AN: Here's a shout out to all the stories I've read on fan fiction (.) net that have a piano sex scene… Thank you all for this wonderful fantasy! I love Tara Sue Me's The Submissive/ The Dominant (Chapter 18) as well as Chapter 1 of a story called The Arrangement by manyafandom. I'm sure there are many more out there but these are my 2 favorites. If you know of any that I have missed please give me the titles and chapters in your reviews or PM me. Thanks a lot for reading.
Chapter 33
Tomorrow is my 28th birthday. Alice and Jasper are back already, but Rose and Emmett won't be home until late tonight. Carlisle and Esme are on their way with the Denali clan in tow and they'll be here in the early morning. 'That time of the month' started yesterday…it was very light when it's usually on the heavier side.
Sue insists on hosting a small party and has invited Ben and Angela, along with Lauren, Jessica and Mike. Of course Seth, Katie and Leah will also be there. Mom is coming up to Forks too.
Alice gave me my present, a collection of clothing native to the areas we will be visiting over the first whole year after my transformation, as soon as she got here.
Esme and Carlisle have insisted on buying Edward and me plane tickets to Florida so I can go to go to Universal Studios and Sea World and still have him near me.
Rosalie and Em are bringing me a surprise from France, where they stopped on their way home from Scotland.
Falling asleep with Edward's arms around me is the best gift I could ask for. As I dream tonight, I see many things. My favorite dream is of Edward and I making love…downstairs on top of his piano…I'll have to remember to tell him about that see if we can make it happen…soon…
When I wake up the next day, I smell food…lots of food. I throw on my robe and hurry down to the kitchen. Once there I see my mother and sisters-in-law preparing a virtual buffet worth of food. I clear my throat. "Uhmmm…guys…you know I won't be able to eat all of that by myself…right?
Rose laughs and rolls her eyes at my apparent stupidity. Alice giggles as Esme just smiles and keeps cooking.
Edward peeks into the room and finally tells me what's going on. "Renee, Charlie, Sue and her kids will be joining the family for breakfast, Bella-love. You all get to meet the Denali family today. They're just outside waiting impatiently to meet you, but Alice insists on dressing you properly before they are allowed inside…Don't rush, though, love. It's your birthday, and I want you to do things your way." He says.
"Then my husband should get over here and kiss me, so I can get ready for my public appearance." I say smiling at him to hide the fact that I'm extremely nervous to step one foot into the room with those people.
He grins and rushes over to kiss me. As always, he takes my breath away. "Happy birthday, Love…"
"Thanks…" I say still dazed.
Alice rushes me upstairs and, after allowing me to shower, puts me in designer jeans. "I foresaw that you'd give me a problem if I didn't let you be comfortable, so jeans it is. The top however is going to be stylish, so put this on." She says handing me a deep blue short sleeved cashmere sweater with a v-neckline.
"You'll do my hair and make-up too, right, Ali?" I ask as soon as I'm sitting in her chair.
"Of course, Bella…did you really think I'd let my favorite sister go into a room filled with gorgeous women, who in the past have tried and failed to sleep with her husband, without her full feminine arsenal?!" She says getting to work. She curls my hair and gives me a carefree natural look with make-up.
Looking in the mirror, I see a lovely young woman who could be in her early 20s but definitely not her teens. I know without a doubt that I won't be able to pass as a high school student when the others go back to school in 2 years…but, did I really want to be a high school kid again?
Alice answers my unvoiced question. "No, Bella, when we come back to the states, you, Rose and Em will be college aged or maybe even have a job. Edward could be a junior and Jazzy and I could be sophomores. We'll think of something. Here are your shoes, Bells."
I slip into the crisp white tennis shoes and flash her a confident smile that I don't really feel and stalk down the hall to the stairs. With my hand on the banister, I glide down toward Edward who is waiting at the base of the steps.
