A/N: Welcome back! So, I'm not going to torture anyone and decided to get right to the trip back to Seattle for Edward. Let's see how it goes shall we? Thank you all for the reviews, alerts and favorites! I am so happy to see so many people are enjoying my Edward (and Bella) as much as I do! I will be replying to reviews, I know I've been slacking a bit on the last couple of chapters, RL has been a witch the past couple of weeks, but I wanted you all to know I have read them and I love them, even the bad ones!

As usual, I don't own 'em, I just like to make them all angsty and miserable for a lil bit!

Chapter 7

"Welcome to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport," a generic female voice said as I walked off the jet way and into the terminal. The flight from the East Coast had been long and the lay-over in Chicago had been almost too short for me to run from one end of O'Hare to the other, but now I was back in Washington. I followed the crowd through the terminal, heading to baggage claim, though I didn't have anything to pick up. I was traveling light, seeing as I was just there for the weekend. Passenger pick-up was outside baggage claim and I figured this was where I could find Bella.

I entered the lower level, crowded with travelers anxious to find their bags and get on with their travel since no one's final destination was an airport terminal. I looked around, trying to find a familiar brown head, but there were too many people to see clearly. I then looked around for an open area, somewhere I could stand back and get a good view of the crowd. I found a spot near the windows that looked out onto the loading zone. There was a concrete ledge and I stood up on it, the extra few inches allowing me to get a clearer look of the area. I slowly scanned, looking around for some sign of Bella but didn't see one. I quickly pulled out my cell phone, wondering if she had called while I was on the plane and I wouldn't have received it until now. The screen stared back at me, free of any missed calls or messages. I shoved it back into my pocket and renewed my study of the crowd.

Loud knocking on the window behind me surprised me, making me lose my balance and I stumbled off the ledge and onto the floor below. I quickly looked to see who had knocked to find Bella smiling at me. I stood up, gave her a grin and headed out to meet her in the loading area.

"Sorry about scaring you like that," she said when we were together. "What were you doing anyway?"

"Trying to find you. I wasn't sure where you would be and there was a mob, so I thought getting up higher might help," I explained.

She grinned and shook her head. "You're tall, you couldn't see over everyone enough already?"

"Nope, not tall enough apparently," I replied.

"Well, let's get back to my truck before I get towed. There is a 10 minute limit for stops," she explained. She turned and headed toward the road and I followed along. We reached her truck, an old beat up Chevy that looked like it had seen better days. I tossed my bag in the back, then climbed into the cab, watching as Bella did the same.

"I'm gonna hate having to give up Oscar," she sighed once we cleared the airport and were on the highway.

"Who's Oscar?" I asked.

She reached out and gently stroked the dashboard of the truck. "This is Oscar," she told me.

I nodded, not sure how to react. I didn't really know anyone who had named their car before. "Why will you have to get rid of it, er, him?"

Bella glanced over at me and shook her head. "I can't exactly fit a car seat in here and feel like the baby will be secure. At least you have your Volvo, it'll be fine for the baby."

"Oh, right," I said in surprise. I hadn't even thought of the fact that the baby would need a car seat or anything else for that matter. I mean, I knew Alice had bought clothes already, but I hadn't thought of anything else.

"Alice bought a bunch of clothes for the baby already," I blurted out.

"Really? Why?" Bella asked. "It's not like she and I are friends really."

"She's my best friend," I told her.

"Yeah, right, I forgot or maybe I didn't know that," Bella replied slowly. "We don't really know much about each other, do we Edward?"

Well, I knew a lot about her, but I wasn't about to reveal that to her. I shrugged and cleared my throat. "No, uh, I guess we don't."

"We could get to know one another, I mean, we'll be together for the rest of our lives," Bella told me. As much as I knew she didn't mean it that way, I couldn't help but feel excitement at the idea of Bella and I together for the rest of our lives. We would always have something in common, something that no one else could ever come between, something that was 50% her and 50% me.

"Yeah," I replied, swallowing hard.

