A/N Happy Mother's Day! It's also National Clean Up Your Room Day, which I wouldn't recommend suggesting to your mom, but maybe your kids if you are a mom. That's always a good present, right? Speaking of, I just got back from the grocery store, which was about three times as busy today, shocker. Lots of men wandering around picking up flowers, cards, and balloons. Many with little ones in tow. Cracked me up. Nothing like waiting til the morning of!

Once again, the NFL is in the news, for reasons I am NOT going to rehash. I think it's insane. But that's neither here nor there. Recently, there have been several sweet stories that most of you probably didn't see. First, a little girl in the north, WI or MN I believe, who has a disease, invited a bunch of kids to her birthday party and none were going to come. So her mom reached out on Facebook, things went viral, and a ton of people showed up at her party in the park, including two NFL players whose wives had seen the stories. Neither wanted publicity for it, and I think it's awesome that they took the time to help give this child a party she'll never forget. Also, one of the Jacksonville Jaguars took a girl who had cancer to her prom in a Lamborghini. And the Eagles had a boy who'd been bullied for losing his hair due to cancer over to their facility for practice and a good time (that sounds awfully familiar!) I'd much rather hear about those stories than another word about deflategate, which is a stupid name btw. Take note, media, there are FAR better things to talk about.

Last week, several of you pointed out something that I'd forgotten to mention! The world has a new princess and what's good enough for the royal family ought to be good enough for the Cullens! hehe Let's see what some teammates have to say about it, why don't we? And seeing as it's Mother's Day, the mama-to-be ought to get a present or twelve! Enjoy and I'll see you next week with more. Have a great one!

Getting Blitzed Chapter 35

I walked into the team meeting, which stopped abruptly when all eyes turned to me. What the fuck?

"Well?" Coach asked, grinning at me. "What are we having?"

I blew out a breath. More of this, apparently. "A girl."

Colin's face lit up in a big grin, and before he even started, I pointed a finger at him. "Don't even say it. You're not getting near my kid-not now, and not in twenty years."

He laughed. "I wasn't thinking of me; I was thinking of Paul. He might be ready to settle down by the time she's legal."

Paul sent me his wolfish grin. "The man does have a point. And if she looks anything like your wife-"

Fuck that noise. "I'd hate to have to kill you, but we only have a few games left. I'd be willing to make the sacrifice. We can draft your replacement in April."

Paul just chuckled and waggled his eyebrows at me.

"Okay, you've had your fun. Congratulations, Cullen. Now, can we get back to the Rams?" Coach demanded.

I took my seat next to Sammy, who clapped me on the back. "Congratulations, man. I'm so happy for you guys."

At least he kept it clean. "Thanks. I'm scared shitless." I could admit it Sammy, at least.

He nodded. "Of course you are. There are way more things to worry about with girls. Don't worry, man. I got your back. We'll keep the boys away-especially Paul. He'll be an ancient ass by then anyway."

He said that loud enough for Paul to hear and got flipped off for his comment, but it made me smile. Coach shot us a look, and I decided I should probably focus on the game plan. I had a long time to plan my defense against all the males in the universe; for now, I'd focus on the Rams.

After the meeting, Coach called me to the front. "How are you holding up, Cullen?"

I wasn't sure in what sense he was asking. "My arm feels great. I'm ready."

He shook his head. "No, I mean about the baby. You looked a bit terrified when you said you were having a daughter."

I shrugged. "I mean, it is what it is, right? I admit that I'm a little nervous about it. Up until my Bella came along, I didn't really spend much time with girls." The look of disbelief on his face had me clarifying. "I mean, outside of the bedroom." Fuck. I could be honest. "Girls served one purpose to me then, and once that was done, so was I."

He chuckled. "And now you're worried about guys-ones with the same intentions you had-coming after your daughter, before she's even born."

I admit, it sounded stupid when he said it like that.

"I get it. I've been there. Hell, my daughter got involved with one of my players. Nightmare city, right?" He grinned. "Until I remembered that I was his boss, literally in charge of him. Then I had a lot of fun."

