Disclaimer: All the Twilight stuff belongs to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. I'm just playing in her sandbox.

Chapter 48 Enlightening Mom

EPOV

Renee sitting at the breakfast table in the kitchen when we came downstairs dressed in jeans and long sleeved t shirts. We matched, both wearing white shirts and tennis shoes except that Bella had a long cable knit tan sweater covering most of her as she seemed to get cold easily lately. It was after all, the middle of winter and we were in the mountains. I guess I never noticed temperatures much, except to try and dress to blend in with the humans. I would have to remember to grab a jacket if we went outside.

"Hi there you two! Did you sleep well?", Renee asked coyly as she looked up from the cup of coffee that she held with both hands. Bella frowned, giving thought to whatever she was about to say to her mother. "What sleeping we did was good, Mom, as was everything else", Bella smirked, looking at me as she spoke.

I leaned against the counter with my arms crossed over my chest. From what I was hearing in Renee's mind, this was going to be good. Bella would so put her in her place. My wife was shy, but I had come to realize that she was fiercely protective about anything to do with me or us and she needed to solve this. She was tired of the constant smirks and innuendos. It was bad enough to hear them from Emmett all the time and I didn't think she was going to continue to allow her Mom to do it as well.

"Bella! Since when did you talk like that?", Renee spat at her, surprised at her daughters honesty.

"Since you started making insinuations into Edward's and my sex life, Mom", Bella told her, "I'm willing to take the coy questions and innuendos if you're willing to take facts as I throw them back at you. No harm done either way, I just need to know if you want to keep it up, or if you're willing to let go of making comments about whatever Edward and I do when we're alone."

"Bella", Renee said somewhat softer, "You're right, I shouldn't kid you about it." She hesitated before continuing, knowing she was treading on somewhat unsure footing, "I am interested in answering any questions you have. Either of you have, for that matter", she said as she looked at me. "I have been pregnant, young and in love you know . . . and I just want to be sure everything is alright. I know Alice and I both have bought you nighties and such and I never see you in them. I just wonder if you aren't, well you know, bashful maybe . . . and I'd like to reassure you that it's okay to be completely open with your husband." She looked across the kitchen at me, "Or wife, as the case may be. Mom's worry about everything, as you will soon find out when Masen is born."

"Mom."

I knew from the set of her jaw that she was going to put an end to this, it was embarrassing, unnecessary and she was tired of it, even though her Mom was leaving in a day or so. Maybe she would just comfort her and relieve her fears and let it go. I waited to hear what my wife would come up with, she always surprised me.

"You never see me in all the nighties that you and Alice keep buying me because Edward and I don't wear clothes to bed, or even in our room when we're alone. We have sex often, Mom, we make love before going to sleep and when we wake up every morning, most days in between as well. We both prefer it that way and yes, as you have probably heard me screaming his name, he takes care of me quite nicely", she told her as she came and put her arm around me, "So you see, you're worrying about us being open with each other is unnecessary and frankly, annoying."

Well, if I were human, I would be blushing, even though she was not. I uncrossed my arms and put my palms on the counter on either side of me, staring at the floor. I looked up only as I heard my sister approaching the house.

"Bella, you are so noisy, no one can help hearing you and Edward going at it all the time", Alice snickered as the little pixie flitted into the room.

"Okay enough", I said pushing off of the counter and giving them a harsh look. "Enough talk about my wife and what we do or don't do when we're alone. Renee, I'm sure if Bella has any questions she will come to you, hell I'd come to you to ask questions, but discussion about things this personal between my wife and I are not a topic for idle conversation." I looked directly at Bella, "Alright, love?".

"I'm sorry, Edward. I shouldn't have shared personal things without checking with you ", she said as she tightened her arms around me, "Forgive me?"

"Always, baby. I have a little bit of work I need to attend to in the office. If you want to see if your Mom wants to take a walk with us, I'll be ready to go anytime after you have some lunch. I'm not hungry", I said pointedly looking at Renee and headed for my desk in the library.

"Well. What crawled up his rear?", Alice asked as she sat down at the counter with Renee and Bella".

"He didn't like me telling Mom quite so blatantly what we do and do not do in private and how often", Bella answered.

I listened to the conversation for awhile. Bella knew that she could tell them anything she wanted, I was just going along with the flow to get them to leave her alone. I would stay naked in bed with her forever if I could and I really didn't care who knew it.

