A/N Happy National Garlic Day! I felt obliged to choose that one as a person with a very Italian last name. hehe Plus, garlic, vampires, Twilight? Loose tie, right? Very loose I admit, but it's another Sunday without football, and yet, another Sunday closer to football returning. Plus we're officially eleven days away from the opening round of the draft! As I'm sure you can imagine, with Tampa with the number one pick, I'm quite excited about it. Even though the draft drama is starting to drag for me. I just want it to be here. Then we'll find out what happens instead of talking about it :)

Thank you for all the love last chapter. Yes, our Edward is maturing and growing in huge ways and he's a joy to write. I know you all love little Danny, as do I. It's hard to write hard times for him. I won't give away any plot points, but I will say that anything that I write does have a greater overall purpose to the story. So, trust in me, even if we do have to cry from time to time. I'm here to give virtual hugs when you need them, I promise!

As to this chapter, no tears! No goodbyes, only hellos! And a little something many of you have been anxious to see. Hehe Enjoy! Have a great week and next week? We'll have sex! Two different kinds, and no, that doesn't mean there are twins. Haha You do the math! See you then!

Getting Blitzed Chapter 32

"One more day," I told Rainbow, who was lying on my chest. "One more day until Reed Girl gets here and we get back to normal."

She tilted her head, her golden eyes trained on my face.

"Well, I guess not really normal. The new normal. Everything's changing starting tomorrow. You up for it?"

She head-butted me. Of course she was up for it. She was fucking Rainbow.

"We're gonna move, you know."

I had several houses earmarked to go over with Bella, before we got with our realtor and got busy. We wouldn't move until after the season was over, preferably, but hell, we were nearly there already. Only a few weeks before the playoffs started, and we weren't going to get in, despite the fact that we'd beaten all three of our divisional foes in the past few weeks. Philly and Dallas kept winning their other games, and the Skins had been out of it since week two. Next year was mine, though.

"You won't have a room overlooking the water, probably, but I'll make sure we get a place with a screened-in porch for you. You can hang out there when it's not cold as fuck." Rainbow loved our porch in Tally. She'd spend hours out there, watching birds and nature and shit.

She put a paw on my chin.

"Yeah, you like that, don't you? I figured you would. I know shit's about to get real. Lots of change ahead. And you and I don't do that well with change, do we? We're creatures of habit, the both of us. Babies tend to throw things out of whack."

I leaned back and closed my eyes. Rainbow inched up and burrowed her head into my neck, purring away.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm excited about the kid. He's going to be awesome. But babies aren't predictable. He'll wake up at all hours of the night, and even though I'm not equipped to feed him, I'll have to get up with Bella because that's what a good dad does. She can't carry the load alone, you know? I wouldn't want her to."

Dad told me that some of the best bonding time he spent with me was in the middle of the night when he was giving me a bottle while my mom got some much-needed sleep.

"A mother has that instant connection with the baby when she breast-feeds." My dad smiled. "You'll see it the first time Bella holds your baby. It's different for a dad. We didn't have that connection with the baby before it came out, and we can't use our bodies to feed him or her. We don't get that physical pull that women do. Still, when you pick your son or daughter up out of their crib and sit with them cradled in your arms and give them that bottle, and you see that trusting little face looking up at you as they get their nourishment, well, there's nothing like it, son."

He laughed. "I had many a conversation with you late at night, talking about my day at work and my hopes and dreams for you. Of course, I wanted you to quarterback for Florida State just like I did. Obviously that one worked out. Have big dreams for your children, Edward, but don't hold them to them either. Let them be their own person."

"I can do the talking thing, for sure. I talk to you all the fucking time."

Rainbow meowed in agreement. She knew I had that shit down.

"Anyway, I guess I just want you to know that just because shit is changing, that doesn't mean that it's changing for us." Thank fuck nobody was around to hear me talking to my cat. They'd throw me in a padded room for sure.

"I'm gonna need you to be there for me, Rainbow." I pulled her off me and held her in front of my face. "There will be times when I can't say what's on my mind to Reed Girl, you know, like after I first found out about the baby. I mean, I love him now, but it's still kind of unreal to me. But it'll be real soon enough, for all of us. And I'm sure I'll have shit to talk about."

She put a paw on my nose. She totally understood.

"And I know you're used to a shitton of attention, and we'll probably forget to give you some sometimes when the baby comes along, but you know how we feel and stuff." I wasn't telling my cat I loved her. I just wasn't going to do that, even if I did. She knew.

"The night can be our time. You can help me feed him and hang out and shit. Okay, Rainbow?"

She let out a little meow, which I took as agreement. That or she wanted me to put her the fuck down. Either/or.

"Rainbow Poppins. It kind of has a ring to it, don't you think?"

