Stephenie has it all. I just decided to play with her characters and add some of mine. I don't own anything you might recognize.
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I'll keep a new updating schedule. Mondays and Fridays!
Check out the outtakes! :) I'll add more this week...I think.
Friday came upon us before I realized. I hadn't heard from Marcus and I was worried. So at noon, when he called me, I counted down the minutes until I was to meet him.
At six sharp I was in his office, but I'd never been so anxious. I had no idea what answer I wanted from him.
"Hello, Mrs. Cullen," he greeted me professionally.
"Hi, Dr. Ruggiero," I whispered, walking to the chair. "How are the tests?"
"That depends on what you want to hear. You are indeed pregnant." He gave me his customary smile.
I let out a huge breath I had no idea I had been holding for the past few weeks. I really wanted to hear it from a doctor, not a stupid stick. "And now… what do I do?" I asked anxiously.
He laughed. "You live your life, but more carefully, I might add."
"Oh, I know that. I mean…what do we do?" I insisted, gesturing between us. "Do you have to put that gel on me and…" I stopped rambling when he started laughing harder.
"Mrs. Cullen, we need to do that to see how far along you are. If you'd hop on that bed, I'll be quick." He gestured to a bed in the room to his right, opposite the torture bed.
I had never been to a gynecologist and I knew that was sort of really important once I started having sex, but doctors scared the crap out of me.
Sitting on the bed he had pointed to, I waited for him to join me. I watched as Marcus brought some sort of machine closer then turned to me with a smile.
"It may be a little cold, but I need to apply the gel for the ultrasound," he told me softly, raising my shirt a little. "You'd have to unbutton your jeans too."
With trembling hands, I did as he asked then gasped when the cold stick touched my stomach. My eyes were fixed on the monitor, but I couldn't see anything clear. I never knew for what to look. I'd seen movies when the actress was pregnant and the doctor told her to look at something…I never saw that thing.
"What exactly am I seeing?" I murmured.
With a chuckle, Marcus pointed to a small black point. "You're just six weeks along. We'll see each other in a month, but I want you to call me if anything happens. Okay?" he asked, handing me a tissue.
Six weeks. That sounded reasonable and true. It had probably happened on our first night there.
As I got dressed, Marcus asked a few other things and said he'd give me some vitamins and to cut back with working so late. Yeah, tell that to Ken, I thought to myself. Then he told me what I should eat, not eat, not to drink alcohol and to buy a book on pregnancy.
"That would make it real, huh?" he asked, smirking.
"That made it real," I said on a shaky voice, pointing to the ultrasound machine.
I jumped a mile when my phone vibrated in my purse that was on my lap. With an excuse, I answered. "Hello?"
"Hey, love. Where are you? We said we'd meet in front of their building at six thirty," Edward said worried.
"Oh, crap! I forgot, Edward! I'm…with the doctor," I explained. "I'll be right there."
"You really scared me. Take a cab," he advised me.
"I will. See you soon. I love you."
"Love you too." He hung up and I did the same, giving Marcus a wary smile.
"Maybe next time, you can bring your boyfriend with you."
"Husband," I corrected him with a huge grin. His eyes went to my hand then to my face. "When you said it was unplanned, I didn't even think you were married."
"Because it wasn't planned, trust me. We wanted to wait. We just got married…last month," I explained, feeling my blush filling my cheeks.
He laughed loudly again. "I see. Well, still, it will be nice if he came here too."
"If he has time, he will join me. Maybe if you make the appointment on a weekend?" I suggested, unsure if he had a game on all weekend days.
"That can be arranged. We'll see each other again on…." Marcus grabbed his calendar from the desk and searched it for a few minutes then clicked away on his computer before looking at me. "October 22nd if that works for you."
"I don't have anything planned so far ahead," I said honestly.
"Great. Then, we'll meet again in about a month. Take the vitamins and sleep. The first three months are vital, anything can happen, any moment. So please, take care of yourself," he insisted, coming round the desk and putting his hand on my shoulder. "Your boss would understand if you tell him about your condition."
"I doubt it," I muttered under my breath as I slipped the prescription for the vitamins in my purse.
"Oh, before I forget. How are your mornings?" Marcus asked, going back to my file.
I snorted, unable to hold it. "I say my morning prayers to the porcelain gods," I said slightly amused.
He smiled, clearly amused. "It's something normal for some women. So, Mrs. Cullen, give me a call if anything changes."
I nodded, thanked him again before leaving. And just because Murphy's Law is always against me, I bumped into Sylvia. Literally.
"Oh my God!" she shrieked, patting her chest that was full of her spilled coffee. When her angry gaze found mine, her eyes widened. "Bella!"
"Hi. I'm so sorry," I whispered. I had been focused on my phone to call Edward.
"Oh, before I forget. No coffee!" Marcus was right behind me.
If Sylvia worked here, she knew what kind of doctor he was. I wasn't ready to tell anyone.
Slowly, I turned to him and scowled. "Then how the hell am I going to stay awake?" I moaned.
