Chapter 8

A/N: I've had a couple of comments about Rosalie ruining the surprise, which she didn't. Just to clarify, Rose had guessed in the beginning that it's a girl. If she had guessed a boy she would say nephew. Please enjoy!

"And if you look right here, you can see it's a-."

"No!" I yelled, interrupting Dr. Crow who jumped at my loudness.

I grinned sheepishly and turned towards Edward.

"We're doing a gender reveal. Can you write it down so we can give it to Esme?" I asked.

She nodded and did as I asked, smiling the whole time.

"You two are such a cute couple. I'm glad you have him for support, Bella. I've seen my fair share of teenage couples who get pregnant and the father just leaves. You're turning into a fine young man, Edward," she said.

He blushed and thanked her for her words of encouragement. Once she finished everything she needed to do, she handed Edward the piece of paper with our baby's sex on it. We walked to the car after making our next appointment.

He handed me the envelope and I had a very hard time not opening it right at that moment. He put a hand over mine to stop me.

"You know you're going to be disappointed if you look now. Just wait until the party tomorrow," he said while glancing at me.

I pouted but knew he was right. We made the rest of the trip to the Cullen household where I handed the envelope to Esme as soon as I could.

"I'm going to have to burn this. You know how Alice gets when it comes to finding out a secret," Esme muttered.

We chuckled and nodded in agreement. On Alice's sixteenth birthday Esme and Carlisle had bought her a car, but they obviously couldn't keep it at their house until the actual party. So, Charlie had agreed to keep it in our garage. One day when Alice was riding by she got suspicious when both of our cars were in front of the house.

Later that night she had snuck to our house and broke into the garage to find out what we were hiding, and ruined the surprise of her car. Carlisle had moved it to another one of his friend's houses after and told her sold it back to the dealer since she ruined the surprise. After a few days he told her the truth but she had gotten better about not snooping around. But that didn't last very long.

Esme peeked at the paper and smirked, then threw it into the fireplace. I momentarily debated grabbing it out before she lit it, but Edward's hand kept me in place. I hated surprises and having to wait to find out if we're having a boy or girl was going to drive me insane.

"Why don't we head home so Esme can get started on the setup? She doesn't get much time between now and tomorrow," Edward pointed out.

Grateful for a distraction, I agreed instantly. We said our goodbyes and went back home. I started counting down the hours until I'd find out about my baby.

"Welcome! You'll find food and refreshments in the kitchen," Alice said to the new arrivals eagerly.

I had told them that I wanted a small party for the gender reveal and a larger party for the baby shower. If forty guests could be considered small, I was terrified about what kind of baby shower they were planning.

"Oh God. Is that Jessica?" I whispered to Angela.

She looked over and frowned is disdain.

After our first talk about my pregnancy, Jessica got even meaner. I guessed that she didn't like what I had to say about Mike. She made it her mission to make my life terrible, but enough people were on my side that shouldn't do much except make a few snide comments.

"Who the hell invited her?" I wondered aloud.

We saw the bobble-head brunette look around until she spotted me and she looked like a lion that just caught her prey. She started making her way over to me, until Rosalie stepped in.

"You must be Jessica, it's so nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you," Rosalie said in a voice I knew wasn't genuinely happy.

Jessica stopped and her evil grin turned to one of pure joy. If I had to guess, she was happy that someone as pretty as Rosalie was talking to her.

"Yes, Jessica Stanley. Who are you?" she questioned.

"I'm your worst fucking nightmare if you even think about saying something rude to Bella and my niece that she's carrying. How about you do all of us a favor and get the fuck out of this house before I make you?" she asked in a sugar-sweet voice.

Jessica paled momentarily before recovering and glaring back at Rose.

"You're not the boss of me. I don't have to listen to you," Jessica retorted.

Rose snorted and moved quickly, grabbing Jessica by her hair and dragging her to the front door. Jessica squealed and tried to push her off, to no avail. By now they had several of the party-member's attention.

"This is what happens when you're a total bitch to my family," Rose stately before throwing Jessica outside. She slammed the door before the other girl could try to come back in.

"Alright, who's ready to party?" she asked.

People started clapping and everyone went around the room, greeting others and eating food. I had been eating more and more as this baby grew. Esme had once told me that Emmett was eleven pounds while Edward was nine pounds and three ounces. I wasn't looking forward to giving birth if this child took after it's father and uncle.

"Alright guys, it's the moment we've all been waiting for! Please make your way outside and surround the box," Alice said after clapping to get everyone's attention.

Esme and Rosalie had decided to keep the reveal simple, and I was very grateful. They had gotten several balloons and put it in a cardboard box, and the color of the balloons corresponded with the gender.

Edward and I made our way to the box and everyone started the countdown. Once they reached one, we opened the box and way too many pink balloons came out.

Edward wiped a tear away, trying to be subtle about it. I ran and jumped into his arms and he swung me around, kissing me passionately. Emmett started catcalling from the audience, to which I flipped him off in return.

"It's a girl!" Alice yelled.

Everyone clapped and congratulated us. Even though I was wrong, I didn't realize how excited I'd still be to have a girl. As long as she's healthy, I'm happy.

"Oh, I have so many baby names for you guys! I was thinking Marie, Heather, Olivia, Ariel…" Alice continued listing names but I tuned her out almost immediately.

Edward was shining with pride and I never felt so much love for this man. Sure, the circumstances were not ideal, but he had been fantastic about helping me through everything. He stepped up when he could have just as easily turned and ran the other way.

That alone almost made me feel bad for saying no to his proposal.

After I had turned around and he asked me to marry him, I knew my answer would be no almost immediately. He looked so hopeful I paused before crushing his dreams.

"Edward, you know I love you and I know we both love this baby. I would absolutely love to marry you, but I'm not going to say yes just because we're having a baby. One day I'll definitely say yes, but this isn't the time," I explained slowly.

He put the ring down slowly and got up from his one knee. He looked so dejected but I stood my ground. Something about him proposing just because we're having a kid didn't feel quite right to me and I hoped he'd understand.

He put a hand on cheek and kissed me so sweetly my toes curled.

"I get what you're saying, but I disagree. This baby, that we created out of love, is coming a lot earlier than either of us ever expected. But I know we're ready for this. So, why wouldn't we be ready for marriage? You're it for me, Bella. No one will ever compare to you," he murmured.

I sighed and leaned further into his palm.

"I'm already a statistic, Edward. I don't want to become another one by getting married at eighteen. I'm just not ready."

He nodded and pulled me close for a hug.

"I've always loved the name Eveline, too," Alice continued.

I shook my head as I was brought back to reality. She must have been spewing out baby names the whole time based on Edward's "kill me now" expression.

I chuckled and kissed his cheek, earning a smile in response.

"Alice, leave the happy couple alone. I'm sure they know how to use a baby book," Emmett interrupted. I could kiss him I'm so grateful for the interruption.

Alice pouted but went back inside. Emmett put an arm around Edward and I and pulled us in for a group hug.

"Personally, I like the name Emmett, but that's too masculine. You could name her Emmy or Emma instead," he suggested.

I shoved him away and he laughed before wrapping an arm around Rose and kissing her temple. She blushed in response and they made their way inside. Naming a boy would have been so easy, but I was looking forward to the arguments that would ensue over picking a name.