BPOV

July

I'm at five months now, and it's time for us to get the ultrasound that will tell us the sex of the baby. On all of my previous pregnancies, I haven't really minded much what the sex was, but this time around we want another boy.

I dropped the kids off with Rosalie and met Edward at the OB-Gyn. We were still working with Dr. Johnson, and Edward had suggested not bringing the kids around on my doctor visits anymore for some reason. I suspected he didn't like Dr. Johnson that much—there seemed to be some animosity between them since my first visit a few months ago.

And, a part of me had to admit I wasn't Dr. Johnson's biggest fan, either. For a gynecologist, she was surprisingly anti-kid; and every time I took my children in with me for a visit, she seemed to look at them with disdain. I also got the feeling that she didn't think much of me—I think she viewed me as some uneducated housewife who just sits and waits for the next time she's able to pop out an infant.

Not that she ever bothered to ask me about my life outside of my pregnancy. She never even asked what I did for a living—at least then I could wipe that smug look off of her face when she finds out I am, in fact, a very talented photographer and get to work from home.

But, I was bigger than bragging to some small-minded, self-important doctor. Besides, being that my husband is a doctor, I've met quite a few of those in my life.

Edward and I walked into the room with the ultrasound machine and were relived to see it was just the technician there to help us, not the doctor. Everything seemed to be going well, he greeted us and I got myself ready on the table provided for me. Then the technician began his work. He put the gel on my belly and rubbed the censor around rather roughly, if you ask me.

I was about to complain when he turned his attention to the screen.

"OK, there's the head," he said pointing to the image on the screen that appeared to be the baby's body curled into a ball, sucking its thumb.

Well duh, Captain Obvious, I thought to myself. He continued, "There are it's hands and feet. It's heartbeat is normal."

He took the censor off my belly and turn to the machine next to him that was printing out the photos from the ultrasound.

"Here you are," he said, handing them to me carelessly.

"Wait!" Edward said, grabbing the technician's wrist, "What's that behind the baby? That big blob."

The man sighed in exasperation and looked to the photos, "It looks like just a blob to me."

Edward glared at him, "The only thing that should be in my wife's womb is a baby, not a blob. That has to be something important, don't you think?"

The man put the censor back on my belly and moved it to get a better look at what the blob could be. Suddenly, I saw a third foot in the equation and let out a little yelp.

"Is that…another baby?" I asked.

"Either that or you've got yourself a mutant baby," the technician quipped.

"Why don't you keep all comments to yourself, hmm?" Edward spat back at him.

The man rolled his eyes and took more photos, showing both of the babies. He went to hand the prints to me when I cleared my throat gently.

"Umm...could you tell us the sex of the babies?" I asked, beyond pissed off at this point.

He sighed, "A couple of boys, most likely."

He then took a washcloth and went to get the gel off of my midsection when Edward took the cloth from him, "I'll do that, thank you very much. You know, you've been very rude to my wife today. And I plan on reporting you to the medical center board."

The man rolled his eyes again and left the room. As soon as the door closed, I let all the anger burst forth from me.

"I can't believe that prick! I should go out there and shove the ultrasound censor up his ass!"

Edward gently wiped the gel from my stomach and put a soothing hand on my shoulder. "It's OK, sweetie. If that asshole thinks he can get away with treating the wife and daughter-in-law of two of Seattle's most respected doctors, he's sorely mistaken."

"Good, I hope he gets fired!" I shouted as I lowered my shirt and turned to get up.

Edward took my hand and pulled me off of the table. I grumbled all the way to the front desk where I gave the receptionist a check for the co-pay and stomped down to my car. Edward stopped me as I was about to get in and took me into his arms.

"Don't let the stupid asshole make you so upset, love," he whispered into my hair.

I took a deep breath, "I know, I know...I'll be OK, I just need to get back to my babies and then I'll be fine."

"OK, I'll be home around 5:30," I replied, kissing my wife gently.

"And I'll be waiting anxiously for your return, as always."

EPOV

I knew I had to make this rotten day up to Bella. I mean, finding out we were having not just another boy, but two, was supposed to be this big, joyous occasion, and that asshole technician ruined it for us.

After sending a scathing e-mail to the guy's superiors over at the board of trustees, I began devising a pretty elaborate plan. First of all, I was going to get home earlier than expected so I could cook dinner for Bella and have a romantic evening with her. I called Alice and told her everything, and she was more than willing to take the kids for the night so Bella and I could celebrate our good news.