Before either of us could say anything else, Bella gasped and covered her stomach. I panicked, not sure what was going on, but knowing that gasping was probably not a good thing.

"Are you? Is everything?" I asked frantically, wishing Bella would pull over. I fumbled for my cell phone, needing to call Dad, so he could talk me through everything and determine what we needed to do next. "Hold Bella, I'm gonna call my Dad and then we can figure out what to do next."

Bella placed a hand on my arm and my mind cleared enough to hear her soft giggle fill the cab with sound.

"Well, you can call him if you like, but unless you are asking for restaurant recommendations, we could probably do without the call," Bella said. I looked up from her hand on my arm to her face and saw her smiling at me. "It was just my stomach growling. I didn't eat before I came to pick you up and it's protesting."

I blinked and my mind went blank. All my anxiousness over making sure she was okay fled my mind and all I could focus on was her smile. I had seen Bella smile numerous times, but I had never been on the receiving end. It was breathtaking.

"Edward? Hey, are you okay?" Her voice called out, breaking me from my trance.

"Yeah, uh, sorry," I mumbled, rubbing a hand over my face.

"You must be tired, I'm so sorry. Once we are done at the doctor, I'll get you back to Em's room so you can rest," Bella promised.

"Sure, yeah," I muttered.

"So, is this okay?" Bella asked. I then noticed we were stopped and parked in front of a diner.

"Sure," I said again and Bella nodded. She slid out of the truck and I followed. She led the way into the diner and we were seated quickly.

"The patty melt is pretty good, but I come here for the pot roast. For some reason, I have a craving for pot roast," she explained, not looking away from her menu.

"If you are getting the pot roast, why are you looking at the menu?" I asked, confused at her actions.

She lowered the menu and arched an eyebrow at me. "Just in case something else sounds more appealing to me. Just because I came for the pot roast doesn't mean I'll get it."

I didn't understand the logic, but one thing being friends with Alice had taught me was sometimes you are better off just nodding and smiling. I did just that and Bella returned to her perusal of the menu.

"So, what can I get for you?" The waitress asked when she stopped at the table. "Oh, Bella, the cook wanted to let you know that he's out of green beans today, so you'll have to pick something else with the pot roast."

Bella sighed and shook her head. "The green beans just really make the whole thing Susie. Maybe carrots instead?"

The waitress nodded, then turned to look at me. "And for you?"

"The club sandwich," I told her. She scribbled on a pad, collected the menus and disappeared. I looked at Bella and she gave me a small grin.

"So, tell me more about you Edward," she started.

"Like what? I've lived in Forks my whole life, Emmett is my brother, you know all of that stuff already," I reminded her.

She leaned toward me, her elbows folded onto the table and she rested her chest against them. It pushed her breasts up and I intently focused on her face, mentally telling myself to ignore the breasts, no matter how much I wanted to look at them and how well they were framed my her arms.

"Yeah, I know that stuff, but why Dartmouth? What's your major? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" Bella asked.

I ran a hand through my hair, resting my hand on the back of my neck. "Well, Dartmouth is where my father went to school and they have a pretty good Architecture program."

"So you want to be an architect?" Bella asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, I thought about being a doctor for the longest time, but then I took a drafting class and I was hooked. Fortunately, Dartmouth had both and it was easy to change my major," I explained.

"Won't your father be disappointed that you are following in his footsteps?" Bella inquired.

I shook my head. "No, all he wants is for Em and I to find something we are good at and do well. He's doesn't care about all that, and Em is majoring is Sports Medicine, so maybe he'll be the doctor."

Bella grinned and took a drink from the water glass in front of her. The waitress reappeared, placing our lunches in front of us and once she left, Bella started talking again.

"You haven't answered me. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" Bella asked.

I stared at my plate, unsure how to answer her. What I had pictured just a few months ago wasn't anything close to what I knew my future held now. Even then, did I tell her that I hoped to make her part of my life? That I wanted her in it as more than just the babymama?

I shrugged and took a bite from my sandwich, giving myself more time to answer.

