A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I wanted to get this chapter perfect. I think i achieved that. Do you? Ha ha. Tell me in a review.

-janepotter22 PS By the way, how did you all like the Twilight movie? Because I loved it! This is a little off-topic, but my favorite parts are when Carlisle first made his entrance, and Emmett was air-boxing right before the baseball game, and oh yeah, when Victoria took her hair down from her bun, looking pissed and ready to cry and KILL. lol. enjoy the chapter.

The Heartbeat

Chapter Three: Telling Charlie

Bella jolted awake, stunned to consciousness by a bad dream.

"What's wrong?" asked a still Edward in a soft voice. When he heard her breathing start up again, he relaxed his body into hers and stroked her stomach. He gave a coaxing comforting kiss on her neck.

"I had a bad dream. A very bad dream."

"What was it about?"

Bella racked her brain, but couldn't think of what she dreamed about. She usually hated when she couldn't remember her dreams, feeling as if she were missing out on something important. But for once, she was grateful to have forgotten whatever terrors her subconscious revealed to her. "I don't know," she told Edward truthfully. "It left me before I could remember."

Edward kissed her again and began to hum her lullaby.

"What time is it?" Her voice slurred as she was lulled back to sleep.

"Two in the morning," he murmured, then resumed to hum softly.

"I… love…" Before she could finish professing her love for Edward, she slipped beneath the surface, welcoming sleep and a more pleasant dream.

--

In the morning, Edward and Bella followed a very normal schedule since Carlisle had to cancel due to an emergency at work, which Bella understood. But they both were itching to find out more about their baby. Bella was more scared than excited, and the delay in her appointment made her school day drag by. At lunch time, her anxiety was obvious.

"Are you okay, Bella?" asked the all-too perceptive Angela when she saw Bella with her arms hugging herself. It was an awfully familiar pose that left her friend concerned, but the expression was different. Bella chewed on her bottom lip and her brows were pulled down with worry.

"I-I'm fine," Bella lied. When she saw Alice, she immediately perked. She was impatient to ask her about her visions.

"I'm sorry, Bella," Alice said in a low and irritated voice once she reached the table. "But I just don't know why my visions hadn't worked for your baby. I didn't to check for any outcomes like this, when I saw what you and Edward were going to be up to. Things like this just don't happen in our world, Bella. "

"Shhh!" said Bella impatiently, and she looked around at her table mates. No one seemed to hear Alice, but she just couldn't be sure about Angela.

"It's okay," reassured Edward.

"Can you see anything now that you know about him?" asked Bella.

"Not really," said Alice, and then she frowned. "It's strange. But with the baby, not seeing its future isn't the same as not seeing the future with the werewolves… It doesn't cause a glitch or cloud any other futures." That worried Bella, and she paled visibly. "Don't worry, Bella. I see your future perfectly fine. I just don't see the baby."

"That's what I'm worried about, Alice! What if he's not going to be okay?" She'd spoken too loudly and Angela looked up, concern and curiosity in her eyes.

"We'll talk more later," murmured Edward, and Alice became still at once. And so the rest of the day dragged on. Bella thought she would surely die from fear of not knowing. Suddenly, she was unsure if she could handle this.

But finally, as the tone sounded to end the day, she rushed to Edward's car. He pulled out once she was strapped in and sped down the road to the house. The ride was relatively silent, but the anticipation was very nearly tangible so that the silence became unbearable and stifling. To ease her nerves, Edward rested a cold hand on her knee and rubbed consolingly. Bella squeezed it, bruising her own fingers in the process.

"I'm scared," she whispered. "I just want everything to be okay."

"Everything will be okay," said Edward. "How can you know that? Not even Alice knows that!" Edward was silent and he let her fume in peace. Bella felt like crying, but she just couldn't muster the tears. What was this tightness in her chest? Fear. Anxiety. Love.

When they finally pulled into and raced down the drive, Bella relaxed a little. As the engine quieted, Edward spoke. "I'm afraid, too Bella," he admitted quietly and his face took on a serious expression. He let go of her hand and ran his through his hair. "Everyone is waiting for us," he said. Bella wondered… did he mean everyone? Was Rosalie there, too? With the way she reacted to the heartbeat yesterday, Bella was unsure if she even wanted her there.

As soon as she walked into the house, Bella and Edward felt Jasper's ability at work; an air of calm and patience settled about the four other vampires and only human in the vast family room. Once they were at the far end of the house (the side with glass for walls), Bella also noted the obvious changes in furniture: There were two hospital beds next to each other to the far left of the room, a rare shaft of sunlight filtering through the windows to illuminate the bleached-white bedding. Next to one of the beds was some weird television machine with chords and wires galore wrapped up next to it and plugged into the wall. Next to the other bed was a newborn's bassinette often found in hospitals, the kind with the clear plastic walls and a built-in baby scale. Bella swallowed a lump in her throat when she saw that, her heart racing.

To the far right of the room, Bella saw another bed with another television machine attached to a cart; the ultrasound, she suspected. Next to the bed was a new wooden book shelf; it's mahogany grain shining with fresh polish and it's thick shelves lined with even thicker volumes. A matching desk in the corner was piled with file folders and more books.

