Chapter 34

I drop my sandwich and gasp. "I am…? Oh, Carlisle! Edward…we're going to have a baby!" I want to run and dance around in happiness. "What do you need me to do, Carlisle…or should I call you 'grandpa'?" I bubble up into a fit of laughter.

"If you can call me 'doctor' for a few more minutes, that would be great…Now, listen, you had what's commonly called implantation bleeding, not an actual menstrual cycle." He informs us. "It happens when a fertilized egg implants in the uterus, sometimes during that process it drops a little blood. It's perfectly normal, but I'd like to do an ultra-sound as well as test some of the amniotic fluid."

"Carlisle, do whatever you feel is necessary to keep both the baby and me safe and healthy." I tell him.

"Dad, I think you should know that in her dreams she has seen twins…so there may be two babies in there." Edward says quietly; he sounds nervous.

"She has dreams…?" My father-in-law asks. "Do you mean visions…like Alice?"

"Not like Alice…She's never been prophetic before this…but on our last night in Disney…she dreamed of me and her in an office with you. When we did the first IVF, she told me that she recognized the scene…down to her clothes…In the next part of that same dream, she was standing on a porch with a large belly…I'll bet that's next." Edward replies.

"…And after that…?" Carlisle asks eagerly.

"After that I saw myself holding a child with green eyes…when the child spoke, it called me 'mama'…The child's eyes changed color as I watched him…the next part of the dream was of Edward holding the same child only this time his eyes were a deep chocolate brown …" I say cautiously.

Edward holds my hand. "The child was then standing between her and I as a black cloud surrounded our whole family and the last vision showed the child as a blur before splitting into 2…"

"I think it'll either be twins…or one very gifted child."I whisper.

"I see…Thank you for telling me…We'll do the tests and see what comes of them before making any assumptions. Let me know about any further developments in this area." Carlisle says.

"Actually…" I begin.

"There's more…?" Edward asks.

"Uhmmm…yeah…Remember when I slept for a day and a half…on the drive through Canada?" I ask.

They nod.

"Well I had another dream…I just didn't get to say anything about it because, you said to keep the conversation light…So let me tell you about it now…" I take a deep breath and tell them the dream. "First I heard footsteps, and then a tiny voice whispered to me and Edward asking if I was awake yet. Edward tells the owner of the tiny voice that I'm still sleeping …'But it's been so long…why isn't she waking up?' The tiny voice says. That's when Edward says something strange. 'She'll come back to us soon.' The tiny voice then asks to go play and Edward gives permission but says he's going to wait for me…calling me 'mama'. I heard the sound of footsteps in a hallway again and then Edward's voice once more…he was asking where I was and if I could hear him…he was saying that he loves me and begging me to come back."

"What do you think it means, Carlisle?" Edward asks stunned.

"It may refer to her transformation…but how a child could talk at that point…I'm assuming we'll have to change you directly after the birth, Bella." He says with a frown. "I'll think it over and you should speak to Alice about these dreams…see if she's seen anything similar. For now, that's all I can suggest. Rest, Bella… we don't even know how long your pregnancy will last. It could be anywhere from one to nine months. Rest…"

I nod as he leaves the room and immediately look at Edward.

"Eat, love…and then let me hold you while you rest." He says softly.

We sit and talk as I eat. I find out that Edward has heard from Charlie that Jacob got back from his honeymoon last night.

"He and Val want to visit tomorrow." My husband says.

I smile and bite into my sandwich. "Can Charlie come over too?"

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Bella. We don't know how this pregnancy is going to go… What if it happens too rapidly? What will we tell your parents?" He asks.

I sigh knowing he's right. "…But how am I supposed to stay away from my parents for so long? I have to see my dad for Thanksgiving and Christmas and it's barely the end of September."

"Carlisle heard us talking just now and he says if you want he can tell them that your pregnancy is being accelerated for the sake of your health." Edward says.

"Do you really think that'll work? Will they believe it?" I ask excitedly.

"Alice is looking…" Edward says staring in her direction. "She says they'll buy it."

"Yay," I say with a yawn.

"We'll invite your mom and dad over tomorrow with Jake and Valerie, love…you should sleep now…you're obviously tired." He wraps me in his arms and I nod right off.

The family is ecstatic and, by the time I wake up, Alice has already begun buying baby stuff for each of the houses we'll be staying in.

My parents have huge smiles when I tell them and they totally buy the story Carlisle concocted about my pregnancy being accelerated.

Jake says he's happy for us, but seems less than enthused. Valerie is elated for me.

It's almost 2 weeks later already, and my husband has gone hunting with Emmett and Jasper.

Esme sits next to me on the couch. "You know, Bella, I was volunteering at one of the hospitals that Carlisle worked in, back in May of 1977, when one of the female patients asked if I'd had a hysterectomy. I didn't know what to say, but Carlisle told her that I'd had cysts on my uterus and been given that surgery. Turns out, she'd just had one due to ovarian cancer, and her sister was throwing her a party. The woman invited me and there was food and drinking and a bonfire where they all burned tampons and sanitary napkins…Rose and I were planning one for just before your change…The general rule is that all the guests are women in the same situation as you are or will be. So it would be a whole house of vampire females… what do you think?"

