Edward

I'm honestly scared for the first time in a long time.

When we get to the hospital, I start Bella on medication that should drop her blood pressure quickly, but it doesn't work. Leah is over an hour away on the reservation, and our on-call partner is dealing with three other moms in labor—one she's about to take to the OR for a C-section.

While I'd usually never be able to care for the woman I love, when it comes to an emergency, if I'm the only one available, I have to care for her.

And right now, I'm the only one available.

"Get an OR prepped," I tell a nurse as I sign orders for a different, stronger medication. She quickly takes the tablet and rushes out of the room.

Bella shakes in the hospital bed, cradling her stomach as she talks to her tiny human, telling her it's going to be okay.

I look over the baby's monitor, noting a perfect heart rate. The tiny human isn't the one in danger.

"She's doing great, beautiful," I say, sitting down on the edge of the bed. I take one of her hands and lift it to my lips, pressing a kiss to it. "Bella, I might have to deliver her. Are you okay with that?"

Her big brown eyes filled with tears meet mine, and she nods. "You'll make sure she's safe."

I nod. "I absolutely will. I know this is scary, but I'm going to get you through this—both of you."

"I want to hold her right away."

"Of course, sweetheart."

"Can we wait until my dad gets here?"

I check my watch and sigh. "Let me check where he is, okay? They're prepping the OR now."

I pull out my phone, dialing Charlie's number. When he answers, I hear sirens in the background.

"Is she okay?" he asks immediately.

"We're getting an OR prepped, but she wants to wait for you. How far are you?"

"About ten minutes. I'm lights and sirens, going as fast as I can."

The OR won't even be ready yet, which is good for Bella's wishes. "Okay, we'll wait for you. Come straight to the maternity floor. We're in room 306."

"I'll be there. Take care of my girls, Edward. I'm counting on you."

"I will, Charlie. We'll see you in a few minutes."

I hang up the phone, forcing a smile for Bella as she asks, "He's speeding, isn't he?"

I nod. "Lights and sirens. Perk of being a cop, I suppose."

She laughs half-heartedly. "Yeah, that sounds like Dad. Edward, I've never been so scared in my life. If I lose her …"

I wipe her tears and shake my head. "We're not going to lose her. This is what I do, beautiful. And I'm damn good at it. I love you both so incredibly much."

She puts her hand around the back of my neck, pulling me close and pressing her forehead to mine. "I love you too." She sniffles.

I kiss her gently, caressing her cheek. "We're going to meet our daughter."

She smiles. "In case something happens, her name is Charlie Theodora—not Charlotte or anything fancy, just Charlie after my dad."

"That's a beautiful name." I grin. "I know it'll fit her perfectly. Let me hold you while we wait."

"Please," she begs, moving over to the side of the bed.

I stretch out beside her, placing a hand over our tiny human. We lay in silence with just the sound of the monitors telling me both of them are okay. Her next blood pressure reading is a little lower—160 over 102—but still too high to let her carry to term.

Soon enough, Charlie bursts in the room breathless, and I carefully get off the bed so he can hug his daughter.

"I got here as soon as I could, Bells."

"You should have stopped and brought Dr. Clearwater," she teases with tears in her eyes.

"Who's doing the surgery?" he asks, looking at me. "You?"

I nod. "I'll start, but Leah should be here soon. There's no other choice. The other doctor is already in the OR and has two other laboring moms to care for. This only happens in the event of an emergency."

"Are you up for it?"

Again, I nod. "I'll take care of them both," I say as the nurse comes in, announcing the OR is ready and that transport is on their way.

"Let's go meet our tiny human, beautiful."

She smiles nervously, nodding.

Bella refuses to be put completely under, so the anesthesiologist quickly puts an epidural in while I change into surgical scrubs, and then step up to the sink to scrub my hands. I watch as the team preps Bella and keep an eye on the monitors, making sure my girls are safe.

It's almost ten o'clock on Christmas Eve, and I'm going to be a father.

In all the years I've delivered babies, nothing could have prepared me for the idea of delivering my own. It's going to be hard to cut into the love of my life, but I know I can do it because if I don't, there's a strong chance she's going to go into full blown eclampsia.

Stepping back from the sink, I go to the doors and push through with my back before stepping into the waiting gown.

"I'm here, beautiful," I say through the mask as I don gloves. Once they're on, I crack my fingers like I always do—my little routine—and ask for some music. I always let the nurses pick, and since it's Christmas, they pick the obvious.

"Oh, my God, I'm having a Christmas baby," Bella says as she lies on the table—her large bump bare to me. "We never celebrate her birthday and Christmas together, okay?"

I nod, stepping up to her side as the phone rings. A nurse quickly grabs it and gasps, asking the person if they're okay.

"Dr. Clearwater was in an accident," she says. "She's okay, but she's still forty-five minutes away at minimum."

You have to be kidding me, I think. "Tell her I can handle this."

"Dr. Cullen says he can handle it," she says into the phone. "Yes, I'll tell him. Just be safe. We're getting started."

She hangs up the phone and tells me that Leah says I'll do great. Bella's next blood pressure reading comes up, and it's slighter higher than the last one, so I decide I need to get this done.

"I'm going to start now, Bella," I say, taking a scalpel. "You'll feel pressure and tugging, but nothing should be painful. If it is, tell me."

"Can you do this one-handed and use your other to hold mine?" she asks as I look over the sheet at her.

"I wish I could, beautiful."

"You can hold mine," Dr. Fletcher, the anesthesiologist, says, putting his hand in hers. "Just breathe, sweetheart."

I press the scalpel to her skin, making my first incision. It's not long before I make my way down to her uterus, and so far, she's doing amazing and even making some jokes with the team.

"Almost there," I say, trading out instruments with the scrub nurse. "Are you ready to meet her?"

"Yes! Give me my baby, Edward."

I gently pull my daughter free, and the most beautiful sound of crying fills the room as I suction out her mouth and nose. I hold her up, grinning under my mask.

"Charlie!" Bella cries.

I wave her little hand. "Say hi to Mommy, Charlie Theodora!"

Bella laughs as I cut the cord and check out Charlie. She's absolutely perfect. A pediatrician will check her out more since she's a bit early, but her heart and lungs sound beautifully amazing. A nurse quickly takes her from me and lays her against Bella's bare chest, and my girl looks gorgeous holding our daughter.

"Hi, tiny human," she says, laughing as she cries. "Edward, you just gave me the greatest gift. I'm so in love."

"Me too," I say, going back to work on Bella.

The placenta delivers easily enough, and there's no excess bleeding. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop, but everything goes well. Bella won't let Charlie go, holding her as I close her up. It's such a beautiful sight, and I wish I could be on the other side with her, but I'm glad I have the skills to deliver our daughter in such a perilous situation.

It suddenly hits me that I'm a dad, and I look over at Bella. "Thank you, beautiful."

She smiles. "You have that reversed. Thank you, handsome."

I don't own Twilight.

Thank you, Ashley for prereading and Alice's White Rabbit for beta'ing!