"Like you stayed awake before you started drinking coffee. Hello, Sylvia," he added before going back to his office.
I was so screwed. Chancing a look at my friend, I saw her wide, blue eyes trained on Marcus's retreating form. Then she looked at me suspiciously. "You're not sick! You're…" Her exclamation lost intensity as she stopped talking at all. "You're pregnant!" she breathed in disbelief.
"Uh, yeah," I mumbled. "He just confirmed it. I wasn't keeping it a secret," I lied.
"So you knew…the last time we met?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Fabulous. Well, congratulations, Bella!" she said softly.
"Thank you. We can…catch up this weekend," I whispered.
"I should have known you were keeping something the last time we met. You bet that I'm coming over tomorrow at first hour," she threatened me.
"Not so early. Unless…you want to see me down the toilet," I joked. "I start looking human around noon."
She laughed, patting my arm. "Okay. I'll come over tomorrow at some point. I have to go and change my blouse now."
"Yeah, sorry again."
With a wave behind her shoulder, she disappeared down the hall and I continued my walk to the elevator. It was already late, but I didn't really want Edward alone with them. Not more than necessary.
That time, they thought my bruise was from him…I was sure Ed would hurt him. I couldn't have that.
When I arrived in front of their door, it was around seven thirty – an hour later than I should have arrived. Liz opened the door and her eyes were full of tears. I had no idea why she was crying until she caught me in a hug and started telling me how happy she was. I relaxed in her arms, biting my lip.
Was Edward going to tell everyone without me?
She led me to the living room where Edward was on the couch but jumped up when he saw me. He rushed to my side and caught me in his arms, hugging me tightly, kissing every inch of my face.
"Can you stop spinning?" I mumbled against his lips.
"I'm really happy," he said loudly.
"Well, I am too, but I don't want to throw up."
"You're hogging the pregnant lady. I want to congratulate her in person," Ed said amused from behind Edward.
"I'm allowed to hog her. She's my wife," he answered sternly, pressing me against his chest. "I love you so much, Bella," he murmured in my hair.
"I love you too," I said softly, looking up in his eyes.
"Congratulations, Bella. I already told him so you are to other one left," Ed said with a smile, touching my shoulder.
"Thank you, Ed. And happy birthday." I just showed him my smile since I couldn't actually move from Edward's hold.
"We need to tell everyone," Edward said seriously.
"We will. There's no hurry," I groaned. "Now, I'm hungry."
After eating and talking for a little while longer, we said goodbye and walked home. I hadn't grabbed a jacket and my short sleeved shirt wasn't perfect for the cold Chicago night.
Edward hugging me to his side, rubbing my arms, telling me I should start wearing a jacket.
"Next appointment is in October. Are you coming with me?" I asked, distracting myself from the cold.
"Sure. When?"
"Twenty second. Oh, shit! You don't have a game, do you? I didn't think about that when I told him weekend."
"Bella, games are every two days. Though…I'm not sure if I have a game that day. I'll have to look. Anyway, the game is at night. When's the appointment?" he asked, rubbing my right arm.
"Ten in the morning."
"That's perfect. So what did he tell you?"
"I'm six weeks along," I told him with a giggle. "That means…it happened the first night there or so."
He chuckled, kissing my forehead. "Usually, third time is still lucky. Not for us."
"What did you expect? We didn't need any of these," I said seriously. "It was obvious I am pregnant. We didn't use a condom and we've been going at it like rabbits."
Edward laughed, turning me in front of me and leaning to kiss me. "Did I ever tell you how much I like the heels? They are a great inventions. Save the man from back aches," he said against my lips.
"They are a torturing device. My feet are sore," I moaned. "Can we just get home? We can kiss all you want once they're off."
He looked at me then down at me legs then up and grinned.
"NO!" I shouted, but it was too late. I was on his shoulders like the good old days.
"Try not to blind me like that time," Edward warned me as I gripped his hair and tightened my legs around his neck. "Or choke me," he added.
"Then put me down. You know I hate this."
"You do?" he asked surprised.
"I've told you countless times!" I moaned.
He chose to ignore me and walked home. I was distracted from the height by his hand on my calves, stroking the skin he found there. When we finally arrived inside, Edward took us straight to the bedroom.
Once I was sprawled on the bed, he crawled up my body, kissing me thoroughly as his hands started wandering. I was a quivering mess by the time clothes started disappearing. For a second, I was afraid he'd bring up the horrid thing I had done the last time we made love, but he didn't.
"There's a good thing about this. I don't have to wear a condom," he said happily, hitching my leg up and entering me slowly.
"I can't get pregnant twice," I moaned, throwing my head back.
We didn't talk for the rest of night, but it was okay with me. I had missed us. He made love with me slowly for most of the night and when we were done, he held me tightly. I realized he wanted to talk about something, but when he didn't say anything, I didn't ask. I had learnt long ago that I had to let him to things on his own terms so I could wait for his questions.
In the morning, I was the first to wake up and after my morning ritual, I went to the kitchen to start the coffee. Just as I was frying the bacon, I remembered what Marcus had told me about not drinking coffee.
