A/N: Happy Wednesday! Thank you so much for your reviews. As I've told you, this story is winding down. There's one more regular chapter and an epilogue. Sorry for short notice, but it sort of snuck up on me!
SMeyer owns all Twilight characters. No infringement intended.
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18.
Eight Months Later
"Do you Isabella Marie take Edward Anthony to be your lawfully wedded husband?" the minister asked. We were getting married. We'd settled on Carlisle and Esme's backyard in August. We'd planned it, and we had about seventy-five people with us to witness the joining of our families. We'd been through birthdays, fights, holidays, Edward's setting up his practice with Jasper, and we were finally at the wedding.
I was dressed in a simple cream-colored ,silk dress with a waist-length, off-white 'blanket', as Jax had called it, on the back of my head, and I was looking into the eyes of the only man I ever wanted to be with for the rest of my life.
"I do," I answered as the tears flooded my cheeks. He should have known I'd never get through it without crying. Jax was a flower girl and Chelsea was a bridesmaid, and I knew I saw him wipe a tear when they each walked down the aisle in their dresses.
Rosalie was my matron-of-honor, as pregnant as she was, and Emmett was Edward's best man. My dad and Billy gave me away, and it was quite symbolic that my former father-in-law was so supportive of my marriage. I couldn't have dreamed of anything more perfect.
It had actually been Chelsea's idea for the two of them to give me away after she and I made photo albums for Esme for Christmas. She thought it incredible that Billy spent time with us, and well, when we moved him into the cook's quarters earlier in the summer, nobody thought anything of it. He hated living in Port Angeles, and after Edward and I went for a visit, we both saw how miserable he was. We talked about it and decided that he was going to live with us, and we were all okay with it…especially my husband-to-be as soon as he said his I do.
"Do you, Edward Anthony, take Isabella Marie to be your lawfully wedded wife?" the minister asked him as we stood under the arbor in the garden.
"I do, with all of my heart," he answered. Yeah, more fucking tears. I wanted to pop him in the back of the head for making me cry but he was so sincere, and I couldn't help myself but smile at him through my tears.
After the kiss, which was rather chaste and not entirely to my liking, we turned to look at everyone in attendance, listening to the applause of our small gathering. I kissed his hand as we walked down the aisle, and I pulled him into me at the back of the garden because I had news for my new husband.
Everyone was still gathering their things, so I had a small window of time. I pulled him close and pulled his head down to me. "Guess what?" I asked as we stood together in the beautiful garden on that cloud covered day. I didn't need sunshine…I had it, and it was the man looking at me like I'd popped a blood vessel in my brain.
"You're a married woman?" he teased as he kissed my nose.
"Well, yeah, but I have a gift for you," I whispered.
"You gave me you and Jax, and you helped me find Chelsea. I couldn't imagine another gift that would measure up. I don't need things from you…I need you," he replied, repeating my own words back to me.
I could only smile and laugh. "Oh, I think you'll like this gift very much, Dr. Cullen," I teased. I couldn't help myself with that shit. He teased me all of the time, and he wasn't telling me where we were going on our honeymoon so I owed him big time for that.
"Okay, baby, lay it on me," he joked as he pulled me over to where the receiving line was to be, according to our wedding planner. I took my place next to my husband and began the hugging, hand shaking, and air kisses that accompanied such things as our guests moved toward the large patio where there was to be dinner and dancing.
When there was a break, because my mother was talking to people and clogging up the line, I leaned in to my new husband and whispered two words. "I'm pregnant."
Just then, Mom moved and another gang of people came out of the garden and began the hugging and air kissing and well wishing. I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see my new husband was completely frozen. After three guests…people from his side who I'd never met…walked passed, he moved into the line of people and looked at me in disbelief.
"Come again?" he asked. People were trying to get around him to the open bar, but apparently he didn't give a shit.
I hugged his aunt and looked at him with a smile. "I said, I'm pregnant."
He blinked twice and picked me up and spun me around, which wasn't good because I was about ready to throw up anyway, but I held it in.
"When?" he whispered to me as he held me aloft.
"You mean when did you get the job done or when are we due?" I teased.
"Goddamn, a baby? I love you. I don't fucking care. How far are you? How are you?" he asked. For an OB, he wasn't very observant. I'd been puking for weeks and had to have my dress let out because, well, the tits were out of control, and he'd even remarked that they were spectacular, the clueless ass.
