A/N: I got quite the response for the prologue! Thank you guys so much!

Chapter 1: Our House

"It's the end of your second trimester. Would you like to know the sex of the twins?" the nurse asked excitedly.

I grabbed Edward's hand. "Do you?"

Edward's smile was the biggest I had ever seen it. "Yes! If you do, that is."

"Of course I do. I want to start setting up their rooms."

Edward gave the nurse an encouraging smile. The nurse grinned and pointed to the screen. "This here's a little boy. See that? That's his little pee-pee. And this is a girl, I believe. Her legs are crossed, but I'm almost positive it's a girl."

Edward and I looked at each other. I laughed exuberantly. "I knew we'd have a girl."

"I knew we'd have a boy!" he laughed as well.

"This is wonderful. Now you can have all of the joys of having both!"

I was ecstatic as we walked hand and hand from my ob/gyn's office twenty minutes later. I was imagining what our children would look like. A beautiful little girl, and a smart, handsome boy. I silently wondered if they'd be identical or fraternal twins. Edward squeezed my hand, still smiling widely as he ran a hand through his dark auburn hair. "This is amazing. Let's go shopping tonight."

I laughed. "Whoa, there. The moving truck's due in the morning. We've still got to unpack the last of our crap."

Edward let out a whining noise and then helped me into the car. "I really hate moving. Maybe that's why my parents haven't moved since I was born--it's hard and difficult."

Our new house, located in Seattle, just minutes away from Washington State University, was small and quaint. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a decent kitchen, but a terribly small living room. The plan was for Edward to go to graduate school, while I took it easy and looked after the babies for a few years. I had gotten a stay-at-home online job with a local law firm, as a secretary, so that I could still bring something to the family. Edward insisted that I let him be the man, and take care of everything, but he forgot to take into account that I am far too stubborn to agree to that.

I was ecstatic that we were getting the chance to have children. Edward's doctor, not even a year ago, had said that there was no hope for Edward to reproduce. I had stopped taking birth control after that, but, by some miracle, we had gotten pregnant. Even though it was earlier than we planned (we hadn't even started graduate school yet), I was twenty-three now, and felt ready for it. We had bought a house in the Seattle suburbs to raise our children in. I was leery at first, considering Seattle isn't the safest of city's, but there was no way Edward was going to drive to Seattle for classes and we couldn't be apart at such a time. So, 123 Hickerson Rd was now ours.

He pulled up at the curb in front of the house and helped me out of the car. Jasper, Emmett, Carlisle, and Sid and Jeremiah from the CWA&D Group, were all in the back of the moving truck, grabbing boxes. I stepped into our house and collapsed on the couch. Looking around at all of the boxes that were to be unpacked, I cringed. Alice, Rosalie, and Esme would definitely have to help me decorate. Edward carried in a box labeled "Books" and set it down on a stack of other living room boxes. "Are you all right, Bella?" he asked, coming to kneel on the floor in front of me.

I smiled, fatigued, and nodded. "Just tired from the move and everything."

He took my hand and kissed the rings on my left ring finger. "Get some rest. The women are coming over later to help decorate. Jasper and I are going to take the moving truck back. I'll be right back, and I'll make you some dinner."

I nodded wearily, smiling into his lips as he gave me a quick kiss. Edward was making sure I didn't have to do anything while I was pregnant. In fact, he refused to allow me. I argued, of course, but there was no winning this time. Occasionally, I snuck and did something while he was gone, like laundry or dusting. He always frowned at the neat pile of freshly laundered clothing or pristinely dusted mantle, but never said anything.

I slowly slipped into a restless sleep. Somewhere between sleep and consciousness, I found myself standing in the middle of the road, a ghastly crash site ahead of me. A large moving truck was flipped on it's side, and the SUV that had crashed into its side was feet away. The fire department was using the jaws of life to wrench the door of the moving truck open. They were pulling out a bronze haired man, putting him on a stretcher, retrieving a body bag…

My eyes opened quickly, tears streaming down my face. As the details of the dream, the looks on everyone's faces as they laid Edward out, came back to me, I began to panic. My panic was unnecessary, though. I could smell the chicken cooking in the stove, hear Edward whistling to himself as he worked in the kitchen. I got to my feet and went quickly into our new kitchen, which was barely unpacked, to find Edward, his back to me, cutting up a tomato to add to the salad. I wiped my face quickly so he couldn't see that I had been crying and went up behind him.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and inhaled the scent of him as I kissed his shoulder. He jumped with a start but quickly leaned into my embrace. "Hey you! You've been out a while."