Then, I called a travel agent friend of mine to see what kind of package deals I could get to take my family to Hawaii. I wanted to be sure it wouldn't be too much, because we were also hoping to save up to remodel our basement.

But, I wanted to take the whole family on vacation before Bella becomes too pregnant to want to travel. I found Dave's number in my rolodex and dialed it.

"World Class Travel, this is Steve."

"Yes, is Dave Cuomo there?" I asked.

"Just a moment, please."

Some awful lite rock music filled the receiver as I waited on hold for Dave.

"This is Dave," came his voice suddenly.

"Dave, hey man, it's Edward Cullen," I replied.

"Cullen? How's it going, man? How you been?"

"Great! Listen, I'm in need of a favor."

"Anything for you, bro."

I smirked slightly; it was nice that Dave still talked like a frat boy from time to time.

"I was hoping to take a quick, cheap vacation to somewhere like Hawaii for me and my family. And I mean cheap, because we're saving up to remodel our home for the next little addition to our family."

"How many kids have you got now?"

"This will be numbers five and six in December—so, can you help me out?"

"Of course, man. Let me see what I can do."

I heard some typing in the background before Dave continued. "OK, I can do a flight package that runs about $450 per adults and about $150 per kid 6-and-under, roundtrip. How old's your youngest?"

"Alice is not quite two and Owen is three."

"Perfect, so they'll be sitting on yours and your wife's laps, and that's two less tickets for you. I can get you for four nights in the Waikiki Hotel for about $70 a night—how does that sound."

I began adding the number in my head: the plane tickets would be $1,200 total and the hotel would be just under $300. Throw in about $1,000 for all other expenses and it comes to $2,500 -- that didn't seem too bad.

"Yeah, can you book that for me?" I asked.

"Absolutely! How about the beginning of August? Say, the 3rd through the 7th?"

I looked at my calendar—that was Wednesday to Sunday. "Perfect."

"Great," Dave said. "Can you come in on Monday so we can finalize everything?"

"Absolutely," I replied.

"Excellent; see you then."

I hung up and checked the clock: 3 p.m. Alice would be taking Bella and the kids out to see a movie, like we had planned. I told my receptionist to hold all my calls and ran to my car. I drove to the store to get what I needed to make Bella's favorite: Chicken scampi with bowtie pasta.

I got home before four and began to get things in order. I set a pot of water on the stove to boil before running around cleaning up miscellaneous things. Then I put three CD's in our stereo to play on shuffle: some Al Green, D'Angelo and Sade. It wasn't a subtle playlist by any means, but I wasn't in the mood to play coy tonight.

I set up the dining room table with candles and our nice China before taking some of the roses I had bought and tearing the petals and throwing some on the table.

When I got back to the kitchen, the water was nearing a boil, so I got the rest of the ingredients out to begin cooking. I seasoned the chicken and added some olive oil to the pan. I browned the chicken quickly before putting some garlic in. When I turned back to the pot of water, it had reached a nice boil, so I added the pasta.

I stirred the pasta while I finished the chicken and set some garlic bread in the oven to broil for a moment.

I had the pasta all drained and the bread out of the oven by the time Bella walked into the house. She stepped into the kitchen and stopped in her tracks, looking at the scene before her.

"What's all this?" She asked.

"Dinner," I replied.

"But, the kids are at Alice's for the night."

"I know, I asked her to take them for the night," I said.

Bella's lips curved into a sly smile, "Mr. Cullen is trying to seduce me."

"How's it working so far?" I asked as I pulled her into my arms.

"Pretty good," she replied, giving me a quick kiss. "Do it some more."

I grinned and found the remote to the stereo just behind me. As I hit the play button, the sounds of "Let's stay together" filled the room – causing Bella to rest her forehead against my shoulder and laugh.

"That's too good," she said as her laughter died down. "What better song to start the night off with?"

"Actually, I was hoping it would play that D'Angelo song you like so much," I replied with mock chagrin.

"Later," she whispered, kissing my earlobe, "When we're ready to head to the bedroom."

"We could skip dinner," I suggested.

She pulled back and looked at me seriously, "Honey, I'm hungry and I'm pregnant – I want food."

I laughed as I led her to the table and sat her down for dinner. I went back into the kitchen and served the food out on the plates. When I walked back in, Bella was leaning back against her chair with her eyes closed. She was rubbing her protruding belly with a wistful smile on her face.

