Author's Note:

This chapter was full of tear-jerking emotions. You've been warned!

I felt anger swirl as I clenched my fists on my lap, staring forward blankly as I did.

The doctor wheeled me down the hall where we entered an elevator.

He pressed the button to go to the second floor and wheeled me into a room with a bed and a sonogram machine.

"The tech will be in a few minutes. In the meantime, lie back." He told me.

I nodded as I stood up and climbed onto the bed, before laying back.

A few seconds later, a short woman in mint green scrubs walked in. She was wearing her hair up in a high ponytail as she made her way to the sink and washed her hands. Her hair was a fiery red, and her eyes were as blue as the sea.

She sighed before folding herself into the chair before she finally turned to me.

"Hi, I am Maggie, the sonogram technician. Can I please have your name and date of birth?" She asked, in a thick Irish accent.

I sighed, "Isabella Swah— Masen, September 13, 1993." I recited numbly.

She nodded, typing the information, before turning to me.

"When was the first day of your last period?" She asked.

"March 12." I told her.

"Okay, I'm going to need you to lift your shirt up to your chest. I'm going to spread this gel on your stomach, it'll be warm." She told me as she reached for a small white towel and tucked it into my pants.

I nodded, taking a deep breath.

"I want to do a transvaginal ultrasound but I will do the one on your stomach first to see if I can get a clear picture." She said, as she squirted the gel onto my stomach.

She then reached for the transducer probe and slowly moved it across my stomach before stopping in the middle.

A moment later a small galloping sound began to echo throughout the room.

"Wah—What is that?" I asked, blinking back tears.

"That's your baby's heartbeat." She said with a smile.

I nodded, as I tried not to cry as I bit my lip to keep myself from crying.

"Do you know the gender of the wee lass?" She asked me as her fingers danced across her keyboard.

I shook my head, licking my lips as I did. Tears ran down the side of my face as I stared quietly.

"Would you like to?" She asked me, turning to look at me.

Her eyes widened as she saw me, and she quickly placed the probe on the handle, before handing me a tissue, and sat down next to me.

"What's wrong, lassie?" She asked as she took my hand.

"I— I just… I can't … It's just hard to believe it." I whispered.

"Oh, lassie, it'll be alright. I felt scared when I first had my son, Liam, and then my daughter, Siobhan. It'll be alright, see?" She told me, lifting up her shirt to show me her glucose meter. "As long as you eat healthy, sleep, and exercise enough. You'll be fine." She told me.

"My husband doesn't believe it's his." I whispered as I wiped my face.

"Men." She scoffs. "My Sean reacted the same way. 'll come around. Give 'im time, lass." She promised, before smiling again. "I bet when he finds out you're giving 'im a wee gille, he'll be ecstatic." She told me.

I frowned, "A wah-what?" I asked, confused.

"Boy, lassie. You're having a boy." She told me with a smile.

I felt a small sob escape my lips as she used the towel to wipe the goopy gel off my stomach.

"I'll hand the results to the doctor. Get in the chair." She commanded.

I slowly sat up, pulling my shirt down, before I moved to get in the chair.

She slowly wheels me back to the room, which is now empty and I climb quietly onto the bed, curling myself into a ball before pulling the fluffy blanket Alice brought me from the car.

I fell into an exhausted sleep as soon as I pulled the blanket closer to me. I woke up sometime later with the ladies staring at me in concern.

"Are you okay, hon?" Alice asked, concerned.

I shook my head as I pulled myself into a seating position, looking down at my lap before licking my lips. "He accused me of cheating." I whispered.

Lauren's eyes narrowed as she turned to look at the door. "What room is he in?" She asked.

Alice sighed, "No. Don't get involved. He may sound like an ass, but he's still in shock. He'll come around." She told her.

I shook my head at her, "He won't. He actually thinks I did it. I'm not about to change his mind." I whispered with a sigh.

"He's in shock." Alice repeated, reaching over and squeezing my hand in a comforting gesture.

