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CHAPTER SIX

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A/N:- Banner by FatesLoveQueen http:/yfrog(dot)com/oed60p

I own nothing. Boydblog beta'd and I'll be forever thankful.

She fixed. I fiddled. Any mistakes that remain are on me.

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"Bella, are you okay?"

Warm arms wrapped around me protectively.

"I think so," I murmured.

A hand cradled my head and gently guided me to a sitting position.

"What happened?" the voice asked.

"I…don't know," I opened my eyes, but the bright sunlight made it difficult to focus.

"You scared the hell out of me."

My head was still being cradled gently and another hand found its way to my knee. I shifted my attention there; it was easier to focus on because it was close and I didn't need to look up into the bright sun. The light fell almost directly onto me, so I assumed it was close to midday. I could feel the intense heat on my skin.

I watched the hand carefully, waiting for my eyes to focus completely. His skin was lighter than my own, pale and unaffected by the usual tanning effects of the sun.

Long, slender fingers wrapped around my bent knee, caressing it gently to soothe my racing heart.

I took a deep breath, trying to remember what happened, and why I was on the sidewalk.

"Where are we?" I asked, turning to meet a pair of breathtaking amber eyes.

"We're down the road from Renee's."

'Renee's,' I mouthed silently.

"You asked me to meet you for coffee before you started work, remember?"

I frowned as I considered Kieran's words.

"Did I?" I murmured.

Snippets of our conversation the previous evening began to run through my mind. It was hazy, like trying to remember a dream, but I finally was able to grab onto it and hold on tight.

I recalled telling Kieran that it was a shame we never got time to just talk, without Renee hovering over us, or without him feeling obliged to leave me a tip. I had asked whether he wanted to meet up for a coffee before I started my shift. The truth was I just needed to get out of the empty house for a while. With Edward's promotion came more travel and longer working hours. He was almost never home and I was lonely.

All of our friends had been his friends first, by his side since the beginning of our relationship, and many were hangovers from when he was with Rosalie. They barely bothered to hide their disdain when in my presence, so I couldn't exactly call them for a coffee date. It was hard to see the hatred deep in their eyes and know that they blamed me for the estrangement between Edward and his parents. I was the harpy who'd broken apart Edward and Rosalie's 'perfect' relationship for my own evil intentions. Somehow the fact that Edward had already split from Rosalie three months before we started dating meant nothing.

I smiled at Kieran. It was nice to have someone on my side for once. It was probably why my Forks delusions cast all of Edward's friends in roles where they were on my side; at least until he left, and then suddenly they weren't.

My thoughts were bitter. Even my own mind is against me.

"Are you feeling better now?" Kieran asked quietly, moving the hand on my head down to rub small circles on my back between my shoulder blades.

I wanted to shake my head 'No'. I missed Edward; I wished he was the one I was meeting for coffee. I couldn't tell Kieran that though. We may have known each other for a little over three months, and maybe I even considered him a friend, but I didn't feel right involving him. It almost felt like I was betraying Edward, which I would never do. Instead, I nodded. I was fine; at least, I would be fine.

"Here, let me help you up." He closed one hand around my arm and circled the other around my waist.

"Thanks," I said, stepping away from him slightly as soon as I was upright and confident that I wasn't going to end up back on the ground.

I shook off the embarrassment that I felt about collapsing in the middle of a busy street. People brushed by me and Kieran as they went about their day, completely oblivious to what had just happened.

"Shall we?" I asked, conscious of the wary glances he kept casting in my direction.

He nodded. "The sooner you are sitting down, the happier I'll be."

I rolled my eyes.

"At least that way I won't have to worry about you doing sidewalk acrobatics again."

"Ha ha, you're so funny," I said, knocking his arm lightly with my shoulder.

He smiled warmly. We continued a little further along the street before we arrived at my favorite coffee shop. Quake was a dark and tiny hole-in-the-wall place about a block and a half down the road from Renee's, which served perfect blends made by trained baristas.

With the competition Quake offered, I always found it a little surprising that Renee's had any patrons at all. Then again, with cheap, brewed coffee and greasy food, Renee's appealed to a different type of clientele.

I showed Kieran to my booth down the back. It was a place I had found a few months earlier to while away the minutes before it was time to head to work. He was the first person I'd ever shown this little piece of myself to.

"Nice," he said, his eyes taking in the cozy corners of the tiny coffee house. "Intimate, almost."

I blushed profusely. I hadn't even considered that when I'd asked him to meet me here. I just wanted…

What did I want? Someone to talk to?

"I'm just teasing," Kieran said as he reached his hand across the table and touched mine gently.

I realized just how dangerous it was asking him to come to a secluded coffee house alone. He was sure to misinterpret my desire for friendship for something else.

"Thank you for being a friend. I've needed one lately," I said with a smile.

I slid my hand back so that it rested on my lap. I didn't want to give him the opportunity to misinterpret things again.

