A/N...Have you guys figured out that there's an extreme calm before the storm? Hmm, yeah. So this chapter is about the doctor visit and getting to Aunt Kate's, but it's also about just our little family. A moment of peace before leaving their home. It was a runaway chapter for me, once again, but it mixed in with my timeline very well.
I'll let you guys get to it. Remember, no one but Esme knows about the pregnancy outside of Bella and Edward. Let's see if that lasts, huh? ;)
CHAPTER 18
BELLA
"Because that's how I said it's fucking going to go!" Edward snapped, running a hand through his hair. "We will join you in Alaska in two fucking days. Not even that – maybe a day and a half."
I winced, because he was protecting me. I needed to see the doctor before we went to Aunt Kate's, but he wasn't explaining why we would be late to Carlisle and Eleazar, who had acquired a private flight for everyone to go and wanted Edward to fly as an escort over them once they landed.
"Hey," I sighed, and Edward's head snapped around to look at me. "Easy, Edward." I turned to El and Carlisle. "If we leave in the morning, instead of now, then Edward and I can fly over Walter's cabin to get those pictures for you. And I promised Esme that I'd see my regular doctor about my back before we left," I lied smoothly.
Edward smirked, hiding it well even as he glared over at the two men, but he didn't say anything.
"But you're okay, right, sweetheart?" Carlisle verified, his eyes changing from harsh and frustrated, to warm and worried.
"I'm fine, but I promised her, Carlisle," I urged, pouring on the begging face. "Otherwise, you can explain to her why I didn't do as she asked."
"Oh, hell, no," he chuckled, finally holding up his hands in surrender.
"I just didn't want you guys to worry, so I asked Edward to keep it between us. He was only doing what I asked of him. But in all reality, it works out for the better, because we can get those pics for you before we get there," I explained, shrugging one shoulder. "Besides, I need to get Bethy ready for this trip, Poppy."
"You," Carlisle growled playfully, pointing a finger at me, "don't play fair."
"And you will have America's Most Deadly around you," I giggled back at him. "I think you'll be okay from the airport to the farm."
"I just don't Walter and these assholes from Texas to have too much time to get comfortable, Bella," Carlisle explained. "They think Thornhill passed through the border a few days ago."
"I know," I soothed him, "but if we give them this window of opportunity, then we'll catch that much more on Edward's camera when we finally fly over. Don't you think?"
Carlisle made a noise somewhere between a scoff and a growl. He wasn't angry; I knew him well enough to know that. He was on the same page with Edward and me, just wanting all this shit over before they had a chance to finish whatever little fucked up plans they started.
Eleazar sighed, a smile playing on his face. "I, for one, am not fighting my sister on this shit," he snickered, shaking his head at our laughter. "Not a chance in hell. And I'd rather have you ship-shape when we go anyway," he muttered, and my eyes shot to Edward, who flinched and locked eyes with me briefly.
I knew they all assumed – aside from Esme – that I'd be right by Edward's side when they took that cabin, and I really wasn't sure how they'd react when I told them I was leading the info team instead. As much as I wanted to fight fucking hard right by my husband's side, I had Bethy to consider and now my new little one on the way if something went wrong. The closer we got to leaving for Alaska, the better Edward's suggestion of letting El and Carlisle finish it all sounded. I was terrified to let Edward out of my sight.
Eleazar turned to Edward, saying, "Fine, no more than two days. It's not the escort from the airport I'm worried about; it's the leaving the three of you behind unprotected, because we're sealing your place up when we leave. I need the men that have been stationed here."
Edward nodded, a dip appearing between his eyebrows. "We'll be okay. It seems they aren't willing to come to us again anyway." He glanced up at me, and then to his dad. "If we finish early, we'll call in and head your way immediately."
Carlisle considered it, looking from me to Edward and back again. His brow furrowed, but he nodded, walking to the door of the office and opening it to reveal everyone that had been avoiding the small blowup now standing in my yard, waiting. They had all scattered to the four winds once Edward and his dad had started yelling. They wanted no part of it. Personally, neither gruff, cranky men scared me.
"Load 'em up, and move 'em out," he ordered, not looking back.
People scattered in several directions, tearing down the temporary tent, packing up weapons and duffel bags, and loading computer equipment into the backs of Eleazar's SUVs. The headquarters that my home had become was being dismantled.
"Sweetness, you ready?" Edward asked softly in my ear. "We can pack when we get back from the doctor."
I nodded, clearing my throat. "Yeah, let's get Bethy, and we'll go."
We were taking Bethy with us, because I just couldn't stand the thought of seeing her leave with her grandparents. I couldn't do it. I had practically made myself sick with the decision, finally giving in to what I wanted. She was too vulnerable, too clingy to me and Edward for me to send her on a fucking plane without us. I took solace in the fact that the doctor's office had a small play area for her, and that she loved flying with Edward. Otherwise, I would have waited for the examination until after Alaska altogether.
We found our daughter talking poor Uncle Alec's head off, while Esme looked on in amusement in our kitchen as Bethy ate a bowl of oatmeal.
"I can't wait to see if Aunt Kate has any new puppies and see the pigs and sheep and chickens. And I hope Goliaff hasn't missed me," she said, the last part making Edward chuckle softly behind me, because he adored Goliath, the gorgeous black horse that won me over instantly with his funny personality.
"Pretty girl," I chuckled, smiling when her head spun around. "Go get your shoes. We need to get going, so we can get back and pack up, okay?"
"We're not going wiff Gamma?"
"No, little sweetness," Edward told her, scooping her up off the stool. "We're meeting them at Aunt Kate's, but we have to run an errand first. I'm flying us there when we're done."
"And I'm your co-pilot," she stated with a thumb to her chest, which made me want to squeeze them both half to death.
