Chapter nine-

Contact-

Bella POV-

The week had past in about the same way. I'd gone shopping again, getting things I'd forgotten about before now, and food. I worked at the office, surprised at the number of cases Edward had coming up, including mine, which was tomorrow. I hadn't been able to sleep in a couple of days, and it was really starting to show. This morning I put the cereal in the refrigerator and the milk in the cupboard. Lucky for me I noticed and switched them back right away. Edward had been protective lately. I couldn't figure out if it was just because I was stressed, or if he was worried about the case, too. It was reassuring, though, to have him defending me. At least he knew all that had happened now, and it didn't have to put a damper on the conversation when it finally came out. Edward had another case today, which won, so I'd been all alone in the office.

I hung up the phone, and put the file away, leaving a note for Edward to call them back. Someone who was getting a divorce, but had decided against it. I'd thought about changing my mind, but I knew that if I ever went back, he would beat me much worse than he had before. What else could I expect him to do after I run away? Not that I really ran away, more like escaped. Oh well. All that mattered now was I was somewhere where he had no idea where I was, and I was divorcing him early next morning. I was taking the day off of work.

It was almost September now, and the air got colder every day. Before it was just a crisp kind of cold, but now it was actually cold enough to need more than a sweatshirt. Everytime we went out I wrapped Connor in his coat, and put a blanket over him. He always chewed on the blanket. His bottom teeth had come in yesterday, both at the same time. He was only slightly fussy now, the majority of the pain gone.

I looked at the clock, anxiously awaiting Edward. He should be back in about ten minutes. I looked around the office, making sure everything was tidy. I liked to keep the office neat, and I assumed Edward did also, because the day I'd cleaned he walked in, sniffed, and smiled.

I knew that we wouldn't have a problem tomorrow. Jacob had said he didn't think it was wrong, so I figured he wouldn't have a problem telling that to the judge tomorrow, either. I was supposed to stay quiet, and let Edward talk. That was fine with me. I probably wouldn't feel like talking, being too nervous. I was just dreading seeing him again. We had to leave tonight, to make it to Iowa. We were taking a plane, but we had a short drive in the city to get to the courthouse. We should arrive around midnight, if everything went according to plan. And Edward got back at three like he said he would. I'd packed everything and loaded it into my car, as had Edward this morning. My Impala had a huge trunk, so two suitcases was nothing.

Connor was staying overnight at Emmett and Rosalies house. I wondered if they would change their mind about children after they had to wake up with him. I doubted it, though. I still hadn't gotten a chance to meet Rosalie, but I had plans to go out with Emmet, Rosalie, Jasper, and Edward when we got back from court, to get my mind off things and celebrate. I was eagerly looking forward to it. I just wished that Alice could come, too. I really missed her. I'd called her a couple days ago, and told her that I had court, and that Edward was defending me. She wanted to know how things were between us. I told her, and she thinks that Edward likes me. I wasn't so sure, though.

I jerked from my thoughts as the door opened. Edward walked down the three stairs leading to the office. He had worn his suit, of course, and looked amazing in it. I had a hard time keeping my eyes off of him, as I had this morning.

"I'm going to go change, and then we can go. Are you ready?" He asked, stepping closer to me.

I nodded. "Yeah. I suppose. I'll wait for you in the car, Edward."

We headed out the door together, and then split ways. Edward said that he would drive, so I climbed in the passenger side of my car. It felt weird, to be in the passenger seat of my own car, but I was hoping to catch a nap. I would be dead on my feet if I wasn't in bed until after midnight. I looked over and saw him heading towards the car. I handed him the keys when he got in, and he started it up and started driving.

"I have one. Do you want children?" I asked a focused Edward. We were almost to the airport and traffic wasn't the greatest. It had been his idea to play 20 questions, so everytime he didn't want to answer I had to remind him of that.

"I'm not sure, really. I haven't really been around children like Emmett has. I really do love Connor though." He looked over at me, and I pointed to the road. He liked to watch me while he drove, I'd noticed, and kept pointing out that he was driving.

"Okay, that's fair. Watch the road. My car isn't as big as your truck. And although it has a very good crash rating, I would like to get to the airport on time."

