once upon a saturday - troublefollows1017

8/18/2019 Once Upon a Saturday - Troublefollows1017

1/56

Once Upon a Saturday

Story: Once Upon a Saturday

Storylink: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7175957/1/

Category: Twilight

Genre: Drama

Author: troublefollows1017

Authorlink: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/2118282/

Last updated: 08/27/2011

Words: 36253

Rating: M

Status: Complete

Content: Chapter 1 to 8 of 8 chapters

Source: FanFiction.net

Summary: Sequel/futuretake of Fridays at Noon. Edward loves his daughter, but he mus t deal with the feelings of guilt

he carries with him. Edward's Penny brought with her all the drama you'd expect from a Masen.

https://www.fanfiction.net/u/2118282/https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7175957/1/


2/56


3/56

"No, she's not okay, and I need you to come over here and talking some fucking sense into her."

"Who are you talking to?" Isabella walked into the office. She was angry, but she didn't know angry. I knew angry. I was

angry at the world, once again.

"If you aren't going to listen to me, maybe you'll listen to Tyler."

"The man is just got back from his honeymoon! Hang up the phone and tell him you're sorry for bothering him," she

demanded, storming towards me with a ferociousness that almost made m e do what she said.

"I think he should know that you plan on k illing yourself! I think he should know that you won't listen to reason! I think he

should talk to you because you listen to him." Not me. Never me.

"What's wrong with Bella?" Tyler's worry skyrocketed after hearing my rant.

Isabella was shaking her head as tears streamed down her beautiful face.

"The baby is going to k ill her i f she tries to carry it to term. Tell her she needs to end this pregnancy now, Tyler. Tell her!"

I held out the phone for my wife, my chest heaving in anticipation of the sobs that were threatening to pour out of me.

Instead of taking the phone, she grabbed my face and stared into my watering eyes. She kissed my lips and promised,

"I'm not going to die, Edward."

I kissed the top of my daughter's head and tried to purge the memory from m y mind. If I had a nickel for every promis esomeone made me...

A/N: I don't own Twilight.

You all asked for a sequel and here it is. Don't hate me. I said I wouldn't do this unless there was a story to be told.

This is going to be short - 6 to 8 chapters total. It is one day in Edward's life with flashbacks thrown in each chapter.

Today is a special day - today is my dear friend's birthday. Today Memphis Lamb is celebrating a big one :) She is

one of the greatest ladies I know and since I didn't buy her a gift, this was the best I could do. Happy birthday, ML! I

love you!

Chapter two on Saturday, how about that? Will post a chapter every Saturday morning. Still using the blog to give you

some pictures and ramblings.

XOXO,

TF


4/56

*Chapter 2*: Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I dumped s ome dog food into the small pink ceramic bowl. It had the name Cupcake proudly written on it in what I would

consider excellent printing for a four-year old. My aunt had taken her to one of those do-it-yourself ceramic stores and let

her spend all day painting things for everyone in the family, Cupcake included. I had a lovely purple, green, blue, and

sparkly Statute of Liberty on my desk at work because of that day with Grandma Esm e.

The white puffball at my feet was wagging her tail in anticipation of eating. "Try not to make a m ess , mutt," I grumbled,walking away and leaving her to her breakfast.

Charlotte shook her head at me as I made my way back in the kitchen. "Having a pet will teach her res ponsibility. She'll

have to feed it every morning and afternoon. She'll have to walk it and play with it. Not to mention clean up after it. I

promis e, Char, you will not have to clean up after it." She was mocking me, using my words against me.

I talked big when I bought the dog. I had rationalized that it would be a good learning experience for my Pennylove. Of

course that lasted all of two days. Then it became too much of a chore for her. She would beg me to do it for her and I

completely caved every time. I've been taking shit for it ever since.

I scratched the back of my neck and s huffled my feet to the table. "Don't start with me this morning. I had a visitor in the

middle of the night, who kept me up with her loud snoring."

My little copper-haired beauty adjus ted the baby doll that was s itting on her lap while s he was trying to eat breakfast. Shelooked over at me with those big, brown doe eyes and pursed those heart-shaped l ips.

"I don't snore, Daddy." Her indignant tone made me think immediately of the mother she s o closely resembled. "Lala, tell

him I don't snore."

Penny had the hardes t time pronouncing Charlotte's name when s he was first learning to talk. She could say it now, but

Lala was the name that had s tuck. Sometimes, I caught myself calling her Lala.

"An angel like Faith could not possibly snore," Charlotte said in her defense, setting down a s tack of pancakes in front of

me.

Faith Elizabeth Masen. Isabel la and I had chosen her name before she was born because we knew the baby was a gi rl.

We had seen the pictures. There had been so many ultrasounds, especially towards the end. So very many doctor

appointments before she was born. Penny was m y nickname for her because of her hair and the obvious symbolism. I

shoved a forkful of pancakes into my mouth, hoping they would push the lump in m y throat down.

"See, I don't snore. Lala s ays s o, so it mus t be true." She went back to eating her pancakes that were drowning in way

too much s yrup. Her pajamas were going in the laundry imm ediately after we finished eating. My Penny would be getting

a bath this morning as well.

"Lala's always right, huh?"

"Always," Penny said with a nod.

Charlotte gave me a wink and a smile as she began washing the dishes. Charlotte was right about a lot of things . She

knew things instinctively. I clearly remembered another morning spent in the kitchen with the all-knowing Lala.

"I think she's pregnant."

"What? No," I scoffed.

"She's thrown up every morning this week. There's no way this is the flu."

I shook my head, unab le to wrap my head around it this early in the morning. Since I had assumed my wife had the flu

for the last five days, I had moved m yself to the room down the hall b ecause I was not catching it from her this time.

Sleeping alone was not good sleep for me. I hated sleeping alone. Isabella had only b een off birth control for a little over

a month and a half. We had plenty of sex, so it was possible. I k new I was going to be good at this bab y-making shit.

"You think?"

Charlotte nodded enthusiastically. "I do. I real ly do."


5/56

Isabella came back into the kitchen, her hair in a sloppy bun. I told her she couldn't go to work today. She had to go to

the doctor to get checked out.

"Maybe I shouldn't have eggs. Maybe just some toast," she said to Charlotte as she sat at the other end of the tab le from

me. I looked at her more closely. She looked tired. Her skin color was good, though. She wasn't so pale. She

almost...glowed. "What?"

My eyes met hers. Eyes that made me want to forget all ab out going to work. "Maybe you should have the doctor do a

pregnancy test."

"What?" Her eyes widened in surprise at my suggestion.

"Char thinks you might be pregnant. Could you be pregnant?"

Isabella put her elbow on the table and rested her head on her hand. "I'm not…I couldn't be…my last period was…oh

my God…do you think?" She looked over at Charlotte, who was again nodding enthusiastically.

"That would explain the morning sickness. Plus, you've b een so tired," Charlotte said.

Isabella sat across from me, think ing it all over. I could see the gears spinning in her head. She might have been

mentally counting the days since her last period. She stared back at me.

"What are you thinking?" she asked me, chewing on her lip.

"I think you should get a test done at the doctor."

" Are we ready for this? I didn't think it would happen right away. I thought it would take a few months of trying. I'm not sure

I'm ready. What if I'm not ready?"

I smiled at her worry. She was going to be the greatest mother that ever lived. "We're ready. You're ready. If you want four

or five of these things, we need to get started."

I got up and moved over to where she was. If it was pregnancy and not the flu, that meant I could move b ack in the

bedroom. It also meant we could start kissing again. I hated not being ab le to kiss her. I pulled her up out of the chair. I

hugged her and k issed the top of her head.

"Everything is going to be fine. Let's not worry until we need to worry," I told her.

Charlotte barked a laugh. My head snapped in her direction. She put her hand over her m outh in apology. Isabella was

giggling in my arms.

"It's frightening when you are more rational than me," she said, holding on to me tightly.

It didn't happen often, but it happened. I could be rational when I wanted to be.

"See what loving you does to me? I t makes me all reasonab le and easy going."

She lifted her face to me. There was a hint of misplaced fear. There was nothing to worry about. I knew we were going to

be the b est parents ever. Together we would create the greatest, most loving family the world had ever known.

"You're excited about this, aren't you?"

"Maybe a little." I smiled crookedly. It smoothed away those worry lines that creased that spot between her eyes.

I wanted children with Isabella. I had wanted them before we were even married. I wanted to prove to myself that I could

be different from my father. I wanted to create children with her so our love would outlive us both in the form of a l iving,

breathing person. Someone who could go on and create grandchildren and great grandchildren and so on. Our love

deserved to go on forever.

"I love you."

"I love you infinitely more." It was my new response. It drove her nuts because there was really no way to top that. Edward

Masen's love could not be topped.

"It could be a terrib le stomach disease."


