Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thank you to all who put this story on alert and in their favourites and all of you who reviewed.

If any of you are listening to the songs that are the chapter names, this song does not really fit with the theme of the chapter but I just love the title and had to use it. You should still check the song out, it is a pretty cool one.

I hope you like this chapter, quite a bit and yet not much happen, if that is even possible...?

Sorry if there are any mistakes, it is gone 2am here. Enjoy!


Forever Bound

Chapter Twenty Seven – Little Lion Man

Months had passed since James' trail and death for it was now the middle of June. Bella was in the final stage of her pregnancy and due to the sweltering heat, she was extremely uncomfortable.

It did not help matters that today, on the 17th June 1882; she was going to be one of the bridesmaids at her brother's wedding.

As they had arrived home from court, Emmett was waiting for them at the front door, pacing impatiently. The instant Bella and Edward emerged from their carriage Emmett had pounced on them. "What happened? Was he found guilty? Did they let him go?"

Bella placed a hand on her brother's arm and smiled at him, "He was found guilty and is to be hung."

Emmett whooped and swept Bella into his arms, spinning her in a circle until she felt ill.

"Just wait until I tell Rosie!" Emmett cried, happier than both Edward and Bella. When he began to calm down, he had finally noticed their solemn expressions. "What is it?"

"Your mother was there; she testified on James' behalf," Edward informed his brother-in-law quietly.

Emmett had lost it. He stormed into the house and began to rant and rave, threatening to return home and kill his mother with his bare hands. When he began to throw their ornaments to the floor, Bella began to truly worry. She had tried to calm him down and assure her big brother that Renee would never bother them again, but he simply would not listen.

Luckily, for both the Cullen's sanity and the well being of their house, Rosalie ran into the room at that moment, clearly hearing the chaos Emmett had been causing. She had marched up to him and grabbed his arms, preventing him from causing any more damage and forcing him to listen to reason. As she chastised him, Bella noticed the light sparkling off something on Rosalie's hand. As Bella took a closer look, she realised it was a ring, a very familiar ring. It was her grandmother's engagement ring!

Bella screamed, effectively halting all movement in the room as three pairs of eye came to rest on her, looking deeply concerned. Edward had tried to pull her to him although she had shaken him off and ran at Rosalie; grabbing her hand as soon as it was in reach.

"Oh sweet Lord! Emmett proposed! You are engaged!" Bella shrieked. She had clearly been spending too much time with Alice. Rose blushed and nodded. Emmett's anger appeared to be forgotten as he wrapped his arm around his fiancé. Bella's joy soon turned to anger and she punched Emmett on the arm.

"Ow Bells! What was that for?" Emmett cried out, rubbing his arm in apparent pain.

"How could you not tell me you were going to propose? When did you ask her? Was it romantic enough?" Bella asked her brother, her face turning red with anger.

"I am sorry Bella. I did not tell anyone, I wanted it to be a surprise. Of course it was romantic enough; this is me we are talking about. I asked on Valentine's Day..."

For the next hour, Emmett had explained in precise detail every moment of the event, from Rosalie's reaction down to the colour of his socks. Bella had listened to the entire account with perfect attention, drinking in every detail about the happiest day of Emmett's life. Well until today. Today was the day her teddy bear of a brother was about to marry the love of his life.

Bella was to walk down the aisle with Rose's cousin Thomas, while Edward would guide Dena to the altar. Bella could completely understand why those two children were to be bridesmaid and usher once more; they were utterly adorable.

Bella had been feeling odd sensations in her stomach the entire morning, although she put them down to nerves. She hated people watching her, and although the focus would be on Rose, when she walked down the aisle, for a split second, everyone would be watching her and she hated that thought.

There was a knock on the door, breaking Bella from her thoughts. Although Alice was with Rose at the Hale household, the three of them had agreed that Bella would arrive an hour before the service to journey to the chapel with them. She was disappointed that she could not prepare with her two best friends, but due to the late stage of her pregnancy, it was all Bella could do to stay out of bed for seven hours.

"Come in," Bella called out quietly, adding the final touches to her hair. Rose had wanted to keep the wedding simple, so Bella had simply tied her hair into a delicate knot at the back of her head. The door open and Edward entered quietly. Bella smiled up at her husband as he made his way over to the chair she was sitting on.

Wrapping his arms around her waist, Edward gazed at Bella, "You look beautiful my love. I am sure you will steal all the attention from the bride you look so utterly ravishing." Edward complimented her as he nuzzled his face into her back.

Bella smiled as she reached out to stroke his hair. She loved these moments they spent together. No words were ever needed; their bodies said all they needed to talk about. Their moment was broken as the child within Bella's womb gave a swift kick to her stomach, causing her to double over, slightly winded.

