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

Author's Note: Okay, so, I get a little excited about this story, especially where we are about to go. I haven't been this excited since Isle Esme, or maybe even the wreck when Edward found her! Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. I know this is early, and I just added a chapter yesterday, but I am not a patient person and I like to share. To all of those who constantly share with me (you know who you are, you review and give me honest opinions every chapter on whether or not I suck and I would probably stop posting these chapters without you!), and my amazing melanieintn, here is an extra this week . . .

Chapter 59 Fireworks

I wondered if the days seemed long to Edward, well, to vampires that is. Their day never really ended . . .

BPOV

Edward parked the car in front of our house and came around to open my door for me, insisting he be allowed to carry me into the house so that I did not walk up the stairs myself. Charlie and Sue went in before us and opened the door, flipping on the lights as they went.

"Put me down, sweetheart," I said as I kissed his cheek. "I'm making some tea if you would like some, Sue. Dad, anything for you?" I asked as I put the water on to heat.

"No. No thanks, Bells. I'm going to go ahead and get my shower, I still smell like lake water and fish," he said happily as he headed up the stairs. Edward was moving some logs into the fireplace to start a fire and Sue came to sit in the kitchen and keep me company.

"He is scared to death for you, isn't he?" Sue said, nodding toward Edward.

"Yes. He's a bit overprotective, Sue," I told her as I looked over the counter to glance at Edward who was still tending the fireplace.

Sue seemed to be struggling with something and I continued making tea for us, bringing her a cup and offering her milk and sugar to put in it, as I did mine. I sat at the table with her and passed her a cup of steaming deliciousness, hoping it would sooth whatever was going on with her.

"Bella," she gestured towards Edward and continued in a whisper, "He really is one of the nicest most caring young men I have ever met . . . if he wasn't . . ."

I stopped her right there. "Sue, he is the most caring, considerate and wonderful man ever."

She looked at me with a confused expression as I continued, "Sue, he functions in this world, this human world just the same as you or I. He's stronger, never gets sick, eats a different part of animals than we do and will out live us all. Is any of that really so bad? You think of vampires as murderers, Godless, soulless creatures, yet you acknowledge what a kind, generous being he is. He insisted on us being married, Sue, before he would even try to take me to his bed - did you know that? His morals are more old fashioned than anyone I have ever met. Humans can be murderers Sue, horrible, mean, selfish creatures . . . even cannibals. He is none of those things, yet you hate him and his kind. It would be like hating people for being Jewish or midgets or Asian, Sue. It's wrong, and you know it."

She acknowledged my point by nodding her head, seeming to really think about what I had told her. I noticed Edward smiling from near the fire, and realized he was probably reading her thoughts. I would have to remember to ask him about it later.

"Are you sure you are alright, Bella?" Sue asked as she finished her tea and put the cup in the dishwasher. "This . . . baby, how much longer will you carry it?" she asked. "By the way," she offered, "Charlie is pretty convinced that you are more than four months pregnant, which would be from when you said you and Edward moved into this house and started being intimate."

"I know," I told her. He's having a hard time believing me and it's only going to get worse. Sue looked at me expectantly and I continued, "Edward and I spent out first time together, in that way, in our room at this house, Sue, and it was barely four months ago. You see, the baby is growing almost twice as fast as a full human baby would," I took a breath and continued, "Masen will undoubtedly be born before the month of January is over, and likely within the next two weeks."

Sue smiled. "Well then, we will have less time to worry about his strength hurting you. That's good. As for Charlie, well, I'll think of something to tell him. If the baby grows that quickly, he'll know that something is up eventually anyway, won't he!"

"Sue, Dad will know a lot of things in time, as your relationship with him continues. Please don't let him hate me for choosing this life, Sue. I want this . . . I want Edward. He left me last time to keep me human, to not allow me to become what he is and it has taken me this long to convince him. If you are with my Dad and he is brought in on the mythological world that exists around us, then I can see him on occasion . . . keep somewhat in touch with him," I told her.

I heard her inhale deeply . . . realization and shock setting in. "Bella, what are you saying?" she exclaimed.

I sat down in the chair beside her and reaching to hold her hand in mine. "Sue, I don't want to ever be parted from Edward. He's my husband and I love him more than anything . . . and now there is a child to consider. Think about it, in years to come I will turn grey and get wrinkles, he will remain in his 17 year old form looking amazing forever. I want that, Sue. I want forever with him. Every girls dream, forever young and with the man she loves and I am lucky enough to have found it."

