I don't. Stephenie does.
Chapter 20
Bella
Six weeks later.
"Madre..." A pushing force was felt on my shoulder, but I couldn't decipher whether it was real or not. "Madre... wake up..." This time I noticed a voice that went along with the nudging. "Madre, pleeeease..." My eyes fluttered open and focused on the empty mattress beside me. I quietly sighed - I hated it when Edward was called away for work. But that wasn't why I woke up, and the nudging on my shoulder hadn't stopped. I twisted 'round, pulling the cover with me. Cooper was standing in his Hulk pyjamas, his hair messed from sleep and Tony Bear was shoved under one arm.
"Are you okay, Coop?"
He shuffled on the spot and chewed on his plump, lower lip. "Can I sleep wiv' you?" He mumbled. "I ha' a bad dream and I don' like sleeping wiv'out my Padre." He rubbed his eye hard with the heel of his hand. The sleepier he was, the worse the mumbling got, I barely understood the little boy. I could never say no to him, especially if he had had a nightmare.
"C'mon, Sweetie.". I pushed Edward's pillow back to his side of the bed, and allowed Cooper to crawl into the middle, then settled himself in my arms. I swept back his hair and covered us both with the sheet in a way to comfort him.
"Do you want to talk about your bad dream?" I asked.
"Um..." His tiny voice whispered into the silence of the room, "s'just that... s'just that... someone broke in 'nd took 'vrything wiv' 'em... Was real scary." Even at 30 years old, I still feel weak and fragile after having a bad dream - they are things that will always get you, no matter how young or old you are.
"That sounds horrible, Coop." I kissed the back of his head. "But remember, it's only a dream and you're perfectly safe here." I'd give myself to the Devil if it meant my children were out of harms way; I hope he knew that.
"But Padre's no here - I awways feel safe when he's here." That statement didn't upset me; I know he loves me very much, but if Coop was told to go to me or go to Edward, he'd pick Edward every time. The two have a very special bond, one I'll never fully understand.
"You're just as safe with me, Cooper. I'd never let anything hurt you. And remember, Dad is back in three days, and he isn't far away - he's only on the Puget. Practically a stones' throw away."
Although Edward specializes in all animals within various habitats, etc., his main research sits around marine animals, and whenever a quest is made to do with anything from the tiniest fish to the largest whale, Edward is often offered the trip. It's seldom he accepts them, however, but the company didn't give him an option with his current one. In the last couple decades there has been a recession in the number of species found in the Puget Sound. This time, they are focusing mainly on the Orca whales that often visit, and how the population has increased or decreased.
When he left for his trip, Cooper and I did what we always did - we went wild and broke all the rules! (with exception). This time, I thought it would be fun to watch Free Willy with the kids - the Twins loved Willy and squealed out their 'dya-dya-dya-dya!'s. We're not sure what it means, but Edward boasts that they are saying 'dada'.
As we watched the film, Cooper asked whether Edward would be doing things like Jesse does.
"I doubt it, Coop; Dad's not training them, he's making sure they don't get into trouble and counting the number of them."
"But that's what Jesse does!" He proclaimed, "he looks after Willy more than the park people, and he makes sure Willy gets lots-a-lots-a stinky fish!"
"Well then, yes, in that case I guess you could say he's doing the same thing."
Ten minutes later, Coop was glued to the screen when Willy's tank burst and everyone ran to save the whale. "I bet my Padre would be well good if that happened..."
And then at the end of the film, the famous scene when Jesse runs down a stone ledge and Willy jumps over him, Cooper suddenly burst into a fit of giggles, frightening the life out of a sleeping Flash.
"What is so funny?" I couldn't help but laugh either.
"'Magine if...'magine if..." He managed to control his hysterics. "'Magine if Padre had to save the whales from evil buttheads and all you saw was him running (real badly, 'cause, y'know, he can't run,) an' then aaaall these Orcas jumping over him!"
I had to admit, the image was quite funny. "If we hear a large splash, we'll know what's happened."
"Yeah! Or he fell in!" That was the end of Cooper - his own comment had him roll onto his back and kick his feet as giggles erupted from his tiny body.
Poor Edward, he wasn't even there to defend himself.
"I 'fink my Padre should stay with land animals..." A sly grin crossed his face, "... then he can bring me back all the pythons!"