"Oh", Alice answered, "You told your Mom about the naked honeymoon. Well, if you ask me, going without clothing at all for over two weeks was just a waste of fashion, days that you could have shown off something new!"

I couldn't see into the kitchen, but I could read Alice's mind and I chuckled as I saw Renee sitting there with her mouth dropped open, not knowing what to say.

"Alice, the only thing I regret about that was the sunburn in some places and the scratches on my butt. You have no idea how much fun it is to do everything without being confined in clothing. Naked in the kitchen while cooking around hot ovens is probably the only danger to no clothing", Bella told them as I saw Renee turn red through Alice's mind, "and thorny brier bushes".

"Naked in the kitchen? Anyone we know?", Jacob asked as he strolled into the kitchen, heralding the return of the mighty fishermen.

"Hi Jake! How was the fishing?", Bella asked him.

"Good, good. Carlisle said he had some things to do this afternoon and I wasn't feeling all that great, so he dropped me off here before he headed home. Your Dad and the others are still at it", he huffed, "I think you might have to throw a net over Charlie to get him to come in off that stream."

I watched through him as everyone chuckled, Renee sighing and nodding her head up and down in agreement.

"How about some lunch, Jake? I was just about to make some sandwiches, want some?", Bella offered.

"Sure, sure", he said as he pulled out a chair and took a seat, after going to the refrigerator for a coke.

I chuckled. That boy rarely turned down food. I needed to remember to speak to Carlisle about Jake's recent illness. Phasing was something I knew little about and I wanted to make sure Bella was in no danger being around him even now. I needed to know if Carlisle could tell if he was about to have it happen for the first time and suggest that we should talk to him at length before it happened.

My attention turned back to the paperwork in front of me. I clicked the computer on as I read the list Phil had given me. He had researched some stocks and wondered if I would give him my thoughts on them and discuss with him whether they warranted investment or not. This was incredibly interesting to me and not a chore at all. It was long since I had discussed stock choices with anyone other than Alice, really, although occasionally Jasper liked to check out a few.

After an hour or so of my own research, I realized that Phil had an exceptional knack for this. The stocks he had chosen to ask me for an opinion on were all solid and showed some amount of promise. I jotted down additional information that I came across on each one and lined them up in order of highest potential and best long run.

Alice danced into the study and looked over my shoulder, pointing out the ones she had seen that would take off and adding yet another potential stock to the list that she thought we should purchase in the morning. All in all, there were two on Phil's list and one that she added that I would suggest we buy when the market opened tomorrow.

My sister had seen that I would need her advice and we would be making a purchase in the morning and had come down to go over them with me. Having a fortune teller in the family definitely had its perks.

"Phil is on target with this one", she said as she pointed out a company, "even his timing is correct. I was going to suggest it myself."

"Do we need to make another run at the market, Alice? What have you seen?", I asked.

"Oh, nothing in particular, just scenes of us making these purchases and them skyrocketing within days. We need to get out of them before the end of the week though, even though they will continue to rise. Phil will be elated that one of his choices is this good. It was really nice of you to agree to help him, Edward", she said as she stood behind me with her hands on my shoulders, looking at the computer screen on the desk in front of us.

"By the way, have you spoken to Carlisle about what happened this morning?", Alice asked me as she massaged my shoulders and neck.

"Alice, you're the clairvoyant, you know I haven't talked to him yet", I answered her, "and I wasn't aware that you knew." I turned and looked up at her, "You saw?"

"Yes. I was in your room this morning while you were sleeping and Edward," Alice looked me in the eye, ". . . creepy. Seeing a vampire asleep is just creepy. Bella was worried about your reaction and the tears and I told her I had seen that you would wake up and you were fine. I'm sorry to intrude into your bedroom that way, but I saw that she was really worried about you and I could ease that concern for her."

"I knew she had been more upset than she let on. Thank you Alice, thanks for looking out for her for me," I said as I stood and hugged her, "I know I don't tell you that nearly often enough little sister."

"Are you ready to take a walk, sweetie?", Bella said as she stuck her head in the door, "We're finished with lunch."

She walked over to the desk and looked at the screen, noticing the papers that were obviously not in my handwriting. "Phil?", she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, and he actually picked a winner, Bella. It's just amazing sometimes that humans come through on these things when they are just getting started. I suppose there is something to be said for beginner's luck", Alice allowed.

"That's great. It'll make him feel like he is doing it himself . . . well, he would be, really. He will just have you two to tell him when to get in and when to get out so he doesn't loose money."