I frowned, "No, he's being an ass. He looked like he was going to shit a brick when the doctor told him how far along I was." I told her.

They exchanged looks and began to laugh, "We were wondering earlier how you could hide it so well…As it turns out you were just in denial. It'll be alright. You've got us." She told me.

Lauren nodded, "Yeah, and if he doesn't pull his head out of his ass, you bet your ass that we will be here for you." She adds patting my ankle.

Tanya nodded, "Don't worry, sweets. We'll be here for you regardless." She says with a smile.

Tears filled my eyes as I nodded.

"Thank you, ladies. I— I appreciate you being here for me." I finally said, as I reached out to squeeze her hand.

When I was released an hour later, I told Alice to drive us back, and dropped them all off at her house before heading to my own.

I went straight to the master bedroom, and laid down, feeling completely emotionally spent.

I kept my distance for a day or so before heading back to the hospital to keep up the charade in front of Edward's family.

As much as it pained me to do so, I promised I would.

Even if I wanted to smack him upside the head with the pillow. I would act like nothing was affecting me.

A few days later, we slowly made our way through the cemetery.

Quil and Paul's graves, both laid next to each other.

Claire and Rebecca stood with their parents as we gathered in front of them.

Tyler, Jasper, Edward, and Jake were present. Two in wheelchairs, and two in crutches. All in their blues.

I stood next to Alice as she and Tanya held me. I was wearing dark glasses to hide my pain for the loss of my friend's family. But also keeping my pain at bay.

The small ceremony ended and I nearly jumped out of my skin as the shots pierced the air.

Once the ceremony ended I slowly approached Claire, who stood in front of Quil's cross, tears silently running down her face.

As she heard my approach, she quickly turned to see me and jumped into my arms.

"I know that I'm supposed to be relieved that he is finally here at home, and at peace, but I'm so goddamn mad at him for leaving us." She sobbed into my shoulder.

"Claire, it's okay to feel mad. It's okay to feel something. Don't push down those feelings, it'll be worse later. Trust me." I told her.

She nodded as she broke down, and began to let out gut-wrenching sobs.

"How do I tell our son that he's not ever coming home?" She gasped.

I felt my own eyes begin to well, as her legs gave out on her. I lowered her to the ground slowly, before I pulled back so I could look her in the eye. Wiping tears from her face, before I spoke. "You tell him that his father died a hero. That he was a brave man who fought for this country, to protect you and him. You don't ever say that he isn't coming home because he is now at home. In a better place. You are not alone on this, Claire. You've got us. Me. Alice. Tanya. Lauren. Jessica. Don't ever doubt it. Okay. We are one call away." I told her firmly.

Her lower lip wobbled as she nodded, sniffling as she hugged me again. "Thank you, Bella." She whispered before she got up.

As she did, I saw a little four year old boy with the strong facial features of his father, and the eyes of his mother ran over to her.

"Momma, where's daddy?" He asked.

She sniffled, "He's —" she began as her eyes flickered towards me.

I nodded, "It'll be okay." I mouthed to her.

"He's — He's right here, baby." She told him gesturing towards the cross.

"What's he doing there?" He asked, with a frown.

"He's — He's resting." Claire told him.

"Can he hear me?" He asked her, curiously.

Claire bit her lip, as I reached over and squeezed her shoulder in comfort. "Of course, he can, baby. You can talk to him any time and any place and he'll hear you." She told him.

He nodded as an older woman with long, black hair, walked over to them. "Nan, daddy is right here." He told her, happily.

She gave him a small smile, "Yes, he is, sweetheart. He can now hear you wherever you are. And you can feel him in the wind as he responds." She told him as she extended her hand towards him.

A small breeze blew around us as they turned and the little boy smiled, "Daddy?! I miss you. I hope you're okay." He said as he was led away.

Claire stood up and looked at me, "Thank you, Bella." She whispered.

"What's going to happen now?" I asked her.

