Thanks for being patient once again. I've provided a nice long chapter with some fluff and fun. It's a filler, but that's how life goes. i hope you enjoy. And i just had my birthday so some reviews would be splendid!!

Please please please visit me over at !! I need lots of love over there! And there is lots of awesoem fics and authors there with me so I suggest you go check it out!

I don't own Twilight!

Time flies by, even when you're not exactly having fun.

I wasn't having fun waiting for Victoria to show up at any moment. But three weeks flew by before I even knew it. Unfortunately for me, the class I was supposed to teach at the community college got canceled, limiting our source of income. But it was also a blessing in disguise, because it would have been awful to be stuck in a stuffy classroom in the hottest part of the summer. I was already uncomfortable enough most of the time, being in the middle of my eighth month. I also didn't mind not having any other obligations. I could relax and I spend all my time with either the Cullens or with Charlie.

I had finally managed to get Charlie out of Billy's house and back to our own. We started to really focus on getting him back to normal. He attended physical therapy almost every other day now and practiced around the house. He was making great progress. He could eat by himself, shower, and move around short distances in the house with the help of a cane. We weren't sure of how his speech was progressing until I sat down and told him Edward was back. After recovering from the shock he had done a bit of yelling.

"WHAT?" Charlie had yelled in a slurred tone. The one side of his mouth drooped slightly as he struggled for coherency.

"Dad, calm down…" I had tried to say.

"No, Bella…you…listen…I…don't…want…him…near…you."

I was happy to see him improving but at the same time I was angry,

"Dad, I'm a grown woman. You can't tell me what to do anymore. He never meant to hurt me or leave me. You have to understand, it's all better now. Trust me."

He looked down at his lap and grumbled, not being able to argue with my logic.

"I…still…don't…trust…him," he managed in a series of grunting.

I sat down next to him on the couch where he had been and took his hand.

"I know you don't, Dad. But trust me. I know what I'm doing." I hoped I did.

He sat there silently for a moment and just looked down at our hands. He finally nodded and squeezed my hand gently. Then he grunted and picked up the remote, turning on his game.

I padded over to the kitchen to start cooking dinner. As I gathered the ingredients for whole grain lasagna, I smiled to myself. Edward was coming over after dinner, and I couldn't wait to see him. This was one of the rare days that we hadn't spent together, since he needed to go hunting, and I needed to chauffer Charlie from place to place. The baby must have felt my heart speed up when I thought about Edward and began kicking. I rubbed the spot where I had felt it and smiled.

"I bet this lasagna smells good, huh little girl?"

She kicked me again as if to reply yes.

"Well I agree with you, this all smells fantastic." I had been craving lasagna and warm garlic bread for days now.

I pulled the finished product from the over and served it onto plates for Charlie and me. Then I carried the steaming masses into the dining room since Charlie preferred to eat there nowadays. I practically inhaled my dinner and slurped down the iced green tea I had recently become addicted to and cleared our plates. My dad mumbled a thank you to me and became a zombie again.

Just as I was done washing the last of the dishes, the doorbell rang. I dropped the plate into the sudsy water and waddled to the door as fast as I could, which wasn't very fast at all. When I reached it, I swung the door open to find my own personal miracle waiting for me. I just stared at his gorgeous face, trying to memorize it. A piece of bronze hair fell over his butterscotch eyes and his mouth was turned up in my favorite crooked smile.

"I missed you," I barely whispered so that only he could hear.

He took my hands and pulled me close to him and kissed my forehead. His cool breath felt good against my skin and I shivered.

"I couldn't go another second without you," he said softly.

I blushed and stepped back to let him inside. As I shut the door behind him, Charlie looked up and took notice. He scowled and turned back to the television.

"Good evening, sir," Edward said politely despite Charlie's rude behavior. Charlie just nodded and gave a small grunt without even looking at Edward.

I gave Edward an apologetic look but he just shrugged. I took his hand and led him toward the stairs. I waddled up the stairs with Edward's hands on my waist for security. My large and heavy tummy did not make my already clumsy habits any easier.

