A/N: I wasn't going to post this yet, but I was in the theater and my phone kept BUZZING.

So uh... HI everyone. O.O

"We're married."

Edward blinked, beginning to wonder if he'd done some hardcore drug the night before and he just didn't remember. "Can you... say that again?" His voice was raw with sleep and a mother of a hangover.

Wordlessly, Bella lifted her left hand. Sure enough, there was a cheesy looking gold band on her ring finger. Bewildered, Edward mimicked her movement and found a matching band on his finger. "Huh," he chuffed, staring at the thing dumbly.

As he looked up, the girl lowered her head to her knees, her breath hitching in that way that told him she was about to start crying again. "Yeah. I'd cry if I woke up married to me, too," he thought out loud. Apparently, his filter was hiding from the throb, throb, throbbing of his head.

"It's not that," she said, raising her head. "I'm so, so sorry. This is all my fault."

Edward decided that the first order of business, before he could consider this whole Holy Matrimony thing, was to figure out if he could sit up. He tried. The room only spun lackadaisically. "It takes two to tango," he pointed out almost conversationally, digging his fists into his eyes. A thought occurred to him and he glanced at the side of the bed he wasn't occupying. It was rumpled. "Did we?" he asked, vaguely horrified. "Tango, I mean..."

"Oh! Oh, no. No. You..." She flushed furiously, blowing out a breath in a huff before she tried again. "Last night, you held me," she admitted shyly. "It was so sweet." Her small smile fell almost as soon as it appeared. "Actually, you've just been so nice to me." She took a shuddering breath. "And I took advantage of that real quick, didn't I..."

"Maybe it would be best if you filled in the blanks," Edward suggested mildly. "I remember you said you were pregnant."

She bit her lip and nodded. "That's... I... Yes." She sniffled. "I told you my sob story." Her smile was wane but seemed genuine. "And then, you offered to marry me, and even though I knew you were drunk... I knew better, I still said yes."

Edward would have blushed if he wasn't so confused and out of sorts. It sounded very foolish, on his part as well as hers.

"Look," she said, looking him in the eye with a sincere expression. "There's no excuse for what I've done. None. I was... I am very, very scared right now. When you found me last night, I'd just figured out about..." she trailed off, gesturing at her midsection. "I really don't know what I'm going to do," she whispered, her voice breaking.

"Last night, you offered me a solution, and I let myself believe you were the answer to all my problems. It was stupid and selfish. I am really, really sorry."

Before he could even think of responding, she rushed on. "I won't... I'm not going to give you any trouble. We can have this marriage annulled, and you can forget you ever knew me."

"Wait," he said, holding up a hand. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to think around the dull thud of his heartbeat hammering away in his brain. Breathing deeply, he tried to figure out just what he was supposed to do here. "Let's just think about this a moment," he muttered, more stalling than anything else.

"Why aren't you mad at me?" she asked, sounding desperate and confused. "I would be mad at me."

He chuckled, standing and crossing the room to where the little mini-fridge was. He opened the door, taking out a bottle of water and drinking the whole thing without breathing. "Being angry at a crying pregnant woman seems... rude." He leaned against the wall, staring at the ceiling. "Besides that, I can see you're in trouble. I think I can understand that."

She ducked her head, the look on her face betraying her shame.

"Do you have family?" he asked softly.

She hesitated a moment before she answered. "My mother."

"Is it that you need help getting home?" he guessed. Perhaps she was a runaway who didn't know how to make her way back.

Bella continued staring down at her toes. "I can't go home," she murmured softly, her voice so soft he almost thought he'd imagined it.

Edward turned her words over and over in his head. Bending, he retrieved two more water bottles from the squat little fridge and walked to her. Sitting on the opposite end of the couch, he proffered her the water, taking in the furtive way she looked between him and the bottle before she took it.

"If you can't go home," he began slowly, thinking as he spoke, "then you're running from something." He glanced down at her still flat stomach. "Or someone."

