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

Chapter 43 Isle Esme, Edward & Bella

EPOV

We circled the island that first day, walking hand in hand and talking. Well, to be honest, we just mainly walked in silence. I had no idea what to say. Words completely escaped me for a time, still in shock for all intents and purposes. Bella pretty much just led me around and enjoyed the fact that I was with her and we were alone on an island. To be really honest, my wife was enjoying the fact that I was walking around completely naked with her and was unable to protest anything, at least for the day. My very shy wife was becoming quite bold when we were alone and the change in demeanor made me seek out alone time with her even more everyday.

It was a far cry from just over a year ago when I would not let her undo even the top couple of buttons on my shirt. It wasn't that I was embarrassed or shy, it's just that I was raised that you should be married before any of that occurred and it was important to me to protect her virtue, as well as mine. If I did indeed have a soul, as my wife insisted, then protecting it by keeping as many of the commandments as possible was important to me. I had killed, of course, but it could be argued that the ones I fed from were only the blackest of souls and would have done untold harm to others had they lived.

I had to keep grasping at reality to try and ground myself . . . the feel of the sand on my feet, the salt air in my lungs, my wife's tiny warm hand holding mine, the sound of her heart beating next to me. It was necessary to do this to continue to realize that this was real. I was indeed here, the woman beside me was my wife and carrying my child. I didn't know it was possible to be this happy . . . and this scared.

We walked and talked the entire day, becoming comfortable on the island and with all that had been revealed. I knew I had to talk to Bella soon and let her know what I knew about the child we were expecting, but for now she seemed so happy and excited that I just wanted to share that with her. Carlisle had said not to worry, that she was fine at least until he got here so I refused to center on the negatives . . . and the days passed.

~oooOooo~

"Edward, this is just beautiful," my wife exclaimed looking at the waterfall on the South end of the island, "Let's climb it!"

She was off, determined to scurry up the slippery rocks that jutted out from the ground on the sides of the stream. Not a safe venture at all for someone that had trouble not tripping on a flat smooth surface and certainly not safe for my pregnant wife.

"Bella, no. This is just not a good idea, love. I don't want you to fall and get hurt," I said trying to dissuade her.

"Edward, how can I get hurt with you here? Are you going to let me fall?" she asked.

"Well, no, of course not. I would never let you fall, but I don't want to put your life and the babie's in danger even with vampire reflexes."

She stopped cold halfway up the falls and turned to face me, standing on a fairly level outcropping of rock.

"Sweetheart, you said baby," she exclaimed, looking at me with those wide open chocolate eyes of hers.

"You said we were having a baby, love. Of course I want to protect both of you."

"I know, Edward, I'm just not used to hearing you refer to our baby. It's just, I don't know, kind of unreal still. It's not like I can see or feel it yet, so it's hard to think of it as a baby," Bella said as she put her arms around my neck and fiddled with the hair there.

"Well, you said you were pregnant and you told me that the baby and I are fine, love. That pretty much means there is a baby growing there and it won't be long before it's out here with us."

"A baby. I just never even considered it, Edward. I never wanted one, I only wanted you . . . and now I've gotten both," she said softly, tears pooling in her eyes.

"Bella . . . sweetheart, why are you crying?" I asked her as I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Happy tears . . . I just never knew I could ever be this happy, Edward. I love you so much," she said as she kissed me, her tongue tracing the outline of my lips before entering to dance with my tongue. I had to remember not to squeeze her too hard, I had to be especially careful with her now.

We reached the top of the waterfall and the view was well worth the climb. I thought it best to go ahead and have the discussion I had been dreading since she told me about the baby. I didn't want her to think me a monster, but she had to know my feelings, I had promised her that there would be no secrets between us and I could not hold this in.

"Bella, how much did Carlisle tell you about the problems that could occur with a vampire and human having a child together?"

"Well, he told me that though it was rumored to have happened, it was only rumors and that the woman never survived being with the vampire in the first place."

"True, the seduction was only a prelude to the feast. Surviving the tryst was not one of the possible outcomes for the human," I told her as I watched carefully for her reaction, "Vampire men that seduce human women, incubus they call them, always feed when they're through."

She did not react, she just seemed to calmly contemplate what I was telling her.

"Is that where we got the Dracula stories? I mean, isn't that what Dracula did?" Bella asked.

"Yes, I suppose it is . . . though you know I hate that book - honestly, what's sexy about killing a woman after sex?"

Her calm exterior broke and she burst into laughter.

"I'm really glad to hear that you think that way, Edward," my wife laughed as she stroked my cheek with the back of her knuckles.

"Bella! This is serious, you need to know why this . . . you being pregnant, frightens me so much," I said, frustrated that she wasn't taking me seriously.

I sat facing her, her hands in mine and spoke the words I had been trying not to face myself.