She stared at me for a long time, then quietly stood and headed upstairs. Edward walked into the kitchen and placed his hands on my shoulders, gently rubbing them

"It's a lot for her to take in, sweetheart. She's trying. She is really conflicted right now, teetering between what she had been raised with as legends and what she sees before her. Give her time."

"You're right, I know it takes time to adjust your way of thinking," I told him as I scooted sideways in my chair and hugged my arms around his hips. He was just such a sweet, adorable man. I rested my forehead on the button of his jeans, incidentally breathing warm air out across his crotch. I felt his hands tense on my shoulders, so I purposefully forced warm air into the material by his zipper. Nothing. Huh. He continued to gently rub my shoulders and hug me to him, but his body did not have it's normal response to me. He was still upset and worried and I needed to address it and try to comfort him.

"Let's go sit in front of the fire, sweetheart," I said as I stood and kissed his chest and neck, leading him by the hand as I turned off the lights and headed to the sofa, "I like that you thought of having a fire tonight."

"I just thought it might be relaxing," he said as he sat down, putting a pillow on his lap and motioning for me to put my head there and lie down. I did as requested and snuggled into him, tossing the pillow aside and resting my head on his thigh, my hand massaging it lightly. We watched the fire for quite a while, his hand running up and down my arm and side, stopping occasionally to play with my hair. I turned over to face the back of the sofa so that I could face my husband, my front toasty warm from having been exposed to the heat from the blazing logs.

"Are you okay?" I asked, staring up into his eyes as I softly stroked his jaw. He took my hand in his, the hand that wasn't still running up and down my side, and kissed it softly, "I'm fine as long as I know you're safe, Bella."

He released my hand and I ran it over his firm shoulder and down his chest to his tight abs while I nuzzled into his crotch with my cheek. I unbuttoned his jeans and pulled the zipper down as he started to protest. It took only a look from me to stop him from saying a word. Not one word. I reached my hand inside his boxers and started caressing him. He had been like this rarely, only when he was afraid and always something to do with me. I closed my eyes and snuggled into him, letting my breath just happen to blow towards his open jeans as I continued to lazily fiddle with him, kneading and stroking the flesh that I was so familiar with.

Edward needed to relax. Desperately needed to relax. I remembered the girls in high school and even the ones that hung around Dale's shop in Calgary used to talk about giving their boyfriends and husbands blow jobs to settle them down, get them to relax. It had worked before with Edward and I needed it to work now. I knew there was no way he would give in and make love with me tonight after what happened with my rib this afternoon and his concerns about my remaining pregnant. He was probably not going to do anything at all that he thought had any chance of getting Masen excited or riled up in any way, causing him to stretch or kick me. Though he was a vampire, he was also a man and he had needs just like I did. If I couldn't have him tonight, at least I could relieve some of the tension he was feeling.

His body seemed to agree with me and his length began to harden somewhat. Some was better than none and at least it was a start. I continued to seem casual, not hurried or determined or even intent on a desired outcome as I lazily began to place kisses on him as he watched me. I took him into my mouth, my eyes closed, and sucked on him as though I were sleeping and had my thumb in my mouth, scratching the soft curls that surrounded it on his groin and lower stomach, just beneath those delicious abs.

Edward continued to stroke and play with my hair, tracing patterns on my back and sometimes letting his hand slip down to caress my belly where Mason lay sleeping. He seemed deep in thought . . . and he seemed to be relaxing, enjoying the attention I was giving him, the quiet of our home, and the fact that we were spending time alone, just enjoying each other and the fireplace in our very own living room. I knew that every other time I had my mouth on him he had ripped whatever was around him to shreds - the headboard in our guest room, the black sofa in his room in Forks, the headboard on Isle Esme, the rocks of the jetty in Jacksonville when we were at my Mom's . . . and I hoped this time would be different, though I could not honestly say I cared. I just didn't want to have to explain the destruction.

He was purring now, though not to its normal hardness and his muscles moved slightly as I moved against him. He kept one hand on my head, absorbed in the motions and the other was holding onto my shoulder as he began to rock into me ever so slightly. My breathing increased as I became more and more turned on by my husbands arousal and purring and the soft moans coming from him as he dropped his head back to rest it on the back of the sofa. He came very quietly, none of the roars or ripping of fabric or screaming my name that usually accompanied it. He was staring at me again, a soft look on his face as he bent down to kiss my temple and hold me to him. He buttoned his jeans and slipped his arms under me, lifting me and heading up the stairs to our bedroom.

