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Chapter 8

BPOV

Under the dress I was wearing, was a very defined baby bump.

"What the fuck?" I breathed.

I slowly lowered my hand over my stomach and touched it. There was no give to it. It was firm and definitely there.

I rubbed my hand over the bump lovingly for a while. Just reveling in the fact that there was actually a child there. It was more real to me, being able to feel it now. I know I had seen visions and dreams of her, but this was affirmation that she was really on the way.

And very rapidly.

"How is this even possible? I'm only a month along. How long do I have before she gets here? Alice what did you see?… Why the hell am I the only one talking?… Someone help me out here." I spewed my verbal diarrhea as I became more and more anxious and on the verge of hysterical.

"Well, first, you being a vampire, it will speed up the process of the pregnancy, I'm guessing. From what I've seen, she'll be here within a couple months. Not eight. This is going to fly by for you. And it will more than likely scare the hell out of you. It will probably take its toll on your body, too. It's hard enough on a human body, but with it going by so fast, it will certainly do that to you, too. But we'll all be here for you." She put her hand to my face so that I would look at her. "And Edward will be here. With all of us, you'll do just fine… I think…"

"Not instilling a lot of confidence here, Ali." I muttered, and I knew she heard it.

"Sorry sweetie. It gets jumbled up sometimes and some of the visions blur together. But we'll do whatever we can for you guys. But, what I saw was choppy, and I had to piece it together. I had to take in the surroundings and stuff like that, but what I could tell, she'll be here not long after the first snowfall."

The first snowfall is usually around the end of November or the beginning of December.

"So you think December? It's what, just almost October now, isn't it? That's really fast." I breathed as I held my hand over my bump.

"I know. But that's what I saw. I'm not going to give you the details yet, because where's the fun in that, huh?" She laughed. I had to join her. Her laugh was infectious.

"I don't think I need visions to tell me that you and I are going to be close, do I Alice?" I laughed.

"No, you're exactly right. I can tell we're gonna be the best of friends." She giggled. "So, you guys are going to name her Olivia?" She went on to another topic.

Note to self: She knows how to distract.

"Yeah. We decided the night of the crash that we were going to name her that if she turned out to be a girl."

"What about a boy? I mean we obviously know that you're having a girl, but I'm just curious." She asked.

"Well, we were thinking about Shane. I kind of liked the sound of Shane Edward Masen. Edward has always hated his name, but not too many people have that name, so it's sort of unique in a way. But we didn't really talk that much about middle names… We were actually talking about baby names when we had the accident. But when we were talking about it earlier that night, we both said we wanted a girl… first. I guess it'll be our only, but that's ok with me. As long as she's ok, I'm fine with it." I still prayed everything with her would be ok. This whole situation was insane and I don't know what to expect from moment to moment, much less when our daughter gets here.

"She will be perfect. Why don't you go back out there with her daddy and I'll go check with everyone else and see if they've found anything else out…"

"No need, Alice. I'm here. We need to go over some things and see if we can figure out what she really is." Carlisle said, motioning to me.

We both nodded and headed out of the bathroom, back into the room with Edward.

"Did you find anything out?" I asked as I sat on the edge of the bed with Alice beside me.

Rose had taken Alice's spot in the leather chair. Jasper and Emmett were standing just inside the doorway, and Carlisle and Esme were standing near the dresser.

Thank goodness this room is so large.

"Yes and no. There are no real definitive answers in any of the old books. Only supposed thoughts and theories that people came up with that may or may not be true. But what I did find was that whatever gifts Bella and Edward have, are protective ones. They are defensive gifts. The baby, on the other hand, will more than likely have both offensive and defensive gifts. Hers will be something we haven't necessarily seen before. It's going to be hard to narrow them down while she's growing, and being so young. Some of her gifts may stay dormant until later in her life. But it's unlikely that it will be anything we can't handle as she grows…

"There was one other thing that I found that was intriguing. It seems that her rapid growth won't be limited to her growing in your womb, Bella. She will grow at a rapid pace and probably reach adulthood within about ten years, instead of eighteen…" Carlisle explained, but that little bomb he just dropped was going to have to be repeated.

"Wait a sec, you want to say that again? My baby's not going to be a baby for that long? Will she be…" I couldn't finish that thought. Just thinking that something could be… wrong with her, sent chills down my spine. Would that happen? If her body grows, will her mind keep up? "She won't have any… problems, will she? I just want to be prepared for whatever comes along." I wouldn't love her any less, but I'd like to be able to have a game plan if something should be different.

"If you're talking about mental or intellectual problems, or even physical, then no. Everything should grow together as it would with a normal life span of a child, but she will take only a few years to be a fully grown adult. She'll more than likely grow by the day, if not weekly." He turned to look at Alice, pointedly, "Yes, that means she will need lots of clothes. But you will have to rein it in some, Alice. She won't need to wear a dozen different clothes in a day. So I want you and Rose to at least try to calm yourselves when you're out shopping." He looked at her with hopeful eyes.

"Dad, you know me better than that…" She tried to ease his nerves, but he wasn't having it.

"Yes I do. That's why I said that. It's bad enough that you go overboard, on a regular basis, with our wardrobes, but this little girl will more than likely, in all reality, be able to wear things only once. So there's no need to get hundreds of outfits in any one size for her. She will grow out of each size, rather fast. But, yes we will have to be prepared for each phase that she grows into. I will pay for the essential things we need to get for her, but I want you to call me if you decide you're going to go overboard with this, Mary Alice. I need to know how many credit cards to give you." Carlisle laughed.

"Whoa, wait. I can't let you pay for that kind of stuff, Carlisle. That's so not fair to any of you…" I started, but he cut me off.