Edward rushed into panic mood, which seemed to occur quite regularly now Bella had almost reached her due date. "What is it? Is it time? Has something gone wrong?" He always rattled off these three questions whenever Bella showed the smallest signs of discomfort.

"Nothing, calm yourself my love. The child is simply excited to see their Uncle Emmett get married, and then taking that excitement out with their feet." Bella always assumed it would be the mother-to-be that needed reassurance, but seeing Edward now she was not so sure.

"You should not be straining yourself Bella. You need to relax and stay calm," Bella had to resist the urge to laugh. She was sitting perfectly still and calm, it was Edward who was worried and yet he was the one providing the advice. "Perhaps we should skip today's event." Edward thought out loud.

Bella would not allow that. "Edward, I am sitting perfectly calm and collected. I am not with Rose and Alice preparing for the day, I am resting in my chamber. I will not miss my brother's wedding for anything in the world." Bella snapped.

"Bella, this is not about Emmett. I know you wish to go, but we need to think about our child first. W—" Edward began before Bella cut him off, her blood beginning to boil.

"No Edward. This is all about Emmett. This is the biggest and happiest day of his life and I will be there for it. You say we need to worry about our child; our child has not been born yet and is still resting safely in my womb. There is nothing that can prevent us from attending the wedding today."

"I just worry ab—" Edward attempted to explain himself, but Bella would not let him.

"There is no need to worry. I am a big girl Edward, I can look after myself. I am not a baby you need to smother with care, I am having a baby myself if you have not noticed." Bella regretted being so harsh with her husband as soon as she saw the light leave Edward's eyes, but she could not pretend that she did not mean every word. She did.

"As you wish. I shall not show any concern for the rest of the day and will comply with your every will," Edward replied shortly, removing his arms from her waist and standing up sharply. "If you wish to arrive at the church with Alice and Rosalie it is time to leave." And with that, he left the room.

Bella felt tears stinging her eyes. She wished today would be a joyous occasion, but she could already see that her wish would not come true. Could her husband not realise that she was extremely hormonal at the moment and could not control her emotions?

Bella smoothed out her dress and walked – waddled- out of the chamber and made her way slowly down the stairs and through the front door. She was met by a stony faced Edward at the carriage, yet he still helped her enter, which she was extremely grateful for, as she could not even see her feet these days.

The ride to the Hale house passed in an uncomfortable silence. Bella had to fight the urge to apologise a number of times; she knew she was wrong to snap at him but she was his wife and Edward should not treat her in such a way.

-o-

Bella plastered a fake smile onto her face as she entered the bride's chamber. She was greeted with a tight squeeze f Alice and an enthusiastic kiss on the cheek from a more reserved Rosalie. She gasped as she took in the sight of her future sister in law. Rose had insisted that she wanted a simple wedding, and although her dress was simple, Rosalie looked anything but. She was wearing a white dress, of course, with lace sleeves, lace along the bust and little lace flowers sewn to the bottom of her small train. Her corn coloured hair was in a simple bun, slightly to the side of her head looking utterly elegant. She looked nothing short of an angel.

Just as Bella was about to inform her best friend of how stunning she looked, she felt a small tug at the bottom of her dress. Looking down, Bella was met with the sight of Thomas, his blue eyes shining up at her as he held her dress in his small fist. Bella bent down to the small child's level, balancing herself with a little difficulty due to her large stomach.

"Hello Thomas, you look simply dashing today." Bella smiled at the boy.

His face lit up in a grin, "I does, thank you. I be guiding you to Rosie today." Thomas informed her proudly.

"You will? Thank you very much," Bella began to entertain the child, "I think you may have to guide me as I do not know what to do, but I am sure a big boy like you does."

Thomas puffed out his chest and nodded his head importantly, "I does, I shall help you. I have been doing it before."

"Really?" Bella smiled at the cherub standing in front of her. If she were to ever have a son, she wished he would be like Thomas, so innocent and loveable. Thomas nodded enthusiastically. "Well I guess you will just have to teach me what to do."

Just then, the child in Bella's womb kicked painfully one more and she felt the muscles in her stomach tighten for a moment. She placed her hand on her belly and tried to calm her child down. She noticed Thomas was following her movements with fascinated eyes. She picked up his small hand and placed it on her stomach. Moments later, the child within her kicked once more and Thomas jumped back in shock, producing laughs from each woman in the room.

"What was that?" Thomas asked in shock, moving closer once more.

"That was my baby. They were saying hello to you," Bella explained to him.

"Oh," was his only reply as he replaced his hand once more. Around them, Alice and Rose continued with their jobs, as Thomas and Bella waited to feel movement from the child. One particularly hard kick caused Bella to become breathless. Thomas smacked her stomach lightly and scolded the child, "You no hurt Bella. It is very naughty. Say sorry!" Bella had to smile at the boy's innocence.

