EPOV

Lifting my hand, I hesitated for a moment before finding the courage I needed to knock on his door. I rapped on the wood quickly, waiting for his permission to enter.

"Come in," Carlisle called out, and I pushed the door open.

"Edward, son, it's your day off today, isn't it? To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly. "I hope I'm not bothering you, but there's something that I needed to talk to you about." I pulled an envelope from my breast pocket and placed it on his desk.

"What's this?" He picked it up and peeled it open. His jaw visibly clenched as he read the words I'd written. Placing it back on his desk a few moments later, he sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "So, this is your letter of resignation?"

I shoved my hands in my pockets, giving him a nod. "It is, sir."

He stared at me for what felt like hours, but most likely was only a matter of minutes. I was excited to begin this new venture with Bella, but it was bittersweet. My career with Carlisle had begun when I was fresh out of college, and until recently, I'd been content in my position. I was proud of the work I'd done.

"Edward, I've been waiting for you to come to me with something like this for months." He lifted the letter into the air. "This is exactly what I've been waiting for."

"Excuse me? I'm not following you, Carlisle."

He smiled at me and gestured for me to sit across from him. "That beautiful woman that you've found yourself—your Bella—I knew as soon as I saw you two together. She pushes you outside of your comfort zone. She makes you think about things differently. You're amazing at what you do, but before you met her, you'd grown stagnant. This business has become little more than a job to you, not a passion."

I threaded my fingers through my hair. "I can't argue with you about anything you said, but all these months—"

His smile morphed into a mischievous grin. "All these months I've been pushing you, frustrating you. I hoped you'd eventually get to this point on your own and I wouldn't have to come out and tell you to pack your stuff and move onto something bigger and better."

"You realize that we're going to be starting our own agency, correct? That I'm going to be your direct competitor?"

He waved me off. "Sure, you might eventually be competition for me." He winked at me. "But there's competition everywhere. We'll always be good friends, Edward." He reached across the desk, offering me his hand, which I took, giving him a firm shake. "I'm proud of you, Edward, and so happy that you've found love. I wish you both all the success in life, in and out of business."

"Thank you, Carlisle. You have no idea what your words mean to me."

He nodded, his eyes looking a little misty. "Go on and get out of here, you've got a lot on your plate these days."

—MM—

"Wow. That's not at all how I expected your meeting with him to go."

Chuckling softly, I grasped Bella's hand in mine. "You're telling me. But I have to say, I'm glad to know he wasn't just losing his mind."

"That's—"

Her words were cut off as she sucked in a sharp breath, her hand flying to her belly.

"Sweetheart? Are you okay? What's wrong, is it the baby?"

She bit her lip, averting her eyes. "I've been having contractions most of the day, but I thought they were Braxton Hicks. I've never done this before, but that one felt different. Don't be mad at me."

"Mad at you? I'd never be mad at you for that. But you're only 37 weeks—"

"Oh, shit!" she cried out. "I don't think that matters. This baby is coming, Edward."

"Can you walk? Do you need me to carry you to the car?"

She pushed out a rough breath, cradling her belly with one hand as she pushed to her feet with the other. Tears glistened in her eyes, her voice shaking as she spoke. "No, I can walk. You go grab the bag we packed."

I stood with her, cupping her face between my palms. "You're going to be okay, you've got this, Mommy. I love you and I'll be with you every step of the way." I pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "You wait here while I go get the bag and we'll be on our way."

"Okay," she whispered, her tears finally spilling over.

—MM—

"You're doing great, last push, Bella. Make it a big one and you'll get to meet this little boy of yours," the doctor called up to her.

I brushed her sweat-soaked hair from her eyes, pressing a kiss to her temple. "You hear that? You're almost done, baby. Ethan is almost here. One more good push and we'll get to hold him."

"I'm so tired, Edward."

"I know, but you've got this, Mama. You can do it. Come on, I'll help you." I reached behind her, helping to prop her up.

"Edward is right, Bella, you've got this," Doctor Denali encouraged her. "Now bear down on three. One, two, three, push!"

She let out a loud, guttural yell as she pushed with all her might, and after a few moments, the loud sound of our baby's wail filled the room.

My voice was thick with tears as I whispered in her ear. "He's here, baby. Do you hear that cry?"

However, instead of being calm and relieved, she seemed panicked. "Edward, something isn't right. Doctor Denali?" she yelled. "Something isn't right!"

The doctor's eyes glanced over at the monitors. "Okay, everything is fine, but you're still contracting. It's really rare, but I think we've got another baby coming."

"What?" I nearly shouted. "How do you miss something like that?"

Doctor Denali ignored me, and thankfully took care of my panicked and in pain fiancee instead. "All right, Bella, on this next contraction, I need you to push. This isn't going to take as long, I promise. This baby is right there. Now, push."

"Oh, God," Bella groaned loudly as she once again bore down.

"That was a beautiful push, Bella. Come on, one more good one and this'll all be over."

I shook myself out of my daze, returning my focus to Bella. "One more, baby, you can do this. You've been doing amazing, even with this curveball. Now let's meet our little surprise."

A loud roar flew from her lips as she pushed with all her might.

"It's a girl!" Doctor Denali called up to us.

"You hear that, Bella? A boy and a girl!"

"God, why do you have to be such an overachiever? Knocking me up with not one, but two babies," she grumbled.

I smirked at her, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "It's just the way I roll, I guess."

"Why don't you come meet your son and daughter while Bella gets cleaned up?" one of the nurses suggested.

"I—"

As both of their cries filled the room, Bella looked over at me. "Please go and be with them, Edward. They need you."

"Yeah, of course."

Walking over to where our babies were being cleaned up, I stared down at the two little wriggling bundles. Their faces were scrunched in anger as they continued to let everyone know they weren't happy about being removed from their warm haven.

"Would you like to hold one of them, Dad?" the nurse beside me asked.

"Oh, um, sure."

She scooped up our little girl—we'd have to figure out what to call her—and placed her in my arms. As I swayed gently with her, she eventually stopped crying.

Outwardly, I was attempting to appear calm for all of them. I didn't want to freak out like I did earlier, and make Bella think I couldn't handle two babies at once.

But inwardly, I was freaking out. There was nothing more that I wanted than to be a father. But now I had three people who were counting on me to provide for them.

Failing them wasn't an option.

SURPRISE! Two babies! LOL.