A/N: Set during New Moon when Bella chases Edward through the woods in an attempt to find him after he leaves her.

Chapter 12

Bella's POV-

"Um, dad?"

I felt like I was appearing for the most difficult exam of my life, one I was bound to miserably fail, as I sat in front of my father, his stern eyes decoding my body language, and whether I was going to spend the rest of my life in prison or not.

Don't be ridiculous, Bella!

He can't arrest you for jumping universes!

It isn't a crime…yet.

What if he concluded that I was an impostor…hogging over his daughter's body?

What if he considered me a threat to national security?

I don't want to be a guinea pig!

"Bella? Are you okay?" he frowned wide, restless to get going with the rest of his busy day.

Shit.

He already looks pissed.

I am going to be a research subject stuck up in some dark, creepy lab as they throbbed me with syringes and false hopes of ever leaving the facility!

Fuck it.

I wasn't going to tell him a thing!

"Bella." Sam nudged me hard, his eyes glaring at me from where he sat beside me on the couch. I had to do this. It wasn't optional. "It is important that we talk to Charlie about this. Remember?"

"Um…maybe we can postpone the conversation…"

"No." he smiled, cutting me off.

Jerk.

Couldn't he do the talking?

Just because Charlie was my father, it didn't mean that he would push me off the cliff!

"Fuck." Charlie cursed. "You are pregnant, aren't you?"

What?

No!

"Esme?" he shouted before I could clear the picture, my mouth gaped as I stared at him. "Come in here. Bella's pregnant!"

No. I am not pregnant!

"I am on the phone with Alice." She responded while in the other room, "Did you hear that, Alice? Bella and Sam are going to be parents! Oh, how wonderful! Sam's parents have come over and now know this news! So exciting! Charlie, did you hear that?"

No. No. No.

I was not pregnant!

I turned to look at Sam. He looked as shocked as me.

How the fuck had this happened?

"Um…Charlie?"

"Son, come here."

Charlie pulled Sam into a hug, awkwardly patting his back, refusing to offer him the opportunity to clarify the misunderstanding.

"I am so happy for the both of you! I am going to be a poppy!"

"Actually, dad…"

"Bella." He hugged me tight. "Thank you for giving me this day."

And…that was the end of our conversation. I could not break his heart.

Be it a lie, but I had never seen him happier and as content with life.

By evening, anyone and everyone in La Push had falsely believed that I was pregnant. People I didn't even know or care about had come over to Charlie's house to congratulate us, offer their help in whatever way we needed. Some offered to babysit the child whenever we wanted the free time- as if I would dump my fictional baby with a random stranger and go on a vacation! A few women offered to send me casseroles when the days got tough, and while I would have been grateful of such a supportive environment to undergo this unexpected but beautiful journey in, the fact remained that I was not pregnant!

"You do realize that no baby is coming out in nine months' time, right?" I whispered in Sam's ear, attempting to smile on the outside, but internally crying.

What mess had we landed ourselves in?

Though, this one wasn't our fault!

Charlie had misunderstood my hesitance; it was his fault!

"Obviously, I know." Sam cringed. "We need to get out of this."

"How?" I frowned.

I was out of ideas. We would have to clarify the misunderstanding, obviously. But where to start?

Everyone knew.

Would we have to individually go to each person and state that they had learnt wrong?

How tedious would that even be?

"Bella." Alice hugged me tight, appearing out of nowhere. "I am going to be there for you and the baby every minute of every day from now on." Yay! Lucky me!

I stared at her. Please don't be saying the truth.

I didn't deserve the punishment.

"Actually," Edward wrapped her in his arms, the two of them facing the two of us. "We would like to make a suggestion."

What suggestion?

"As you are aware," he continued to speak, "your house is still under construction; the contractors messed up and the project got delayed by a few months."

Okay, so we did own some land?

"I know Sam, that you had stated that Bella and you will rent a motel room temporarily till the work gets done, but this changes things." It doesn't have to! "We would appreciate it if the two of you moved in with us till your new house is ready."

"Yes, we have the extra space. And it would be so much fun living together!"

Er.

"Edward, thank you for the offer, but we don't…"

"We accept it."

Traitor!

I glared at Sam in disbelief.

What the hell?

"Bella," he smiled, "you need the care. This is our first pregnancy, after all."

What are you playing at, Mr. Uley?

He winked at me, playfully smirking wide.

Not funny, you!

Not funny at all!