Once in my room, Edward shut the door behind us as I flopped down onto my bed. Carlisle had instructed me to rest and keep off my feet as much as possible since I was so close to my due date. The constant kicking I felt was proof of that.

Edward was watching me as I felt the tiny kicks against my palms. I couldn't believe that in mere weeks I would be a mother. It was so hard to believe that I would have the responsibility of another life in my hands. I had only just begun to take that into consideration. I had been in a haze for so long that I hadn't contemplated much of anything. Not only was I not mentally ready, but I wasn't physically ready either. I had done almost nothing to prepare for the baby's arrival. I had no clothes, no furniture, no toys, or anything that I needed for my little girl. Nothing had been important to me without Edward in my life. How quickly that had changed.

Edward had sat down beside me and wrapped a cool arm around my shoulders, drawing me to his side. I leaned my head on his shoulder and kissed his smooth neck.

He kissed the top of my head and said, "Are you ready to be a mother?"

I sighed. "No I really am not. I'm so scared."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I have no idea how to be a mother. I'm so afraid I'll mess up somehow. I'm only just pulling my life together."

He squeezed me gently. "Bella, I will be here for you so long as you wish it. I will gladly help you in any way you need me to, as will my family. We are behind you no matter what. And if you do not wish for us to be involved in your daughter's life, then so be it."

I pulled away to look at him. His expression was serious and slightly solemn.

"Edward, I want you to be a part of my daughter's life always. I already trust you with my life, so I know I can trust you with hers. No child will be safer. She will have her own guardians."

He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Yes, but what about her knowing what we are. She could be frightened of us, or even tell others. There are so many possibilities."

I stroked his cool cheek. "Well, we could teach her. And Alice will be able to see her future, so we'd know if something was going to happen."

He captured my hand and held it against his face. "But what about you, Bella? You do plan to stay human and raise her, right?"

I bit my lip. I knew what I wanted, but I had completely thought it out yet. Rosalie had planted the idea in my head and now it just wouldn't go away. And if I was to become a vampire, then it would have to be relatively soon, since I was getting older by the second. I knew there would be some difficult consequences though.

Edward saw my hesitation at his question and his face became serious once more.

"Bella you can't. Think of your child."

I scowled. "I have Edward. I've thought about this. I want to be with you forever, that much hasn't changed. I am still young. And Rosalie said she and the rest of your family would take care of my baby while I was a newborn. It is very possible."

Edward took both of my hands in his and moved so he was facing me head on.

"Bella, it just isn't feasible. You will not be able to raise a human child as a vampire. It is not possible. It would be years before you could see your daughter again. I won't let you sacrifice anything for me, nor will I take your soul and condemn you to this life. You have to understand and do what's best for your daughter. You need to be a human for her. She needs her human mother."

I turned away from his piercing gaze. He made me seem so cruel and selfish. I wanted both him and my daughter. Was there a happy medium?

"Edward you wouldn't be stealing my soul. You can't know that."

"No it's not certain, but it is possible. I'm not willing to take that chance Bella. Not with you."

I knew it was impossible to argue with him. We were at an impasse once more, only this time he had the upper side of the argument since I was pregnant. Edward must have seen my obvious disappointment and pulled me close to him.

"I love you, Bella," he whispered in my ear. "Your baby needs you though, more than I do."

"But I need you. I love you Edward. I've lost you once and I don't think I could bare it again."

"You won't lose me. I will never leave you. It was the biggest mistake of my eternity and I will never be able to make up for the time I was gone. I am so sorry."

I buried my face in his chest. "Just stay with me."

"I can do that."

We were still for a moment, just relaxing in the moment. I could still feel the tension hanging in the air, but I ignored it for now. There would be time to argue about my future later. I didn't want to push the subject just now.

Our silence was broken by a loud buzzing noise. I felt Edward's phone vibrate in his pocket. He groaned as he saw who was calling and flicked open the phone.

"What is it, Alice?"

I could hear her high pitched voice coming from the earpiece. She was chirping away excitedly into Edward's ear. He chuckled at her words and replied, "You might want to ask her about that," as he looked down at me.

