Standard Disclaimer – I don't own Twilight or any of the characters from the story. All song selections have been provided by my amazing beta, NoWayWithWords. She is the greatest! She has set up a YouTube playlist that includes the songs chosen for the chapters. If you would like to check it out, see my profile for the link.

The song for the chapter is "In My Arms" by Plumb.

Chapter 37 – The Sweetest Gift

I was glad that George and Martin were at home. George agreed to watch Lucy for me while Martin drove me to the hospital. The doctor was able to stop the contractions, but he told me he wanted me on bed rest for the following week. He said he would check me after the week was up and decide if I still needed to be on bed rest or if I could resume regular activity.

I had no idea how I was going to accomplish that, since I had to stay at home with Lucy. Martin suggested I enroll Lucy at the same daycare that they had Kiko in. He said he could pick her up and take her to the daycare in the mornings and then bring her home when he got off of work. That would give me some time to rest during the day. Since it was New Years Day, the daycare was closed, so I planned to get her signed up the following day.

I called Alice and Jasper to tell them what happened and that the doctor wanted me to stay in bed for a week. Alice agreed to come help me out in the evenings, when she wasn't working. Jasper said that I could call him if I needed anything and he would come running, but he was working with another band, so he couldn't commit to just hanging out and entertaining me.

I spent the following week lying around the house, bored out of my mind. I slept a lot, watched TV, and read. I looked forward to Lucy coming home from daycare and telling me all about her day. She was having a lot of fun. She wasn't in the same room with Kiko, but got to play outside with her sometimes. She liked that. She was making a lot of new friends.

When I went back to the doctor, he told me that he wanted me to stay on bed rest for another week because my blood pressure was too high and he was worried about other possible complications. I wanted to choke the doctor when he told me that, but instead, I just cried. Damn pregnancy hormones!

Esme showed up later that afternoon, bringing the changing table that went with the baby furniture. It had been on back order and finally came in. I got up and opened the door for her and then resumed my place lying on the couch.

She came in and took at seat on the chair. "Bella, how have you been? You don't look very good. Are you feeling OK?"

"The doctor has me on bed rest," I pouted.

"I'm sorry, dear. That must be very frustrating."

"I absolutely hate it. He said he'll check me next week to see if I can be upright again, but somehow, I doubt it. I'm probably going to be stuck like this until March." I was feeling a little pitiful at that moment.

"Where is Lucy?"

I told her about having to put Lucy in daycare and about Alice helping me out in the evenings when she could, and about George and Martin coming by to help out when Alice couldn't make it. Between the three of them, they were making sure that we were fed, the laundry was done, and the house was picked up.

"Bella, you know they are going to be working on our little house up here a little longer. They finished the construction on the modifications, but they still have to replace the carpets and paint the older parts of the house. Also, we are making some changes to the basement and turning it into a laundry room and a media room. The house probably won't be completely finished until the beginning of February. If you would like, I can stay here with you and help you out while my house is being worked on."

"I wouldn't want to put you out like that. You're going to be so busy with your house. You won't want to hang out here."

Esme smiled warmly. "Actually, it would benefit me to be here. I could save money on renting a place to stay. I would be right down the road, so I could drop by the house any time they need me to, and I would be able to spend a little time with my granddaughter."

After discussing it, I finally agreed. Esme was thrilled. She retrieved her things from her hotel and moved into my guest room that same day. The first thing she did was go grocery shopping and restock the pantry. I felt bad that I couldn't help her bring in the groceries, but she assured me that she was fine.

Later that afternoon, she called Carlisle and told him about the change in plans. She also called Edward to let him know that she would not be at the hotel. If he wanted to reach her, he would have to call her cell phone or call my house. He said something to her that made her frown, and she told him, "Ok, then just leave a message on my cell phone then. I'll call you when I get the message."

After she got off the phone with him, she said, "Edward tells me that you blocked his phone number. Is that right?"

"Yes," I said in barely a whisper. "I told him to stop calling me, but he wouldn't listen. I got tired of listening to the phone ring off the hook, so I blocked his number."

"Why don't you just talk to him? The two of you have a lot to discuss."

"Every time I talk to him, I end up getting so upset that I go into labor. That's what started this mess. I talked to him at Christmas and cried myself into the hospital. I talked to him on New Year's Day and did the same thing. I just can't talk to him, Esme. It's too dangerous."

"He said the last time you spoke to him, you had Lucy tell him to cut off his genitalia," she giggled. "Somehow I doubt that's what you really said."