The hour passed quickly and before Bella had time to catch her breath the three women were standing outside the church, saying their last words to Rosalie Hale.

"What if he does not show up?" Rosalie appeared to be running through the list of things that could possibly go wrong.

"He will show up Rose. There is no doubt about that. He is utterly besotted with you." Bella reassured her sister in law. "Now, wait until Alice and I enter the church before you do, remember that Emmett cannot see you yet." Rose nodded and took a deep breath.

At that moment the organ inside the church began to play. "Showtime," Alice whispered before she placed a kiss on Rose's cheek. She was Maid of Honour and would walk down the aisle by herself, as Jasper had been chosen as Emmett's best man.

"See you soon Mrs Swan," Bella whispered as she placed her own kiss on Rose's cheek. She picked up Thomas' hand and allowed him to guide her into the church.

Unlike last time, as Thomas walked down the aisle he stared straight ahead, looking very proud of the fact he was the one to be "escorting" Bella. As they passed Emmett, Bella threw her brother a reassuring smile; he looked slightly green.

As soon as Bella had taken her place, Edward entered the church, holding hands with Dena. He appeared to have dazzled the small child, as she tripped a number of times and threw the rose petals to the floor without casting them a glance. Bella could not blame the small girl, her husband was amazing.

Edward took his place at Jasper's side and raised his eyes to met Bella's. She gave him a tentative smile, wanting to make up for her behaviour this morning, although Edward simply turned his head away. Bella felt her heart strings tug in anguish as she looked towards the ground.

-o-

The ceremony had been beautiful and completely suited Rose and Emmett. Almost everyone present had been in tears at the couple's vows. As Rose announced hers, Emmett had tears streaming down his face as a large grin lit up his features. Bella had not seen her brother cry since their father's death; it was quite a shock to see him cry once more after all this time.

As they made their way to the reception, Thomas sat proudly in Bella's lap, although he appeared to be glaring at Edward whenever Bella caught him staring at her stomach. Edward helped Bella and Dena exit the carriage, but before Bella had a chance to thank him, Thomas was dragging her into the ballroom.

When each couple had taken their seat, the food began to appear. Bella did not realise how ravenous she was, as soon as the food was placed in front of her, her mouth began to water. Her hunger must be the reason for the pains in her stomach. Once the plates had been cleared, the speeches began. Emmett spoke about his love for Rosalie, how he could not imagine his life without her at his side. Rose had then explained how deeply her love for Emmett flowed and how he had saved her. Bella had been touched by both speeches, moved by the clear love the new Mr and Mrs Swan had for one another, but she was constantly distracted by the aches in her stomach. She did not understand what was causing them.

Dancing began as soon as the speeches had come to a close. Bella was quite surprised when Edward extended his hand in offer of a dance. She accepted her husband's hand immediately and he led the pair of them to the dance floor.

When the first cord of music began to play, Edward pulled Bella close to his chest; well as close as was possible with her large stomach in the way.

They had danced for quite a while before he finally spoke, "I am sorry Bella. I do not know what I was thinking, trying to ask you to miss this." Bella looked up into her husband's eyes; they were full of anguish. "But you must understand Bella; I worry for you so much. I am sorry if you feel I am "smothering" you, I just cannot bear the thought of something happening to you and not being present. I love you so much Bella Cullen and it hurts me to think I have upset you." Edward whispered in her ear.

"I am sorry too. I was over reacting and I apologise. I know you simply wish the best for me and our child and I appreciate everything you do to help, I do. But you have to trust me Edward. I will tell you if something is wrong or if the baby is coming, there is no need to fly into a panic at every small thing." Bella informed her husband softly. She was happy to note that the light was returning to his eyes.

"I trust you," Edward whispered before he placed his lips on hers. It was utter bliss; Bella hated the feeling of being at odds with Edward. The kiss was ruined as Bella felt something trickle down her leg. Tearing herself away from her husband's mouth, Bella looked down; utterly confused.

There was a sudden tightening in her stomach, worse that the ones she had been experiencing all day. Bella was finally able to connect the dots.

"Edward?"

"Yes my love?" Edward asked, smiling at her.

"We need to get home right now." Bella informed him calmly, although she felt anything but.

"Why Bella? We are having such a pleasant time and you have already informed me that you wish to stay here until the end." Edward had clearly not cottoned on.

Bella took a deep breath as another pain hit her stomach, "We need to leave because my water has broken. The baby is coming."

---

Like it? Glad they're married?

Baby next! A couple of you wanted them to have a little spat so I hope you liked it.

Until next time. Have a great weekend. :)