i was rather depressed when i wrote this due to some issues at work – i'm hoping it doesn't show in my writing.

posting a day early because tomorrow will be busy.

*I don't own Twilight*

Chapter Thirty

Bella Swan

Waking up that next morning was wonderful. Edward had his arms wrapped tightly around me and my face was buried in the crook of his neck. He smelled delicious and I never, ever wanted to move.

Until I heard the reason I woke up come through the baby monitor.

Her cries were soft and intermittent at first – you could tell when something caught her attention or when she occupied herself or maybe even fell back asleep.

When the cries became louder and longer, I carefully extracted myself from Edward's arms and went through the door that connected our room to the nursery. I quietly shut the door behind me and padded over to her crib. Her cries stopped when I picked her up and she immediately made it known that she was hungry.

Audrey and I had nursing down pat. I sat in the glider and gently stroked her sweet little arms as she ate. She mostly kept her eyes open and they moved around my face, like she was trying to memorize my every feature. In the back of my mind I knew it wasn't possible but her stare was so intense sometimes.

I rocked gently and her eyelashes fluttered against her chubby cheeks as they opened and closed. Her green eyes, so similar to her father and grandfather's, finally stayed closed. I knew I had to burp her but she looked angelic. Carefully, I pulled her away and adjusted my shirt.

Audrey squirmed and I held her against my shoulder and patted her back until she let out a small burp and a tiny amount of spit up with it. I wiped it away but being a mother, you got used to being kind of messy.

I'd only been a one for six weeks and I had already been peed on, pooped on and spit up on.

Really awake now, Audrey let out little gurgling noises as I laid her on her changing table and took off the pajamas Edward had dressed her in last night. I changed her diaper and wiped her clean before dressing her in a plain white romper with an 'A' embroidered in dark pink on the right sleeve.

One of Edward's many aunts had made it for Audrey and I loved how simple it was.

"Let's go wake Daddy up so Mommy can take a shower," I whispered, kissing the top of her head. I wasn't as quiet as I reentered the bedroom this time. Edward was still asleep, but now passed out across the bed, his tall frame taking up almost the entire king sized mattress.

"Edward?"

Nothing.

"Edward."

He twitched, just a little.

"Edward!"

Finally a reaction… Edward pushed himself up on his elbows, blinking sleepily. He ran his hand through his hair and rubbed his eyes before they landed on us girls.

"Oh, shit. What time is it? Have you been up long?"

"No, I fed, burped, changed and clothed her… wanna take her so I can shower?"

Instead of answering, Edward held his arms out and I planted Audrey in them. I kissed the top of her head one more time, inhaling her sweet scent and kissing Edward softly before I went into the bathroom.

My shower was quick. Thankfully, I hadn't had to shave in a while due to the spa trip I'd taken with Alice and Rose. It might have been less than two weeks ago but now it felt like lifetimes.

I dried off quickly and blew out my hair and put on just a tiny bit of makeup – a little mascara and tinted lip gloss. I never needed blush because the natural one I had was enough. Wrapping myself in a towel, I walked back into the bedroom to the sight of Edward on his back and Audrey curled up on his chest, both of them sound asleep.

They had their lips pursed in the same fashion and I couldn't help grabbing the camera and taking multiple shots, hoping they came out alright in the natural light that came in through the huge windows in our bedroom.

I dressed in a cute dress that Alice had gotten me in her post-Audrey shopping spree. The pattern was deep blue with beige, white and red little waves and it had thick straps with a cute scoop neck. There were also brass buttons going down the front of it. It was cute yet not too young.

I felt nauseous. I wasn't sure if it was because Alice and Rose were coming and would probably bring their husbands and children or good old morning sickness, which I hadn't missed one bit.

A nervous sweat broke out on my forehead, just like always right before I tossed my cookies and I knew it was probably the latter when two minutes later, I made it to the bathroom just in time.

After vomiting, I felt much better and my fiancé and our girl were still sound asleep.