After staring at me for a moment too long, he takes my hand and leads me into the living-room where my competition…former competition waits to meet me. "If you would excuse me, everyone…I'd like you to meet my wife, Isabella Marie Cullen, just Bella to friends…Bella Cullen, this is Carmen and her mate Eleazar…"
"It's an absolute delight to meet you after all this time of hearing so much about you, Bella. I congratulate you on catching this wonderful young man." Eleazar says softly.
"Edward seems so much happier than the last time we saw him, dear, I'm just positive it's your influence." Carmen notes.
I smile shyly at them. "Thank you, I'd like to think so… He certainly has that effect on me…"
As they move out of the way, 3 stunningly beautiful women come toward us. My husband motions to the one on the left first. "This is Irina and Kate…" Irina has silvery blonde, almost platinum hair while Kate is blessed with pale golden locks…
The one really catching my eye, though, has yet to be introduced. She has loosely curled reddish-blonde hair that falls to the lower part of her back and she has her gaze fixed on my Edward.
"It really is lovely to meet you all…" I say before facing the strawberry blonde. "I wonder if he had a reason to save you for last… You must be Tanya. I've heard… quite a bit about you…"
She eyes me speculatively. "Have you…?"
I smirk and nod. "Yes, and you're just as beautiful as they said you'd be…I hope we'll be good friends, Tanya." I hope I'm hiding my contempt, because I don't want to start anything before my transformation.
"I'm sure we will be…" She says with obvious disdain.
The doorbell rings.
"That must be my wife's family… You all recall what we asked of you…?" Edward says as I hear the door open and Charlie's voice call out to me.
They all nod and pick up their props, which are glasses of juice or water.
Tanya makes a quiet toast. "To the human façade… and Bella's birthday…"
Edward glares at her as my father and Sue walk in with Seth and Katie just behind them.
"Hi everyone…Leah will be along shortly; she has things to do for Jake." Sue calls out as she approaches me.
I hug her and accept her birthday wishes. The rest of them just echo her.
Carlisle finishes making the introductions just as Esme calls the group into the dining-room. The vampires in my family grab plates with a minimal amount of food but the Denali family declines saying that they ate on their way here.
Edward makes me a special omelet and then takes the seat next to me. I also take a hunk of steak and some fruit, a bowl of cereal and a bagel with cream cheese and wonder where my new found appetite came from.
Sue seems to have gotten Charlie to start eating healthier because he asks for egg whites and turkey with Swiss cheese on wheat bread instead of the many cheesy and fatty things on the table. Sue also hands him a plate of fruit.
That's so unlike my dad that I have to stare at him for a minute. "Dad, are you ok?"
"Yeah, Bells, I'm fine…why?" He asks, frowning.
"You're not sick or anything? Because you're not eating like your usual self…I'm worried about you." I say with a smirk and a wink to tell him that I'm teasing.
"Ha, ha…very funny Bella…Sue's got a way of convincing me of things… She said that Harry died of a heart attack and she doesn't want me to leave her alone just yet." Dad says taking her hand in his as the doorbell rings again.
Emmett goes running for it and I hear Renee call out my name. She comes closer and suddenly she says. "Where is my baby girl who I gave birth to just 28 years ago?"
Tanya rolls her eyes but says nothing and goes into the living-room.
My family members have subtly been transferring food from their own plates to either Katie's or Seth's plates.
"Oh look at all this food!" My mom marvels as she puts down a large wrapped item. "It all looks so good, Esme. I'll have some eggs and… no maybe the waffles …Ohhh; can I get a veggie omelet? I remember that my son-in-law makes an omelet that's 'to-die-for'."
"Oh, Mom, I told you that you didn't have to get me anything crazy." I say with a smile at Edward as he gets up from his place next to me and kisses my cheek.
"Of course, Renee, I'll take care of that now." Edward says grinning at her. "Why don't you take my seat?" He's always so proud of his cooking skill.
My mom answers me as she sits. "For your information, sweetie, this is the present for Jake and Valerie's wedding. Remember, Phil had that car accident just before I was supposed to fly up here for the big event? I figured we could drive it over to Billy's place before your little get-together at Charlie and Sue's house. Part of your gift is that I listened and didn't get you anything extravagant…"
I roll my eyes and ask, "What's the other part?"