I had to laugh with him. I was glad he got it, though. "That would be awesome."

"It was. And actually, he's a very good guy. I raised my daughter to love and respect herself first and to demand that from any man who came along. I expect you'll do the same. And don't be afraid to intimidate the shit out of any boy she brings home. If he's quality, he'll come back, because like my daughter, your daughter will be worth facing a scary father for."

"I told Bella we should homeschool her and then send her to a convent."

Coach let out a loud belly laugh. "It sounds good in theory, but you of all people should know, kids find a way. You can't worry that far ahead; just focus on the here and now. I know the idea of a girl is scary, but that'll all change the first time you lay eyes on her. She'll become your entire world. Take my word on that, Cullen."

"Okay, Coach. Thanks."

"No problem. Now get your ass on the field. We have work to do."

Pep talk officially over. But he was right. I had to focus on the here and now. There was a game to be played.

Xoxoxoxoxo

"You're not heading home yet, are you?"

I glanced over at Sammy as I slid my wedding ring back on. "I was planning on it. Why?"

"Because, man, you just found out you're having a baby girl. We have to celebrate."

I shook my head. "Dude, I'm not in the mood to drink or anything. I have to get home to Bella. We're going to look at houses online and stuff."

He chuckled. "I wasn't talking about a drink. Come on. You just found out what you're having. You can't go home empty-handed. We have to get Bella a present."

Huh. I guess he had a point. "Like flowers or something?"

Sammy rolled his eyes. "No. Come on. Trust me."

So I followed his ass to the closest shopping center. I laughed when I saw that we were pulling up to a local sports store.

"Really?"

"Pretty sure your daughter's first team-related stuff should come from her quarterback daddy, right?"

That was a good point. My mom was already buying up everything imaginable, no doubt. I could be the one to first physically give my baby something, other than life, of course. Reed Girl would love that.

"Let's do it."

So, we went into the store, which was like ninety-five percent Giants and Jets gear. Just what we needed. There was a whole baby section. It was pretty fucking cool. I even saw some baby jerseys with my number. I had one of those in my hands before I could even focus on anything else.

"Shit, what size do I get?"

"Fuck if I know. Look at the tag," Sammy suggested.

I did and discovered that it did months. Six to nine months was a long time off. I rifled through the jerseys and found one that was three to six. That would probably be okay. She would be that age when the season started.

There was a shitton of pink, which I guessed was normal, but I gravitated to the stuff that was actually team colors.

"Check this out." Sammy held something out to me.

I had no earthly idea what the fuck a creeper was, but the little blue outfit had a ruffle thingy that almost made it look like a cheerleader skirt, even though the bottoms were clearly visible. And it came with a bib that said Daddy's Girl in pink with the Giants name in white below it. So it had a little pink, but mostly blue and white. I grabbed that shit right away.

"That's perfect." Reed Girl would flip over it. And the baby was going to be my girl. Mine, and no one else's. May as well establish that right from the start.

I found another creeper thingy that had the red along with the blue-the skirty thing was red, and it said Love Giants in a heart with the NY logo. It came with a bib and matching shoes or booties or whatever the fuck they were called.

"That's cute as hell," Sammy decided, checking it out.

It was newborn size too, so she should be able to wear it right away. I added that and a three-pack of onesies, creepers, what the fuck ever they were called, that were in red, blue, and gray, with different writing but all with the NY logo.

"This one is from me." Sammy held up another skirted creeper thing, in red and blue, with "NY Giants cutie" on it.

"That works."

"Now are we completely anti-pink? Because…"

He held up this pink-and-white skirty thing. It had a bow around the waist and a headband as well. It was the girliest fucking thing I'd ever seen and completely not my style, but I had a feeling Reed Girl would love it. And if it was the only all-pink thing, that wouldn't be so bad. I added it to the pile.

Next was pajamas. There were some footed ones in blue that said "I love my Giants" in white with some red trim around it. I grabbed that in two sizes, since she'd probably like it for winter as well. It seemed warm. That made me add a hat and mittens to the bunch as well.