Quickly, she looked away, biting her lip. He could tell she was trying not to start crying again. He waited, and after a moment, she finally nodded.

"It's the baby's father, isn't it?" he guessed again, putting together the context clues she'd given.

Her shoulders trembled and she slumped forward. "Yes," she whispered.

Acting on instinct, he reached across the space, wanting to comfort her. She recoiled, her eyes startled at his movement, and wrapped her hands around her arms, looking paranoid and self conscious. She shivered in the chill of the room - the air conditioner was turned on high to beat the intimidating summer heat.

Dropping his hand back to his side, Edward stood again, taking the comforter from the bed and wrapping it around her shoulders before he returned to his end of the sofa. "If you tell me, I promise I'll listen, and I promise I'll do what I can to help." If nothing else, he had a responsibility to this woman - his improbable wife.

Edward had always been a patient man, and though he was desperate to know this particular woman's story, he didn't press her. He waited while she took deep, measured breaths. Several times, she opened her mouth as if she'd found the words she was searching for, only to close it again, her thoughts still tangled.

"I was stupid," she said in a tiny voice. "He - the baby's father - he's always been," she looked up, searching for the right words, "weird about me. Possessive. He's always talked like I should be his, but not in a normal way - like he wanted to be together. More like I should belong to him, like he wanted to own me."

She sniffled again, taking a moment to calm herself before she continued. "I was never interested. In all the time we knew each other, when he brought it up, I would say no. No, no, no. Until one day, I don't know... It was six weeks ago. I was sad and lonely. He was being so understanding and comforting - for once, I thought it might make me feel better if I said yes."

Edward found himself nodding, remembering the night before.

"So I did," she said on a breath.

She put her hands over her eyes, her lips crumpling and chin trembling. She gasped once, twice before she calmed again.

"Then what?" Edward asked quietly, his tone gentle.

"He got really scary," she murmured, wiping away a stray tear. "I told him. I told him before we did anything that it didn't mean I wanted to be with him. I told him, and he said that he understood."

She was babbling, and Edward was alarmed at the way blood drained from her face. Her body was visibly trembling. He scooted over the cushion in between them and put his arms around her. This time, she turned, burying her head against his chest, letting him hold her as she shook.

~1 Week Before~

The situation was a hundred times worse because his friend was there.

How a cop could be such good buddies with an ex-con, Bella could never figure out. The men fed off each other though, and more than anything, Bella hated this side of the man who she considered a friend. Maybe he could be a pain in the ass, but he had a good heart.

"You promised me you weren't going to do this," she gritted out between clenched teeth. "I don't know why you even had to tell him."

"I don't know why you had to tell him," James mimicked in an obnoxiously high pitched voice.

Bella slammed her palm down on the table between them. "Shut up." She shook her head. "I don't understand why you're insisting on making it awkward. You knew it was a one time thing. If you can't put it behind you, then I'm not going to want to come over anymore."

"Oh, she wants it from behind, Alec," James snickered to his friend.

Alec rolled his eyes. "I don't know why you're acting so coy. We all know you liked it."

"Ugh." Bella pushed away from the table, disgusted. "I'm so out of here. Maybe we can talk when you stop being a total pig."

She turned away, fishing through her bag for her keys, only to be spun back a second later, his grip rough on her arm.

"You don't get to walk away from me, Bella. Not anymore." His breath, as he pulled her up against him, reeked of alcohol, and Bella wrinkled her nose.

"Like hell!" she hissed, trying to yank her arm back. "Let go of me! Right now."

It all happened in a blur then. As she struggled, they kept her restrained between them.

"This is what happens when you let your woman step out of line, when you let her think she's the boss."

"Get your hands off me!" she demanded only a second before a hand clamped over her mouth in a punishing grip. She screamed against his palm, thrashing her head, trying to loosen his hold.