He smirked at me and opened his mouth. Before he had a chance to say anything the waitress delivered our order. I inhaled deeply to enjoy the aroma of the fresh coffee. Instead of relaxing me—like it had every other day—it made my stomach twist and bile rush to the back of my throat. I pushed the coffee away from me and took in a few settling breaths, swallowing heavily to try to settle my stomach.

"Are you feeling alright?"Kieran asked softly. His face was traced with concern. "You've gone white as a ghost."

I swallowed heavily again before nodding. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure? First the sidewalk-diving incident, and now this?"

"I'm sure. I think I just have a bug or something."

He nodded, but didn't look convinced. He took a slow sip of his coffee, assessing me carefully. "Can I be honest with you?" he asked finally.

"Always."

"From the first moment I saw you, I've been absolutely mesmerized."

I shrunk back away from him at his confession.

He held up his fingers, implying he had more to say.

"That was before I knew you were married of course. Do you remember?"

I nodded. I could easily recall the way he'd made me pause the first time I'd seen him. His looks were so similar to everything I had come to associate with my fictional vampires. Yet he'd proven over and over that he was anything but, even moments ago when we were out in the sun. His pale skin didn't shimmer like theirs had.

"I'd never do anything to come between you and your husband. I respect you and our friendship too much for that."

I was relieved that he was at least acknowledging Edward.

"But if there ever is anything wrong, you know you can come to me, right?"

He slipped a business card across the table. It had nothing but his name and cell phone number on it. As I studied the card, it occurred to me that I had absolutely no clue what he did for a living.

"Nice card, but it doesn't actually say what you do." I raised my eyebrow in question, hoping that it might also divert him back to safer conversation topics.

"I'm a party planner."

I tried not to laugh.

"What?" he asked, clearly affronted.

"It's just, well, I don't know, it's an unusual job isn't it?"

"Why? I make people dreams come to life. It's very satisfying."

I nodded. Put that way, it made perfect sense.

"What do you when people don't have a clear vision of what they want?" I wondered.

He didn't hesitate. "Sometimes people need to be shown what they can have before they can decide what it is that they want."

"And you're the right person to show it to them?"

He laughed. "Let's just say I have a knack for it."

"I just get people coffee," I joked.

He laughed. "No, you're making people's dreams come true too."

I laughed with him. "Ah yes, fulfilling those coffee and bad food dreams is just wonderful."

"Maybe you could come and work for me." He winked at me.

"I don't know," I hedged carefully.

He turned his palms up and made a movement that clearly indicated he wasn't fazed either way. "The option's there if you ever want to explore it."

Somehow I knew he wasn't only talking about the job.

"I've got to go," I said, standing quickly.

I pulled out my purse to pay for my drink but he waved me off and threw a handful of bills down onto the table.

"I'm sorry if I offended you," he said, chasing after me. "Please talk to me?"

"It's not you, it's me," I replied. "I've just been feeling out of sorts lately. Now this, it's all just too much."

He grabbed my hand. "I'm sorry if anything I've said has made your life more complicated. I just wanted you to know that there are options out there. And I meant it when I said that if you ever want to talk, about anything, I'm here."

I nodded. "Thank you."

I saw the time on his watch and panicked. I hadn't realized we'd been in Quake for as long as we had, and I was dangerously close to being late for work. "Crap, I've got to go."

"I'll swing by Renee's later," he said before touching my elbow lightly to say goodbye.

I hurried out the door and back to my car to get my apron. I'd worn my diner uniform beneath my coat but I didn't see any point in wearing my apron too. I was just trying it up when I entered the restaurant.

Immediately, the smell of grease and stale coffee that hung in the air had me running for the restroom. I couldn't push away the scents as easily as I had with the coffee earlier. I raced into the small room, barely making it in time before I lost all control.

I emptied the contents of my stomach, heaving again and again and I felt completely empty and drained. By the time I finished, my body shook and I felt cold but feverish. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and flushed the toilet.

I leaned back against the wall of the cubicle, bracing myself as another round of nausea struck. I managed to fight it off eventually and made it to the basin to wash my hands and rinse out my mouth. I splashed my face a few times, the water felt cooling against my heated skin. I sucked in deep breaths between my clenched teeth.

Something isn't right.

I knew it wasn't. My mind reeled, trying to think. I hadn't been in prolonged contact with anyone lately who had been sick, and working at Renee's had built my immunity to all manner of illnesses. There was only one random thought floating through my consciousness that I just couldn't shake. One possibility that seemed almost too surreal to consider.

I headed back to my post, but my stomach began to churn again. I shouted a quick apology to Angela. I knew I wasn't going to be able to finish my shift. I fled from Renee's and ran to my car.

I drove home, only stopping to get some vital supplies. As soon as I parked the car in the garage, I rushed into the house. I was eager to test out my theory. I raced through the rooms—making a beeline for the bedroom. I threw the bags onto the bed before rummaging through them in search of the test I was desperate for. My hands shook as I contemplated how much life might change if it was positive.