"Ask me what?" I was morbidly curious now.

"Here, talk to her," he said as he handed me the sleek silver phone.

"Hi Bella!"

I rolled my eyes. "Hi Alice, what's the deal?"

"Well," she said cheerfully, "I know you have been busy taking care of Charlie and all, but Bella, you have a baby that's due in a short amount of time! You don't have anything ready!"

I sighed. "Yes I know Alice. I'm going to take care of it very soon."

"Well you don't have to. I already did!"

"You did what?" I didn't like where this was heading.

"I took the liberty of doing some shopping for you. I got clothes, toys, books, supplies, a crib, a changing table…"

"Whoa stop right there, Alice. You got me a crib?!" My jaw went slack from shock.

"Well of course I did. I had it especially made. And I also have some options for paint colors and such since you just have to let me design the nursery."

I groaned inwardly. I should have seen this coming.

"Pretty please, Bella. You have to let me do this for my almost-niece."

"Your almost-niece?"

"Well the baby will practically be my niece. She has to call me Auntie Alice, at least."

I laughed. "Of course she can, Alice. I'm sure you will spoil her rotten."

She giggled. "You know I will! Okay so I will be over in a few minutes with all the things I bought. I can't wait to show you!"

And with that she hung up. I passed the phone back to Edward and glared at him.

"Couldn't you have at least warned me about this?" I asked him.

He smiled at me and said, "Do you really think that would have made a difference? This is Alice we are talking about."

I crossed my arms and pouted anyway. I didn't like being surprised. Edward laughed at my expression and stood up. He held his hands out to me and I let him pull me into a standing position. He crushed me against him for a long moment and then kissed me gently on the lips, sending shivers down my spine. Then his head perked up as if he heard a noise.

"What is it?" I asked.

He smiled wickedly. "Alice is here."

I groaned and he kissed the top of my head. "C'mon, love, let's go see what mayhem she has in store. You know she means well."

I sighed. "Yes I know. But it's always too much."

He chuckled. "Well that's Alice for you."

I rolled my eyes at that. It was completely true, but I still loved her to death.

He took my hand and led me out the door and down the stairs just in time to answer the impertinent knocking coming from the front door.

I pulled the door open to find an impatient but excited Alice standing with her arms full of shopping bags overflowing with baby items.

"Oh Alice, you didn't."

"Oh yes I completely did. And this isn't even half of it. There's plenty more in the car. Edward, please go get as many bags as you can carry. Where should I take this Bella?"

I glared at Edward as he slipped past Alice to go out to her car. "You can take it upstairs to the spare bedroom. There shouldn't be much stuff in there."

"Okay, lead the way then Bella. Oh, hi Charlie!"

Charlie was just watching all this with a slack jaw. He gave Alice as much of a smile as he could since only half of his face cooperated at the moment. Charlie just adored Alice.

I made my way up the stairs once more, clinging to railing for dear life. I liked it better when I had Edward to help me. I managed to make it to the top in one piece and led Alice down the hall to the spare bedroom. There wasn't much in there, just a single bed and a small chest of drawers. Charlie never really had guests that stayed the night so the room was never in use.

Alice let out a small gasp when she saw it. "Oh Bella, it is just perfect! I love working with a blank canvas. I can already picture it in my mind!"

I knew it was already too late to stop her but I could try.

"Alice, I don't even know how long I'll be living here to need a full scale nursery. I was just going to keep it low key."

She set down what she was holding and swung around to face me with her hands perched on her tiny waist.

"Bella, that is completely beside the point. The point is that the baby will be living here for some time. Do you know how important the nursery is? It can have a huge effect on the baby. That's why you need soft colors and comforting images. It's soothing."

I knew I wasn't going to win this but I was stubborn. "But it's just wasting money," I whined.

She rolled her eyes and grinned. She knew she had me. "I have plenty of money to waste Bella."

I sighed. "But it's so much stuff."

"Ha, this plus what Edward is bringing up is only half of what I bought. The other half is going to my house. The baby needs a nursery there too since you're always over and because…" she let her sentence trail off.