"Wow," she breathed. She blushed as she took it all in. She was having a baby. And the Cullens were all embracing that, were excited for her and Edward. She felt so grateful, and bashful at the same time.

And then she noticed the rest of the Cullens. Alice stood just a few feet from her, a wide grin on her face. Carlisle and Esme stood just a few feet behind Alice, with their arms encircling each other's waist. Esme's eyes were warm and loving and genuinely happy for Bella; Carlisle's eyes were warm also, a small smile creeping upon his features. Jasper, however, lingered in the back, subtly influencing everyone's emotions, though it was hardly needed.

"Where's Rosalie and Emmett?" Bella inquired. There was a stony silence in which every vampire tensed visibly. Esme frowned and both Edward and Alice scowled.

"Rose has left us for the time-being," stated Carlisle simply.

"But Emmett didn't want to leave," reassured Esme. "It's just that where Rose goes… Emmett follows."

"Does this have something to do with yesterday?" Bella asked, already knowing the answer. Still, no one answered and Edward rubbed her shoulder consolingly. Bella shook her head, feeling sad. She never thought she'd feel so sad about Rosalie not being here to scowl and glare at her, for once, but she reasoned with herself that it was probably for the better Rosalie wasn't here today. "Never mind," she said suddenly and approached Carlisle. "Let's do this."

He chuckled, lightening the mood without much of Jasper's assistance, and Bella laughed weakly along. "Yes, let's. Although, where to begin…" he murmured to himself. "Well as you can see I've brought over lots of equipment. Here, to the right is where your ultra-sounds will take place. I'll actually be performing one today. And to the left is where any other, more intense tests will take place. Also, if it's even possible, you'll be delivering over there."

It was very quiet for a moment as everyone contemplated that thought, imagined it happening. Bella still couldn't come to terms with the fact that she was going to have to give birth. She looked away from the two beds and to Carlisle once more.

"Well, I've brought over some records from the hospital - copies, really but still they'll prove to be very useful. So why don't we start the first ultrasound?" Bella obliged and walked toward the lone bed at the right of the room. Edward followed, his hand locked in hers. She dropped her bag at the side of the bed and haphazardly crawled onto the bed. She let her legs dangle over the side, squeezing Edward's hand very hard as she watched Carlisle set everything up.

When he was finally done, he asked Bella to stretch her legs in front of her on the bed and lift up her shirt. She did as told, taking a deep and shaky breath. Carlisle squeezed some jelly-type substance onto her stomach, and she gasped, surprised at it's warmness. In movies, she always imagined it to be cool. Carlisle turned to her with the transducer in his hands. "I'm going to press a little firmly, Bella," he cautioned. "So if I hurt you, tell me, but I'm sure I won't." Bella nodded, clutching at the fabric of her shirt. The vampire doctor then pressed the transducer to her flat stomach.

An image on the once-blank screen crackled and appeared. Bella found it hard to see much of anything. Carlisle murmured unintelligibly for a few minutes, looking for the heartbeat that everyone but her could hear. He found it, finally and Bella was stunned. "It's so fast," she said quietly to herself. Carlisle only stared at the screen, deep in thought, and Edward stared at Carlisle with a solemn expression. "What's wrong?" I thought it was supposed to be fast…?"

"Well, yes. But this is about twice the normal speed for an embryo… And, well to be quite frank, the… the embryo does not look its age."

"Is it too small?"

"It's too big. I'm no expert with pregnancies, but I have a theory on that." Bella looked to Edward, but his face was emotionless, as far as she could tell. Something was up, she thought, and her heartbeat sped in fear and anxiousness. "It's heartbeat is too fast, you conceived just a few days ago…. I honestly don't believe the embryo should almost be a fetus."

"What does that mean?" Bella was getting flustered.

"It means that you've only been pregnant for a few days, but the progression is more than a few weeks… almost a month. It means that my suspicions have been confirmed… this will be unlike any pregnancy that I have ever witnessed." Edward fidgeted as his father began to speak once more, perfectly calm and at ease. "Now, we all knew anyway that we shouldn't expect anything normal to happen, except for growth itself. But judging by the point of conception and the embryo's growth to date… I imagine the initial growth rate will be relatively fast. I'm thinking maybe… three times faster than a human pregnancy. But that's just my guess."

Bella answered immediately. "And I trust you completely, Carlisle."

He smiled at that, and began cleaning up the area. As he wiped clean Bella's stomach, he expressed more of his thoughts. "It would be best if we ran tests everyday, preferably more than once a day. The growth rate just really worries me." Bella nodded and took a deep, shaky breath. "The first trimester of any pregnancy is very, very crucial to a baby's development. On the other hand, when a vampire is created, his or her previous physical structure is perfected, hardened and… permanent. That both worries and comforts me…" As Carlisle spoke, his tone and speed changed so that he was more talking to himself and hypothesizing rather than having a dialogue. "I'm going to be up all night…"

Bella laughed at that, breaking the tension, and as the others caught on (which was very quick), they laughed together. But it died as quickly as it had come, and instead of fear, everyone felt a little more confident. All thanks to Jasper, though of course. Carlisle was still chuckling to himself as he turned off the ultrasound machine.