I walked downstairs slowly, not wanting to set off any more attacks of sickness and cleaned both the kitchen and family room before Edward came downstairs, scratching his wet head. He was wearing a dark blue polo with thin white stripes and khaki cargo shorts. We kind of matched and I wanted to laugh and joke about it but I could tell he was confused by something. Audrey was sleeping against his shoulder and I heard her sigh loudly in her deep sleep.

I couldn't figure out what but he was looking around suspiciously until he saw me and grinned. I got it. He was worried that I'd left again but that I'd taken his threats seriously and left Audrey, which I'd never do.

"Morning, baby," Edward murmured as he came over and kissed me. I kissed him back softly before walking to the kitchen.

"I was just about to make breakfast," I told him, "what would you like?"

"Whatever you're making, B… are you still on your health food kick or have we given that up during the pregnancy again?" Edward grinned at me and I stuck my tongue out playfully at him.

"What I eat, both these babies eat. I wish I'd eaten this well while I was pregnant with Audrey," I stated, sliding my hand over my stomach. I wondered if this baby was a boy or a girl… and how I could love it as much as I loved Audrey.

I felt… something for it but not the instantaneous feeling I'd had with the first pregnancy.

"Uh huh… I'll just have whatever you're making," Edward said.

I smiled and went over to the fridge, scrunching my nose when I saw there weren't very many options. We'd have to go grocery shopping. There were eggs and some vegetables. I settled on Veggie Omelettes and focused on cooking until Edward spoke.

"How long was A awake earlier?"

"Um," I shrugged and looked over my shoulder at him, "a little while. An hour?"

"She's still fast asleep. Should I put her in the swing?"

"It's up to you… if you want to put her in the swing or the bouncy seat or her crib," I said, wondering why he asked. He usually just did what he wanted. Going back to watching the eggs, I heard him leave the room.

A few minutes later, I slid the omelettes onto plates and took them over to the table as he came back, holding Audrey with one arm and her seat in the other.

"Where should I put her?"

"Where do you want to put her?"

He shrugged. I shrugged back.

"I don't know, put it on the floor by your chair and buckle her in?"

Edward nodded and did what I said. Audrey stirred a bit as he put her in the bouncy seats but didn't wake so I grabbed two glasses and poured orange juice for both of us, putting them on the table by our plates.

The flowers that Edward had brought me were in the center of the table, which made me smile. I leaned in and smelled them. They still smelled wonderful.

"Smells great, baby," Edward said. I grinned at him and sat at my seat. We ate mostly in silence, I hadn't realized how hungry I was until the food was right in front of me.

"So," I started before taking another bite of food. I chewed slowly and swallowed before I spoke again, "when should we expect company?"

"Shit, I don't know. I was supposed to call Rose to let her know for sure if you'd come home or not and we were gonna make plans from there. Do you feel up to it?"

"I got sick this morning…" I trailed off.

"Oh," Edward frowned, a disappointed look on his face, "let's cancel."

"Its fine… might as well get it over with."

"You make it sound like a death sentence, B." Edward said before taking the last bite of food. He sat back in his seat and stretched. His shirt rolled up and exposed the tiniest sliver of skin. His abs were amazing and I wanted to lick them and the V of his hips and his happy trail…

Audrey must have woken up because I heard gurgling. Edward glanced down and grinned at whatever he saw.

"Hi baby girl, you finally decided to wake up for Daddy, huh?" Edward's voice was soothing as he leaned down and picked up our girl.

She made noises as she stared up at Edward, her little lips smacking so sweetly.

"Anyway, it's not a death sentence… I'm just, nervous," I told Edward. Audrey's head turned toward me and I grinned because she knew my voice and the feeling never got old.

"B, don't be nervous. They're just worried about you," Edward said and Audrey turned back to him. He grinned and coaxed her to wrap her little hand around his pinky.

"And I'm kind of upset that they knew about the practice before I did," I said softly. Edward looked taken aback and I shrugged, I couldn't help it. I'd tried to shake the feeling but Rose definitely knew, with her cryptic statements.