"Well, since you don't know, I'll tell you mine," Bella said. She laid her fork down on the side of her plate and stared at me, then took a deep breath. "I hope that in 5 years we'll have a wonderful child who is well loved and well cared for, regardless of his or her auspicious beginnings." I nodded, silently agreeing as I chewed. Bella continued to talk. "I really want both of us involved in this. I know I might have come across as not wanting that earlier, but I think it's important for both parents to be involved. Every child deserves to know that their parents care about them, even if they aren't together." Her voice got hard at the end and before I could clear my throat to ask about it, her mouth was full and she kept it that way.

Once we were done eating, Bella glanced at the clock and jumped up. "Oh no! We're going to be late and then we'll miss the appointment!"

I stood up and grabbed the check from the table. Bella frowned as she watched me do it, but I shrugged, tossed enough money on the table to cover the cost and tip and nodded toward the door. "You can pay next time," I told her.

She frowned and nodded. She turned toward the door and together we left quickly. The distance from the diner to the office was short and when Bella walked up to sign in, she was given a dirty look from the receptionist.

"Pushing close, aren't you Miss Swan?" the woman asked, sneering slightly. "You know how tightly we are scheduled and we just can't wait for everyone."

I didn't like what was going on and quickly jumped in to take the heat off of Bella and place it on myself.

"Well, I insisted on being here for this appointment specifically and Bella was picking me up at the airport," I told the woman. She turned from Bella and looked at me. She smiled broadly and her body language changed from annoyed to flirtatious.

"Oh, are you the father?" She asked. "I'm Gianna. It's so nice to see-," she started and I turned from her to look down at Bella.

"It that everything you need up here sweetheart? Let's go sit down, I know you were feeling tired earlier," I said sweetly. I glanced at Gianna, gave her a small smile, then led Bella over to a loveseat. I sat down next to her and made sure I was sitting close, knowing Gianna could see us from her desk.

"You didn't need to do that," Bella whispered. I leaned down toward her, partially so I could hear her, partially to make Gianna think Bella and I were having an intimate moment.

"Yes I did. She was being a bitch to you Bella. There is no reason for her to make you feel that way. Why do you even put up with it?" I asked.

She shrugged and before I could push for an answer, her name was called and together we walked back to one of the examining rooms. I was left in the room while the nurse and Bella left and I looked around. There was an examination table, a desk and computer, all the standard things in a doctor's office except for the art work. Where I was used to seeing landscapes and flowers at my doctor's office, this one was filled with things reminding you exactly where you were. A poster on the back of the door showed a baby, in utero, at the different stages of development. I was fascinated by the different pictures, showing a small collection of cells all the way up to a very developed baby that was very squished inside it's mother. I scanned the titles next to the pictures and found the one representing where my baby was at that time, 5 months. The baby looked like a baby, all it's fingers and toes were there, though there wasn't any hair yet. I read how the baby can yawn and stretch now, even start sucking it's thumb. I couldn't stop looking at the poster. The pictures weren't drawings, they were actual images and I was in awe. The door opened, disrupting my study and I stepped back quickly so I wouldn't get hit.

"Oh, I'm sorry, we didn't know you were there," the nurse said, covering her mouth with her hand.

"It's okay, I should have known better than to stand behind a door like that," I told her. Bella just grinned and walked over to the examination table, hopping up on it. The nurse smiled, told us the doctor would be in shortly and then left us alone.

"I did the same thing the first time I was here," Bella said softly.

"Did you know the baby can suck it's thumb now?" I asked her.

She nodded. "I have a book back at my room that tells you week by week what to expect. It's been really useful."

I mentally told myself that I needed to pick a book like that up once I got back to school, because I wanted to know exactly what was going on week by week. The doctor joined us at that point and after a moment, I understood why Bella put up with the rude woman at the front desk. The doctor was great. She greeted Bella warmly, even taking the time to introduce herself to me.

"So, you're Edward?" She asked and I nodded, wondering how she knew my name. She must have known my question, even though I didn't voice it and answered it anyway. "Your mother came with Bella last time, all she could talk about was getting you in here when you came home."

