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BPOV
"Edward, he's completely perfect!" I gushed for the millionth time for the ride home. I bounced in my seat, once again looking at the little black and white photo. I was only a month and a half along, but the picture as a total tell all. Apparently, I was having something rare where I already have morning sickness so early. Dr. Uley said it was nothing to worry about, but I was still a little on edge about the whole deal.
"Hey! She never said it's a boy!" Edward shot me a look, one of warning.
"Its an intuition!" I snapped, smiling widely. "I know this is a baby boy and not a girl because I have a weird feeling. I'm positive!"
He snorted, turning onto the Cullens' driveway. "It is a girl."
I just rolled my eyes and let it go. In just short of four months Edward would see how off he was. My baby is a boy, I thought proudly, and I know it.
As Edward pulled into the garage, a certain little pixie opened my door and hugged her arms around me. "Alice!" I snapped, pushing against her.
Alice scowled as she pulled back. "Wow, I see our mood hasn't gotten any better," she muttered, releasing me. "So did you get a picture or not?" she insisted.
"Not," I lied. Her face fell slightly and she sighed in disappointment.
"She did," Edward said sharply, flashing me a quick look of disapproval. When I didn't move to show Alice, he reached over and grabbed the picture I'd tucked under my leg and handed it to her. "She is in a very shitty mood," Edward added quietly, getting out of the car swiftly.
Me, I just shoved past Alice and slammed the door, heading for the garage door. I heard them talking behind me about the baby and my raging hormones. I just ignored them and went on through the house. I was nearly exhausted now, feeling torn from the appointment. I made my way up the stairs and on the Edward's bedroom. Without another second of hesitation, I crashed down on the bed, fully clothed and fell asleep in seconds.
~**~
The dim light woke me from my beautiful reverie and back to Edward's room. The sun was long gone and the cream-colored moon replaced in high in the dark sky, consequently bathing the room with pale light. A stream of bright yellow light fell in front the door that was opened just ajar. Obviously someone had checked on me. I glanced at the clock on the nightstand. 8:32 p.m. No wonder Edward wasn't beside me. As I sat up I realized how free I felt and I knew it had nothing to do with being from my parents' hard restrictions. I'm not in my clothes, I thought as I looked at the black shorts and weird rock T-shirt (obviously Edward's). Did someone dress me? I wondered. Did he dress me? I corrected myself.
I pushed the blanket off me (just more proof someone did check on me) and carefully swung my legs over the edge. I wasn't too alert and exhausted beyond belief. Taking my steps carefully and groggily, I started for the door, opening it all the way and starting down the hall. Well, I guess it could have been Alice that dressed me. I blushed at how awkward that would have been. They probably thought I'd be out for the rest or the day and night. As I hit the stairs, the sounds of the TV met me and I recognized the noises of Emmett's favourite game, Mario Kart. I giggled to myself. That guy is such a child!
Silently, I descended down the stairs and saw Emmett, Edward, Carlisle and my very brother Jasper, playing said game. I was amazed I hadn't heard them earlier because they were all so loud and giggly. I wondered if any of them were actually drunk.
"Ha! Sucker!" Emmett screamed, bumping Carlisle with his shoulder.
His dad hit him back, smiling and laughing. "Your going down!" he yelled, ramming into Emmett's shoulder again.
I watched behind them in silence.
I could sense the concentration on Emmett's face. He and Carlisle exchanged a few more hits, laughs and words, but then Emmett growled.
Jasper laughed. "See, Em? That's what happens when you pay too much attention to one kart!" he called, high-fiving Edward.
Biting my lip, I suppressed the giggle bubbling in my throat.
"No! I demand a redo!" Emmett snapped, slamming the white wheel to the table and pouted for a second. Then he picked up a brown bottle (um, beer?), took a sip and started the game back up. "Eddie, you and Jas are just too good together – so we're going on our own!" Emmett declared, selecting the correct features with the Wii remote. "Now I'm going to whip all your asses!" he shouted so loud, I had to cover my ears briefly.
Edward reached over and hit Emmett in the back of the head.
"Hey, what the—" Emmett started.
"Bella's sleeping," Edward hissed. "God!" he muttered, sitting back.
That was my cue to show myself.
Slowly, as he game started and they all go into it, I walked into the living room and around the edge of the couch. "Hey," I said quietly, to anyone.
Every set of eyes turned to look at me sinuously and Edward smiled first.
"Hey, baby," Edward said smoothly. I smiled tiredly as I made my way over to him, passing in front of the other three guys playing.
"Hello, Bella," Carlisle greeted me briefly, dodging me as I walked between him and the TV.
"Hi," I said briefly, feeling a weird flush heat my cheeks and neck. Emmett grinned up at me and smacked my ass as I passed by him. "Fuck you!" I snapped, hitting his shoulder. He roared with laughter and I cast a worried glance at their dad for my language. Carlisle didn't notice.