And what Rose knew, Emmett knew and what Emmett knew, Jasper knew and what Jasper knew, Alice knew. Usually the chain would continue to what Alice knew, I knew and what I knew, Edward knew but they'd broken the chain.

Or maybe it had started in the wrong spot.

It should have started with Edward and gone to me then Rose then Emmett then Jasper then Alice.

"It's my fault," Edward stated bluntly.

I shrugged and shook my head but I knew he was right.

"Uh, so… you look great today, baby," Edward said as an obvious change of subject.

"Thanks," I blushed, stopping to kiss him before I started collecting the dishes and the cook wear. Audrey started fussing as I loaded the dishwasher and Edward brought her over to me.

"She's hungry," he said and I nodded then thought for a second.

"Want to feed her a bottle? There's a ton of breast-milk in the freezer… there's barely any room for food," I grinned at him and he made a face but nodded and warmed up the breast milk. Audrey's cries got a little louder because this was a baby who wasn't used to waiting for food but my breasts were sore and I felt kind of nauseous.

I finished with the dishes and took over warming the milk and pouring it into a bottle. I handed it to Edward. He looked a bit flustered, her wails were heartbreaking and her face was bright red. His ears were red as he held the bottle for Audrey.

She was so upset, she didn't realize he was giving her food for a few seconds but as soon as she did, she started suckling right away.

Once they were both settled, I told Edward I was calling his parents and slipped away into the other room, sitting at the piano bench. I took a deep breath before selecting their number from my contacts.

"Hello?"

Esme always sounded so cheerful when she answered the phone and she had a slight accent that I never could make out that appeared very infrequently.

"Hi Esme, its Bella…"

"Oh, Bella, sweetie! How are you feeling today?"

"I'm good… um, I was calling about the offer Carlisle made yesterday?"

"I'm so sorry about that, I didn't want him to say anything but you know… these Cullen men are stubborn!"

I laughed softly because from what I'd heard, Edward had gotten his stubbornness from Esme herself.

"Well, I just wanted to let you both know that while it was a very kind offer, Edward and I think it would be best to work things out here, together."

"I think you're making the right decision, honey. Especially with – oh, nevermind!"

"Especially with the pregnancy?"

"Edward told you he told us? Oh, thank goodness! Congratulations, honey. I'm so excited! Two grandbabies in one year when I thought I'd never have any!"

I giggled, my hand ghosting over my stomach again.

"I'm… excited. We decided that we wanted the babies close together so they have each other."

"Yes, even Carlisle said he was hoping it's a boy to carry on the Cullen name."

"I think he'll be disappointed this time around… I have a feeling it's a girl."

"That would be wonderful… two little girls! How lovely!"

"Listen, Esme… I wanted to talk to you about what happened between Edward and me. He made a mistake, it was the heat of the moment when he grabbed me…"

"I know my son isn't abusive but Isabella, you have to promise me that if he every touches you again, you come straight to Carlisle and me and bring the children."

I felt my chest clench at the thought, thinking back to the promises I'd made Edward.

"I'll be sure to call you but I'm sure nothing will happen."

I spoke slowly, trying to keep the nerves out of my voice. We continued the conversation for a few more minutes, discussing the wedding and when the baby is due.

When we finally got off the phone, I felt tired but not sleepy and contemplated taking a nap.

I could sleep through their visit.

Or pretend to, at least.

I rolled my eyes at myself and went to the living room and found Edward sitting on the couch and feeding Audrey. He burped her when she finished and I put on the first season of Glee and looked around for something to clean but it was already in perfect shape so I settled on the couch.

"So you're sure you feel up to them coming over?"

I nodded, covering my mouth as I yawned. Edward looked unconvinced but put Audrey in the swing after she finished the bottle before he grabbed his phone and started texting.

"Edward…" I started, biting my lip.

"Yeah?"

