wow, the response to the last chapter was amazing. thank you all for waiting to hate on me until now.

*I don't own Twilight.*

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Edward Cullen

By the time I made it to my parents' house, it was after midnight.

Before even arriving at the airport, I knew I wasn't going to board the plane.

I couldn't. The biggest reason was that I was afraid that if I did, when I got back, it would be too late to save my marriage and convince Bella that I absolutely had not cheated on her.

If nothing else, the day had made me realize what a fucking idiot I'd been. I'd treated Bella like crap. I'd been distant and stand-offish. I hadn't even been a good father to our daughter.

I didn't want to do that anymore. I didn't want to lose Bella. And of course, I was just fucking realizing it when it might be far too late.

The airport was crowded; a lot of flights had been cancelled or delayed due to the weather. It took about a hundred times longer than usual to get out once I was in. It was snowing on the way home, so hard that there were barely any cars on the road and I couldn't see far ahead of me.

I hadn't realized that Bella was spending the night at my parents' so I stopped at our house first, only to find it empty of both Bella and Audrey.

I drove the short distance to my parents' and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Bella's car parked in the driveway.

I hadn't realized how worried I was.

Worried that she had left for good, worried that she had tried driving home and gotten into an accident.

Letting myself into the house, I tried to be quiet. Thankfully the alarm was disabled because I could never remember the code. Not even when I lived here. The police had made many visits to our house.

I tried my old bedroom first. It was empty but the sheets were pulled back so she'd been in here.

I peeked into the room where my parents had set up a room for Audrey. I could make her out in the crib and hear her quiet little snores.

Finally, I found Bella in the living room. The television was on but muted and she had a bag of Oreos on her stomach but her eyes were closed.

I kneeled next to the couch and moved the Oreos onto the coffee table.

She looked so young and peaceful when she slept. No worry line between her eyes.

Her belly was swollen, much bigger than it had been with Audrey. I rubbed my hand over the bump and was surprised when I felt a movement.

Holy shit.

That was the first time I'd felt anything. I pressed my fingers down gently. I was rewarded with another kick or punch or something.

"Hey," Bella whispered. I looked up and smiled at her. "What are you doing here, Edward?"

"I couldn't go. To New York… uh, I couldn't leave you thinking I was cheating on you. And I couldn't leave when our relationship… it needs work," I told her, meeting her eyes.

"You're just realizing that it needs work?" Bella asked, sitting up slightly. She looked angry and sleepy and I felt bad for waking her up.

"No. I've known. I was just… avoiding it," I mumbled, uncomfortable but not moving my eyes from hers.

"What happened?" she whispered, chewing on her lip for a second before continuing, "Everything was going so well, Edward… then you just completely… God, you changed back to how you were when we met."

"I've been freaking out," I said honestly.

"I know but so have I! We could have been freaking out together."

"Yeah. I should have come to you. Is it too late? For us to freak out together?"

"Did you… um… did you sleep with Jane?"

"No! Never. I… she's been hitting on me, flirting with me but I haven't flirted back."

It was true. The thought had truly never crossed my mind. She was hot but I didn't want to bang her. I knew I would have to ask her what occurred in the conference room and possibly fire her but I needed to talk to Felix first.

"I told her to tell you to meet me at the appointment," Bella said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I just… I don't get why she would tell me you said it was cancelled? What exactly was said?"

"Um, well… I was feeding Audrey. Jane came in. She said something about you guys not expecting me… she made it sound like you were a couple. I asked what it was that I walked in on. She apologized," she sniffled and wiped her eye quickly before continuing, "She said she was so sorry, it just happened."

What the fuck.

"I don't even know why she would say that."

"Edward, it's obvious! She probably wants us to break up… she probably wants you for herself!"

I laughed, shaking my head. There was no way someone would try to do that. Wasn't it obvious that I love my wife, love our family? I guess it wasn't. I had been an asshole. Bella scowled at me and pushed my hand off her stomach, crossing her arms. I stopped laughing.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm too trusting."

