Chapter 2: Old Faces (A/N: I'd like to thank Emeraldsayles871 for favoriting and following this story)

"Hey, it's Bella again. In the first part, Jim and I found out that were going to have a baby. We were really excited to become parents, but then we got another surprise. Our company choose to work with another company for a big project and Jim and I were chosen to go among others."

"The only issue was, the company we were working with was Starcoss Estates. Our old company."

On our way home, the two of us were silent.

"Jim, are you okay?" I asked.

"I don't know, Bella. I'm not sure if I can go back there and face Ed." he told me.

I understood how he felt. Even though I wasn't mad at Ed and Ellie anymore, I didn't think I could face them again, and I wasn't sure if I was ready to forgive them. But then again, this was a big project, and with a new baby coming we could use the money.

As we ate dinner, we discussed the situation.

"You know, Jim, we should probably go. I mean it's a big opportunity."

"I suppose." he replied in an unsure stuff.

"The money would really help us with the baby. You know how expensive babies are."

Jim was quiet for moment, and then he spoke.

"Okay, we'll go."

And so we told our boss that we would go to Starcoss Estates, which made him very happy. I also informed Dr. Jones that I would be going to another city for a few months for work, so he told me he had a colleague in that city that I could see.

Before leaving, Jim and I got ready for the new baby. With some help, we made one of our spare rooms into a baby's room. Since we obviously didn't know the gender of the baby yet, so we just painted it a basic white color.

And then we bought a crib, and placed it in the room. When we looked at the empty crib, we imaged seeing a little baby sleeping in it. I sighed contently, and Jim came up and hugged me from behind.

It felt good to be wrapped in his embrace.

After a couple weeks, we were on a plane with some of our colleagues. When we landed at the airport, we went to baggage claim to get our bags and look for the representative from Starcross Estates that was supposed to meet us.

To mine and Jim's surprise, we saw Ed. He looked surprised to see us too. But he quickly regained his consciousness, and introduced himself to our group as the CEO of Starcross Estates. Guess his dad finally gave him the company.

He led us outside. As I walked, I couldn't help but remember this was where I first noticed when Ed's feeling changed for me. It was a rough time. I glanced over at Jim, who seemed to be annoyed that Ed was there.

Though I didn't blame him. When we got out there, we saw some company cars. We caught Ed's eye, and he offered to let us ride in the car he was in, but Jim quickly took my arm, and we got in a different one.

We were driven to the hotel we'd be staying at, and Ed told us he'd pick us all up in the morning. As Jim and I got settled in our hotel room, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Right now I was pretty thin, but by the time we'd be finished with this project, I'd have put on at least 25 pounds.

Luckily I had brought enough money to buy maternity clothes while I was there. The next morning, we went to Starcoss Estates to get started. Walking through the building, I recognized my old surroundings.

I glanced over at Jim, who kept a stoic look on his face. It was clear he didn't really want to be here. I held his hand for support, and he turned the embrace. We went to a conference room, where we saw Ed waiting for us, and beside him was Ellie.

And to my surprise, there was a diamond wedding ring on her finger, and she had a very round belly. Obviously she and Ed were busy while I was away.

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce my wife, Ellie. Who's also my second in command." Ed introduced.

Ellie smiled and greeted us all. When she saw me and Jim she looked shocked, and she went a little pale. It was clear she wasn't expected to see us. But she quickly regained her composure, and the meeting started.

We went over on the location of the project, then we were split into groups to do the different tasks. Jim and I were in the same group, and we would be in charge of all the scaling. As we left the room to go to our work areas, I looked back at Ed and Ellie.

They seemed to be whispering to each other, and looking at me and Jim.

Over the next couple days, Jim and I worked on our project. We tried our best to be professional towards Ed and Ellie, even thought I'd rather not be around them. As if that wasn't hard enough, I had to deal with the side effects of my pregnancy.

Being in my first trimester, I had to deal with morning sickness and nausea. A few mornings, I found myself standing over the toilet puking. Jim was really patient though, and he even rubbed my back and held back my hair.

"Thanks for this morning." I told Jim, as we were going to lunch.

This morning Jim had bought me some anti-nausea medication that was safe for me. The day went on as usual, but when Jim and I were about to leave for the day, when we heard someone call our names.

"Bella, Jim, wait."

We turned around, and saw Ed and Ellie walking towards us. Jim started to walk away, but I stopped him.

"Ed, Ellie, this a surprise." I told them.

"Yeah." Ed replied.

We were all silent for a minute, then Ellie spoke up.

"We wanted to invite you two out for dinner this evening."

"Yeah, we'd really like to talk to both of you." Ed added.

That's chapter 2