Good morning, Loves!

First day of school for me (yay but also yikes!), so I'm about to be slammed as I prepare to teach a class I've never taught. Knocked Up is pretty well written in advance, but just a heads up, things may slow down a tiny bit if work starts catching up with me. Hopefully, everything will keep ticking on as planned!

All mistakes are on me!


Twenty-Two: Edward

October 3, 2022

Cambridge, England

"How are you doing?"

Bella and I are laid out on the sofa, both of us exhausted from her news. We decided a nap was in order before we did anything else, so I've taken the opportunity to hold her to me as close as possible. I know she's off because she hasn't tried to hit me once.

"Nauseous," she says flatly.

I frown.

"From morning sickness?"

Bella huffs. "No, from thinking about being a parent." She turns in my arms. "I'm so scared, Babe."

"I know," I agree quietly. "I am too." My arms pull her closer to me, and our feet tangle together. Her bare toes are always fucking cold, but I don't complain. "Maybe we should think about going back to the states," I say slowly. "We could go to Chicago, or Washington. Somewhere where we'll have family nearby."

Bella reaches up and punches my shoulder. We're too close for her to wind up and get a good hit, but it still hurts. "Shut the hell up, right now." She snaps. "We're not leaving here. Not when you finally get your chance to do your dream program!"

I shake my head. "Babe, it doesn't matter. You are way more important than any of that."

She huffs. "No, we're not leaving. This baby was conceived here, it'll be born here too."

I frown. "How far along are you?"

She scowls. "I don't know. I've been doing the math on it," she says slowly. "My IUD is solid. If it kept me from getting pregnant back in Lockdown, it can do anything." I snort and we both shake on the couch so hard, Bella nearly falls off. I bring her tighter against me again and she rolls her eyes. "Like I was saying, it's solid." She frowns. "I think it must have happened when I got it changed."

"Right before we left?"

She nods. "I Googled it. Apparently, there is this window when you can get pregnant if you get it changed more than seven days after your last period. Would have been fucking fantastic information to know before I jumped you."

I grin, remembering how she'd absolutely tackled me that night. I, personally, had no complaints.

"You perv," she sniffs, knowing where my mind has gone. I laugh and kiss her hard. She's immediately responsive, so I know she can't be too mad at me.

I let myself get lost in her for a minute, pouring my love to her through the kiss. I can feel her shaking under me, and I wonder if she's crying again.

She's so scared. Fuck, I am too. We hadn't planned on any kids until I was out of school and we were back in the states, at the very least. This has come at the most shocking, most unexpected time, but I can't help but feel like it's also the perfect fucking time. It doesn't feel like it, not even a little bit, but God I love this woman and to start a family with her while we've been given assurances on housing and a monthly stipend? I can't ask for more stability than that.

I pull back from her, pressing my forehead to hers, and she lets out a heavy sigh. "What's step one?" I ask.

"Find a time machine and punch my gynecologist in the throat for not warning me about this," she huffs. I snort.

"Okay, step two?"

She lets out a little breath. "I don't know. Find a doctor here who can tell me how much I've already fucked up."

I pull back to look at her. "What are you talking about?"

She glares at me. "Do you know how much coffee I drink? And I've been drinking beers like every day since we got here."

It's an exaggeration, but I understand where she's coming from. "It'll be fine," I assure her, hoping I'm right. Fuck, I don't know. Maybe we should call my dad.

Bella bites my chest. "Ow," I hiss, pulling back from her. She smirks at me.

"That's what you get," she huffs.

"For what?" I demand.

Her eyes narrow. "Sperm Spawn."

I try really hard not to laugh. That's the second time she's said that, and it's fucking killing me.

"I can't believe you just bit me."

Her eyes narrow. "I'll do it again," she warns. "Who knows what sort of crazy this pregnancy will unleash."

I'm as crazy as she is apparently, because that seriously turns me on. "Tell me how crazy you think you'll get," I say, my hand dropping to her stomach. She glares at me, looking suspicious, as she should.

"I'm going to get moody as hell," she says as my hand sweeps low across her stomach. "And paranoid as fuck." I grin. She once called the cops on a neighbor of ours because she was convinced he was stalking her. He hadn't been, even a little bit, and he'd been so freaked out by her accusation, he'd up and left Los Angeles entirely.

"Very paranoid," I agree, my hand slipping down her stomach, dipping beneath the edge of her sweats. Her eyes narrow.

"And I'm going to get really picky with food," she growls, her legs falling open on the sofa as my hand sinks lower under her sweats.

"It'll be the worst," I agree, kissing her jaw. She lets out a shaky breath.

"And I'm going to start snoring."

I grin, my fingers tracing her through the cotton of her underwear. "I'll never sleep again," I murmur. Bella moans as my fingers slip under her underwear.

"God, I can't believe you're getting turned on by this," she groans, her fingers fisting in my hair and holding me closer to her body. I grin against her shoulder.

"I can't fucking wait to see you like this," I tell her, kissing her skin. "I can't wait to see how fucking deep your crazy gets," I lick a trail across her collar bones, shifting my hips so that one of my legs falls between hers as I gently finger her. She's writhing under me, mewling, her hips demanding more from me. "Because the crazier you are, the more intense your love is. It's fucking incredible," I tell her. She makes a small sound that brings my eyes up to hers.

"You really do love me, don't you?" she whispers, her eyes wide, still terrified, but now filled with wonder. I grin and lean up to kiss her as my fingers slip into her deeper. She gasps against my mouth.

"More than anything," I murmur against her lips. She sniffs.

"You're so weird," she says softly. I grin at her and when she smiles back, it makes my fucking day. "Fuck, Babe. I need you inside me."

I nod, pulling my fingers out from her and tugging her sweats down. We are a flurry of clothes for a minute before I'm settling over her on the sofa, sinking between her thighs. She cradles me against her body as I sink into her, and we both shudder.

"God, I love you, Bella." I lean down, kissing her hard. "You keep giving me so much, and now, fuck, you're giving me a child." I shake my head as my hips start moving. "There is nothing in this world I wouldn't do for you." I kiss her again, and I can taste her tears. "You are so precious to me," I whisper against her lips. "You are everything."

She's crying, and fuck, I am too. We're both so overwhelmed in every way, but things just have a way of making sense when we're like this, connected in this way. She hooks her legs up over my hips, her fingers burying in my hair.

"Don't let me go," she whispers, pulling me tighter to her. I grunt.

"Never, Baby. I'm never letting go."


These kids got me tearing up! There is still a lot for them to figure out and sort through, but they will get to it all eventually.

See you loves tomorrow!