"Always, baby," he chuckled, bending her upside down so that he could kiss her neck loudly. She was squealing mess by the time he brought her back up, her face crimson and happy. "Go. Get. Shoes," he growled playfully at her.
She giggled, pushing at his shoulders until he set her on her bare feet, and I could hear them slapping the hard floors all the way down the hallway.
"God, I love that kid," Alec laughed, shaking his head and setting his coffee cup down. "I guess we'll see you up there. Fly safe, kid," he said, slapping Edward on the shoulder. "You too, Bellissima," he said with a kiss to my cheek, before joining the packing crew outside.
I looked to Esme. "I need to give you fair warning... We kinda threw you under the bus with Carlisle. I told him that you said I had to see my doctor about my back before we left, so that's why we're going to be a day or so late getting up there."
She laughed, setting Bethy's breakfast bowl in the sink. "I'm sure he didn't argue."
"Uh, no," Edward and I said at the same time.
"See? Well, then, whatever works," she chuckled. "I can take the heat, guys." She knelt down when Bethy reappeared, bright yellow Chucks in hand. "Come love on me, sweet one. I've got to go."
"Love you," Bethy sang, giggling when Esme smooched and tickled her at the same time.
"Come here, baby," I said, picking her up and setting her on the edge of the counter. "Nice match, pretty girl," I chuckled, holding up the yellow sneakers, because they matched with her bright yellow floral shirt and the rubber bands at the ends of her braids.
I pushed her jeans up, tugging on her socks and shoes, tying them tight. By the time I was done, Edward had pulled on a jacket and was handing me my nine mil.
"Really?" I asked, tucking it into the small of my back, concealed by my jacket.
"Nowhere without it, love," he reminded gently. "I meant it."
I nodded, setting Bethy down onto the floor. "I can't imagine that I need to shoot anyone at the doctor's office," I muttered, which caused Edward to chuckle.
The drive into Seattle was quiet. Bethy babbled about things she could see out the window. We'd bought her one of those DVD players, but it just wasn't her thing. She liked real, she liked shit that she could see, and she liked anything her parents were doing, even if that was just listening to the radio.
"She's recognizing every day words now," I chuckled, looking back at her with pride as Bethy pointed out fast food restaurants, stop signs, and billboards.
"She knew the numbers to the hotel rooms Lilith was keeping you in," he said with a laugh. "Nothing shocks me anymore."
I grinned, looking over at him as he pulled into the parking lot of my doctor's office. "Ready for this again?" I giggled.
"Oh God, so ready, baby," he groaned, turning off the engine, his face almost pained as he carefully placed his hand over my stomach, leaning across the SUV's console and kissing my lips softly.
He pressed his forehead to mine, and I locked eyes with deep, loving green. Edward had so much love to give that adding to his family just about made him insanely happy.
"Come on, handsome," I sighed softly, giving his lips a quick kiss. "Let's go get poked and prodded."
"Isn't that what got you here?" he asked wickedly, his mouth curling up into a naughty ass smile.
I laughed and shoved him away, opening my door. "As a matter of fact, yes!"
His deep, sexy laugh barely stopped as he unbuckled our daughter from her car seat and set her down onto the asphalt. She took both our hands, and Edward held the door for us as we walked into the waiting room.
He and Bethy took a seat while I walked up to the desk to sign in. The nurse behind the counter looked like someone had stunned her, and my eyebrows shot up high when I realized it was my husband that had her completely mesmerized. It was something I was used to, because he was absolutely gorgeous, without a doubt. Add the little sweet clone on his lap, and he created fodder for fantasizing females everywhere. I understood it. In fact, I couldn't blame them.
The beautiful part was that all the credit went to Edward. He was completely and utterly ignorant to every stare, every gasp, every bite on a bottom lip, every roaming eye that took in his entire being, and every groan that he had the ability to bring out in women. His whole world was me and the little chatterbox on his lap, and anything outside of that just wasn't important to him.
That being said, that didn't mean that these women didn't...try. I'd seen waitresses slip him phone numbers, cashiers drop every penny in their hand so they could show off their cleavage, and don't get me started on what his mere presence could do when he worked out at a hotel gym – something I'd almost put an end to the last time we took a trip. One poor girl just about fell off the fucking treadmill as he lifted weights in the corner. He was innocently deadly, and that just made him all the more attractive.
I glanced back to the chairs, seeing what the nurse saw, and sighed, because he was just breathtaking. Wearing black jeans, a white, untucked button down, and a black leather jacket, he spoke quietly with Bethy, keeping her occupied and happy. But it was more than that. It was the tug on her braid, the deep chuckle she evoked out of him, or the poke to her little tummy. And it absolutely was the stunning, happy, panty dampening smile that he wore.
I turned back to the nurse, noting that her name was Mindy. She was looking at him differently than most women; she looked at him like she knew him. I cleared my throat, sliding the clipboard I'd signed back to her. Mindy's eyes shot to mine, her cheeks reddening at having been caught staring. She was a very pretty woman, about my own age, with long, light brown hair.
She glanced down at my name, her face paling at the sight of it. "Have a seat, M-Mrs. Cullen," she whispered, a sweat breaking out on her forehead. "We'll call you when we're ready."
I pursed my lips, tilting my head at her, because her eyes shot back to Edward briefly. "Do you know him?" I asked, not upset about it, because I was secure enough to know where Edward's heart lay.
"Once," she said, but shook her head. "A long time ago."
She greeted the next patient, a woman with a little boy, who Bethy was already making friends with, and I smiled when she ran off to the small play area with him. My daughter wasn't shy. At all.
Mindy shot another glance our way as Edward draped an arm around my shoulders and placed a hand on my leg when I took a seat next to him. I frowned, folding my arms across my chest, shaking my head.
