Flabbergasted Phenomenon

Summary: "This is the most unique situation I have ever heard of with a human and a vampire," was what Carlisle said, but all I could think was, "I'm going to have a baby."

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, New Moon, or Eclipse. I just own the scenarios where I thrust my favorite vampire and his family and the love of his life! Yay for me!

Chapter Seventeen: Devious Diversions

"This is your final for the semester. You have exactly one month to research, write, critique, and deliver your speeches, in front of the class. I just passed out the rubric for this speech of your choice, choose your topics wisely, and I will see you after Christmas!"

I quickly packed away my notes and slid them into my English text book. I put the book in my bag and stood up. It was a great effort to lift my bag onto my back, and I struggled slightly under the weight. In the back of my mind I knew that I shouldn't be doing this, but I was just walking to the car. I took a deep breath and readjusted the bag, wincing at the pain.

"Isabella?"

I turned quickly to my Professor. "Yes?" I asked, taking a hesitant step towards her.

"Are you all right? You seem to be struggling."

"I'm fine," I said, a little breathless. A second later, I heard a knock at the door, and I turned, seeing Edward striding across the room.

"Hello Edward. I'm glad you came to help her."

I smiled, despite the fact that I felt like an invalid. Edward took my bag off my back, and I immediately felt better. Edward shouldered it, and we said goodbye to our English professor before we left the classroom together.

"You're weak," Edward said worriedly, wrapping his arm around me.

"Thanks for pointing that out," I said crossly, a frown settling on my features.

Edward took no notice and continued on with his diagnosis. "And you smell anemic. Your iron is low."

"I've been taking a new prenatal vitamin since Carlisle told me that. It has more iron in it, and I've been eating peas." I tried to justify myself, making it known that I was working at fixing this problem. "I don't know why this is happening!" Edward saw that I was getting upset, and kissed my forehead.

"I don't mean to upset you, I'm just worried. I don't want anything happening to you."

"I know," I whispered, eyes downcast. I hate when I make Edward apologize for trying to help me. It's just I've been feeling so much pain in my back that it's put me in a crabby mood, and with my new condition, I was constantly worried about the baby. I never thought it would be hard for me to adjust to the idea of having a condition that could make the baby's delivery harder than need be.

As my thoughts got ahead of me, I felt relieved when the car came into view. Edward had his keys in his hands and I realized he wasn't going to go back to his last class of the day before break. That meant he was going to miss his final. I asked him about it, and he kissed my cheek, saying,

"It's healthy to skip every once in a while."

I couldn't even remember getting into the car. I was exhausted and rested my head against the window, my eyes closing, and then I was drifting off to sleep. When I woke up again, Edward was carrying me into the house. We were just at the stairs when I mumbled, "Wait. I'm 'ungry."

"Are you awake?" Edward asked, I shivered from his cold breath and nodded my head. I cracked my eyes open, and that's when Edward put me down on my feet. He kept his hands on my back, just to make sure that I had my balance. We walked into the kitchen together, and in my daze, I decided to make toast. I put two slice of bread in the toaster, and I looked around for something to put on the toast.

I found bananas, and decided that that was a good idea.

Edward opened a cupboard and came back with a jar of peanut butter.

That was good too.

By the time I sliced a banana, my toast was done. Edward put peanut butter on both slices, and I distributed the bananas evenly. Edward got me a cup of milk and a plate. I put my toast on the plate and then walked to the living room. Esme was sitting on the couch, the television down so low that I wouldn't have been surprised if it was on mute. I sat down beside her, and out of courtesy, she turned up the television.

She was just watching the news. My eyes were drooping as I ate my toast and sipped at my milk. When I finished, Edward took my plate and cup, and when he sat back down, I curled onto my side and rested against him, finally giving in to the sleep that was evading me. Edward wrapped his arm around me and kissed my forehead.

The sound of soft whispers woke me, and I yawned, stretching my arms over my head. I sat up slowly and looked around. Esme wasn't sitting on the couch, Edward and I were both stretched out, and Emmett and Jasper were sitting on the floor looking at Edward. I leaned back against Edward; I was more comfortable that way.

"Afternoon, sleepyhead," Emmett said, ruffling my hair. I laughed a little and said,

"Hello Emmett, Jasper."

"Hello Bella," Jasper spoke quietly, and I had to strain to hear his voice. I rubbed my eyes, and then I looked up at Edward. He smiled at me and I stretched up to peck his lips.

"What were you talking about?"

"Everything, but mostly you." He tapped my nose, and I blushed, looking away. Both Emmett and Jasper laughed, and I looked at them.

"You're all just terrible." I crossed my arms over my chest and yawned again.

"Are you still tired?" Emmett asked incredulously. "You've been sleeping forever!"

"She is pregnant Emmett."