"About eight weeks," I responded as the line picked up after everyone hooted and hollered about Edward picking me up and spinning me around, not having a clue as to why. It was going to be an exciting time at our house, I was certain.
##
"Edward, son, you're hogging the bride," Carlisle remarked as he walked up to where Edward and I were dancing. Jax and Chelsea were both on Billy's lap and he was spinning around in his wheelchair with them, causing both of them to squeal. Edward had monopolized all of my dances, breaking in on anyone who asked me to dance without one ounce of regret. He made me tell him five times that I was expecting, and I hoped it was finally sinking in.
He turned to Carlisle and smiled. "Fine, but I get her back when this song is over. I'm going to go steal my daughters away from their other grandfather. One song, old man," he teased as he hugged Carlisle and walked away.
Carlisle put his arm around my waist and took my hand, looking into my eyes. "I have to tell you, Bella, you've brought a lot of wonderful changes to our family. We're so happy to have you and Jax as members, and I can never express my gratitude for your part in our finding Chelsea. I don't have enough time to go into all of the ways in which Edward has changed. He actually had me in tears this morning when we were having breakfast. I finally feel like his father, and I'm quite happy about that," Carlisle explained.
I looked over to where Edward was holding Jax in his left arm and spinning Chelsea with his right hand, and I thought back to when I found him on that gurney by the nurses' station the year before. We'd all come a long way since that night.
All of the women had stayed at Carlisle and Esme's the night before the wedding, and all of the men had stayed at Platte House. Alice and Rosalie took my phone from me because we were playing games, and I wasn't paying attention because I was texting Edward, so when he called the house and asked if something was wrong, they all gave him an earful and threatened that if he called again, they'd kidnap me and stop the wedding.
Apparently, the guys were having a party of their own, and my fiancé loved to drunk dial, so Esme called Carlisle and told him to take Edward's phone away from him so we could go to bed. I wondered what the guys had done the night before, besides drink, but whatever it was seemed to have healed the distance that seemed to be between Edward and Carlisle for as long as I'd known the two of them.
"What happened at breakfast?" I asked. I was dying to know, and I didn't know if I'd get it out of Edward.
"Well, we were both nursing hangovers, but he paid me the best compliment I've ever received. He told me that I taught him how to be a good father because I'd been a great father to him, even though he's not biologically my son. Shit, I think I might cry again. Anyway, I'm happy he has you, and I look forward to many years of being close to my son. Thank you for that," he offered. I saw the tears in his eyes, and being the hormonal mess that I was, I started crying right with him.
"Crap. You can't cry today. It's a great day, not one for tears," he told me as he reached into his pocket of his tuxedo and pulled out a handkerchief, handing it to me and then drying his own eyes.
"Thank you, Carlisle, for being a wonderful father to the man I love. I'm sure it wasn't always easy, but I truly love the man he is and that's thanks to you and Esme," I told him. He hugged me and walked away, leaving me on the dance floor by myself. I quickly made my way to the bathroom and locked the door to try to calm down.
There were still pictures being taken, and I didn't want to be all red-eyed in them, but I couldn't help but cry when I thought about what Carlisle told me Edward had said. It was absolutely the sweetest thing I'd ever heard in my life, and it made me love my husband that much more.
##
We pulled up to the gate of Platte House and weren't surprised to see Jax and Chelsea playing on the tire swing in the front yard. They were spinning and laughing so loudly that we could hear them through the closed windows of the car.
We were home from our honeymoon. Seven days in paradise. It was a little island off the coast of Brazil, and it was perfect. We swam, I puked, we made love, and it was absolutely the perfect way to start out our life together.
My parents had stayed at our house with the girls and Billy, and while we'd enjoyed our honeymoon very much, we were both happy to be home because we'd missed everyone. "Well, now we're back to Mom and Dad. No more carefree newlyweds making love when the notion strikes," Edward sighed as we watched the two of them for a moment.
"Are you sorry about that?" I asked as I absentmindedly rubbed my stomach. I wasn't showing yet, but I knew the baby was in there, and Edward was so sweet about kissing my stomach and talking to it all the time that I couldn't forget it even if I wanted to.