0-0
I had the coffee freshly brewed, the Twins were down for a nap Cooper was enjoying the rare February sun. It was a Saturday which meant no school, no nursery and the weekend off work. With Edward due to return on Monday I wanted to make sure the house looked presentable for when he came home - with three children and various animals to look after all on my own I had found it increasingly difficult to catch up with the work load.
The pots from last nights' dinner had been scrubbed, a fresh load of laundry had been hung out to dry and the set before that were just previously ironed. With a basket full of clean clothes, I hiked up the stairs to put them away.
Cooper had said that he wanted to be the 'man of the house' when Edward was away and wanted to put away his own laundry. I left his pile on the floor by his door for when he came inside. Next were all the various onesies, dresses, dungarees and tees for the Twins. Thankfully they had fallen asleep in their crib downstairs, so I didn't have to keep quiet on entering their room.
Both Ellie and Marco have their own changing station/chest of drawers; both were made from sleek white wood however the changing mat on top was either pink or blue. It was as I was putting Ellie's dresses in her drawer that I came across the pink outfit we had brought her home in. I lay each item out side-by-side and a sudden wave of emotion hit. It was crazy to think that the baby who wore the flowery dress on the left was too small to fit the tiny onesie on the right only 11 months ago. My babies were growing far too quickly and I didn't like that one bit.
They were already babbling semi-words and could stand unaided for a few seconds. Before I knew it they'd be walking unaided and even running! Of course I was thrilled that they were following each milestone smoothly, but they'd never be my tiny babies again. My tiny babies who needed assistance with absolutely everything.
I felt happy, sad and, most of all, I felt extremely broody. How I longed for that chance again, to feel my baby kick, to bring it into this world and teach them the way of life from scratch.
Edward and I had briefly mentioned the idea of having another baby, but he never gave me a serious answer and, from what I understood, he'd prefer to wait until the Twins were older before we tried again.
But I didn't want to wait - I secretly prayed that the condom split or my pill didn't do its' job properly and that I could pee on a stick and see that pink plus sign. Of course I wouldn't 'forget' to take my pill, or shove a tack through the foil of a condom because that's just selfish and not fair on Edward, but we were definitely having this conversation again. Soon.
0-0
"Madre! Doorbell!"
"Can you answer it please, Coop?"
"I can't! I'm eatin' ma s'ghetti O's!"
Of course, nothing comes in between him and his spaghetti O's...
I hastily washed my hand and drip-dried them on my way down the stairs. Flash was dancing in front of the door and Cooper was happily sitting at the dining table, kicking his tiny feet and eating his lunch. The doorbell rang again seconds before I go to it.
"I'm coming..." I told them.
"Bell! It's me!" The chirpy tone to my future sister-in-law spoke through the door, and on opening it, I saw her standing there, weighed down with various folders and rolls of paper sticking from her armpits. "I hope you're not busy, Bell-hole, 'cause we have some serious work to do!"
"What are you...?"
"If I'm not mistaken it's, what, four months until your wedding?" Oh holy crap, it is... "And it's going to take me at least three months to get your dress made. So we better get started, don't you think?"
"Hey, Auntie Alice!" Cooper bounded over with a ring of tomato sauce lining his lips. I tried to rub it off with my thumb, but he batted my hand away with stern eyes.
"How you doing, Sweetheart?"
"Fine! Wanna come see my new pet?"
"I will do when I'm finished with Bella, okay baby?"
Cooper shrugged, "okay... and, Auntie Alice, I'm no actually a baby..."
"Of course your not; you're a big boy."
Coop puffed out his shoulders and made himself look that tiny bit taller, "I'm the man of the house when Padre's not here so I'm practically a man! (but... y'know, I don't have a wiener like him...)"
"Okay...!" I steered him out of the conversation and in direction to the back door. "I have some special planning with Auntie Alice - can you go and play with Pepper Potts and come and get me if you need me, right?"
"Oui oui, Mama!"
0-0
I stared in shock at the pile of stuff she loaded onto my coffee table - I don't know where that tape measure came from, or the various scraps of fabric, but I hope she cleaned them first. Honestly, my table was covered with paper, charts, fabric, ribbons, a tape measure, pens, pencils, rulers, scissors and a book of The Complete Guide to Dress Making. I love my sister, and I have seen the work she's produced, but I am only walking down that aisle once and I expect this dress to be perfect.
Alice went to work measuring every inch of me, including parts that didn't matter, but what did I know about dress making? Exactly - nothing.
