Chapter 5

Bella woke up the next morning, feeling the pain of the night before. Her heart gave a squeeze and she glanced down at the blanket it in her hands. She gave it a quick brush with her hand and placed it back at the bottom of her drawer. Scrubbing her hands down her face, she headed to the bathroom to shower and start the day.

"Hey," Charlie muttered as he stumbled into the kitchen. He was completely sober these days and most of the time it wasn't a problem. But when the nightmares came, he really wished he could get back to sleep with a nice stiff drink.

Bella flashed him a knowing smile, gave him a quick hug, and kiss to the cheek before placing the box of cereal and bowl in front of him. It was just that kind of morning, no fuss required.

"Hey, Dad. Sorry I woke you up last night. I really am ok. You don't have to worry," she reassured him in between bites of her cereal.

Today they were planning on heading out together to explore the area. Other than Walmart, school, and the closer, smaller grocery store, they hadn't really seen what there was to do in their new town.

Later that night, Bella thought back on the day she had spent with Charlie. It was nice. Out of all this mess she had managed to get herself into, this was one of the best things that came from it. As she lounged on the couch, she slid her eyes from the TV over to Charlie who was engrossed in ESPN. She got lost in her thoughts of that fateful night.

Edward came back and she knew there was no hiding that Jacob had been there. Edward came running in the door, searching her out. She remained still on the couch looking him, wondering where he had been all of this time.

"Where is he?" he bellowed. Looking around frantically, while Bella remained seated and calm on the couch, lovingly caressing her baby bump. She still couldn't believe how big she was. Edward realizing quickly that he was overreacting and the only heartbeat that could be heard was Bella's, calmed down and handed her a small box that had been left on the porch. Bella glanced at it. In his messy scrawl was, "Bella." She opened it, glancing quickly to Edward to gauge his reaction to the unexpected gift.

Dear Bella,

I'm sorry I barged in on you. Congratulations on the new addition. Have a nice life.

Jacob

Underneath the note was a small blue and yellow blanket. Bella picked it up and ran her fingers over it, not quite sure how to react. She hadn't told anyone that she suspected it was a boy. It was soft and the only baby thing in the house. Carlisle and Edward wouldn't let her out of the house to get anything for the baby. She figured Alice had that all handled at the Forks house anyway, but she would like to pick a few things for the baby.

Jacob came around after that and visited for a little while each day. Most of the time he was there, Edward would leave saying he wanted to give us privacy to talk. Really they just sat and watched TV together, Bella using him to warm her toes whenever she got cold. She liked teasing him by sticking her cold toes under his warm leg when he was least expecting it.

He'd jump a little and complain about her "popsicle toes," but lean down on her to warm them up, rubbing his warm hands up her calves to share his body heat.

"So, what did Carlisle say yesterday about your due date?" Jacob asked during a commercial break.

"Well, he can't really see through the amniotic sac, but he's guessing about 2 weeks," Bella quietly responded. She couldn't believe Edward was allowing Jacob to be here, but honestly she was relieved. She was getting bored at the house by herself. If the wolves knew about her pregnancy, why couldn't she head back to the house with everyone else?

Just then, Edward and Carlisle walked in. "Jacob, Sam said he needs you to head back," Edward stated calmly, glancing at Bella's toes again underneath Jacob's thigh. He headed to the kitchen and began to make Bella a mug of tea.

"Alright, Bells, I'm gonna kick off. I'll see you tomorrow after I get done patrolling," he told her as he leaned over to give a not so sly sniff and pressed a soft kiss to the crown of her head. "Why don't you put some socks on to keep your popsicle toes warm, would ya?" he grinned as he headed out the door. "Later, Carlisle, Edward," he said and shut the door behind him.

Edward brought Bella her tea and pulled the afghan off the back of the couch. Of course, now it reeked like dog, but it was warm from his back and he placed it atop Bella's bare feet. He talked to her about how she was feeling while she drank the tea. She wasn't really a fan but Edward insisted she needed to relax and that it would help her. She leaned back feeling a bit tired, telling Edward a nap sounded good.

Bella snapped out of her thoughts and looked over to Charlie thankful he was still engrossed in his sports channel. Bella didn't really get the draw but it made Charlie happy so she would sit with him at night while he watched. Some nights, he'd find a movie for them to watch together.

Bella stood and stretched, shaking off the memories. It really irked her that Greg had to expose her like that. She checked her phone and had numerous texts and missed calls from her friends. She would have to face them eventually, but right now, she wasn't ready. The memories were eating at her and she couldn't face the friends she had made to feel normal. What was she supposed to say? "I married my vampire husband at 18, thinking I'd be immortal forever." Yea, right.

"Heading up?" Charlie asked her, as he turned his head only a smidge so as not to miss some important stat. When she didn't respond, he finally turned all the way around and looked at her. "You ok?" he asked curiously.

"Yep," she smiled to say she was, but really because she didn't want to talk about it right now. She was reliving the parts he didn't know about and she wanted to be alone.

Running her hand up the railing, she climbed the steps thinking about that house she knew she would never have to see again. Nothing remained of that house.

She put on her sweats and laid down letting the sadness wash over her. It was too late, she'd remembered too much today already and she had to think about the rest. It was the hardest part of it all.

It turned out that Edward had added a sedative to her tea. She would have never suspected him of such trickery. She trusted him implicitly. That turned out to be a huge mistake.

When Bella woke, the first thing she did, was the same as every day since she had discovered her pregnancy. She ran her hand over her bump. Only the bump was gone. She panicked, trying to sit up.

"No, don't move," came Jacob's voice. Alarmed, she turned looking around for Edward. Why was Jacob here? What the hell was happening? Her heart rate spiked as her panic rose.

"Where's Edward? What's going on?" she rasped, begging Jacob to tell her what was happening. He looked down at his hands, his elbows resting on his knees and looked up to her with tears in his eyes.

"He's gone, Bella," he choked, hating that he had to be the one to deal with this, but not wanting it to be anyone else at the same time.

"Well, where the hell did he go? Where's Carlisle? What has happened? Where's the baby?" The questions were coming fast now and he wasn't giving her answers.

She started to twist, trying to get up from the bed she was propped up in.

"No. Don't. I'll tell you. Please, just don't move," he continued, trying to hold back the tears that kept forming.

With a sigh, he prepared to tell her the story he knew was not going to go over well. This would change their relationship forever and he feared after this, that he would never see her again. But he knew she had to be told the truth, he had always given her that, even when it hurt.