CHAPTER SEVEN

Bella wanted to ask Edward for name suggestions, but she wasn't sure how to do it. They found out that she was having a boy 9 weeks ago, and since, Bella had practically blown up. She was used to weighing 108 lbs, and on her 5'5 frame, she used to be practically skin and bones, but now, 8 and a half months pregnant, she felt like she had an inner tuber around her middle. She knew that if she was still with Jacob, he would just put her down and make her feel unwanted, but Edward reminded her of her beauty at every opportunity.

Here she was, her due date getting closer and closer, and she still had no idea what she was going to call her baby. She didn't know if Edward would be okay with giving the baby his last name. Hell, Bella didn't even know if she was okay with that.

Edward could tell that Bella was having some internal struggles with something, but he couldn't figure out just what it was. As they lay in bed, Bella laying on her side away from Edward, he leaned over and pressed his lips to her bare shoulder. The only thing Bella could stand to wear were either tank tops or hoodies paired with a pair of sweatpants. Although she still technically lived with Charlie, she spent most of her nights at his apartment, and most of her days at work. Edward wanted to tell her to quit her job, that he would take care of them, but he knew that she wouldn't.

"What about Julien?" He whispered, thinking that she was stuck and stressing on names. Edward didn't want her to feel as though she had to name her baby what Edward wanted, but he hoped that him providing suggestions may help.

"Julien…" Bella whispered. "Ezra Julien?"

So, Edward thought, She has been thinking about it.

"I really like that." He whispered back, a smile growing on his face.

Taking a deep breath, Bella turned her upper body as far as she could while remaining comfortable, and looked into Edward's tawny eyes. "Swan or Cullen?"

That rendered Edward quite speechless. Cullen? He wondered. His body sat up without his mind's approval, which caused a look of fear on Bella's face.

"Don't do that for me, Bella." He whispered.

"He's your baby too." Bella replied softly, earning a grin from Edward.

The grin grew across his face as he leaned down to pepper Bella's face with kisses. "Only if you want to, Bella, but I would be honored." He whispered into her ear.

They held each other as they did every night, but that night seemed different.

At the beginning of her third trimester, Charlie and Edward worked together to move Bella into Edward's apartment. He had gotten Charlie's blessing, of course, and made sure that Bella wanted to, and she was moved in within a few hours. Edward made sure that everything was on Bella's time. When it came time to have the baby, E.J. took his time coming. Bella was in the hospital for four days total, half of them being in insufferable labor. Edward held her hands through her contractions, walked with her down the hall, helped her breathe through active labor, and even cut the umbilical cord. When E.J. had been placed on Bella's bare chest for the first time, screaming and scratching, Bella looked up at Edward and smiled.

"I love you." She whispered to him for the first time.

Edward smiled and leant over to kiss Bella's sweaty forehead. "I love you too, so much." He replied in a calm voice.

The first few months of being a parent was hard on both of the 21-year-olds. There were plenty of sleepless nights, hours spent crying in tune with Ezra, gagging from dirty diapers, all of the nitty gritty things that no one wants to talk about. However, around seven months in, Ezra was just a gem. Charlie loved being a grandfather. He loved watching E.J. on his days off, he loved feeding him, he loved making up for lost time with Bella through her son.

As Ezra Julien got older, Bella began to see more of herself in him. His skin was the perfect combination of her and Jacob's, but aside from his black hair, he seemed to get nothing else from his father. He had big brown eyes that mirrored hers, a delicate and shy smile, and the same curve of her nose. He was perfect to her. She just wished that Edward was more than his father on paper.

When Ezra said "dada", Edward cried. He was so happy. Never in his life did he think he would want a child, but holding his son in his arms changed his world. When he was almost two, E.J. practically followed Edward wherever he went. He was a stay at home father, doing school while Bella went to work. He wished that she would just stay home and enjoy their time together, but he knew that this was something she had to do, and he would never try and stop her from that.

Jacob didn't come around until after Ezra's second birthday, and it was messy when he did. The young couple had quite literally just dropped Ezra off with Charlie so they could spend some time together, when Jacob pulled up on his bike.

"Paul said he saw you here." Jacob said after skidding to a halt in front of Charlie's house. "I want to see him."

"You," Bella said after a moment of taking everything in. "You want to see who? Charlie's busy right now."

"I want to see my son, Bella." Jacob growled, taking a step closer to her. Edward stepped in front of her and placed a soft hand on Jacob's broad shoulders.

"Take a step back and breathe." He said in a warning tone, but Jacob just glared at him and continued to talk to Bella over Edward's shoulder.

"Your son? Your son?" Bella questioned with a scoff. "Please, you would only be so lucky."

"I have rights, Bella! I want to see my child!"

"What's his name, Jake? Tell me his fucking name and maybe I'll consider letting you see him."

Edward reached behind him and gently held Bella's arm in order to calm her down some, but it didn't seem to work.

"I don't know his fucking name!" Jacob screamed back.

"You don't need to scream," Edward said in a calm voice.

"Fuck you!" Jacob said, giving Edward a small shove back, causing him to knock into Bella.

Bella decided that she wasn't going to put up with that. She moved out from behind Edward and shoved Jacob back as Edward wrapped an arm around her waist to hold her back.

"You have no rights, Jacob!" Bella yelled while Edward lifted her from the ground. It was a good thing, because as the next thing she said left her lips, her knees gave out. "You raped me, you have no rights to see my son."

Edward stiffened. He thought back to the years ago that Bell had come to his house, a complete mess. He made me, she had told him. Edward's new knowledge put a spin on those words. He almost dropped Bella and turned around to destroy Jacob, but he knew that he had to maintain calm in this situation for her.

"I didn't rape you; we were married." Jacob replied, his voice softer this time. He didn't want anyone to overhear them now, that he was being thrown under the bus.

"Yes, you did!" The tears began to flow freely from Bella's eyes. "You did, I told you to stop, and you didn't. You held me down."

It was hard for Edward to hear it, so he couldn't imagine how Bella was feeling.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, but you're being a bit dramatic." Jacob said, his voice much calmer now than it was when he had approached them.

Edward had had enough of being the calm one. He gently placed Bella on the ground, pressed a kiss to her head, then whipped around to face Jacob.

"You're the reason girls don't say anything. Bella isn't being dramatic. You were married to her; you should know that she's not one for theatricals. So, why don't you get on your stupid bike and tell your friends to mind their own business. You can stay as far away from my family as this little town allows."

Edward left it at that, taking Bella by the hand. He led her to their car and opened the door for her, watching Jacob closely as he picked his bike back up and rode off. When Edward got into the car on his side, Bella was sobbing into her hands while she sat in the passenger seat.

"Baby," He whispered, reaching out to touch her back. "How come you never told me."

This would have been a great time to accept his father's offer. Jacob wouldn't even make it back to his house if Edward had control over it.

"I'm not lying." Bella whimpered, not looking up from her hands. "I don't want to talk about it, I'm not ready."

"I believe you," Edward whispered, then moved his hand to start the car. "I love you so much, Bells."