Hey all…sorry this is so late.

Beta'd by Brie and kitchmill…but I added a bit of stuff so any errors are my own.

Enjoy! xx Dee

Chapter Five

Confession #5: I gave thanks every day for coffee girl and the little bean she was growing…too bad I couldn't always say the same for my family. They always found a way to bring up things I felt were better left as it was.

Thanksgiving arrived soon after the premiere. Paparazzi had taken to following Bella everywhere, so when it came time to do the grocery shopping, I tagged along. Besides those pesky people, I didn't want her doing any heavy lifting if I could prevent it and as the saying went: the freaks came out at night.

Considering we were really only shopping for one meal, the cart filled up quickly. It was almost overflowing with vegetables and sweet confections for the pies Bella was planning to make. Coffee girl was going to do a traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings. I tried to get her to share the duties with my mother, but one fierce look from my wife and I quickly shut up. I liked my balls too much not to know when to keep my lips sealed.

Once we had everything on her list, we checked out and loaded it all into the car. The plus side of shopping well into the late hours of the night was that the paps figured we weren't going anywhere and had already left for the evening. Getting back home was a cakewalk, even if it took me almost a half hour of schlepping the bags into the house.

While I was unloading the car, Bella moved almost effortlessly around the kitchen, humming Christmas carols as she went. Even though Thanksgiving wasn't even over, I knew the holiday spirit was beginning to blossom within my girl. She loved this time of year, and I loved the glow she wore throughout the joyous season. Once we had everything put away, we headed to bed. I knew she would be up early to start prepping.

I curled up against my wife, my hand settling on the growing bump of our child, and I gently caressed them both. Bella's humming quickly pulled me under and I fell into a peaceful sleep after I whispered words of love into her ear.

Besides the cold sheets next to me the following morning, the first thing I noticed was the smell of cinnamon and pumpkin in the air. My stomach growled, and after taking care of my morning routine, I followed my nose downstairs.

My wife looked so sexy with her hair piled up on top of her head, leaving her neck exposed for me to kiss upon. Her yoga pants hugged her ass so nicely that I couldn't help but bite my knuckle to stifle my groan. I was always turned on by her, and her pregnant, ever-changing body was no exception.

I wrapped my arms around her and our baby from behind, careful not to surprise her and ruin whatever she was working on. "Good morning, love. It smells awfully good in here."

As I was nibbling on her neck, she responded with a little giggle. "Good morning to you as well, Eddie. It's the pies. They're cooling over on the counter."

I looked over into the direction that she'd pointed her knife and saw she had two pumpkin pies, one pecan pie, an apple pie, and a spice cake already cooling on the counter. I glanced at the time and saw it was just after ten o'clock, and it made me wonder how long she'd been up.

I knew from the books that the second trimester was when women usually gained most of their energy back, but even with that change she still seemed to be doing too much for my liking. "You're working too hard. I would have helped you if you just asked."

She smiled up at me before returning to her chopping. "I know, but you haven't gotten much sleep with all the traveling you had to do this past week. Besides, I cheated and used pre-made pie crusts for all but the apple pie anyway, so it didn't take me but a couple of hours to prep and bake the others."

I just shook my head at her. "Well, I'm up now. Put me to work, Mistress."

"Get to chopping the rest of my celery and onions, slave boy. Fine dice, please." I picked up the knife she'd set down and finished working on what she asked. I loved when she teased me back.

"As you wish, Mistress."

Bella laughed and then pulled out the dough she had in the refrigerator for the dinner rolls she still needed to form. We worked together in companionable silence for the remainder of the morning.

The rest of Wednesday afternoon flew by in laughter, taste testing, and brining the turkey. By dinnertime, we were finished with everything she had planned to accomplish, and neither of us felt much like cooking, so I went and picked up Chinese takeout for us.

I wasn't gone very long, but the second I entered the house, I was hit with a haunting lullaby flowing from my coffee girl's lips. I knew the song and could tell she was at the end of it, so I quietly crept closer to listen.

"From your head down to your toes you're not much, goodness knows. But you're so precious to me, sweet as can be, baby of mine. Baby of mine." She lingered on the last note and I realized she was crying.

I set the bags down and pulled her into my arms. "What's wrong, love?"

She shook her head against my shoulders, her warm breath gliding gently along my throat. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong, everything is perfect. I've been feeling the little flutters for a bit now, but shortly after you left, they seemed stronger. It was almost as if the bean knew you were away. So I just thought if I sang the baby a song, the flutters might settle down."

"Oh, love. I cannot wait to feel the movements of our little love, and to be quite honest, I'm jealous that you're getting to experience this alone right now. But you know exactly what to say...what I need to hear to soothe my soul and alleviate my worries about being a good dad." Her words were comforting, but still I couldn't relax.

I sighed heavily and shared the biggest worry I'd been carrying around ever since we found out she was pregnant. "I question if my career will keep me from being a good dad, if my being away so much will make him or her resent me later in life."