6/56

I laughed through my nose. "I won't let anything happen to you, Isabella. I have the ab ility to hire the best doctors in the

world should it be life-threatening. It's a baby, though, I k now it. Charlotte says so, so it has to be true."

She kissed me softly and smiled up at me. "Not life-threatening b ut definitely life-altering."

How wrong and how right she had been at the sam e time.

"Is someone going to let Cupcake out before she mess es in the house again?" Charlotte asked.

"Pleeeease, Daddy?" My Penny looked up at me with that angel face.

"I'll do it this time, but you're going to let her out the next time. Deal?"

"Deal," she agreed, knowing that she would only need to bat those eyelashes and beg me in that sweet little voice and I

was going to let Cupcake out until the damn thing died...or until she went to live on "the farm."

"You're such a res ponsible pet owner, Mr. Masen," Charlotte taunted me.

I sneered at her as I scooped up the little devil dog and carried her outside. I set her down on the patio and motioned for

her to run off into the grass and do her bus iness. She sniffed around and pissed on one of the patio chairs.

"Cupcake! Damn dog, go out in the grass !" Instead of going in the grass, she started barking at me. She was a yippy little

thing. "Piss! In! The grass !" I chased her into the yard. She was so stupid. She was lucky my Penny loved her s o much. I

would take her to the shelter in a heartbeat.

I rubbed my eyes. I had a full day ahead of me. Penny had dance class, Emmett was coming over, and I needed to get

about an hour's worth of work done. Saturdays were always bus y. This one was no exception.

I whistled for the dog. "Cupcake, come! Come, you stupid pup!" As i f she knew I had shit to do, the dog did everything but

come to me. I was not going to chase that damn devil dog. I was barefoot and in pajamas . I'd be damned if I was going

to run around m y backyard after some fluffball beast. I sat down on the stone hal f wall that wrapped around the patio. I

could wait her out a couple minutes more.

I closed my eyes and tilted my head up towards the morning sky. It had been a while s ince I had made the time to

meditate. I took a deep breath and let my mind wander back to a time when Saturdays were spent in bed with my wife.

"Nicholas Charles Masen," I said, kissing her b elly. It was still flat and smooth. She was almost twelve weeks pregnant.

Not far enough along to be showing yet. Just far enough that we were going to tell the family we were expecting.

Charlotte knew. Tyler knew. Somehow we both kept the secret from everyone else. It had b een an excruciating six

weeks. Isabella almost told Jasper several times. I wondered if Esme wasn't on to us.

"I think she's a girl."

"Boy. He is going to be a b oy."

"I guess in ab out eight weeks, we'll k now for sure. That's if you want to find out when they do the ultrasound." Isabella

fingers raked through my hair as I drew invisible circles around her belly button.

"I want to know. Do you want to know?"

She smiled down at me. "Kind of. I don't think I can wait twenty-eight more weeks. That seems so far away. I'd also lik e to

decorate the nursery before she's born."

"I'm sure he'd love it if you had his room all decked out in b lue and maybe airplanes. Boys love airplanes."

Isabella just shook her head and let me kiss up her body until I made i t to her breasts. Her stomach wasn't any bigger,

but her breasts...her breasts were fantastic.

"Boys love boobs, too, it seems."

"We do. We definitely love boobs, too." I nuzz led in b etween them and let my tongue play with one of her nipples. She let

out a soft, breathy moan of approval.

"You're going to have to share those once the baby's born, you know."


7/56

I didn't want to think about that, yet. Just the thought of not having her body all to myself was distracting me from what I

wanted to accomplish here. I was going to have to share her in many ways, and I was going to have to be okay with that. I

was not going to be my father. Already, I knew I was different. I loved this baby. I loved it before I was even sure it

existed.

I climb ed on top of her and nudged her legs apart. I slid into her, letting myself feel her body adjust to mine inside her.

"I love you," she whispered, dragging a finger down my cheek as I hovered ab ove her.

"I love you...both."

The biggest smile overtook her face. "Well, we love you infinitely more."

I bent my head and laughed in the crook of her neck. "No stealing my lines." I kissed her neck and b egan moving my

hips. Isabella scratched down my back. Her hands settled on my ass, pushing me deeper. No one loved anyone more

than I loved Isabella. It was impossible.

"Arr, arr, arr!" Cupcake was barking at my feet. I hadn't even realized she was back. I also didn't realize she had found the

one mud puddle that was out there. She was disgustingly dirty. Her paws, belly, and face were filthy.

"Are you fucking kidding me, dog?

I didn't want to touch her. I didn't want to deal with her, but Charlotte would quit if I asked her to take care of the damn

thing.

"Good morning, sir," a voice came from the lawn.

Tyler. He would never quit. He and Terry now lived in the guest house. Isabella had coerced him to take it as a wedding

gift, explaining that a married man should have his own house even if he was the head security guard for one of the

richest men in America.

Tyler joined m e on the patio. He glanced down at the muddy mutt but said nothing.

"Good morning," I said almost too cheerfully. I tried to hide my evil grin. "I need to give Faith a bath before we go to dance

class. Clean the dog up or find s omeone else to do it while I take care of my Penny." I patted him on the shoulder as I

walked past him and back into the house. I could swear I heard him cuss at me under his breath.

"Close your eyes, baby." I poured som e water over her penny-colored hair, rinsing away the shampoo. I had to do it acouple times before it rinsed clean. I handed her a towel to wipe her eyes.

Once she could see again, she went back to playing with the little plastic ocean animals s he had to have in the bath with

her."What's the mostest far away, Africa or the moon?"

"The moon is farther than Africa."

"What's more far than the moon?"

"Well, let's s ee. The sun is farther from us than the moon. So are the other planets."

She made the little plas tic seal swim s ide by side with the plastic shark in front of her. "What the most far thing ever?"

"The farthest," I corrected.

"Yeah, the farthes t. What's the farthes t?"

I let out a contemplative sigh. That was an imposs ible ques tion. We had no idea what was out there in other galaxies.

Space could be infinite. Four-year olds did not understand infinite.

"I don't know, baby."

"Is heaven farthest?"

I wondered for a moment where this was going. I gently rubbed a s oapy sponge on her back. "Heaven is probably pretty

far."


8/56

"Farther than the sun?"

I nodded my head. "Farther than the sun."

"Then I love you to heaven and back and heaven and back and then to the sun and then to the moon and then to Africa

and then to heaven again and then to Grandma's house in Florida and then to China and back. Two times."

I had read her Guess How Much I Love You one too many times . We usually had these love competitions at bedtime.

"That's a lot."

"It's the mos t," she said, satisfied that she had come up with an unbeatable distance.

I squinted, pursed my lips, and nodded. Then with a s hrug, I added, "Of course, my love s tretches that far four times, so I

gues s I love you the most. Sorry."

"I meant to say ten times ," she argued.

"You did not."

"I did."

"You love me all that way ten times?"

She nodded; picking up the plastic starfish and making it kiss the plastic shark.

"That's really a lot," I acknowledged. My heart swelled in my chest. She loved me. She adored me. Her love knew no

bounds . She was jus t like Isabella. She loved me even when I was horrible. It was her love that made m e a better man,

someone worthy of love. "Well, I meant to say my love goes on forever, without end, infinitely."

She giggled and looked at me with her mother's eyes. "You sound like Buzz."

"Buzz?"

"To infinity and beyond!"

"Oh, Buzz Lightyear." We had watched all three Toy Story movies more times than I could count. "Yes, I love you to infinity

and beyond."

My Penny thought it over for a minute. She lined up her plas tic sea creatures along the edge of the tub, and then knockedthem into the water one at a time.

"Well, I love you to infinity and beyond infinity times. I win."

Her abili ty to love was mos tly Swan. Her competitiveness ? All Masen.

I had to laugh. I touched her perfect little nose with my finger. "You win this time, Pennylove. This time."

I let her play a few more m inutes as I sat on the cool tile floor. I rested my head agains t my hand as my elbow sat on the

edge of the tub. I smiled at my daughter when she sm iled at me. I pretended to be mad when she splashed water at me,

which only made her splash me again. I told the plas tic shark to be nice when it tried to eat the plas tic angelfish. And

once again, I tried to forgive myself for things I had said and done before she was born.

"We can adopt, Isabel la. There are mil lions of children out there without a family. There's absolutely no reason to

continue this pregnancy!"

Isabella sat on the couch, Tyler on one side of her, Rosalie on the other. They were both her fucking b odyguards. They

were guarding her from me. From me! Tyler had been no help. He immediately sided with Isabella. Emmett was at least

trying to stay neutral. Rosalie with her women-have-the-rights attitude was lucky to still be in my house. I wasn't sure why

she was a part of this conversation in the first place.

"I love her, Edward! I love her. Isn't that reason enough?" She wiped the tears that had not stopped falling from her eyes

since we got the news. "Don't you? Don't you love her already?"

I yanked at my hair with both hands. Did she really not understand? I dropped to my knees in front of her. "I love you

more."