I looked out of the window at the now dark sky. "I must have been more tired than I thought."

Despite the fact that I had tried to control the shaking of my voice, he still caught it. He turned around, my arms still around him, and looked down at me. His finger's traced the tear stains on my cheeks and his brow furrowed. "You've been crying? What's wrong?"

I shook my head. "I just had a dream. I woke up like this."

He frowned and nodded. "The nightmares aren't getting any better?"

I shook my head. He leaned down and kissed my forehead before wrapping his arms around me. "Nothing's going to happen to me, Bella. Or the babies."

I nodded into his chest and then pulled away. "So…what's for dinner?" I asked, trying to sound upbeat.

He turned back to the cutting board and his half chopped tomato. "Chicken salad. With the full works."

I laughed and noticed he had stopped at the store and bought a huge variety of vegetables. "Sounds good. Smells delicious."

"You should go rest your feet," he said, pointing at the kitchen table.

I rolled my eyes and went to the fridge. "I'm fine, Edward. Really. You spoil me too much."

"You're the love of my life and the mother of my children. Of course I spoil you."

I retrieved the orange juice and poured myself a few sips. "I hate to see how spoiled and bratty you make our kids."

He laughed and pointed at the table. "Just go sit down."

I did as I was told and began reading the paper. "When are Alice and Esme coming?"

"They've already been here. Set up the living room and bathrooms."

I wrinkled my nose. "Damn. I was out for a while."

"They left our bedroom for us to do. But Alice has big plans for the twins' rooms."

"I don't think so. Those are my rooms to have free reign over," I replied as I glanced over the Seattle paper. "Do I want to see what they did to the living room and bathrooms?"

He glanced over his shoulder and shrugged. "Probably not. But you might as well check."

I got up from my chair and went back into the living room. In my panic to see Edward, I had ignored the living room completely as I sped through it. I looked around and smiled. It was simple enough, our old decorations and a few new ones splashing the room with color. They had hung new curtains up, of a rich red color, one to match our new living room set nicely. Blood red pillows now adorned the sofa, except for the couch where I had been sleeping. I picked up two of the pillows and placed them on that sofa and fluffed them unnecessarily with my hand a few times.

A painting of the Italian countryside that Edward and I had bought on our honeymoon to Italy had a new gold brushed frame and hung above the fireplace. The deep reds and gold of the painting matched the rest of the living room nicely. I approved of this room, so I made my way to the babies' bathroom. Alice had decorated the bathroom with a rubber duck them. The shower curtain had bubbles and a picture of a rubber duck in a shower cap. Little rubber duck stickers adorned the top of the mirror and the bar that held the shower curtain up. Little duck toys and decorations were around and the rugs and toilet seat cover were a pleasing light yellow.

Alice and Esme had done a wonderful job with decorating everything. I went back into the kitchen, where Edward was now shoveling food onto our plates and sat down. "They did a good job. Maybe we should just give them free reign of the babies' rooms."

Edward glared at me playfully. "No way. Their bathroom is adorable though."

The look on his face whenever we talked about the babies was heartwarming. He looked so proud and elated. I smiled. "Yeah. It's very sex neutral, which is good."

"Do you want to start thinking of names, then?" he asked, excitedly popping a cucumber slice into his mouth.

"Sure. Boy or girl first?" I asked.

He gave me a meaningful look and I laughed. "Okay, boy first. What kind of name do you want?"

He looked thoughtful. "Something old fashioned--"

"Like what? Edgar, Archibald, Ernie?" I laughed.

He glared. "That won't get him picked on in school. Like…Zachariah. Or James. Or something."

I thought hard about it as I ate a chicken slice. "What about Eli?"

"What?" he asked, wrinkling his nose. "No way. How about Jonathan?"

I shook my head. He was deep in thought. "Nathaniel? Or, no, wait. How about Thackery?"