I sat on the bed and scanned the instructions. I realized it was probably simple, but I didn't want to risk getting it wrong.

Ten minutes later, I sat on the bed, utterly shell-shocked. Tears pricked my eyes and I couldn't suppress my broad smile. I kept looking down, wondering whether things would have changed since the last time, but they hadn't. I picked up the phone and called Edward.

"What's wrong, Baby?" He was immediately on edge because I never called him during my shifts.

"I'm at home. I left work because I wasn't feeling well."

"Are you okay?"

"I think you need to come home." My voice hitched as a sob broke free. I could tell I was worrying him, but I couldn't help it. I needed to tell him, and I didn't want to do it over the phone.

"I'll be there soon." His voice was icy. I could tell he was stressed.

I opened my mouth to tell him not to do anything stupid and rush, but he'd already hung up.

What seemed like only minutes later the sound of the garage door opening broke the silent trance I was in. I heard Edward throw his keys down on the table and his worried shouts echoed through the house.

"Bella!"

"I'm in the bedroom," I called back.

"Bella, what's—" He cut short as soon as he entered the room.

I must have looked like such a mess, sitting completely upright in my work uniform, surrounded by shopping bags and discarded boxes with tear streaks down my cheeks.

I held up the stick of plastic I'd been staring at for the past hour. My smile grew even wider as I watched his face, realization seeping in very slowly. We'd never really discussed the possibility of children, so I felt a tiny bit apprehensive about his reaction.

"What does this mean?" he asked quietly.

"It means that we're going to have a baby."

His eyes searched for mine and the love I saw in their depths was overwhelming.

"I'm going to be a daddy?" he asked.

I nodded.

"I'm going to be a daddy!" His shout was filled with nothing but joy.

He swooped down and collected me into his arms before shifting us both up the bed. He hovered above me before kissing me fiercely. Any slither of doubt I'd felt about the way he would react melted away with the first touch of his lips.

Edward continued to kiss a trail along my throat and collarbone. Then his lips were gone, as he sat back on his haunches. His hands clutched at the bottom of my dress and he pushed it higher, to reveal my stomach.

"Hi, baby," he whispered before pressing his lips softly to my skin just on my pelvic bone.

He wrapped his arms around me and rested his ear on my stomach, before twisting around for another gentle kiss. Then he looked up at me and beamed. I felt my own smile grow exponentially. I thought it was impossible to smile so widely.

He climbed up my body tenderly, pushing my dress higher as he went, planting lazy kisses on all of my exposed skin. Finally, he gave up trying to free me by pushing the dress up and just attacked the buttons one by one, leaving the dress to fall open around me. He zeroed in on my throat, kissing it before nibbling on it ever so softly.

"Is it going to hurt the baby if I fuck you?" he asked.

I shook my head.

He pushed the sleeves of the dress off my arms, slowly turning me over until I was on my stomach. Then his knee slid between my legs and I understood his intention. I raised my hips, moaning lightly as he slid my panties down over my thighs. I heard the sound of his belt buckle scraping open and I whimpered once again.

He traced one finger along the length of my spine. When he reached my hips, he ran two fingers down each side before reached one hand beneath me and trailed his fingers along my stomach. When he reached my pelvis, his fingers circled my thighs before he traced my clit lightly. The sensation was unbelievable and had me moaning in delight.

Two fingers dipped inside me, just a little at first, but then deeper with each pass.

"Fuck, baby," he groaned sensually.

He removed his fingers and anchored my hips before thrusting himself deep inside me.

"Oh God," I cried out.

He slammed himself into me again, holding me in place and folding his body over mine. His hands caressed me until they found my nipples and then he twisted and played as he moved against me continuously.

Edward pushed me until I came apart beneath him. My release triggered his own and with a final grunt he came inside me and then collapsed over me, spent. Moments later, he pulled himself away from me, and disappeared into the bathroom.

I was totally exhausted after the day I'd had and was more than ready to curl up in a ball and sleep. I glanced over and noticed Edward had barely undressed for our lovemaking. He'd pushed his pants as far down as necessary to free himself.

"Come back here," I complained.

"I can't." He pouted, as he redressed. "I have to get back to work. I've still got hours of stuff left to do."

I felt the smile fall from my face swiftly.

"I am really excited about this," he consoled. "But I do still have deadlines and targets. You understand, right?"

I nodded slowly, but I felt traitorous tears prick my eyes. I did understand, but that didn't mean I had to like it.

"I'll be back later, and then we'll talk about this some more." He kissed my cheek softly and then left.

I waited until I heard the sound of the garage door closing again before wrapping my arms around myself. I knew he hadn't meant to hurt me, but intention and result aren't always one and the same. I sobbed quietly. I was exhausted and knew he'd be late. I decided there wasn't much point staying awake waiting for him. I figured we could talk in the morning.

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A/N:- Okay so there are lots of hints in this chapter as to what's happening here. However, they are very subtle. Shall we play a little game called 'tell me your theory?' ;)

'Til next time.