"Dude, look at this!" Sammy held up a blanket that actually looked like a football. It was cool as hell.

"We're getting that. It's awesome."

A football bib, socks, and beanie all went with it, so we got those as well.

"You know, I'd have to kick your ass if you ever told anyone I said this, but this is actually kind of fun." No wonder my mother was bankrupting my father as we spoke. I was going to deplete my own bank account at the rate I was going.

"It is. It should be. Shit, look at that." He pointed toward a giant Giants helmet for the wall. "You can even decorate the whole room if you want. They probably have cribs and shit."

"Probably, but that might be a bit much, especially since she's a girl. I can just hear my mother now." Though it would serve her right if I did my daughter's room all up in football shit. That's what she'd get for putting me in a dress.

"Yeah, but it's cool. And I agree with you. It is fun."

We had a lot of fun. We got blankets and bottles and pacifiers and all sorts of crap. Between the two of us, we easily dropped a thousand bucks or so. But I didn't care. I knew it was only the start for what I'd be spending on my daughter. She was going to have the best of everything, if I had anything to say about it. And I did, because I was her dad.

The cashier simpered over how cute everything was and congratulated me on my upcoming baby. We hauled our purchases outside, where Sammy put his in his car.

"I'll bring them over to dinner next week, give them to her myself."

"Sure." I slapped him on the back. "Thanks, man. This was what I needed."

He laughed. "Happy to help. I figure the women will outfit her in all the ruffles and dresses; it's up to us to make sure she's got the right team affiliations to display."

"Damn right. Another new Giants fan is on the way." I'd have to hit the internet myself. I could get some of this shit in Nole paraphernalia as well. My daughter was going to be decked out.

We went our separate ways, and I let myself into the house with all my bags in tow. Rainbow came running at me, but the place was quiet other than that.

"Reed Girl? Are you home?" Her car had been downstairs, so she should be here.

"I'm here. In the living room."

I found her sitting on the couch, a book on her lap. She smiled up at me. "Hey. How was practice?"

"Not bad." I set my bags on the floor next to her. "What are you up to?" I bent down and got a sweet kiss.

She blushed a little but held up the book. "Just looking." It was that baby name book that Jasper had gotten for us. Beyond Jennifer & Jason, Madison & Montana: What to Name Your Baby Now. I took it from her.

"I know it's early, and we just found out we're having a girl. But now we know, so I thought I could start looking. See what we liked."

I smiled at her. "I get it. But what's wrong with Montana?" Montana was an awesome name. The name of the best quarterback of all-time.

Reed Girl raised an eyebrow at me. "We are not naming our daughter after your favorite football player. Nothing is wrong with it, per se, but it means mountain. I don't want to name our daughter mountain."

Okay, maybe she had a point. "What about Joey? That one show had a girl named Joey. She could be Joey Montana Cullen." I liked it. It had a real ring to it.

Bella scrunched up her face. "First of all, that sounds like a boy's name, even if I agree it's kind of cute. But second, Joey was played by Katie Holmes, who was married to Tom Cruise. No."

I wasn't sure what she suddenly had against Tom Cruise, but her face looked quite set, so I didn't argue it. Perhaps there was some anti-Tom hormone inside her. Who knew?

I sat down next to her. "Okay, then, what do you have in mind?"

She shrugged. "Well, I was looking at E names, since that seems to be a common theme in your family. Emily, Emma, Elena, Elizabeth, stuff like that."

I shook my head. "Emmett will think we named her after him if we go with Emily or Emma. And the grandmonster is Elizabeth, so that's out. It doesn't have to be an E name, baby."

She smiled. "It was just a thought. What about you? Do you have any names in mind?"

I shook my head. Hell, I hadn't even thought of boys names when I'd been convinced we were having one. Did that make me a shitty father?

"Hey. What's that face?" She reached up and cupped my chin in her hand.

"I just realized that I hadn't thought of names at all. It made me feel bad."

She laughed and gave me a smacking kiss. "Don't. We've had a lot on our plates lately. And we have plenty of time to think of names. I just wondered if you'd ever thought about it."