"Nonsense, Bella. I wouldn't dream of letting you pay for her things. You are part of this family now, and this is what I do for my family. You and Edward can't exactly use your credit cards or access your bank accounts now, since you'll be presumed dead, which we'll take care of, too. And, sure the others find ways of making whatever money they want to, but I still like to pay for things for them. Each and every one of us has money set aside that we probably wouldn't even need to touch for centuries. You and Edward will too, but this is how we have always done things. You and your family will not want for anything, and I don't want you to have to. Please let me do this for you three?" Carlisle pleaded with me.

I don't like people spending money on me. It makes me incredibly uncomfortable. Even when Edward and I first started dating, I hated when he would buy things for me to show me how much he loved me. I didn't need things, I just needed him.

But, this is a huge undertaking that Edward and I are going to go through. It's so much more than just a baby. This is going to be a total change in lifestyle. We're adding a baby, learning to live as vampires, having a huge family to support us… apparently in more ways than one. The added effects of dealing with a 'gift', and then our daughter being so powerful and growing up so fast… How are you supposed to deal with that?

You have to accept whatever support your 'family' is willing to give. You have to learn that it's not just about you. You're going to have to be willing to put your pride aside and let the people that care help out in whatever way they can.

I took in a deep breath and nodded. "Ok. If you guys are sure that you're ok with doing this… I guess I can be ok with it. Just please don't go over the edge and get the most expensive things. I don't want Olivia to think that's how we are. Or that it's an all the time thing and she'll get exactly everything she wants at every turn. I want her to appreciate what she has and be humble. I don't want her to feel like things are handed out on a silver platter." I said, looking over at Alice because, apparently, she needs to be on a leash with this stuff.

She had an apprehensive look on her face, but I knew she'd never push too hard with stuff like this.

"Yeah, I can try. But do you know all the things you're going to need for a baby? There are millions of little things you HAVE to have. Ok, we need a crib, car seats, diapers, wipes, clothes, shoes, toys, stroller…" She rattled on without taking a breath.

"ALICE!" I had to slow her down, just a tad. I grabbed her arms so she was looking at me. "Chill. Take a small breath there, and… maybe write down all this stuff so we can go over it later. We can go online and see what all they have and narrow down the list. Is… there a room we can possibly… make hers? I hate taking up room in your house, Carlisle…"

"No need, Bella dear. There are two rooms on the third floor that are not occupied. You can make those yours, Edward's and Olivia's. Decorate them however you want. You know you can go to Esme, Alice and Rose to help you out. I'm sure they will jump at the chance to decorate a baby's room." Carlisle insisted.

I nodded. I knew how much Rose wanted a child when she was human and to have lost one is unbearable. So I know I will definitely recruit her to help me with this. And probably mine and Edward's room as well.

"Ok, so was there anything else that you found out? Is there any way to pinpoint what my gift is yet? Or Edward's?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not, dear. We will be able to figure out more once he's awake." He motioned towards Edward on the bed. I turned and looked at him, and he looked just like the rest of us now. I'm guessing it won't be long.

"So if ours are defensive gifts, how do we protect her? How does this all work?" I asked, trying to figure things out in my head.

"Your defensive gifts will be what protects her. There are more vampires out there that are gifted, in so many ways. They could use their gift to harm her or you or Edward. Your gifts should help to take a bad situation, and turn it in your favor…" Carlisle was explaining, but we heard the sound of a heartbeat taking off like a shot.

"Ah, it's almost done. He should be awake soon." Carlisle said, and we all turned towards Edward.

"Is this how it usually is?" I asked Carlisle as I sat by Edward and ran my fingers through his hair.

"Yes it is, dear. Unfortunately. I know it's very unpleasant when it happens, but it's the only way. His heart will stop entirely, soon. I need for you to be ready to calm him down. He is liable to be very defensive when he sees us here."

"Ok. Should I try to… like, restrain him if he's out of control? I may be the only one who can if he's too out of hand." I asked with some concern.

"I'm not sure. On one hand, I would say no because he could be a loose cannon and could hurt you. But on the other hand, I would say yes because you know him so well and would more than likely know the best way to calm his nerves, so to speak. He would be more susceptible to your touch and voice. But I tend to lean towards saying yes. He seems like he's been searching for you the whole time he's been unconscious. So knowing you're there and safe would be better for him. Just be careful. We can be vicious when we first wake up in this new life and we don't know what we're doing. You remember when you woke up that you were defensive and didn't trust anyone. And that was understandable. But with you here, he may be ok."

We stood there for a while, just listening to the steady, rapid heartbeat. I didn't know how much longer it would take, but I saw Carlisle, Emmett and Jasper push Esme, Rosalie and Alice behind each of them, protectively.

I turned to look back at Edward, and suddenly heard the heartbeat stop all together.

My eyes went wide as I waited. It could have been minutes, or hours, but the moment I saw Edward's mouth open and breath in, I was by his side in a flash, literally. I was touching his face, soothingly. Trying to calm him and let him know I was there.

"Edward? Baby, you're ok. We're both ok. I need you to look at me." I pleaded with him.

"Bells?" Oh dear lord, I was so worried I'd never hear that voice again.

"It's me, baby. I've missed you so much." I told him, then he opened his eyes and I saw red irises, and I gasped.

On anyone else, they may have scared me shitless. But on him? They were… interesting. Intriguing. They weren't eyes I would shy away from. That may just be because I'm a vampire now.

He sat up abruptly and whipped his head around to where the others were. He let out a feral growl and was up off the bed, with me pinned behind him against the wall. He was standing defensively in front of me, looking like he was ready to kill someone.

A/N: Soooooo, Edward is finally awake! This was kind of more of a filler/information chapter. Y'all may get more this weekend that just one chapter a day... we'll see if I'm being generous. Lol

I love hearing the theories of what Bella is or what's going on with the baby.

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