For an hour we went over the style and how I wanted it to sit, what colour (if any) to include and whether it was ribbon-tied at the back or zip up.
We spoke about every possibility and, after the Twins awoke, they joined us in the decision making. The only interruption came from Edward giving me his daily afternoon phone call.
"Say 'hi' to Daddy!" I held the phone in front of the Twins and encouraged their mumbles.
"Daaaaa!" Sang Marco as he batted the phone with his hand.
"Hi baby boy, I miss you!"
"Aaaala-la-la-laaa!" Ellie interrupted as if to say that she wanted the attention too.
Edward laughed along with Alice and I, "Of course I miss you too, pumpkin."
"How was your day?" I asked, "Finished your work yet?"
Maybe then he could be home this evening... one could dream, anyway.
"We're almost there, but we have to wait 'til tomorrow to get the readings for part of it. But don't worry, baby - Monday morning and I'll be back home."
Hearing him say that made me miss him more - we hadn't been apart in so long, that it took its toll. "Good, because I'm getting sick and tired of waking up alone."
"Trust me, waking up to a picture of you four doesn't do it justice."
I brushed back the Twin's hair in turn and kissed the back of their heads. "We had a Lazy Saturday this morning - Coop misses you something crazy."
"The feeling is entirely mutual. Is he around? I'd love to speak to him before I have to get back."
"Sure. Hang on a second." Alice took Ellie and Marco from me before I scooted outside to see Cooper mid-game. He had his Iron Man mask and gloves on and sheltered his bunny to his chest. "Coop." I called out to him.
"See who it is please, Jarvis."
"Absolutely, Sir." He mumbled in his best British accent. "It's Madre, Sir."
"Ask her what she wants."
If it wasn't for that fact that I knew he was playing two separate characters within the one character, I would have been rather concerned for his mental wellbeing.
"Mr. Stark would like to know what you want, Miss."
"Um... his Dad is on the phone."
The game was forgotten about, the gloves were thrown off and Cooper raced over the grab the phone. "Hi Padre!... Sorry, yeah, I was playing Iron Man...Cool! Hang on a second, Padre..." Cooper turned around to face me, "do you need something Madre? We're try'na have a man chat."
That put me in my place.
"Give me the cell back when you're done then, okay?"
He rolled his eyes and walked away, happily talking to his father.
0-0
"So," Alice forgot all about dress planning and slapped her knees in excitement. "How are things going? I feel like we never talk anymore!"
"Alice... you phone us every Sunday evening..."
She swatted that info away, "well... yeah... but we don't talk about the good stuff! So, tell me, Bells... you getting your needs met?"
I felt the blush take over my face. "I mean... sure... perhaps not as much as we hope... but..."
Alice gasped, "I am so glad we had this conversation! Bella, a healthy relationship consists of 2 things: sex... and more sex. We have a serious problem on our hands and I am willing to help you two out."
I couldn't quite believe what I was hearing - Alice was wanting to help in her brother's sex life. I don't have a brother or sister, but I sure as hell would not get involved in their bedroom business.
"How are you going to do that?"
She shrugged, "I'll babysit or something - I know how kids can be one massive cock block. But if Lottie wants her brother or sister, she's gonna need to give mommy and daddy some alone time."
And back to the baby talk.
"Are you having another baby?"
"It's a possibility; Jazz and I would like another, we just don't know when the best time would be. How about you two? Did the Twins cause too much damage?"
I squirmed at the memory. It wasn't an easy recovery.
The Twins were busy playing with their toys on the floor and I took their distraction to my advantage.
"I would like another..." I finally replied, "perhaps another girl to keep them even... but it's Edward I need to convince first."
Alice clapped her hand close to her chest and squealed, "that's so exciting! Oh, my goodness! Imagine if we were both pregnant at the same time!"
The second those words came out of her mouth, two things happened.
Cooper walked into the room, eyes wide at what he just heard and said: "Madre, you having another baby?!"
He then put the phone back to his ear and said: "Padre why didn't you tell me Madre was pregnant!"
Aw crap, here we go again.
0-0
You can never have a simple conversation with Coop in the room... *giggles*.
We just celebrated 2 birthdays! (not in the story) to see what Cooper got up to, then go onto Facebook and follow his group page, Cooper Troopers Working of Fate, and for the Twins' birthday, go to my group page - RosieRathbone FanFiction.
Thoughts?
Another future bambino, yay or nay?
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