"Now, Bella, you're going to have to eat a lot more food in the days to come. This baby just may turn out to be more of a parasite, as half of its initial nature is to feed from humans." Edward flinched at the spoken thought. "So yes, eat plenty. Get lots of rest." He turned to Edward. "I trust you'll take good care of her, my son?"

Edward didn't need to reply. Bella was swept into his arms in half a second and he was walking swiftly out the door and into the Volvo. As he pulled out, he let out a deep breath and gripped the steering wheel a little harder than was necessary.

"Is it as bad as it sounds?" asked Bella with a shaky voice. Edward didn't answer at first.

"I… I don't know," he admitted. "But someone does know. That's what Carlisle meant about staying up all night. He and Esme are going to be doing a lot of research."

"Oh."

They rode in silence until most of the way. And then Bella thought about the scariest part of it all. "We have to tell Charlie," she said solemnly. Her heart raced at the thought. "Today, I mean." Edward loosened his grip on the steering wheel and nodded, but he remained silent. "Where are Rosalie and Emmett?"

"Denali." His tone was final and then he pulled into the drive of the house. Charlie's cruiser was there, earlier than usual. He turned to Bella and gently pressed his lips to hers. But before she had time to react, he pulled from the kiss and got out. Before she could even blink in confusion, he'd opened the door and was waiting for her to get out.

But she just sat there, one leg poised outside the Volvo, ready to get out. But she couldn't move. Fear had suddenly gripped her heart in its icy hands, stunning her, momentarily paralyzing her. "Edward," she said in a strangled whisper. "I'm scared."

Edward was there in an instant, gathering her in his arms once more. He lifted her from the car, hugging her as tight as he was allowed without crushing her. "I know. I am, too, Bella." He put an icy hand to the place where her heart beat. It raced; even Bella could feel it. It beat so hard and so fast from fear that she thought it just might burst from her chest. She was so afraid. More afraid for the baby and its too-fast progression, and its health, rather than how it in general would affect her own health. Edward, however, was more worried about the latter.

"Are you ready?" she asked him suddenly, surprising him with the question. Edward looked down at her and smiled.

"Yes."

--

Charlie Swan was in his normal state of mind when Bella and Edward walked in. they were clinging to each other as usual. And his reaction to this was the usual; mild annoyance flitted at the edges of his thoughts, and a little bit of fear. What were those to up to that seemed to make their relationship more passionate every time he saw them together? He had a pretty good idea, but he always put that thought from his mind, having deep trust in his daughter and only child's protests to his fear.

Little did Charlie know that in only a few minutes' time, his fears would be confirmed.

First, he noticed their solemn expressions, which, for Edward was relatively normal, yet not so much for Bella.

Next, they announced that they had something to tell him and they all moved to the kitchen. Bella sat across from Charlie while Edward stood at her shoulder, a little protectively, if Chief Swan was going to be honest with himself.

And then, they told him.

"Dad," began Bella, averting her gaze from his and staring at her writhing hands. "I really don't know how to say this. But I guess I'll just come right out and say it…" It still took her a moment to get the actual words out, but when they tumbled from her mouth, Charlie didn't know what to do. "Dad I'm - I'm pregnant."

Bella dropped her face into her hands and Edward hesitantly rubbed her shoulder, as if doing so after such a confession and in front of her father, might be a vulgar or another equally inappropriate act.

Charlie was actually speechless for a while, and just stared at his weeping daughter and her protective, loving boyfriend. His eyes were wide in surprise and anger, and his body was angled away from them both. He swallowed his current fear, the cause of his speechlessness, and cleared his throat in preparation to say something. But what, he had no clue. He opted for the basic truth.

"Bella, I… I'm not gonna lie and say I'm not angry, because… well this was very irresponsible on both your parts. And… but I don't love you any less. I - I…" He was speechless once more. "I just… I can't…" He looked around. There was more than just cold fear stirring in his chest and he didn't know what it was, but it made him want to cry. In fact, the emotion was impossible to name, because it was a realization that his baby girl was growing up and making irresponsible decisions already. And he didn't know how to handle that. "I gotta go," he said in a tight voice.

With that he stood up and left. He got in his police cruiser and took off toward the Reservation to see Billy.

--

"That went well," said Bella after she'd collected herself when Charlie left. She heaved a great sigh, still glaring at her hands. "But I'm also just so relieved, Edward. There's just the part with letting him in on the secret. You said he'd be pretty accepting, right?" She looked up at him for reassurance.

"Your father is hard to read. You get that from him, Bella. His thoughts are… fuzzy, but I can hear them, however difficult that may be to do so.. But… you're most like your father, Bella. I'm sure he'd accept that this child is going to be different."

Bella nodded, for the most part reassured. She stood up slowly and wrapped her arms around Edward's neck. She stared at his lips pointedly. The last thought she had before kissing them is how she was already being controlled by her hormones. But she was willing to give in to at least this impulsion, and she crushed her lips against his.