A/N: To my Tomorrow Is Another Day and Notes on the Fridge readers: Sorry there was no update this week! I've been bogged IRL. SIGH! Back on track next week. Promise. The only reason this fic gets any attention because I miraculously had a whole bunch of chapters written BEFORE I posted (which is unheard of for me). I love you all. Freally!

"Well? What do you think?"

Edward put down the plans he'd been studying and smiled.

His first instinct was to tell her she looked adorable - which she did. Her hair was up in a ponytail. She was wearing the bright orange vest that declared her new employer - Home Depot - in large letters over her jeans and green shirt. But after two weeks of searching and another two weeks of training, if Edward had learned one thing it was that Bella was proud of her new job. Adorable would be met with a scowl.

"Hmm," he hummed. "You give me this very manly urge."

Bella raised an eyebrow. "A manly urge?"

"Yes," he said gravely. "I have the urge to build something with my own hands," he said, demonstrating by holding his hands out in front of him. "I need a project. I need a woodworking bench in the garage."

Her eyes danced with amusement as she regarded him carefully. "I see. Well, sir, I think you should start off with a birdhouse."

"A birdhouse!" he protested.

"Yes," she said, nodding solemnly. "And if you don't injure yourself with a birdhouse, then we can talk about other projects."

"Birdhouses are for sissies and high school boys in their first shop class." He pretended to pout.

"Well, build the birdhouse first, and then we have some fine decals you can put on the side. Maybe one with skulls."

He laughed. "Skulls are ever so manly."

They grinned at each other for a moment before Edward let his smile fall. "Bella, are you sure this is what you want? It's not too late."

She quirked an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm going to be late to work if we don't go soon," she said, rather than answer straight.

"Please don't be angry with me," he requested quietly. "I'm just concerned. It's tiring work, and you have Bean to carry around," he murmured, stepping closer to her and placing his hand over her belly. He imagined what she might look like in a few months, how the bright orange apron would strain away from her body as she got bigger. His back ached just thinking about it. "He might be small now, but later..."

"I'll be fine," she insisted and attempted a light smile. "I'm not some high born princess, Edward. People work through their pregnancies all the time. Why should I be any different?"

Because you're my wife, he thought but was wise enough not to say. His every instinct was to make things easier on her.

But, as always, Bella never made that task easy on him.

"I just think you could easily find a desk job," he began because he couldn't help himself.

She made a face that stopped his words cold. "I like this job. It's not like Newtons. It takes a little creativity."

He had to smile. "And you're much more interested in bath tiles than hiking boots," he finished for her.

"Well, yes."

He sighed. "Well, if I can't convince you, we better get you there on time."

They drove in companionable silence for a time, Edward deep in thought. When he glanced over, Bella was staring out the window, her hands cupped over the small swell of her stomach.

It had taken him a while to get her to open up about her pregnancy. She still wasn't sure how she felt about being a mother. The idea of having a baby terrified her. Up to that point, she'd been going through the motions. Her need to protect the baby was instinctual. Other than that, she did what the doctors told her to, concentrating more on getting the rest of her life together rather than thinking about the new life growing quickly in her womb.

When he heard her thrashing in her sleep, crying out quietly from her nightmares, and invaded the privacy of her room to wake her, she'd finally confessed that sometimes, she felt like the baby was tainted. It was his baby, and he had hurt her, would hurt her worse if he ever got his hands on her again.

After that, Edward tried his best to keep her grounded, to help her realize she wasn't alone in this pregnancy. He knew she read all the books he'd bought her to sate her curiosity. He knew she'd read everything about the baby's development - knew about how much it weighed, what was forming from week to week, how it grew. So in moments of quiet he would put his arms around her, put his hand on her belly, and ask her to tell him more about her baby. He tried to help her concentrate on all the amazing things her body was doing, creating this life, rather than let her dwell on how that life was sparked.

Marveling with her was no act. Edward had always found the idea of creating a life miraculous and fascinating. He had only seen his mother rarely when he was eight and ten - when she was pregnant with Emmett and Jasper - but those times when she was big bellied and she let him put his hand to where the baby was moving inside her had been emblazoned in his memory. As a young boy, he'd thought it was weird but also cool and he'd never forgotten. As a grown man, it was a wonder.

Slowly, Bella was beginning to see past all her fears. She'd begun to bond with her baby, or at least, that's what Edward took it to mean when she put her hand to the still slight swell at her abdomen. Sometimes - as now - he even saw her private smile, and it seemed to him that she had that pregnant woman glow people talked about.

She'd even come around to the nickname he'd given the little alien unit: Bean. Bean, because that's what they had both thought he looked like in his first picture, and Bean was a noble name, Edward claimed. She'd grinned back, told him that she actually liked Bean more than Ender, and winked at his pleased smile that she'd gotten the reference.

