Beta'd by the wonderful Daphodil, any mistakes are all me!

I don't own Twilight.

Chapter 25

Bella

"This isn't a dream." Edward's voice plays over and over in my head ever since that night.

I guess a part of me knew it wasn't a dream; it couldn't have been because it was so real. I regret not waking up and spending time with him, but I don't regret what we did. December twenty-ninth will forever be ingrained in my mind as 'The Dream'.

It was us; raw and beautiful.

I take a deep breath as the baby kicks me again. I'm at my thirty-fourth-week ultra sound appointment. I have six-weeks until my due date and haven't heard anything from my husband in a month. I feel as if I'm falling apart, but I try to hold it together for EJ; he needs me healthy.

Rose squeezes my hand, a happy smile on her beautiful face. She found out a few days ago that she was pregnant. With no word from Emmett, she has not had the opportunity to inform him that he will be a father. I'm sure he's going to be very shocked when he returns.

Rose hadn't gone to get her new depo shot since he was gone for months, she had planned on getting a new one before he came back. The surprise visit ruined her plans, and that night—the night of the most wonderful dream I've ever had—

Rose and Emmett made a baby.

"You okay?" Rose asks, smiling softly.

"I am. I just wish –" My words are stopped by a very hard kick to my ribs.

This kid!

The ultrasound technician, who is not my usual girl, smiles at me. "Sorry, I don't think he liked me nudging him."

"He's very stubborn, just like his daddy." I give her a smile.

"Oh! I thought you two were a couple," she says, looking a little sheepish.

My mouth drops open and Rose cracks up laughing.

"No, I'm pregnant by my husband and she's …" I nod to Rose.

"I'm pregnant by the love of my life. But she would be so lucky to have a hot piece of ass like me." She winks at the technician causing her to blush.

I slap her shoulder, laughing so hard that I tinkle a little in my clothes.

~Dream~

I've been calling and texting Edward since The Dream. The texts are usually small: I love you. I miss you. Your son is giving me heartburn. EJ just kicked me in the ribs. I just sent him the 3-D ultra-sound picture with an, I wish you were here text.

Rose is driving us back to Carlisle and Esme's. I've asked her several times to stop so I can grab a snack. She refuses, and it's just pissing me off because I'm starving and she's refusing to stop and pick me up a snack for some reason.

"Rose! Why can't you just stop at McDonald's?" I glare at her.

"Umm … Esme is cooking and had me promise not to let you lose your appetite," she says tapping, her fingers on the steering wheel.

I huff in frustration. A hungry pregnant lady makes a grumpy pregnant lady. We sit in silence for a few blocks until Rose looks over at me.

"How are you doing not hearing from Edward?" Rose asks.

"I'm okay. I just wish we knew something." I start to say more but stop as the words get stuck in my throat.

"Me too, and poor Alice is planning a wedding with no groom right now. I pray to God that a late-summer wedding can happen for her and that this little one won't get too big before his daddy comes home." Rose pats her tummy and then turns on my street.

"His daddy will be home soon, and him and EJ will go to the park with their daddies as soon as they're big enough," I say smiling and rubbing my belly.

Another thing that happened the night of The Dream is that Jasper proposed to Alice. He promised to get a ring as soon as he was home. Alice being Alice has set their wedding date for August twentieth. She is not letting the lack of a return date stop her from planning her dream wedding.

Rose parks the car and I get out waddling a little. She rushes over to me and runs her hands through my hair.

I slap her hand away, finding her behavior weird. "What the hell?"

"I just wanted to fix your hair," she says as we walk through the door.

"Surprise!" I jump holding on to my belly.

"Oh. My. God!" The house is filled to the rim with people.

Baby shower decorations cover the front room. Balloons and banners hang from the wall. There are girls who I haven't seen since we graduated and women I've gotten to know very well these past months at work here. Angela, and even a few friends from my hometown who I haven't spoken to in forever are all here. Friends of Carlisle and Esme are also here smiling and laughing.

My greedy eyes search the room, hoping that a miracle occurred and I will find my husband's handsome face staring at me, but he is not here. I smile despite the ache in my chest greeting everyone as they hug and kiss me.

Esme is there with her camera; sometimes I think she should be the photographer instead of me.

"Oh. My. God! You're huge!" my friend Bree Tanner yells, giving me a hug.

"I'm carrying a whole person, Bree!" I hug her back. I've been such a bad friend.