9/56

That was the plain and simple truth. We were sixteen weeks into this pregnancy, but if the baby was going kill Isabella, I

wanted nothing to do with it. I wanted it gone. I wanted it to not exist. It was a threat. It had the potential of becoming a

murderer. I wasn't going to let that happen.

Isabella would not give in. She leaned forward and held my face in her hands. "I know you love me. Nothing is going to

happen to me. It's risky, but the odds are in my favor."

I shook m y head and stood back up. I didn't want to hear about odds. The pain in my chest was overwhelming. I rubbed

the spot with the heel of my hand. Maybe something was wrong with me, too.

"We don't know what's going to happen! We can't be sure. I lik e sure. I want sure."

"It's her body, her choice. You don't get a say in this one, Edward," Rosalie reminded me for the five-hundredth time.

She was going to make me fire Emmett. I was actually considering firing him for no reason other than allowing her to get

in the middle of this conversation. This was supposed to be a discussion between me and my wife. I called Tyler

because I thought he would talk some sense into her. Emmett hadn't left my side since we returned from the hospital.

Tyler and Emmett were our closest confidants, though. Rosalie was not and she was pissing me off.

"Rose, honey, please." Emmett finally spoke up.

"What? Are you saying you condone him forcing her to get an ab ortion?"

"No doctor will perform an ab ortion if I ob ject. He can't force me," Bella interjected.

"I'll bet that I can find someone willing to do whatever I pay them to do," I spat. Finding a doctor was not an issue. I would

pay any amount to keep my wife safe.

Isabella's face drained of all color. Her arms wrapped around her stomach protectively. Frightened eyes stared up at me.

"Sir," Tyler said a little too loudly. He sat on the edge of his seat as if he was preparing to tackle me if I tried to take

Isabella to a doctor willing to do my bidding. "I think you need to clear your head. Perhaps you should go with Emmett;

it's obvious that you two aren't going to come to an agreement tonight. Maybe we can talk again in the morning, after

you've had some time to think ab out it."

It was not a suggestion. It was posed as a suggestion, but the look on Tyler's face told me that if I didn't leave with

Emmett, he would mak e me leave. It didn't matter that I was his boss. This was one of those times when he would

sacrifice himself for her. He was willing to give his l ife for her, but he wasn't willing to stop her from k illing herself. It made

no sense to me. How could someone swear to defend her b ut let her do something that could stop her heart frombeating?

"That's a good idea, E. Why don't you stay with me tonight?"

"Is that what you want, Isabella? You want me to leave my own house?" I could feel my own heart thumping in my chest

so hard that it hurt.

Her beautiful face was hiding in her hands. She shook her head but stayed hidden.

Tyler didn't care what Isabella had to say on the matter. "If you don't go, I'll take Mrs. Masen with me. She needs to rest.

This stress can't be good for her or her heart."

Her heart.

Her heart was broken. Literally b roken. Faulty. Maybe that was why it allowed her to fall in love with me.

"Fine! I'll go, but I'm not going to change my mind. I will hate this baby, Isabella." I pointed an angry finger in her

direction. "If anything happens to you, I will hate i t more than my father hated m e." I stormed towards the door. "Infinitely

more!" I shouted over my shoulder.

"Can I wear my purple ballet outfit today, Daddy?"

I pressed my fingers to my eyes, trying to push the ugly memories away. How I wished Isabella was here to tell me it

was al l right. I wished she could take away the guilt and the shame that seemed to be consuming me today.

"You can wear whatever you want." Guilt was a funny thing. It made you buy a dog you didn't want and five American Girl

Dolls that one little girl could not poss ibly play with alone. It made you spoil and dote. It made it imposs ible to say no to


10/56

every whim and want. I would forever be trying to make up for something that, hopefully, my daughter would never even

know happened. "Whatever you want, Pennylove."


Okay, so it appears Chapter One freaked a few people out. I still won't answer direct questions about Bella. I will say

I hope that, for those of you who are speculating that she didn't make it, you will wait until the story is done posting

and then come on back. I understand not being able to read this without knowing for sure what happens. SM had the

advantage that people could peek at the last chapter of BD. Those of you who are along for the ride, hopefully I keepyou guessing until the end. That was kind of the point. I wanted the story to be interesting and not a rehash of things

that have been done (so no, Victoria did not kidnap Bella) or pointless fluff. There should be a little of everything in

this story. I promise.

Just don't give up on me, y'all! Hopefully I've proven I know how to take you on a satisfying ride!

Thanks to momof4luvntwisaga for fixing the errors I just can't catch. Thanks to all the people out there that have

expressed their excitement about this mini-sequel. Thanks to Jaime Arkin for making a beautiful banner. My

ramblings are on the blog - fridaysatnoonfanfic(dot)blogspot(dot)com

If you need something to read in between updates, I strongly suggest you check out the one shots in the TLS Lyrics

and Lemons contest www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/u/2942359/TLS_Lyrics_and_Lemons_Contest One of them belongs

to me, but I can't tell you which one. Lots of entries and you can vote for your fav on their blog! If you need a full story,

I need to pimp out There is a Light by belladonnacullen. People, this is an amazing story. She deserves more reviewsfor this story. It will leave your head spinning, trying to figure out what's happening. SOOOOO good.

www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/7015642/1/There_is_a_Light Read and then review and tell her Trouble sent you.

XOXO,

TF


11/56


"Well, don't you look l ike the mos t beautiful ballerina in the world!" Alice picked Penny up and twirled her around.

"You know you aren't supposed to lift her in your...condition."

"I'm pregnant not disabled," she s aid, rolling her eyes at me.

"What are you doing here?"

"Don't you have a several things to take care of today? I was going to take Faith to dance class for you." She looked at me

like I was s low.

I shook my head. "You don't have to do that, Al-"

"This is what families do, Edward. We help each other out. You don't have to do everything by yourself." That was the

same thing Esme s aid las t night when she and Carlis le came over to take my Penny out for some ice cream.

"Now come on, I thoroughly enjoy dance class," I lied. "The weekends are my only real time with her, you know." That

was the truth. "And don't you have your own child to take care of?"

"Jackson is spending time with his grandparents. Taking Faith to dance class will help me prepare for this li ttle one."

She patted her round belly. Alice was due in a couple of months. They knew it was going to be a girl.

Penny clung to Alice's leg. "I want Aunt Alice to watch me dance."

"I do have some work things to take care of that I was going to squeeze in when she took her nap."

"Well, now you can s queeze it in while she's at dance," Alice said to me before patting m y daughter's head. "Say goodbye

to Daddy, Faith."

"Bye!" She let go of Alice and ran to me with her arms raised so I could lift her up. "I love you, Daddy."

I hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek before setting her back down. "I love you more. Be good for Aunt Alice."

She slipped her little hand in her aunt's, and they headed for the door. Penny looked over her shoulder at me and waved

goodbye. I wiggled my fingers at her. She was getting so big. She was n't a baby anymore. I s till wasn't ready for that. Of

course, when it came to Faith, I was never ready for anything. Raising a child was definitely not something they taught

me at MIT.

I walked back to my office, rubbing my tired eyes.

"You need me to stick around?" Tyler stood outside the door.

"You don't need to hang around unless you want to," I replied, walking pas t him and into the office.

"Emmett's going to be here s oon, right?"

My eyes couldn't help but fall on the picture of Isabella that sat in a frame on my desk as I sat down. It was a picture of her

on our wedding day. The woman who had witness our marriage had taken a few pictures. This one was my favorite.

Isabella clutched a small bouquet of flowers in her hands , which were pressed to her chest. She wore that smile that

said, "I can't believe you made me get married without any panties on." She loved it, who was she kidding?

"Em should be here for lunch. Go. You can come back tonight."

"I don't want to intrude."

I cocked my head and gave him a look that conveyed my annoyance.

He smiled and gave a quick nod. "I'll come back tonight then, sir."

"Good."

It was still so formal between the two of us. He never crossed that line with me. He was Isabella's friend, my employee.

Even after everything that had happened, we still m aintained a safe emotional dis tance. It was easier that way.


12/56

I shook my head and set to task. Masen Corporation had been hired by the US Government to create a Trojan Horse that

would allow them to infiltrate the computers of known terrorists groups . It was the company's biggest and most

challenging project yet. I was personally involved in all levels. It was consum ing mass amounts of my time, causing me

to spend more time at the office than I cared to spend. Yet, I believed that I could create a program that would be

completely undetectable. I was close. So close.

I sent a couple emails and talked to Peter about some of the ideas I had about our latest attempt. My eyes fell back on

the picture of Isabel la. I mis sed her. I mis sed her in a way that seem ed unimaginable. I ran my finger down her glas s-

covered face. I wanted to touch her again, more than I wanted anything else.

"I can't believe you're working on this today," Peter said over the speaker phone.

"My sis ter took Faith to dance class. She gave me an hour or so to get things done."