I settled on Edward's lap, my back to his chest as he continued to play Mario Kart in front of us. Jasper greeted me briefly, but was to into the game to give me much attention. But I knew eventually we would have some big conversation. That was obvious enough. All the guys seemed pretty intent on their game: yelling, cheering, cursing, and booing. Well, guys definitely do get into their games, I thought.
They still had two more laps to go when Carlisle spoke. "So, Bella, how did your appointment go today? I couldn't understand a single word Alice said," he laughed.
"Oh, it was good," I said, nodding slightly. "Interesting, but good, I guess. Dr. Uley is really nice."
"Yes, she is," he agreed, moving to the right with the game. "I knew you would like her."
I smiled over at him, though I wasn't sure he saw it. Was Carlisle really that okay with this? He seemed so...at ease, natural at asking a little detail about my pregnancy. Well...it was the only detail he would ever get from me.
As the game came closer to an end I could tell the simple differences in all four men: they all looked more concentrated, fixated on the small details of the game, shoving each other harder to bump the other off track. I just sat back and giggled, when Emmett had his victory. "Woow!" he shouted, shooting up from the couch and pumping his fist in the air. "Go me! I am the King!" Jasper and Carlisle threw down the white wheels, grunting in acknowledgment, while Edward set his down, clearly more satisfied that the game was done with.
"I thought you'd sleep longer, baby," he murmured in my ear.
I sighed. "I noticed," I said, gesturing to the change of clothes. "And someone tucked me in."
He grinned and winked. "Guilty," he admitted shamelessly.
"Knew it," I nodded in agreement.
Edward brushed the hair from my face. "So what woke you up, baby? You looked exhausted when I checked on you."
Well, I still feel exhausted.
"I don't know," I admitted. "I just slept too long, I guess." I sighed in contentment as I leaned on his body, turned to watch the new game Emmett, Jasper and Carlisle were deep in. I smiled. My brother looked so happy – it was the first time in so long to see him laughing and smiling with his friends.
Times had been just too rough recently that I hadn't had much time to enjoy my life and seeing my brother all content. Sometimes you just get caught up in the moment.
"Why'd you let me sleep so long?" I wondered, playing with Edward's hands in front of me.
He shrugged one shoulder, resting his chin on my shoulder. "You looked tired and you were completely pissed for no reason. Alice said that you should probably get a nice long sleep." He kissed my neck once. "Why?"
I ignored his question, carefully digesting what he said. Well, maybe I was slightly happy I got a nice sleep. I wondered if I'd be able to sleep through the night. "So where is Alice?" I asked. Just the thought if her had me on my guard.
I could feel the way Edward's breathing increased against my back and I knew something was up. "Edward?" I asked quietly, tapping his hands and setting them more firmly on my stomach. I glanced around, but the other guys seemed oblivious to our conversation. Why wasn't Edward answering me? "Edward?" I demanded, turning to him, a little more frustrated and annoyed. His face was blank and guilty. "Edward, where is Alice?" I repeated firmly, more seriously.
He sighed. "Alice and Esme are excited," he admitted shortly.
For a second waited, but he didn't elaborate.
"Well?" I pressed.
"They are planning for this." He set a hand on my stomach. I watched it carefully, studying like it would have the answers written there. Alice and Esme were not here because they were excited and planning for...
Then it hit me. The baby.
I turned my head to look at him blankly. "What do you mean?" I whispered, so quietly I could barely even hear. "They're planning?"
"Bella, they have plans," Edward told me quietly, sullenly.
Why is he acting like his dog just died?
"I don't get it," I admitted after a moment of quiet between us. I pressed my lips together, shaking my head to convey my words more thoroughly.
"Here," Edward jerked his head to the doorway, "come with me." I rose from his lap and he grabbed my hand as he led me from the room and into the living room, leading onto the kitchen.
There we found where the two girls were. Esme and Alice were talking rapidly, pointing to a magazine. As Alice lifted it to illustrate something to her mom more thoroughly, I got a glimpse of the cover. I stopped in my tracks. A weird dampness was threatening at my eyes, and for once I wished I wasn't so prone to emotionality and overreaction. They were looking at ideas for the nursery, totally oblivious to Edward's and my presence. I watched for a few beats, frozen, numb.
It shouldn't have been such a big deal what they were doing – in fact I should have been elated they were taking some initiative to help me with this. I was actually so sweet and just...lovely. It was stress off my back. But there was now new stress on me, and it had very little to do with the nursery for the baby. It was the overall thing of being a mother. I ignored all the thought of their kindness that got cancelled out by my intense emotionality. What would I do when my hormones only get worse? I wondered briefly. For some reason, what Alice and Esme were doing – something so helpful and kind – was hurting me inside.
I grabbed Edward's arm, sudden feeling lightheaded. My jaw shook with frustration and tears threatened even harder.
What was wrong with me?
Alice looked up. "Bella! There you are!" she cheered, smiling with excitement.