He turned to look at me and smiled. "Not one bit. I'll figure out how to get you alone as often as I can, because when this little guy makes his appearance, we'll have even less time than we do now. I love you so much, Isabella," he whispered against my lips as he kissed me before we pulled through the gate and up to the house. He was convinced it was a boy because he'd told me that God wouldn't be cruel enough to give him another daughter when he already had two. I only laughed.
He hit the horn on the car, and the girls came running. We both laughed as they seemed to be racing, and I braced for the impact when one or the other of them slammed into me. Thankfully, Chelsea ran to my side and slowed down before she hugged me around the waist. Jax, however, hit Edward with full force. He scooped her up and gave her a smacking kiss on her cheek as she wrapped her arms around his neck and scrunched up her face with a squeal of "Daddy, what'd you bringed me?"
Chelsea, our gentle flower, hugged me and looked up at me with those beautiful green eyes of her father's and smiled. "I'm glad you're home Mom. How was your trip?" she asked. I kissed the top of her head and wrapped my arm around her, walking to the front of the car where Edward was rubbing noses with Jax.
"It was good, but we missed the two of you. How were the grandparents?" I asked. The grandmothers had taken the girls school shopping while we were gone, and I was grateful because Jax and shopping was a true test of nerves. I was curious how they'd handled it.
"It was fun. We have a lot to show you. Big Pop's daughter, Rachel was here to visit. She's not very nice, though. She told Big Pop that Jax got on her nerves, and he called her a bad word," Chelsea informed, pulling on my hand for me to leave down and whispering, "bitch" into my ear. I couldn't wait to get to the bottom of that discussion with Billy. Rachel and Rebecca weren't happy that he had moved in with us, but he told them to take a flying kiss at his ass, and he moved in anyway. Edward and I laughed at his story.
"Mommy!" Jax shrieked and wiggled from Edward's arms. It was almost like she just realized that if Edward was there, I was with him.
She ran to me and nearly knocked me down, but it felt good to feel her tight hug. I squatted down and wrapped my arms around her little body and kissed her all over her face, causing the most incredible giggle to erupt from her. Chelsea was hugging Edward, and it was evident by the look on his face that he was as happy to be home as me.
"Let's go inside. I'll get the bags later. I'm sure that Grandma Ne and Grandpa Charlie are anxious to get home," Edward suggested. The four of us walked up on the front porch, and Edward stopped abruptly.
"Oops. I almost forgot. Jax, get the door for Dad, will ya?" he asked. She opened the front door, and he swept me up into his arms and kissed me sweetly, carrying me inside. We were both surprised to see a flash once we were in the hallway.
"That's the most perfect picture I've ever taken in my life," my mom announced. She walked over to where Edward was still holding me and turned the camera around to show us that it was a shot of Jax and Chelsea in front of us, and Edward kissing me as he carried me into the house. It was immediately one of my favorites.
"Renee, how were they?" Edward asked as he placed me on my feet and hugged my mother. I was glad that my parents thought as much of Edward and Chelsea as Carlisle and Esme thought of Jax and me. It made everything so much easier.
"As you would expect they would be. Chelsea was a perfect little lady, helping me with dishes and housework while Miss Jax was a terror. She got away from me at Macy's, and I nearly had a stroke. Luckily, Esme found her within a minute, but I swear, if I take that girl to a store again, I'm getting one of those harness things for her. She can get away faster than any child I've ever seen," Mom admitted.
I looked at Jax, and she was looking down at the floor with that damn lip out and the head tilt she employed when she knew she'd done something wrong. It had absolutely no power over me. Edward, however, still fell for it every time. "Not my daughter. Come here, sweetheart. You wouldn't run away from Grandma again would you?" he asked as he picked her up and walked further into the house.
"I was looking for Nana Mesme. She was findin' me some Barbie shoes," Jax told him. I looked at her feet and saw that she was wearing tennis shoes with Barbie on them. I rued the day that Esme Cullen ever introduced her to the world of Barbie.
"Okay, but honey, you know you have to stay with Grandma Ne because if someone took you away from us, Mommy and Daddy would be very sad. Now, where's Grandpa and Big Pop?" he asked.
Mom answered, "Fishing, of course. They should be back soon. You're actually early. Esme and Carlisle are coming over, and we're going to grill out, unless you kids are too tired. You've got wedding gifts to open, you know."
We'd left first thing the morning after the wedding, and we hadn't opened any wedding gifts, not that we wanted or needed anything in the first place. I'd actually forgotten all about them.