"I just thought you were juggling too many things today."

"Peter, I run a mul ti-billion dollar company. My management skills are s trong."

"I wasn't doubting your abili ty to manage things." He laughed. "Just thought work would be the las t thing on your mind."

"I can always find time to squeeze in some work. That's why Masen Corporation is what it is."

He chuckled again. "We'll see about that."

"Get busy on that code. I'll call you on Monday," I said, pres sing the button to hang up the call before he could sayanything else. He had no idea what he was talking about.

Isabella us ed to get so annoyed with my ability to squeeze in work when I was home. I looked at her picture again.

"You said tonight you were all m ine. This is not you being all mine," she whispered while I tried to finish my phone call.

I held up a finger, trying to communicate that I only needed one...or two more minutes. "I heard what you said, Tanya. I

understand that things are more compl icated than I would like. That doesn't mean it can't be done."

"Edward, you're asking for something that can't be done in the time frame you're demanding," Tanya huffed.

"I think i f everyone does their job , it can easily be accomplished within my time frame."

Isabella sat forward and leaned on my desk. "I think that if you don't get off the phone, the only thing that's going to get

accomplished is me going to bed. Alone."

I narrowed my eyes at her and pressed the mute button on my phone as Tanya made a bunch of excuses why her group

would not be ab le to meet my deadline. "Isabella, I need two minutes. Can you stop with the dramatics?"

"Dramatics? You want dramatics?" She stood up and headed for the door.

"Stop!" I shouted. Surprisingly, she listened but didn't turn around. "Sit down and give me two damn minutes. I'm sorry. If I

don't handle this, the project is not going to get completed on time. Two minutes."

My wife turned around slowly, her eyes trained on me. "Two minutes, Edward. That's it." She sat back down, legs and

arms crossed in anger. She was beautiful even when she was mad. Sometimes, I liked to get her mad just to see her like

this.

I hit the mute button again so Tanya could hear me. We discussed her concerns and tried to problem solve them. Twominutes passed, and I was still on the phone.

Isabella began to mock m e quietly from the other side of the desk. "Oh, Isabella. I want a bab y. I want a bab y more than

anything. Please. Please don't get your shots. We'll try for a couple months and see what happens."

She had ob liged me and not gotten her birth control shots. Now, according to the book s and the calendar, the next

couple days were the best time during her cycle to get pregnant. I had promised her my full and undivided attention. I

was unfortunately not fulfilling my end of the bargain.

She was staring daggers at me. I tried to mouth I was sorry and needed one more minute. If I didn't hurry up, she was

going to go to bed and promptly fall asleep to spite me.


13/56

"I can put someone else on this if that's what you need, Tanya, but I thought you wanted this."

"I do. I want this!" Tanya professed. "I am doing everything I can to mak e this work, I just need a li ttle more time."

"I don't have any more time to give you," I replied, watching my wife stand up again. "Sit down." I pointed b ack at the chair

Isabella had vacated.

"Excuse me?" Tanya said, thinking I was talking to her.

I thought Isabel la was planning to leave; but instead, she reached under her skirt and began tugging her panties down

her legs. That was more than unexpected.

"Not you," I said into the phone, unab le to take m y eyes off the show going on in front of me.

Isabella stepped out of her white lace panties and then threw them on m y desk. They landed on the picture of her. She

pushed the chair back, away from my desk and sat back down. From there, I had a perfect view of her entire body. She

crossed her legs and taunted me with an arched b row. I k new what she was doing, what she was going to do. Ever so

slowly, she uncrossed her legs like Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct. My eyes widened as she allowed me a perfect view of

the most perfect pussy I had ever seen. She started unb uttoning her b louse but stopped when I could just barely see the

matching lace of her b ra. My mouth hung open, my eyes were wide, begging her to keep going.

"Edward? Edward?" Tanya's voice invaded my very occupied mind.

"I'm going to have to let you go."

Isabella smiled and her fingers started working the rest of her buttons.

I hung up on an extremely confused Tanya. "You're evil. You know that, right?"

"You're the one who made the promises. If I had a nickel..." she teased, opening her shirt all the way so I could see those

pretty breasts in that very innocent-looking bra. My wife was anything b ut innocent. I had turned her into a sexy little tease

obviously.

I stood up from my chair and made my way around my desk, sitting on the other side. I enjoyed watching her. "If Masen

Corporation goes b ankrupt, we'll have no way to support this child we're planning on m aking. How will you live with

yourself?"

She smirked and slipped out of her shirt entirely. "Something tells me Masen Corp is going to b e just fine."

I folded m y arms across my chest. I wanted to touch her, but this was a game and I wanted to play. She reached b ehind

her and unhooked her b ra. The straps began to fall down her shoulders, but she held the front of it against her chest so I

couldn't see what I wanted to see. I decided to join in and unbuckled m y belt. I pulled it through the belt loops and folded

the black leather belt in half, lightly striking i t against my palm .

"I would prob ably have to spank you if you caused any harm to my company, Mrs. Masen."

She rolled her eyes and stood up. She was not the least bit afraid of me. "You come anywhere near me with that bel t and

your precious little company is the only thing you'll have to keep you warm at night, Mr. Masen."

We couldn't have that. I set it on the desk and finished removing my pants. She moved towards me like a stalking

predator. I loved the confidence she exuded. I loved that she knew she had me. I loved that she never doub ted I would

do anything she wanted. I loved her. I loved her completely.

She stood before me as I began loosening my tie. Her arms fell to her sides, bringing the bra down with them. I had totouch her. There was no resisting. I palmed both of her breasts and leaned in to kiss her lips. She was in no mood to

resist either. She went to work on my tie and shirt, while I m olested her shamelessly.

"Trying to mak e bab ies is going to be my favorite pastime. I can tell," I said in b etween k isses. She got my shirt off and

let it fall to the floor. I stopped groping her long enough to push some things aside on my desk, so I could lay her down

on it. Being inside her was my only objective. I pushed her legs apart and went to work on creating my heir.

"I'm k ind of hoping i t takes a few months." She smiled up at me as I watched myself going in and out.

I ran a hand over her b elly, imagining it b ig and round someday. Isabella was destined to be a wonderful mother. She

was going to teach me how to be a good parent. We were going to learn together. We would get through the hard times,


14/56

celebrate the joys, and deal with all the in between together because together we could do anything.

"I've always been an overachiever, Isabella. You'll most likely b e pregnant with twins before the day is over."

She giggled and her laughter made me happy. It also made muscles deep inside her contract, making it difficult for

attempt number one to last longer than two minutes.

"I love you," she confessed with her eyes locked on mine.

"I love you, too. So damn much." It was the ab solute truth. I felt so much love for her, it was almost a separate entity. It

was like a real and tangible thing that I could touch, taste, and see. I came hard deep within her, and I knew. I knew we

had made a baby because something had to be created out of the kind of love Isabella and I shared. It was too

powerful, too big to be denied.

"Who left the bathroom door open?" Charlotte yelled from s omewhere else in the house. I sighed, knowing that there

was only one reason she would be asking that question. Cupcake had struck again. I stood up and made my way to the

door. I was met by the devil dog hersel f. The toilet paper was hanging from her mouth, and she looked at me like she

was trying to determine how much more tissue she could run through the house before I caught her and locked her in

her damn cage. I cursed m yself for not thinking of locking her in there while my Penny was gone.

"Cupcake..." I approached her cautiously. She was a runner. I knew it. She knew I knew it. "Stay. Stay, pup." She s tood

still, her eyes locked on m ine as I made my way towards her. "Good girl." I was close. Too close. She took off, pulling the

toilet paper with her. I could see when I turned down the other hallway that she had practically unraveled the entire roll.

Charmin fluttered all over.

Charlotte was going to kill me even though it wasn't my fault. I had not left the bathroom door open. I knew we needed to

shut the door or the evil mutt would go in there and do exactly this. It was probably Penny. Char should be mad at Penny,

but I knew she would hold it agains t me instead. No one in this house ever got mad at that little girl.

I ripped the paper, so the stupid dog would run around wi th whatever was in her mouth and not create a longer paper

trail and began gathering up the mess.

"That was a brand new roll , too," Charlotte fussed. "She ran it all around the living room and up and down the hall . Such

a waste."

"I'll clean it up," I offered. I already had an armful of paper. "I'm sure it was Faith who left the door open."

"One of these days, I'm going to say it's m e or the dog."

"Please, do it," I begged. "Say it. You know she'll pick you. She'd be lost without her Lala." I would give anything to be able

to rid the house of that dog.

"Right." She frowned. "Like I'm going to be the bad guy. You bought the dog. You're the one that needs to train it or get rid

of it."

"When am I suppos ed to train it? I have no time. Soon, I'll have even less . Maybe I can hire the dog whisperer to come

and train it."