"Baby, he had chosen the exact right time to get in himself. I'm really impressed with the research he did and some of the choices he's making, even without any input from me. He would do well at this, even without us", I told her.

"That's kinda good to know. Makes me feel like you guys are not completely altering fate", Bella said.

"Not altering it, Bella . . . just giving it a little nudge in the right direction", Alice laughed.

"Anyway, Alice. Are you and Rosalie still willing to flank us, just in case?", I asked as I clicked off the laptop and put the papers in my desk drawer.

"Yes, of course, big brother", she said exasperatedly, "Rose is listening from the back porch to see when we leave."

"Bella, Alice saw us taking a walk down by the lake with your Mom and though she hasn't seen anything happening, she and Rosalie are going to stay close to us, without being seen. Victoria in the area makes us be on alert, whether she has decided anything or not", I informed Bella, not wanting to scare her but making sure we were protected.

"Thank you, Alice. And thank Rosalie for me. I really appreciate you guys taking care of me like this. I'm just so sorry this is still happening", Bella said with a sad face as I moved to stand beside her and she put an arm around my waist.

"Bella, you're family. No one messes with our family. There are seven of us and only two of them. We'll take care of her the moment she decides to act, or we find her. Just go enjoy the afternoon with your Mom. Oh, and Carlisle will be here to pick you up at 4. I already told him about Renee coming with you and Rose and Esme want to come as well, if it's okay", Alice said as she scooted out the door, waving her fingers at us and smiling.

~oooOooo~

We walked hand in hand into the kitchen where Renee was just clearing up the dishes from lunch.

"Where did Jake disappear to, Mom? Is he coming for a walk with us?", Bella asked.

"Well dear, I invited him, but he wanted to get a nap in. I just don't think that boy feels well at all. Maybe Carlisle should take a look at him", Renee said.

"Good idea, Renee", I said to her as I slipped my jacket on, held the back door open for them and gestured to them that they should go before me.

The lake was picturesque this afternoon. The gazebo my brothers had built Bella for her birthday was perfectly located at the far end of the lake with a view of the mountains on the far side of the valley through a break in the trees. I wondered if that clearing in the trees was natural, or if they had rid the area of the trees themselves. That would be just like Emmett, tossing 50 foot trees down so that Bella could have a pretty view. I chuckled to myself at the vision of Emmett pulverizing the evidence . . . you're not allowed to disrupt trees in the National Forest and Rangers would seek to discover who had done it, looking to us first because of the view it created for us. Cover your tracks, the first rule of being a Cullen.

We sat on the glider in the gazebo, Renee on one side facing us and me with my arm on the back of the bench around Bella. The air was crisp and full of the scent of pine and cedar in this almost pristine setting. It was quiet and relaxing and for a moment I was taken back, remembering what the days of my youth must have been like. It was a different era, and I only vaguely remembered bits and pieces of it, but I know it gave me the morals and beliefs that were instilled in me. I could imagine sitting with my wife and her mother on a Sunday afternoon, like today, sipping iced tea and chatting about something inconsequential while we enjoyed the day and each other's company. It was such a simpler time back then. I took my arm from the back of the bench and moved it so that my hand was on Bella's belly, just under the edge of the sweater that was wrapped around her. She responded by leaning toward me and putting her tiny hand on the inside of my thigh and squeezing slightly. I mused at how this behavior would have been outrageous in my youth. Her mother would have been aghast and Bella, being a lady, would never have placed her hand in such a compromising position on my body. The very thought of touching me so intimately would have mortified her in that era. I chuckled to myself.

Bella interrupted the discussion she was having with her Mom and turned to me, "What's got you so tickled, sweetheart? I know it wasn't the furniture I was describing to Mom."

"I'm sorry, love", I told her as I rubbed her belly and leaned in to kiss her cheek, "I was just thinking how different things were now compared to summer before last." I let out a small laugh and I knew she was smiling at the crooked grin that was covering my face. I hated to modify the truth, but I couldn't very well tell her mother that I was over a hundred years old and remembered life as it was at the beginning of the last century.

"I would never have been so presumptuous as to touch your stomach and", I said as I moved to cover the hand she had on my thigh with mine, "you would never have been so bold."

"Well, things are different now. You're mine and I get to keep you forever, so I can touch you if I want", Bella smirked as she rubbed my leg then clasped her fingers in mine.

"Hello", Carlisle said as he stepped into the gazebo and sat down beside Renee.

