Chapter 25

Bella and I easily agree that a no-frills wedding suits both of us. Neither of us has much extended family that we would invite, so an intimate ceremony followed by a nice dinner is what we decide on.

The guest list is simple: Esme, my dad, Emmett and Rosalie.

Breaking out a calendar, we decide on Friday, November eighth for our wedding, which is only four weeks away. Instead of a traditional honeymoon—mostly because Bella's pregnant and won't be able to enjoy any drinking on a true vacation—we plan to find a nice hotel to spend the long weekend at. The following Monday is Veteran's Day, so we won't even miss any work.

My father's close friend, Benjamin, is a County Judge, and I plan to ask him to perform the ceremony for us. There are some nice restaurants in Port Angeles that we'll check out in the coming weeks. We hope to find a place that has a private room where we can hold the ceremony first and then have dinner.

No bridesmaids or ushers, DJ's or caterers to worry about. Just the love of my life and our closest friends and family.

On Monday morning, Bella texts me as soon as she gets off the phone with her doctor.

"First appt. Thurs 3:00 – xB"

"I'll be there. Can you take off earlier? – xE" I quickly respond.

"Probably, why?"

"Courthouse is only open until 4:30, but we can get marriage license before appt." Yeah, I already looked into it.

"Works for me!"

"Can also check out restaurants after if you want."

"For a groom, you're really on top of things."

"I love you and can't wait to marry you. *shrug*"

"I love you, too."

Thursday arrives quicker than I expected, and we leave for Port Angeles around one o'clock. It takes about ten minutes and fifty-eight dollars to be legally ready to get married. If it weren't for the three day waiting period, I might have asked if a judge was available right then.

We stop at a coffee shop for a snack before Bella's appointment. I can tell she's nervous, so I do my best to soothe her.

"Don't worry, baby. It's just a check-up and I'm sure everything will be fine."

"I know. I just can't help the nerves."

I hug her close as we sit on a couch together. Kissing the top of her head, I try to take her mind off of the appointment. "Any idea what restaurants you want to check out later?"

Talking about the wedding does seem to help her relax a little, and before I know it, we're heading to the doctor's office.

Bella checks in and we both take seats in the waiting room. There are a few other women waiting, but since the office has multiple doctors, I hope we won't be waiting too long. She flips through a magazine while I handle some work emails from my phone.

"Isabella Swan?" a nurse calls about ten minutes later.

Bella closes the magazine and throws it on the table with a little more force than necessary. I grab her hand to help her calm down as we follow the nurse into the back.

The nurse introduces herself to us as Siobhan, weighs Bella and then asks her to pee in a cup. She explains that this will be the standard procedure for every appointment for the duration of her pregnancy.

After that is taken care of, we're led into an examination room and Siobhan takes Bella's blood pressure. She requests that Bella undress from the waist down, explaining that Dr. Newton will perform an ultrasound to date the pregnancy.

The nurse leaves while Bella undresses and places the sheet over her lap on the table. I sit next to her, holding her hand for support—hers and mine.

A few minutes later, the nurse returns with a man who introduces himself to me as Dr. Michael Newton. He gets right down to business once pleasantries are over.

"Okay, Bella, first things first. Your urine test did confirm that you're pregnant, so that's definitely good news."

Bella smiles and laughs lightly. "I took three tests on Saturday and they all turned positive quickly, so we were pretty sure of that fact."

He nods. "Like we discussed before, we'll follow you a little closer than other pregnant women just because of your age. I don't mean to alarm you, because there's nothing in your health history to indicate any problems, but it's standard procedure once a woman turns thirty-five. Frankly, it's a fairly arbitrary number, however I feel that it's better safe than sorry."

Bella and I both nod, accepting his explanation before he continues.

"There are a few extra tests that we'll run, and you'll likely have more ultrasounds than most women, starting with today. Since you said your cycles weren't exactly regular yet, today's ultrasound will help us date the pregnancy and allow us to follow the fetus' growth."

The first thing he does is draw some blood, telling us that he will check hormone levels to make sure everything is in line. The nurse takes the vials once he's finished and leaves the room momentarily.

He then turns to the ultrasound machine and presses a few buttons before putting a condom-like guard on something that strangely resembles a dildo. After loading the wand up with clear gel, he inserts it inside of Bella.