I nodded, rolling the name over in my head. "I like Thackery. Thackery James Cullen."

Edward smiled widely. "Excellent. I like."

"I love it."

He laughed. "How about my little girl? What are we going to do with her?"

"Let's stick with old-fashioned names--" I began, stopped short by a knock to the door.

Without skipping a beat, Alice came in through the door, carrying swatches of fabric for the curtains in the bathroom. "Hey you guys. Just thought I'd drop these by so I can get started on the curtains for the babes."

"You came just in time. We've named out little man."

"Oh?" Alice asked. "But you only found out the sex today!"

"Alice, do you want to know it or not?"

"Of course!" she practically squealed.

I looked up at Edward across the table and smiled, nodding for him to say. He grinned. "Thackery James."

Alice's face contorted into a look of confusion and appall. "What? That sounds like a freaking pilgrim name!"

"I like it," I said defensively.

"It's classy and old-fashioned, there Mary Alice."

Alice sneered at the sound of her full name. "But, come on…Thackery?"

"If you haven't noticed, old names are coming back in style. I mean, I'm named Edward Anthony. And you've got Jasper. Jasper…what kind of name is that?"

Alice nodded. "I see your point. And, what about the girl?'

"We haven't started yet."

"Ah, well, don't let me interrupt. But if you decide on more seventeenth century names, steer clear of Constance or Patience. Those aren't good names."

I laughed and swatted her. She skipped to the front door and I looked back at Edward. "It doesn't sound pilgrim-y does it?"

Edward touched my face. "It sounds perfect."

"Well, how about girl names, then?"

"Why don't we start with the basics? Sarah. Christine. Laurel. Catherine."

I shook my head as he named off female names. I looked at him. "What about Charlotte? Kinda like Charlie, so we'd be honoring my dad," I said with a shrug.

"Or, one of your personal favorites, Miss Charlotte Bronte."

I laughed. "I hadn't actually thought of that. But I do like Laurel. As a middle name."

"Charlotte Laurel Cullen?" he asked, skeptical.

I wrinkled my nose at the sound of it. "Nah. That's not what I want to call her when I get angry. We need something that sounds good when we call her by her full name."

"Well, we could go for Charlotte Emily. Get both of the Bronte's in there."

I looked at him, thoughtful about what he was saying. "Yeah. I like it."

He raised an eyebrow. "I was only kidding."

I glared at him then pretended to look angry at a spot on the cabinet. "Charlotte Emily, get your behind in here, right now!" I yelled.

His grin grew wide. "All right I see your point. Sounds good."

"Do you think it's a little warped that we're picking names according to how good they sound when yelled? We're assuming our kids are going to be bad children."

Edward chuckled. "Well…I'm sure Emmett will teach them a thing or two."

I groaned. "We'll have to restrict his visits to the holidays only."

Edward's chuckle turned into a barking laugh. I got up to put my plate in the dishwasher and then started up the stairs. "I'm going to bed. Come up soon, please."

I entered our room to discover tons of boxes everywhere. I opened the one labeled "Bed linens" and pulled out the brand new sheets Alice and Jasper had bought us as a housewarming gift. They were a deep chocolate color, with an amazing thread count. I had washed them back in Forks, to prepare them for our new bed. As I spread them out over the mattress, the smell of the fabric softener swirled into the air. It smelled more like home. Our new turquoise comforter was soft and plush and I flopped back onto it gently when I was done. We had decided to stick to our brown and turquoise theme, and it looked right with the light cream colored walls.

Edward opened the door gently, peeking his head in to make sure I was awake. "Hey. I was wondering what you were in here doing."

He eyed the made bed, and the usual frown came onto his face. "I could have made the bed for you."

"I am not a fragile baby doll. I can make a bed. Obviously."

He came and flopped down on his stomach next to me. "I know. But I just want you to take it easy."

I sighed and scooted back onto our pillows. "I know."

I caressed my swollen belly with a hand. It had gotten quite large in the first six months, but I knew it was nothing compared to what it would become in the next three months. Edward leaned over and kissed my stomach, one on each side, for each of the babies. He ran his hand softly over my skin and I sighed and laid back. "That feels so nice."

He began to hum my lullaby to our unborn children.

O.O.O.O

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