I could hear Emmett's mind trying to find something smart to say back, and I laughed, rubbing my eyes. Edward rested his chin on my shoulder and my laughter died down when he kissed my cheek. His hand rubbed my stomach soothingly.

"So that's a boy?"

"Yeah…" The word fell slowly from my lips; I was sure I was close to falling asleep.

"He needs a name. You can't keep calling him baby." I opened one and looked at Emmett. He was looking thoughtful. I wanted to know what he was thinking, and I don't think Edward liked what he was thinking because his head was shaking slightly.

"Of all the names you could think of, I forbid you to call him 'Little Ella'."

"Little Ella?" I asked, looking at Emmett. Jasper was laughing quietly, and I could feel a giggle building up inside of me. Emmett just grinned proudly, as if he was the mastermind of the family.

"You know, Edward and Bella put together, it makes Ella."

"That's a girl's name," I cried, a small pout pulling at my grinning lips. "The baby's a boy. You'll make him gender challenged."

Emmett shrugged his shoulders, and obviously Jasper found this entire situation too entertaining, because soon, we were all laughing. Emmett was laying on his back, and Jasper was sitting with his legs crossed, both of them laughing uncontrollably. Edward too, except he was holding on to me as if he was drowning.

I slowly began to sober myself up, if I continued to laugh like that, I would have an accident. I carefully sat up, maneuvering myself out of Edward's embrace. It took a moment for me to unlatch his hands from my sides. When I managed, he held onto my waist for a minute, asking me, "Where are you going?"

"The restroom."

When I finished using the bathroom, I washed my hands, and then peered into my reflection. I pressed my fingers beneath my eyes. They were red rimmed with sleep. I sighed and stretched one last time before leaving the bathroom and going back downstairs. I kept a tight hand on the banister, knowing that my clumsiness could kick in at any time.

Towards the bottom of the stairs I saw that Edward was sitting at his piano, but his back was to it. He was on a cell phone, and he was speaking way too fast. I stifled a yawn and walked towards him. I made my presence known by tripping over my feet, but out of nowhere, Jasper ran up to me and balanced me before I could fall.

"I am handicapped, I swear," I said, knowing I tripped over only air. Edward was in front of me in seconds, sighing. He directed me towards the couch in the living room and sat down heavily beside me. I looked at him, and he gathered me in his arms and held me. I was afraid, wondering why Edward was acting this way. "Edward?" I choked out.

"Hmm…"

"Are you okay?" My voice was beginning to settle and I was relaxing into his embrace, glad that he wasn't angry or anything. He was just feeling tender. I felt his nose rub the nape of my neck and I shivered. Finally he pulled away and exhaled slowly.

"You really have me worried, Bella."

"I do?" I asked, turning to look at him fully. I wrapped my arms around his neck to keep balance.

"Other than the obvious, you're still tripping over nothing—" I grimaced at him when he said that, and a small smile graced his lips, and then he sighed again. "I know Carlisle said that we had nothing to worry about when it comes to your pla—condition but I can't help but worry. It's my job. And your iron is low, which starts a whole other list of reasons why I should worry…"

"What's the obvious?" I asked, intrigued, because I thought my condition was the obvious. Edward closed his eyes. Seeing the stony look on his face made my heart plummet. There was something obvious going on that the vampires knew, but I wasn't allowed to know? It took me a few seconds, but I gathered enough courage to confront Edward about what I heard those few weeks ago after getting back from Port Angeles. "What is going on with the Volturi?" My arms left Edward's neck and held onto his face, forcing him to look at me. His eyes flew open and he answered me almost as soon as I asked.

"Why?"

"I've heard everyone talking about it," I said, fibbing slightly. Only two people have technically been talking about it.

"Well, that's news to me, Bella." Edward eased my hands off his cheeks, and held them tightly in his own. "Bella, if something was going on with the Volturi, I would tell you, and if not me, Alice."

"Then what's going on Edward? You've been acting strange, and you know it! Tell me. I deserve to know, I am just as much a part of this family as you are." His strangeness hasn't shown itself since the day I went to Port Angeles. And his surge of protectiveness I claimed belonged to my condition. He didn't want me to hurt myself or get hurt. By the look he was giving me, he knew what I was talking about.

"Nothing is going on—well, except for Jasper feeding off your emotions, which is a whole other story." Edward smiled at me. "You've been driving him mad."

"I have?" I asked, pulling away from Edward, my brow furrowing. A feeling of guilt suddenly consumed me. "I didn't mean to…I haven't really even noticed my mood swings lately—Oh—"

Edward laughed and kissed me soundly, pulling away to whisper, "It's a little fun, actually." He kissed me again, and I laughed breathlessly, falling deeper into the kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck again and leaned closer to him. He pulled away from the kiss to give me time to breathe, and then everything came falling back to me.

