December 23, 2023
London, England
"Do you have our passports?"
I look up at Edward to see him nod, patting his coat pocket. I let out a tight breath. "Wait, shit. Do you have our tickets?"
He glances at me. "Yes, Babe, relax."
I don't know why I'm so nervous. I've done the flight before, though admittedly, back then it hadn't gone well for me either.
Now, there is even more pressure because we're flying with our seven-month-old baby.
"Maybe it's not too late to cancel," I say, gripping Spawn to me tighter. She's in a carrier strapped to my chest as Edward handles our luggage.
"Bella, everyone is meeting us in Chicago."
I glance around at the airport around us. "But, they could just come here, right? Or we could video chat. You know, they are getting really good with that VR technology. What if we just do that?"
Edward sets our luggage down and reaches for me. "Sweetheart, breathe."
I try to draw in a deep breath, but I'm still frantic.
"I think I hate flying," I admit.
He nods. "I know. But it's going to be okay. We're going to get a month with our family, and Duckling is going to get to know her grandparents."
He's right, of course. Even my dad is making the trip out to Chicago this year.
I'm just fucking terrified.
"Tell me it's going to be okay," I whisper, looking up at him. He smiles, cupping my face in his hands.
"It's going to be okay."
"Tell me the flight won't hurt Spawn."
Edward grins and leans down, kissing our daughter on the top of her capped head. "The flight won't hurt her. She'll be fine."
I let go of another breath.
"Okay," I sigh. "Okay, let's do this."
…
The flight is ridiculously long, even though it's shorter than the flight we took out from LA.
Spawn does amazingly well on the plane, which makes up for my constant melting down. I don't know what it is about planes, but I just do not like them.
By the time we land in Chicago, all I want is a stiff drink.
I'm still nursing, so I try not to drink that much, but sometimes it just can't be helped.
"You hanging in there?" Edward asks, rubbing my back. I look up at him.
"No."
He smiles and leans over, kissing the side of my head. Against my chest, Spawn is starting to get fussy.
"What are you complaining about?" I ask, looking down at her. "You got first-class accommodations. Open boob service and everything."
Edward snorts beside me.
Thankfully, we make it through bag pick up and customs before Spawn starts melting down. For a moment, I'm worried that it's because the flight fucked her up in some way, but then I smell her diaper.
Gross.
I dip into the nearest bathroom to change her, ignoring the looks from women around me as I talk to her.
"I appreciate you not letting this shit loose on the plane," I tell her, settling her on the changing table. "But you couldn't wait until we were at grandma and grandpa's house? I bet they have a cushy set up for you there."
She gurgles at me as I unclasp her diaper.
"Fuck, Spawn," I groan once I open the diaper. "What the hell are you eating anyway?"
My daughter gives me a gummy smile, and now I know how Edward feels whenever I give him the same look. I'm utterly powerless to stay mad.
"How soon can we potty train you?" I ask, reaching for the wipes. "Do you think that's a January type of goal? February?"
Spawn lets out a loud shriek and I grin at her. "I'm holding you to that."
Behind me, a woman chuckles as she passes us. I glance up at her, ready for a fight, but she looks amused, so I relax.
"She's precious," the woman coos, looking down at Spawn.
"Thanks, I made her."
The woman looks at me in surprise then lets out another laugh.
"Well, it shows."
I grin at her as she tosses her paper towel and leaves the bathroom. I turn back to Spawn, grinning.
"See? When you're hot, you can get away with being crazy."
My daughter gurgles out another laugh.
"Come on, kiddo. We got some people to impress with those dimples of yours."
…
"She's absolutely perfect."
I'm finally enjoying a beer while Esme fawns over Spawn. Spawn, who is truly my daughter, is soaking in the attention.
"Yeah," I agree. "She's a keeper."
Edward rolls his eyes at me across the room where he's sitting with his dad. Carlisle has a soft smile on his face as he watches Esme play with Spawn in her lap.
"She's so big already," Esme sighs, her eyes tearing up. "I can't believe it's been seven months."
"I know. Sometimes I'm looking at my…"
Edward's head whips in my direction, and I cut myself off.
"Uh, it's just gone fast," I mutter, realizing very belatedly how wildly inappropriate my thought was, even for me. No need to talk about my pussy or the straight up trauma it faced.
Esme has a sense of humor about most things, but sometimes I think I mortify Carlisle.
In true Esme fashion, she smirks, turning her attention back down to Spawn. I glance over at Edward who looks like he's just sprinted one hundred meters.
I clear my throat. "So, uh. When is Nana Cullen getting here?" I ask, sipping my beer.
"She's coming over for dinner," Esme says, looking at me. "She's so excited to meet her great-granddaughter who was named after her."
I glance at Edward. We had both agreed on Birdy fine enough, but when it had come to our child's middle name, there had been a fight. I was pushing for Rona, as a nod to the crazy as hell event that brought Edward and me together in the first place. He thought it was tasteless, which it might have been, but since when did we care about my tact?
He'd finally talked me around to Roe, which he argued was like a nickname of a nickname, and also happened to be his grandmother's name.
"Yeah," Edward says, clearing his throat. "It'll be great for Birdy to meet the woman she was named after."
I have to hide my smile behind my beer glass.
