Babies, Babies, Babies

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

A/N-thank you so much for the kind reviews, Nikki.

Part Eight

Bella woke up cold, very cold. She opened her eyes and found an arm snaking across her waist. It was Edward! He must have sneaked in during the middle of the night and lay down next to her. Normally when he lay with her, Bella made sure she had a thick comforter wrapped around her. She sat up quickly, forcing Edward's arm away. "What are you doing here?" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Normally she never questioned his sudden appearances in her room, but it would have been nice to have been pre-warned. She wished he would respect her need for privacy, but it seemed a foreign concept to him. It was her own fault she had never set the parameters for their relationship when they first got together. She was so eager to be with him every minute that she didn't realise the long term effects of this decision. She had set the precedent, which meant she had no right to complain about boundaries. She choked back her resentment when she saw the hurt flash in his golden eyes. He must have been hunting very recently for them to be so bright. "I'm sorry, Edward. You surprised me."

Edward returned her smile and touched her cheek reverently. He always touched her as if she was some kind of breakable porcelain doll, but she supposed to him that was what she was. She caught his fingers and held them in her hand. They were long and slim, musician's fingers. But the cold began to infect her quickly and she had to let go. "When you are changed sleep will no longer be a problem." He looked at her fondly and leaned forward to press his lips very lightly against her mouth. Bella stayed still, not wanting to push him too far. She had learned to let him take the lead whenever they kissed. His sweet scent washed around her and she pulled back, inhaling deeply to get some fresh air into her lungs. Edward didn't pull back like he normally would; he kissed the nape of her neck and slid his nose along the smooth skin of her throat. "My Bella." He murmured.

"I better have a shower and get dressed." Bella slid away from him and climbed out of bed.

Edward leaned back and studied her, he had a dreamy expression on his handsome face and she wondered what he was thinking about. "I thought we could spend time with the others today. Alice has missed you especially, and Esme." He paused for a moment before he gave her one of his most charming smiles. "They were wondering if they could talk to you about rearranging the wedding. Now that…."

Bella turned her face away from him so he wouldn't see her anxiety. She wasn't ready to discuss the wedding. In fact having it postponed had been a godsend. It had taken the pressure off. She was only going ahead with it because that was what Edward really wanted. Marriage had never really mattered to her. She swallowed thickly. She didn't want to spend the day talking weddings, she knew once Alice started she wouldn't stop. Bella felt backed into a corner and didn't know what to do. She felt rather than heard Edward come up behind her, he was still rambling on about the details, what new date should they set, the numbers that would be attending, on and on. When he put his hands on her shoulders she jumped. Her mind was far away, she was hardly aware of what he had been saying. She was trying to think of a reasonable excuse to get out of it.

"Bella love, are you okay?" Edward twisted her back round to face him. Bella immediately dropped her head so she was effectively staring at the expensive shoes he was wearing. She bet they cost a few hundred dollars. "Bella?" He said again. He put his fingers under her chin and raised her head. Once again his eyes roamed her face, trying to read what she was thinking. Bella saw the frown marring his forehead as he failed to understand what was going on inside her brain. "I think we made an error agreeing to postpone the wedding." Edward continued. "I think we should be able to still manage the original date. Carlisle can pull some strings and money is no object…."

"But that is next week." Bella interjected. "No I can't, we can't. Jake…."

"You have done as much as you possibly can for him, love." Edward interrupted her. He smiled benevolently and leaned in to kiss her. His lips lingered on hers for longer than normal. "Just dragging it out will make it harder on him when we do get married. Cut the ties now, Bella. It's for the best." He touched her cheek again before stepping back. "I'll be back for you in an hour. Perhaps you can wear that blue shirt that Alice bought for you. I love you in that colour." Bella watched as he left through the opened window. She had never felt more agitated in her life.

Bella was showered and dressed in record time. She had hardly waited for the water to warm up before she got out. She dried herself roughly and pinned her wet hair up in a messy bun. Pulling out the first clothes she could get her hands on Bella dressed quickly, not caring whether the shirt matched her jeans or whatever. She was in a rush. She thundered down the stairs, shooting an anxious glance at the kitchen clock. Thirty minutes had passed since Edward left. "Dad…dad." She called out to Charlie.

"In here." She found her father sitting in his recliner. He still wasn't dressed, and had obviously just finished eating his breakfast while reading the morning paper. Bella darted inside the room, she was breathless and her face was flushed. Charlie looked at her in alarm. "Something wrong?" He asked.

Bella grabbed the dish out of his hands and shoved his paper to one side. "I want to go to La Push and check on Jake." She blurted out.

"Okay." Charlie said slowly. "What's stopping you?"