Charlotte looked at me like I was crazy. "You can hi re all the dog whisperers you want, but training a dog is about training

yoursel f as well as the dog. She needs to learn to obey you not a dog whisperer who doesn't live here."

"Maybe I can get someone to live here. A live-in dog handler." I sounded desperate because I was.

Charlotte shook her head and returned to the kitchen. She thought I was los ing it. Maybe I was. I was not good at doingthis all on my own. I was good at delegating. I was good at managing and dictating. I was excellent at making sure

everyone els e did what I asked them to do. I was not so good at doing everything by myself.

"Hello!" Emmett's voice boomed as he entered the house. I had collected all the toilet paper when he found me.

"Somebody left the bathroom door open again, huh?"

I glared at him and his astounding power of observation. "Throw this away in the garage." I thrust the enormous pi le of

toilet paper into his chest. It amazed me that a small roll could create such a large mess . Emmett let out a frustrated

sigh but did as I said.

I waited for him in the kitchen s ince he was here to have lunch. Charlotte already had some things set out for us. She


15/56

wasn't talking to me. She moved around the room as if I was not there.

"Thank you for making lunch." I hoped an attempt at being polite would help her forgive me more quickly. She

harrumphed but handed me a freshly made lemonade with a candied lemon wedge on the rim. She loved me. At least

that's what I thought until she handed one to Emmett when he came in to join me. Perhaps she loved us both.

"So, Big Daddy, what's been going on? Where's Faith?" Emmett looked around the kitchen as if my daughter might be

hiding somewhere in the room.

"She's at dance class. My sister took her." I looked at my watch. They should have been home by now. I had left myphone in the office. There was no reas on to be anxious, but I was overprotective. I tried to rein it in.

"Were you going to take a shower and get dressed today or what?"

I glanced down at myself. I was still in my T-shirt and pajama pants. Between taking care of my daughter and doing

some work, I had not left myself time to take care of myself.

"I'll have to take one after lunch. You and Faith can play a game while I clean up."

Emmett found it entertaining that I was s o unkempt. "Dude, you used to be the guy who looked like a bill ion bucks

morning, noon, and night. One little four-year old s ure has had her way with you." He poked at the syrup stain on my T-

shirt.

I swatted his hand away. "You'll find out what it's like someday. Just wait."

Emmett's sm ile faded fast. I hadn't meant to darken his mood. Emmett and Rosal ie had broken up almost a year ago.

He hadn't dated anyone seriously since then. He had wanted to marry Rosalie, but she had other ideas. Ideas that

included one that took her to the other side of the country to manage a restaurant in New York City. Em and I had spent a

lot of time talking about choos ing career over love. He was heartbroken that she could walk away. He thought about

asking her if he could go with, but in some respects he chose his career over her as wel l. Although, I liked to think he

stayed becaus e of our friendship and his love for my fami ly more than his job as my bodyguard. Emmett loved Penny. He

was completely enamored by her the moment he laid eyes on her. He couldn't bring hims elf to leave, figuring he and

Rose could do the long distance thing for a bit. Rosalie never asked him to follow her. About six months after she left,

she called him and told him she had met someone else. I thought I had seen him heartbroken, but I was wrong. This

last year had been filled with several ups and downs . He'd been happier lately.

My Penny came skipping into the kitchen, lifting Emmett's and my spirits immediately.

"Daddy, we got to do leaps over the Beanie Babies today! I was so good, Aunt Alice bought me ice cream." She showedoff her leaping s kills by jumping right into my arms.

My sister walked in with an apologetic look on her face.

"Well, I hope you saved room for lunch," I said, glaring at Alice. And they all say I spoil the child.

"She totally did." Alice greeted Emmett with a kiss on the cheek and a good to see you. "We shared a s undae. I'm a

pregnant woman, so you know I ate most of it."

"That's not fair. I was going to take you out for ice cream after lunch," Emmett said, tickling my daughter's leotard-covered

belly.

"Her grandparents took her last night. No more ice cream for this one. She's going to turn into ice cream if you people

aren't careful," I told them.

"I can't turn into ice cream, Daddy! Right, Lala?"

"Correct, little girls cannot turn into ice cream," Charlotte replied.

"Lala says, so it mus t be true."

"Lala's not always right, is s he?"

My Penny nodded. "Always."

Charlotte was giving me the s tink eye. I had forgotten I was s till in the middle of making amends.


16/56

"Of course Lala is always right. I don't think I can remem ber a time when s he's been wrong. She's very wise. We covered

this fact this morning, didn't we?"

Charlotte nodded and smi led. I was winning her back.

"Are you join ing us for lunch?" I asked my sis ter as Charlotte began filling a plate for Penny.

She glanced at her watch. "I should head home. I can come back, though, right?"

I knew she was going to ask.

"I thought we agreed you would come over tomorrow. Don't you want to be with Jasper tonight?"

"Please," she pleaded. Her eyes widened like that damn cat in those ogre movies I watched with my Pennylove.

"Then Esme's going to want to come over..." I argued.

"I won't tell her. Please?"

"If she gets to come back, I'm s taying," Emmett said with a mouthful of sandwich.

I narrowed my eyes at Alice. "See what you s tarted?"

"I'm your sister. I love you. Pleas e."

Penny sighed in my lap. "Just let her come back, Daddy. Sisters are very important."

I bent my head and kissed her sweet little cheek. "Just let her come back, huh?" I tickled her sides, making her wiggle.

"Stop! Daddy, stop!"

"Fine." I stop tickling my daughter and looked over at Alice, who was smiling and getting teary-eyed. Must be her

pregnancy hormones. "Sisters are important; and you, my dear sis ter, can come back over tonight for a little bit."

She wiped under her eyes. "Walk me out?" She tipped her head towards the door.

I stood up and set Penny back down on my chair. "Don't let Uncle Emmett eat all the food before I come back."

She giggled at Emmett, who puffed out his cheeks as he chewed. I walked Alice to the front door.

"You're so good with her," she said, wrapping me a hug. "You have no idea how happy it makes me to see you like that

with her, to see how much you love her."

"She's my daughter. Of course I love her."

"Well, we both know being someone's child does n't automatically grant you their love or affection."

We did know that all too well . I was over that, though. My feelings about my father and his lack of feelings for me had

been put to rest. I was worthy of love and very capable of giving it, too. Alice, next to Isabella, had been the one that

worried the mos t about how I would do with a child of my own, especially given the circumstances. Sometimes I felt like

she was surpris ed by how much I loved Penny. I tried not to let that hurt my feelings because I had earned her doubt. I

had earned everyone's doubt with my behavior before and just after she was born.

"How long do you plan to punish her exactly?" Alice didn't bother with a hello as she stormed into the condo.

"I'm not punishing her."

"She needs you right now and you're here, tantruming like a child."

I hadn't been home in two days. I hadn't slept in two days either. That was probab ly contributing to my inab ility to have a

rational conversation with my wife. We had attempted twice over the phone to no avail. Both calls ended in me yelling and

her crying.

I walked back to the living room and returned to my spot on the sectional, near the almost empty bottle of scotch. "She's

choosing the baby over me."

Alice sat down next to me, her fury rolling off her in waves. "What? Do you hear yourself? Don't do this. Don't be him."


17/56

"She could die, Alice! Don't any of you get that?" My voice filled the room as I waved my arms around. No one was here

except for me and my sister. Everyone was with Isab ella. Everyone was on her side. Even Emmett. "Doesn't anyone think

that it's stupid to b ring a child into this world without a mother? What will you tell my child when she asks why her mommy

isn't there? Are you willing to b e the one who tells her she killed her mother?"

Alice closed her eyes and took a deep breath, blowing it out slowly through her nose. Her eyes opened, and I finally saw

some fucking sympathy for my plight. "No one is going to say that to your child because Bella is not going to die. Bella is

strong. You have advanced warning, the best doctors, the b est facilities. Carlisle will do whatever you need him to do.

Nothing is going to happen to her. She and the baby will come out of this just fine. You have to believe that, Edward."

"People die! People I care about die because of me!" I dropped my head into my hands. "I wanted this baby. More than

she did. I did this to her. I need to get rid of it, so nothing happens. I need to stop this before..." I couldn't finish my

sentence.

I felt Alice's arms wrap around me as best as she could manage while I sobb ed.

When I quieted, she gave me a squeeze. "Getting rid of the life you created is not the way to save her. She loves the

baby. She loves you. The bab y is part of both of you."

"I feel nothing for this baby anymore," I confessed. "Nothing."

"I don't believe you. I think you're afraid, but you aren't Dad. You aren't."

This crisis had tossed me back into the dark hole I had spent so long clawing my way out of since I had met Isabella. I

didn't want to be my father, but for the very first time in my life, I could almost understand him . I was steadfast in my b elief

that if anything happened to Isab ella, I would hate the bab y who ki lled her. There was nothing else I could feel.

I was so imposs ibly stubborn som etimes. It was a wonder anyone put up with me.