"It's in the car…It may look big and expensive, but it wasn't… Maybe one of your brothers-in-law could get it for us?"
"I'll get it Renee." Emmett says taking his dish to the kitchen before coming back for her keys.
"Here you go, Emmett, thanks so much." She smiles.
My husband comes back into the room then. "…and here you go, Renee, one veggie omelet, for my wonderful mother-in-law."
"Ok, you can stop kissing my ass now, Edward." She giggles.
"Sorry, mom, he's almost always like this." I grin.
"Well, sue me…I'm in love with my wife…" He says a little too loudly as he takes Alice's seat on the other side of me. "…and her whole family gets the benefits of that."
I look over at him. He seems frustrated so I lean close and ask. "Edward, what's wrong?"
"Don't let it bother you; love, but Tanya just made a pass at me." He answers tightly.
My eyes narrow. "Oh, did she…?"
"Bella-love, I took care of it. Don't worry about her." He says cautiously.
I smile brightly, take my last bite of omelet and get up from the table saying. "That was a wonderful breakfast. Thank you all for coming over to eat with me today. I just need to stretch my legs, so Alice and I will be taking a little walk. I'll be back in a bit."
Alice meets me by the back door with my lip-gloss, a light jacket and a big grin on her face; she knows what I'm about to do. "Go for it girl…I'm blocking Edward from my thoughts."
That's good because I'd have no confidence if she didn't agree with me and Edward following us would be inconvenient. He doesn't need to know about this… until after it happens. Passing the living-room, I call out, "Oh, Tanya, did you want to join us?"
She and Rose seem to have been talking, but when she hears my invitation, Rose smirks and says, "Let's make this a girls outing…shall we?" Alice must've told her…
Tanya glares at Rose and then struts out the door passing me by.
As soon as we get far enough from the house that Edward isn't going to hear us or their thoughts, I stop and face her. Rose and Alice move to flank me while I take a deep, calming breath and say, "Look, Tanya, I don't care what went on in the past …I can't change that, but I've waited too long to have Edward in my life and I won't let you ruin it. He's my husband…and I won't be a puny little human for much longer. I've been told newborn vampires are fairly lethal, so if I hear one more instance of you hitting on Edward, or making any kind of trouble in my marriage, I will come after you as soon as my transformation is done."
She looks at me in disbelief.
"Do we have an understanding?" I ask.
She nods, stunned into silence.
"Good…Last item of business…I'll be the one telling him about this little chat… not you…and not my sisters…Got it?" I say.
Again, she only nods, speechless.
I look at Alice and Rose, "I think we're done here."
They grin at me and follow me home where Edward meets us at the door. He looks at them first. "What are you up to, Bella?" He asks suspiciously.
"Let's go upstairs, love." I say nervously. "Uhmmm…What are your sisters thinking about?"
He frowns and follows me up the steps. "Alice is listing…clothing designers and the countries they come from and Rose has car models and their makers on her mind…Why?"
I sigh in relief. "Thanks, girls… Edward, I just had a little 'talk' with Tanya, that's all. It's nothing to worry about…" I say with a frown. "…unless she comes on to you again."
"And if that happens…?" He asks confused.
"Well, then, I'll have to teach her a lesson as soon as I'm a newborn." I say innocently. "You remember telling me the other day about newborns and their being moody and temperamental as well as strong and pretty much unstoppable… well, I just told her that I wouldn't be a human much longer and she would have to watch her back if she made trouble in our marriage." I look up at him with my big brown eyes.
"Huh…Alice just replayed the 'chat' for me… I'm impressed, Bella…" He says with his crooked grin.
The enormity of what I just did suddenly hits me. "Are you kidding? I just confronted a vampire and threatened her! Is she angry with me? Will she be coming after me? Are you going to have to protect me from her?" I start to think about the possible retribution she could wreak and feel tears start to well up in my eyes.