"I need you to come with me." Bella begged him with her eyes. He obviously thought she was losing it, but if he was with her than Edward would have to concede defeat and hang back while they made the drive. They would never get there otherwise, and La Push was safe. Edward couldn't follow her there. Bella didn't question why she was so panicked. It was just a gut feeling that she knew she had to get away, if she went to the Cullen's today, she knew she would find herself being persuaded to agree to getting married on the original date. She couldn't do it, it was too soon. She needed more time. "Dad, please."

Charlie stood up, running his hand through his messy bed hair. "Alright, calm down, kiddo. I'll just have a shower…"

"No time, dad. Just get dressed." Bella pleaded.

"But I stink." Charlie sniffed his armpits surreptitiously.

Bella was getting desperate, time was ticking on and the hour was nearly up. "You don't stink worse than normal, dad."

"What does that mean?" Charlie huffed, looking insulted.

"Dad, you smell fine, okay. Just spray extra deodorant on. It's not like anyone cares how you smell." Bella tugged on his hand, trying to pull him toward the stairs.

"I care." Charlie muttered. "What if we bump into Sue Clearwater?"

"Why are you worried about that? I'm sure your stench is the last thing on her mind. She's probably used to the smell of fish anyway." Bella yanked on his hand again and this time he followed her into the hall.

"I don't smell of fish." Charlie grumbled as he smelt his armpits again and trudged up the stairs. Bella watched him go, her heart beating rapidly in her chest as she counted the seconds as they passed.

Bella wished that Charlie would put on his blue lights and speed to La Push. He was driving slowly as if it was a lazy Sunday morning and they had all the time in the world. Bella kept glancing in the wing mirror, she was certain she was getting glimpses of Edward's silver Volvo following them at a discreet distance. Bella sent Edward a text apologising for bailing on him, but Charlie had insisted she accompany him to La Push and she couldn't let her father down. She felt guilty about her little white lie, but really in the grand scheme of things he had lied to her more than she had ever lied to him. This wayward thinking relaxed her and when they finally passed the treaty line she breathed a sigh of relief. It didn't cross her mind that she had literally had a panic attack about getting married. No, when they reached the Black's little redwood house Bella had almost convinced herself that Charlie had indeed been the one to decide that she come to La Push.

Charlie groaned. "Sue is here. Look!" He pointed to the black sedan which Sue Clearwater drove and which was parked prominently in front of Jacob's garage. He tugged at his shirt and sniffed the material. "The deodorant didn't work. What will she think?" He lamented.

His worry over Sue's reaction finally pierced Bella's psyche. She looked at him thoughtfully as it suddenly occurred to her that he had been wittering on about Harry's widow a lot lately. Surely he didn't fancy her, did he? "Dad, do you…do you like Sue?" She dared ask.

Charlie's cheeks flushed which gave Bella all the answer she needed. He did, he fancied Sue Clearwater. Charlie fumbled around for the right words before giving up and just nodding. "Yes." He said in defeat. "And now I turn up here smelling fishy." He wiped his face with his hand and sighed heavily.

"But she's probably used to the fish smell." Bella replied, trying to be helpful. "I mean…"

"You are not helping, kiddo." Charlie grouched. They stopped talking when the front door opened and Billy wheeled his chair onto the front porch. He seemed surprised to see them, but he smiled and gestured for them to come in. "Too late to hide the stench now." Charlie got out of the car and led the way to the house.

Bella felt guilty that she had dragged her father here unnecessarily on his day off but she felt she had little choice. Anyway if he did like Sue Clearwater than perhaps it was time he tried to do something about it instead of worrying about fishy smells and admiring her from afar. A small smile lit up Bella's face as she began to plot a way to get them together. Charlie had been alone for far too long and Sue would be perfect for him. As they neared the house Billy called out to Bella that Jake was in the garage working. Bella waved and headed to the garage instead while Charlie joined Billy.

Jacob was indeed working. As Bella slipped inside she saw him bent under the hood of a pickup truck. He was dressed in oil splattered jeans and a t-shirt, which did little to hide his muscular physique. Bella stood in the doorway, admiring the view until he called out to her to come inside. Darn it, she kept forgetting he would have heard her come in and probably smelt her too. She strolled over to the truck and joined him as he stood up and wiped his hands on an old rag.

"I thought you were going to call?" Jacob leaned down and kissed her cheek, taking her by surprise. His lips left a warm patch on her cool skin and she immediately put her hand over the spot where he had kissed.

"I thought I would surprise you." Bella suddenly felt shy. Her traitorous skin blushed and she averted her eyes from his.

"It's a lovely surprise." Jacob said huskily. His dark eyes were intense and when Bella glanced up at him, the look on his face took her breath away. He was gazing at her as if she was the most precious thing on Earth. He was looking at her like he had before she broke his heart.

"Um…I…um need your help." Bella whispered as she let her hair fall in front of her face. Her skin was heating up from the intensity of his gaze. She wanted to distract him.

"What do you need my help with?"

"Charlie." Bella replied promptly. "I need you to help me get my dad and Sue Clearwater to go on a date."

A/N-thanks for reading!