Our clothes were gone before I even noticed he was removing them and we we both tucked naked into the middle of our very big, very comfortable bed. I fell asleep holding my husband as he quietly continued to trace patterns on my back and hold me to him, safe for the moment.

EPOV

Morning came and I had left her embrace only long enough to call Esme and speak briefly with Jacob. It was Friday, New Year's Eve, and we had all planned to go into town to visit Sweet Treats and to watch the fireworks display. I had called Esme and asked her to come down and make breakfast for Charlie and Sue as I wanted Bella to sleep as long as she possibly would. I had closed the blinds in the middle of the night and turned the heat so that I could hold her close with nothing between us and she would stay warm. I had no intention of letting her go.

My wife was everything to me. Everything. She knew me better than I knew myself and she always knew exactly what I needed and how to give it to me . . . even if I was unwilling in the beginning, she always won. Always. She had not pressed me to make love to her last night, the first time since we became intimate that we had gone to bed without making love, other than the time we were at the Hard Rock in Orlando and I just stayed up, out of bed all night so that she couldn't say we went to bed without making love . . . it wasn't as though I needed to sleep anyway.

I had gone out on the balcony last night and checked on Jacob. He was anxious for Sam to arrive tomorrow, hopeful that he could immediately learn how to phase back into his human form. His time was being spent being useful, though, circling Highlands and trying to track down Victoria and Riley. His senses were as acute as mine and his sense of smell might even be better. It was somewhat comforting to know that he was just outside, ready to defend Bella in an instant. The combination of Charlie and Sue being here, Bella being pregnant and Victoria trying to harm her was just too much. There was just too damned much going on around me that I had little or no control over and it was unsettling.

I remembered the last day of last year, unfortunately, just as though it had been yesterday. I had been unable to be around my family here in Highlands, though God knows I had really tried to stay. The pain was just too great. New Years Eve last year found me curled up in an attic, having not fed for days and not intending to ever move again. Thank God I did. I wouldn't trade my time with Bella for anything in the world and I thanked God every day for making this beautiful creature that had agreed to be my wife.

It was as though she was able to give me everything I ever wanted. I wanted to be with her but was unable to resist the call of her blood, I wanted to hold her but was scared of physically hurting her, I missed sleeping and I could now almost sleep at will. I had wanted to give her a family, to be a father and now, yesterday, I had cried real tears. Tears - a thing I hadn't done in almost a hundred years. I was beginning to put two and two together and I had started seriously considering that Bella had a talent even though she was not an immortal yet. I was starting to believe that somehow, it was her that was allowing me to achieve the things I wanted or missed the most . . . that somehow, she was causing these things to happen. It made no sense, yet it absolutely made sense.

Then there was Masen. Dear God, Masen was amazing. I had prayed long and hard for most of the night for God to spare both him and Bella and allow him to survive. His thoughts were so gentle, so loving and he was incredibly intelligent. He had learned the language from listening to us for these last couple of months and his command of it was astounding. Masen understood what was said to him when we talked and he understood that I could discern his thoughts. The part that I needed to discuss with Carlisle was the fact that not only was Masen capable of intelligent thought and answered me in his mind, he was able to put thoughts into my mind. I needed to figure out how to phrase it when I tried to explain what it was that he did, but it was difficult. He not only answered me, but seemed to place independent thoughts into my head as though they were my own and have me act on them. Because of my total recall, being a vampire, I was aware of the changes he caused, but I wondered if he would be able to do the same with a human. Their brains would never realize anything other than the thought he had given them.

And he was definitely Bella's son. His fierce protective attitude towards her was already apparent. He was angry at himself for reaching out when her sudden movement at the lake yesterday had startled him and he was upset about hurting her. His attitude gave me hope that she could carry him long enough for him to survive and I had spent half the night communicating with him and trying to explain to him what it meant to survive outside of his Mom. He couldn't really help me with this one, he had no frame of reference to go by. He had spent the last half hour telling me that Bella needed me close, that whatever it was that made her have that feeling of euphoria that he felt as well, that she actually needed it. He felt as well? That was a hard one to try and digest.