"That sounds great. Okay, I'm going to go take a quick shower and change. I'll be back to help get food ready," I called. My stomach was rolling a little, and we weren't ready to tell the grandparents about the baby, so I didn't want to barf in our great room.
"Yeah, you go ahead. I'll go grab our bags. Come on, girls. You can help me. Your mom and I might have brought you something back," he teased. The three of them strolled out of the house, and I smiled at the sight of it.
As I was about to climb the stairs, my mom grabbed my hand. "Freeze, baby girl. Are you pregnant?" she asked. I knew my mouth flew open, and I had absolutely no idea how she could tell.
"What…why…why would you ask that?" I asked, trying not to look into her eyes because I couldn't lie to her face to face. Never had been able to, and I was certain that wasn't going to change since I was pregnant.
"Because, you have that flushed look about you just like you did when you were pregnant with Jax. I'm so happy for you, honey. Does anyone know?" she asked. She was a smart one, my mom.
"Edward knows. I told him on our wedding day," I whispered, even though we were in the house alone.
"Ah, that explains that extra cockiness I sensed when he strolled in here. Well, I think it's fantastic, and I won't say a word. Esme and I talked about it while we were having coffee one morning before the girls got up, and we both hoped you two would start your family right away so that there wasn't a huge age gap. I'm so glad you are," she gushed as she hugged me.
We broke apart, both of us in tears, and I quickly went upstairs to shower and change before the girls came back into the house and picked up on it. We were going to talk to them privately before we told anyone, and I was anxious for it to be out in the open.
My husband, the OB, kept very close tabs on me while we were on our honeymoon, so I knew I was in good health, and hopefully, we wouldn't have any problems during the pregnancy. March couldn't arrive soon enough.
##
The girls were at school, and I was going to drop by Edward and Jasper's office to meet them for lunch. Alice had to go to Seattle to pick up Jasper's sister from the airport, and they were going to meet us at the diner. I'd been to my prenatal check-up that morning, and I had big news for my husband. He had planned to go with me, but he was called in for an emergency cesarean, and I had to go alone. It wasn't the day to have to hear the news by myself.
One wonderful thing that had happened was that Angela and Ben had moved back to Forks, and she was working as a receptionist for Edward and Jasper. She and I had many talks about the old days when she, Ben, Jake, and I used to hang out, and we'd become good friends again. Rosalie and Alice loved her, and we had a lot of friends to hang out with.
Rosalie was due any day, and Eric Yorkie, of all people, was working with her and basically taking over the day-to-day operations at the bakery. He was an incredible baker, which wasn't known to me when we worked together in the morgue, and when the opportunity came up for him to change jobs, he was more than happy about it. Unfortunately, he didn't have anyone in his life, and he still lusted after my husband, but it was a joke at our house.
"Hi Ang," I greeted as I walked into the office that day. I was three months pregnant and just starting to show, which made me happy. The parents were quite happy about the news, and all of the attention I got from them was overwhelming most of the time. Jax and Chelsea were thrilled about it as well, and I was truly happy that they weren't jealous or upset. I wasn't so sure that mood would remain when the latest news hit our house.
"Hey, Little Momma. Big Poppa should be done in about five minutes. How are you feeling? You look fantastic," Angela announced as she rounded the reception desk and hugged me.
My husband, the cocky, arrogant man that he was, had embraced the nickname that Eric Yorkie had given him when word spread that I was expecting. Every time Edward went into the bakery, which was just up the street from his and Jasper's offices, Yorkie began rapping the damn song, and Edward liked it. He walked around whistling it all the time, and it drove us all crazy. Of course, I'd been labeled Little Momma, and I was less than thrilled about it.
"God, does he make you call him that?" I laughed. It sounded like something he'd do.
"Jasper calls him that all the time, and it just sort of rubbed off on all of us. McCarty's the worst about it, I swear, but Edward's driving us crazy with the damn whistling," she confessed.
Just then, I heard the door to one of the exam rooms open, and I heard his sweet, velvety voice carry up the hallway. "Okay, Jessica, I'll see you in a year. Congratulations on your engagement. I'll see you at the hospital some time." I looked up to see Jessica Stanley walking down the hallway with a huge smile on her face, the bitch.
