This year I had arranged it so that Bella and I had the same schedule. The first day of the new year was a warmer one. The sun wasn't going to be out but the weather was well up into the high 50s. Bella wore a tight white sweater and jeans. I loved it but so did every other male there. I tried and failed to ignore their thoughts. Just as I knew would happen, they all noticed Bella's change. I pulled her closer to me as we walked. It was going to be a long year.

The sound I had been hearing was linked to Bella. I wasn't sure how yet but I knew it was. I never heard it unless I was with her. It reacted to her. Some things she did made it speed up and other times I could barely hear it though it stayed steady. As she sat next to me I listened to the sound. It was steady. Somehow I felt it was coming from her mind. I wondered if it was the beginning of me being able to hear her thoughts. I tried not to get my hopes up but I couldn't help it. I wanted nothing more than to hear her mind. At lunch we sat with my siblings at our usual table. Alice and Jasper immediately looked around. They heard it too. Alice leaned towards us.

"Do you hear that?"

There went my theory that the sound was Bella's mind.

"Yes, I've been hearing it for about a week now. I have no idea what it is."

Alice looked around some more then looked at Bella. She pressed her ear to Bella's and listened.

"I think its you Bella. Are you a bomb?"

Bella laughed.

"Not that I know of. Unless someone planted one in my head."

She took a bite of her pizza and the sound changed. I listened as the steady beat skipped. It sputtered then picked up again. Alice and Jasper looked at me. I shook my head and listened. The sound didn't change again. We all chatted while Bella ate. The first bell rang and we left. I kept a listen for the sound to change again but it didn't. Not until we were in class anyway. As we sat in English I heard it. The sound picked up speed then sputtered again. Just as it happened Bella grabbed her stomach. She jumped up and ran out the door. It was at that moment that something hit me. No one had planted a bomb in her head. Not her head. The teacher looked at me for an explanation.

"She said her lunch tasted odd."

Then I jumped up and followed Bella. I opened the door to the girls bathroom and saw her on her knees in the closest stall. The sound was going faster than I had ever heard it. She stood up and came out of the stall. She jumped when she saw me then went to the sinks.

"Sorry, guess that pizza didn't sit so well with me."

"Why would you say sorry to me?"

"I don't know…you had to hear me throw up?"She laughed lightly then rinsed her mouth out.

I could barely focus on her. My mind was racing. I was trying to find a way to explain the sound other than what I knew it was. Bella leaned against the counter and calmed her self. The sound slowed and went back to normal. I knew what it was. She didn't.

"Bella…"

I didn't know what to say.

"What?"

I closed the space between us. She opened her arms for me but I didn't meet them. I dropped to my knees in front of her and pressed my head to her stomach. She froze. The sound was so much louder. I heard a very quiet swish that sounded like movement underwater. Bella grabbed my head and made me look up at her.

"What are you doing?""I…Bella…I love you."

"I love you too. I still want you to tell me why you're listening to my stomach."

"I'm listening to the heartbeat.""Heartbeat? Edward my hearts not…its not…the heartbeat? Not my heartbeat…"

She placed her hands over her stomach and I placed my head on them. Her heart was pounding and it caused the smaller heartbeat to pick up.

"Bella you should calm down."

"Calm down? Are you kidding?"

"Lets leave. I don't think the rest of class is that important."

She nodded and I took her hands and lead her out of the bathroom. There was no one in the halls so we were able to leave easily. I watched her. She never removed her hands from her stomach and she never looked at me.

"Bella I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

She turned to me and I could see the tears on her cheek.

"I'm sorry I did this to you.""No! Don't say that. Edward I'm not mad."

"You're crying love. You don't have to lie to make me feel better."

"I'm not lying. I just don't know what to think. I'm not mad, maybe a little scared."

I stopped the car and hugged her.

"You're not the only one. I'm absolutely terrified. I had never given much thought to being a father because I knew I would never be one. Well I thought I knew."

She buried her head against my neck. I held her as she cried.

"Ed-Edward I'm no-ot even 18 yet…how can I-I be a mom? What will Char-lie say?"

I hadn't thought of that. For me this wasn't a bad thing. My parents would be ecstatic but for Bella's family, this was just a teen pregnancy. No one wanted that for their child. This was going to be much harder for her.

"Bella I don't think you have to worry about being a good mom or not, no matter that your 17. You are an amazing woman and will be an even better mother. Charlie will be upset, probably more with me than you. But he will come around, all parents do. I've seen it happen to other teenagers before."

"I just…I ne-eed to think about this okay. Take me home pl-ease."

I let her go and returned to the road.

When we arrived at home Bella paced the kitchen for a while. I had not been allowed to say much since she started. I let her shush me because I knew she needed this time. Around 4:30 she started making dinner. I watched her move. It was odd to think that she could be pregnant. She was so slim. Her body had changed though. Now it was twice as obvious to me. Her body was changing because she was accommodating another life. I listened to the tiny thudding. Suddenly it seemed like the most important sound in the world. I wished that Bella could hear it too. She could!

"Bella I think we should go see Carlisle tomorrow."

"I'm not ready to get checked Edward. I just want to give a few days or weeks…"

"I don't mean for you to get checked out. We can worry about that later. I want you to hear what I hear."

She turned towards me.

"I could hear it? This early?"

"If I can hear then there's no reason you cant. I think that once you hear that heartbeat, you might not feel the way you do."She held her flat stomach and smiled.

"I guess I am a little jealous that you get to hear it and I don't."

That was what I was looking for.

"We can go right after school."She frowned.

"School. How am I going to go to school?"

"It will be just like every other day."

"No it wont. What happens when I get all huge? Oh god."

She started crying and I didn't know what to do.

"Bella everything will be fine. You have to pull it together unless you want to tell Charlie tonight."

She took a deep breath and continued cooking. I felt terrible now. Of course school wouldn't be the same for her. She was going to change dramatically. I had been afraid this would happen when we had sex in the shower. I hadn't used any protection. I acted on impulse and now it was coming back to get me. Not me. Bella. My decision was hurting her. What if this wasn't what she wanted? Could I handle it if she didn't want the baby? What if she decided to have an abortion? I couldn't stop her. This was entirely her decision to make. The way she smiled a moment ago made me think I had nothing to worry about. Of course she might rather do that than tell her parents.

I left before Charlie got home. I took my car back to the house. Alice was perched on Emmett's jeep when I arrived. I tried to ignore her. She would have seen our futures the second I realized what was wrong with Bella. Our eyes didn't meet but I knew she was staring at me. As I started to walk out of the garage I heard her leap off the jeep and land quietly behind me. I sighed and turned around. She smiled wide.

"I haven't told them."

"Thank you."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Alice I don't have to tell you anything, you find out on your own."She grinned.

"You two need to make a solid decision. You're giving me a headache.""Make a decision? Alice this is a very stressful time. I mean Bella is 17."

"Not for much longer. And don't act like you don't know what you want. I'm getting a very solid image from you, it just gets interrupted as Bella changes her mind."

"What is it I want Alice. Please tell me."She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me.

"Edward you want a family. You want Bella to be the beautiful mother that you know she can be. You want to be a father.""But I want Bella to be happy."

"Bella just needs some time to get used to the idea. She is afraid right now. Don't pressure her one way or the other. She does want to go to Carlisle tomorrow. I think that will change her mind for the better.""Well I'm glad she wants to go."

Alice let go of me and danced towards the house.

"Tell Bella I said hi."

"And that I'm dying to be an aunt."

I smiled and took off into the woods.