"Because why?" I asked, morbidly curious now.

She shrugged. "Well my visions show several possibilities in the future. I just want to be prepared for any of them."

"Oh," I said softly. "Will you tell me?"

"Well they're just possibilities. And I don't think you should let them affect your decisions just now. So no I'm not going to tell you. Plus, I don't think Edward would want me to."

"Is that really necessary, Alice?" I turned around to see Edward behind me with his arms full of boxes. "Why even mention it?"

I scowled at him while Alice said, "She has a right to know that they exist, Edward. You can't protect her from everything."

"I also don't like being treated like a child," I said to both of them.

There was an awkward silence for a moment while we all stared at each other. I was about to say something more when Alice started unpacking items and opening boxes.

"Edward can you get that bed out of here for me? And then set up the crib when you're done?"

He nodded. "Bella, where do you want me to put the bed?"

I paused for a moment. "Disassemble it and put it in the attic I guess. I can't think of anything else to do with it."

Then he blurred and the bed was in pieces on the floor. I had to blink a few times to even take it in. He put the smaller pieces into an empty box and carried the large ones in two separate trips to the attic.

"Alice, what about the drawers?" I asked.

She pondered for a moment. "I suppose it can stay, at least for now. It doesn't clash too much and it never hurts to have room for more clothes."

Edward had returned and was quickly assembling the new crib while Alice was taping paint samples to the wall. I just stood there with nothing to do. Edward noticed this and disappeared for a moment, only to bring me back a chair.

"Sit," he said. "You need all the rest you can get."

I didn't get to protest because he went right back to work finishing the crib and starting on the next piece of furniture: a mahogany changing table.

Alice turned and faced me. "I didn't get a rocking chair since you have one in your room. I figured you'd want to use that instead. And which color do you like? I already know what it's going to be, but I thought you would still like to have a say."

"How thoughtful of you," I said somewhat sarcastically. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"Well," she continued, "We have three shades of yellow, a light green, lavender, and a light pink. Esme liked the pink and the pale yellow and I prefer the bright yellow. What do you think?"

I looked over all the colors. Yes I was having a girl but I wasn't feeling the pink or the lavender. I liked the green because it reminded me of the outdoors, but my favorite was the soft yellow. It wasn't too bright or too pale and made me think of sunshine and smiles. And even though it was much too light to bear resemblance, the yellow still made me think of the golden color of Edward's eyes. Anything yellow or gold did. I couldn't help it.

"I like the sunshine yellow," I declared.

Alice smiled. "I knew you would. I would paint the entire room now, but I don't want to make it seem like we're going too fast. I don't want to do it all in one day anyway. That's not any fun."

I rolled my eyes. "Only you find this fun, Alice."

She pouted her bottom lip. "Not true, Esme adores this kind of stuff. She helped me design the room. And she went shopping with me to pick out clothes. Look in those bags to your right."

I reached into the bag and pulled out a little pink dress with bows and everything. My poor baby should not have to suffer too many ruffles and lace. But the next article of clothing I pulled out was a small white nightgown that was the softest thing I had ever felt. I rubbed it against my cheek and imagined my little girl in it. Tears formed inexplicably in my eyes as the feelings overwhelmed me. Stupid hormones.

Edward was at my side in an instant. "What's the matter, love?"

I wiped away a tear that threatened to overflow. "Nothing, it's just overwhelming. I'm going to be in charge of a little life. It's more tangible with all this stuff in front of me and in my hands. I'm scared."

He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my cheek. "It's going to be okay, Bella. We're all here to help you. I know you'll be an amazing mother. You have nothing to fear."

Alice crouched in front of me and took my hands. "He's actually right. You have us. We're your support system and babysitting service. And no matter what the future brings, everything will be fine. I know that much."

I squeezed her cold hand in gratitude and turned to plant a kiss on Edward's cheek but got his lips instead. Heat traveled from my lips all the way down to my toes. The baby decided to make her little self known and began kicking me like crazy. Alice laid her hands flat on my belly and felt the little pounding.