"Bella, there are only rumors of children born to incubus. There is even a rumor here in Brazil of the Lisbishomen, a cold creature that impregnates beautiful women. The women all die, Bella," I wanted nothing more than to avoid my next words, the words she had to hear, "The child is rumored to tear its way out of the mother with its own teeth, killing her in the process."

She sat staring at me, unmoving. There was no reaction whatsoever for a moment or two.

"There are only rumors, love. There is no known creature that is the product of a vampire and a human, which is why Carlisle said we could not reproduce. There are only old wives tales and rumors. But the rumors are not encouraging, Bella and we need to be very careful every step of the way with this pregnancy to ensure your safety."

She looked at me with unfathomable need, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Is there no hope, Edward? Is there no chance we can do this?" she asked me ever so softly.

"Carlisle will know better than I, love. He sounded hopeful on the phone and he congratulated me on being a daddy. That has to mean there's hope. Maybe he's planning on taking the child before you go into labor, before it has a chance to harm you. It would be possible that way," I told her. I paused for a long moment, holding her hands in mine.

"The question is sweetheart," I said very quietly to her, looking into her eyes all the while, "what would the child be like. Will it be human, vampire, or some mixture of both . . . and will it be something that is viable, teachable Bella. We have to consider that whatever we have created may never have been intended to exist."

Tears were flowing down her face as she stared into my eyes.

"A year ago I would never have told you all this, Bella. I would have made the decision to have the pregnancy terminated immediately with no input from you. The chance that it could hurt you would have been enough for me to eliminate it. It's not that I don't care, that I wouldn't love to dare dream that I could have a child of my own, but rather that you are just too precious . . . too important to me to risk your health in any way."

She sat for a long moment unmoving, staring into my eyes then staring at her hands fidgeting in mine. Finally she looked up at me and spoke, seeming to have shaken off whatever chill had caused her to shiver moments before.

"I love you, Edward", she said as she wrapped her arms around me and held me tight, "I love you even more because you trust me to be strong enough to hear the truth and to make the decision with you. From the moment you came back into my life you said you would always give me the choice in everything and you've been true to your word. I love you more than my own life, Edward . . . and I love this baby. I don't know why I feel that way about the baby, maybe it's just an inborn reflex to love it, but I do. I do love it already . . . and I want it. I want to protect it but, if something happened to me I know you would not survive either and I will never allow anything to happen to you."

I did not respond, sensing there was more to come. She held my face in her hands, willing me to understand what she was about to say and then she spoke.

"Let's try. Only try, Edward. If it doesn't work, if something goes wrong and Carlisle or you have to take the baby, okay. In the mean time, we'll be hopeful and plan on having our child. We'll plan for a healthy baby, human or vampire or anywhere in between. If it doesn't happen that way, we will face it together. Agreed?"

"God I love you. You are so much stronger than I ever gave you credit for, Bella. Agreed. We will hope together and face whatever comes of it. I love you more than anything," I told her as I hugged her tightly to me.

"Come on, this is our honeymoon. Let's play in the waterfall," she said as she took my hand and stood.

We spent the next couple of hours walking under the water and kissing. I had the advantage here as I didn't have to breath and the water cascading down around us had no effect on me. My wife however, would have to come up for air and her shivers caused me to force her to sit on the warm rocks in the sun in between adventures under the water.

"Let's dive into the pool below, Edward, it looks like fun," she yelled over the sound of the crashing water.

I looked at the pool, we had swum in it earlier and it was plenty deep enough with no rocks in the bottom, but I wasn't so sure she should be doing this in her condition.

"Tell you what, how about we jump together, then I'll know you're alright," I offered.

"You worry too much, but okay. Together!"

She screamed bloody murder as we jumped. Apparently it was a lot higher than she thought once we were out in the air, or perhaps I just jumped farther out in the air than she was expecting. In any case, I had made sure she didn't slip and hit her head on the rocks on the way down and that had been my goal. To tell the truth, it was kind of fun having her scream and cling on to me for dear life. I was laughing all the way down. I immediately brought us to the surface once we entered the water and my wife wound around me like a blanket, her legs encircling my waist. Apparently she had ideas that involved other than swimming.

I got close enough to the edge of the pond to touch bottom before I turned my attention fully to my wife's actions. She had her small little hand wrapped tightly around my erection and was preceding to adjust us so that she could impale herself on me.

"Bella . . . "

"No, Edward, we are not discussing this again. We are going to act ourselves and enjoy each other. The baby is fine. We'll deal with the pregnancy, Edward, but that doesn't involve abstinence. I need to feel you close to me now more than ever," she said as she lowered herself onto me.

