First and foremost, I am so sorry about the delay! I was all set to update last Wednesday until my fiancé texted me "you know you left your bag in my car, right?" as he was on his way to out of state for work! My laptop was in there, and no I didn't realize it! Oops! But thank you so much for your patience and I hope this chapter makes up for it.

Ineffable will be updating next, hopefully by the end of the week! We're going out of town for a wedding over the weekend, so if not then I'll be shooting for a Monday update instead!

Thanks so much for reading, and I sincerely hope that you enjoy this chapter : )

Starting with EPOV and then switching back to BPOV where indicated!

… …

Edward Cullen

The car ride to drop Bella off on campus and then back to the house never failed to lull Mila back to sleep. We usually went straight home, but today I'd promised my mom that I would bring Mila by for a visit. She and my dad were still staying in Bella's old apartment for a few more weeks while their new house was being finished, so I traveled the familiar streets until I was parked down the block from the building. Mila woke up as I took her car seat off of its base to carry her inside, but luckily didn't seem bothered by being woken up.

"Mila!" My mom made a beeline for the baby as soon as I let myself into the apartment, lifting her out of her carrier. "How's my sweet baby?"

"I'm good, thanks," I teased dryly. But I couldn't help but smile at the sight of my mom cooing over my daughter.

I had been worried that my mom would be overbearing when it came to her first grandchild, and that she might end up stepping on Bella and I's toes. But my worries were unfounded, and I found myself relieved that my parents had made the decision to move back to St. Louis after living in California for the better part of a decade. Mila was still so little, but I was glad that she would get to grow up with her family so close by.

"Oh my, she's looking more and more like Bella every day."

I couldn't fault my mom's observation- Mila was the spitting image of Bella, and I already dreaded her growing up to be as beautiful as her mother.

"But I still see you in some of her features," my mom added after another moment. "She has your eyes."

She did- those baby blues had started to transition to green.

"Look at that smile," I said, reaching over and tickling Mila's chin. "Such a happy baby this morning."

"She's with her nana- of course she's happy!"

We sat down at the kitchen counter, and I eagerly accepted the cup of coffee she offered.

"How are things going?" She asked. "You and Bella are still doing okay?"

"Yeah. Mila sleeps through a good portion of the night now, so it's been easier to get a routine down. Bella's kind of had a hard time adjusting to school, though. It's just difficult for her to leave. I know it's going to be hard for me, too, when I have to go back to work."

"It's never easy to leave your baby," my mom agreed. "But she'll be just fine. I'm looking forward to having her a few days a week."

Bella and I had talked about childcare options until we were practically blue in the face- at first, we'd thought that it would be best to start her at daycare. So many of our friends and family members had offered to watch Mila while Bella and I had work and school, and it had been a little overwhelming. We had worried that feelings would be hurt if we chose one person to watch Mila over another, and thought that maybe daycare would be better for stability and establishing a routine. But the more places we looked at and the more we talked about it, daycare become less appealing. So instead, we'd established a schedule that we could stick to every week, and Mila would be with family instead of strangers. My mom would watch her on Monday's and Tuesday's, Sue would have her Wednesday's and Thursday's, and Charlotte had claimed Friday's.

It might have seemed like a crazy schedule, but we all lived close enough to each other for it to work, and everybody was happy.

My mom and I talked for a while about going back to work, and even though I knew I had been extremely lucky to be able to take all of this time off to be home with Mila, I told my mom how much I hated having to go back. I'd been entertaining the idea of going on sabbatical, but with my teaching obligations, wouldn't be able to until January at the earliest. I wasn't worried about the money, but I did enjoy teaching at the university and didn't want to let that go completely.

It was much easier for me to talk about Mila than about going back to work, and I felt like I might burst with pride talking about all of the milestones she had already reached. It seemed impossible that she was already going to be two months old in just a few days- and she had already grown so much.

Time passed quickly with a new baby in the house, so while it didn't seem possible that it was already September, Bella's twenty second birthday was just two days away. I wanted to do something for her to let her know how much she meant to me and that my feelings hadn't changed.

"Listen, Mom, do you think you and Dad would be able to watch Mila on Sunday night? I have something planned for Bella…"

… …

Bella grinned as I came into the room holding the breakfast tray, covering her face with her hands for a moment. "Edward! You didn't have to do this!"

I set the tray down on her lap. "I know, Bella. But it's a special day. Happy birthday, babe."

I had already brought Mila into Bella's room before going back downstairs to bring up Bella's breakfast, so I picked her up off the bed and climbed in beside Bella myself. It had become normal for the three of us to lounge in bed together, whether it be mine or Bella's. Mila, having already nursed, was content to rest against my bare chest, and I took the opportunity to lean over and kiss Bella's cheek.