I smile. "I think that would be fun! We should so do it! But, maybe Carlisle could see if any human women from around here have had hysterectomies and we'll tell them that once I've had my baby I'll need one too. That way, they'll have a better morale."

"I can do that, Bella…and I'll be discreet. I promise." Carlisle says coming into the room. "I'm going to take some of the amniotic fluid now."

I reach for Rose's hand as he comes close with the long shiny sharp needle. As he presses it to my belly, I feel it pinch my flesh but then it won't go further into me.

"Damn, the sac is too hard…like our flesh… I wonder… Rose, help me bring the ultrasound machine in." He says as I feel blackness fall over me.

Hours later, Edward is back and I'm just a bit sleepy. We're listening to Carlisle's account of the day of testing. "I've started the series of tests that every pregnant woman goes through. We tried to do an amniocentesis. When that didn't work…"

"What do you mean it didn't work?" Edward asks.

"The amniotic sac is too hard…I couldn't puncture it with the needle. I'm almost positive it's made of something close to our skin. I know that you were both with so few people that the STD test was unnecessary, but I did that anyway and of course you were clean…Your blood pressure was a little high but I checked it again when Edward got back and you were fine. So, Edward, I recommend taking shorter hunting trips while she is with child, so she stays as calm as possible. We all know you like the predators but deer are closer and more abundant. We don't want Bella to develop preeclampsia."

"Ok, Dad. What else did you do today?" He asks hugging me close to him.

"I measured her stomach, which is 12.5 centimeters. We also did an ultrasound and that didn't work either…but, if you listen closely, you can hear two heartbeats…" He pauses. "…in addition to Bella's."

I gasp. "I was right? We are having twins? Oh, wow!"

"Wow…Uhmmm, if ultrasounds and needles can't penetrate the amniotic sac, how will we know how fast they're growing and the genders and so on?" Edward asks.

Carlisle smirks. "There are other tests I can do…but the genders will be a mystery til birth. Bella, let me know if you have any more dizziness or any new symptoms."

"Ok, Carlisle…thanks." I answer.

"Dad, she's supposed to be 40 centimeters near the end right?" Edward asks.

"Correct, son…this means you probably conceived around the time of Jacob's wedding…she's already close to her second trimester, so I'm estimating that if the growth rate doesn't change, your children will make their appearance in the early days of December." Carlisle says smiling.

"…And twins usually are born a little early, so it's possible for a November birth… right, Dad?" Edward asks.

Carlisle nods. "Yes, Edward…you recall your training well…For now, just relax… You'll soon be enjoying the second trimester hormone rush…"

"What did he mean by that?" I ask, turning to my husband as soon as Carlisle is out of the room.

He rolls his eyes. "I think he meant to imply that the second portion of pregnancy is the one with the sexual urges. We don't know how your hormones will affect you, and we'll deal with things as they come."

"I want to start thinking about names for both genders. We should try to be ready whether I give birth tomorrow or nine months from now." I yawn.

He chuckles. "I'll start thinking about names and you will sleep. Just take things nice and easy, Love. I'm not going anywhere for the next 2 weeks…"

So I let myself drift off to dreamland as Edward hums my lullaby.

I know I'm dreaming again because my belly is very big and I'm not that big yet in reality. I'm standing on the porch looking out at the river. One hand is on my stomach and the other is shielding my eyes from the sun, which has broken through the clouds. I see a distant sparkle. Edward comes up behind me as Carlisle and Esme seem to be coming back from a hunt. Carlisle has a deer in his arms…he hands it to me…

I feel a nudge to the side of my stomach. My eyes pop open… "Edward, why are you nudging me? Usually you want me to sleep."

"Bella, I didn't nudge you…" He answers.

"Yes, you did…" I point to the spot where I felt the nudge. "I felt it right here…"

He gasps. "I think you felt one of the babies move… Carlisle!"

"What is it, Edward?" He asks coming in at a run.

"She felt a nudge…here… while she slept but I didn't touch her…I think it was a baby moving." Edward answers.

Carlisle lifts my sleep shirt and we see a large purple bruise. "It was definitely one of the babies, and it looks like they are stronger than her body." He frowns.

"Carlisle, I had a strange dream…" I say.

"What was this one?"

"I was on the porch, like before…but this time, Edward stood behind me and you and Esme were coming back from a hunt…" I laugh. "You brought me left-overs."

He frowns. "I'm sorry, what?"

I detail the dream for him and give him my opinion. "This may be a sign of things to come, Carlisle…I may need blood to sustain the babies. As gross as that sounds, I'm not opposed to ingesting blood for their sakes."

"I guess we should start stocking blood in our extra fridge…You said I gave you a deer?" He sounds incredulous.

I giggle. "Yup…"

"So I guess you'll be craving animal blood soon…" He says. "I thought that if this happened it would be human blood you'd need…I guess you'll have an easier time after your transformation as well."

"I hope so, Carlisle." I sigh.

This chapter is dedicated to women everywhere. Happy Mother's Day…