A/N: Nothing major in this chapter, they're just setting up the nursery =D But I feel like I haven't really had a lot of genuine interaction between Bella and Edward in awhile, so this is my way of "catching up" lol

DISCLAIMER: It's actually really flattering that anyone could possibly believe that I am the author of the Twilight Saga. But sadly, I am not; that would be Stephanie Meyer. I hope you're not disappointed =(

EPOV

"Okay, this one's done. How are you doing over there?" I peeked around my completed crib at Bella, who was sitting on the floor in the exact same position she was in an hour ago, only with a slightly more exasperated look on her face.

"I can't do it!" she wailed. I fought back a chuckle when she chucked a bag of screws across the room.

"Bella, love, would you like some help?" I asked softly, trying not to irritate her further. Her bottom lip popped out in a pout and she nodded her head, looking up at me with tears streaming silently down her face.

"Angel, it's okay. Don't cry; I'll take care of everything," I cooed. I sat on the floor beside her and pulled her onto my lap, rubbing her back reassuringly.

"That's just it; I should be able to do this. They haven't even been born yet and I'm already screwing everything up!" She buried her head in my shoulder and started sobbing lightly, causing my heart to wrench in my chest.

"Sweetheart, not being able to build a crib doesn't make you a bad mother. You are going to be a wonderful mother, and they are going to love you, just like I do." I kissed her forehead gently and her sobs began to subside.

"Why don't we work on the building projects together?" I suggested. She nodded her head slightly and looked up at me, a small smile beginning to form on her lips. I pressed my lips to hers, enjoying the feel of her soft, warm lips against my own. She sighed and wrapped her arms around my neck, kissing me more forcefully.

"We should probably get back to work," she giggled, pulling away from me. I pouted at her, earning another giggle, and helped her slide back onto the floor. The two of us had the second crib assembled in no time. We stepped back to look at our handiwork, grinning at one another in victory.

Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, and Jasper had purchased the cribs for us. They were identical in style; they expand from cribs, to toddler beds, to full-size beds as the children grow. Our daughter's is espresso, and our son's is cherry-wood, and they have matching changing tables that convert to dressers.

I slid each crib into place, with Bella directing me, then positioned the changing tables. Bella's mother had purchased a rocking chair for each room to match the crib sets, and I brought those upstairs to place in the rooms as well. When all of the large pieces were in place, we stepped back to examine both rooms.

"I think it's time to go shopping," Bella announced, a bright twinkle in her eyes. I chuckled lightly and kissed her forehead, pulling her with me to the door.

My parents and Charlie had gotten together to get us a gift card, so that Bella and I could pick out all of the fabrics and decorations for the kids' rooms. Normally Bella hated shopping, but the idea of shopping for our children seemed to thrill her, so I agreed to the trip immediately.

We drove into town and headed straight for Babies 'R' Us. I grabbed a basket and Bella set her purse in the seat, and we started making our way through the aisles. We walked straight to the back of the store, agreeing that we wanted to pick out the bed sets first.

"Oh, Edward, this one's perfect!" Bella exclaimed. I turned to look at her find, and she held up a girls' bedding set. It had a patchwork pattern, with sage, ivory, cranberry, and pink squares; it was decorated with ribbons, butterflies, and flowers, and was perfect for our little girl.

"I love it," I agreed. She smiled widely and threw it in our basket, quickly searching through the shelves for the rest of the set. She found everything she wanted, and we moved on to the boys' section.

"I like this one," I held up the set I had found, and Bella grinned, nodding enthusiastically. It was masculine, but simple. It had a patchwork pattern also, but in chocolate, cream, and light blue, with varying patterns. We added the entire set to our basket and set off to shop for more.

Most of our major purchases had already been taken care of. Angel and Ben had given us a double stroller, and Sara and Megan had each bought us a car seat. Shirley gave us a set of baby monitors, one for each kid's room and ours. She had also given us a video monitoring system; there was a small camera to set up in each room that fed directly to a set of small flatscreen monitors that mounted to the wall in the great room, so we could keep an eye on them during naps. Sue and Leah purchased a set of cradle swings, as well as four large boxes of diapers and wipes.

A lot of the smaller items had been taken care of as well. Alice and Rosalie had gone a little overboard buying all of the necessities, like a breast pump, a medical/grooming kit, bathing and laundry supplies, and more changing essentials. There really wasn't much left for Bella and I, so we decided to start buying things for the future.

We stopped in the clothing department first, buying dozens of outfits for them to wear through their first year. We stocked up on bottles, more diapers, bibs, and pacifiers, and Bella picked out two diaper bags. We spent a few more hours wandering the store, grabbing random items and adding them to the cart. Four hours later, our cart was overflowing and we were exhausted.

"I think we should call it a day," Bella yawned, ending her sentence. I nodded in agreement and pulled her to my side, pushing the basket with one arm. We paid for everything, the gift card covering it all and still having a little left, and took our purchases out to the car. We were loaded up and on our way home within a few minutes, and Bella was asleep before I pulled in the driveway.

I left the car running while I quietly unloaded all of the bags, carrying them upstairs to the twins' rooms. I came back down for Bella and grabbed my keys out of the ignition before pulling her into my arms and carrying her to the house. I had to admit, she was heavier now, but still barely weighed 140 pounds. I easily carried her up the stairs and laid her on our bed before stripping off her jeans and t-shirt and pulling the covers around her. I undressed myself and slid in beside her, and I was asleep within minutes, all three of my angels wrapped securely in my arms.

