A/N: Thank you all so much for the response and enouragement for this story. I really appreciate it and I'm so glad you love this Edward as much as I did while writing him. And thank you Erica for reading all these over for me. *hugs to all*

Chapter Three—Ours

That "thought" quickly became a reality a few weeks later. Once Carlisle had the time to mull things over, he completely agreed with the practicality of everything Edward had mentioned and thought it best not to wait until situation absolutely required it. And by the second week of April, I was officially a resident in the Cullen household.

My parents weren't entirely thrilled with the prospect of their daughter living under the same roof as the "boy who'd gotten her into this situation", and were very reluctant to even consider it at first. Finally, they went over to discuss things with Carlisle, where he'd explained what the terms would be; Edward and I would have separate bedrooms on different floors, we would be finishing school, and even with Carlisle working, we would not be unsupervised for long outside of school, and once Edward started college in the fall, not at all. He even surprised both Edward and I by even playing the card of the benefits of me living with a doctor.

As so often happens in a small town, the rumor mill surrounding us kicked into full swing. Mrs. Cullen had left for California as she'd planned, but when I suddenly moved in, the first rumor to spread was that I was "nailing Dr. Cullen"; which sorry, but…no! He could be my father. To combat those rumors, Edward and I decided to walk into school one day, holding hands.

Once again, Edward's unparalleled logic trumped mine. Things wouldn't seem nearly as bad, or difficult to explain, if we appeared as a couple before I was unable to hide my condition anymore, and no one would be really surprised anyway, especially Jasper. Then there would be less possibility of there being questions concerning the paternity of my baby, regardless of how close the time span. Not that I expected Jasper to contest it at all and take on responsibility that he didn't have to, but I didn't even want to risk the minute chance.

Then the inevitable came in early June. I was walking out of my doctor's office with Edward, both of us smiling over the first picture of the baby following my sixteen-week ultrasound. Neither of us noticed the approaching footsteps until we almost literally bumped into none other than Mrs. Cane, the recently remarried—and also pregnant—mother of Jessica Stanley.

"Oh, Bella dear. Jess told me there were rumors going around about you being in a delicate condition. How sad to see that it's true. For you and your poor parents. And this poor young man. What a shame."

Her sympathetic words might have had a different effect if there was an ounce of sincerity in them. Jessica Stanley and her mother were notorious for looking down their noses at anyone they viewed as being beneath them, which in their opinion, was pretty much the entirety of Forks. They were also known to be the starting point of any rumor mill that began circulating, even though Mrs. Cane could have been considered a frontrunner in the source of gossip herself. Six marriages at the age of thirty-seven, each one ending in a divorce that left her with a large settlement, since each husband was, for lack of a more sophisticated word, "loaded". And her seventh husband was no exception, and everyone whispered about what a "poor fool" he was, not learning from his predecessors and becoming bound to the woman not only in marriage, but through a child, as well. At the very least, he was smart enough to have a prenup signed…but still.

At any other time, I might have had a snarky retort in response to her attempt at demeaning me, my parents, and my best friend in the world— not to mention, my poor, innocent baby. But just then, all I could feel were the hormones raging inside me and it took everything I had in me not to burst into tears right there.

Luckily, in his very special way, Edward knew exactly what I needed at that moment. I didn't need a knight in shining armor defending my honor, but his strong, supportive arm around my shoulders to guide me away—and that was exactly what I got, accompanied by his lips brushing gently against my hair. "Don't let her get to you, Bella. It will only give her words substance."

When we reached the car, he pulled me against his chest and I welcomed the comfort of his embrace, curling my body into him. "Like her daughter is perfect. Jessica Stanley has popped more morning after pills than that woman can even fathom."

"Hell, she probably even supplied them for her," Edward mumbled into my hair and I couldn't help the teary laugh that bubbled up inside me. "Mission accomplished."

I lifted my head from his chest to look at him and he gently kissed my brow. "Thank you, Edward. Again."

x-x-x

Following that afternoon in front of the doctor's office, Edward and I sat down with Carlisle and my parents in the Cullen living room. I felt very uncomfortable with the idea of going back to school, knowing that the confirmation of my pregnancy would spread like wildfire amongst the entire student body, if it hadn't already. The secret would be out far sooner than I was prepared for, and that also meant that Jasper would hear the news as well, since he was still a week away from graduating.

Of course, Edward and I kept that bit of information to ourselves, but he agreed that going back to school would bring about too much unnecessary stress on me. Our parents supported our decision and the morning after, mine went to the school to arrange for me to take my finals at home, to which the principal reluctantly agreed.

I cried for a good two hours straight that evening when Jasper called Edward, screaming at him through the phone about betrayal and knives in the back, and such other things. I felt horrible for shattering a years-long friendship over a lie, all because I was a coward. Edward laid with me on my bed the entire time, holding me as I cried against his chest. To his credit, Carlisle never said a word, though I did hear his footsteps passing my open door periodically.

