs? Is that normal?" I can't contain the worry in my voice.
"It's perfectly normal. Peanut's skin is translucent right now giving me the opportunity to make sure everything inside is okay."
"So you can see through her skin?" I ask with a shiver. "That's creepy."
"It is a little creepy" he laughs " but it allows for a great opportunity for us doctors."
"I guess so." I mumble. "Can you see anything else?"
"Yep. See this?" he points to the screen. "That's an arm and here are five little fingers. If we shift the probe a little, we should be able to see…yes, there's the face and head. It looks like our baby might be a thumb sucker." He smiles wide and I can feel wetness on my cheeks when I see her little hand up by her face.
"I sucked my thumb as a baby." I whisper and lightly touch the screen with my fingertips. She's so beautiful and she's not even fully developed yet.
"I guess she'll take after her mommy." He whispers and wipes my tears away.
"She?" I ask quietly. "It's a girl?"
"Yes, beautiful. We're having a baby girl." He says as his eyes fill with unshed tears.
The probe is forgotten as is the jelly on my skin when he gathers me into his arms, and I can feel him sobbing into my neck.
It hits me now how monumental this is to him. He's been alone for 400 years knowing he couldn't have children, and now here we are with a perfectly healthy baby girl and he's going to get everything he's ever wanted.
"I love you so much." I whisper in his ear and comb my fingers through his hair.
He continues to lean on me in this rare moment of weakness, and I let him. This is why we fit together—we are strong when the other is weak.
"I love you, my Esme." He says into my neck. "Thank you."
It's several minutes before he gets himself under control and I enjoy holding him while he gathers himself. When he pulls away from my neck, it's so he can lay his head on my bare belly. Peanut moves like crazy when she feels him, and it makes me smile wider than I thought possible. His voice cracks as he speaks to my baby bump.
"I love you so much princess."