I smiled and told her about the conversation, what I said to Lucy, and how she relayed the message. Esme cracked up. She said that was something we needed to write down in her scrap book for funny stories of her childhood. She told me some of the funny stories she remembered from Edward's childhood. It was nice to be able to have someone to laugh and talk with. She really made me start to feel better.

Lucy loved having her Nana stay with us. When she came home from daycare, she would run into the house and say, "Mommy, I'm home. Where's Nana?"

Esme cooked all of our meals, did our laundry, cleaned and dusted the house, did the shopping, and still found time to go check on her house, manage Edward's musical career, and talk to her husband on the phone on a nightly basis. She was like Superwoman or something.

She took me to the doctor for my next visit. He told me that I would need to stay on bed rest for the duration of my pregnancy. Initially, I was upset, but Esme assured me that it was normal. Apparently she had the same problem with Edward. She jokingly stated that it was one of the reasons Edward was an only child.

On January 31st, around 11:00 pm, I got out of bed to go to the restroom. I made it all the way into the restroom before my water broke. At first, I thought I had peed on myself, but then I sat on the toilet and really peed. I dried myself off and called the doctor's office. The on call nurse told me to go to the hospital and that the doctor would meet me there.

I went in the spare bedroom and woke Esme. She shot out of bed and rushed around putting on clothes and packing a few things for me. She packed a separate bag for Lucy and carried her down to the car without waking her up. We stopped by Jasper and Alice's house to drop off Lucy on our way to the hospital. Alice was excited, but I could tell that Jasper was dead tired.

I called my dad when we got to the hospital. He said he was on his way and told me not to push until he got there. I told him that I wasn't sure I could wait four hours, but I would try. Next I called my mom and Phil. They said they would make arrangements to fly in the following day. When I called Rosalie and Emmett, I got the answering machine. I left a message and hung up.

Once I was changed into my hospital gown and settled in a room at the hospital, Esme called Carlisle. Carlisle was on duty that night, so he couldn't drop everything and head in my direction. He made Esme promise to video tape it and send it to him, so he could watch everything when he got home. That's when I noticed that she had picked up the camera and tripod.

She set the camera up so it was off to the side, out of everyone's way. She plugged it into her laptop and used the power cord so it wouldn't run out of batteries. Once everything was set up, she pressed record, and then we ignored it.

The nurse came in and introduced herself. She checked me out and confirmed that my water really did break. She strapped monitors to my belly and started a machine. The machine was picking up the baby's heart beat and my contractions. It was registering contractions, even though I really couldn't feel them. I hoped the majority of it would be like that.

The nurse asked if I had taken any childbirth classes. I told her no. She gave me a brief overview of what to expect and what I needed to do. She asked if the father was on his way. With an ache in my chest, I shook my head and said, "No, he's not coming. I'm on my own."

Esme spoke up and said, "I'm here, Bella. I'll stay with you through the entire thing."

I smiled and wiped a tear from my eye. "Thank you, Esme. I love you."

She gave me a hug. "I love you, too, dear. Now let's get this baby out. I want to hold my grandson."

The nurse checked me and found that I was only dilated 4 centimeters. She asked if I was going to want an epidural. I told her that I was fine and didn't think I needed one. Two hours later, when the contractions really started to kick in and they asked me again, I jumped on the chance. Once they had me comfortably numb, I was ready to go.

My Dad, Rosalie, and Emmett all made it to the hospital just before 4:00 in the morning. By then, I was having hellacious contractions and the doctor was telling me to push. I was sweaty and grumpy, so when my dad peeked his head in and said, "I'm here, honey. You can have the baby now," my head nearly spun all the way around.

I snarled, "It's about fucking time! What took you so damn long?"

Dad laughed and said, "I love you, too, Bells. I'll wait outside with Rosalie and Emmett."

My baby boy was born at 5:47 in the morning, on February 1st. When he came out, Esme took the camera off of the tripod and carried it over closer, but not at an angle where you could see any of my private parts.

The doctor held him up and wiped the blood and slimy white stuff from his face. "You have a beautiful baby boy."

The baby let out a cry and kicked his little feet in protest as they laid him on my stomach and cut his umbilical cord. They quickly took him away for a moment to clean him up and wrap him in a blanket. Esme followed them with the camera as they measured and weighed him.

When they brought him back to me and let me hold him, they told me that he weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces, and was 20 inches long. I checked to make sure he had all of his fingers and toes and kissed his head. I cried and held him close to me.

"What are you going to name him?" Esme asked from behind the camera.

This was something that I had been thinking about quite a bit. "I was thinking about naming him Mason Alexander. I picked it from your father's first name and my father's middle name."