"I was thinking about inviting my mom…"

"What? You… you didn't want her involved in Audrey's life," Edward looked at me with wide eyes.

"Well… she learned how to text, kind of. She sends me messages non-stop. But she's always asking about Audrey and for pictures… Edward, maybe she wasn't a good mother but… that doesn't mean she'd be an awful grandmother?"

I held my breath, waiting for him to say no and make his opinion clear.

"Okay," Edward nodded, glancing over at me.

"Really?"

"B, it's your choice," he replied absently as he continued texting.

"She doesn't have to stay here; I'll put them up in a hotel."

Even though he agreed, I still felt like I had to convince him… or maybe myself.

"Either way, baby. We have the guestroom," Edward looked at me and gave me his heart-stopping crooked grin. I was momentarily distracted, enough for him to slide over closer to me on the couch, tossing his phone to the other end of the couch.

"And, umm… I'd like her to meet your parents but she's… Renee, she's eccentric and crazy and talks about her sex life with Phil…" I trailed off as Edward slid his hand along the inside of my left thigh.

"That's fine, we'll warn my parents," Edward said as he ran his cool hand up and down my thigh. I automatically parted my legs, to give him more room and he took that as a sign to move his hand higher. My breathing hitched and I felt my cheeks flush but I really wanted to finish this conversation. Plus we had so much to talk about… I placed my hand over his and held it still. Edward looked at me, his brow furrowed like he was trying to decide if I was rejecting him.

"Let me just finish talking, please?" I asked quietly.

Edward nodded but his ears were red again and the look on his face was not a happy one. I kept my hand over his as I continued speaking, "You didn't want Renee involved at all in Audrey's life. I want to make sure this is fine with you, Edward."

Edward sighed and sat back, keeping his hand where it was trapped.

"Honestly, I'm not thrilled with the idea but maybe you're right, maybe she'll be an alright grandmother. But neither of us have a ton of family. I don't have siblings and only one cousin who I never see. My great-aunts and grandparents are around but who knows for how much longer? You have your mom… no cousins, right?"

I shook my head.

"So, we need all the family we can get."

I smiled and nodded. This was why I wanted to have more than one baby so if anything ever happened to Edward or me, they'd all have each other.

"We'll have lots of babies so they'll have lots of family, right?"

I sounded hopeful and pathetic but Edward smiled.

"We have to draw the line somewhere but yeah, I think you've convinced me that a couple kids will be good. For us, for them. It's cool, you know. I know being pregnant isn't really fun for you but you're willing to do this as many times as I'm willing just so our kids have each other."

"That's not the only reason… there are selfish ones, too."

"How is it selfish to keep the Cullen name going?"

I grinned and leaned over to kiss his cheek. I made the mistake of moving my hand which Edward took as an invitation to slide it higher.

"I don't want our relationship to be based on sex anymore," I blurted then stared at him with wide eyes.

"It… what? Based on sex?" Edward sputtered with an utterly confused look on his face.

"Edward, we've had more sex in eleven months than I've ever had in my life," I told him seriously.

"We're just… we have chemistry," he said.

"I know! It's so good… you walk into the room and I want you, over and over… but I feel like if we didn't spend so much time having sex, we could have avoided so much. We would have had so much time to talk," I bit my lip.

"Well…" Edward looked like he was trying to come up with an argument, "I guess you're right, B. So, once a day?"

I laughed and shook my head, "I'm not going to promise you sex every day. You'd try to put it in our pre-nup or something, you sneaky lawyer. Sex every day, three blowjobs a week… anal once a year on the anniversary on the first time we do it."

Edward laughed, louder than I'd heard him laugh in a while and I grinned.

"Baby, I'd put that we'd be in bed constantly and have nannies raising the babies we'd keep popping out," Edward joked.

I laughed and instinctively leaned in to kiss him softly. I loved him when he was like this.

"So you have big plans to keep me barefoot and pregnant?"

"Naked and pregnant is more like it," Edward clarified, making me laugh again.