Esme smiled up at me, elation, excitement, and happiness clearly written. "Hello, Bella. How did you sleep?" she asked, her voice turning cautious as she took in my face and state.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I, um...Edward was just about to take me back to bed. I'm, uh, not feeling too well," I lied. My voice sounded like I was gasping at my last breaths. I looked up at Edward, giving him a "go with it" look. He looked confused, but smoothed out the confusion lines in his face and looked back to his mother and sister.
"Yes," he said, less then convincing. "Bella just wanted to say goodnight."
"Oh, goodnight, Bella," Alice said, hoping out of her chair and embracing me gently. Looks like she excused my moodiness earlier. She kissed my cheek and pat my stomach a few times.
The tears in my eyes became more prominent.
As Alice took her seat again Esme rose and embraced me as well. So quietly, only I could hear, she whispered, "Congratulations, Bella."
I nodded against her shoulder, blinking to keep the warm tears from spilling.
"Goodnight, honey. I'll see you in the morning," she added much clearer.
As Edward wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close to him, leading me from the kitchen, he called over his shoulder, "Or afternoon." Alice's and Esme's laugh chorused behind us. As soon as I was far enough away from the kitchen I allowed the tears to fall as they pleased.
And they really did take the opportunity.
Edward didn't ask, only urged me faster up the stairs and helping me with my poor footing. My eyes were too blurry to take the note of my steps and where the stairs began and the next started; I walked up in a dreamy state with silent sobs, shaking uncontrollably. Suddenly I felt cold and numb all over.
Carefully, and like he was scared to break me, Edward sat me down on the edge of his bed and kneeled in front of me, ducking his head to get a view of my face. "Bella? Baby, what's wrong?" Edward whispered, brushing the hair from my face to read my eyes.
I rubbed my eyes, avoiding his as I squeezed them shut. "I'm just tired," I lied, my voice cracking like crumpled paper. "I...I need to go back to...bed. Sleep." I turned away from him and crawled from the foot of the bed to the pillows, sliding under the blankets and settling onto the pillow. I fake yawned for effect, but I knew Edward didn't buy it.
The bed shifted behind me and I felt his body slid in with mine, barely making his features out in the dark.
"Baby, tell me what's wrong?" The tips of his fingers brushed my cheek, capturing a few stray tears. "Why are you crying? If you don't want them to help..." he trailed off.
"No, no!" I shook my head, struggling to turn around under the blankets to face Edward completely. I wiped the tears from my face. "Edward, I'm scared," I admitted quietly, nuzzling into his neck. Actually, I was terrified.
"About what, baby?" he whispered, rubbing my back with soft touches.
"Everything." My voice cracked. "Just seeing what they were doing...it...it just brought on so many emotions, and it scares me."
Edward pulled me more firmly to his chest. "I know, Bella." After a few minutes of near silence – I was sobbing ever so slightly – he added, "Why don't you go to sleep? You have to be exhausted, love."
I nodded stiffly, willing my pain away so sleep could consume me.
Certainly I shouldn't have been so worried about this – we had Edward's very dependable family on our side, what was there to worry about? I could continue with my high school education, finish said activity before the baby was born and...Well, that's as far as I'd thought it through. I had to think through the whole college thing and take in what Edward was wanting in terms of education. We would have to work our schedule around our new baby.
I slowly finished the bowl of cereal I'd been working on for over a half hour, taking my time to focus on keeping it down. I was having a big bout of morning sickness and I'd been up most the night being sick, and then keeping down this cereal...well, it just felt so weird and wrong going done. But I was hungry. Very hungry. There was almost nothing that sounded very appealing to me at the moment, but Carlisle said I had to eat something, and this was the only thing I had the will to force down my throat.
There were a few mouthfuls left, cereal drenched in cold milk, and I tried to force another spoonful down. It tasted so stale in my mouth.
"Eat it, Bella," Alice said in a sing-song voice, looking at me with apprehension.
As the cereal hit the back of my throat, it was like it hit a button. Everything I'd forced down rushed back up, faster then it took to put it down and I vomited all over the marble countertop. "Happy?" I choked out, gagging at the new feeling in my throat.
"Well," Alice paused. "Not overly, she admitted, standing from the stool beside me and called out, "Edward!" at the top of her lungs. I sighed, rolled my eyes at her and stood to rinse my mouth.
Bending down, I took a big gulp of the cold water, rinsed and spit back out as Edward waltzed in. Before he said anything, I said, "I told you food won't go down well."
He wrinkled his nose. "I can tell," he muttered, gagging to himself. I stifled a laugh and shook my head. "Yeah, okay..." Edward mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck as he gazing, with strong repulsion, at my mess, clearly contemplating what to do. He finally decided. "Mom!" he shouted.
"What is it, Edward?" Esme called back distantly. I grinned timidly.
"Bella got sick! Can you, uh..." He trailed off, obviously second guessing his question. "Could you...?"
"Clean it up?" she supplied, her voice getting closer with a smile in it. Before Edward could reply, she added, "Absolutely."
Nice, lengthy chapter. Any thoughts?
-Mickey