Chapter 30
I never really believed the saying "time flies when you're having fun" before, but I sure do now. The last few months of Bella's pregnancy have flown by, thankfully without any more drama.
Bella continues to have Braxton Hicks contractions on a regular basis, but after the first few days of them, she became able to recognize the signs. She has learned that the contractions mean that she needs to slow down, drink more water and put her feet up.
All of the extra testing that we went through points to a healthy baby boy, and we couldn't be happier.
At one week before her due date, she is a glowing picture of perfection. It's an uncharacteristically hot Saturday, so we're taking advantage of the apartment complex's pool, and I'm taking advantage of the view of my wife in a bikini. Her belly is ripe with our child. I've never seen anything sexier.
Bella is floating on her back in the pool, something she found helps with the aches and pains of pregnancy. Although I rub her back and feet whenever she asks, there are some pains that you can't get around having.
"Babe?" she calls out.
"Yeah?" I respond from my lounge chair on the pool deck.
"Are you coming in? You gotta feel this!" One of her hands is resting on her stomach, so I know she's talking about our son's movements.
I'm off my seat in a flash and cannon balling into the water. I swim underwater until I reach her side and pop up right next to her.
Laughing at my entrance, she takes my hand and places it right where hers was. "Holy cow!" I exclaim. "What the heck is he doing in there?" I can clearly feel one of his appendages—lord knows which one—poking constantly like he's trying to break out, Alien style.
"I think he's trying to make a break for it. You've got another week in there, buddy," she scolds, looking down toward her belly.
Even with all of the aches and pains, the Braxton Hicks contractions and the extra testing, Bella has never once complained about being pregnant. Most women by now would be whining about getting the kid out, but she takes it all in stride, happy to be able to carry our child to term.
With my hand still resting on her belly, I feel it begin to tighten up. "Is that a Braxton Hicks contraction?" I ask, but quickly get concerned as I watch her face contort in pain.
She breathes deeply for a moment and drops her feet to the bottom of the pool while waiting for it to pass, and I feel her muscles loosen up as her face relaxes. "Hmm," she breathes in relief. "That one was a little more intense than they usually are. Will you help me out so I can get some water?"
She swims to the ladder on the side of the pool with me following behind her. I help push her up the ladder and wait until she's safely on the deck before I climb out.
As I watch the adorable way she waddles over to our chairs, I notice something I hadn't seen before. Her belly looks much lower than it did a few days ago. She's carried high this entire time, essentially looking like she had first a basketball, then a watermelon, shoved up her shirt since she didn't gain weight anywhere else but her belly. But today, I'd swear that watermelon is sitting several inches below where it used to be.
Bella grabs a bottle of water and begins chugging it as soon as she plops down on the lounge chair, almost emptying it in one go.
"You know, it looks like he's dropped some," I tell her as I sit down on the chair next to her.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he has 'cause I can feel it in my bladder. It feels like every movement he makes is a direct hit right there," she says, pointing to said organ. "Guess he's getting ready to come out soon."
"One more week," I tell him sternly, feeling him wriggle around in his limited space under my hand. "Man, he's really on the move today."
I'll never forget the first time I felt him move. Bella started feeling him not long after we found out he was a boy. She said it felt like bubbles popping on the inside, but we were both disappointed that we couldn't feel it from the outside.
One night, only about two weeks later, I was having my daily chat with my son when I felt pressure against my hand. Bella's eyes were as wide as mine as she felt the stronger movement internally. I was so happy to be able to feel him—I might have cried a little.
"I know," she confirms. "He's not usually this active during the day. Wonder if it was something I ate."
As soon as she finishes her water, she picks up her book and starts reading. I go back to the crossword puzzle I was working on, and we enjoy the warmth of the sun and the quiet.
Only a few minutes later, I see her hand fly to her stomach and her face twist in pain again.
"Another one?" I ask unnecessarily.
She nods her head and tries to breathe calmly like we were taught in the childbirth class.
"Maybe we should go inside," I offer. "Maybe the sun's too much?"
As soon as the pain has left her face, she lets out one last deep breath and nods. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea."