She was somewhat surprised by his unexpected appearance, as her back had been facing him as he quietly approached. His arrival at least stopped the comment she had been about to make about Bella and me. At least I wasn't the only one that she thought was handsome in my family. Her thoughts of Carlisle flew through her mind. I began to realize that Renee would always have crazy, wild and somewhat off color thoughts. It didn't seem to mean anything, it was just the way her mind worked. I wondered if Bella's mind worked in the same way. I loved it and it drove me crazy at the same time that I could not read her mind. Her thoughts were closed to me, completely safe in that head of hers. I could only wonder. Charlie's mind was so hard to read, hard to break into and Renee's flitted through a hundred thoughts in just a few seconds. I could only guess what Bella's mind would be like.

My musings were interrupted by Carlisle's asking if we were ready to go see little Masen today.

Masen. God yes, I wanted to see an image of him. I had begun communicating with him and he was very real to me. He and I spend hours upon hours at night and he was starting to understand things that I would tell him somewhat.

"Sure, let's go", Bella said as she moved to stand, "Carlisle, is it alright if my Mom comes with us, she really wants to see Masen?"

"I don't see any problem with that, Bella", he said turning to Renee, "I understand how she feels. I enjoy seeing images of him as well. Esme is dying to come as well."

~oooOooo~

"I'm sorry, this may be a little cold", Carlisle told her as he squirted goo on her stomach so that he could move the ultrasound wand through it and get as undistorted a picture of Masen as was possible.

Rosalie, Esme and Renee seemed almost as excited as Bella and I as the monitor powered on and the image of a tiny life came into view. Masen. He was laying across her stomach, kicking the ribs on her left side that she had been complaining about. Fingers, feet, small little nose . . . it was all there and apparently, if the opinions of my father as well as all the women present held any validity, he looked like me.

He was well proportioned, looking more like a small adult really than a baby. I wanted to try just one thing to see if there was a connection between he and I, if he could understand me in some form. I placed my hand on the side of Bella's exposed belly where he was kicking her and said, "Masen, you need to be careful with Mom and stop stretching those legs out, kicking her. It hurts her."

Renee's thoughts told me that she regarded my behavior as sweet and loved the concern for my wife, but Carlisle knew immediately what I was doing and kept the angle of the monitor such that Masen's reaction wasn't obvious to everyone else. It was clear to me though, as well as to Carlisle. Masen had reacted immediately to my touch and request, pulling his knees into a ball and stilling his movements. I rubbed gently and he relaxed somewhat, but whereas he had extended his legs before, they were now bent at the knee and up against his chest. What an amazingly advanced little creature we had created.

Carlisle's mind was flying through several scenarios, all ending well with Bella and Masen quite healthy. My Dad was amazing. His thoughts were those of a man thrilled and excited beyond belief at the input of new information and the possible ramifications of this new knowledge yet he remained completely calm on the exterior, his human facade completely intact and that of only a concerned doctor and father in law.

"Everything looks great, Bella. Would you like me to print a photo or two of him for you?", Carlisle asked her.

"That would be amazing! I would love a photo, and I bet Mom would too", she told him as she looked toward Renee.

"Of course", he said as he turned to leave the small office, "There are wipes at the foot of the table to clean up with. I'll just be a moment."

What he had conveyed to me with his thoughts, but had been unwilling to say with Renee present, was that the baby was much farther along than he had thought it would be. Masen had done several weeks worth of growing in just a week and he now measured the size and development level of a fetus of about 24 weeks gestation, yet Bella had only been pregnant for three months. No wonder she looked five or six months pregnant . . . she was. I didn't need my medical degrees to do the math and know that at this rate, the baby would be born in January or February at the latest. Next month. How the hell were we going to explain that? Even if we had been intimate when she first came home from the hospital in July, a human baby would not be due till at least March. We had made no secret that we waited till we moved into our own home, that was the first of September. That would make the baby due in May. We were definitely not going to make it till May, or even March for that matter. Figures. Just when Bella's Dad was starting to think about liking me, now he would think we lied to him.

I was vaguely aware of the ladies squeals of delight at seeing our son's face so clearly and I felt Bella squeeze my hand and take my arm to pull herself up from the table, but I was somewhat lost in thought.

"Here you go," Carlisle said as he handed Bella the photos. She was already up and off the table by herself as I stood there looking at the monitor and the image of our son.

"Let's celebrate with some ice cream! We haven't taken Mom to Sweet Treats yet and it's on the way home", Bella declared enthusiastically. I immediately heard all sorts of objections and groans run through the minds of my sister as well as my Mom and Dad. Ice cream was somewhat more revolting to them than most foods.