"My parents want Embry and I to move back to Washington. It's where both our families live. We'll be moving back next week." She informed me.

I nodded in understanding, "Well, keep in touch, okay. Remember we're one call away." I told her as I hugged her one last time.

Once everyone left, I rolled Edward back to the car, and helped him in before driving back to the hospital.

Tension was thick in the air, and no word was spoken between us until we arrived.

The solemn mood only seemed to plow down as I pushed him through the hall back to his room.

Edward's father was waiting for us as we arrived.

I sighed, "What is he doing here?" He asked as he sat up in his chair.

"I have no idea." I mumbled tiredly, as I plastered a fake smile on my face and waved halfheartedly to him.

He was the doctors and commanding officers, and all of them quickly rushed out of the room and towards us the moment they saw us.

"Lance Corporal Masen, congratulations." The doctor greeted Edward.

"Sounds like y'all are heading home. Y'all live near base?" His father asked.

"Oh. Uh…" I began to answer only for Edward to interrupt.

"It all happened so fast we didn't get a chance --" he began.

"We didn't really live together. Yeah." I told them, cutting him off.

"Yeah." Edward said with a sigh.

"Oh boy. Well, you will now." His dad said with an amused grin.

Edward turned to look at me, before nodding, "Yeah." He said with a fake smile.

I smiled tightly, "Yeah." I repeated with a chuckle.

"Yeah." His dad said, as he looked between us.

I turned to Edward, smiling, "I'll be taking care of you." I told him, moving in the back of the wheelchair as if to shield myself.

A nudge in my stomach caused me to jump slightly, as I struggled to keep the tight smile on my face.

"Bella, listen. I'll swing by the house, pick Edward up, and take him to the PT two times a week." He told me.

Edward gave me a panicked look before he turned back to look at him. I placed my hand on his shoulder, feeling him reach up to hold my hand as he looked at his dad.

"Oh-- yeah." I replied nodding as Edward shook his head.

"Oh. No, you don't have to do that." He said quickly, shaking his head.

"Oh, come on. It'll be great to reconnect with my son. Hear all about your whirlwind romance." His dad told him before looking at me.

I looked down, meeting Edward's gaze as he stared back. We were screwed and we both knew it.

"Wow." I mumbled as I squeezed his shoulder.

He squeezed back, before turning to look back at him. "You really, really don't have to do that." Edward told him.

"I heard the first time." His dad told him with finality.

I watched Edward's shoulders sag in defeat as he nodded a moment later.

"Thank you." I told his dad.

"Mm-hmm." Was all he replied as I pushed Edward past him into the room. "I'll see you soon." He threw over his shoulder.

As soon as he left, Edward turned to me.

"We're screwed." He told me, after a nurse and I helped him change and settle back in bed, and the nurse left.

I sighed, "Quit panicking. It'll be alright. You said we could do this. So, we will." I told him.

"Is the house near here?" He asked me.

I shook my head, "About ten miles in. It'll be alright. It's one floor. Three rooms. Two bathroom. One dining room. A den, and a living room. The backyard is small but spacious. The garage fits two cars. It'll be fine." I told him.

He sighed, before leaning back. "Bella, about the other day…" he began but I stood up.

"Nope. I'm not going to talk about this. Not here. Or now." I told him as I turned my back to him and faced the window.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"Don't." I said, turning to look at him.

"Don't what?" He asked challengingly.

"Don't fucking act like you're sorry only for you to change your mind the next day. I told you I don't want to talk about this here. So, please listen to me for once and wait." I said before looking down at my watch, realizing I was late for the meeting with the band and the record label.

"Okay." He mumbled.

"Fuck. Look, I'm late for a meeting. I'll— see you tomorrow." I told him before grabbing my bag and storming out.

Author's Note:

This chapter wrecked me emotionally.

Thank you for the positive responses. And yes, it is based on the Purple Hearts movie. but as I said I didn't like a few things about it and decided to change them, while adding others.

Anyways, hope y'all liked it!