"Oh, hi Bella. Looks like you're taking advantage of the whole 'eating for two' thing," she sniped as she stopped at the reception desk to pay her co-pay. I really wanted to coldcock the woman, but before I could say or do anything, my husband had me in his arms and his lips were on mine.
He pulled away and winked at me, obviously knowing that I was about to unleash hell on Jessica, and he knew that the kiss would completely derail me as it always did. "Jessica's just gotten engaged to Mike Newton. I believe you worked with him in Hell," Edward remarked with a smirk obviously remembering what I'd told him about Newton's pot-fueled stupidity. I started laughing, remembering a stoned Newton barely able to function in the morgue, and I decided that she was getting exactly what the fuck she deserved.
"Well now, isn't that nice. I think you two are meant for each other," I observed. I noticed her look at me out of her peripheral, and I could tell she didn't really appreciate my comment, but I gave a shit less.
"Yes, we are, unlike some people. Good-bye, Dr. Cullen," she snapped as she left the office. When she was gone, the three of us cracked up.
"Angela, when's my next appointment?" he asked as he wrote on Jessica's chart and flipped it closed, placing it in the bin on Angela's desk.
"Um, nothing until 1:00 PM. Jasper's probably finished with his rounds, so I believe I'm going to lunch. Bells, we need to get together soon. I'll call you. Enjoy, you two," Angela remarked as she grabbed her purse and left the office. Edward walked over to the door in the waiting room and locked it, taking my hand and leading me back to his office.
"How was your appointment? I trust our son is doing quite well," he joked. Up until my appointment that morning, we teased each other about the baby's sex. We hadn't planned to find out, but that morning, I'd found out after I got the surprise of my life.
How to break the news was something I'd been stewing on since I'd left Dr. Hannigan's office. I finally decided to simply give him the sonogram picture, knowing he was quite familiar with reading them, and let it sink in for him the way it had sunk in for me. "Well, here you go. By the way, God hates you," I responded as I reached into my purse and handed him the picture.
He looked at it and began speaking, "So, what time are we supposed to meet Jasper and Alice at the…" There it was. The look of shock. The deep gulp. The wild eyes as he looked between me and the picture. Yep, it was exactly the way I'd reacted to the news.
"You're joking with this, right? This is a joke. You and Hannigan are totally fucking with me," he reacted. I wasn't surprised he'd jumped to the conclusion because he and my OB, Dr. Nikki Hannigan, had a rivalry in our small town, being two of the three OB/GYN's in town. She teased him that I might be married to her biggest competitor in town but when I wanted a good doctor, I'd sought her out. He teased her that if she could ever find a man who could put up with her crabby ass, he'd be happy to deliver her first baby for free. I just laughed at the two of them.
"I certainly wish I was," I told him as I stroked my baby bump. It was all perfectly clear as to why I was bigger at three months than I had been with Jax, though I barely remembered that pregnancy.
"And they're both…" he stammered. Yes, we were having twins. Worse than that, we were having twin girls. He was so fucked, it wasn't funny.
"They're both. Man, you don't do shit halfway," I told him as I opened the refrigerator in his office and grabbed two bottles of water as he sunk down into the chair behind his desk, looking like he was either having a panic attack or going into shock. Neither was a welcomed reaction.
"Dear, somebody up there is paying you back for your philandering ways during your formative years," I joked as I handed him a bottle of water and sat down on the top of his desk, waiting for him to come back to me.
"No shit," he responded as he took a drink of water. He loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top button on his dress shirt. I wanted to laugh at him, but I actually knew how the man felt, and I didn't want him to have a heart attack or anything.
"So, Dr. Hannigan asked if we wanted to consider a C-section since they're twins, and we could deliver at the optimum time. I told her I'd get a second opinion, and she laughed," I related.
His head snapped up, and he looked at me with worry in his eyes. "Why wouldn't she want you to deliver vaginally? Is there something wrong? Did you have complications when you had Jax?" he asked.
"No, not at all. She just offered it as an option because, well, if they're your kids, they're probably going to be big, and I'd prefer not to be ripped in half when I delivered them," I responded. She'd mentioned that they were actually big for where I was in my pregnancy, and she'd pinpointed the due date to the last week of March, which fit in with when I thought I'd conceived.
"Why didn't we hear two heartbeats when you went to your last exam?" he asked. How the fuck did I know? He was the goddamn doctor, not me.