But she turned her head as I leaned in, her lips meeting mine. It was a brief, chaste kiss, but the smile we gave each other meant so much more. Little kisses and touches had become more common for us over the past few weeks, and we were very content knowing that we wanted a future together. With my parents watching Mila tonight, I knew that we were that much closer to being together, once and for all. We still had things to sort out, but today was about celebrating Bella's birthday.

"So…we have reservations tonight at Cielo," I said, trying to sound casual.

Bella paused mid-chew, putting her fork down. "Really?"

"Really." I looked down at Mila, patting her back gently. "I know it'll be difficult for both of us to leave Mila for the first time. But my parents agreed to watch her for the night, and if there was any good occasion for us to both leave at the same time, it's definitely your birthday."

"It'll be hard," Bella agreed, reaching over and stroking Mila's dark hair. "But…thank you. It might be good for us to, well, have a night….alone. I've been looking forward to it."

I leaned over and kissed her again, still gentle and chaste but hopefully enough to convey to Bella how much I really wanted her. "Me, too."

… …

Dropping Mila off at my parents took the better part of an hour, but we had finally managed to go…after, of course, going over things a hundred times and giving Mila's thousands of kisses.

Once we were actually out of the house, we figured that we should make the most out of our evening together. We took our time at dinner, sharing appetizers and desserts as well as getting our own entrees. Bella had pumped ahead of time, so she was able to have a few cocktails for the first time since Mila had been born.

Even though we took our time through dinner, we still weren't ready for the night to be over. It was a short drive to the botanical gardens, and it felt like we had left the city completely as we walked around hand in hand.

"Did you ever think we'd be here?" I asked her, squeezing her hand to emphasize my point.

She laughed quietly, but when she smiled at me, I could tell that she felt the same way I did. "No, I didn't. But I'm glad I was wrong. I'm very, very happy." She looked away for a moment. "I hope you are, too."

"I am."

"Good. I mean…I know neither of us planned for this to happen. We were both prepared for a very different sort of relationship. And I don't want either of us to regret how things went, instead."

"Regretting all of this would mean regretting Mila, and regretting falling for you. I could never regret either of those things, Bella."

"Me, either."

I smiled, squeezing her hand one more time. It was a warm night, and although there were plenty of other people walking around the gardens, it felt peaceful.

"I miss her," Bella sighed, looking up at me. "Everyone said how hard it would be, but I didn't understand that until now. Leaving for school every morning…feels like torture, sometimes. And it's going to be even harder once you go back to work. Knowing that neither of us are with her…"

"Even though I know my mom, Sue, and Charlotte would never let anything happen to her…I know exactly what you mean. I'm still thinking about going on sabbatical next semester. I love teaching, but the draw to be with Mila feels stronger. I didn't ever expect to want to stay at home; not go into work every day. What do you think?"

"You know that I would love it if one of us could be home with Mila. But I want it to be good for you, too. I don't want you to feel like you're giving anything up."

I shook my head, drawing her closer. "The only thing I can't bear to give up is the two of you."

… …

Bella Swan

The chaste kisses we'd been exchanging for the past few weeks were nothing compared to this. I felt my back hit the front door as soon as it was closed behind us, but didn't pay any mind to the door knob digging into my back. His hands were everywhere at once, and the fire he ignited within me reminded me of how good it could be between us.

Edward seemed so confident and sure, like always. He still knew my body, but I knew that he wanted more than just physical satisfaction. He kissed and touched me like he wanted to possess my soul, and I wanted to hand it over willingly. But I was a little less confident, knowing how much things had changed. I had carried and delivered his baby, and I was sure every woman felt a little self-conscious after that. But he seemed to love my body just as much as before, and I realized that he didn't even see my imperfections.

I wrapped my arms around him, kissing him back with fervor until I felt him lift me up off the ground. The entire trip up the stairs and down the hall towards his bedroom was spent totally wrapped up in each other, and by the time he set me down on the bed, I felt like I was ready to combust.

"Is this okay?" Edward whispered, skimming his hands under the hem of my dress and up my thighs until he reached my underwear.

I lifted my hips as an answer, and kept my legs apart even after he had slid my underwear down and off.

We hadn't been together in months, but it seemed like we fell right back into it without missing a beat. He didn't have to touch me for very long before I was begging him, and when he slid inside, I wanted to cry with relief.

I had always thought that our sexual chemistry was through the roof. But tonight, it was on a whole other level.

"I don't want to leave," Edward groaned, gripping my hips tightly. "Fuck, Bella…"

While making love all night might have sounded romantic, I wanted him to come and feel as good as he'd made me feel.

Later, wrapped up in sheets and his arms, I knew that this was forever.

… …

I hope you enjoyed! Not a full lemon but there will be more coming. They also still have quite a bit to talk about! Quick note for those of you that know and might point it out- the botanical gardens in St. Louis do close at five every night but for the sake of the story, I tweaked the times. Not significant but just in case ; )

Thanks so much for reading! Let me know what you thought.