"Hey!" I said, a little breathlessly. "You changed the subject—" I gulped down air and then looked into his eyes. "You didn't tell me—" I had to stop as a peel of laughter escaped me, and Edward gently pinned me to the couch, ticking my sides. Tears appeared in my eyes, and I begged him to stop as I laughed. Edward was laughing with me, and I felt happier than I had in a long time.

With this happiness coursing through me, I tried to ignore Edward's determination to hide something from me. I can drop the subject for now, but the minute something strange happens in this house, I will call a family meeting and demand information! My attention was brought back to Edward when his fingers swept past my ribs for the millionth time.

"Stop!" I finally shrieked, unable to take it anymore. My ribs hurt and I could barely breathe. Edward pulled away from me and crouched on his legs as I slowly sat up. I wiped at my eyes and grinned at him. "I will get you back!" I declared, knowing it would be extremely hard to get him back. I was too clumsy for my own good, and if my blood was low of iron, he was going to be more partial to my scent. I narrowed my eyes at him, wanting to make a devious plan with Alice.

"Tell me what you're thinking!" I shook my head, and stretched, wincing when pain shot up my side. For a second I couldn't breathe, and I gasped with the force of it. Edward was in front of me in a second, concern etched onto his features. "I hurt you—" I shook my head rapidly, saying,

"No, no I'm fine." I tried to move, but the pain intensified, making me gasp again. "I lied," I squeaked, holding my breath. Edward looked at me frantically, and then I heard him call for someone, I wasn't exactly sure because the words were a blur to me. In seconds, Esme and Carlisle were standing in front of me, and Edward got off the couch. I let out a breath and Esme instructed me to lie down on my side, slowly.

I was surprised when almost immediately the pain began to ebb away. I sighed and lay there, unmoving, for a few seconds. Then Carlisle asked questions pertaining to how I was feeling, and I said that I was feeling fine. Esme diagnosed me before Carlisle even finished his questions. Edward sat down by my feet and Esme began talking soothingly.

"Everything's fine Bella. Carlisle can fill you in on the actual aspects of your pain, but I know from experience, when you move to fast, or sit up too quickly it can cause a sharp pain in your sides or groin."

"It's the round ligament," Edward said quietly, looking at me.

"I don't know what that is," I replied just as quietly. "But I will be sure not to move as fast ever again, which means no more tickling Edward!" I mock glared at him, hoping to ease some of the tension from him; he still looked worried, as if he was the one who personally hurt me. He reacted just as I hoped, and smiled back, but it was a little nervously.

"Bella, you said you've been feeling tired?"

I looked back at Carlisle, and nodded my head. I momentarily forgot that he was there. "Have you been sleeping well at night, or are you just overall tired?"

"Exhausted really," I said nonchalantly, shrugging my shoulders. "At night I've been feeling a little queasy, not really throw up sick, and I've been studying for my finals. But I've been sleeping just as long as normal and I get cat naps in during the day." I decided not to mention the fact that half the time I tried to lay down and rest at night, I was plagued with my worries of the baby.

Carlisle nodded his head, but both he and Edward looked a little nervous. Esme eased the tension by saying, "That's normal Bella. Just wait until your third trimester; you'll be sleeping even more, especially before you have the baby. You're going to need all your energy later on, raising your little boy." Esme really was like a mother. I nodded my head, and then I was surprised when Edward said,

"Let's make you dinner."

He still seemed a little wary of me, but I immediately put his fears to rest when I sat up, slowly, and stood to my feet, a grin plastered to my face. "I am starving, and I want mashed potatoes."

Edward wrapped his arm around me and kissed my hair. "Mashed potatoes and what else?"

I thought for a second, and then I grinned even more. "And apricot preserves."

"Oh." I knew, even just from the sound of his voice, he thought that was disgusting, and the poor vampire didn't even eat! I wasn't sure if that was a blessing or not, as I walked into the kitchen. Who was I going to share my concoction with when I found out it tasted good?

xoXoXoXox

BB/N: Would it be wrong for me to say that since I last updated, I haven't thought of this story once? I've been swamped with homework, science fair, and just about everything else.

Thank you for the well wishes with Solo and Ensemble. I got ones in both my clarinet trio and quartet, which is the best score you can get! And I was doing some hard pieces too!

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. I know I've been a little ignorant of recently. I just haven't had the time to read and edit these chapters…and the ending of this story is nowhere near ready. I keep changing my mind, and now I'm back at square one.

Oh well!

Thanks for the reviews!

BTW: I have bad news! I'm moving, which means very limited time to update! Thankfully, I'm only moving directly next door, so it won't be long before I'm back to normal.

Or as normal as I can be. :)

Love,
Bob Bennit