I knew of Edward's past with women. In fact, we'd run into a few since we'd been married. Two had been pretty cool, with an "it's all in the past" type of attitude. One had been angry at the sight of him, because he'd jilted her pretty badly. This one was different.
"What's this?" Edward asked, rubbing at the dip between my brows.
"Do you know her?" I blurted out suddenly, turning my head to him.
His eyebrows shot up, and his head turned toward the front desk as Mindy spoke on the phone, his eyes narrowing in on her. Usually when he ran into past lovers, his face would take on a look of guilt and regret. This time, his face darkened, his brow furrowed, and his jaw clenched.
"Yes. Mindy Ryals."
"Where?" I asked, trying not to let jealousy take over, because my mouth could not be reined in when my hormones were this out of control.
"Forks High, though I'd heard she went to UW," he sighed, gazing back at me, but his eyes were dark, almost angry. "She..." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You remember when we first met...my stutter. It was so bad then, worse because my mom had just died, I think."
I nodded, relaxing a bit, because this wasn't a past lover. This was something else.
"When I first started at Forks, they made fun of the way I talked," he said softly, sounding hurt and vulnerable, and suddenly, I needed to kick someone's ass over it. He nonchalantly pointed toward Mindy. "She was a part of the main group that did it."
"Oh ho," I sang, smirking up at him. "Well, she may regret that now."
"Don't fucking care," he grunted softly with a frown, giving a glance over to where Bethy was playing with building blocks with the little boy. He turned back to me, saying, "Once the speech therapy started to work, Mindy changed her mind."
"Okay, let me see if I can put this shit together," I said gruffly, cupping his still upset face. "You're thirteen, lonely, and stuttering. Your mom just died, your dad moved you to a whole new place, school, and life, but they didn't bother to see any of that. They fucking made fun of you instead," I sneered, my eyes glaring back at the front desk.
Edward smirked, kissing my forehead. "Easy, sweetness. I'm over it now. No need to go all protective about it."
"Wait," I sang, holding up my hand. "You also probably shot up about four inches overnight, the stutter disappeared, and Mindy over there suddenly thinks you're damn cute."
Edward chuckled, his cheeks tinging a touch pink, but nodded his head. "Yeah, that's about right, smart ass."
Laughing softly at his name calling, I kissed his cheek. "Well, she got it all backwards. It's the sweet boy with the stutter that I was falling for in my tree house," I huffed, folding my arms across my chest again.
His eyes warmed as he brushed a stray hair off of my face. "And I love you for it, baby," he purred in my ear, leaving an over too soon kiss to my neck.
"Her loss," I growled low, glaring up at her and leaning into the nuzzling he was giving my neck. "Maybe I will be shooting someone at the doctor's office."
Edward snorted into a deep laugh, not removing his lips from my skin, and he immediately reached back to my gun and took it from me. He stowed it quickly – so quickly, I wasn't sure if anyone even saw the movement – in his jacket pocket.
"Just in case," he said, raising a sexy ass eyebrow at me. "Maybe hormones and heavy weaponry isn't a good combo for you right now."
I giggled, looking up when another nurse called my name from the doorway to the examination rooms. I turned back to Edward. "I don't need a gun, Edward," I whispered to him, raising my own eyebrow up at him.
He hummed sexily, dragging his tongue across his bottom lip, his eyes darkening again. "And as sexy as that thought is, love, she's not worthy of your anger. Go," he said, jerking his chin toward the door. "I'll be back there in a second. Let me grab the little social butterfly over there."
I chuckled, glancing at my daughter, who was knocking over a block tower with her little friend. "We'll have to figure out how to distract her, you know."
"Yes, ma'am," he said, standing and still chuckling a bit.
With one last glance back at my handsome husband now talking to our daughter, I followed the nurse through the doorway.
~oOo~
EDWARD
"Let her sleep, baby," Bella whispered as I scooped Bethy up out of her car seat and gently cradled her to my neck, carrying her into the house.
It had been a long day, but a good one, despite the run in at the doctor's office with Mindy, who I'd thoroughly ignored. Bella had guessed correctly, though I'm sure at first she thought the girl to be some past one night stand. Fuck that shit. Mindy had been mean when I'd first moved to Forks, but as I grew and my stutter faded, she had pursued me. Luckily, I had left for military school some time around my junior year. However, seeing her at the doctor's office only proved one thing to me; the only girl that had ever seen through the awkward, stuttering boy was the one that was currently my wife. Bella had accepted me then, and she accepted me now. That's all that fucking mattered to me. Ever.
After Bella's appointment, where the doctor said everything looked just perfect, we drove back to Forks to stop off at the pharmacy to pick up Bella's prescriptions. Then the girls wanted to just...be. It had been so long that they'd just been able to be girls and shop, or stop off to eat ice cream, that I couldn't say no. Bella wanted to get Bethy a few things for Alaska, and I felt safe in the small town. They were safe with me – that was a fucking fact. And I loved showing off my girls; I had no shame in admitting it.
I tagged along, pretending to hate it, but really loving just watching them. They both wore big smiles as they picked up books, clothes, and more furniture for Bethy's dollhouse, the latter of which I was informed needed to be loaded onto the chopper to make the trip, or life just couldn't go on.
There weren't many shops, but I was pretty sure we saw all of them, including the diner when my wife's stomach growled like an angry bear, much to mine and Bethy's amusement.
By the time we made it home, my daughter was what Uncle Emmett would say as "down for the count." She was so asleep, she didn't even wake up when I yanked her socks and shoes off, tugged on her pajamas, and tucked her into bed.
I walked back into the kitchen to see Bella sorting clothes, already dressed for bed in one of my shirts, and I was sure she was getting some things ready to pack, but I didn't care.