"You've delivered twins before. Do you always pick up two distinct heartbeats?" I asked. He was still drinking his water and running his right hand through his hair like a maniac.
"What?" he asked. Yeah, I could tell he was just talking to himself and didn't actually expect me to answer him.
"I said you've delivered twins before. Do you always pick up two distinct heartbeats?" I repeated.
"Shit, I don't even…God, four girls. I'm going to die at a young age, you know that, right?" he asked. I was about to cry because I knew it would be a shock, but I wasn't exactly happy about how much of a shock it appeared to be.
I hopped down from the desk and tossed my empty water bottle into the recycle bin in his office. I grabbed my purse and went to the restroom to cry alone. I knew he was worried and upset, but it wasn't like I had any say into the sex or the number of children I was carrying. He was as much a part of it as me.
After I went to the bathroom and washed my hands, I opened the door to find him standing there looking very sheepish. "I'm going to the diner to meet Alice and Jasper. I'll see you at home," I snapped, not at all happy about the way in which he'd taken the news.
"No, baby, wait. I'm sorry about how I took the news. I'm just surprised, that's all. I'm sure that when it really sinks in, I'll be happy about it. It's just a fucking shock," he replied as he pulled me into his arms and hugged me.
Damn him and his arms. I couldn't help but cry again because I knew he was as surprised as I was, but I'd expected the cocky ass to gloat or something, not have a fucking meltdown. "It's not like I planned this or anything," I sobbed against his chest. He picked me up and carried me back to his office sitting down in his chair with me on his lap.
"Bella, honey, I'm so sorry I didn't go with you today. I'm sure that if we'd have been there and heard the news at the same time, I'd have taken it a lot better. It's just, you know, I never considered that there'd be twins. I was pretty sure it would be a girl, but I had no idea about twins. I love you so much, and hell, we live in a sea of pink already, so I'm not sure how I'd handle a son anyway. Please forgive me for being such a dick. I was just surprised," he whispered as he held my face in his gentle hands and looked into my eyes.
He dried my tears with his thumbs on my cheeks, and then he kissed me gently on my lips, completely enchanting me, as per usual. When we pulled apart as his phone chimed on the desk, he smiled at me. "I love you, my sweet girl, and as I'm honored as I am to be your husband, I'm thrilled to be the father of your children. I'll get used to this, I promise, baby," he responded. I reached over to his desk and picked up his phone, handing it to him.
He tapped the buttons and laughed. "Jasper wants to know where the fuck we are. Come on, let's go feed our daughters. We'll tell the girls tonight, and then tell the grandparents. I'm sure the mothers are going to go crazy, and the fathers are going to razz the shit out of me. I actually feel sorry for Billy the most. Four girls…Jesus," he replied. Jesus, indeed.
##
We walked into the diner, and Jasper and Alice stood up from the table and began chanting, "I love it when you call me Big Poppa…throw yo hands in the air like yous a true playa. I love it when you call me Big Poppa…" I simply shook my head at their display and noticed the petite redhead sitting at the table, looking at the two of them like they were crazy.
"Okay, enough," I called as Edward swaggered over to the table in typical arrogant fashion. I could already see that he was warming up to the idea that his super swimmers had fertilized one egg that split into two, and we were having twins. I knew he'd turn it into something about him, and I was ready for him.
"Hello there Jazz, Alice, and you, lovely young woman. I'm Edward and this is my beautiful wife, Bella," he introduced as he shook Charlotte's hand. She wasn't as short as Alice or me, but she was very pretty. She had pale features and reddish-brown hair, and she had Jasper's blue eyes.
"Pleased to meet you both. Jasper and Ali have told me a lot about you. I'm Charlotte," she answered.
"Well, they don't know the best news. My lovely wife just informed me that we're having twins. You can't say anything about it because we've gotta tell the girls and parents, but yeah, Big Poppa got the job done quite nicely," he gloated. I slapped him on the chest.
"Edward! You were just having a fucking panic attack before we left the office. Now, you're going to brag about it?" I asked.
"Panic attack? Oh, Blacksheep, do tell," Jasper chided. I laughed at him and decided what the fuck.
"I'm carrying twins…girls," I announced. Well, if he was telling that they were twins, I could tell that they were girls.
Jasper shot water out his nose, and Alice crumpled into him laughing as well. Of course, my braggart of a husband had probably been touting that it was going to be a bouncing boy. They both cracked up at his discomfort, and I couldn't help but laugh with them.