It was as if she had plunged me into an inferno. The warmth was borderline painful compared to the cold of the stream. I came instantly, an occurrence that was happening far too often to suit me. I knew my body would always be seventeen, but I would like to last a little longer than just coming instantly. I reached down to stroke her breasts and cup them in my hands as she held to me, her arms around my neck. We moved together easily in the water as I hardened again almost immediately. Vampire. At least I could do it over and over again, even if the first time was ending entirely too quickly.

One orgasm was never enough for my wife as well. She screamed my name as her release took her for the first time here in the water, her legs gripping me tightly and her arms creating a choke hold around my neck. I loved it.

Loved it.

Loved it.

Loved it.

I absolutely loved it when she showed her emotions so clearly, allowing herself to be completely vulnerable, completely open to me. I would give her anything, do anything for her. She was my entire life and I loved her completely. I could imagine no other creature on the planet that could get me to walk around naked and have me feeling completely comfortable with plunging into her anytime I felt like it. As we walked back to the house, I watched the sun setting over the water and I thanked God for sending her to me.

She managed to eat a full dinner, finishing all that I had cooked for her though I had cooked enough for two. I was happy to see her eating well, as pregnancy often led to weight loss due to vomiting the first few months. I wrapped my arms around her as we settled down on the sofa to watch a movie. My intent really was to watch the movie, but my hand on her belly reminded me of the creature growing within her. How could this end well if all the legends were true . . . I could only hope that Carlisle had some good news for us when he arrived.

I traced patterns on her stomach which ended up including her chest as well. I cupped and played with her breasts feeling the nipples pebble and grow hard under my touch. Her skin was so soft in my hands and her hair tickled my nose, the smell of freesia and strawberries wafting up from it when she moved. It wasn't long till my hand found its way between her legs, parting them slightly to give me access. She was wet for me, of course, she always was. Her breathing increased now as I stroked her, slipping a finger inside . . . then two fingers as I moved them in and out. She was writhing beside me now, her arm thrown back over her shoulder and around my neck as her back arched. I held her breast in the arm that snaked underneath her as I continued to stroke and tease her with my fingers.

Her hips moved to help her find the friction that she sought as my wife moaned into my ear. I was rock hard behind her when her hand found my length, moving up and down it and teasing the head that was now moist. She moved slightly and positioned my length between her legs so that when she moved her hips I slid back and forth along her folds. I thought I was the one giving her pleasure but she had quickly turned the tables on me. She squeezed her legs together causing her folds to grip my length tightly as her hips rocked back and forth. She was driving me wild as I circled her clitoris with my fingers and felt her thighs tighten and her body begin to tense as she came on me with my never having entered her. I quickly rectified that situation and slipped inside her, thrusting my hips into her from behind over and over again until we both climaxed together, my roar drowning out the sound of my name on her lips.

I had not even kissed her. There was just something wrong about that and she turned to me, hitching her leg over me so that we could still be connected and continue gently rocking back and forth with each other as we kissed and made out on the sofa until the early morning hours.

~oooOooo~

BPOV

I walked along the beach, admiring the fading moon as the sun's first rays took over the sky. It was absolutely beautiful here on the island.

I had left the sofa and Edwards arms this morning for a human moment in the bathroom. When I returned to the living room, my husband appeared to still be sleeping and I didn't have the heart to wake him. It was amazing that he had gotten his wish, the one thing he said he missed now that he was a vampire - he could sleep.

Were I being honest with myself, I could use a minute or two alone. The last few days had been intense and just seemed to meld into one long period of spending time with Edward. I had not really noticed the individual sunrises and sunsets, just talking and spending time alone on the island with my husband. My husband. I got to keep him forever. Really forever, not just a lifetime and to top it off we were going to have a baby.

I walked out the door and along the beach towards the East side of the island, lost in my thoughts. Edward had taken the news better than I had anticipated, not forcefully dragging me back to Rio to a doctor or insisting that Carlisle come down here right now for me. I knew he was scared . . . I was scared. I was only 19 and I would have been scared even if it were just a human pregnancy, but there was a vampire involved and none of us knew exactly what that meant. I had Googled it, of course, I had seen the legends and the horror stories. I had no idea what the truth really was, but I trusted Carlisle and if there was any remote possibility that this indeed was a baby that could be born and exist in our world, then I wanted to have it. It was Edward and me, how could it not be wonderful if it was a part of him.

I was just so beautiful here. The sun was just coming over the horizon and I climbed one of the small cliff like outcroppings of rock to sit and watch as the colors of the new day danced in the clouds and on the water. I should have been more careful when I sat, as something slimy mushed under my hand and I jerked my hand back, causing me to loose my footing. I slid for a bit down the foliage still wet with the morning dew until I landed on a small ledge, just far enough down from the top of the cliff that I could not reach to crawl back up and far enough up that I could not jump down, even if there had not been jagged rocks on the beach below. Damn it. I would have to wait for Edward.

