NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED! All recognizable characters belong to SM

I paced my room nervously, every once in a while shooting a glance at the newspaper that was sitting on my bed. The Seattle Times had printed an article about the one man that I was never supposed to see again, telling me that he was coming home. I knew what it said, I'd read it an uncountable amount of times, and now it sat there, mocking me.

HOMETOWN CELEBRITY RETURNS

Edward Cullen, famous singer songwriter is on his way home this week. After
the first month of his tour, father Carlisle Cullen has taken ill with cancer, causing
Edward to postpone remaining concerts while he attends to his father.

Carlisle's illness had struck us all. He had always been like a second father to me. And when the tumor was found, I was right there with Esme doing everything that I possibly could to help him. Even telling them that they were going to be grandparents in hope lifting their spirits and giving them something to look forward to.

Esme had pulled me into her arms and squeezed me with all her strength as Carlisle smiled at me with tears in his eyes. Then Esme had pulled back and looked into my eyes, "Does Edward know?"

She must have seen the pain in my eyes, because she pulled me back into her arms, tucking my face into her shoulder and rubbing my hair soothingly. She seemed to understand, because she didn't say anything else, just sat there and comforted me.

I plopped down on my bed and looked at the paper again. There was a picture of Edward on stage, sitting on a wooden stool with his acoustic and a microphone. He looked so beautiful. He was finally getting to do what he'd wanted to do his whole life. He was getting to share his music with the world. He was living his dream. And that was why he didn't know. I didn't want him to give up his dream for me. I couldn't allow it.

Cullen has been a hit sensation. No one since The Beatles has had such an amazing
reception into the musical world. With his songs about both love and heartbreak
Edward has captured the hearts of a nation. His most recent hit single, "Will You Be?"
has sold more than a million hard cds and an incredible amount of downloads.

The song has not been performed live since his attempt to sing it in Memphis when
he instead broke down and left the stage for fifteen minutes, coming back to play
the rest of his set.

"He just seemed dead after that," Meagan, 23 said as she exited the concert. "He
sounded amazing, but there was just something missing."

Edward's little sister Alice knocked on my door and I looked up at her, tears blurring my vision. "Oh, Bella," she threw herself into my arms. "Bella, you have to tell him. He's dying thinking that you don't love him anymore. And with Dad sick, Edward needs you."

Alice pulled back and my hand ghosted over my stomach, "But if he finds out, then everything will be for nothing. He will give up on his dreams to take care of me and our baby." That is if he still cares about me at all.

She placed her hand on top of mine, "He has a right to know."

I nodded slowly, tears spilling over the brim. She pulled me into her arms, much as her mother had, soothing me. "He's supposed to be home tonight. Maybe you could come by for supper?"

"Alice," I sniffled into her shoulder. "He's going to hate me."

She forced my back so that I was looking into her eyes. "Bella, Edward could never hate you. He might be a little hurt that you didn't tell him, but he could never hate you."

A shuddering breath passed my lips, and I nodded, though I didn't really believe her. Edward had every right to hate me. I had lied to him. And it wasn't a little lie. It was the worst kind of lie that I could have told. It was the blackest form of blasphemy. I told him that I didn't love him.

"Okay," Alice brushed the tear stains from my cheeks, only allowing a clean slate on which the new tears could leave their trail. "You should come to dinner tonight. I know that Mom and Dad want you there. And we'll all support you, you know that."

I nodded. I did know that. Though none of them had been happy with the fact that I'd broken up with Edward before he could find out that I was pregnant, they all understood. Edward had wanted to be a famous singer since the first time he saw a guitar. And then, an agent had come to see his little set at the local bar a few months ago and everything seemed to be falling into place for him. That was, until I got what I assumed was a stomach bug. Edward insisted that I go to the doctor's office, though he couldn't go with me because he had a meeting about his contract.

It was then that I found out about the child. I was already nearly five weeks along. I couldn't believe it. Edward and I were going to have a baby. We were going to have a family. I asked the doctor if she could please keep it a secret from Dr. Cullen because I wanted to surprise the whole family.

Later that night, when Edward and I had met for dinner, he was ecstatic. He was going to record his album and then he was going on tour. He was going to be an opening act, but it was still so amazing. I looked into his eyes and saw all of his dreams coming true, and I knew what had to be done. Edward couldn't have any reasons to want to stay or put his dreams aside. We were twenty-four years old, and though I knew that Edward would be able to attract a crowd for many years to come, agents were hesitant to pick up clients after a certain age when it came to music.

So I told him that we'd been growing apart, and that the job had come at a really good time. I needed my space, and I wanted to break up.

