"Alice has made sure that everyone is waiting for us in the living room." Edward informed me as we turned into the long driveway that led to the Cullen house.

I nodded and took a few deep and unnecessary breaths that offered no relief from my nerves. My mind was still reeling. There were so many questions and no answers. And to be honest, I was afraid of the answers. Dr. Cullen did not have the habit of being the bearer of good news. All he ever did was inform me of one death after the other. And I was afraid the unborn child in my stomach would be the next in the established pattern.

But inevitably Edward's car neared the house. And all too soon the trees cleared.

I was quite literally shaking in my seat when Edward pulled open the car door.

"Bella, love, we will get to the bottom of this. Carlisle will know what is happening." Edward tried to calm me. He leaned down to lock eyes and brushed some stray hairs behind my ear.

"That is what I am afraid of." I whispered. "Dr. Cullens answers have not always been the best in the past."

Edward forced a smile onto his face. A wave of love flooded me at his attempt to hide his own fears. And I realized that I was only prolonging the torment of the unknown for him. He had so much hope that Dr. Cullen would have the magic answer that I wanted to believe him. I needed to believe him. I would believe him.

I took another deep breath and loosened the car belt to get out of the car.

Edward stroked my stomach and then took my hand to guide me into the house. I felt oddly like the first time I came here. I was nervous about the Cullens reaction. And I was afraid of meeting Dr. Cullen.

"You don't have to be afraid, Bella. It's time to tell them." Alice greeted us at the door. "I have told them nothing, as I promised, and let me tell you that was a challenge. You owe me, Edward." she giggled.

I kept my body half hidden behind his. The snug fit of the dress would have revealed my condition before we could have explained it properly.

"Oh, don't you look lovely?" Esme greeted us as we followed Alice into the living room. "Have you had a nice evening?"

"It was magical." Edward told her as he glanced at me.

I nodded in agreement.

"So," Jasper said after a silent pause, "why did Alice ask us here? I am feeling so much dread from Bella… Whatever it is, it's eating her up inside. Actually, both of your emotional climates are not enjoyable right now."

"There is something we have kept from you." Edward said calmly.

I could see Rosalie was about to voice her disapproval at Edward having secrets from them when he already hid my existence.

"To tell you the whole truth Edward only learned about it last weekend." I interjected before anyone could voice any anger towards him. "And we both needed the time to work through it. But this evening something happened and we need help."

"I should say that there is no threat to our family. I would not have kept this from you if there were." Edward said, obviously reacting to some thoughts his family members had. "It is actually something quite beautiful but Bella is right we need knowledge."

"Stop beating around the bush, Eddie." Emmett groaned. "Just spit it out."

"Bella is pregnant." he said proudly puffing his chest. "She has been for a long time. Since 1918."

Alice let out a relieved sigh, her eyes briefly flickering to Jasper. And silence hung in the air for a moment as the gravity of our revelation sank in. Then all their opinions seemed to erupt at the same time.

"Well, well, Eddie! You sly dog, you." Emmett´s boisterous laugh drowned out everything else. "Dadward, here we come!Welcome to sleepless nights and endless diaper changes!"

Edward couldn't help but roll his eyes at his brother's antics. He was adjusting so well to the news. I was glad he did not feel much grief. My heart on the other hand broke a little more. We would never see our baby. We would never hold it. Cuddle it. Never change its diapers and never rock it back to sleep after it woke during the night. I wanted all that. And I wanted all that for Edward. I wanted to see the joy and awe in his face when he first felt our baby move when he first looked at the born child. I wanted him to teach his child how to play the piano and how to compose pieces for the ones it loves.

And I was afraid that Edward only displaced the agony he felt at the loss. I was afraid of the pain he would be suffering once the thoughts could no longer be pushed aside.

Esme threw Emmett a frosted look. "This is nothing you should joke about. This must be hard on Edward and Bella."

I weakly smiled at her for understanding.

"Apologise!" she demanded.

"Sorry, Eddie." Emmett said reluctantly. Edward nodded in acceptance.

"What is it that concerns you?" Dr. Cullen asked us. "You said something happened."

"Yes," Edward said. "This evening we felt the baby move. Bella said it has never before happened. Not when she was still human and not after her change. We are concerned about that. What has suddenly changed?"

Dr. Cullen looked at me more closely. His eyes on me made me feel insecure and I shifted anxiously. Edward dropped my hand and wrapped his arm around my waist in an effort to comfort me.

"What do you mean with ´already´?" he asked an unspoken thought.

"Speak out loud, please!" I said sternly. "This concerns me as much as him."

"My apologies, Isabella." Dr. Cullen said graciously. "I believe I understand what has occurred. Now as you may know, pregnancies in vampires will not progress until external venom is introduced to the mothers system."

"No, we did not know that." Edward interrupted his father figure. "I didn't even know that there were pregnancies in vampires until Bella told me."

"Oh well," Dr. Cullen seemed a bit taken aback by his statement.

"And why do you think you have never met a visibly pregnant vampire? Do you think there is some magical force stopping vampires from turning pregnant women?" Jasper asked.

Edward shrugged. "I never gave it any thought, to be honest. But what will that mean for Bella?"

"Well," Dr. Cullen said, "as I told you, with the introduction of venom into her system the pregnancy is once again starting to progress. Her body will change to accommodate the fetus. As horrible as it sounds, her abdominal wall tears a little every now and then and heals at the same moment to grow."

Edward winces slightly at those words and looks at me, worried in his eyes. "Do you feel any pain?"

I shook my head. "In hindsight I suppose there were some instances where my stomach felt tight," I tried to describe the sensation as best as I could, "but there has been no pain."