I stood in the doorway and watched her for a moment before setting her plate down in front of her. I didn't want to bring her out of her happy place, but she did say she was hungry.

"Bon appetit," I said.

"Mmmm, chicken scampi," she said as she tore into the food hungrily. "This is delicious, Edward."

"Have you eaten much today?" I asked as she bent her head down over her plate and attacked her food with a vengeance.

"No," she replied with a mouthful of pasta. "I never found the time between getting the kids up and over to Rosalie's, then going to the doctors. I had some popcorn at the movie, but the kids ate most of that."

"Angel, you can't go without eating when you're five months pregnant," I scolded. "It's not good for you or the baby."

She raised her head and gave me an exasperated look. "I know that, Edward. It doesn't happen regularly – just today."

I nodded and went back to my dinner. I had to admit, she was right – I really outdid myself on this one. It would give Mario Batali a run for his money.

Once we were finished with dinner, I cleared the plates while Bella made her way upstairs. After putting the dishes in the dishwasher and setting the stereo to the aforementioned D'Angelo song, I walked up to find Bella already lying on the bed naked.

"So, I see we're not wasting any time tonight," I said as I rid myself of my clothes and hopped onto the bed with her.

She pulled me close to her, "You can have all the foreplay you want later. Right now, I need my husband to make love to me."

"That's all I needed to hear," I replied as I positioned myself between her thighs.

Sometimes I almost wish she could be in this constant state of pregnancy – where her body seems to feel just a little bit softer, a little bit rounder. I massaged her thighs as I entered her slowly, taking my time to enjoy the feeling of her inner walls wrapping around me. It was so heavenly – and it just hit me that we hadn't been intimate like this for a couple of months now.

"Bella, my love, let's make a promise," I said as my hips moved in a steady rhythm with hers.

"Anything," she whispered.

"Let's take at least on weekend a month to do this – just be alone like we are right now."

She looked unsure, "But…what about the kids?"

Bella has this habit of believing spending time away from our children was unforgivably selfish, "It's just one weekend a month – we'll leave on Saturday and be back before Sunday night, I promise."

"Ok," Bella said after deliberating for a moment. "As long as it's not too long."

I smiled down at my wife and captured her lips in a searing kiss before returning to our previous activities. My hips picked up a steady rhythm as my angel began to give me all of her normal signs that she was getting close to her release.

"I love you, Bella – I love you so much!" I moaned as I released into her.

Her nails dug themselves into my shoulders as she came, and I reveled in the sweet yet painful feeling of this. As we both slowed down, our soft panting filled the room, mingling with the strains of the music playing in the living room.

I felt Bella's lips attach themselves to my neck and work their way up towards my jaw. I turned my face slightly to meet her lips and attacked them thoroughly. It was almost enough to make me ready for round two.

BPOV

Edward and I lay there in the afterglow of our lovemaking. The stereo was still playing; Sade's "No Ordinary Love" filled my ears as I curled myself into Edward's side. I was completely peaceful until the thought of our house situation entered my brain and refused to leave.

I groaned lightly and lifted my face to my husband's – he gave me a worried look.

"What's wrong, Angel?"

"We haven't made much headway on this whole remodel thing, have we?"

He sighed, "I've been talking to a few guys – but, there was something else I wanted to set some money aside for, as well."

"What?"

"Well," he said hesitantly, "I booked us a trip to Hawaii for next month."

I raised my head, "What? Why? Why would you do that without talking to me first? We always talk about things like that!"

"I know, it's just that I think we need a vacation," he replied. "Don't you?"

"We need to pay for our remodel, Edward!"

"Don't worry, I called my buddy Dave at his travel agency and he got us a great deal," Edward said, rubbing my back soothingly. "It's not going to cost us but, maybe, $5,000."

I relaxed a bit at that – $5,000 wasn't a big chunk out of our remodel budget.

"Besides," he continued, "If we get some guys to start on the house before the end of the month, they might like to have us out of their hair for a bit while they work."

"That's true enough, I guess," I said. "So…Hawaii, huh?"

"Yeah, think about it! Sitting on the beach with the whole family – the kids are going to love it."

"OK," I said. "Let's go to Hawaii."

A/N: The D'Angelo song I had in mind was "Untitled (How does it feel)," which you should definitely check out on YouTube (it's quite possibly the greatest music video, ever!)

Also, the name Dave Cuomo comes from a buddy of mine who is a folk singer in Brooklyn – check him out on Myspace, he rocks!