Bree went to school with Alice, Rose, and me. She was also a photography major. I walk around and greet different people, some I haven't seen since before I fell in love with Edward.

Spotting the table of food, I rush over to the table only to find Carlisle holding out a plate for me.

"I figure my grandson would be starving, so I started making this for you." He smiles at me.

"Thank you, Dad! Your grandson is starving." I stuff some macaroni and cheese into my mouth.

I close my eyes, enjoying the cheesy goodness. A flash causes me to open my eyes.

"I made sure to put a pan away for you." Esme winks at me.

"I love you both so much. You take such good care of us!" I pick up a piece of baked chicken and bite into it.

"Of course we take care of the two of you, you're our family. Now go mingle with your guest. I'm going to go into hiding now that I've done my job." Carlisle pecks my cheek and then kisses Esme before he disappears, walking through the kitchen to his office.

I don't really blame him; the place is crawling with women.

The rest of the party is so much fun that I am able to ignore the small ache in my chest. We play shower games, and everyone tries to guess how big my belly is. I'm wearing another silly hat like the one from my much smaller baby shower.

I open all my presents: cute little outfits, diapers, wipes, car seats, and high chairs. Carlisle and Esme give us a cute little bassinet and a crib. I have no idea where Edward and I are going to put everything. We end the party with cake from my favorite bakery.

Angela and I stand in a corner talking. The last of the guest lingering around chatting and wrapping up leftovers.

"You look so wonderful, Bella. Edward is going to lose it when he sees how big you've gotten."

I smile at her because I know he isn't going to believe it. "I hope he makes it back home before I go into labor."

The pain in my chest threatens to spread, but I shake my head and try to stay in the here and now.

"He will." She pats my hand. "We start another round of in vitro next week. Wish me luck."

I pull her into a hug. "Oh Ange! Something will take. Don't give up."

"Sorry, Bella, I have to run. I can only leave my husband alone with the kids so long," my co-worker Carmen says.

"Thank you so much for coming! I have no idea how my sneaky family got in contact with you all." I lean in and give her a hug.

"That peppy one, Alice, said she stole your phone! I thought it was sneaky but sweet." She laughs.

"It definitely was sneaky, and I guess a little sweet." I walk her to the door.

"Bella, your wedding pictures are so beautiful. That husband of yours is a looker. I know this one will be a little heartbreaker." She pats my stomach.

I laugh because I'm sure he will be if he's anything like his father was before meeting me. Opening the door, I give Carmen one more hug before she walks away. She passes a couple walking up the walk and toward the house. I smile at them until they come into focus.

My heart stops beating as my parents reach the steps. We stare at each other for what seems like forever, no one saying a word.

"Bella, you're going to catch a cold!" Esme says, coming up next to me.

She looks from me to my parents. They've never met before, so she has no reason to not be pleasant.

"Oh, hello. I'm Bella's mother, Esme—" She is cut off by a harsh voice.

"You are not her mother!" my mother says with tears in her eyes.

I'm a little put off by her emotions. She gave up the right months ago and now she shows up out of the blue and plays the wounded mother card.

Esme stands to her full length and puts a hard look on her face. She looks like Edward; the resemblance is a little scary. I've never really noticed it before—I guess it's only when she's upset.

"Mr. and Mrs. Swan, I take it. If you would like to speak to my daughter, I think you first need to check your attitude at the door. If Bella agrees to speak to you, then I will permit it." Esme turns to me. "Bella?"

I nod, a little shocked at her tone. "I can speak to them in Carlisle's office, but only if they have something worthwhile to say. If it's the same old argument, there's nothing to talk about."

I walk back into the house, leaving Esme alone with them. I quickly make my way to the kitchen and into Carlisle's office. He's watching a basketball game but quickly looks up at me.

"Is everything all right?" He rushes over to me.

I shake my head, "My parents are –" Before I can finish my sentence Esme comes in with my parents.

I can't believe they're here after all this time. The tears fall without my permission. In this exact moment I want Edward next to me so badly that if I close my eyes I can feel his hand on my shoulder trying to give me strength. I sit down on the small sofa as Carlisle stands with his hands folded.

"May I ask what you two are doing here?" Carlisle's voice is stern.

I see Edward in both his parents; their fierce protectiveness of EJ and me is something to behold.

"We're her parents, we would like to speak to our daughter alone," my father says, staring Carlisle in the eye.