"I know what today is, by the way. Someone told me."

"Really?" I knew who told her. No wonder why she was so worried about me.

Alice put her hand on my arm. "I heard you go vis it every year on this day, too."

"That's true. I plan to go before I-"

"I could come with you," she interrupted, dropping her hand. She made me sm ile. Sometimes it was like she was the

older s ibling in this relationship. Always looking out for me, always making sure I was taken care of by someone if nother. She was there for me when no one else was .

"No. You can come here and help Charlotte with Penny," I offered. "And Emmett since you're the reason he's going to

stay." I laughed while she pouted for a mom ent.

"I will see you later then," she said, patting my shoulder.

"Later." I kissed her cheek and opened the door for her.

I could hear Penny belly laughing in the kitchen. Emmett was surely keeping her entertained. My little girl was constantly

surrounded by love. I would see to it that was always the cas e.


So, I guess you can all cross "shopping with Alice" off your scorecards.

Thanks to momof4luvntwisaga for her eye and her ear. It is not easy to put this thing together and not give the whole

damn thing away! You would all love that, though, wouldn't ya? Not happening. That's what I got momof4 for. She

won't let me slip!

I can't tell you how awesome you all are in reviewing this story. I am completely blown away once again. Thank you

for your support!

Thanks to Midnight Cougar for her review of FaN and OUaS on her blog Rob Attack. She is so extremely flattering. Go

check it out. robattack(dot)wordpress(dot)com/2011/07/22/fanfiction-fridays-recs-s-8-and-9/


18/56

Ramblings on my blog. Hopefully will do some review replies this time around. Love you all. Until next week. Teaser

wars forever. Jo and BDC are the bomb.


19/56


"Remember when we got to fly on the plane to Africa?" Penny asked, trying her bes t to delay her nap.

"I sure do."

"It took so long." She sighed dramatically and hugged her stuffed bunny to her chest.

"It sure did."

"Remember when you and me came back from Africa?"

"You and I. Yes, I remember."

"That took really long."

"Really, really long," I agreed.

"Remember when you and me got to sleep on the plane?"

"You and I s lept on the plane," I corrected. "Yes, I remember that as well." She acted as if this al l happened a very long

time ago. Perhaps to a four-year old a few weeks was a long time.

"Can I sleep on the bed in the plane when we go see Grandma Renee and Grandpa Phil in Florida?"

"If you're tired," I replied, wishing she would realize how tired she was now and go to sleep.

"Can we bring Cupcake?" She looked up at me with those adorable brown eyes, but I resis ted their charm this time,

though.

"I don't think so, sweetheart. Grandpa Phil is not a big fan of dogs, remember?"

"Yeah," she s aid sadly. "Lala will get lonely, too. Cupcake and Lala can take care of each other when we go to Florida."

That was eas ier than I thought it was going to be. "Good idea, Pennylove. Now, time to take a nap."

"I'm not tired," she protested with a yawn. I smiled. If I could get her to be quiet for two minutes, she would be out like a

light.

"I think you're a little tired. Just lay here with me for a couple minutes, okay?" I threw my arm around her as we snuggledon her very pink double bed.

"Next time we go to Africa, can Aunt Alice com e with her baby?"

"I don't know. Aunt Alice probably won't be going anywhere for a while after she has the baby."

Penny's brow furrowed. "But babies can go on the plane, right?"

I laughed quietly. "Yes, honey, babies can go on planes."

"Good."

"Let's be quiet, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy."

I closed my eyes, knowing that if I pretended to be going to s leep, she would follow for real. I could feel the rise and fall of

her chest become slower.

Just when I thought it was safe to open my eyes, she spoke again. "Daddy?"

"What is i t, baby?"

"Do you remember when I was a baby in Mommy's belly?"

My mouth felt dry and I wished I had something to swallow down the lump in m y throat. "Of course I remem ber."


20/56

"Was Momm y happy when I was in her belly?"

The pain in my chest was almost too much to bear. With great difficulty, I managed to push the words out. "She was

more than happy. She loved you the second she knew you were in there."

"I'm sad Mommy can't have any more babies in her belly."

I had no idea how to respond to that. I was going to have to ask my sister what the hell they talked about while they were

together today. She could not have come up with this s tuff on her own.

"Let's get som e sleep," I said, holding her tighter because the words I wished I could say would not come out.

"Daddy?"

"What, honey?"

"I love you to infinity and beyond."

I pressed my lips in her hair. She made me want to cry. "I love to you to infinity and beyond, too."

"Infinity times."

I tried my best to keep my voice s teady. "Me, too."

"And then to Africa."

I kept quiet. She could go on forever if I answered her back. She was silent for a whole minute.

"And then to China and then back here," she added.

"Go to sleep, Faith Elizabeth."

"Okay, Daddy."

I was tired and if she didn't fall as leep s oon, I was going to. Emmett would love that. It didn't take much more than two

minutes, though. She fell into a peaceful slumber and I was able to sneak out. I stopped to look at her from her doorway.

Her long wavy hair fanned out on her pillow. She clutched her bunny to her little chest. Her little lips were s lightly parted.

My beautiful angel. I truly did not know what I would do without her. Isabella had been s o right.

I returned home from my self-imposed exile late one night. Charlotte informed me my wife was already in b ed. She alsomade it perfectly clear she was disappointed in me. Not in my failure to return to Isabella's side the last couple days but

in the lack of faith I was showing in general.

"Without faith, you have nothing. Faith is what will carry the two of you through and what will help Bella survive al l of this,"

Charlotte said, giving me a hug. "Bella will survive."

I had no faith but decided to keep that to myself. I wondered if Isabella would be angry with me if I shared her bed before

we actually made up. I quietly entered the room. She was tucked into bed with her back to the door. She didn't stir. I

shrugged out of my suit coat and tossed it on one of the chairs that sat against the wall. I loosened my tie and watched my

angel sleep. I had m issed her so much over the last few days. It felt like much longer than three days. I stepped towards

her and the floor creaked under my step. The noise made her sit up.

"Edward?"

I whispered my words. "I didn't mean to wake you."

She slipped out of bed and, without reservation, came and wrapped her arms around me. She hugged me and cried in

my arms, break ing me completely in two.

"Shh, don't cry. Please don't cry, baby."

"I need you. I can't go through this alone." Isabella had no idea how much she wounded me with her words. Did she not

realize that was how I felt about life in general? I could not live in a world in which she did not exist. I could not survive on

my own. I needed her. I needed her from now until the day I died. She could not die first. She simply could not die first.

"I'm so scared," I admitted aloud.


21/56

She clung to me tighter. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm never the one who leaves, remember?"

"What if this time you are?"

She let go of me and grabbed my hands. Placing them on the small belly bump that was beginning to show, she held

my face and looked me in the eye. "We made this bab y. She's ours to love and protect. There's going to come a day

when you're going to look at our daughter and realiz e you can't imagine not having her in your life. She's a living part of

you. I can't destroy a piece of you, Edward. I can't."

I closed my eyes. It didn't matter to me that the bab y was part of me, but the more I thought about it, the more it mattered that she was a part of Isabella. I could not harm the baby anymore than I could bear to hurt the woman standing b efore

me.

"Don't leave me," I begged.

"Never," she promised.

I found Emmett in the gameroom playing one of the video games . I plopped down on the couch next to him. Immediately,

I felt something jab me in the ass. I lifted up and pulled out one of my Penny's stuffed animals . It's plastic eyes had been

chewed completely off.

"Fucking dog," I said, not holding back any of my frustration. Cupcake had this demonic habit of gnawing off the eyeballs

of unsuspecting stuffed animals and dolls Penny left on the floor and then hid them around the house. It made them look

frightening if you asked me. Creepy-looking animals with no eyes. We all tried our bes t to throw them out before my

sweet girl came across them. The dog was going to scar her for life.

"Why the hell did you buy that child a real dog? You are such a sucker." Emmett thought this was all very funny.

"I thought she would take care of it."

He paused the game and turned to look at me. "She's four ."

"Four-year-olds can be responsible," I defended.

"Respons ible for what?" He went back to his game. "Little ones like Faith are completely dependent on their parents.

She's four, E."

He was right, but I was not going to tell him that. I watched him play for a few minutes. I hadn't played a video game in

what felt like years. His words started sinking in. I began to worry.

"You think I'm m ess ing her up?"

"Who? Faith?" Emmett chuckled.

"I spoi l her on one hand and treat her like she s hould know more than she should on the other."

Emmett stopped the game again. "I think you have a hard time remembering what it's l ike to be four, but I don't think you

ever make her feel bad."

"I should say no more often. I'm going to create a mons ter who doesn't know what the word means."

He shook his head. "She's a good kid, E. Always has been. Plus, the rest of us do know how to say no." He eyed me

sus piciously. "Where's this coming from? You couldn't poss ibly get this worked up over me giving you a hard time about

the dog."