"Bella, stop…She's just gotten back to the property and I can hear her thoughts… She has a new respect for you. She thinks you have courage and likes that you… staked your claim on your man." He chuckles. "I like it too."
I smirk. "You do?"
"I do…That took real guts, Bella-love. I'm proud of you. C'mere…" He says pulling me close.
"I wish we could just stay up here for the rest of the day!" I sigh, just happy to be in his arms.
"Me too, but the show must go on. Let's go see the gift your mom brought." He laughs quietly.
I nod as we walk toward the stairs. We reenter the living-room and the Cullens turn and grin at me. I just blush.
Esme winks and whispers, "Good job, Bella, that's exactly what I would've done."
Mom is oblivious to it all as she unveils my birthday present. "Here it is, Bella, what do you think?"
I stare at it for a few seconds before realizing what she has done… "Oh, Mom…"
It's a huge, framed collage of pictures from my childhood…it transitions smoothly to my teen years, adds in my previous year with Edward in high school and goes on to show my high school graduation…
She's put everything in it…
Pictures from when I dated Jacob to my graduation from college and my wedding to him and the few pregnancy photos along with pictures from my time teaching at Dartmouth and my bucket list photos… several shots from Disney World and the wedding to Edward and then on to Mother's Day and Canada, then Father's Day and even shots we'd taken in LaPush only weeks ago. "It's my whole life…" I whisper in awe.
"Yes, dear… It's your life so far. And look, there's room for more… I'd asked Alice to help me. She sent lots of these to me before Jake's wedding and reminded me that you might want to put the rest of this year's pictures into it too… like your birthday pictures and Halloween and Thanksgiving as well as Christmas and New Years. So I made sure the frame was big enough to fit at least 30 more photos… Do you like it, Bells?" She asks.
I squeeze Alice's hand before I walk over to my mother. "Oh, mom, you have no idea how much this means to me…" I start to tear up. "I love it…I love you so much! Thank you, Mom."
She hugs me as Esme hands me a bunch of tissues.
Charlie walks up to it and traces the paths of my life. "Renee, this is a masterpiece. I couldn't imagine a better birthday gift."
Edward hugs her too. "It really came out lovely, Renee. I'm so glad you thought of it! She'll treasure this…for as long as she lives."
The party goes alright and most of my friends did as I asked and didn't give me gifts. Mom takes pictures and makes me promise to put some of them into the frame. My dad and his new family pose with me and I feel the pieces of my life's puzzle coming together.
Days go by and we've now reached the anniversary of the day that will live in infamy as the worst day of my life…It has been ten years since that day and so much has happened.
My eyes opened this morning to see Edward watching me. We had spoken last night about what I want to do today. Edward has packed us a picnic lunch and we will start at Charlie's old house and walk into the forest. We are going to that spot …the spot where he lied to me…the spot where he left me…
Edward pulls the Volvo up in front of the house and the young man is working in the yard.
He comes over. "Can I help you?"
I lean over. "Hi, I used to live here. I'm Bella, Charlie Swan's daughter…We'd just like to walk into the woods for a bit. We'll be gone in just about 2 hours, if you don't mind."
"Oh, well sure, tell Charlie, we say 'hi', ok?" He says.
"Thanks…" I say as Edward comes around the car to open my door.
We walk silently the short path to where we spoke and after I eat my sandwich, I lead him to the spot where I was found by Sam Uley.
I look at my husband, "Edward, 10 years ago today, you lied and said you didn't love me…10 years ago today, you left me here thinking that I was unwanted and that I was never going to see you again in my lifetime. One year after that day, I found proof of those lies, and forgave you…9 months ago, God gave you back to me…and I thank him every day for that gift…" I'm a little nauseous and feel tears fall down my face but I continue. "We are now married…and have plans for our very literal 'happily ever after'."
I take a small tin box from my pocket. Inside are his note to my dad from 10 years ago and 2 pictures of us…one from back then and one from now. I rip the note to my dad into pieces and place a new note inside…one that I have written. 'Dreams really do come true.' I show it all to Edward and ask him to help me make a hole.