Watching her out of the corner of his eye as he drove, Edward had an urge that was like an itch under his skin to reach across the console and put his hand over hers on her hand on her belly. Sometimes it was too easy to forget that this wasn't really his, to taper down the odd sense of pride that welled in him when he looked on this woman who wasn't his wife anywhere but on paper.

Rather than dwell or let his urges get the better of him, he cleared his throat, getting her attention. "So Alice will pick you up today, remember?"

Her serene expression fell as her lips twitched downward. "Yes, of course I remember," she said irritably, folding her arms over her chest again.

Edward bit the inside of his lip to keep from smiling. "Try to hold your enthusiasm back," he joked.

It earned him a glare from her. "I don't like being babysat. You know that."

"I still don't understand how you can consider it babysitting," he countered, not for the first time. "I thought you and Alice were becoming good friends."

"We are! I love Alice and your mother," Bella said with a sigh. "I like spending time with them, but I don't like the idea you invited them over just so I wouldn't be alone. I don't need constant looking after."

"I'm not suggesting that you do," he said gently. "Honestly, Bella, they were intending on staying over even before you came along. You know... a guys weekend begets a girls weekend, and my house is big enough to accommodate all of them comfortably. Besides, I wish you wouldn't take insult to any of us making certain concessions because you're pregnant. It comes with the territory, I think."

She gave him a withering look and he laughed. "It does! In the ancient times, all of a tribe would take a breeding woman's needs into consideration. Even in the ages of knights and kings, pregnant women were sure to have good cuts of meat even in the lean winter months when everyone else was half-starved."

At that she snorted. "It's called progress," she teased, but she seemed a lot more at ease after his explanation.

By then they had pulled up in front of Home Depot. Edward got out, feeling like he had to bid her a proper goodbye. As much as he was looking forward to spending time with his father and brothers, he was anxious about leaving her behind. They had only rarely spent any time apart when they weren't working in the six weeks since they'd met, and Edward found that a big part of him didn't want to be away from her.

There was an awkward moment where he hesitated, not sure what the protocol was supposed to be here.

She solved his problem for him, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around his waist as she laid her head on his chest. "No bear hunting, okay? If you see a bear, you run the other way."

He chuckled, rubbing her back. "The protocol if a bear attacks is not to run, actually."

"Just don't try to wrestle one."

"I won't. I can't make any promises about Emmet, though." He closed his eyes a moment, squeezing her tight as he dared, enjoying holding her in his arms.

Finally, he kissed her forehead tenderly and released her. "Be safe," he murmured.

She snickered. " I'm not headed out to the wilderness," she reminded him.

"All the same," he said, briefly touching his hand to her belly. "Take care of Bean."

"Well, I'm much more fond of Bean since he stopped making me puke my guts out. So I guess I'll keep my eye out... Make sure he doesn't go out late, getting into all kinds of shenanigans." She smiled and then sighed. "I have to go inside. Have fun, okay?"

He stepped away from her reluctantly. "I will."

~0~

Though they were taking off in the afternoon, Edward had taken the day of work to pack and prepare.

But when he arrived back home after dropping Bella off, he found his new hiking backpack waiting for him in the entryway. Peering inside, he found it filled to the brim, packed with everything he might need out in the wild.

"Leah," he called, finding his housekeeper in his bedroom, folding clothes. "Did you pack my bag? "

She snorted. "Yeah right. That's not in my job description, boss man." She glanced up at him, not pausing in her task.

"If you didn't do it..." He trailed off, making the obvious connection.

"She tries her best to take care of you, I'll tell you that much," Leah said with a grunt. "Can I make an observation?"

"Since when do you ask? "

Leah chuckled. "You have a point." Her tone was almost gentle when she spoke again - very un-Leah like. "You're happy lately."

"Am I?" Edward asked nonchalantly. "It's nice having someone else in the house."

She gave him a look. "Yeah," she said, rolling her eyes. "That's totally it."

~0~

It wasn't going nearly as badly as Bella feared it might be. Alice was her usual chatterbox self as they drove home.

Alice clucked in sympathy as she watched Bella rub her neck. "I bet your feet hurt twice as much."

"It's not too bad," Bella murmured. It was a lie, but it could have been worse. "Edward bought me these ridiculous shoes. They were... too much, but they're very comfortable."

"Edward's just trying to take care of you," Alice chided lightly.

"I know," Bella said quietly. "He's too good at it."

"Is there such a thing?" Alice laughed. "Cut him a little slack, Bella. He loves doting on you."

Bella glanced at her friend. She'd never thought of it that way, but she had a point. Edward did get such a satisfied expression when she let him do things for her. "I let him buy me the shoes," she pointed out.

"Oh, well. There is that," Alice teased.

Esme and Rosalie arrived not long after Bella and Alice got home. Esme had brought a right feast from a local Italian restaurant she said was to die for.