"Enough, sweetness," I whispered, taking my t-shirt out of her hands and setting it back down in the laundry basket. "Packing can be done in the morning. I'll help you," I told her, leading her out onto the front porch and settling her against me on the swing.
"You have the chopper to get ready tomorrow, Edward," she protested, but her head still fell to my shoulder.
I smiled, kissing the top of her head. "I can do both. I'm a big, strong boy, Bella."
She giggled, but finally said, "Okay."
I shifted us around, laying down and pulling her on top of me, keeping a foot on the floor to push us. I honestly thought she'd fallen asleep, but she finally lifted her head to look at me.
"It's really quiet," she said softly, her nose wrinkling.
I nodded, tucking her hair behind her ear. "With everyone gone...yeah." I sighed in contentment for the first time in a long time, tracing my fingers across her eyebrow, down her nose, and along her bottom lip. "You're so fucking beautiful, baby. I swear it hurts to look at you sometimes."
She smiled a placating smile, but said, "Thank you, Edward. You know, you're not so bad yourself." It was always her answer back to me.
I chuckled at her, running my hands up and down her sides, avoiding that bruise on her back. She leaned up, kissing me sweetly. And as much as I wanted to just ravish her right there on our front porch, I held back. I knew she was tired, and her occasional winces today told me she was plenty sore, but I just wanted to enjoy the first true alone time we'd had in what seemed to be ages.
"Did you think Mindy was..." I started, but she cut me off.
"Yeah," she laughed, setting her chin on my chest. "I sure did. Well, until I watched your face when you saw her, and then I knew she was something else to you." Her nose wrinkled adorably, her eyes with a faraway look glazing over them. "God, I don't get it. I mean, I remember you back then. You were funny and smart, sweet, and so very shy." She sighed deeply. "Kids can be so cruel. Jake and I never put up with that shit."
"You accept people as they are, love," I said with a shrug, thinking of her immediate acceptance of Sam, specifically, but in all reality, it probably came from her father, Charlie. He and my dad had been friends their whole lives, and they didn't put with bullshit, either. "Some kids don't. I think I turned out okay," I teased with a laugh.
"Better than okay," she huffed, rolling her eyes. "Even if you still stuttered all the time, I'd still love you," she crooned, kissing my nose. "At least I didn't shoot her," she giggled.
"At least," I chuckled. "It was touch and go there for a minute. I wasn't so sure I could stop you."
She grinned, biting her bottom lip and shrugging one shoulder. She was quiet for a minute, but finally whispered, "Thank you for today. I know you were hating it..."
"Nah, not hating it," I told her, grinning at her. "It's been so...crazy lately. It was fun to watch you two relax, even if it was only for a day."
Bella yawned widely, and I chuckled, sitting up with her. "Bed, baby. It'll be a long day tomorrow."
She nodded, not even protesting when I scooped her up and carried her back into the house.
~oOo~
It was methodical, my process for getting the chopper ready. I made sure I went over the same fucking steps, every fucking time. I fueled her up, storing extra weapons and ammo in her cargo hold, and I did a gauge check, making sure that everything read as it should. I needed Alice before we took off for whatever flight plan she'd worked out for me, but I was up way before any normal person should be.
My sleep was for shit, because the house was too fucking quiet without everyone there. I'd gotten used to the guards that paced my property and stood sentry at the front gate. If this shit was all over, and Lilith and Walter were no longer a threat, I probably would've slept like a baby wrapped around my wife, but they were still a threat, and I didn't sleep.
It gave me time to get my shit done – checking the chopper and shutting up my place – before trying to help Bella pack when she got up. I knew she was still achy, because I felt her tension in her sleep. I also knew that packing for two adults and one child for an undetermined amount of time was trying, at best – not to mention taking care of Bethy at the same time, getting her ready to go.
By the time the sun was starting to peek up over the trees, the chopper was ready, Gravity's office was completely locked down, and the motion sensors were back in full operation, because even though we wouldn't be here, I didn't want any-fucking-body trespassing. It was the same process I used to use when I'd leave for a mission with my dad.
With one last look around, I snatched off my baseball cap and ran a rough hand through my hair, only to pull the hat back on before walking into the house to the smell of breakfast and coffee.
"Elizabeth Renee!" Bella sighed exasperatedly. "We're not taking every toy you own to Alaska."
"I need these!" Bethy countered, looking forlorn, but fucking determined.
I had to chuckle, because my daughter was just as stubborn as her mother, and there was a stand off in the kitchen. In fact, they pretty much were standing exactly the same way, though Bethy had an armload of toys in her hands.
"You don't need them, Bethy," Bella groaned, flipping the eggs in the pan. "You need breakfast and a bath and to pick three toys to take with you. That's it. And that includes, Mr. Bunny!" she yelled as Bethy started to storm off.
Bethy knew that Bella was the final word, and to watch the dynamic between the two was hilarious, but I could also see that my wife was extremely frustrated.
I caught Bethy in the living room, stopping her. "Hey, little sweetness. What's wrong?" I asked, kneeling in front of her.
"Mommy won't let me take my stuff," she growled, her brow furrowing, causing the most adorable dip between her brows.
"All this?" I chuckled, gesturing to her hands. "That's a lot of stuff."
"I need it, Daddy," she argued fiercely.
"Well," I mused, rubbing my chin. "I'm pretty sure you won't have time for all of this. You'll be busy with Mr. Tom and the animals. Not to mention that Aunt Kate probably has some things for you." Bethy's face of belligerence started to melt at the mention of the farm. "And I don't think the chopper will lift off with all of this...and your dollhouse."
That did it. I watched her face as she mulled it over. She was getting her dollhouse, which was already loaded, and she knew Aunt Kate always had something special waiting on her every time we visited, but the chopper was a different story. She took the rules, the things I told her to do very seriously.