She had tears in her eyes and she sat the camera back on the tripod and rushed over to give me a hug. "Thank you so much, Bella. That means so much to me."

She touched his little fingers, "Mason Alexander Cullen. That's a good name."

"Would you like to hold him?"

"I would love to." She carefully picked him up and held him up for the camera. "I would like to introduce you to my beautiful grandson, Mason Alexander Cullen."

She told the camera the time and date of his birth, his weight and length, and lifted up the little stocking cap, to show the camera his mess of crazy auburn hair. She even held up his little hands and feet, so the camera could see them.

While she was doing that, the doctor was giving me a couple of stitches and cleaning me up. I was glad that she was blocking the camera's view of me while that was happening. Once the doctor was done, the nurse let my dad, Rose, and Emmett in the room. My dad and Rose took pictures of everything and everyone holding the baby.

Alice and Jasper brought Lucy up to the hospital later that morning. At first, she was just excited to see everyone. Once she saw me holding the baby, she froze in her tracks and dropped Rat.

"Mommy, what are you doing?" She looked at me cautiously.

"I'm holding your little brother, Mason. Would you like to come up here see him?"

Lucy looked over at Esme for reassurance, while Emmett picked up the video camera. Esme held her hand and walked with her over to the side of the bed. Esme lifted her up and sat her beside me and said, "See, Lucy, that's your brother. His name is Mason."

Lucy looked up at me with wide eyes. "Mommy, did he get out of your tummy?"

"He sure did," I said. "He got out of my tummy early this morning."

She looked down at him and whispered, "It was hard work. He's still sleeping."

"Yes, he's sleeping. He'll wake up in a few minutes and be hungry, though."

Lucy asked, "Can he play with me and Kiko?

"No, honey, he's not old enough yet. Right now he is just going to eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom."

She reached out and touched his little hand. "Does he use the big girl potty?"

"No, he wears diapers."

She told him, "Mason, you gotta use the big girl potty. Only babies wear diapers."

Esme laughed and said, "Lucy, he is a baby."

She gave Esme a crazy look. "Don't talk about my brother like that! He is a big girl, like me and Mommy!"

I laughed and pointed out, "Lucy, Mason is a boy. He would have to be a big boy, not a big girl."

Lucy looked at him really closely. "Can I hold him?"

"I can put him in your lap if you promise to sit still."

She promised, so I carefully sat him in her lap and let her hold him. Everyone took tons of pictures. Lucy talked to him and sang the Sponge Bob Square Pants theme song to him while we all smiled. When he finally woke up and started to cry, I took him back to feed him.

My Dad looked dead on his feet from being up all night, so he used this as his excuse to head out. Rose and Emmett left as well. Alice and Jasper stayed behind, but stepped out of the room while the nurse showed me the proper way to breastfeed him.

Once he was situated and discreetly covered with a baby blanket, they all came back in. Lucy climbed up on the bed and peeked beneath the baby blanket. She turned to Esme and said, "Mason is biting Mommy's booby!"

That led to a discussion on breastfeeding that Jasper would have preferred not to be a part of.

While I fed Mason, Alice and Esme started making a list of all of the things that I still needed at home. I had all of the furniture and the room was set up, but I needed diapers, wipes, bottles, clothes, bibs, burp cloths, baby wash, a baby bathtub, an infant car seat, a bouncer, a swing, and some other items that they thought might be essential. They had intended to throw me a surprise baby shower the following week, but Mason jumped the gun and thwarted their plans.

Jasper took Lucy home to feed her lunch, while Esme and Alice headed out shopping. I took that opportunity to let the nurses take care of Mason for a little while so I could get some much needed sleep. I knew that I wouldn't get much after I got him home.

The pediatrician I had been taking Lucy to stopped in later that afternoon. He examined Mason and said he appeared to be a strong, healthy boy. He told me about how often Mason should be eating and we discussed how to use a breast pump when I couldn't feed him myself. We talked about supplementing with formula if I wasn't making enough milk. He also raised the question about circumcision, which kind of freaked me out. It wasn't something I'd given any thought before, and I didn't expect to have to make that decision right away.

The doctor gave me a chart that listed all of the immunizations that Mason would need and when he would need to get them. He also gave me some samples of formula and some water that was specially formulated for babies.

My obstetrician came by after the pediatrician left and talked to me about the two stitches I had down below and how to keep them clean. He explained about the hormonal changes I would be going through now that the baby was born. He told me what was considered normal in regards to my body, what I should and should not do physically, and how long it usually takes to recover from giving birth. Once he was done, he told me that he was going to sign the release papers and I could go home later that evening, as long as I had a bowel movement first.