I nodded. It sounded like something my mother would do. "Sorry about that," I apologized. The doctor laughed and shook her head.

"It's nice to see happy people in my office. That is why I got into this, to bring joy to people," she explained. She turned back to Bella and pointed to the table. "Okay Bella, you know the drill, lay back and shirt up."

I watched as Bella did as instructed and I got my first look at the baby. Well, the bump that indicated that there was a baby. Bella's skin was smooth and white, no sign of any stretch marks and I wondered if those came later, when the baby was bigger. I really needed to educate myself better. I had a ton of questions and no one to ask. I watched as the doctor squirted some gel onto Bella's stomach, then placed a device into it. The room was then filled with a quick thumping sound, faster than anything I had heard before.

"And that sounds good," the doctor said.

"What is that?" I asked.

"The baby's heartbeat," Bella answered.

"That fast?" I asked, knowing my heartbeat was much slower than what I was hearing.

The doctor laughed. "Yes, that is a healthy rhythm, 120-160 beats per minute is standard. This little one is coming in today at 136."

I blinked. "It'll slow down?"

She laughed again. "Yes, the heart rate drops to a rate that you are familiar with once the baby is a toddler."

I nodded and glanced at Bella. She was grinning at me. I felt my face blush and she shook her head. "I asked the same thing when I first heard it too, don't feel bad."

The doctor cleaned up Bella's stomach, then went about the rest of the exam. The doctor questioned Bella as she moved her around, moving limbs this way and that. I watched and listened, learning that Bella was having problems sleeping and the back pain she had had earlier in the pregnancy had gone away. The doctor left the room, off to make sure they were ready for us in the ultrasound room, leaving Bella and I alone.

"Do you need anything?" I asked.

Bella raised up, resting on her elbows and shook her head. "No, well, just to get out of the dorm really. The bed is killing me and it's so uncomfortable, I can't sleep."

"Have you tried some sort of added padding?" I asked.

"Not yet, I am planning to go look later today," she told me.

"Okay, if you need anything, just let me know," I said.

Bella nodded and the doctor walked back in at that moment. "Okay Mom and Dad, let's go see your baby!"

We followed her down the hallway and into a different room. This one was dark, with a bed that resembled ones found in a hospital. Lots of equipment filled the room as well along with an additional person, who we were told was the radiology technician. She would be doing the ultrasound for us and Bella's doctor would get a report later, after everything had been gone over. She left us with a grin and the tech then took over.

"Okay, climb onto the bed, pull up your shirt and pull down your pants," she told Bella. "Dad, you can stand over here by Mom's head, that way you can see what she is seeing."

I moved to the area indicated and watched as Bella got situated. More gel was applied to her stomach, a different device was put into it and the baby's heartbeat filled the room once again.

"Good sound, strong," the tech said. She was focused on the small screen in front of her, moving the device over Bella's stomach without really looking at what she was doing. She'd move the thing, type some, then move it again.

"Okay, sorry for the delay, this little one didn't want to be photographed today," she told us with a laugh. "Look up on the monitor and you'll see what I see."

We both looked up and saw a grainy black and white screen. It was hard to tell what anything was, but something was moving. I heard a click, then the image froze and some words appeared on the screen.

"That is the head," she told us. More movement, then another click and freeze. "And the spine."

Once she started identifying parts, I could make out a baby. It was see-through, but that made sense, since it was seeing through Bella to get to the baby. The tech kept talking, identifying more parts of the baby for us as she did her work.

She stopped and turned away from the screen to look at us. "So, do we want to know?"

"Can you tell?" Bella asked and I wondered what they were talking about.

"Oh yeah, this little one is very willing to share with us," the tech laughed.

"Well, I want to know," Bella said. She looked up at me. "Do you want to know Edward?"

"Know what?" I asked.

"The gender," the tech clarified.

"Oh yeah, yeah, of course," I said quickly.

"Well, I hope you have some girls names picked out," the tech said with a smile.

"Really?" I asked, a grin breaking out on my face. "It's a girl?"

She nodded. "Yep, see here? Nothing there, that's a girl."