It was a heavy conversation to have over dinner, but her constant love and support helped me see that all of my worries were normal and that she had some of her own. I knew we would figure it out because, if nothing else, our love for each other would guide us down this road of parenthood together. We would always be each other's champions, just like we would be for our little bean.

I couldn't give thanks enough for them in my life.

~o~o~o~

Bella was up with the birds again—well, she was up with the turkey. I smelled the sinful aroma of the roasting fowl and got out of bed to shower and help out in any way I could again. I stuck with casual clothes, my hair wet and in its usual disarray, as I padded down the stairs in my sock covered feet.

After kisses to both of my loves, I got to work peeling the sweet potatoes and the Yukon gold spuds that she would be mashing later on. Bella sliced and diced the potatoes as I went and soon had both batches in their own pots to boil. She'd even gone out of her way to make her own cranberry sauce.

Following her instructions, I basted the turkey and then moved with her into the formal dining room to help set the table. She had set one of the place settings and told me to copy it, which I did. I was very good at taking direction after all.

I walked back into the kitchen just as she was getting ready to lift the pot of sweet potatoes. "Let me get that."

She handed me the pot holders and led me over to the sink. I dumped them into the colander she had already placed in the empty basin. I watched as she shook the excess water off the potatoes before dumping them into a large bowl where she had a bunch of other ingredients already assembled. After a quick mix, she dumped all of it into a greased baking dish and told me to top it off with marshmallows and put it into the other oven, which she had preheated. She handed me the dish of dressing to go in the oven as well.

"You're amazing in the kitchen. I never really watched my mother while she cooked, but I feel like I should thank her if she put forth as much effort as you have to make these family meals so special and delicious."

She smiled her knowing smile, and I could help but return the affection with a grin of my own. "Thank you, Eddie. I know your mom would appreciate knowing that you are grateful for everything she did for your family while you were growing up. You should tell her when she gets here."

With a quick kiss and a thank you of her own, Bella rushed upstairs to shower and get cleaned up once everything else was placed in one of the warming drawers. I followed behind and changed into a nice sweater and slacks.

"Hey, love?" Bella shouted from the shower. "Could you take the turkey out of the oven when you go back down?"

"Sure, love. Anything else?" I asked.

"Nope. I won't be too long."

"Okay."

I went down and did her bidding before turning on the football game I had DVR'd while waiting for our guests to arrive. I wasn't past the kick off before the doorbell rang. It seemed as if everyone was arriving at the same time.

We greeted each other and began the small talk as we made our way into the house. Bella said her hellos when she came down and then headed back into the kitchen. Chatter filled the air, and I basked in all the chaos and noise. Soon that would be an everyday thing...and I couldn't wait.

We hadn't gotten too much further into the game before my mother called us to dinner. After my father gave the blessing, we all dug in to the scrumptious food. Moans and groans of appreciation filled the silence. It truly was delicious.

Once the meal was devoured, I stood to speak. "We want to thank all of you for joining us today. Bella and I are so thankful for all the love and support our families have shown us. I want to thank my lovely wife for this wonderful meal she prepared, and I want to thank our mothers for doing the same for so many years before."

"Here, here," chimed Emmett.

"We also wanted to let you all know that at our annual Christmas Eve dinner we hope to be able to share the sex of the baby with you all."

"That's wonderful news, son," my father commented. I could see there was something else he wanted to say, but I wasn't sure exactly what it was.

"What is it, Dad?" Emmett turned and looked at our parents too, so I knew he was just as clueless as I was.

Dad sighed and placed his hand on our mother's shoulder. Her hand settled on his and she gave it a squeeze of encouragement. The move spoke volumes…I was positive what he was about to say wasn't something I would enjoy.

"Your mother and I have recently begun speaking to Alice again, and—"

"What?!" I exclaimed as I jumped out of my seat. My outburst occurred before I could even think on the matter rationally. "How could you? Especially after she hurt my wife!"

Coffee girl grasped my hand in hers, and it was the only thing keeping me in the room at that very moment. "Edward…" Her tone was filled with love and understanding. "Sit back down and hear them out. You owe them that much."

I was going to need more wine if I was going to make it through this conversation. Hell, I was probably going to need something even stronger. We hadn't even had a chance to let dinner settle before the heavy conversation began.

Mom and Dad each took turns explaining how Alice had come back into their lives. They didn't divulge what exactly had been going on in Alice's life because she wanted to explain herself to me, but I wasn't sure I was ready to hear the excuses. To me, that's all they would be: excuses.

In the end, though, their last request was one I expected. I just didn't like it. "Please consider inviting her to Christmas Eve dinner."

I snorted at their request as the silence of everyone else echoed throughout the room before I stood up again. I chanced a look at Bella, and her eyes told me it was up to me.

Before I walked away, I said, "I'll think about it." I didn't want to, but for the sake of my parents, I would.

I really needed something stronger than the wine after that.

Malice is coming…dun, dun, dun. ;) Thanks for reading, reviewing and recommending. xx Dee