Holy fuck. I looked over into the doorway, and there stood Reed Girl.

"Either I've finally truly lost my mind, or you're here early."

She smirked and leaned against the doorjamb. "Why don't you come over here and find out?"

I put Rainbow down and was off the bed and across the room in less than five seconds. I reached out and touched her cheek. She was real. She was here and she was real. Thank fuck. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her to me and kissing her with all I had in me. Which, after two fucking weeks, was quite a lot.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be having a going-away party right now?" I was confused as hell. Happy but confused.

She smiled as she wrapped her arms around my neck. "I decided I didn't want to wait even a day longer to be where my heart was. I missed it-you-too much. And I hate goodbyes. Plus, it's not goodbye with those guys anyway. They'll see us soon."

That was true. Christmas was fast approaching. Fuck. I needed to shop.

"I'm glad you got here early. But you should have called me, baby. I would have picked you up from the airport."

She grinned. "But then I couldn't have surprised you."

Right. And what timing she'd had.

"And I also wouldn't have heard your conversation with Miss Rainbow."

Fucking hell. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough to know that you plan on telling her things you won't tell me." She tilted her head. "What kinds of things?"

Time to distract her. "Nothing of importance." I picked her up and carried her over to the bed. "We have far more interesting things to do than talk."

She shook her head. "You know there's nothing you can't tell me."

Fuck that noise. "Sure there is. I mean, you heard what I said. I didn't love the baby at first. I couldn't tell you that." I braced myself for tears or a smack or God knew what.

Reed Girl patted my cheek instead. "I knew you didn't, Edward. I didn't expect you to. The baby was a surprise. A great one. But a surprise all the same. Of course you needed time to wrap your head around it. I did, too."

"So you're not mad?"

"Of course not. It was sweet of you to be worried about upsetting me, but I'd rather you talk to me about how you're feeling than not." She grinned over at Rainbow, who was sniffing around her. "You can tell both of us, can't you?"

"It depends." I sank on the bed next to her.

"On what? You can tell me anything. I'm your wife and I love you."

I grinned when she said she was my wife. I couldn't stop myself.

"Yes, but there are just some things that you can't tell a mother about her kid."

"Like what?" She was watching me with a patient smile on her lips.

Fine. I'd say it. "Like, what if the baby is ugly? Not all babies are cute, you know. What if our kid is weird-looking? I can't say that to you. You'll cry and you'll hate me."

Her lips twitched, and I feared she was going to start crying already. I shouldn't have said shit. Before I could apologize, she burst out laughing. Rainbow and I both stared at her as she laughed herself silly. She was crying now, but they were obviously happy tears. Or maybe insane ones? Who the fuck knew?

"Are these the things you think about? God, I love what goes on in your head." She took my face in her hands. "Yes, some babies are weird-looking. But they're still cute in their own way. And I'm not remotely worried about what our baby is going to look like. He or she will be beautiful to both of us, I guarantee it."

"But what-"

She silenced me with her lips, which was the perfect fucking way to get me to shut up, as far as I was concerned.

"Tell you what. You can have your secret discussions with Rainbow, but if they don't make you feel any better, you come to me, okay?"

I could do that. "Okay."

"And if they're important, well, I hope you'll come to me regardless. Nothing you tell me could make me love you any less."

I pulled her to me. "I just don't ever want to make things harder on you. Especially when you were first pregnant and I was here and you were there. You didn't need more stress. And you don't need more now. You're growing our baby in there. He needs a calm environment."

She kissed me again. "I promise, the baby is in a very calm environment. School's over and I'm here. I haven't felt this good since our wedding."

That was good news. The best, actually. "Speaking of feeling good…" I trailed off at the sexy smile that crossed her face. "Well, we should celebrate your first night home properly, right?"

"I couldn't agree more." She stood up and whipped her shirt off. "Look!"

My eyes zeroed right in on her tits. "Oh, I am." I started to reach for them when she smacked my hand away.

"Not there, perv. Here! Look!"

Her hands landed on her stomach. She tugged down her jeans, and that's when I saw it. A bump. A very little but definitely visible bump. My baby. Our baby.

I reached forward and put my hand on top of it. She put her hands on top of mine.

"That's our baby," I told her, completely blown away. I mean, it wasn't a surprise. I knew he was in there. But now I could see proof that he was. He wasn't just a picture on a screen anymore. It was fucking awesome.

Reed Girl was staring at my face, tears in her eyes. "See? You won't think our baby is ugly. And you have nothing to worry about when it comes to loving him or her. You already do."

I did. I ran my thumb over the little rise where our baby rested. "I love you both." Rainbow took that moment to plop down in between us. I shook my head. "Fine. All three of you."

Reed Girl giggled when Rainbow gave me a head-butt on my arm. "See? You can tell us both anything."