He does and I place the tin into it and cover it up, saying, "What I have just buried is proof of our love. It doesn't erase your lie or our separation but I feel that the rift is mended. I love you, Edward. I'm never leaving you and I'm never letting you out of my life again…" I fall silent.
He takes my face in his hands and looks deep into my eyes. "I said it 9 months ago and I'll say it again…I love you Bella Cullen…and I'm never leaving your side again." He kisses me long and deep.
We're now on our way back to the car and a wave of dizziness and nausea flows over me. I rush to the nearest tree and throw up next to it.
"Are you ok, Bella?" Edward asks placing his hand at the small of my back.
I breathe heavily but nod. "For now…Take me to Carlisle, though, just in case."
He picks me up and runs us to the Volvo. He drives to the house quickly calling Alice on the way.
I close my eyes and concentrate on breathing.
"Alice doesn't see anything being wrong with you." Stepping out of the car he yells for his father. "Carlisle! Bella needs you!"
I see my father-in-law's face as soon as I open my eyes.
"What happened, Bella?" He asks.
"I don't know, Carlisle, I felt just fine until we got to the spot where Sam found me." I say. "That's when I first felt something was wrong…but it was just a little nausea. I didn't actually lose my lunch til we were on our way back to the car."
His brow furrows as he asks. "Did you feel anything more than nausea…any dizziness or a headache, maybe?"
"Well, yeah, I was I little dizzy just before I… you know." I answer. "I have been crying more often but I thought that was normal because this is an emotional time of year and with my birthday and mom's gift…"
He nods solemnly. "I want to run some tests. You may have become anemic or it may be something else." He says. "I also want to cover all possibilities, so one of the tests I'll have to give you is a pregnancy test…Now, I don't want you to get your hopes up, so don't even think about it til I get the result."
"Ok, Dr. Cullen, but I doubt its that…I just had my monthly time." I say with a smirk. "Thanks for taking such good care of me."
"You're welcome, Bella." He says turning to Edward. "Take her upstairs to rest while I make the arrangements for the tests. Give her whatever she needs. If she's hungry, feed her, and so on. Rest is on your schedule for the rest of the day…no matter what else you two had planned."
"Yes, dad, no problem." He says as he carries me into the house bridal style and lays me on our bed.
"I want to brush my teeth and then maybe have something to eat…?" I say hesitantly.
"Ok, love. You do that and I'll be back in a minute with your food. What do you want?" Edward asks.
"Uhmmm…could I have one of those hot peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that you make so well?" I say biting my lip.
He chuckles and says, "Coming right up, my love."
As he turns to leave the room, I call him back. "Edward…maybe I could have some Spanish olives…on the side?"
He just smiles and nods.
As soon as I'm done with my teeth, I get back into bed.
Carlisle comes and takes my blood.
Edward then comes back with my food. His face is sad and he looks at my belly and says, "Carlisle heard from Zafrina in the Amazon, last night. Apparently they have looked into the tales of the incubus. The child of a vampire is born by using its teeth to cut its way out…but nothing is said of the mother after the birth…If you are pregnant it will be very dangerous and it's fatal in most cases. The child may be too strong for you…it may break bones or give you bruises…I'm scared Bella. I know I wanted this too, but we were apart for so long…I don't want to lose you now…"
"Edward," I say, before reaching for the sandwich. "We don't even know yet if I am pregnant…If that's the case, we'll do everything we can to keep me alive. Your dad and the others will help. It's not going to be easy, if I am pregnant, and we were warned that it would be risky, but this is what I wanted…I'm strong and healthy…I can do this…I just know it."
Carlisle knocks and comes in. "Bella, are you certain you had your menstruation?"
"Well, it was much lighter than usual but I definitely had it…why?" I ask.
He smiles grimly. "Well, my sweet girl, because you're pregnant…"
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AN: For those of you who are wondering...yes the pregnancy will be a bit different than SM's version, but not by much.