I quickly pack up our belongings and then help Bella to stand from her chair. I honestly won't ever understand how a woman as tiny as she is can carry around something that large in her belly, but she makes it work.
She moves to step into her flip flops and I hold her hand so she won't topple over. Before she can get her second foot in her shoe, she calls out, "Oh, shit!"
I look down and see she's standing in a puddle that did not come from her wet bathing suit or hair.
"Did your water just break?" I ask, my voice about an octave higher than usual.
She's gripping her stomach with both hands and breathing hard again. "Considering I can only hold about an ounce of pee at a time these days, I'd have to say that was not pee."
"Hang in there, buddy," I say, bending down and kissing her belly. "We're gonna get Mommy to the hospital!" I kiss Bella once, too, before taking her hand and leading her out of the pool area.
We slowly make our way home, call Dr. Newton and get ready to go to the hospital. After quick showers, I gather our pre-packed bags and load them into the car while Bella calls to let Esme and Rose know we're on our way.
Since the moment her water broke, the contractions have picked up in frequency and intensity. I feel horrible for the pain she's in with every bump of the car on the drive over, but I do my best to get her there quickly.
Once at the hospital, we head straight for the maternity floor. A nurse greets us and gets Bella checked in. Thanks to Dr. Newton's call, we're shown to a room instead of triage since Bella's water has already broken. I help her into a gown and then she's hooked up to the monitors.
The nurse quickly explains to me how to read the contractions on the monitor so I can help Bella through them, but it doesn't take a genius to figure them out by the pained look on her face.
When the nurse leaves, I sit by Bella's side and take her hand in mine. "What do you need, Angel?"
"Nothing, Edward," she says in a rare contraction-free moment. "Just don't leave me."
She's near tears and looks frightened, so I lean over and kiss her. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll be here every step of the way."
A tear slips out of her eye but I'm quick to wipe it away while she lets out a bitter laugh. "I can't believe I thought about doing this by myself. I don't know what I'd do without you." Her hold on my hand tightens.
"Well, you're never going to have to find out. You're stuck with me, Mrs. Cullen."
"I lo—" she starts, before she's cut off by the pain of another contraction.
"I know, baby. I love you, too," I say soothingly, trying to help her through it. I rub her back gently when she leans forward over her belly, and talk her through until I see the spike on the monitor start to drop. "The worst is over. It's coming down now."
She flops back on the pillow when she's able to breathe normally again, just as Dr. Newton enters the room with the nurse.
"Bella!" he says animatedly. "I understand we're having a baby today."
"Looks that way, Doc," Bella jokes. I'm happy to see that even through the pain, she's able to make light of the situation.
"Okay, I'm just going to check you out and see how close we are to delivery." He puts on some gloves and moves to the foot of the bed, preparing for an internal exam, while I stay near Bella's head and hold her hand.
She winces a bit as he begins the exam and then moans as another contraction starts. Thankfully, he finishes quickly.
"Well, it looks like this little guy is eager to meet you. You're already seven centimeters and seventy percent effaced. Shouldn't be too long, now."
Dr. Newton leaves the room with a promise to send in the anesthesiologist and come back to check on her soon. Only about ten minutes later, the anesthesiologist arrives and administers an epidural, the relief immediately showing on Bella's face once it's been placed.
We relax quietly, chatting about the excitement of our son arriving until a knock on the door announces the arrival of our family. Rose, Emmett, my dad and Esme all enter together.
My dad and I engage in a somewhat technical medical discussion while the girls talk about Bella's labor.
"So much better now that I have the epidural," I hear Bella say. I smile, thankful that she's not in so much pain anymore.
After about an hour, I look up at the monitor and notice that the contractions are almost on top of each other. I'm about to call for a nurse when one enters the room.
"Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Cullen," she says politely. "I'm Kate, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be helping you through delivery very shortly. I've already called Dr. Newton. He should be here momentarily."
As soon as the doctor arrives, everyone else is ushered out of the room. Dr. Newton looks over the printout of Bella's contractions before addressing us.
"Kate called because she saw how close your contractions were getting. I'm going to check, but I'm pretty sure you should be just about ready to start pushing."
He does another internal exam before wordlessly breaking down the bottom of the bed. "This guy really wants out! He's already at plus three station."