I smirked at her. "Can I tell you that I really need to be inside you right now? It's been two weeks too long since I've had you."

She grinned. "It's about time you gave me a proper welcome home, Cullen."

I pinned Reed Girl to the bed, sending Rainbow off the bed in a huff. Oh, well. She'd get over it. I had my priorities. I kissed my wife senseless.

"Welcome home, baby." I skimmed my hand over her bump. "Babies."

We took our time undressing one another, exploring each other. She was changed but still the same. And when I slid inside her, everything was as it should be again.

"Welcome home."

Xoxoxoxoxox

"Fuck, I'm tired." Colin plopped his tray down next to mine on the table. "Seriously, can't we just float the next three games? We're not getting into the playoffs without a major meltdown from the Boys or Birds."

I raised a brow at him. "Dallas and December are like blood and water. They just don't mix. Are you going to bet the house on Romo? Really?"

"Shit. I know. This season is just kicking my ass."

"He says that every season," Paul informed me as he took his seat. "Poor baby can't handle sixteen games."

"Well, he better learn to handle nineteen or so next year. He can sleep in February."

Paul hooted with laughter. "I love your confidence, kid."

"We're getting better every week. Next year we'll be even better." We'd had one hiccup loss to the 9ers, but at least we were on the right track now. Seven and six was a much better record than four and five had been.

"Did you hear?" Sammy sat down next to me. "Jennings got a new phone number." He snickered. "I guess Renee is single again, so she really started coming after him hard. You dodged the fuck out of that bullet, man."

"No shit." Colin shook his head. "Though he finally figured out that it was me who gave her his number, so I have to watch my ass."

"Your ass is giant. Just sit on him," Paul suggested.

I shook my head and dug into my chicken salad. Now that Bella was home, I was eating even healthier than usual, even when I was at work. I considered it solidarity since I was watching her diet like a hawk. It was only fair that I practice what I preached, after all.

"I'll have you know that I have a fantastic ass for a person my size. You could only wish you looked this good."

"Speaking of looking good…God damn. Cullen, how do you even leave the house when you have that at home?"

What? I looked up and followed Paul's gaze. There, in the entrance to the cafeteria, stood my wife. And holy fuck, what was she wearing?

I was across the room like a shot, ushering her outside before my entire team got an eyeful of what belonged to me.

"Hey, handsome," she murmured, putting her arms around me.

I planted a kiss on her before I remembered where we were and wondered what the fuck was going on.

"Hey, baby. Um, did I forget an anniversary or something?" I had to have, because she was dressed to kill in a form-fitting navy blue dress that did nothing to hide her gorgeous new curves.

"Of course not." She laughed lightly. "I'm here to meet with Alec to go over stuff for the foundation. I thought I'd stop by to find you first so you could show me where to go. And, you know, so I could do this."

She pressed her body up against mine, and my dick immediately shot to attention. I lost myself in her, reaching down to squeeze her ass as my lips devoured hers. The sound of a throat clearing had us breaking apart. Bella started to move away from me, but I held her close, partly because I wasn't letting whomever was behind her look at her gorgeous tits and partly to cover my raging hard-on.

"You know, we do have rooms with massage tables and shit. Why don't you guys take it somewhere private?"

I flipped Brady off, and he walked away chuckling. Fuck. I had to remember where we were.

"Do we have plans afterward? I mean, you're a little overdressed for a meeting with Alec." Where was her coat? Where was my coat? If she didn't wear one, I was going to have to get it for her.

Reed Girl's lip poked out in a little pout. "Nothing I had that was appropriate to wear really fits me right now. I need to go shopping. You don't think I look okay?"

Okay? Was she fucking serious? "Baby, you look awesome. Sexy as hell. Too fucking sexy to be in a building full of football players. I'm going to have to kick several asses before the day is out, just you wait and see."

"So you don't think I look fat? Even this is a little tight."

A little tight, my ass. It was painted on her. I wanted nothing more than to peel it away and get my hands on what was so gorgeously on display.

"You look gorgeous, baby. The cafeteria staff is going to have to mop up the drool on the floor."

She laughed. "You're exaggerating. I don't look that-"

"Yo, Bella! When are you going to leave this son of a bitch and marry me? You know what they say about me, don't you? I have really good hands."

I scowled at Sammy while Reed Girl giggled and gave him a hug. "So do quarterbacks, don't you know?"

I was slightly mollified by her comment, but I shoved his ass away from her anyway. "Hands off."

He held them up, grinning. "A guy can dream, can't he? Are we going to the club tonight after we get done with practice? Bella's up for it, aren't you?"

She shook her head. "No, according to my husband over here, I need to do some shopping. Perhaps I can find some muumuus to accommodate my expanding waistline."