Once finals were over, I rarely left the house all summer, except for my doctor's appointments. My waist was dramatically expanding, and while I enjoyed my nights of running my hand over my swollen abdomen and talking to the baby, as did Edward, I couldn't bear the judgmental stares and whispers.

I kept waiting for the baby to start moving and had even brought up my concerns to my doctor when all the books clearly said that I should feel something. To be on the safe side and ease our worries, the doctor performed another ultrasound. Edward's hand held mine securely as the doctor drizzled the cool gel on my stomach and he closed his eyes, waiting for the instrument to make contact with my skin. He'd tried so hard all along to be my rock through everything, but at that moment, it was hard not to notice the worry lines creasing his forehead and his tight lips. I ran my thumb over his knuckles in an attempt to calm him, but he never budged until he heard the most beautiful sound to ever meet our ears—the soft swishing of a tiny beating heart.

Edward's lips pressed firmly to my hand until his eyes rose to the ceiling, glistening with welled tears. "Thank God. Our baby is okay?"

The doctor's voice held an audible smile as he spoke to Edward. "Your baby is just fine. Have you thought about whether you'd like to know the sex?"

The question barely registered with me as my eyes still remained locked on Edward, running his words over and over again in my mind. They weren't "the baby" or "her baby", but "our baby". In the back of my mind, I knew I shouldn't have looked so surprised, since that was exactly how it was supposed to appear to the outside world. But to hear him actually say it had an effect on me that I'd never expected.

"Bella, what do you think?" Edward asked as his fingers caressed mine, breaking me out of my reverie. "He can tell us if we're having a son or a daughter. Do we want to know?"

I felt the tears escape the corners of my eyes and I nodded, clearing my throat so I could speak. "I do."

Edward smiled and then looked back to the doctor. "Then yes, we do."

"Well, it seems that she is just very content with the comfortable home her mother is giving her," the doctor said with a small smirk, clicking a button that sent a printout to the machine below. I loved my doctor; despite our situation and ages, he never made us feel any different from any other set of expectant parents, or judged in any way. If he had even a hint of his own personal feelings about it, no one would ever know.

"She?" Edward asked with wide eyes and the beginnings of a wide smile. "We're having a girl?"

"You're having a very healthy baby girl," he confirmed, handing the small slip of paper to Edward and then looking to me with gentle eyes. "And try not to worry if you don't feel her move much yet. Sometimes it's difficult to recognize with first pregnancies. But I have no doubt this little one will make her presence known before too long. I'll leave you to get cleaned up."

"Thank you, doctor," Edward and I both said simultaneously as the doctor handed me a towel to wipe off my stomach and stepped out of the room. The door barely latched when Edward's forehead fell to my shoulder and I brought my free hand to run over his hair as a long breath of obvious relief escaped him. "You called her our baby."

His eyes rose to meet mine and then he leaned forward to kiss my cheek, whispering softly against my skin. "She is our baby, Bella. I may not have helped to create her, but in every other way that matters, she is and always will be my daughter."

My heart pounded erratically in my chest as he took the towel from my hand and cleared my skin of the last remnants of the gel, before turning around so I could change back into my clothes. I leaned against the exam table as much as I could to keep my trembling legs from giving out beneath me, sending me toppling to the floor.

I had never doubted Edward's sincerity in his devotion to me, the pregnancy or the baby, but so much changed in that room that day.

His love for the little girl nestled inside me showed clearly through his actions and words. The fear in his eyes when we thought something might be wrong, the relief when we heard the confirmation that I had a strong, healthy baby inside me, and the pure, unadulterated joy at learning that I was having a girl. I was certain that he would have been just as thrilled if the coin had fallen on the other side, but I also knew from the brief conversations we'd had on the subject, he'd been hoping for a girl.

And once we got home and shared the news with our parents, it became clear that he was not the only one. Carlisle's eyes had a gleam in them that no one had seen in months, since Esme walked out on him. My mother, while still not overly thrilled at my having a baby at barely eighteen come November, had tears welling in her eyes as she looked at the ultrasound with the clear print on the image of "girl". And finally, my father, attempting to appear as stoic as possible and sharing my mom's lingering discontent, couldn't hide the twitch of his mustache, even when he tried to cover by stating "good thing, because I am clueless as to what to do with a boy. I've only ever raised a daughter."

Edward took my hand and smiled at me as our parents spoke amongst themselves. "I think he had his heart set on another set of baby browns and curls, Bella."

I rolled my eyes; my father could barely look at me. "I don't know about that. He's not too happy with me right now."

"Give him time. He probably just feels like he lost his little girl."

I felt tears well up in my eyes at that thought and gave him a small smile. "Would you feel like that with our daughter?" I found that I really liked saying "our daughter" and had done so throughout the day.

Edward looked away, rubbing a hand over his mouth. A wealth of emotions passed through his features for several seconds before he nodded. "Even now, with her not even being born yet, if I lost her to someone else, yeah, it would hurt like hell."

There was so much conviction, love and loyalty in his voice that I couldn't help but feel warmth fill my heart. However, it was the fear within that statement that worried me.

Update again in another day or so. :)