Copyright declaration: The Twilightseries and its characters are the creation of and copyright of Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing and this story is purely a not-for-profit work of fan fiction. No copyright infringement intended.

Author's note: I have made this as creative and imaginative as possible and if it bears resemblance to any other fan-fiction story it is entirely coincidental. There is such a huge amount of Twilightfan-fiction out there that it would be impossible to trawl through it all to see if someone has already had this plot idea and I assure you that if there are any similarities to other Twilight fan-fic stories, they are completely unintentional and inadvertent.

A/N 2: Okay, this is just a little fluffy chapter. I'm sure you're all waiting for the action to begin and I promise it will start in the next chapter; I had an idea for a great subplot when I was brushing my teeth last night! Meanwhile, enjoy chapter seventeen. And you know your reviews are always appreciated…I love receiving comments on the storyline, my portrayal of the characters….anything you want to share with me. :)

Chapter Seventeen

– Happy –

When I woke up lying next to Jacob the next morning, everything seemed so right. I was peaceful and happy as I lay there with thoughts whirling through my head. The storm of my worry had passed and now I simply felt excitement. Most of all, I wanted to tell the world. I have heard some women prefer to keep their pregnancy news quiet until they are ready to tell others but I was longing to tell my family. Charlie, Renêe, the Cullens….I knew all of them would be overjoyed to hear the news.

First, though, I booked an appointment with the OB-GYN. Jacob was uncharacteristically anxious about my doing so: "We've gotta get everything checked out, make sure everything's okay before we start telling people."

"Stop fussing, Jake," I said, playfully running my fingers through his dark hair. "There's no need to worry. Goodness only knows what you'll be like during the actual birth!"

The appointment was on a chilly afternoon at the end of February. Jacob drove me to the OB-GYN office in town and we went in together. I fidgeted as we sat in the waiting area. Medical environments made me nervous: the product of bad associations with them. When my name was announced and I went into the doctor's office, I felt worse. The white walls seemed to close around me, shrouding me with the sterile, clinical atmosphere. It made me flashback to the time after my honeymoon with Edward, when Carlisle examined my rapidly growing abdomen in a room which was so very similar to this one. For a minute, I was Bella Cullen again, carrying my beloved Edward's child.

"Mrs Black, are you okay?" Dr Roberts said. "You look a little dizzy there."

Jacob lightly squeezed my hand and I landed back in the present moment, tearing myself away from my past. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you. Just a little tired. And please call me Bella, I'd prefer that."

"Sure, tiredness is perfectly normal in the first trimester," the doctor smiled reassuringly. "It's a sign of your body adapting to all the changes going on. Okay, Bella, I have your medical records here. Can you just scan through them and check everything is up-to-date?"

She handed me a wad of papers and I leafed through them, smiling at the records of my numerous hospital and ER visits. "I'm not the most graceful of people, as you can probably see," I joked. "I've had more hospital visits than most."

Dr Roberts smiled as I handed the medical notes back to her. "Now, Bella, I have a few questions for you about your health history and then with your permission I'd like to run a few tests, just to check everything is okay. Firstly, have you been pregnant before?"

I swallowed hard before answering, "Yes, I was but I had a miscarriage."

"I'm sorry." the doctor said gently. "Can I ask how many months you were when that happened?"

"Um, I guess I was at the three or four month stage."

"Okay. Thank you, Bella. I'm sorry to have to ask these personal questions. Based on your previous medical history, I think it would be a good idea to schedule appointments with me once a month and we can make sure everything is progressing smoothly."

"Are you concerned that it might not?" I asked, with a tinge of worry in my voice, and Jacob looked anxiously at the doctor.

"From my point of view, everything seems fine but I always like to do this when women have had problems with previous pregnancies. It is standard procedure, Bella. Please don't be alarmed."

"I…um…I should tell you about what happened before," I began hesitantly.

"If it's difficult for you to talk about it, I have everything I need to know," Dr Roberts said sympathetically.

"No, it's okay," I said. "It's just painful to look back. My previous husband passed away the day before I miscarried, you see. The shock caused it."

"I'm so sorry to hear about your losses," Dr Roberts answered.

"Thank you," I nodded.

Then, she prepped me ready to take a blood sample and when it was done, smiled at me and told me: "I'm going to send this sample to be tested at the lab but there's no need to be concerned. You look very healthy."

Once she had finished her questions and the other tests, she gave me some leaflets about basic do's and don'ts during pregnancy, handed me a promotional coupon for a recommended multivitamin and then wished me all the best. I scheduled another appointment at reception and then Jacob drove me home.

"I think we should tell people," I said to him, as he was driving. "At least tell my parents and your dad. We can wait before we tell anyone else."

"Okay," Jacob said reluctantly. "I was hoping we could have a few days with just us knowing though. It feels so private."

I smiled, "You're so protective of me, Jacob."

"I love you, Bella," he answered simply. "All I want is to see you healthy and happy and to look after our baby when it comes."

All I could do in response to Jacob's heartfelt words was look at him as moisture began to rise in my eyes.

"These pregnancy hormones are making me emotional," I laughed. "I'm so excited…it feels unreal at the moment. I can't really believe this is happening. It'll be a fall baby. September is a lovely month to have a birthday. Maybe the baby will share my birthday! The due date is only a few days after."

Jacob phoned the workmen and told them he wouldn't be there to supervise the work on his garage today. He told them, "Yeah, I'm not feeling too great. Just a 24 hour virus thing. It will pass." And then he hung up the phone and grinned at me, before sweeping me off my feet and carrying me upstairs where we spent a very pleasant afternoon.