I thought I would be able to leave out of there pretty quickly, but unfortunately my body decided not to cooperate until almost 8:30 that night, and even then it required coercing. As nasty as I'd always thought it was, prune juice quickly became my best friend. Thankfully, Esme and Alice had made it back by then with a deluxe baby car seat that doubled as a carrier, and attached to a stroller and a swing. They had already dropped the stroller and swing at the house, along with a trunk load of other supplies. Esme brought an adorable outfit for the baby to come home in and some blankets to wrap him in, while Alice held my diaper bag/purse that was fully loaded with baby stuff.

I strapped him into the carrier and let Alice carry him out, while I was wheeled out of the hospital. Esme took pictures of me leaving the hospital and Alice loading the baby into the car. She was definitely a proud grandmother.

When we got home, I saw the tons of baby things they had bought. "This is way too much. You guys shouldn't have spent all of your money on this stuff. This is way too expensive," I said as I looked at the piles of adorable baby clothes, diapers, a diaper disposal system that was supposed to eliminate the smell, two baby monitors, a baby wipe warmer, a bottle sterilizer, a variety of pacifiers, and even some baby toys.

Alice said, "The two monitors are from me and Jasper. I thought you might like one for Lucy's room too. When she gets bigger, you can put it in the play room, so you can keep an eye on her. They even have little cameras built in, so you can see and hear what's going on."

Esme added, "The carrier, car seat, swing, stroller combo was from me and Carlisle. I put the rest of the stuff on Edward's credit card. I think he can afford to spend a little money on his son."

"I'm sure this was expensive. He's going to freak out."

Esme gave me an innocent smile and said, "He can take that up with me."

We transferred Mason into his crib and started opening everything and taking the tags off. Esme washed all of the baby blankets and clothes, while Alice and I put together all of the things that needed assembly. By the time we were done and had everything cleaned up, it was late. Alice grabbed a pillow and blanket and curled up on the couch for the night, rather than make Esme drive her home. I worried that Jasper would be upset about being stuck with Lucy by himself, but Alice assured me that they were fine.

Mom and Phil arrived the following morning, just as Japer brought Lucy home. Mom loved on the baby and tried to get Lucy more excited about having a brother, but she was more excited about the baby stuff than she was about the baby himself. I was happy that she didn't really appear to be jealous of him. At first, she just ignored him, but once she started learning what his cries meant, she became a mother hen. She would run every time he made a noise and report back to me to let me know if he was hungry or if he needed a diaper change.

The second day I was home, I started working out. Luckily, I hadn't gained a lot of baby weight. The only thing that really got big was my boobs and my stomach. Once I had the baby, my stomach flattened out quite a bit. The skin was a little bit loose, but I wasn't fat. I just needed to tone up. I only had one stretch mark. It looked like the scar on Harry Potter's head, only mine was pointing at the right side of my pubic mound instead of my forehead. It was a strange thing, but it would be covered up by panties or bathing suit bottoms, so I was ok with it.

Alice had to completely change her plans for what I was going to wear to the Grammy's since I no longer had a huge belly. She picked a silver one that was strapless, except for this feather boa looking thing over one shoulder. The bodice of it appeared to have multiple layers of crisscrossing satin that went down below my hips and then the material flared out all the way to the floor. It looked like a nightmare on the hanger, but it was really quite beautiful when I had it on. It showed off the slim figure that I hadn't seen in such a long time. My goal was to get into it and not have to worry about wearing a girdle to hold my stomach in. I only had two weeks before the Grammy's, so I bought a girdle just in case.

Mom and Phil only stayed for a couple of days and then they had to get back to Florida. Esme's house was almost finished, so she stayed with me for a little while longer. I appreciated having her there, because the guest room was right next door to Mason's room. She would get up during the night and change him if he was fussy. She would even bring him in my room so I could feed him. As much as I loved my little man, I appreciated every extra moment of sleep I could get.

A/N: First of all, I want to apologize for the long delay in getting this chapter posted. Things have been a little tough in real life. I got to watch my only son graduate high school. That was a great thing! Then the very next day I learned that my ex-mother-in-law, who I used to be very close to, has cancer in her lungs, liver, bones, and spinal cord. They say that she only has a month to live.

This has been very hard news to deal with. My son is especially having a hard time with it, as can be expected. He loves his grandmother very much. At this point, I'm praying for either a miracle or mercy. If it is God's will that she goes, I hope that it is a quick and painless process and it does not drag out into a horribly long and torturous ordeal. She was always an incredible woman with a heart of gold. She deserves much better than that.