She shifted on her little bare feet, looking down at the items in her arms and back up to me. Her hair was wavy due to the braids the day before, and she still had pillow imprints on her face, but her eyes were dark with concern. There were times I just couldn't tell her no. This was no different.
"I tell you what," I whispered, leaning closer to her. "We won't count the dollhouse as one, so besides Mr. Bunny, what two other toys do you want?"
She looked back toward the kitchen, like Bella would catch us any second. "Coloring books and my cars."
I smiled, shaking my head, because my sweet little girl was a tomboy to her very bones. "Fine, coloring books and cars, it is. Go put those two things on your bed so they can get packed, but put the rest of this stuff back in your toy box. Then, little soldier, you need breakfast and a bath," I grunted the last line to her, because she needed to know this was important.
"Yes, sir," she giggled.
"Come see me when you've put all that up. We'll eat with Mommy, okay?" I said, keeping the commanding tone to my voice.
"Yes, sir," she laughed, practically running back to her room.
I looked up to see Bella leaning in the archway of the living room, a smirk playing on her face and spatula in hand. "You're shameless with her. You know that?"
"Hush, woman," I growled playfully at her, smacking her ass at the same time. "I'm starving."
"Well, then, get your ass in the kitchen," she countered with a laugh and an eye roll.
I chuckled, taking a stool at the counter and looking up at her when she leaned in to kiss my cheek.
"Thank you," she sighed. "I wasn't sure how much longer I could tell her no, either."
"I figured," I snickered, taking the cup of coffee she was handing me. "I almost hid them all in the storage compartment," I admitted with a laugh. "She kills me with the face sometimes. Your face, I might add."
Bella grinned, making me a plate and setting it in front of me. "I'm not so sure that it's not a face all her own. She uses it brilliantly."
She set another plate for Bethy when she ran back into the kitchen. I set her up on the stool next to mine.
"Eat, baby," I told her. "We've got lots to do before we leave."
"'Kay, Daddy."
I took Bethy off my wife's hands, letting her pack us in peace. Once bags were packed and loaded, showers and bubble baths were over, and everyone was dressed, I set the alarm and locked the front door. Bella was strapping Bethy into the co-pilot seat when I approached.
I grinned at them both, because Bethy was wearing her little cap – backwards, of course – and Bella was putting the little headset over her ears. God, I loved them both with a sickness, which only had increased and expanded in order to include the new addition my wife was carrying.
I pulled myself up into the pilot seat, tugging my own headset on and pulling out my phone. Alice had been kind enough to send me my flight plan, including the roundabout we were taking over Walter's new hideout. Flipping switches, I called my flight in, getting clearance to take off.
I glanced back to make sure Bella was strapped in and the door was closed, and over at Bethy, noting that the theme was pink today – pink shirt, pink hat, and pink Chucks, of course.
"Ready, ladies?" I asked into the headset as the blades picked up speed.
Bethy kicked her feet just a bit, saying, "Yes, Daddy."
I turned to Bella. "Sweetness?"
"Yes, Edward," she sighed, fighting her smile. "Let's just...get this over."
Her answer told me everything. This next stage was making her so nervous, she could barely contain it – her hormones not withstanding. I didn't know how to make this any better, either, because I knew I was needed for this next stage. There was no possible way around it; I commanded the ground assaults, something the crew depended on. I also knew that the thought of staying behind was killing Bella, because she, like me, liked to be in control when it came to missions such as this, and we worked flawlessly as a team. Breaking that up seemed wrong, until I looked down at Bethy. I couldn't let anything happen to my unborn child, and if this went terribly wrong, Bethy needed one of her parents to be there for her. It was something Bella and I had agreed upon immediately, but it just didn't make this shit any easier. In fact, it made it fucking harder.
I frowned, guiding us up and over our house. I needed to focus on this mission, I needed to make sure my crew and myself came back in one piece, and I needed to stop these motherfuckers before innocent people got hurt. I just hoped the information we were about to grab would help us do that.
~oOo~
BELLA
"Okay, Alice," I said, making sure everything was plugged in, "I'm up and running. Tell me what you need."
"How far are you?"
"About five minutes from the coordinates that you gave me," Edward answered over the radio.
"All right, I'm taking over your laptop now, Bells," Alice stated, and I could hear her typing like mad.
I looked out over the terrain that was below us, hardly able to make out much, because the sun was about to go completely down. We weren't far from the Alaska/Canada border, so there wasn't much more than trees, low mountains, and more fucking trees. On the screen of my computer was a different story. The ground below came to life in a split screen. On the left was thermal, and on the right was night vision.
I huffed a laugh when wildlife started to appear. They showed up as running deer or foraging bears, but they were there, despite the fact that the only thing below me was darkness. I also saw a few scattered dwellings down below. They glowed red as heat sources or bright green through the night vision, but they popped out on the screen right in front of me.
"Thirty seconds, pixie," Edward advised.
"On it, on it, on it," she chanted, mainly to herself, because I could see her taking over my computer screen by remote access. She started the recording process, not only for the two windows up, but for a satellite image she was logged into, as well.
"Jesus, Ali," I chuckled. "Why don't you just launch one of the military's bombs at them and be done with it?"
"Do not think that I haven't considered it. The algorithm is not that hard to break," she growled over the radio, and I could imagine her rolling her eyes at just how simple something like that would be for her.
"For you," Edward chuckled deeply, echoing my thoughts, now taking it slow over the land below us.
"Can we be seen?" I asked, gazing down out the window again, my stomach twisting just a bit.
"Yeah, but Alice put us out here with enough traffic that they can't distinguish plane from chopper," he said proudly. "We're high enough that they can't tell. And...I'm not sure they're that smart. Honestly."
I laughed softly. "So even if they knew we were over them, they couldn't do anything about it?"