"You think this is cute? Look at you! You're like a g'damn crazy person."

It felt so much like her brain was broken. This couldn't be happening. He was her friend; he was a cop! And his buddy wasn't a violent criminal, as far as she'd understood.

But it was. Her arms were being yanked behind her back, the cold steel of a set of handcuffs locking into place with a resounding snick.

"You're hurting me," she tried, thinking she could get them to snap out of whatever testosterone induced madness this was. They probably thought they were being funny. "Please, stop. You're really scaring me."

She was on her knees, her arms locked behind her back like she was a common criminal waiting to be hauled away. They both towered over her, making her feel all the smaller.

"Are you going to cut with this bullshit act? I'm sick of it, Bella. We're right together. We both know it." He'd grabbed her by the arm, hauling her to her feet. "You're mine, do you understand that? I'm not going to put up with your idiotic games anymore."

When she looked into his eyes, she could see that he believed what he was saying. "You're fucking insane," she whispered incredulously.

His eyes hardened. When he began to drag her deeper into the house, Bella resumed her struggling, now frightened to death that they were going to really hurt her.

"God, shut the fuck up," James growled. He'd found a roll of duct tape, and the ripping sound as he tore a piece off seemed horribly ominous. He slapped the strip over her mouth, effectively muffling her screams. Alec shoved her down onto the floor of the closet.

She was both terribly frightened and outrageously furious as she stared up at both of them, tugging uselessly at her bonds.

"You calm down. Calm down, and then maybe we can talk like rational people."

The door slammed, and they left her alone in the dark.

~Now~

By the time she was done with her story, Bella had pulled in on herself, drawing her legs up to her chest. Her tone was thin and robotic, her eyes wide and staring sightlessly.

Edward couldn't remember when he'd been more furious.

"When he came back," she continued, her tone devoid of life, "he was alone. He asked me if I was sorry. I pretended so he would uncuff me. He started to kiss me..." her voice shook, and Edward tightened his arms around her. "I kneed him in the groin, and I ran."

"Good," he spat vehemently. "Believe me, I'd have done a lot worse, if I could."

She took a deep, shaky breath. "Yeah," she said, laying her head on her knees and looking at him. "I would have, too, but I was sure he would hurt me if he had the chance, so I ran."

Quickly, Edward nodded. "No, that was absolutely the right thing." He furrowed his eyebrows. "But I still don't understand. Why didn't you go to the police?"

Her laugh was raw and filled with pain. "He is the police." She shook her head. "My father was the Chief-of-Police." Her mouth worked, like she was trying to formulate a word but couldn't. "H-he was my father's protegee," she finally murmured.

Edward's heart ached when he realized she couldn't even say his name. It was no wonder. He'd been a friend and betrayed her in the worst way after she'd shared her body with him. Edward could only imagine how sickening it felt.

"The town I'm from is very small," Bella continued in a sad, defeated tone. "It's an everyone knows everyone kind of place, and he's the town hero. See, about a year ago, there was a bus that overturned. It was a bad situation; a lot of kids were injured, but he and my dad saved them." She dropped her head. "And he tried to save my dad when the bus..."

She closed her eyes tightly, two tears squeezing past her eyelids. Edward's heart broke for the girl, filling in blanks. He wondered if it was the anniversary of her father's death that made her sad enough to give in to the comfort the man had offered.

"Anyway," she continued shakily. "Everyone loves him. I can't tell you how many people told me I was crazy for not wanting to be with him." She sniffled, and laughed again, the sound wry. "My mother absolutely adores him. Of course. Why wouldn't she?" Bella said bitterly. "He can be very charming when he wants to be. Sometimes, he even made me believe I was crazy for seeing him as so... persistent and annoying, I guess. Maybe that's why I kept forgiving him for his... overeagerness. He has a way of blinding people to the truth."