I raised an eyebrow at her, making her laugh again.

"Which, now that I think about it, was silly. You're the guy who didn't plan on being married for decades yet."

"One decade. Maybe." I grinned at her. "All that changed when you came along."

"Good thing." She snuggled into me. "Are there any names you hate?"

I shrugged. There were plenty, but I couldn't think of any off the top of my head, other than Tanya or Heidi, which I knew would be out for her for the same reason they were out for me.

"You know what I do hate?" At her questioning look, I continued. "Weird name spellings. We're not going to name our kid something normal and then spell it weird to be different. There was this girl in my high school. Her name was Amy, right?"

"Sounds normal enough."

I nodded. "It should have been, but do you know how she spelled it?"

"How?" Reed Girl asked, grinning as my tone got louder. I couldn't help it. That shit annoyed me. And it would annoy her once I spelled it.

"A-M-M-Y," I paused, for full effect.

"That's not so bad."

I shook my head. I'm not done yet. "A-M-M-Y-I-E. What the fuck is that, seriously?"

Reed Girl wrinkled her nose. "You're right. That is awful."

"Seriously. I would punch my parents in the fucking face if they did that to me. When I was older, that is. Nobody knew how the fuck to pronounce her name when they saw it on paper. They sure as shit didn't call her Amy. So, no weird spellings. Or weird names, period. We're naming her something normal." Kids were cruel, as that shithead Mark had reiterated at Thanksgiving. I wasn't giving other kids ammunition against my kid. No fucking way.

Reed Girl smiled and took my hand. "I happen to agree with you there, even if I'm not quite as passionate about it as you are. So, what's all that?" She gestured at the bags at our feet.

Shit. I forgot all about my purchases. I wasn't sure why, but the flutters came back into my stomach full-force as I reached over and brought them in front of her.

"I, well, Sammy and I went shopping after work, for the baby. He says congratulations, by the way. Everybody does."

Her eyes got a little damp-looking. "You went shopping for the baby? Really?" She was staring at me as if I'd just announced that we were moving to Mars or something. Was it that weird?

I shrugged a shoulder. "Well, yeah, I mean, it was technically Sammy's idea, but we figured that between my mother and you, she'd get all this frilly girl shit, so it was up to us that she maybe had some things that reflected us and the team and stuff."

A tear spilled over. "Can I look at it?"

Oh yeah. I was still clutching the bags to me. I handed them over and waited anxiously as she pulled out items one by one. Why she didn't just dump them all out was beyond me, but it was her show.

"Oh my God! This is so cute!" She held up the daddy's girl outfit and bib first. "Oh, Edward. It's beautiful." And with that, she burst into tears. Fuck.

I pulled her into my arms as she babbled about how sweet it was, and how it was the baby's first real present, and that her daddy loved her already and all sorts of shit. I just patted her and reminded myself that the hormones were going wild.

Rainbow hopped up on the side of the couch and looked at Reed Girl like she was nuts. Then she glanced at me. I just nodded and shrugged. Girls… What could I say? And I had double insanity to look forward to for the rest of my life. I hoped to God my daughter wasn't a huge crier. I'd fucking die.

I swear Rainbow shook her head before hopping right into the shopping bag. Of course. Rainbow was obsessed with bags. I wanted to kiss her, though, because Reed Girl finally stopped crying and laughed as Rainbow started batting at one of the booties inside. Rainbow was the fucking shit, I tell you.

"Sorry about that. It's just, you were so shocked about her being a girl this morning, but then you go out and get her presents. You really don't mind that she's not a boy, do you?"

I shook my head. "Of course I don't mind. Yes, I admit it was a shock, and it's a lot fucking scarier knowing that she's a girl, but I already told you that I loved her. Of course I do. She's ours."

"I know. And I love you." She kissed me. "Thank you for this."

"You're welcome. Now, how about you go through the rest of it, before Rainbow steals one of the blankets?" She totally would, too. Rainbow was a blanket hog. Any new blanket that came into the house was automatically hers. Fuck. I'd have to get doubles of every blanket the baby got, probably. It would be the safest move.