They were just sitting down to eat when Bella's cell phone chirped Edward's ring tone. "Hello?"

"Hey." Edward's voice brought an automatic smile to her face.

"Hi! How do you have signal in the wilderness?"

"That's why I'm calling now. We're about to head out of the service area." He paused. "What are you girls up to?"

Before she could answer, Alice grabbed her phone. "Hey, Edward. I need you to go away. We're about to head into the strip club now, and-"

"Give me that," Bella gasped, snatching the phone out of her hand. "Sorry," she said to Edward.

"It's fine. What are you really doing?" he asked, sounding amused.

"Sitting down for a gourmet dinner of all your favorite Italian things," she said mockingly.

"You know how to hurt me, don't you?" he groaned. "I think we're having jerky and dried fruit for dinner tonight."

"If you don't get your ass off the phone so we can get going, you're not getting anything," Jasper said in the background.

"Yeah, you'll have to catch a squirrel or something!" Emmett chimed in.

"It sounds like you're having fun," Bella said, smiling.

"Yes. You, too?"

"Mostly. Alice is threatening to paint my toenails."

"Ritual torture," he said with a laugh.

"Edward, for the love of Christ. You won't die without your wife, I promise," Emmett groaned.

"And you won't die in a few minutes. Give your brother some space," Carlisle admonished.

"I think I better go," Edward said with a small sigh.

"Have fun. Be safe."

Bella set her phone down, quite spaced out until she heard a light laugh. She raised her head, flushing as she realized the rest of the table was staring at her. Rosalie was chewing a bread stick, looking bored, but Alice and Esme looked happy and amused.

Actually, Esme was downright beaming.

"You guys are disgusting," Alice said cheerfully, passing a filled plate to Bella.

"No kidding," Rosalie muttered under her breath just loud enough for Bella to hear. If the other two women heard her, they didn't let on.

"Oh, leave them alone, Alice," Esme admonished with a chuckle. "They're still newlyweds after all."

"I bet he's still being all cutesy," Alice continued, resting her head momentarily on her folded hands. "Jasper can be quite romantic when he wants to be, but I always had this thought that Edward would take the cake."

"Oh, yes. Bella, normally I'd say it's none of our business, and you can tell me if it isn't, but..." Esme smiled sheepishly. "Well, I missed all the first girlfriends, taking a thousand pictures at prom... all that."

"Edward said he didn't go to prom."

"Exactly," Alice inserted. "So is he a dinner and movie type of date? Or is he more creative?"

Bella resisted the urge to squirm, concentrating instead on dragging her bread stick through the thick red sauce. "We... I mean, we never really dated." She felt her cheeks heat, hearing how those words sounded. "It's just that we didn't have much of an opportunity before."

"Oh, really?" Rosalie asked, arching one eyebrow, looking at Bella steadily as she took a long drink of water. "I suppose there isn't a lot to do in Vegas."

"Nothing that Edward is really interested in," Bella returned coolly. She and Edward had already had that conversation - him lamenting that there were a thousand other cities the stockholders could have found to convene. "Lounge acts get boring, and he isn't one for nightclubs."

"There's plenty to do here, though, plenty to see," Esme prodded gently.

"I'm sure Edward has seen everything he's wanted to see around here," Bella deflected.

Esme and Alice exchanged a glance. "Everything is better when shared with someone you love," Alice asserted. "You said you're new to the city, right?"

"We've just been busy," Bella said, again trying to dismiss the conversation. "With work, and all that."

"I've been meaning to ask you about that," Alice said, her brow wrinkling. "I completely understand that you want a job of your own, though honestly, I'd take the time to go to school. But why Home Depot? I'd think if you were just looking for any old job, even a data entry job must be better. Home Depot sounds exhausting, especially when you have a little passenger to lug around."

"It's tiring," Bella admitted. "But I really like my job. Data entry is fine, but I'd be bored, and I really don't do well in an office setting. I like that I can wear jeans, and I really like the creative aspect."

"There's a creative aspect?" Alice asked.

"Oh, yes!" It was Esme who answered. "Sometimes, the associates at Home Depot, Lowes - all those places - can make such a huge difference."

Bella nodded, brightening considerably. "Today was my first day out alone on the floor. I was in the bath area. This couple was arguing over tiles they liked, and I suggested a pattern using both types."

"Carlisle and I have had many a fight in the middle of a supply store," Esme chuckled. "A fresh, professional perspective can be exactly what's needed in any project."

"And besides, I like helping people directly," Bella inserted. "It's a little more rewarding, even if my feet do hurt."

"Well, if husbands are good at one thing, it's rubbing feet," Esme said with a wink.

~0~

When the other women started yawning, making noise about turning in for the evening, Bella followed them upstairs. She almost forgot herself, going into her room before she did an abrupt about face, darting across the hall into the master bedroom instead.