A few more clicks of the keyboard and the room fills with a strange sound. It's kind of like a fast whoosh of water or something. Dr. Newton turns a monitor toward us and Bella's grip on my hand tightens.

"This, right here," he says, pointing to a blob with something flashing in the center. "Is your baby." I feel my own hand tightening around Bella's. "The flickering is its heart beating, and the sound you hear is the heartbeat."

I am utterly amazed, and I can feel the tears stinging my eyes. Bella smiles at me with her own tear-filled look. Leaning over, I kiss her quickly. "That's our baby," I mumble against her lips. She nods and smiles harder.

I hear Dr. Newton clicking away on the keyboard. "I'm just taking some measurements but we'll be done in a minute."

My eyes stay glued to the screen for as long as our baby appears on it. When the doctor finishes, he hands me some pictures of the baby, and I continue to stare at them while Bella sits up on the table.

"Okay, Bella. Based on the measurements, you are currently six weeks, two days pregnant, which actually tracks perfectly with the date of your last period. Your due date is June sixth, and I would venture to guess that you conceived somewhere around September thirteenth."

My ears perk up at this news. I look over at Bella and her smile is now as wide as mine. Yeah, we both realize that we conceived this child on her birthday, the night we got engaged. If that's not meant to be, then I don't know what is.

The doctor goes over some additional information about foods to avoid, what Bella can and can't do and gives her a prescription for prenatal vitamins. Once she's dressed, we make our way to the front desk and schedule our next appointment for four weeks from now.

Yes, I plan to be at every appointment I can with her.

We head out onto the streets of Port Angeles, thankful that the night is clear and not raining even though it's slightly chilly. The October air is actually refreshing after an emotional hour spent in the doctor's office.

We walk to the first restaurant because it's only a few blocks from where we're parked. Unfortunately, a quick conversation with the hostess has us backtracking to the car. They don't have any private rooms, so it's a no-go.

The drive to the second restaurant is only minutes long. I know I've been here before, but it's been a long time so I take in the atmosphere as we step out of the car. Even from the outside, the place appears intimate and fancy, with candles glowing in the windows of the stone structure.

Inside proves to be a direct extension of the outside. There are soft candles burning on every table, dark colors creating a serene atmosphere and multiple stone fireplaces throughout the large room.

A hostess dressed classically in a white blouse and long black skirt greets us. Bella softly explains what we're looking for, and with a smile, the hostess offers to have a manager show us their private rooms.

Minutes later, we are greeted by a gentleman who introduces himself as Franck, complete with an accent and mannerisms that remind me of Martin Short's character from Father of the Bride.

"Let me show you our private dining rooms and then you dine with us tonight, yes?" he states or asks, I'm not quite sure which.

We agree and follow him to the left of the hostess stand and through a door that leads into a hallway. Franck opens another door and we enter a private room. It's nice, but not what we're looking for.

Bella must be on the same wavelength as she speaks up. "This is beautiful, but I think it's a little too large for us. We're actually only planning to have six people, including us, so we were hoping for something a little more intimate."

"Ah," Franck says with a nod. "We have perfect room for you!" He claps his hands, bouncing in place before leading the way further down the hall.

As soon as he turns on the soft lighting in the small room, I know that we've found the right place. We step inside and see a few tables set for two spread throughout the room, but I can easily see them pushed together on one side of the room to accommodate our group. Sconces that look like real candles are spread at even intervals along the walls, casting a subtle glow on the space. At the far end of the room stands another fireplace with a stone hearth, a perfect backdrop for us to exchange our vows.

Bella stands in the middle of the room and spins around slowly with a smile on her face. When her eyes meet mine, I am sure that we agree. My own smile mirrors hers and I nod.

"It's perfect," my future wife exclaims.

"You have dinner here now, on house," Franck demands. "I go get server while you relax." He departs the room rapidly, clearly on a mission.

I walk over to Bella and wrap her in my arms. "I can't wait to marry you here," I tell her in a whisper. Dropping down to my knees, I lift her shirt slightly and place a kiss on her still flat belly, which is something I've taken to doing frequently since those positive pregnancy tests on Saturday. "Your mommy and I are going to make us a family soon," I say to our child. "I love you … and your mommy."

I drop her shirt and hug her waist with a sigh, turning my head to the side and resting it against the baby growing inside of her—the baby made from our love.

A/N: I think my ovaries just exploded.

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