I had decided, quite adamantly last night that I would not make love with my wife till after Masen was born and quite possibly not till after she had been changed. Bella realized my resolve and had not pushed me in the least last night, though I knew that she wanted to, but now . . . it was as though my mind had been changed for me somehow, the thought had been placed there and the opposing thought removed, though I had no idea how.

I would have to find time to discuss all of this with Bella and Carlisle . . . and soon.

Bella stirred in my arms, her sleepy face nuzzling into my neck and her lips searching for mine though her eyes had not even opened yet. I gave her what she sought, kissing her several times softly before tracing my tongue on her lips to ask for entry. Her mouth tasted so sweet and soft and warm, and our tongues danced and caressed against each other while still managing to avoid the razor sharpness of my teeth. She needed to feel close, to feel that I was accessible to her and that she alone was allowed that level of intimacy with me. I understood that, hell I needed the same thing from her.

~oooOooo~

Esme POV

"Yes, yes I will, son. No, it's no trouble. I'm glad she's getting some rest. Good. See you soon."

I hung up the phone and turned to Carlisle, hugging him to me. "She's sleeping, and he didn't mention anything more about terminating the pregnancy," I told him. Carlisle only nodded and held me tighter. I knew where his thoughts were, he wanted this to happen, to work out so that their child was born safely and Bella was unharmed. It was all just so tenuous, balancing on a knife edge.

We continued to take the Christmas decorations down, the children that were not watching Edward's house helped us so that it would only take a small amount of time for us to be done. Carlisle and I took the ornaments off the tree, and I could not help remembering last Christmas. It had been the first time we had not all been together for the holiday. Edward had left, unable to endure the slight slips in our thoughts when we thought of Bella, and the pain it caused him to see three happily mated couples showing affection for each other. He simply could not endure the pain . . . and it wasn't fair to ask him to, I knew that.

Sue was already up when we got to Edwards. Carlisle had come with me so that Emmett and Jasper could go home for a bit, Alice and Rose would want some help to store all the decorations that we had taken down during the night.

"Good morning! You're up early," I said to Sue as Carlisle and I walked in to find her already having what looked like a second pot of coffee. Carlisle took the paper from under his arm and headed towards the living room.

"Carlisle," Sue called to him when she realized he was not going to sit with us, "will Bella be alright, and the baby?"

"We are going to do everything in our power to see to it that they are fine, Sue. It's just that there are no guidelines. It's not like this has happened often before," Carlisle told her.

"It has happened before?" Sue asked, astounded. Carlisle looked at the floor, and slowly met her gaze.

"There are legends, rumors really of vampires having gotten humans pregnant. Nothing firm, and nothing with any kind of good result for the mother. That's why the ultrasounds every Sunday and the constant monitoring," he informed her.

"The baby . . . is it human, Carlisle?" Sue asked timidly.

"It is some part human, Sue. He has a heartbeat and thoughts that Edward can communicate with and he seems to be extremely intelligent. The accelerated growth rate would indicate that there are also some vampire qualities that he has received from his father, though we won't know the extent of those until he is born," he added.

"Well, I just don't like to see her in pain, though I'm sure that the loss of the baby would devastate them both at this point," Sue mused.

Carlisle turned and continued on to the sofa and his paper. I opened the refrigerator and took out the eggs, bacon, butter and cheese to make breakfast as Sue sat and stared at her coffee cup, turning it slightly in her hands as it sat on the table.

"Esme, I'd like to stay for a few days when Sam gets here, if you think that would be alright with Edward and Bella. Sam is going to be extremely hostile and I think I can help . . . manage him. Edward flying him here to help Jake just amazes me and I would like to help things to go more smoothly," Sue asked.

"I think that's a wonderful idea, Sue. Carlisle and I have both been worried about how Sam would react to being around all of us . . . especially once he finds out that Bella is pregnant," I added.

"Yes. I know. Esme, Sam is not above trying to harm Edward, you do know that don't you?" Sue asked quietly, "He may feel as though the treaty doesn't apply this far from home and as one of the tribal elders, I can remind him that it does."

"I suspected as much, Sue, and none of us wants it to come to a fight, that's not a good outcome for anyone. Perhaps you can tell Charlie that a relative or friend in another state is ill and instead of flying out with him to Forks tomorrow, we can make it seem as though you are flying to them to help for a few days. It would be good for you to be in the car returning here from the airport anyway. Sam would probably be calmer than if he was alone in the car with one of us", I told her, "I'll speak to Edward and have him make the arrangements. Just let us know where you would be flying to, so that we can check the flights. Charlie is smart, we will have to actually purchase the ticket and make it look real or he will never buy it."