~oooOooo~

EPOV

I opened my eyes to find the morning light streaming in and myself alone on the sofa. How had that happened? I remembered kissing Bella and her dozing off to sleep and I faintly remembered her getting up to go to the bathroom, then . . . nothing until now. This must be one of those times when I was sleeping. How weird. It had been nearly a century since I had slept yet it was happening more and more often these days, sometimes a couple of times a week now and always when I was with Bella and we had just made love for several hours. I guess that was when I was at my most relaxed.

I listened for her, not hearing her right away. Then I really listened. There was no heartbeat in the house, none. I quickly looked throughout to ensure that I wasn't mistaken but Bella was not in the house. I could not see her anywhere on the beach, at least not from the deck. I went back to the living room and tried to follow her scent, but it was everywhere in the house. It seemed to go out the door and down to the beach, at least the strongest trail I could find.

"Bella," I called to her. "BELLA!" Nothing. Now I'm getting concerned. There was no other scent here, nothing other than she and I and there were no noises other than the natural inhabitants of the island and the noises the the waves made. The boat was still here, moored to the dock. Where the hell could she be.

I decided to follow the beach and walk a circle around the island, well run really. It would take me very little time to encircle the entire thing. As I rounded the Southern end of the island, I thought I heard something, so I slowed to a walk to listen. I was halfway up the Eastern side of the beach when I could have sworn I heard her, just a faint sound but it was growing stronger as I moved up the beach.

"Edward!" I heard her call.

I looked down the beach to see her about 30 feet up on a ledge on the side of one of the cliff faces. Damn it, how the hell had she gotten there and why was she out without me? I ran to the top of the cliff and jumped lightly to the ledge where she sat, my arms quickly encircling her.

"Bella, are you alright, love? Are you hurt?" I asked as my hands ran over every single part of her, inspecting everything to see if she was injured.

"Edward. I'm so glad to see you! I'm fine, really. A scratch or two on my butt, but otherwise fine, sweetheart," she said as she looked away from my eyes. She was blushing, embarrassed even.

"Bella. What happened?" I asked as I put my finger under her chin to lift her gaze to meet mine.

"Do not make fun of me. I slipped."

"Slipped?"

"Yes, I went to sit down and my hand hit something kind of squishy and I jumped and it made me slide down to here. I can't reach to get back up and it's too far to jump down. Just help me," she pouted.

"I'm so glad you're okay," I said as I lifted her bridal style and jumped with ease to the beach below.

"Please don't ever scare me like that again. If it's possible, I think you just scared ten years of my life away."

"Edward, don't be silly. Ten from forever is still forever."

A warm shower was definitely in order as we arrived back at the house. Bella had a few scrapes on her behind, just as she had said, but no other injuries. She had been very lucky that ledge had stopped her fall, but I was just as upset over the fact that I had not woken when she got up or when she had left the house. Sleeping was wonderful, but I had to be aware of what she was doing at all times. Today could have ended very differently. She promised she would not leave the house again without letting me know she was going and I felt somewhat more secure.

We opened our suitcases for the first time this morning, Gustavo and Kature were coming to clean the house and restock the kitchen and I they would certainly be more comfortable if we had clothes on when they arrived. Kature had seemed nervous last week when they were here and I had only left a note and a request to clean up the feathers in the master bedroom. Bella and I had taken up residence in one of the other bedrooms and after I had destroyed the headboard in there, we decided to keep the destruction limited to one room in the hopes that Esme would let us come back someday.

Bella's sunburn had gone unnoticed, again, with our lack of clothes, but as she slipped a sundress over her shoulders she winced slightly. We would have to pay more attention to that the next few days. A pair of board shorts seemed adequate attire for me and we went to the downstairs to have breakfast and watch a movie while we waited for them.

Gustavo was pleasant enough but Kature was extremely nervous and uncomfortable around me. She believed some of the legends of her native tribe and suspected what I was. As they were leaving I listened to her thoughts. She was remembering an ancient legend of her tribe, about the Libishomen who seduced beautiful women and impregnated them with their evil spawn. She seemed startled when I spoke to her in her native Portuguese and asked her about the legend and seemed terrified for Bella as I explained that she was my wife and I loved her, placing my hand on her belly and my other arm around her as I spoke. The only word that came out of her mouth I could not bear to repeat. She insisted there was no hope for one impregnated with the demon spawn and that the child should be killed when it was born before it gained strength, after it killed its mother. She rushed out the door and I sank to my knees.

I couldn't tell Bella what she had said, I could not even speak. How the hell was I ever going to get through this and how would Bella really feel if we took the baby to save her. I sat on the floor, once again a statue with Bella's arms around me and her soft voice trying to comfort me as we heard a boat approach and the sound of people out on the dock.