"Do you still think she just got confused?" Bella whispered. I shook my head. Now I knew I'd have to fire her and hope Felix wouldn't be too mad.

"I'll take care of it. I know we still have a lot to talk about. Do you want to wait until the morning?"

"No."

"Alright. Uh, after the wedding… I just got worried that we rushed into everything. I mean, you got pregnant the first night we met. In less than a year, we got engaged, had a kid and got pregnant again and got married. It just all… hit me."

"Do you regret it, then?" Bella asked, twisting her rings around her finger. I noticed she played with them whenever she got nervous.

"No. I don't regret it; I just wish we had more time to ourselves. I wish I had met you, asked you to marry me and had the wedding then the kids after a few years. After we'd had time together."

She shook her head, "If it hadn't been for Audrey, I probably wouldn't have seen you after that first night."

"You would have. We worked together. I liked you. I think it would have happened, regardless of if you were pregnant or not."

"So you resent our children?"

I took a deep breath and held it for a second. Sometimes, Bella twisted my words and it pissed me off. But I knew getting pissed off in this situation would just make it worse and I'd already done enough damage.

"Bella, I don't resent Audrey or these babies," I set my hand on her stomach again, "I just wish that they'd come a little later. I'm being honest here. Don't get angry because I'm being honest."

Bella was silent for a few minutes and I was about to speak again when she finally opened her mouth. "I guess I feel the same way sometimes."

"Yeah? Why don't we talk to each other about it then?" I asked. She had a guilty expression on her face and her cheeks were pink. I wondered why she felt guilty when it was clearly me who had caused most of the problems here.

"I don't really know. I guess… I really wanted a baby. I felt selfish wishing for alone time with you when I'd gotten what I wished for already," Bella said quietly.

"It's not bad to want time with your husband."

"But I pushed the issue of having another baby."

"Hey, in the end, I agreed. I didn't use a condom, I didn't pull out and I didn't suggest birth control. Neither of us expected twins."

"I'm just scared. What if I can't handle three babies?"

"Then we'll hire someone to help you while I'm at work," I assured her.

"No. I don't want to hand my kids off to someone else… and I sure don't want them calling someone else Mommy."

"You know my mom would love to help, then."

Bella nodded, wiping her eyes. It was amazing, we'd just talked a little bit and I already felt ten times better. I didn't feel so resentful. It was better, just knowing Bella was in the same boat as I was. Something I should have known all along.

I woke up first the next morning next to Bella on the couch. We'd stayed up until four, talking about everything. How I had acted, how she had acted, what needed to be done. We came to the conclusion that not everything could be fixed right then and there and that we should probably try counseling.

She was still deep asleep as I slid off the couch, trying not to wake her. I went upstairs and used the bathroom before going into Audrey's room. She was sitting up and playing with the toy on the side of the crib.

"Hey baby girl," I whispered, scooping her up. I kissed her face before changing her quickly and taking her downstairs. Bella was still asleep so I went into the kitchen, where both my parents were at the table.

"Imagine my surprise when I came down this morning and my son, who was supposed to be in New York, was asleep on my couch," Esme said with a smile. I leaned down and kissed her cheek.

"Hi Mom, Dad," I said, sitting down with Audrey on my lap. She immediately reached for a fork, whining when I took it away and placed it out of her reach.

"Flight get cancelled?" my Dad asked, putting down the newspaper.

I shook my head, "I don't know actually. Bella and I needed to talk."

Audrey struggled to climb off of my lap but I didn't like putting her on the kitchen floor. She started fussing louder.

"She was very upset when you didn't make it to the ultrasound, Edward," Esme said, her voice laced with disapproval. I sighed loudly. It wasn't my fault. I had been given the wrong information. I was fucking crushed that I didn't get to see the babies or be there when they announced the sexes.