I know that means something, but with my mind on the fact that our son will be here shortly, I can't process it to figure it out.
Kate and Dr. Newton get busy with their preparations, and as instructed, I stay near Bella's head and hold one of her legs while Kate holds the other. Kate watches the monitor and tells Bella when to start pushing, counting for her and telling her when to breathe. I whisper encouraging words in her ear as she sweats and groans while giving birth to our son.
"Come on, baby. You can do it. You're the strongest woman I know."
"Dad, you wanna take a peek down here?" Dr. Newton asks.
Bella gives me a nod in between pushes, so I lean over and see the dark hair on the top of my son's head peeking out.
"He's almost here, baby. You're doing great," I tell her, the tears already threatening to spill from the corners of my eyes.
Kate resumes her counting. Bella resumes her pushing. Dr. Newton asks her to stop for a moment, and she groans again.
"It burns!" she calls out. "I need to push!"
"Okay, go ahead," Dr. Newton tells her, having done whatever he needed to do down there.
With the next push, our son slips free from Bella's body and my eyes go wide as I see his tiny form for the first time. Dr. Newton places him on Bella's stomach while Kate rubs him with a towel. I hear the most wonderful sound in the world—my son's cry.
Kissing the side of Bella's head, I whisper, "You did it. He's wonderful. I love you so much."
"Dad, would you like to cut the cord?"
I nod and take the scissors from Dr. Newton with a shaky hand, cutting where he shows me and severing the tie between mother and child.
Kate wraps him in a blanket and takes him over to the bassinette while I hug my wife. The tears are now flowing freely.
"Go with him," Bella urges through her tears. "Make sure he's okay."
I do as ordered, although I'm torn between wanting to stay by her side and wanting to be with our son. I watch as Kate cleans him up, weighs and measures him, puts a tiny bracelet on his ankle and takes his footprints. As soon as she's done, she wraps him up and places him in my arms.
I am amazed, staring at this beautiful creature in my arms that Bella and I created. I place a kiss on his little face and breathe him in. Slowly, I walk over to Bella and place him in her arms.
She smiles blindingly at him and then at me. "I love you," she says. "He's perfect." She kisses his forehead just as he starts to nuzzle around toward her body.
"I think somebody's hungry already," I tell her.
It's amazing how babies instinctively know what to do. Bella offers him her breast and he immediately latches on, sucking like he's been doing it for years. I feel like my heart is going to explode with love as I watch my wife and son together.
Once she's finished and the medical staff has cleared out, Bella asks me to go get our family. I jog out to the waiting room and usher everyone back to Bella's room.
There are smiles and congratulations all around. Finally, with my son in her arms, Esme asks, "What's his name?"
I nod at Bella, and she makes the announcement. "Everyone, we'd like to introduce Jacob Charles Cullen. Es, I hope you don't mind, but we wanted to honor Jack."
Esme shakes her head, the tears streaming down her face making it near impossible to speak. "Perfect," she chokes out.
"Rose, Emmett," I start. "We were hoping you would be Jake's Godparents."
Rose nods, biting her lip. She wipes a tear from her face, and I watch as her engagement ring sparkles when it catches the fluorescent lights. Emmett, on the other hand, speaks up. "Dude, this little guy is going to be so spoiled!"
Jake gets passed around through all of the arms in the room as I sit on the bed and hold my wife. I watch all the love pouring out from everyone—love for us, for each other, and most importantly, for our son.
As I take it all in, I realize that my life has never felt as complete as it does at this moment, surrounded by the most important people in the world to me—my family.
A/N: **wiping tears** I'm sad to say that this is the last regular chapter of A Family Affair. The epilogue will post on the regular schedule on Tuesday. There might be a little surprise in the epi.
I've decided to contribute an outtake for A Family Affair to Fandom for Oklahoma. I would love it if you would donate to this worthy cause, which can be found at Oklahoma dot fandomcause dot info. For those of you who want to know what happened to Jasper, this is where you'll find it! I'll be posting a teaser in the next few days, but there are plenty of awesome contributions with teasers already posted, so please check it out. The outtake will not post here until sometime in September.
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