"And there shouldn't be. They are micro cracks. Finer than a hair. They would be hard to even see."

"So, what you're saying is that the baby's movements are a result of the introduction of venom during our more... intimate moments?" Edward asked for clarification.

"Yes, Edward. It seems that the presence of venom has triggered the development of the baby, allowing for these movements."

"And when the pregnancy progresses enough the baby will be born?" I asked anxiously.

"Yes." Dr. Cullen confirmed.

"And it will be a vampire at birth?" Edward asked, his voice shaking with fear as he pulled me tighter to his body. "Like an immortal child? Will the Volturi execute it?"

I could not help but gasp. Was that the fate of our child?

"No." Jasper said as a wave of calm washed over me. "For one they have heartbeats and blood, although their skin is as tough as ours. And they grow into adulthood if they maintain a venomous diet. Unlike the immortal children they can be taught." Apparently he felt the curiosity coming from me as he answered my next question without asking. "When I fought in the southern wars there was a time where Maria experimented with those children. But she relinquished the idea because there were no advantages in a fight but raising them was a long and tedious process. They were like any human child in that regard."

I looked up at Edward. And all I could see was his face. It overwhelmed me so completely. His eyes were melted gold. Swimming with the depths of his emotions. I was sure he would have cried from joy if that was possible for him. His smile was ecstatic. So full of bliss.

He leaned down to whisper in my ear. "I love you." And pressed a kiss to my temple.

"And I love you." I could not help but whisper back.

Suddenly his smile dropped and he turned to face Rosalie. "That is in no way appropriate." He said icily.

"Then get out of my head." She hissed with hate in her eyes.

"You know I can't, Rose."

I could hear the hidden anger in his voice and saw it in his clenched yaw. I rubbed circles on his back in order to calm him.

"And you do not know what you wish for. You would not want it."

"Of course I would. Let me decide that for myself."

"No, you truly wouldn't." he told her. "Think about it, Rose. Whose baby would it have been if you had gotten what you just wished for?"

She growled at him but I could see the fight leaving her body. Pain had now entered her eyes.

Esme moved closer to her and placed a hand on Rosalie's shoulder but she shook it away.

I did not understand the entire exchange but what I did understand is that Rosalie wanted a baby. And badly so. Desperately.

I could not help but understand her pain. Even though I did not wish for a pregnancy before I found out I knew what it felt like to desperately want what you cannot have. I knew what it felt like to miss something in your life. I knew what it felt like to see others have what you yourself want. And I knew what it felt like to have lost abilities that you always took for granted.

"Rosalie," I softly said. "I know it will not be a true replacement for your loss but would you be the godmother of our child?"

I could feel Edward stiffen for a second before he smiled down at me when I checked for his reaction.

"You- you would want that?" she asked bewildered. "Why?"

"I can see that you would do anything, and I do mean anything, to protect it if Edward and I are ever unable to."

She stayed silent for a moment and then nodded excitedly. "It will be an honor to be the child's godmother."

"Thank you." I smiled at her.

"Well, now that that is through, I want to remind you all of the thunderstorm tonight." Alice said brightly. "Don't forget the baseball game!"

The joyful enthusiasm I had seen at school took over all the Cullens like a charm. But before they could devote themselves to their favorite sport, we had to go back to school. How I love Mondays.

And this monday was even worse than others had been in the past. It seemed Edwards' prediction had been correct. Mrs. Stanley had indeed informed the town of our attendance at the ball in Seattle. And Jessica once again trapped me in the girls locker room to get additional information. She actually kept waiting for me so long that I had no other choice but to go in and face her. Otherwise I would have been late for class.

"Bella, is it true? Were you and Edward really at that old-fashioned dance?" she asked curiously as soon as I pushed open the door.

"Yes." I decided to go with the truth. "Edward and Alice prepared it as a surprise for me. It was very sweet of him."

"Well, well, Isabella Masen, the luckiest girl in Forks. Edward Cullen whisking you away to a fancy dance." she commented sarcastically. "I guess some of us have it all."

I furrowed my brows in confusion as I turned to remove the sweater I had stolen from Edwards wardrobe that day and slipped on the sports uniform. It was obvious to me that my belly had grown in size. The shirt that had swallowed my belly when I had started school in Forks was now no longer so obviously hidden in the folds. It was not apparent that I was pregnant to the unsuspecting human but I was still nervous someone would figure it out. "What do you mean by that?" I asked her as I pushed down the skirt of my dress and pulled on the revealing shorts.

"The perfect Masen and the perfect Cullen… Not only do you have to be in a relationship and take away the opportunity for Edward Cullen from the rest of us, but now you have to go to a fancy ball to look even more perfect in the court of public opinion."

I tried to pull on my shirt, stretching the fabric a bit around my midsection. This was no easy task. The fabric was tightly woven and stiff from the many washes it had been through. I was nervous to rip the fabric if I could not manage my strength. But I was almost certain I had made the shirt fit a little looser.

"That is not why we went. If your mother had not told the entirety of Forks, no one would have ever known." I told her as I plucked on my shirt. "And I would have preferred that scenario."

"Oh, come on, new girl!" she sneered back. "You are always in the spotlight. Ever since you first arrived and did this public scene in the cafeteria on your first day. And now you get even more attention. It's not fair!"

"Jessica, you have no idea what you're talking about. I do not want the attention." I told her. "I only want Edward. And all of you focus on that like there is nothing else to talk about."

I gave up on adjusting my uniform and left her in the locker room to find Edward waiting for me in the gym. His arms provided the comfort I needed after that.