Copyright declaration: The Twilight series and its characters are the creation of and copyright of Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing and this 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 Twilight fan-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: Hey everyone. Thanks for reading and reviewing. This chapter has been ready for a while but I've been unwell for the past 10 days and I haven't been thinking much about fanfic. I'm only just starting to get better. But if you leave me a chapter review (*hint hint*), I'll feel much better. ;-) Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter Eighteen

– Bump –

As the weeks passed, my stomach grew. I had to discard my favorite items of clothing – jeans and fitted T-shirts – and buy loose-fitting, unrestricting tops and maternity pants. I also wore dresses more often than I usually did. I have never enjoyed wearing dresses much; they are usually impractical, especially in the rainy Pacific Northwest. When I came downstairs to show Jacob a blue figure-fitting wraparound dress that really showed off my growing bump, he whistled and smiled, "You should wear that more often, Bells."

"I think I will," I said as he wrapped me into his arms and tenderly kissed my forehead. Clearly, motherhood was changing me in more ways than one.

Everyone was delighted to hear the news. I told my mom before I told everyone else. She was curious to hear the outcome of the pregnancy test but, with a surprising amount of tact, she kept her eagerness under wraps for two weeks until finally she simply could not bear it any longer. Coincidentally, she phoned me just before I was about to get in the car to go to the OB/GYN office. Jacob was outside waiting and I called out to him, "Two seconds, honey. My mom's calling."

"Hey," Renêe said. "How are you, sweetie?"

"Great," I said, and meant it.

"Well, I guess you know why I'm calling," my mom replied and I could practically hear her smiling three thousand miles away. "And I'm guessing that your answer to my question means that my suspicions are confirmed."

I paused for a second as I pondered how to answer. Then, stumbling slightly because it was only the second time I had uttered those few precious words, I blurted: "I'm having a baby."

Renêe's squeal nearly broke the sound barrier, "Oh, BELLA! I am so so happy for you. Have you told anyone else?"

"Only Jake, of course. Can you keep it quiet for a few weeks, Mom? I'm going to tell the rest of the family very soon but I'm about to go to my OB/GYN appointment. And I want to be sure that everything is okay before I announce it to the world."

"Of course, baby. Oh my goodness, that's amazing news. But I'm too young to be a grandparent yet, honey. Couldn't you have waited a few years?" Renêe gushed.

"MOM!" I exclaimed. "You know this wasn't planned. But the baby will be loved just as much anyway."

"Honey, I was joking. I didn't mean to offend you," Renêe backtracked. "Give my love to Jacob, won't you? And my congrats to you both."

Jake honked the horn outside and I hastily checked the time. "I've got to go, Mom, or I will be late for my appointment."

"Take care, Bella. Let me know how it goes."

"I will, Mom. Love you."

"Love you too. Bye!"

When I told the Cullens, I made a video call to them from my computer so they could all see my expanding bump. Knowing Alice, I was careful to make myself look as presentable as possible before I called, with full makeup and a glossy nail polish. I was wearing one of my favorite maternity outfits: a deep red smock top and stretchy dark blue cropped pants.

The Cullens all gathered in front of the computer in their spacious living room and I smiled at them, "I have some news to tell you all. But you probably already know it, Alice."

"I do, Bella, but I haven't told anyone else. I knew you'd want to be the one to tell them," she answered sweetly.

"Thank you for being so thoughtful," I said and then I added. "Well, I might as well tell you straightaway: I'm pregnant."

Then it was as if the screen erupted in front of my face. A ray of sunlight shot through the living room window and the smiling, happy faces of the Cullens sparkled and shone, illuminated by the sunshine. Esme's face stood out, glowing with love, and all of my family uttered effusions of congratulations, well wishes and blessings.

"You must come visit us before the birth," Carlisle said. "It isn't far to travel. We'd happily pay your plane tickets. Jacob is very welcome too but obviously he won't be able to because of the problems he would have with the phasing starting again."

"I'd love to," I said. "I'll have to see how Jake feels about being left to fend for himself for a couple of weeks though! But I'm sure everything will be fine."

I chatted with my family for a while longer and finished the call feeling happy and relaxed. I could not believe how elated I felt to be telling everyone. Now all my family knew and I sent an email round to all my friends. Charlie was delighted to hear but he gruffly stated his old-fashioned views: "Glad you found the time to get married first." Then he wrapped me in his arms in the biggest hug I think he had ever given me. "I'm proud of you, Bells. It hasn't been easy for you these past few years and you deserve happiness."

But not everyone was so thrilled to hear about my pregnancy news. I was out at the supermarket one day when I briefly looked up from putting a can of tomatoes in the shopping cart. My eyes met a pair of ice gray ones staring back at me. The willowy figure of Rose Dimanche stepped in front of me, looking with disgust at my pregnant belly. My bump was showing now; it was small but visible and the lilac dress I was wearing clung to my precious little bulge, exposing it even more.

"So you're knocked up already, huh?" she said in an unfriendly tone. "Didn't take you long to convince Jake to take you back, did it? Or, let me guess, you seduced him and manipulated him into a shotgun wedding with you?"

"What do you want from me?" I said in a steely tone. Jacob's jealous ex was not about to infuriate me, I was sure of that. I refused to let her wind me up and cause trouble, which was clearly her aim.

She sidestepped the question and moved forward. Instinctively, I covered my stomach with my hands and stood defensively with my chin up and my shoulders back.

"I don't care about your stupid little fantasies, Mrs Cullen," she spat. "Pretending to be all lovey-dovey 'oh so devoted' to Jake, with your baby on the way and your white picket fence. You're nothing but a home wrecker."

Her words cut deep, despite the falseness of them. She took advantage of my silence in order to cast her final parting blow: a spear of resentment and fury that she twisted far into me.

"Jake's better off without you. And he will be, soon enough. I'll be watching."