"I was very upset about it, too. I'm going to try to make it up to her," I mumbled. My mom got up and poured me a mug of coffee, adding just the right amount of milk and sugar before setting it in front of me and holding her hands out for Audrey. "I got her, she's fine."

"She won't be fine if you spill coffee on her, Edward."

"Mom, I'm not going to spill coffee on my daughter. I do this every morning," I said. But Bella usually got up with Audrey and fed her before or as we sat at the table. Audrey wasn't too pleased to have her routine disrupted. I pushed the mug of coffee away so she wouldn't dip her hand into it.

My mom started to cook breakfast while I talked with my Dad about the storm and how we were probably snowed in. A few minutes later, Bella came into the room holding one of Audrey's blankets. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail and she looked so… young and pretty. I smiled as she leaned down and kissed Audrey's forehead then mine.

Audrey immediately wanted her Mommy so I let Bella take her when she reached for her.

Bella settled next to me and started feeding Audrey, covering herself with the blanket.

"How did you sleep, Bella? You should have slept in Edward's old room, it couldn't be comfortable in your condition on the couch!" Esme smiled and set a plate of eggs and bacon in front of Bella, serving my Dad next and me last.

"Oh… it wasn't bad. I fell asleep there then Edward got here and we fell asleep talking…" Bella shrugged and took a bite of food. She winced when she realized how hot it was but it didn't stop her from eating with gusto.

"Slow down there, don't choke," I joked. She made a face at me and continued eating.

My father sat back in his seat, openly observing us. "Did you two get anything resolved last night?"

I glanced at Bella, "Did you tell them what was going on?"

She shook her head, taking a bite of bacon before eating more eggs.

"We may be your parents, Edward, but we're still perceptive. You haven't been acting much like yourself lately."

"Yeah," I mumbled before taking a bite of my eggs, hoping they wouldn't expect me to talk while eating.

"You seem much happier this morning," my mother hedged, eyeing the two of us. I looked at Bella and she smiled softly and nodded so I nodded too.

Not everything was resolved but it was a step in the right direction.

We both worked on it.

I made an appointment with a counselor and we were going weekly. I tried to be more open with Bella and Bella tried not to keep stuff bottled up until she snapped.

Things weren't perfect but they were better. I was happier, Bella was happier, Audrey even seemed happier.

The one person who probably wasn't happier, was Jane.

I had called her after breakfast with my parents. I'd had to call Felix for her number and explain the situation to him. When told him I'd probably be firing her, I was thankful when he didn't give me too hard of a time. He even told me that his older sister was looking for a new job and maybe she'd fill in on a temporary, if not permanent, basis.

Calling Jane was awkward. Somehow, she knew it was me calling even though I had never given her my cell phone number.

"Hi Edward!"

"Uh, hey Jane. Listen, I need to talk to you about your conversation with Bella yesterday."

"Oooh, um… what about it?"

"What exactly did she say in terms of her appointment?"

"That it was cancelled?"

"Are you asking me? Is that a question? No, that's not what she said. She said for me to meet her there, didn't she?"

"I guess she might have?"

"Why the hell would you lie, Jane? You made my pregnant wife upset. You made her think I was cheating on her! Which, by the way, I would never do. Not to mention you made me miss out on something very important to me."

"You seem so unhappy with her!"

The conversation went on for a few more minutes.

Jane telling me how I could do better, me telling Jane never to talk about my wife.

Finally, I'd had enough and told her she was being let go and if she had any personal belongings in the office, she could arrange with Felix to pick them up.

The office was a much nicer place. Felix's sister, Gianna, was happily married and had three kids. Bella bonded quickly with her and started dropping by the office more often for lunch with me but ended up chatting with Gianna while I watched Audrey.

Besides the talking and the counseling, we started having a date night. Every Friday night, Audrey slept over my parents' and we did something alone then slept in on Saturday mornings. I don't know why we didn't do it sooner because it definitely helped with the feeling of not getting enough alone time with Bella.

This was, of course, until a Friday night in April when Bella went into labor.

one more chapter then the epilogue.