Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters.

Edward

"Wow, looks like the baby shower went great," I say as I look through all the presents we got. We got a cute bassinet that you could attach to the side of the bed that I think will be great for whenever we want our baby girl to sleep in either of our rooms. That reminds me, I still have to build that damn crib in our living room. I look through all the other stuff we have while the rest clean up the mess left after the party. "Hey look, another animal outfit, as if our daughter already didn't have enough."

"Yeah..."

I look at Bella. She's sitting on the couch, hand clasped over her belly and biting her lower lip nervously.

"What's wrong, Bella?" I ask, sitting down next to her.

"She's been acting weird all day," Renee says as she walks out of the kitchen with a trash bag.

I look at her worriedly. "What's wrong? What are you feeling?"

She shakes her head.

"I'm fine. I just realized something very, very scary."

"What is it?"

She looks at me wide-eyed. "

Edward, my due date is in two weeks. Our baby is going to be born in fourteen days and I'm freaking out!" She runs her hand through her hair. "I mean, I'm looking at all of this and it scares me just to think how much she's going to need. What's gonna happen if I forgot something, what happens if she needs more, what's gonna happen if she if she-!"

I stop her, placing my hand over her lips. Her ranting was giving me a bit of an anxiety attack.

"Bella, you're just nervous. That's all. All first time mothers are."

Bella takes a deep breath, her worried eyes not leaving mine but she nods her head, breathing out slowly.

"Yes, I guess you're right. I'm fine..."

"See?" The look on her face gives her away. "You're not fine, are you?"

"No!" She cries and buries her head on my shoulder.

"Hey, hey, it's fine." I pull her closer to me, rubbing her back gently. She whimpers. "Bella, you're going to be a great mother. Don't worry. You'll make some mistakes, we all do. But we'll learn along the way."

She huffs and pulls back, glaring at me.

"This is not the time to be wise, Edward. I'm freaking out! What-what if I'm one of those mothers that forgets her baby in the car-"

"Well, that'd be a huge surprise, you don't have a car," Emmett said from the kitchen.

I throw him a glare over my shoulder and smile when Rosalie slaps him on the head.

Bella rolls her eyes. "But-but what if she cries and I don't know if she wants to eat or needs a diaper change or what if she cries and I can't hear her-"

"Bella, sweetie, take a breath." Renee walks over and sits down next to Bella, running her hand down her hair. "Deep breaths, honey. Deep breaths."

Bella inhales deeply and exhales. Inhales and exhales. I gently rub her almost full size belly and do the same exercise as her. It helps me as well. By the time she is done, our baby girl nudges her under my hand. Bella sighs and takes her mother's hand, and at that time my mother walks out of the kitchen.

"Mom, I'd really like for you to stay with me after the baby is born," she said. "Or Esme, someone who has dealt with small delicate things that cry all the time."

"You're planning to ask Rosalie to stay with us as well?"

I look at Emmett.

"Hey!"

Both Moms laugh.

"Honey." My Mom sits down on the coffee table across from us and rubs Bella's legs. At this point, we all have our hands on Bella, comforting her. "Honey, you don't need us there. You need to understand that it's alright to be afraid, but you'll learn over time. You'll catch on so quickly, you'll know everything there is to know within the first day. Look at what you've done so far, her room is almost ready, you're all stocked with clothes and baby diapers and little shoes, you got this! I had no clue what to do when I had Edward."

"Neither did I when I had Emmett," Renee says.

"But you catch on. I'm sure both you and Edward are going to be amazing parents."

Bella seems hesitant at first, but I give her a kiss on the cheek. She sighs and looks at me. "Yeah, I'm just freaking out a bit. Okay, yes, we'll be good parents, we'll do the best we can..."

Long pause.

"You're still freaking out, aren't you?"

"Oh, totally."

"You guys still haven't named her, haven't you?" Alice asks. Our parents left, it was just the six of us now. She sits down next to me. "I don't know, Alice sounds like a great name."

"Talking about great names, Rosalie is very unique," Rosalie says from Emmett's lap.

"Or Alice."

"Or Rosalie."

"No," Bella says. "I'm not naming my daughter after any of you."

Alice stands up and walks to Jasper.

"So much for throwing you a baby shower."

"Have you thought of any names?" I take Bella's hand in mine and kiss her knuckles.

"No, have you?"

I'm a little embarrassed but I nod.

"I've thought of a few, but none of them have convinced me entirely."

"Well, what are they?" She sits up. "If they're good, we might get this name thing out of the way."

I chuckle a little and say, "Okay, the list isn't very long. But here goes the first, ready?"

"Oh, how about we all throw in our ideas and if any of you like one, you call it out," Rosalie says.

Bella frowns a bit.

"Has everyone thought of names?" We all - surprisingly - nod. Bella looks a little shocked. "Okay, whatever. Edwards starts."

"Madeline. Maddie for short."

Bella shrugs. "I like it."

"Oh, Alice!"

"No," Bella and I snap.

"Rosalie?"

"No." -Bella.

"Stephanie." -Emmett.

"No." -Bella.

"Jennifer?" -Jasper.

"No." -Bella.

"Poppy!" -Alice.

"No." -Bella

"Jossy?" -Rosalie.

"No." -Me. I dated a girl named Jossy, and I don't want my daughter to remind me of her. "How about Margaret?"

"Edward, no." Bella, again. "Give me something to work with here."

"Isabelle?" -Emmett.