"Oh, brother. Are you gonna be in hell. Four girls…that's really fucking priceless," Jasper teased. Poor Charlotte wasn't used to us, and she looked like a deer in headlights, but if she was going to work for Edward and Jasper, she was going to have to get used to them. If Jasper and Edward were shocking, I had no idea what the hell she'd do with Emmett McCarty who was going to join their practice as a General Practioner.
##
"So, we have some good news," Edward announced. We were all at Esme and Carlisle's house for Sunday dinner. It was my birthday weekend, and Edward, Chelsea and Jax had pampered me all day. I was so happy that I cried at the fucking drop of a hat. Edward had embraced the fact that we were going to have two little baby girls in the spring, and he was even smugger than he'd been before the news.
"I wanna tell," Jax announced from the table. Chelsea was holding my hand and laughing at Jax's exuberance over our news. They were both happy about the fact that the babies would be girls. I hoped they'd stay excited once we had two crying, pooping babies in our house.
"Actually, that's a stellar idea. Jax, go ahead," Edward announced.
Jax stood up on her chair and clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. It was family, along with Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie and their little Lilly, and Jasper's sister, Charlotte.
She was a sweet girl, and Alice and I had been conspiring to set her up with Peter O'Rourke, though we'd been unable to work it out. We weren't giving up by any stretch.
When she felt like she had everyone's attention, Jax announced, "We're having two babies, and they're both girls."
The room exploded as we knew it would, and everyone was pleased with the news. My dad and Billy teased Edward mercilessly regarding the fact that he was going to have four daughters, and there would probably be a multitude of the boys who would likely cross our threshold, but at the end of the night, my father promised to take him to the shooting range to teach him how to shoot a gun so he could run off any undesirables.
My mom, Esme, and I laughed until I was about to pee my pants. It was a wonderful birthday, and I was glad that the only gifts I got were gift certificates for manis and pedis and picture frames. I didn't want anything big, and everyone, for once, respected it.
That was, until we got home. I thought it odd that my husband had agreed that my gift would be the small party. I should have fucking known better. We put the girls to bed, and settled on the couch to listen to music. I was having a nice cup of herbal tea, and Edward was having a glass of wine.
"So, Mrs. Cullen, you've given me more than I ever deserved, and before you start complaining, let me remind you that I love you and you're carrying my daughters. Now, happy birthday," he announced as he handed me a box that he pulled out from under the couch. I eyed him warily and peeled off the paper, finding a red leather box inside. I opened it and found a beautiful bracelet with four charms in the shape of little girls. The skirts on the little stick figures contained stones, and I was quite surprised at them. One was a garnet; one was a diamond, and two were aquamarine. I looked at him and smiled.
"It's beautiful, but what if the girls are late or come early?" I asked. I didn't want to contemplate that maybe something might happen to one or both of them. It was too much to think about.
"I can exchange them, and don't even start thinking about the worst case scenario. Our girls are all going to be fine. I won't have it any other way," he replied as he placed the bracelet on my wrist.
"Thank you, honey," I answered.
"You can thank me another way, you know," he responded with the familiar lust in his eyes. I pulled him from the couch, and we went upstairs, closing the door and locking it. It was time for Little Momma to get what she really wanted for her birthday, and that was Big Poppa.
Softly, slowly, sweetly. That was the only way I could describe how my husband made love to me that night. He was on top of me because it wouldn't be very long before that position was impossible, and I loved feeling the weight of his tight body on me. After he brought me to climax with his mouth, he moved up my body and gently stroked into me.
"I love you so much, and I love what we've made," he whispered against my neck as he moved in and out of me. I was moving against him, and I was on the verge of losing it. He knew it, and he pulled his weight to the left, his right hand circling my clit to bring me to a whimpering mess.
After my second orgasm, he pulled me up from the bed, and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Hold on, baby," he whispered as he moved in and out of me. It felt incredible, and we both found our happy endings at the same time. I was exhausted, but very well satisfied. It had been a perfect birthday, in my opinion, and as I fell asleep with him wrapped around me, I had not one complaint about anything.
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E/N: TWINS! It's a total coincidence that this chapter and the last chapter of AFOTF both involve babies. I never planned it that way, I promise. Can't wait to hear what you thought.
Till next Wednesday…xoxo