"That is not happening. Whatever you have to say to our daughter, you can say in front of us. If not, then you know the way out," Esme says, sitting down next to me.

"What do you have to say to me? Did you come to call my son a bastard? Demand that I divorce my husband? What is it this time?" I grip Esme's hand tightly, so grateful for her strength.

"Bella, you have to understand, you're our only child. Our pride and joy. Then one day you bring a much older man home and expect us to just accept it?" my mother asks.

"Yes! That's exactly what you are supposed to do. You're suppose to love me and accept my decisions as an adult, not abuse me and say hurtful things." The tears fall and I angrily wipe at them.

"We're sorry about that. We know we messed up, but we want to be apart of our grandchild's life. And your life, if you can forgive us." My father begs with his own tears.

I'm stunned because it's exactly what I've wanted for months, but now that it's happening, I can't seem to forget their treatment of Edward and me.

"We were angry, Bella, and disappointed but we know we were wrong." My mother kneels down and touches my belly gently.

I knock her hand away. "You called my son a bastard! Am I just supposed to ignore that? Ignore months of mistreatment and disrespect of my relationship?"

My body starts to shake with the force of my anger and sobs.

Esme rubs soothing circles on my back.

"I think you two should leave. This stress is not good for Bella and the baby," she says pulling me closer to her.

"Where is that husband of hers?" my father says coldly.

I look up and glare at him. "If you want to be apart of my life, you have to accept my husband. If that is something you can't do, then don't bother contacting me again."

"I'm sorry. Just give us a chance, Bella. We want to know our grandchild," he begs.

"I'll think about it. That's all I can offer right now." I wipe away my tears.

"That's all we can ask. We just miss you so much, Bella," my mother says, looking down at me.

"Call us anytime." my father adds.

I don't say another word as Carlisle ushers them out of his office. Esme sits with me and rubs my back but doesn't saying anything.

I'm grateful for the silence.

Later that night I lay in my bed with Angela, Rose, and Alice. They are all staying over for a girls' night. We are watching romantic comedies and eating leftovers from the party. I'm currently eating a large piece of cake and wishing Edward were here with me to help deal with my parents. Although I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have let them even see me.

"How did they even know where to find you?" Alice asks as she paints my toenails.

"I don't know. I feel so torn. Part of me wishes I could just up and forgive them." I lay back on a mountain of pillows.

"It has to be hard, they're your parents and you've always been close to them from what I've seen," Rose says, eating a piece of her own cake.

"It wasn't perfect, and I see that now. But I've always thought they would be apart of my life forever. They chose not to be, not me." I take a deep breath.

"Good for you, Bella. No one is saying you have to just forgive them. They've been real shitty to you and Edward. Take as much time as you need," Angela says as she polishes my fingernails.

They are totally spoiling me, and I love it! My phone starts ringing, and we all look around confused. It's almost midnight here.

Rose grabs the phone off the night stand looking at the number. "It's international."

Alice jumps up. "Oh my, God! Bella answer it now!"

I take the phone from Rose and push the button.

Putting the phone to my ear, I answer, "Hello?"

"Baby, it's me. I only have a few seconds on this line."

"Oh God! Edward!" I start to cry. "Are you okay? I miss you so much."

"I miss you, too. How's EJ?"

"Good, growing. When will you be home?"

"The mission is taking a little longer than expected. Hopefully no more than a month. Tell Rose and Alice, Emmett and Jasper love and miss them. I have to go, baby.

"Edward, No! Please," I beg the tears falling freely.

"I'll be home as soon as I can. I love you," he says all of this in one breath and then the phone goes dead.

"Edward! Edward!" I cry into the phone but there is no hope. He's gone.

Alice holds onto my leg and looks up at me. "What did he say, Bella?"

Angela runs out of the room, and I hear her knock on Carlisle and Esme's door.

I try to stop crying long enough to tell them what he said, but the grief is taking over. He sounded like he was sneaking or something the way he was rushing and couldn't really talk.

Like he was taking a risk. "Oh God!" I cover my mouth with my hand.

What if he risked being caught because of me? What if he gets hurt?

"Bella!" I look up to find Rose kneeling in front of me.

Carlisle and Esme have joined us in the room.

"What did Edward say?" she asks me gently.

I take a deep breath and re-tell the brief conversation to everyone, trying not to leave anything out.

A/N: One more regular chapter! I have an outtake and an epi! We did it! I'll do a long A/N next chap!