I scratched at my head with both hands. "I don't want to fail her."

"Faith?"

I frowned. "Faith." I let out a long breath. "Isabel la. I don't know."

"You aren't failing anyone. Faith loves you. You're a good dad. You spoil her, but s he's a grounded little girl. She's way

more like her mother than her father."

"She asked about being in her mother's belly today. She asked i f Isabella was happy when she was in there. Why would

she as k that?"


22/56

"Because she was with her very pregnant aunt today," he replied without hes itation.

"I worried she was going to ask me if I was happy when she was in her mother's belly. I don't know what I would have

said."

Emmett put his hand on my shoulder. "You would have told her you were very happy. There was a time during the

pregnancy you were the happies t guy in the world."

He was right. Again.

"Your wife is on her way up," Maggie said through the intercom.

I pressed the b utton so she could hear me. "Thanks, Maggie."

I quickly finished typing the email I was in the middle of and hit send. I grabb ed my phone and texted Isabella, who was

no doub t on the elevator up here.

Good news, I hope!

She didn't reply, but there was a knock on my door before I expected it.

"Come on in!"

She opened the door with her phone in hand. I couldn't read her. I thought that she had come to tell me the good news

face to face instead of over the phone. Now, I worried she had come here to tell me she wasn't pregnant and needed ashoulder to cry on. She did look like she was about to cry.

"Hey," I said, taking three long strides to where she stood. "This just means we get another month of trying. More sex is

never a b ad thing, sweetheart." I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly. I could not stand to see her cry. It

always tore me apart.

"What if I told you I was sad because we don't need to try anymore?" she mumb led into my chest.

I released her and gripped both her arms so I could pull back and see her. "We don't need to try anymore?"

She bi t her lip and tried to conceal a smile.

"You're pregnant?" I tried to keep from jumping up and down. This was exactly what I had hoped for.

"You and your overachieving sperm have managed to impregnate me. It's true."

I pulled her back into my arms and lifted her right off the ground. We were going to have a b aby. Together we created

life. There was nothing more life-affirming than that thought. "We did it!" I wanted to spin her around, but she begged me

to put her back down.

"We can't tell anyone, yet. I don't want to spread the word until we're further along."

" A hundred dollars says I am not the first person you told," I said, knowing her too well.

She twisted her mouth and then let out a little huff. "Tyler met me at the elevator just now. I didn't confirm anything, but I'm

sure he knows. He asked how my appointment went, which he could only know about because of you, Mr. Big Mouth,"

she said with a scowl. "I said, 'Fine,' but I'm sure he knew what that meant."

I couldn't help b ut laugh. It was our secret wedding all over.

"Only Charlotte and Tyler know you went for a test. No one else, I swear."

"Let's keep it that way," she replied in all seriousness. She pushed up on her toes and kissed the corner of my m outh. Big

mistake. I was not going to be ab le to stop there. I pulled her against me and k issed her harder. We made a baby.

Isabella was carrying my child inside her. The feeling was indescribab le. Isabel la pulled b ack and smiled. "I love you."

Her hands held my face. Her thumb s stroked my cheeks. Her heart warmed my soul.

"We made a baby." I needed to say it out loud to really appreciate it.

She giggled softly, making me smile b igger. She wrapped her arms around m y neck. "We did."


23/56

"Since it's not the flu, I'm moving b ack into the bedroom tonight. I think we should celeb rate by having crazy, we-made-

a-baby sex all night long."

She smirked and raised a brow. "I do believe that plan has serious potential."

"Do you?" I snickered.

She gave me a quick peck on the lips. "It sure does, Big Daddy."

I lifted her up off the ground again, kissing her like a madman. Daddy. That was going to take some getting used to.

Emmett squeezed my shoulder. "If Faith ever asks you about how you felt, you tell her about the way you felt the moment

you found out. That's my advice. She doesn't need to know the rest."

The rest was not as pretty. The rest was far from the joy I felt the day Isabella told me she was pregnant. A series of

moments from the day we learned about Isabella 's heart played out in my mem ory.

Maggie didn't even bother knocking. She flung my door open. I was ready to yell at her since I had made it clear that I

was not to be disturbed. The look on her face made me pause, however.

"Line One, sir. It's someone from Mrs. Masen's school."

I snatched up my phone and pressed the b link ing button. "Edward Masen."

"Mr. Masen, this is Deborah, the school nurse here at Woodinville High."

"My wife, is there something wrong with my wife?" I felt my chest constrict, making it hard to breathe. My wife and baby.

Please don't let anything be wrong with the baby.

"Bella was brought down here because she was complaining of some chest pain and difficulty breathing. She got a little

lightheaded and we had her lie down for a bi t. When I checked her pulse, I noticed she definitely has an irregular

heartbeat. I suggested she see someone immediately, but I don't think it's safe for her to drive. She's giving me a little bi t

of a hard time about that. You are her emergency contact and...well, I think this is an emergency, even if she doesn't.

Perhaps you could come get her?"

My words came out in a rush. "I'm on my way; tell her not to move until I get there!"

I was in my car before Emmett could ask me what's wrong.

…...

Bella's knee b ounced anxiously as she assaulted her thumbnail with her teeth. "I feel bad that you left work for this. I

could have driven myself. Now we have to go back to school and get my c-"

"Would you please stop it!" My patience was wearing thin. We were sitting in the waiting room of her OB-GYN, and she

hadn't stopped fretting over the fact that I was there with her since I had picked her up at school. I lowered my voice so

only she could hear me. "I will have Emm ett or Liam or someone pick up the car. Would you stop worrying about things

other than you and the baby, please?"

She nodded and began to wring her hands in her lap. I gently pried one away and held it between my own. We were

going to b e fine. She was going to be fine. This was nothing.

…...

"Hmm." That was all the doctor had said since he b egan the exam. He pressed the stethoscope against her chest and

listened one more time. He pulled the earpieces out and let it hang around his neck. After jotting some things on

Isabella's chart, he finally said something meaningful, "Blood pressure is up. You've been experiencing the heart

palpitations for a while, which concerns me. I think the difficulty breathing is from some fluid in your lungs."

I learned today, some of her symptoms had been going on for about a week. A week and she hadn't said anything to me

about it. I was furious.

"I'm going to send you over to Harborview. Have them run a couple test. Just to rule some things out."

"What kind of tests?" I asked b efore Isabel la could open her mouth to speak.


24/56

"We should check on her heart first and then we'll see."

We'll see. I wasn't clear what that meant, but I didn't like it. I didn't like any of it.

…...

"He's the best cardiologist in the entire state," Carlisle informed me over the phone.

"He's making us wait." We were in another doctor's office, waiting. I was sick of waiting. My wife had some sort of

arrhythmia and shortness of breath, something was wrong. It was pissing me off that they were not telling us what the

prob lem was.

"Patience, son. It's going to b e all right. I'll come down as soon as I can."

Isabella grabbed and squeezed my hand. Guilt weighed me down like an anchor in my stomach. I should have been

the one comforting her, not the other way around. Instead, I was a basketcase. A sweating, nervous wreck.

"Carlisle says it's going to b e all right. He'll b e down soon," I said as confidently as I could m uster.

She smiled and leaned her head on my shoulder. "I told you that you've been worrying for nothing."

Nothing. This was nothing. Pregnancy caused all sorts of things to happen to a woman's body. She was going to b e fine. I

rubbed the back of my neck and tried to ignore the way my lungs were beginning to burn with every inhale and exhale.

…...

"Mitral stenosis." The cardiologist looked at us like we knew what that meant. Eventually, he went on to explain what it

was, how she probably got it, why she had no symptoms until she was pregnant. He explained that they would start her

on a medication regimen.

"What are the risks? The pregnancy caused the symptoms to present themselves. What are the risks of continuing the

pregnancy?"

"Edward," Isabella's hand gripped m y forearm. There were tears in her eyes. For herself? For me? For the b aby?

Probably all three.

The doctor understood my concern. "All women with mitral stenosis are at risk of heart problems during pregnancy.

There is a higher rate of complications during pregnancy the more severe the case. Mrs. Masen's is not the worst I've

seen, but it's not best. Heart failure, stroke, rhythm problems are all possible complications. There's not a huge

possib ility but a possibility she could experience some of those complications."

Heart failure? Death. She could die. My vision began to narrow and the sweat was beading on my forehead.

"There are some medications I'm going to prescri-"

"She could go into heart failure and die b ecause of this disease and the baby?" I interrupted. I could feel my own heart

hammering in my chest.

"There is an increased risk of that happening, yes, but-"

"She's sixteen weeks, is it still possible to terminate the pregnancy?"

"Edward!" Isabella b lanched and her grip on m y arm was like a vice.

"Mr. Masen, I understand your concern, b ut many patients with this disease have very uneventful pregnancies and

deliveries. Both mother and child come out of it just fine."