I turned to watch her as she talked to my baby. "Hello little girl, I'm your Auntie Alice. Just wait, I'm going to spoil you and buy you the prettiest clothes and be the best aunt ever."

"How about the best godmother too?" I said with a smile.

Alice's entire face lit up. My decision was an easy, but spontaneous one, so there was no way she could have seen it coming. Nothing is better than surprising Alice.

"Really?!" she exclaimed as she started bouncing up and down.

I laughed and said, "Yes of course. There's no one else I would rather have as her godmother."

Alice squealed and pressed her ear against my tummy. "Hear that sweetheart? I get to be your godmother!"

Edward kissed me on the cheek again and I let out a large yawn. I hadn't realized how much time had gone by and it had been a long day.

"I think it's someone's bed time," Edward whispered.

"It's not that late," I countered. But it was completely contradicted another yawn that escaped my mouth.

"That's okay; I'll be back tomorrow to work on your room. I need to go over some details with Esme anyway and spend some quality time with my husband," Alice said as she got up to gather her things.

"And I have to leave with her for appearances, but I'll be back in a few minutes, love," Edward said as he helped me up from the chair.

"That's okay," I said, "I have to get Charlie settled and take a shower."

I followed Edward and Alice downstairs and to the front door to see them go. Charlie raised his hand in a feeble goodbye as they walked out the door. Edward kissed me quickly and left, taking my heart with him.

Charlie was already half asleep on the couch so I grabbed a blanket to cover him and watched as he dozed off with the television still on. I rolled my eyes and turned it off, giving Charlie a swift kiss on the forehead in passing.

I took a hot shower, relishing the feeling of the heat against my cold skin. When I was done, I rubbed my hair with the towel so it wasn't so wet and changed into a big tee shirt and comfy pajama pants with an elastic waist.

When I got to my room, I found my rocking chair occupied by a Greek god. He sat perfectly still with his eyes closed. I went up and sat on his lap, planting a kiss on his cool neck. He smiled and wrapped his arms around me as I curled up against him. We sat in comfortable silence. I was drifting off when he said,

"I love you, Bella. And I will play whatever role you want me to in your child's life."

I turned so he could see my face. "Well you're the only one I would ever want to be the father of my baby. Her biological father is gone forever, so there is no one I would want more than for you to be her father. That is, if you want to?"

I saw a look of surprise and shock flash across his feature. "Bella…are…are you sure? I don't know anything about being a…a father. I don't think I would be any good at it."

He was nervous. I smiled. "Well I don't really know anything about being a mother nor do I know if I'll be any good at it. I know as much as you do."

He looked skeptical. "I'm not sure Bella. I'm not sure it would be safe."

I kissed him on the cheek. "I trust you with my life, so I trust you with my daughter's. She will be ours. I'm sure of that. Just let it sink in."

He leaned back and relaxed a bit, tightening his hold on me.

"Me, a father; I never contemplated it. I wouldn't be nearly as good as Carlisle."

"That's okay, you would be you. And that's all I would ever ask for. I love you, Edward. I have faith in you. I just hope I can do it."

He kissed the top of my head and ran his fingers through my hair. "I don't doubt you in the slightest. Just relax and it will be natural to you. All you can do is hope for the best."

"Hope," I said. "Hope is nice, but there's no guarantee in it."

"Well there are no guarantees about what will happen, even with Alice seeing the future. But I can guarantee that I love you right now. And I…I will be her father to the best of my ability."

I smiled. "That's all I could ever hope for."

He carried me over to the bed and set me down. I crawled under the covers as he lay next to me. I turned on my side and he pulled me back against him. I molded myself against his marble body and sighed in contentment.

"Sleep my beautiful Bella. I love you with all that I am. And I promise to love your daughter like she was my own."

I whispered, "That's all I could ever ask for. I love you, Edward. I know you will love my daughter too."

And as he sang my lullaby, I let all my fears slip away as I fell into my dreams.

Don't worry things will start picking up soon. But this chapter was very necessary.

As an incentive to head over to , I have yet to settle on a name for the baby, so I'm taking some suggestions on my forum.

.?f=33&t=2124

Review me!