"Exactly," he agreed, giving me a wry smile when he turned around briefly. "The setting sun will hide us, if any of them remember it from the train station, and the cameras don't need to be all that close in order to get the details we need."
My eyebrows shot up, but I took him for his word. Between his knowledge of flying and Alice's genius about the damn cameras, I just sat back in my seat and let them do what it was that they did best – stalk people. I smirked to myself at that last thought, but turned back to the cameras when Alice gasped.
"Shit, shit, shit," she sighed, zooming in with the night vision camera. "Oh boy, this will be a treat."
"Talk to me, Alice," I heard Edward's voice, but I was pretty sure I could hear Carlisle in the background.
"Bella, can you see this?" she asked, not answering him right away.
I leaned in, narrowing my eyes on the picture in front of me, only to widen them again. "Damn it," I breathed to myself, well aware that my daughter could hear me over the radio, but I couldn't help it. "Trenches...freshly dug ones, from what I can tell. There are...two, no three gun turrets, a perimeter fence, and they've cleared trees out from the last satellite image we saw."
Edward sighed heavily, but didn't say anything about what was below us. "Tell me when you've got enough, Alice. I want to head your way...and soon."
"Give me one more pass, please, Edward," she begged. "I just want to see this place from the opposite angle."
"You got it," he grunted, banking slightly.
"That's an awful lot of work done in a short amount of time," I murmured, turning to the thermal image, my eyes widening. "Two men per turret, guards pacing on every side fence, both inside of it and out, and several men in the woods," I noted aloud, not really thinking someone was listening to me. "You'll have to come in from every side with stealth, and you'll need more than just guns – maybe grenades. There's an outlying building that seems to be holding just as many in it as the main cabin..."
"I'll get us a number when you get here," Alice stated firmly, but her voice sounded tight. "You're done, Edward. I've got all I need. You can head in."
Edward poked Bethy, who grinned up at him, singing, "Ten-four, Aunt Alice!"
Alice giggled, joined by a bunch of chuckles over the radio. "Thank you, baby girl. See you soon."
"Okay!" Bethy said, gripping her seat when her dad banked a little harder this time, which caused my stomach to plummet, and then do flip flops.
Everyone met us as we gently touched down, waiting patiently near the front porch as Edward shut the engine down. Once the blades had stopped, he unbuckled Bethy, and then hopped down to slide the door open for me. However, one look at my face, and he knew.
"Oh, my poor girl," he crooned softly, gliding the backs of his fingers down my face, his eyes warm and sweet. "Sick?"
"I'll be okay," I sighed, squeezing my eyes shut tightly for just a moment and trying my damnedest to not throw up.
Edward chuckled in sympathy. "I'm sorry, sweetness," he whispered, kissing my forehead as I sat on the edge of my seat. "Maybe if your feet are on solid ground?"
"Uh huh," I said with a nod, and he carefully set me down onto the helipad, keeping a strong arm around me. I wobbled briefly, breathing deep the cool night air and feeling my head clear some. "Thanks," I sighed, leaning into him for just a moment.
"Anytime, love, but brace yourself," he warned as everyone approached us. "They'll figure it out soon, if you're not careful."
"I know," I snickered, gazing up at him and tugging on a curl that had escaped his baseball cap. "You need a haircut."
He grinned. "I'm sure Aunt Kate will help me out."
"Me next, Daddy," Bethy said from behind us as she stood in the bay door.
"Sure, little sweetness," he told her, swinging her down to the ground as she squealed.
"Elizabeth Renee, come see me!" Aunt Kate called, kneeling down as Bethy rushed to her. "Look at you! You've grown since Christmas!"
"Poppy calls me a weed," Bethy told her, and Carlisle laughed, shaking his head.
"Well, you certainly grow like the ones around here, that's for sure," Aunt Kate chuckled, standing up with Bethy still in her arms. "Edward Anthony, I need my hug, handsome. And you need a haircut."
I laughed, along with everyone else, because we adored how she treated Edward, like he was still thirteen and her own son.
He blushed, but kissed and hugged her anyway, saying, "It's good to see you, Aunt Kate."
"I'm glad," she huffed, rolling her eyes up to his. "I'm craving that pot roast of yours, you know. It's been too long." He laughed when she shoved him away, opening her arms for me. "Bella-child, you look a little peaked. Everything okay?"
"I banked too fast on the way here, Aunt Kate," Edward said, saving me from lying to her. "I didn't warn her."
"Ah, crazy piloting skills," she teased him with narrowed eyes as I giggled and kissed her cheek. "Well, come in," she sang, tickling Bethy's tummy. "Let's get you settled back in."
Edward stopped, turning to Emmett. "There's extra weapons in the storage bay if we need them. So just add them to your inventory, okay?"
"Yeah, got it, Ed," Emmett grunted with a nod. "I saw those recon photos. We're in for a helluva fight," he muttered, his usually happy face now grim. "Your dad and El are bringing in extra help again. They've already made the calls."
"Good," Edward grunted with a single nod, but he tugged off his hat and ran his hand through his hair. "We'll need it."
"No work yet!" Aunt Kate scolded. "Let me feed you first, Edward!"
Edward chuckled, shaking his head. "Yes, ma'am," he sang, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as we all slowly made our way to the house. He kissed my temple, and then bent to my ear. "Hanging in there, baby?"
I nodded, sighing with relief that my stomach had stopped doing somersaults. "Solid ground," I stated.
"Good girl," he crooned, kissing my temple again.
Aunt Kate may have wanted a break from business, but she didn't get it for long. The dinner table was loud and boisterous, topics ranging from strategy, to weather, from how grateful Mickey was to be home with Obie, back to strategy again.