"They make their own chocolates there as well, Renee", I added, "and Mom and Dad usually stock up on chocolate when we go there while we get ice cream."

Thank God Rosalie thought. "No ice cream for me, I would love to get some chocolates as well. You three can have at the ice cream", she smirked as she directed the comment to Renee, Bella and me. Great. I was going to have to eat ice cream. I caught a smirk from Bella as she took my hand and we walked towards the car. She was trying her best not to laugh at me as we followed Renee and Esme out the door.

"You're adorable when you pout. I'm sure you'll find a way to get out of actually eating it, sweetheart", she whispered. I guess I wasn't nearly as good at keeping my feelings from showing as Carlisle was.

Sweet Treats was one of Bella's favorite things about living in Highlands and I loved bringing her there as often as possible. She would find it disgusting as well, once she was no longer human.

The shop made ice cream to order as you waited. They had chocolate and vanilla ice cream and yogurt and they would add any ingredients you wanted and grind them in making an individual serving of literally anything you could imagine. They had over a hundred choices from pineapple and all the other fruits to nuts to even candy bars, M & M's and granola.

Bella always got vanilla ice cream with pineapple, coconut and almonds. Always. I often wondered why she stuck to the same thing, never venturing to try any of the other combinations, but she said why would she mess with perfection. She always ordered mine, however, and it was always something different .. . and she always had a lick or two, if she didn't eat mine as well.

We walked into the shop and looked at the chocolates with everyone else before going to the other end of the store to order our ice cream.

"Mom, watch. They make their own waffle cones here so that they are still slightly warm when you eat them. See how they put a tiny marshmallow inside the end of it. It melts there and keeps the melted ice cream from dripping out of the cone. How neat is that?", Bella told Renee excitedly.

"You come here often, don't you?", Renee said with a smile.

Bella ordered her standard concoction, then Renee ordered chocolate with raspberries and dark chocolate chips, and they turned to me.

"What?", I said as I shrugged my shoulders. "You know I can never decide and you always order for me", I told her. She smiled and gave me a hug with the arm that was already around me.

"I thought with Mom here, you might want to order your own and not let it be known that your wife always decides for you", she giggled.

"Nope. My wife decides. I like it that way and I don't care who knows it", I said as they both laughed at me as I stood there with my hands in my pockets.

I paid for the cones and Bella ordered a carton or two of different flavors to take home with us. While they made them, we walked out on the deck. One of the fun things about this place was that there was a deck that ran the length of the building overlooking a large stream that contained fish. Not just any fish, but a variety including three foot long fat trout. They were absolutely huge, no doubt from eating the food that could be purchased in dispensers along the railing of the deck and the odd ice cream that fell off the cone into the water, like mine just happened to as I took my second lick.

"Oh no, sweetheart", Bella said as she put her arm on my shoulder. Would you like me to get you another one?" She was becoming a better actress. Only a small glimmer of a smile crossed her face as she offered to purchase me another cone that she clearly knew I didn't want.

"No, that's okay. I'll just feed the fish the cone as well", I laughed as I made it a game of throwing small bits of the vile stuff to the fish below.

"Bella, this ice cream alone is a reason to live here. I see why you come here so often", Renee told her. We went back inside and got the bag of ice cream to take home and found the others sitting at a table out front with their bags of purchases in front of them. They were laughing and talking and seemed to be enjoying the outing almost as much as Bella. I was happy my wife was laughing and enjoying her food. She would find ice cream disgusting once she was no longer human.

~oooOoo~

We stopped at Carlisle and Esme's house to watch the sunset on the way home and Bella and I wandered off to the far end of the enclosed deck so that we could sit on the swing together. We cuddled with my arms around her as we watched the colors start to appear in the cloud covered sky with the approaching sunset.

I marveled at the creature in my arms, so loving and trusting. She sat with a vampire nuzzling her throat and his child growing inside her and seemed utterly content, completely comfortable in my world. I would do anything for her, protect her at any cost.

I worried about her safety with the unknown creature inside her.

I worried about the birth and how we would judge the right time to take the child.

I worried about Victoria, the other vampire and the fact that we had not located and killed them yet.

I worried that Jacob would phase and Bella would be too close.

It was twilight. The end of yet another day and the beginning of another night in eternity. And most of all I worried that somehow, someday, something would separate me from the woman in my arms.