I glared at both of them. "Nobody's going clubbing. Or wearing muumuus. You look sexy as hell, as my former friend and teammate here can attest to. And we're not going shopping. I'm taking you to dinner because you look too fucking good to waste on a mall. Then we're going home and I'm going to find out just what you have on underneath that dress, if you can fit anything under there, that is." Either way, I wanted my hands on her right fucking now.

"Damn. Now I see why you married him."

Reed Girl's wide eyes were boring into mine. She licked her lips and nodded. "Uh, yeah. He's good at that."

Sammy chortled with laughter.

"I mean, with words." Reed Girl blushed but laughed along with him. "And that, too."

I laughed and wrapped my arms around her. "Thank you, baby."

She sighed and gave me a light kiss. "I think I forgot why I came here in the first place. Can you point me in the direction of the marketing department?"

I took her hand in mine. "I'll take you there. And call me when you're done and I'll be sure to escort you to the car." I wasn't letting her wander around the hallways alone with my horny teammates around.

"Sounds good to me. Sammy, do you want to come over for dinner Monday after you get back in town?"

"I'll be there." He nodded at me. "See you on the field, Cullen."

"Damn right you will."

We made our way toward the marketing offices without incident, thank fuck. But just as I was counting my blessings, the door pushed open and out came Heidi. She jerked to a stop right in front of us.

Of course my wife didn't miss a fucking beat. "Well, hello there. Heidi, isn't it? I think I met you when I surprised Edward at that team function before the season started."

"Uh, yeah." Heidi eyes volleyed between me and Reed Girl, like she was watching a fucking tennis match or something.

"And then our Rainbow apparently caused you a little trouble, didn't she?" Reed Girl shook her head. "I'm so sorry about that. Edward's pussy gets very territorial. I'm sure you can understand that, can't you?"

There was an edge to her voice and a glint in her eyes that made it quite clear that she wasn't referring to Rainbow.

Heidi let out a nervous little laugh and nodded. "Sure. I shouldn't have grabbed her."

Bella smiled. "Well, we learn the hard way sometimes to keep our hands off what doesn't belong to us. I'm sure it won't happen again."

Holy fuck. I mean, fuckkkkkkkk. My wife was throwing double entendres all over the place, and Heidi looked like she wanted to fall through the floor. Hottest fucking shit, ever. Maybe I could make Alec let us have his office for the next hour or so. No way could I go practice knowing my girl had just thrown down and pretty much pissed a circle around me.

"No." Heidi glanced at me. "I should be going."

Reed Girl nodded. "Of course. I'm sure you're quite busy." She turned to me. "Thanks for getting me here, Champ. I'll call you when I'm done, and we can go get something to eat. I think the baby has his daddy's appetite."

She put a hand on her little bump, making sure that Heidi got a look. It fucking killed me. I may as well play along.

I grinned. "Let's hope that's the only appetite he gets from me, or you're going to lock him up for the next thirty or so years."

She laughed and gave me a smacking kiss. "Darn right. God knows that women will be throwing themselves at him right and left if he takes after you."

I smirked and gave her butt a light pat. "We'll just have to make sure that he has my discriminating taste and finds a woman as awesome as his mother." I was vaguely aware of the fact that Heidi was hauling ass down the hallway.

"Ha! Let's hope that taste discriminates long before yours did, Cullen."

I grinned at her. "It took me a lot of tries to get it right, but when I did, I rocked it."

"You sure did." She leaned into me. "Thanks for the assist, Champ."

"Are you talking about the help getting to the office or helping you stake your claim in front of Heidi?"

"Both, of course." She kissed me again.

"You didn't just wear that dress because nothing else fit, did you?"

She gave me a slow smile. "A woman wants to look good when she visits her husband at work, don't you know?"

I had to laugh. "I guess I do. Just as long as said woman knows that I fully intend to make good on that promise to see what's going on under that dress as soon as possible."

She licked her lips. "I look forward to that. Now, go try to kick some ass on the practice field."

"Like I can concentrate now?" I shook my head and kissed her lightly. "Call me as soon as you're done. I'll try to bug out early."

"Sounds good."

She started to push open the door to marketing, and I headed back the way I came.

"Oh, and Edward?"

I glanced back to see her smiling mischievously. "Yeah?"

"The answer is nothing."

I raised an eyebrow at her, not quite sure what she was getting at. I mean, I hoped I knew, but I couldn't be sure.

"Nothing could possibly fit under the dress."

I groaned. "You're going into a meeting wearing nothing but that dress and a smile?"

She giggled. "Yeah."

"You're going to pay for that later, Mrs. Cullen." In the best fucking way possible.

"I'm counting on it, Mr. Cullen."

She sent me a wave and headed into the office as if she hadn't just left me an aching cock. Having her here on a daily basis just might kill me, in the best way. Thank fuck she was home.