Bethy sat contentedly on my lap, coloring as the conversation warred around her. I twirled a lock of her hair around my finger, letting her sweet hum soothe me. Alice was quiet, off in her own binary world at the end of the table, but I knew my friend well enough to recognize the worry on her face when I saw it as her eyes barely left the screen in front her. Carlisle, Alec, Eleazar, and Edward were discussing the next steps.
"My men have set up outside," Eleazar stated, "but I don't think we'll have much problem here. We'll be able to plan more when Alice is finished evaluating those videos and the rest of the men get here."
"Spike's already in the air," Carlisle added with a nod. "He'll be here by morning. The Cauldwell brothers will be later in the afternoon."
I smiled at the mention of Ned and Harry, the two brothers that had helped out the last time. They were funny and really good with weapons. Spike was amazing with stealth, so I was glad those three were joining us.
"What about Benny and Wes?" Alec asked, leaning around Emmett to look at Eleazar.
"They can't get away," El answered with a shrug. "This isn't in their jurisdiction, and they caught a case just before we left. I can't hold it against them. They've done too much for us as it is. I do have a crew on standby, just in case."
"Let's see," Jasper sighed, looking around the table. "Ned, Harry, and Spike added to the rest of us..." he mused aloud. "How many in your standby crew?" he asked Eleazar.
"Two or three," he replied, sipping his coffee.
"That's fifteen or twenty...give or take, with Felix, Eric, and the boys outside," Jasper stated with a nod. "We could do five teams of four... El, you could take a high spot with me..."
I flinched again, because I could see by the numbers he was counting me in, and it wasn't going to happen that way. They needed to plan accordingly.
"Don't count me, Jasper. I'm running the info team here," I stated, and the table came to standstill.
"You're not going?" Mickey gasped, her mouth hanging open.
Edward's warm hand landed gently on my leg underneath the table, giving it a soothing squeeze. We knew this would take some convincing, and I wasn't sure they'd take whatever made up excuse I threw at them, but I was going to try.
"I'm not going to the cabin," I stated a little more firmly this time with a shake of my head.
They all started arguing at one time, voices raising in volume. Esme's face was the only passive one in the crowd. My girls looked like I'd slapped them – especially Rose, who was watching me with narrowed eyes as she fed Caleb a bottle. Convincing her would be the most difficult. Jasper, Emmett, Alec, and Sam almost looked hurt, like I was betraying them in some way, but it was Carlisle that stopped the chaos.
"Enough!" he yelled, making Bethy jump and look up at him, and Caleb squirm in Rose's embrace. "Sorry, baby girl," he sighed, looking sheepishly at her, and then Rose. "You, too, Rose." He turned his fiery gaze back to me. "We need you out there, Bella. I need that gun of yours. You don't miss, sweetheart."
"Yeah," Emmett chimed in. "You and Mick can get in those small spaces... How can you not go?"
"We figured that without Benny and Wes, Bella could be better here," Edward intervened, but Alice piped up.
"I'm counting seventy-five to a hundred warm bodies on this video," she stated loudly, but we all turned to her. "I've also got a semi truck with a full trailer on that property that we missed with the first fly over, so if they want to ship something, they're damn well going to be able to move it in that. Four gun turrets, not three. The trenches are scattered throughout the property, and they're all manned...heavily."
Tension suddenly filled the room to overflowing, because she wasn't even close to being finished yet.
"The road up there is a simple one lane dirt road, overgrown with trees... How they got that semi up there, I'll never know," she muttered, her eyes never leaving the screen, until she spun the laptop around, freezing an image. "Two buildings, ten large tents, and two bird nests on either side of the property that are big enough for four men to lay in wait." She sighed heavily, looking around to each of us.
Carlisle got up and started pacing. "It's set up with military precision. This group knows what they're doing. These men have seen action, been trained for combat. Look at those trenches..." He gazed at the screen for a long time.
I looked over Bethy's head at the screen, and then around the table, my eyes finally landing on my husband. This wouldn't be just a simple mission. These men were prepared to fight for whatever it was that they planned to do. Walter and Lilith had finally surrounded themselves with people that knew what they were doing, and it was quite possible that someone at this table wouldn't come back.
"Jesus," I breathed, my lips against Bethy's hair, inhaling the sweet scent of her shampoo, because my worst fear was coming to fruition.
However, that just seemed to spur the planning back into gear. Plates were cleared away, and pages of blank paper were filled with sketches and lists. Teams were mapped out, and I saw that my name still made the list.
My hand came down onto the table. "I said I wasn't going!" I snapped, glaring at them.
The only person that moved was Esme. She walked around the table, holding her hands out for my daughter. "Bethy, let's go, sweet one. It's time to get you ready for bed."
"But I want..." Bethy started to protest, but before she could even voice the words, Edward spun in his chair to take her face gently in his hands.
"We'll tuck you in, little sweetness. I promise," he soothed her. "Just give us a few minutes, okay? You can put a movie in until we get there."
She puckered her lips for a kiss from her, and he gladly gave it and an extra one to her forehead. "Okay, Daddy."
You could've heard a pin drop at the silence that followed Esme's and Bethy's exit of the room. I could feel my temper rising to the surface, because they weren't listening. Fuck, it wasn't that I didn't want to go, but I just couldn't chance it.
"I said no, Carlisle," I finally whispered, locking eyes with him. "I'm working here," I said, pointing a finger to the tabletop.
"God, I could really use you and Jasper in one of those nests," Eleazar muttered, still staring at the screen. "With rifles in your hands, you could take out half the population of that place..."
"How hurt are you?" Carlisle asked suddenly, his eyes narrowing on me.
"I'm fine," I sighed, finally getting up from the table. "Edward's right, though. Without Benny and Wes, you're going to need more than Alice, Rose, and Makenna. You're going to need someone to watch the video feeds, monitor the radio, and make sure you're not on top of one another. You'll need someone else to follow the thermal satellite images. Another someone will have to be at the ready for any info you may need. My girls are damn good, but with me, they're better."