"You'd have to go to work sometime…."

Edward leaned over and whispered hotly in my ear, "I'll have to keep you tied up."

I shivered and felt the familiar feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Edward…" I breathed.

"We'll have to discuss it later because your friends will be here soon," Edward pulled away and grinned. This wasn't his crooked grin – this was an evil grin. Like he knew he'd gotten me.

I tossed one of Audrey's blankets at him, both of us laughing. It felt good and I realized it'd been far too long since I'd laughed and I mean, really laughed.

"Will you change Audrey's diaper, please?" I asked sweetly. I knew in the morning after eating, it was her messiest diaper. Edward didn't know this.

"Of course. Straighten up in here, will you, woman?"

Edward grabbed the blanket I'd thrown and when I stood, he snapped me in the ass with it – which was something I'd never quite learned how to do and caused me to squeal loudly.

"I'll get you for that, Cullen!"

Actually, maybe Audrey's diaper would be so bad it would be punishment enough.

I picked up the room, putting Audrey's Boppy away and throwing the blankets in the laundry before going into the kitchen and wiping down all the counters.

I went though the toys that the kids would play with and cleaned them, pausing to watch parts of Glee as I went.

Cleaning Audrey's bottle, I put it on the rack to dry and looked around for anything else to do but the house was clean.

"Isabella Swan!" Edward called from upstairs and I laughed loudly. I walked up the stairs to find them in the bathroom with all of Audrey's stuff in it, Edward holding Audrey's backside under the bath faucet, obviously hoping the pressure of the water would rinse her off.

"Are you kidding? You could have just wiped her with wipes… now it's just… ew."

"It was gross, B," Edward sounded horrified and I laughed again, grabbing a white wash cloth and put soap on it. I carefully cleaned her before tossing the cloth into the hamper and getting a fresh one to clean the rest of her.

"She'll be nice and squeaky clean now," I told him. It was awkward, giving her a bath like this. Edward held her far away from his body, over the tub while I used the wash cloth to clean her body then her hair.

I grabbed a cup and carefully poured the lukewarm water over her, using the wash cloth to get the baby shampoo out of her hair.

Audrey fussed and cried through it.

Once she was all clean, she was full on wailing. I grabbed a towel and wrapped her in it, taking her from Edward. She was crying and I rocked her gently, "I know, baby. We'll have to show Daddy how to change the real messy ones."

"Uh, what do I do with the diaper?" Edward asked.

"Put it in the Diaper Genie?" I suggested and he shook his head, making a disgusted face.

"Ummm… plastic bag and take it and any wipes you used to the trash?" I asked and he nodded, leaving the room to take care of it.

Audrey kept up the crying act and I rocked her, humming softly until she calmed down. Once Edward had cleaned up everything, I laid Audrey on the table and put a fresh diaper on along with plain, pale pink romper.

"There we go, honey… all better, right?"

Audrey let out a little sigh, which almost sounded like one of relief, as Edward walked back into the room. He smelled like soap so I knew he'd cleaned up. I turned with Audrey in my arms and he grinned at us.

"That was a messy diaper for such a little girl, Audrey Elizabeth," Edward told her, pulling us both against him and inhaling, "but you smell nice and sweet again, thanks to Mommy, huh?"

"Thanks to Mommy and Daddy, that was a joint effort," I reminded him.

"Alright, yeah… you're right. We did it together," Edward said, smiling like he liked something I'd said.

"What?" I smiled at him.

"It's just nice. We made her together, we're taking care of her together… both of us can take credit and sometimes both of us can take the blame," Edward said and my head snapped up to face him.

"Yeah… you're right. Sometimes we can both take the blame."

And that was a very important lesson that we both learned.

i felt like the last chapter didn't go over very well… hopefully, you'll all be happier with this one.

i'm still feeling down… reviews will cheer me up, though.

oh and to hkimberly: your private messaging is disabled so i couldn't reply – bella's engagement ring is from cartier.