I looked down at Bella to find her smiling at me. I reached for her hand, taking it in mine and I squeezed it. She squeezed back and at that moment, I really wanted to kiss her. Just lean down and rest my lips against hers, nothing more than that. Instead, I let my lips brush over her forehead gently. I heard Bella's breathing stop and I stood back up quickly, afraid that she was going to get upset that I had done that. I released her hand, shoving mine into my pockets and focused on the tech. I watched as she cleaned up Bella, telling us that she'd go and get the pictures she printed for us before she left the room.

"Edward," Bella said softly, sitting up on the table.

"I'm sorry," I told her. "The emotions got to me."

She nodded and together we waited in silence for the tech to return. She came bustling back in, her one hand full of paper.

"Here you go! So you can get the baby book started early," she told us. She handed the papers to Bella and I saw that they were pictures of the baby, a bunch of them.

"I figured you might need a few," the tech said with a smile. We both thanked her for her time and then we walked back out into the waiting area of the office. Gianna was still there and gave us a tight smile when Bella approached the counter. She ignored Bella standing there and I wondered what was so important that she could ignore someone standing in front of her.

"What are you waiting for?" I asked Bella, looking back and forth between her and Gianna.

"I need to schedule my next appointment and it's better to do it now. I can never get through on the phone," Bella explained.

"Well, if someone would pay attention, we could get out of here quicker," I muttered. Gianna smiled and held up a finger to indicate she'd be with us in a moment. Bella's doctor entered the office area at that moment and looked first at Bella and I in question, then to Gianna who was stapling a stack of papers.

"Are you waiting for something Bella?" She asked.

"I need to schedule my next appointment and I am waiting for Gianna," Bella explained.

Bella's doctor frowned, then walked over to Gianna and said something quietly to her. Gianna frowned but quickly stood up and walked over to us, opening an appointment book on the desk. The doctor lingered in the background, watching the interaction with a frown, then once Bella was done, told us goodbye and left the office area. We left right after that, ignoring Gianna's false goodbye as we left.

"I was going to ask why you keep going there, but once I met your doctor, I can understand," I said as we walked back to the truck.

"Well, I'm going to have to change doctors once I move back to Forks anyway," Bella explained.

I nodded and got into the truck. Bella handed me the pictures and started the engine, giving me a chance to look at them. They were screen captures of what we had seen in the office, complete with the labels for the head, spine, legs, etc. What stopped me cold was the header at the top. Baby Swan-Cullen, it said.

"Swan-Cullen?" I asked, glancing at Bella.

"Yeah, is that okay? Swan by itself seemed weird, you know, since it's partly yours too," Bella explained.

"Yeah, no, uh, sure," I faltered. "Are you going to put that on the birth certificate too?"

Bella bit her lip and stared at me. She didn't say anything and if it hadn't been for the honking behind us, I think she would have done it for quite a while. She stopped looking at me and resumed driving.

"I guess," Bella said quietly. "If you are okay with that."

I nodded. "I guess so."

Bella sighed and I could tell her focus was now completely on driving. We were quiet heading to campus and when Bella pulled up outside Emmett's dorm, I gave her a smile but didn't leave.

"Have dinner with me," I blurted out.

She shook her head. "I can't, I have to go to a play for one of my classes tonight. I have to write a paper on the performance and compare it to the text."

"Oh, well, that's important," I said softly. I couldn't demand that she skip something for school. That would be idiotic and destroy the truce we had going at the moment.

"Do you want to come with me? It's Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, it's a comedy," she offered.

"Sure, what time?" I asked.

"I'll come and get you at 7:30, the play starts at 8," Bella said.

"Great, well, I'll see you then," I replied.

She nodded and I left the truck, grabbing my bag from the back. I gave her a wave and watched as she drove off. I looked down to see I still had all the pictures in my hands and mentally reminded myself to make sure to get them back to her when I saw her later that night. My face broke into a grin. I had a date with Bella tonight. Granted I had to get her pregnant to have it happen, but a date was a date. I wasn't going to fuck it up.