"Maybe. I don't know how I feel about her name being the same as mine."

"It's not the same! Totally different," Emmett argues.

"Not really."

"Kayla?" -Rosalie.

"Nope."

"Leila?" -Alice.

"No."

"Mia?" -Emmett.

"No."

"Ellie?" -Me.

Bella looks at me, maybe I've hit the mark. "Hmm, close but not close enough."

"Evelyn?" -Jasper.

"Too far."

"Emily?" -Rosalie.

"Nope."

"Hannah?" -Alice.

"No."

"Elizabeth?" -Me.

"Are we in Pride and Prejudice?"

"Bella, give us something to work with!" Alice whined. "We gave all possible options and you didn't give in!"

"I don't know!"

"Okay, last option," I say, slightly annoyed. "If not, we're naming her Jane Doe, I don't care. Understood?"

"Oh, Jane?" Alice asks excitedly.

"No!"

I look at Bella. "My last suggestion is Ella."

Bella's eyes widened. "Ella?"

"Yes, Ella."

Bella looks away, deep in thought. Her fingers tap her belly, almost like she's asking our daughter for her opinion. I place my hand over hers and watch her as she goes over whatever is in her head.

"Ella?" She is not asking me, she's asking our daughter. "Or Madeline?"

"Ella Madeline?" I suggest.

Alice gasps, her mouth forming a big O. "I love it!"

"I know!" Rosalie squeals.

Bella looks at me. "Ella Madeline," she says slowly.

I smile. "I love it."

She nods as well. "I... I love it, too." She laughs through her tears. "Ella, she's Ella." She looks down at her belly, small tears running down her cheeks. "My baby Ella."

I kiss the side of her head. "Yes, she is."

"Would it be too extra if we put in little gray letters Ella Madeline over her crib?" Bella points to the wall above where I placed the newly built crib.

I consider it.

"I guess it could be cute." I put the little mattress inside it and fixed it. "Pass me the covers." She passes me the small blankets that I fix on the little crib. "Huh, never thought I'd be doing this," I whisper under my breath.

"Yeah, me too." Shit, I guess she heard me. We both are now looking inside the little empty crib, that in two weeks will have a small baby girl inside. My baby girl. "We're almost there."

I take her hand in mine. "You still scared?"

"Yes. Are you?"

"Terrified."

"You can't be, you're the wise one that keeps me sane."

I chuckle. "Oh, I am. Doesn't mean I'm not scared to my very core."

Bella rubs my shoulder and then leans her head against it, hugging my arm and pressing her belly against my side. We stayed like that for a while, taking in our daughter's nursery.

"I've been meaning to ask you…" I look down at Bella and notice a small hint of blush on her cheeks as she bites her lips. "I know I've been sleeping with you in your room lately because of my sleeping troubles, but I was wondering when Ella is here… I guess what I'm trying to say is, if it's okay with you, I can stay with you in your room and when Ella is here she can stay with us? Only if you-"

"You want to move in my room with me?" I ask, a little hint of hope rising in my chest. She nods slowly. "And when Ella is born, she'd sleep with us?" Again, she nods. I smile. "I love the idea."

Her expression lights up. "Really?"

"Of course. I would never say no to you or my daughter."

Bella narrows her eyes at me slightly.

"You do know you can say no, right?"

"I do, but I don't want to say no to that. Why would I?"

"I just…" she trails off, biting her lower lip. "I know we've left things hanging when it comes to my feelings for you, and while I appreciate the time you've been giving me, I also don't want you to think I'm taking advantage or anything, because I'm not! I don't know why, just lately being around you is so calming to me, but if it's too much for you, you can tell me that, Edward. You can say no, put a boundary, tell me when I'm being unreasonable or a bitch-"

"Bella, Bella." I stop her, holding a hand up. "I know when I can say no, I know when to put up a boundary and I know that right now you're under a lot of stress and you don't know which way is up, so I am not going to use that against you. You're asking me if I want you and my daughter in my room, so of course I'm going to say yes because that's all I want. I'm not going to put a wall between us because all I want is to get closer to you and for us to potentially be a family."

Bella nods, still biting her lower lip. "I… I would really like that, for us to be a family. I'm just scared of messing this up, I know it's unreasonable because it's us and you've always been a constant in my life, but I'm scared of fucking it up and then losing you. So maybe… we can try? But take things slowly?"

"Try?" My heart skips a beat. "Like… you want us to try this out? Try to be together?"

She nods again, anxiety coating her beautiful features.

And I think I might've died and gone to heaven.

"Bella, there's nothing I want more than for us to give it a try."

There's a flash of relief in her eyes. She wraps her arms around me and I pull her in to me as much as her belly allows, kissing the top of her head. My heart is pounding so hard, I'm pretty sure she can hear it with her head against my chest. But whether she does or not, she doesn't say, she just hugs me tighter.

We stay like that for a little while until I hear her sniffle. I pull away slightly, looking down at her worriedly when I see tears streaking her cheeks.

"What-"

"I don't know," she cries.

I can't help but laugh, pulling her to me once again and holding her a little tighter. Just the right amount for her body to stop shivering against mine and for her to relax against me.

Later that night, I helped her get settled in my bed, her pregnancy pillow tucked in on one side while I crawled in the other.

"Warm?" I ask.

"Toasty warm," she whispers.

I turn on my side and wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her closer.

She sighs happily again.

"So much better."

Chapter Fourteen Preview -

"It'd be very helpful if he got out of the picture and left us alone."