Edward had looked heartbroken, and I'd nearly told him the truth, but I held strong. And it had been the right thing to do. Edward had gained so much popularity that his own tour was started. He was a household name, and I was so proud of him.

And now, four months after I'd broken it off with him, he was being dragged home because his father was sick. There was no way for me to avoid him, and it was going to be hard to hide that fact that I was about five months pregnant.

Alice brushed my hair away from my face. "Everything will be fine, Bella, trust me."

When Alice and I got to her house, Edward still hadn't arrived. Esme said that his plane should land any minute, and that Jasper had gone to get him. I noticed the smile that crept up on Alice's lips at the name of her fiancé was said. They had only been engaged recently, and she always seemed to have a goofy smile on her face. I couldn't blame her. They made each other happy.

Esme and I set about cooking as Alice got the house ready. Esme usually wouldn't have let me help, but she knew how working in the kitchen calmed my nerves. And I needed to be calm when I faced Edward.

A few hours later, the door opened and closed, and I could hear Alice squeal from the kitchen. "Edward, you're home."

I took a deep breath and put down the knife that I was using to cut vegetables. I didn't need to accidentally cut myself just because he was so close in months.

"Bella dear," a cool hand touched my cheek and I turned to look into Esme's eyes. "You're looking kind of pale. Do you want to lie down?

I nodded, hoping to get myself a little more time before I came face to face with Edward. Of course, the moment I turned to leave the room there he was, standing in the doorway, staring at me with wide eyes. "Bella?"

I looked at him for only a moment before my vision began to blur around the edges, eventually fading into complete darkness, nothingness.

"What in the world is she doing here, Mom?" I could faintly hear Edward's voice, though it sounded far away. And he obviously wasn't happy with my presence.

"Edward, you have no idea what's going on." Alice defended me.

I groaned and tried to move. "Just hold still, Bella." Carlisle's voice was much closer than the voices that were arguing. I opened my eyes to see him hovering over me on the couch, holding a wet cloth to my head. "You should be more careful. If you feel like you're going to pass out, you should sit down. You could really hurt the baby."

I noticed that he spoke in hushed tones, which meant that Edward probably still didn't know about our child. Slowly, Carlisle helped me sit up, supporting my back. "Carlisle, you really should be resting." I admonished him once my back was against the back of the couch and he was seated next to me.

He waved me off. "I'm fine, Bella." Then he took my hand. "You need to worry about yourself. You can't risk getting hurt."

I giggled, trying to lighten the mood. "You act like you've never met me, Carlisle. I don't think that's even possible."

He smiled and leaned forward to kiss my forehead. "Just take care of yourself, baby girl."

Alice flitted into the room and plopped down on the arm of the couch. "Feeling better, Bella?"

"No, not really," I shook my head. I noticed Edward standing in the doorway. The way he was looking at me was nearly murderous and I sank into the couch before looking back up at Alice. "I think that you should probably take me home."

Fingers ran through my hair and looked up to see Esme standing behind the couch. "Bella, you can't leave. We haven't even had dinner yet."

"Yeah, Bella." Edward said with a slight sneer in his tone. "You go ahead and stay. I'll go."

I looked up as Edward crossed the room to the door. "Edward wait!" All eyes but Edward's were on me. But he had stopped, so I continued. "Edward, I'm pregnant."

Slowly he turned to look at me. There was pain in his eyes, "I suppose congratulations are in order."

"Edward," I whispered. I swallowed hard, trying to make my voice stronger. "It's yours."

He continued to stare at me without saying a word. His expression didn't change. My chest began to squeeze as he made no movement. "I am so sorry," I whispered as tears began to spill over my lids. I dropped my head into my hands.

The sound of a door slamming forced me to look up and see that Edward was indeed, gone. "Well," Alice huffed.

Esme continued to run her fingers through my hair, "Don't worry, dear. He just needs some time to absorb what you've just told him."

"Why don't you go upstairs to Edward's room and take a nap." Carlisle began to help me to my feet. "I think that both you and the baby need it."

I smiled and kissed Carlisle on the cheek before heading upstairs. This wouldn't be the first time that I'd ended up in Edward's room. After he'd left, I'd found myself coming here quite often, trying to find comfort in the things that belonged to him, reminded me of him. Even before anyone knew about the pregnancy, Esme would look at me sympathetically as I climbed the stairs to his old room, trying to find enough peace so that I could sleep.

I didn't find peace or sleep. I just laid on my side, looking at a picture on his bedside table of us. The picture was from very early in our relationship. We had actually been in high school. I reached out and ran my finger over his face. He was smiling back at me from the picture. I missed that smile so much. I hadn't seen it since he'd told me about the contract and the tour. I wondered if he smiled during his concerts. Were his fans blessed with that beautiful smile?