Reed Girl went back to oohing and ahhing over every little thing, snapping pictures with her phone. "I have to send these to your mother and the girls. They're going to die. It's so darling!"

Darling? Fuck me now. I'd allow for cute, maybe, but darling? At least I'd scored a win from the sound of it. Reed Girl was in love with every little thing I bought, even cooing over the pacifiers and bottles and shit.

"You went a little crazy, didn't you?" she asked with a smile once she'd piled everything up in neat stacks. Sure as shit, Rainbow abandoned the bag and burrowed into the football blanket.

"I'll get another one of those for the baby," I promised, making her laugh. "And yeah. There was so much stuff. Sammy and I were just grabbing shit and making piles. He has a few things for you, as well. He'll give them to you at dinner."

"Rainbow looks cute in the blanket. And that was sweet. Tell him thank you. I can't wait to see what he could have possibly gotten. It looks like you bought out the store."

"Babies need stuff. A lot of it. There were even cribs and shit. But I figured we'd get that together, and a Giants crib would probably be too much for a girl."

She laughed. "Probably. And yes, that's something we should definitely pick out together. I'm looking forward to it, though."

Surprisingly, so was I. "Me, too." But first things first. "We should probably figure out where we're living before we buy the big stuff."

I'd probably gone overboard with the baby stuff already. We were going to have to pack it all up to take with us. But Reed Girl's reaction had made it clear that I'd made the right decision. She needed to know that I wasn't upset that we were having a girl, and it seemed that now she did. You couldn't buy that kind of happiness. Or, I guess in a way, I had. But still. She was thrilled, and that was all that mattered.

"That would be a good idea," she agreed.

I grabbed my laptop and pulled up the sites I'd bookmarked. "I've narrowed the focus to Upper Montclair for now. Several of my teammates with families live there, and it's got a lot of nice places. I was thinking this one." I pointed to the most expensive one.

Reed Girl snorted. "What in the hell do we need with a ten-bedroom house, Cullen? And all that space? We'll get lost."

I shrugged. "I don't know. Our room, the baby's, an office, a gym maybe, a nanny's room, a guest room, and then any other kids we might have…" I trailed off at the smirk on her face. "What?"

"Just how many kids do you think we're having? I thought we'd said two or three. Not five."

"You get horny when you're pregnant. I like it. So what?"

She giggled. "You can make me horny when I'm not pregnant just as well. Ten bedrooms are too much. I don't care if we do have a housekeeper; we'd have to hire several just to clean the damn place. No."

"Fine." I didn't really like that house anyway. I'd just figured it was the most expensive, so we should consider it. Plus it had a gate, which was nice. Not a lot of houses in the area did for whatever reason.

I pointed out several more that we agreed to go look at. Five and six bedrooms. "The basement we could make into a gym, or maybe a music room for you or something." She didn't know it yet, but she was getting a piano for Christmas. Just because she wasn't going to be in the orchestra didn't mean she'd have to go without music, beyond the charity work. She'd need a place to practice.

"I like it," she agreed. I noticed her eyes lingered on the big gray six-bedroom that just happened to be my favorite. But I didn't say anything. We'd tour it and see.

"So, I'll call the realtor and set it up for next week. Maybe we can have things tied up before the new year and move in January." Weather permitting, of course. It had fucking snowed a few times already. It was pretty, but it sucked, too.

"I can't wait." Reed Girl threw her arms around me. "It's all coming together, isn't it?"

"It is." I pulled her onto my lap. "We've gone and grown up. How the fuck did that happen?"

"I was already grown up. And then I found you, took you under my wing, and brought you along for the ride. You're welcome, Cullen."

She burst out laughing when I tickled her sides. Then she shifted so she was straddling me, and laughter cut off as her lips found mine.

She was right, though. If it weren't for Reed Girl, I most certainly wouldn't be looking to buy a big house in the suburbs. I'd probably be out partying, hooking up with different nameless girls, just like I had before she came along. Nothing about that sounded appealing anymore. I ran my hand over the little baby bump that rested between us. This was much, much better. The best.