"Come on, Bells," Jasper chuckled, shaking his head. "You've never backed down from a fight. You're not lettin' a little ole bruise hold ya back, are ya?"
I knew he was teasing, and I'm sure that Edward did, too, but my husband couldn't just stand by and watch them badger me.
"Enough! She's not going!" he growled, bringing his hand down onto the table.
"Well, fuck, there goes my team partner," Mickey sighed, sitting back in her chair and folding her arms across her chest. She looked hurt, like I was abandoning her.
"Mick, no," I breathed, shaking my head. "I want to go. I just can't."
"Well, I want to know why," Rose suddenly stated, tilting her head at me. "You would walk to hell and back in order to protect this crew. I want to know why you won't this time."
"It's not won't..." I started, but squeezed my eyes closed, starting to lose a grip on my emotions, because they weren't going to accept anything but the truth.
I finally opened my eyes to find Edward gazing up at me, a grimace on his face, but his eyes so very warm, because he knew I was about to do something I wasn't ready for.
"No choice, baby," I whispered.
He nodded, shooting me a wink. "I know, love. It'll be okay."
As simple as those three words were, I believed him. How could I not? He always made everything okay. It seemed so damn early to tell them, because the little one inside of me was only the size of a "bean," as the doctor described him...or her. Anything could go wrong at this point, but wasn't that the point of not fighting?
With a deep sigh, I glanced around the room, bracing my hands on the table. "It's not that I don't want to fight. I can't go..." I cried, finally losing a grip on my emotions. "I'm pregnant."
Edward gathered me to him, pulling me onto his lap. He ignored the deafening silence, and then the sudden explosion of voices, making me look only at him. "Shh, sweetness," he soothed, his voice only meant for my ears. "It's okay that they know, love." He wiped away my tears and tucked my hair behind my ears. "I know it's early, but the doctor said things looked perfect. That you're right on track and your vitals were strong, baby." I pulled his forehead to mine, nodding against him, but he went on. "I know you're scared, Bella. I see it when you look at me. Please don't worry. Please? For me?"
"I can't promise that, Edward," I sniffled, "but I couldn't lie to them, either."
He smiled, kissing me softly, but bending to my ear. "It'll be fine. Please don't cry, love."
"I told you to watch out for the freak outs," I sniffled and chuckled at the same time.
"Damn hormones," he teased softly, and we both looked up when Carlisle cleared his throat, the room quiet again.
He was fighting his smile, and doing a damn good job, because he almost looked pissed as he shook his head. "Guess that settles it. You won't be going."
Knowing he was just about to explode with pride, I groaned dramatically, rolling my eyes. "That's what I've been trying to tell you!"
It seemed everyone was waiting on Carlisle to crack, because as soon as the big, wide, pride-filled grin spread over his face, the whole table broke into celebration.
I was pulled from Edward by several different pairs of hands. I was hugged and kissed and congratulated, and suddenly, the tension in the room seemed to lift. They'd needed this news. They needed something good in the middle of all this fucked up bullshit. And as I looked around at Emmett, Jasper, Sam, and Alec, and then to my girls, and finally to Edward, I realized they now had something to fight for. They'd done it before – fought like lions to get me and Bethy back – but things had become hard, tedious, and now daunting as the next fight loomed over us. These people's lives had been turned upside down – some, like Mickey, hadn't been home in months. Hell, baby Caleb had barely seen his own home since he'd arrived. My announcement gave them a new focus, something worth kicking ass for – getting me and Edward and everyone else home safely, and revenge for ever having touched us to begin with.
It was why Edward and I couldn't walk away from this mission, either. The commitment, the loyalty that sat around the table was breathtaking. They were all willing to continue until the end. No matter what.
It seemed all of it combined was what kept us going – punishment for taking me and Bethy, anger over the disruption of our lives, and the sense of honor that came with knowing that we just damn well needed to stop this group of people before innocents got hurt. And I knew that as I looked around the table, these people – my family and friends – were smart, brave, strong, and the best of the best. I huffed a laugh to myself, thinking that if Walter didn't know what was coming for him before...he'd never see this shit coming.
Familiar, warm arms wrapped around me, and Edward pulled me to him. "Come, love. Let's go tuck in our girl."
Wanting every possible minute I could get with Edward and Bethy, I nodded and smiled. "Yeah," I agreed, leaning into his kiss to my temple. "Besides, I imagine the real planning starts in the morning."
"Don't care," he growled huskily in my ear as he guided me down the hallway toward our room. "Right now, I just want time with my girls. All the other shit can wait."
I smirked up at him, because again, we seemed to be on the same wave length when it came to our thoughts. I leaned in, kissing his neck just below his ear, purring, "Yes, sir."
A/N...God, I love Aunt Kate...she's a hoot. Seriously. Okay, so we have our players in the game, we have the secret out, and we have a plan to make, which will be coming up in the next chapter.
Again...calm before the storm. That's all I can say, though I will give the next chapter an angst warning. Just saying. It picks up right where this one left off...and it's planning and preparation for separation. Got me? And I know you're missing teases on Twitter, but I can't tease some of this stuff...it'll give too much away.
I really need to thank JenRar for beta'ing this thing, because I don't always follow my outline...WHEN I have an outline. Lol I need to thank GooberLou for pre-reading, who's bracing herself for things yet to come, and who wanted Bella to shoot Mindy in the doctor's office without shame. :D A big thank you to MedusaInNY for my blog, because I forget about that thing, until I email myself. LMAO
The next chapter is done, so Sunday is looking good for the next posting. I know that will make you happy. I know you are all anxiously awaiting the fight. It's coming, make no mistake about that. So let me know what you're thinking. Until Sunday, later! :)