CHAPTER TWELVE

Edward wasn't kidding, his father had asked their priest to come marry them that night. Alice threw a white dress over Bella's head after she had taken off the clothes Rosalie brought her earlier that day.

"This is our 'hitched' dress," Alice said, zipping it up. "Rosalie wore it when her and Emmett got married."

The dress was pretty. It was stark white and flowy, the skirt stopping at Bella's calves. It wasn't super flattering, but she guessed that wasn't really the point.

"Why is it called that?" Bell asked somberly. This was not the way she wanted her life with Edward to be. They were doing great by moving at their own pace, but now his estranged father though he had the right to dictate them. Bella had never had that kind of authority in her life before, and to be frank, she was pissed.

"Emmett and Rosalie got married on their second date. They were almost nineteen, and for us, that's too old." Alice explained. At least it was nice that Bella knew the truth about them.

"I can't believe this is happening." Bella muttered.

"Bella, you need to know that this is your life now. You can't get out of it. Luckily, we don't have to do much except provide children and clean up." Alice said softly as she flattened the dress over Bella's sides.

"Some of us," Rosalie grumbled as she walked into the room with a jar of hair accessories. "I wish I could have kids. I know Carlisle regrets choosing me."

Bella looked at Rosalie through the mirror. The young blonde was absolutely gorgeous. Bella wished she could see what her children would look like.

"You never know!" Alice chimed, trying to keep the mood up.

"I do know." She sighed, then let her fingers craft a perfect braid in Bella's hair.

"What about you, Alice?" Bella asked looking at the younger girl's reflection. "If your only job is having kids, why don't you have any?"

"My job is to be a wife." Alice corrected. "Not a baby farm. Jasper and I are much more reasonable than our parents; we know that we're too young to have kids. My father is waiting, though. I'm really hoping that E.J. and your new baby distract him for a few years."

Oh, right. Bella sighed. A new baby. She had managed to mess up for a second time. This is a good thing, Bella had to remind herself. She was pulled out of thought by a knock on the door.

"Are you ready?" Esme asked, her eyebrows raised.

"Yes!" Alice chipped, a smile gleaming on her face. They led Bella out to the living room, where Edward was standing with Ezra, both wearing nice dress pants and a button up, topped off with matching ties. Bella's heart melted.

The ceremony was quick, they exchanged rings, and shared a kiss. Once the priest left, Edward, Bella, and E.J. retired to the room they shared.

"Now we're married." Bella whispered in disbelief. "Wow,"

"I'm sorry Bella." Edward whispered for probably the millionth time that day.

"I just didn't think it would happen like this." She replied, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I mean, I wanted it to happen, but on our own time."

"As soon as we're safe, I'm going to get us out of here. We won't be stuck in Sacramento."

"Are we ever going to be safe, Edward? Someone shot up the bank and took me to some old building and then shot me. In the middle of nowhere! If we aren't safe there, where are we going to be safe?"

"Bella, I told you, I never wanted this for you. I thought I got out, I was never expecting anything like this to happen."

"But it did. And now our son's life is at risk any time he goes out."

"Don't blame me, Bella, I tried to hide from this." Edward was getting frustrated with her now, for the first time in the five years they had known each other.

"I'm not blaming you, Edward! I just have a lot going on and I'm in a house full of people that I don't know, in a state I've never been in before. Living with the mob! My life feels like a really shitty TV show right now."

"Mommy, Daddy?" Ezra whispered from the other side of the bed. "Shhh, its sleep time." He whispered pressing his finger to his lips. Bella sighed and stood up, walking around the bed to pick him up. "Does he have any pajamas?" Bella asked Edward calmly. Without a word, he walked across the room and opened the top drawer of a dresser, then pulled out new clothes for his son. "My mother got these earlier today. You have clothes as well."

"Thank you." Bella whispered, then place E.J. down. "Can you put him down? I'm gonna shower."

Edward nodded silently and got to work as Bella walked into the attached bathroom.

The rest of their week together, Bella and Edward barely spoke. They both felt overwhelmed and were unable to desensitize themselves to their situation while being surrounded by the Cullens.

Ezra, on the other hand, was only overwhelmed with love. Everyone in the house adored him, even Carlisle watched him with fondness during meal times.

Bella's phone began to ring after dinner one night. It was Charlie, and panic stuck Bella's body. She wondered if he was in trouble.

"Dad?" Bella asked as soon as she answered the phone. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, Bells, just wondering why I haven't heard from you in a little while. Are you okay?" Her father's voice sounded completely normal, earning a happy sigh from his daughter.

"Yeah, everything's okay here. Uh… Edward's brother is celebrating his anniversary, so we're in Sacramento with his family. It was really last minute, I completely forgot to call you."

"Oh, that's… fun?" He said, trying his best to be supported, but he knew that his daughter was not one to leave her comfort zone often. "I wanted to call you and let you know that Jacob's been asking about E.J. I haven't told him anything, but he's dying to know."

"Well, he can just keep on wondering." Bella muttered softly, sitting on the bed next to Edward. "Ezra is fine with us and perfectly fine without him."

Edward's ears perked up as he tuned into Bella's conversation. Ezra Julien was curled up at the bottom of the bed like a cat, asleep with his thumb between his round lips. Edward reached his arm around Bella's shoulders in an attempt to comfort her, and to his surprise, she let his arm stay there.

"We'll hopefully be back soon, but these people know how to party." It really hurt Bella to lie to her father. If she could, she would tell him that the odds of them coming back anytime soon were slim to none, but that would hurt both of them. "I love you, dad." She whispered before hanging up the phone and turning in towards Edward so he could wrap his strong arms around her.

"We're going home soon, my love. I promise." He whispered. He didn't know whether or not he was lying to her, but it was what she needed to hear.

The next morning, the doctor came for a visit. He cleaned up the bullet wounds that Bella, Edward, and Emmett had received, then took Bella and Edward into a more private area to perform an ultrasound on her.

"You're about seven weeks along, Mrs. Cullen." He smiled at the machine. Bella wished that she was excited, but instead she was so worried about the baby's future. No doubt that it was Edwards; Bella wondered how this baby would grow up. "We should be able to hear a heartbeat today."

Hearing the heartbeat changed everything for both Edward and Bella. It made this child more real. A smile pulled at both of their faces as they listened to the abnormal noise. Bella wanted to share this with her son and her father, but it was far too early to tell anyone who didn't know.

Once alone, Edward held Bella's hands. "When we get back to Washington, I want to marry you properly. I want you to pick out your own dress and walk down an aisle. Will you do that for me?" He whispered, his tawny eyes searching Bella's brown ones for any signs of emotion.

"Yes." She replied softly. "I would really like that.