She was worried for a moment, wondering if one of the others would choose that room to sleep in and see her clothes in the closet, her book on the nightstand. But as she looked around Edward's room, she smiled, realizing he was one step ahead of her. Her book lay on the nightstand and a glance at the closet showed that some of his clothes had been moved aside to make room for hers.

For a few moments, she sat on the edge of the huge bed, thinking about the picture the room painted. Edward's laptop was perched on the edge of his nightstand. To an outsider, at a glance, it looked like they were a true couple.

Bella had already discovered how much she enjoyed watching him work. When he had his mind focused on a project, he would get the most intense expression on his face as he glared at his computer, his fingers deftly working as he calculated space restrictions and everything else that went into designing an entire building. One thing Edward had said he enjoyed about working for his cousin was that Felix did like his new buildings to be finely designed and constructed. He spared no expense, giving Edward much to work with.

Once, just once, she'd started out on the opposite end of the couch while he worked away. She'd crept closer and closer, curious as what looked like random lines became walls and rooms. She watched, utterly fascinated until he stopped, and she suddenly realized she was craning so far over, her head was resting on his shoulder.

He'd seemed bemused rather than annoyed, so she'd asked a few questions that occurred to her, listening and watching intently as he played with the placement of windows in the entry hall.

In her mind's eye, Bella moved the scene to the big bed she sat on. She could almost hear the reassuring clacking of his fingers flying across the CAD controls. She could imagine flipping through her book, occasionally glancing over to see what he was creating that might someday become a whole building.

Bella felt her cheeks heat and she snorted at herself. She was getting good at spinning little fantasies of conjugal bliss. But who could blame her? Who wouldn't want a man like Edward as a husband, a father to her baby?

Frowning, Bella slipped her hand under the edge of her shirt, cupping the hard, rounded bump that had begun to protrude. She brushed her fingertips in light circles over the swell.

Her father had always warned her that life got complicated quick, but this was ridiculous. Bella had never been one to think constantly about relationships and her love life, but she wasn't jaded - or she hadn't been. She hadn't been looking for love, but she thought she would have an open mind if it ever found her.

What she felt for Edward was an emotion that was sometimes comforting and warm, like a hot chocolate in front of a blazing fire in the winter, and sometimes like static electricity and that moment of exhilaration at the very peak of a roller coaster. She'd toyed with the idea that she was falling for him, but she had to ask herself what was real.

Were her feelings only a matter of circumstance? How could she not feel endeared to him after all he'd done for her, after every hardship he'd put himself through to make her life a little easier?

Bella shook that thought away, reminding herself that she had duties as a hostess. She rolled her eyes, realizing that they probably knew better than her where the spare towels and things were.

As she walked out into the hallway, Bella stopped cold when she heard her name.

"What is your problem with Bella anyway? She's... sweet."

Rosalie snorted in response to Alice's comment. "God, whatever. I'm just sick of hearing about her. I hate how everyone rushes to protect her."

"She hasn't done anything to you."

"No, I suppose she hasn't." She sighed dramatically. "You know what, Alice, it's just annoying, okay? Do you even remember what this weekend was supposed to be?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Exactly," Rosalie said bitterly. "Back when the boys planned this little getaway, do you remember what we said we were going to do?"

There was a long, awkward pause. Then Alice sighed quietly. "Oh, Rose."

"Yeah. There's a lot of that going around. You forget that we were supposed to go cake tasting for the wedding. Carlisle and Esme are so busy celebrating Edward's marriage that they've all but forgotten Emmett's getting married. It sucks," she spat. "He could win the Nobel Prize and his parents would be would be ooing and awing over whatever minor achievement Edward's accomplished this week. Maybe he managed to tie his shoes just the right way."

Sarcasm dripped from her tone, making Bella's hands flex into fists at her side. She was frustrated. What she wanted was to argue, but she understood she was biased. She didn't know the situation well enough, didn't know the family's dynamic. She was still a newcomer - an outsider.

"That's not fair, Rosalie," Alice said gently. "You know-"

"Ugh. God. Yes, I know. I've heard the whole sob story. And don't get me wrong. You know I have no problem with Edward," Rosalie interrupted. "But really, what good was it? Losing their kid the first time around, if they never got over it long enough to pay attention to their other kids?"

Pressing her hand against her lips, Bella turned around, determined to walk away before she heard anything more. She gasped when she ran right into Esme who was standing not a foot behind her.

"Oh, God. Esme, I'm sorry," she whispered.

The other woman's answering smile was watery, and she breathed deep before she spoke. "There's nothing you need to be sorry for, dear," she said quietly.

A/N: Points if you know where the baby's nickname comes from.

FAQ: Yes, we will see Grandfather again. Soon.

Thanks to GinnyW and barburella!

SO! What's your favorite preggo fanfic?