Our flight left at six, so I figured we'd have at least two hours to get through check-in. We were pulling through the gates now, and we quickly found a parking spot. Apparently all of the traffic hadn't been going to the airport. We got out, Edward popping the trunk and locking the car. We each grabbed a suitcase and rolled them towards the terminal.

"Well, that sucked." We had gotten settled into our seats, still in plenty of time. Although there weren't many people at the airport, they were switching shifts, so we had to wait for everyone to switch, and then we of course got stuck with people who moved very slowly. If we had been cutting it close I would have gotten stressed, but thankfully we had gotten there in plenty of time.

There weren't a lot of people on the flight. Apparently not everyone goes to Iowa in the middle of the week.

"What about you?" Edward suddenly asked, jerking me awake. I'd been getting tired.

"What about me what?" I said.

"Do you want more children?" He was looking at me softly, if that could possibly explain it.

"I would like one more, I think. Just to keep Connor company. I don't plan on it anytime soon, though, and if I wait too long it'll just seem like Connor is another parent, not a sibling. Then I'd just raise him as a single child. It's hard to believe in five or six years I'm going to be shopping for school supplies for him around this time." I smiled wistfully, wishing that I could stop him from growing up, although I knew that was impossible.

"Hopefully I'll still know you then, and be coming along when you're purchasing a backpack with the latest cartoon character for him." He laughed, I almost wish I remembered my first backpack.

"Why?"

"I don't know. I just kind of wish I knew my own mindset of the younger me. How I reasoned, what I thought of people."

"Yeah, that'd be interesting, actually." It came out in more of a mumble, as the fasten seat belt light came on. We were one step ahead.

"Are you tired?" He asked.

"Yeah. I couldn't sleep last night. Surprise, surprise. Connor slept through the night, though. Hopefully he's easy on Emmett and Rosalie tonight."

"I'm sure that Emmett would stay up with him all night if he could."

"Yeah." I didn't understand how he could understand what I was saying. I drifted off to sleep, thinking about the day ahead of me.

When I woke up Edward had his head on my shoulder, and his arm was wrapped protectively around my stomach. He had fallen asleep too, but now the plane was landing.

"Edward. We have to get up now." I whispered in his ear, hoping that he would get up easily.

He did, thankfully. And soon realized how we were positioned.

"Oh, Bella, I'm sorry. I didn't mean… I'm sorry. I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable." He stammered.

"Oh, no, it's fine. I think that was the best I've slept in a long time." I chuckled. On a plane. Who knew.

"Hmm. I'm glad." It was obvious he was still tired. Hopefully one of us would wake up while we got to our rental car.

We got out of the airport quickly, finding our luggage right away and heading out to the car. The hotel was fairly easy to find, also, just a few blocks away from the airport. We checked in and went up to our room. The hotel wasn't a cheap place, but it wasn't a suite, either. I noticed that he'd booked a room with only one bed, but honestly didn't mind. We'd only be sleeping for six hours, tops. I grabbed my suitcase and lugged the entire thing into the bathroom with me, changing into a grey short and tank top pajama set. I brushed my teeth and threw my hair up into a ponytail. I emerged and Edward had his pajamas on, already. I let him pass me and put my suitcase away. I was unsure of what side of the bed to take, since I knew that some people were used to sleeping on a certain side.

I waited until he came out, and asked "What side?"

He understood what I meant right away. "Right."

"Good, because if you said left, I would have slept on the floor." I grinned and snuggled into the covers.

"I wouldn't have let you sleep on the floor, don't worry." He said. I hoped that it wasn't uncomfortable for him to be sleeping in the same bed. It wasn't like we were having sex, or anything. We were just sleeping.

"I really am sorry about earlier." His voice was close behind me, and I didn't turn around to see how close.

"It's okay. I was comfortable, actually." I said.

"Hmm. Are you comfortable with this?" his arm slid around my stomach, and he pulled himself closer behind me.

"Yes." I knew that it was wrong, but I knew that he wouldn't do anything, and I felt much safer knowing he was close behind me.

"I won't try any funny business, I promise." He spoke softly in my ear now, and I shivered at the close proximity of him.

"I trust you." I fell asleep to the sound of his breathing.

So we finally have something going on between them. It won't go much farther than this for quite a bit. Sorry. I don't want her to jump from guy to guy.