We spent the entire next day putting the kids' rooms together. Bella spent most of the time sitting in the rocking chair in whichever room we were working on, pointing to where things should go. I had insisted that she let me do the manual labor after she nearly collapsed while trying to hang a valance. She was having a great deal of back pain lately, and her breathing was much more labored. I was also noticing that she avoided moving around more than necessary, and I was worried that she was in more pain than she wanted me to believe.

I invited my parents over for the weekend, hoping that maybe Carlisle could examine her, since she was refusing to go to her own doctor. She continued to insist that she was perfectly fine, and that all of her discomforts were normal. I, however, was not so sure. Just as I finished applying the wall appliques the doorbell rang.

"That must be my parents," I thought aloud. Bella began to stand to follow me to the door and I gently pushed her back down. "Just wait here, love. They'll want to see the rooms anyway; no point in you going all the way downstairs." I kissed her forehead and she sighed in defeat as I sprinted down the stairs to the front door.

"Edward, how are you son?" My father hugged me tightly and my mother ran straight past me up the stairs.

"Hello to you too, mother!" I called after her. My father shook his head and chuckled quietly, wrapping an arm around my shoulder as we headed to the staircase.

"Don't take it personally, son. She's just worried about Bella," he reassured me.

"I am too. In fact, I have to admit that's why I invited you here for the weekend." My father looked at me in confusion and I stopped at the top of the stairs, keeping my voice low so Bella wouldn't hear.

"Bella seems to be having a lot of discomfort lately, and I'm afraid it may be much worse than she is telling me. I just don't want her hurting herself or the babies trying to go about like normal. I think she might need to slow down a little more, be more careful," I confided. He listened quietly, nodding his head in thought as I spoke.

"I'll check it out," he promised, patting my shoulder while we walked to the nurseries. When we entered the room Bella was still seated in the rocking chair and my mother was going on about how beautiful both rooms looked. Bella tried to stand to greet my father, but couldn't quite pull herself out of the chair. Her face contorted in pain, and I rushed to her side, gently pushing her back onto the chair.

"Bella, love, are you alright?" I placed my hands on either side of her face, studying her expression. Her brow smoothed and she nodded her head gently, leaning into my hands.

"I'm fine," she smiled at me, trying in vain to mask her discomfort. I eyed her disbelievingly, and she sighed loudly, dropping her eyes to her lap. "Okay, maybe 'fine' isn't very accurate. I'm just really tired, and sore. It's just getting a little harder for me to move around," she amended. I stroked her cheek lovingly, trying to comfort her. I looked up at my father pleadingly and he quickly crossed the room, dropping to his knees beside me.

He spent the next hour asking Bella questions about how much pain she was in, what hurt, and when did it hurt the most. He examined her thoroughly and called Bella's doctor to consult with her, as Bella was much too tired to go in for an appointment today.

"Well, Bella, I have good news and bad news," he started. I gripped her hand tightly and kissed her temple, and she clung to me for support. "The good news is, this is very normal for a mother of twins, especially when the mother is as small as you are," he smiled softly. We both breathed a sigh of relief, but were still anxious for the bad news. "The bad news is, your doctor thinks it would be best if you were on bed rest to an extent, and I agree," he finished.

Bella frowned beside me, and I fought to control the chuckle that was threatening to escape my lips. She elbowed me and glared, warning me that I wasn't controling my amusement as well as I thought I was.

"What do you mean, 'to an extent'?" she asked. Carlisle ran a hand through his hair and sighed heavily, leaning against the crib across from us.

"Well, you don't need to be confined to your bed all day, but you do need to limit your activity. Since you only have a month until the school semester is over, it would be best if you could talk with your professors and finish everything from home. And you should refrain from using the stairs whenever possible. If you need something, have Edward get it for you. And Edward," he started, turning to face me, "you will need to speak with your professors as well, and let them know the situation. You need to be home with Bella as much as possible. She is in her last month of the pregnancy, and she is really going to need you to be with her. With her limited mobility, it's not safe for her to be home alone."

"Of course," I answered. "I'll get everything set up for the both of us tomorrow, and we'll finish our classes from home," I smiled down at Bella, and she grinned back. "We were already planning to take all of our course online in the Spring, so I guess this will just be practice for next semester."

Once everything was straightened out, I carried Bella downstairs with my parents following us. My father sat with Bella in the dining room talking about the details of her 'bed rest' while my mother helped me prepare dinner in the kitchen. I carried Bella back upstairs as soon as dinner was over, after she fell asleep at the table. My parents headed up to the guest suite and I crawled into bed beside Bella, happy with the turn of events.

I know Bella is disappointed with her doctor's orders, but I was thrilled. I had an excuse to stay home with Bella for the next month, and she had been ordered to allow me to help her. The twins would be arriving soon, and we would have the entire winter break to start adjusting to parenthood. It seemed as if everything was just falling into place. I fell asleep quickly, a smile on my face, dreaming of our happily ever after.

A/N: Hmm foreshadowing, perhaps? I promise, I'm not going to do anything too terrible, like have anything happen to the babies or Bella. But I'm thinking the next chapter will be a little rocky and a little less fluffy than this one =D R&R plz!

BTW the twins' bedding sets are on my profile. They were too cute not to share =P