Why was life so unfair? Without coffee, I was lifeless. I had tried living without coffee for about a week in college and it had been a hell of a week. Now, I needed the coffee more than anything what with work and all the other things.
"Mhmm, morning," Edward greeted me a little while later, wrapping his arms around me.
"Hey," I whispered, turning in his arms. "You have to explain why I'm not allowed coffee."
He frowned, taken by surprise. "Sorry?"
"Marcus told me that I'm not allowed coffee because I'm pregnant. You've finished pre-med. Tell me why," I demanded, whining.
Edward scratched his stubbly jaw. "Do you think I studied something like that?" he asked amused.
"Then what did you do there?" I moaned.
"General medicine, Bella. Only in med school you decide what kind of doctor you want to be and…learn only about one thing. But I think the teacher told us something about this. There were some girls asking. Let me remember," he said thoughtfully. "What are we eating?"
I rolled my eyes, offering him his plate before taking mine and walking to the table. "You have five minutes to tell me or I'd start drinking my coffee," I warned him, yawning.
He pursed him lips before starting to eat. All the while, I could see a far away look on his face – the kind of look he got when he was trying to remember something. I focused on my bacon, dipping it into the yolk before shoving it into my mouth.
"I think," Edward said, glancing at me and swallowing his bite. "It has to do with the caffeine molecules penetrating the placenta and affecting the fetus. I'm not really sure. The energy getting into the fetus's blood and accelerating the pulse, just like it does to us, though it may affect his sleep. I'm not sure if I'm right. I wasn't paying attention to the teacher," he said apologetically.
"Hmmm. That actually makes sense. Only, the baby is too small to be developed and have a heart, right?"
"Bella, stop asking me this. I didn't study anything like this. We can go and buy a book on pregnancy if you want."
"We have to. Marcus recommended we buy one. Oh, and I have to buy some vitamins," I added, just remembering about that.
"After we eat."
We went to the closest pharmacy then to the bookstore and after buying what we had to, we walked back home where we found Sylvia in front of the door. I had forgotten about her promise.
Going inside, we settled in the living room and talked for a while. About an hour later, Billy came over to ask Edward for a game and since I was alone with Sylvia, I asked her about my impeding coffee question. She told me similar things to what Edward had said and added a few other sound explanations. I was going to miss the coffee.
On Monday I bumped into Derek at the underground. I was really tired and all I wanted was my cup of coffee. Of what Sylvia had told me, I wasn't allowed over five cups. I was barely drinking one. I made a mental note to call Marcus on that.
"Morning, grumpy," Derek greeted me.
"Morning," I mumbled.
"How was your weekend?"
"Fabulous." Edward had called everyone on Saturday evening, telling them the news. He was more excited than I was. "Uh…" I knew that I'd be the one to share the news with my colleagues, at least.
"Yeah?" he asked confused as we stepped into our train.
"I'm pregnant," I blurted out.
Derek turned his head to me, his eyes wide. "Well, that's great news! Congrats."
"Thanks." I grinned. I felt better that I actually told someone. "But the thing is…I'm not allowed coffee," I whined. "I can't live without it. How am I going to make it through every day for the next eight months or so?"
He laughed, nudging me with his elbow before taking a serious look. "Hello, Bella," he said on a phony voice.
"What?" I asked, frowning.
"I was answering to your introduction. We can make an association named Coffee Addicts," he said amused.
"Ha fucking ha," I muttered.
"So when did you start using?" he asked amused.
Trying to play his game, I took a straight face. "Oh, way back in high school. Everyone told me I was too young," I said seriously. "But now I realize it's not good," I added, pointing to my stomach.
"Good job, Bella. First step is to admit."
"Derek, honestly," I moaned. "I don't even drink one full cup of coffee! All I want is a sip or two. And Edward must hate me. He carried his fucking cup with him all over the house today, teasing me with that tantalizing smell."
"Well, did you go to a doctor?"
"Yeah."
"Ask her if you're allowed a sip or two every day."
"It's him and he was quite stern when he said not to drink," I said.
"It's a he?" Derek asked amused. "Lucky doctors. I picked the wrong career."
"It's never too late to change your career," I announced him, exiting the train. He followed me.
"You're right. I think I'll try for a change." I glanced at him and when I caught his eye, we burst in laughter. "I can't wait to see Martha or Kim's reaction to your news."
"Don't remind me," I groaned. "They'd freak."
"And so Martha's dream of stealing Edward will end," he joked.
"Derek!"
"What, you heard her! She even told you. The woman has no shame," he said amused.
Like predicted, when I arrived at work and Martha found out I was pregnant, she started screaming and hugging me. Derek had made sure everyone from our floor knew about my condition – as we exited the elevator, he walked ahead and out of my reach, shouting left and right to step aside because a pregnant lady was coming. I wanted to kill him as I followed him with my head down and cheeks red. Once in our office and the door tightly shut, I slapped his arm, plopping on my chair.
Now everyone knows...
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