It was becoming impossib le to breathe. The walls were closing in on m e. "But some die? Correct?"

"Her risk is slightly higher than most," he concurred. "But, truthfully, I would say the odds are in your favor."

"I need to find Carlisle." I stood up and avoided look ing at Isabella. I couldn't look at her, knowing I had done this to her.

The bab y I put inside her could stop her heart from b eating.

I left with Emmett following me into the hall. It had been a very long time since I had experienced a full-on anxiety attack.

I had almost forgotten what they were lik e. This one was fucking me up. I was a sweating, out of breath, claustrophobe.


25/56

Thank God for Emmett. He knew what was happening and did his best to talk me through it. He probab ly kept me from

having my own heart attack.

…...

"We'll look at the bab y, make sure everything is all right in there, and then you two should head home and get some

rest." Carlisle had been trying desperately to reassure me that everything was going to b e fine since he found me in the

hallway with Emmett mid-panic attack. He took me back to talk to Isabella and the cardiologist and then snuck us in for a

3D ultrasound at Isabella's request.

Isabella couldn't stop the tears from falling. It became clear her tears were for the bab y, not herself. Carlisle held her

hand as the technician prepped her for the ultrasound. I was no longer experiencing a paralysing anxiety attack, but I

was still against having this baby.

"There are the legs and feet," the technician said, pointing to the screen. "Baby looks good. See the face. There's a really

good profile shot."

"Beautiful," Carlisle said to Isabella. "They didn't have this kind of technology when I was in medical school. This is

amaz ing. Look, you can see the whole face. Wow. The bab y appears to have your chin, Edward."

I knew what he was doing. He was trying to get me to look. Trying to make it sound interesting. I didn't care about the

ultrasound. I cared about my wife and her heart. Could this machine fix her heart? Could any machine fix her heart?

Would the medications the doctor provided really do the trick?

"Did you want to know if it's a boy or girl? Bab y is giving us a clear shot here." The technician looked to Isab ella first, then

to me.

"Edward?" Isabella looked over at me as I paced back and forth beside them all in the small exam room.

She was breaking my heart. Did she not care? If she didn't care about her own heart, could she at least care about

mine?

"It doesn't matter, does it?" I quipped.

Fat, round tears fell down her face, wetting her cheeks and eyelashes and making her nose b egin to run. "It matters to

me."

"Well then, let's find out, shall we?" I said gruffly, earning me a nasty look from my uncle.

The tension in the room was suffocating more than just me. The technician nervously exchanged a look with Carlisle,

who nodded for her to proceed. She eventually told us it appeared to be a girl and a healthy one at that. I didn't care. I

found no happiness in the news that I was having a healthy daughter. I only wanted a healthy wife.

Emmett stood in the corner and had stayed quiet, knowing I needed someone who listened and didn't tell me everything

was going to be fine when we didn't know if anything would ever be fine again.

" A girl. I knew it was a girl," Isabella whispered.

A girl who could quite possib ly be the death of her.

"She can never know."

"I'm not telling," Emmett said confidently. "No one is ever going to say anything to that little girl. And it doesn't matter, E.

What matters is today. Today you love her more than you ever imagined. Come on." He gripped my shoulder. "We'vebeen over this . You can't change the pas t, you don't control the future. You live in today."

My head fell back on the couch. "I know. I forget sometimes. The past loves to drag me back. Today is one of those days

that makes me focus on some of the darker days, you know?"

Emmett frowned. "I know. That's why I'm s taying." He knew the s ignificance of this particular day. "I can drive you. If you

want."

I shook my head. "Nah. I want to go by myself. You hate cemeteries anyway."

"That I do, but I would go if you wanted me to."


26/56

I smiled at his kindness . I would never understand why I was so fortunate to be surrounded by so much of it. "I know you

would, but I'm all right to do this on my own."

"I get it." He always got it. Emmett got me . He had no idea how much that meant.


Big thanks to momof4 for keeping this on the straight and narrow. Like I said last week, never easy to know what to

say and what not to say. She's also the one who did a crapload of research on mitral stenosis. I will say I've read alot about it, but I'm not a cardiologist. If you are, cut me some slack because I'm sure I'm gonna be making some

stuff up here in the near future. This is a work of fiction. I'm doing the best I can!

Big love to everyone in the Nothin' but Trouble Facebook group. You guys make writing this so much fun. Hello to all

of those who follow me on Twitter as well. Thanks to everyone who is recc'ing and reviewing this story. You guys

are blowing me away with the response. The theories are killing me. Some of you are freaking me out a little. I had to

go back and read the last chapter to see if I said things because you were coming up with stuff I hadn't even thought

of! I did not mention cemeteries in the last chapter, but man if you all didn't assume that was where he was going.

Guess it wasn't much of a surprise to hear him say it this week. Some of you have figured out what is going on here

and I am floored. Make me wonder how secure Google docs really is...

I replied to all the reviews last chapter unless you didn't sign in when you reviewed or you have your PM's turned off.

FF changed the way the review replies work now. Instead of sending you an email, it is sent through the private

messaging system. So, I can't reply if you have that disabled. FictionFreak95 - I'm talking to you, guess I have tobother you on FB some more.

Speaking of Facebook - FictionFreak95 and BellaDonnaCullen and I wrote this crazy little mash up of our three Work

In Progress stories. It made us laugh to write, hopefully will make some laugh to read. You can find it in all three of

our groups over there. I'll have to try to talk them into letting me post it over here sometime. Teasers wars still going

strong. WPoF and FIP - thanks for keeping me sane in our drama-filled playland.

Ramblings on the blog and Wednesday teasers over there as well :)

So, now you know where his first stop is tonight. Where is his second stop? Now that you know what's wrong with

her, what do you think happens? Your theories always intrigue me!

Have a great weekend! XOXO, TF


27/56


"If this makes that animal s ick, you are taking her home with you." I watched as Emmett shot another mars hmallow into

the yard.

"She's not going to get s ick," he asserted. "You know, if you exercised the dog more, she wouldn't be so wound up in the

house all the time. Dogs need to run off their excess energy." He aimed his mars hmallow shooter a little bit away from

where Cupcake was running to find another "bullet".

We were standing on the rooftop patio, looking down at the estate. The horses were out, and I thought about how Ineeded to take Penny down there to feed them some apples after her nap. The little white devil dog was sprinting

towards her next snack. There were som e landscapers working around Tyler and Terry's house. Isabella's flower garden

was looking quite colorful for this time of year. The groundskeeper was doing an excellent job.

"This thing shoots better than that last one we had," Emmett noted as he s hot again. He was sometimes more like a

child than a grown man. It was Isabella who once said he would be one of the reasons I would be a good father. If I

could figure out how to play with Emmett, my own children would be no problem. I thought I did a good job of playing with

Penny. I wasn't so good when she wanted to play with her dolls , but I was an excellent gues t at tea parties. I was als o

very good at hide and s eek - both the hiding and the s eeking. Just the other day, I beat Lala and Penny at Old Maid. I had

the playful Daddy thing down.

Emmett was reloading his shooter, his huge fingers looked comical trying to place mini marshmallows into the small

tube. I would have had no idea how to work many of the toys I owned was it not for Emmett. My mother played with m e

and Alice when we were young, but we were never allowed to have many toys other than what we had in our bedrooms .My father wouldn't tolerate the mess or the clutter anywhere else in the hous e. I never realized how much I missed out on

until Penny came along. She would never miss out on anything.

I began to s pout my thoughts aloud. "My father never did anything with me. Never showed me how to play ball or how to

tie my tie. He never once came to piano recital or a little league game. He really was a dick," I said, turning and leaning

agains t the wrought iron and brick.

Em's eyes met mine quickly as he continued working on his s hooter. "Total dick based on what you've told me. Good

thing you have chosen to enjoy your children."

I moved over to one of the patio chairs and s at down. My head fell back and I looked up at the sky. I pulled my phone from

my pocket to check the time. Two-thirty. Time seemed to be dragging today. It was probably because I wanted it to go

faster so badly. Two more hours. I could make it through two more hours.

"I wonder what my mother ever saw in m y father. He didn't seem to have one single redeem ing qual ity that I can put my

finger on."

"Some women have the ability to see good in the darkest places."

I knew that. I married a woman like that. Isabella. Isabella. Isabella. I closed my eyes and let myself get los t in her for a

moment. Thinking about her was preferable over thinking about my father.

Her sm ile. Completely disarm ing. Enchanting even. One smile and my day improved exponentially.

Her laugh. More beautiful than her smile. Sexy, although she would disagree. Adorable when she would try to stop it by

covering her mouth with her hand. That never worked.

Kiss ing her. The one thing I missed more than anything. I could kiss her all day if I was allowed. Her lips , her cheek, her

neck, that spot at the base of her throat, the ins ide of her elbow, her inner thigh.

Her inner thigh. God, her inner thigh was so d

once upon a saturday - troublefollows1017

Documents