She shook her head, looking down. "They wouldn't believe me. No one would." She looked up, her eyes pleading for his understanding. "You see? I can't go back. He's crazy, his friend is crazy, and no one knows it. I know he'll hurt me, I saw it in his eyes, and now there's a baby..." Her voice cracked, and she buried her head against her knees, rocking back and forth.

For a long minute, Edward didn't speak, but rubbed his hand in soothing circles around her back, his thoughts tangled and chaotic. His heart was breaking for this girl. Maybe he didn't know her, but he couldn't imagine what it would feel like to be run out of her home, away from everything familiar, alone and terrified not only for herself but for the innocent life she carried.

It was no wonder a proposal from a drunk, kind stranger had seemed like a blessing in the darkest point of the night.

"Come with me," he said spontaneously, not thinking about the offer before he spoke.

She rolled her head, looking at him with one bloodshot eye. "What?"

This time, he thought about the words before he spoke, checking to make sure he meant what he said. He did. "Come home with me," he repeated, clarifying.

She scoffed and sniffed. "Like I said, you're very sweet, but I'm not your responsibility. You don't have to worry about me."

He shook his head before she was done speaking. "I won't send you off with nothing, with nowhere to go. You are my wife, after all," he pointed out, infusing his voice with as much sincerity as he could so she would know he wasn't teasing. "Come home with me, and I can help you."

Under his palm, her back went rigid, her breath sharpening to a staccato rhythm. Replaying his words in his head, Edward realized how they must have sounded to a woman who had just told him a story of another man who believed he owned her. "No. Bella," he stumbled. "Not... There's no pressure, okay? I don't mean to make it sound like you'd be under any obligation to me. What I'm offering you is a home and steadiness while you figure out what you're going to do."

Bella stared at him, blinking as if in disbelief. "You don't need to do that," she said, her tone incredulous.

"It's only what any decent person would do," he theorized.

She gave a short bark of laughter, her eyes widening in surprised amusement. "No. That is definitely not true." Again she stared, searching his eyes. "You're insane. You don't even know me."

"Well, there's time for that," he reasoned. Seeing she was about to protest again, he continued quickly. "I know we don't really know each other, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm involved now. Say I were to send you packing. What then? Am I to wonder the rest of my life what became of you and your child?"

"You could forget about me." she suggested bluntly. "That would be easiest."

Now it was him who laughed. "Better or worse, I married you. I'm not going to forget about you, especially not now. How could I live with myself if I just tossed you aside?"

Realizing he was serious, Bella stood up, wrapping the comforter tighter around her. "This is... just... I don't... No."

He followed her with his eyes as she paced the room. "I'm not crazy, Bella," he assured softly. "I'm not trying to tell you that we're going to live happily ever after, or that we belong together, or anything like that. You said yourself you have nowhere to go, right?"

She stopped short and glanced at him warily.

"I have a big house where I live alone. You may have your choice of rooms - far away from mine, if that's what you want." He paused, tapping his chin. "But I think we should stay married, if only because my insurance is fantastic. You would have the best prenatal care."

Groaning, Bella sat on the opposite end of the couch. "You are crazy," she muttered.

"Perhaps," he allowed. "But I'm also serious."

She looked lost as she sat there, her lower lip caught between her teeth.

"Look," he said, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "I really need to get up, get dressed. I have a presentation to give today. Why don't you stay here, order something from room service, and think about my offer?"

"You should think about your offer, too," she returned, eyeing him speculatively.

He smiled. "Well, yes. That seems only fair." Tentatively, he reached across the couch and squeezed her hand. "So you'll stay, at least until I get back from my meetings?"

She seemed painfully uncertain, but took a deep breath. Flipping her hand, she squeezed his back briefly in return. "Yes, I'll stay until then."

A/N: Thanks to my enabler...I MEAN... beta GinnyW, and jfka06 and barburella

This time I mean it. No more until DTRT is done... srsly. Only 1 preggo Bella fic at a time, dammit.

Ahem.

So... what are we thinking now?