Charlie appeared at the door, greeting us with good mornings all around and came over to kiss Sue on the cheek and grab a cup of coffee. She told him about her cousin in Denver that was ill and how she had gotten a call during the night and had been up worrying about it. I told Charlie that we had offered to change her flight and he thought that was a great idea, seeing as how she was all the way across the country already and Denver was on the way back towards Forks. It would just be like a stop over of sorts on her way home. Well. I was glad we had gotten that out of the way.

After Charlie had finished eating breakfast, apologising profusely for being so late coming downstairs, we all went out to sit on the porch and enjoy the view.

"I just don't know what's gotten into me lately, Esme. I sleep so well here, I just don't seem to wake up with any sort of internal alarm at all," he laughed. I smiled. He had no way of knowing that I could smell Sue all over him.

Bella and Edward came down the stairs mid morning, Edward carrying her bridal style at his insistence, I was certain. I came inside to see if I could help with her breakfast, I had leftovers from breakfast still warm on the stove and I thought she might like to have some. It surprised me to find that, along with what was warming on the stove, Edward had cut a steak into small, bite size pieces and placed a bowl full on the table in front of her. She was eating her eggs and bacon with the toast that had just come fresh from the toaster, intermingled with bites of steak. Raw. Edward looked up at me, understandingoo the question in my mind without my having to voice it.

"Bella has craved blood for some time now, Mom. Steak seems to be the best way to give it to her, the least disagreeable anyway," he explained, "She has at least one steak a day, sometimes more." Bella looked at me like she was caught in the process of killing the neighbors cat, so I tried to comfort her. "Well, dear, at least we know that you are not immune to cravings," I told her as I laughed and patted her shoulder.

When she finished, we joined the others on the porch. Emmett and Jasper had started a contest with bow and arrow, adapting the range that Edward had set up for rifles by moving the target in closer. Still, they were shooting all the way across the lake and it did look like fun. Charlie joined in, having never shot arrows, and he was determined to learn so that Emmett was not outdoing him. Edward and Carlisle laughed themselves silly at his antics with Emmett. Charlie even resorted to accidentally bumping into Emmet's elbow when he drew back to shoot, causing the arrow to fall into the lake, far short of its target and a round of laughter to ensue.

"Damn it, Charlie," Emmett said, turning to face Charlie with an annoyed glare.

"Emmett! Language!" the immediate response from me as he nodded sheepishly in compliance.

My kids were just so very funny to watch, and the humor continued as we watched Alice and Rosalie appear on their Harleys after having ridden into town this morning. Alice had a large bag for Bella, clothing that had arrived that she wanted Bella to see and probably wear today.

"Bella," Alice called to her as she stepped onto the landing, "those jeans have not even gotten here yet - Monday! Monday! I had to rethink what you would wear today, but I have come up with some things that I think will work."

"Alice, you really think I need more of these huge clothes?" Bella asked her, astounded. "My other clothes are going to fit again in the not too distant future, you know that, right?"

"Bella . . .style. You have to have things now, not next week or the week after. Stop embarrassing me and let's go see if you like these," Alice told her.

"Edward . . . save me," Bella pleaded, giving him a pouty face and rising to stand behind his chair, separating her from Alice.

"There is no saving any of us from the little pixie, sweetheart. Sorry," he laughed.

They left for a short time, Rose with them, and returned with Bella in a new pair of jeans and a gorgeous white lace over cream top that made her look almost angelic. She went to sit in Edward's lap and he told her how beautiful she was, as he always did.

Since most of the humans had a late breakfast, they opted to have only sandwiches mid afternoon, then head into town for some dessert at Sweet Treats ice cream shop. It was a favorite and I suppose the rest of us could buy more of Bella's favorite chocolates for her, Sue and Charlie thinking we were making purchases for ourselves.

We walked around town, the kids having ridden their bikes in and Carlisle having driven the rest of us in his Mercedes. It was cloudy, but not cold, especially considering it was the dead of winter and the town was filled with people anxious to see the fireworks display.

Though none of us minded standing, we found a place where the humans had a half wall that they could sit on, especially Bella, when they tired of standing. We were just settling in to wait for the big display of lights when I felt us all almost simultaneously stiffen . . . Victoria. We could not yet see her in the crowd, but we could smell her and she was close . . . really really close.