The door opened and the light was flicked on above me. Slowly I sat up to see Edward leaning against the wall staring at me. "How long have you know?"

I took a deep breath. I knew what he was asking without explanation. "I've known for about four months. I was seven weeks along when you left."

His face contorted in anger. "If you knew, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you wouldn't have gone," I said quietly.

Fists clenched he closed his eyes against whatever emotion he didn't want me to see. "Did you want me out of your life so badly that you would keep me away from my own child?"

"Daughter," I said quietly. I hadn't told anyone else that I'd found out the sex of the baby.

His eyes opened and I saw a mix of awe and sadness in his eyes. "It's a girl?"

I nodded, and then looked down at my hands. "I know I should have told you."

"Goddamn right you should have. Even if you don't want me in your life doesn't mean that I shouldn't be in my own daughter's life." The anger was back in his voice and it stung like being slapped.

I looked back up at him with tears in my eyes, "I couldn't tell you Edward. You would have stayed here, and then you would have never become a famous singer. I knew you wouldn't have taken the offer if I told you that I was pregnant. I couldn't have lived with that. If you had given up your dreams for me." I was practically yelling back at him, though my voice was hoarse with tears.

He looked me over, "You have no idea what my dreams are. But I'll tell you what they're not. They're not being dumped by the woman that I love so that I have to travel the country without her. It's not singing songs that I wrote for one woman when she no longer returns my feelings. And it's definitely not finding out that I've missed the first five months of development of my own child."

"You've always wanted to do this Edward. As long as I've known you, you've wanted to sing your music for the world." More tears slipped from my eyes. "You can't give that up for me. I wouldn't let you."

"Why does it matter, Bella?" He threw his hands up in the air, "You don't love me. Why do you care if I follow my dreams or not?"

I growled at him, reaching around and throwing a pillow at him, full force. The pillow bounced lightly off his chest. "Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

"Are you the kettle or the pot?" he retorted.

I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths for my nose. "Edward," I said through clenched teeth. "Would you have gone without me if I had never told you that I didn't love you?"

"No," he said tensely, "But I really don't get what that has to do with any…"

"Edward, I'm pregnant." I spat at him. "I can't be traveling across the country with you and staying up late for shows every night."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. He took a few deep breaths before speaking. "Bella, if you are trying to confuse me, you have succeeded."

I closed my eyes and leaned back against the headboard. I took a calming breath, readying myself to tell him everything. "I never stopped loving you, Edward. I have always and will always love you, which is exactly why I let you go."

The bed bounced and I opened my eyes to see Edward sitting in front of me, legs cross, elbows on knees, fingers templed in front of his face. We just sat there for a few moments, studying each other. I looked into Edward's green eyes. There were so many confusing emotions there. I could still see anger, but I was glad to see that it was no longer at the forefront of his emotions.

"Are you telling me that for the past four months, I've been out there," he made a broad sweep with his hands, "thinking that the woman I love wants to be done with me. When really, she's been right here," he pointed down at the bed between us, "pregnant with my child. And along with that, she never wanted me to go in the first place."

"That's just it, Edward." I said exasperatedly, "I did want you to go, because you've always wanted to go. You would have spent the rest of your life wondering what it would have been like if you'd turned it down. And you might have even come to hate me one day because I held you back. And you would have been right." Tears that had just started to dry up started to fall again.

Edward sighed, "Bella, I could never hate you. Yes, I would have always wondered, but I would never have regretted spending my life with you," he reached out and placed a hand gently on my stomach, causing me to gasp, "and our daughter."

I looked up into Edward's eyes. I placed both of my hands over his, holding him to me as best as I could. "I am so sorry, Edward." A tear slid down my cheek. "I wanted to tell you so badly. But then you were so excited about going on the tour, and I didn't want you to have any reason to stay."

He reached up with his free hand and brushed away the tear with the pad of his thumb. "Did you ever think that maybe I would rather have a family with you than spend my life performing in front of a million strangers? Bella, this," his thumb moved in a circle over my stomach, "is something that we're supposed to experience together."

I nodded, "Can I blame the hormones?"

Edward smiled, actually smiled, for the first time since I'd seen him tonight. "No, love," my heart fluttered with the endearment. "Your martyr tendencies have nothing to do with pregnancy hormones."

A breathless chuckle escaped my lips. I hiccupped slightly, letting the serious tone reclaim me. "Edward, I love you." I let the words fall from my lips for the first time, feeling a weight lift off my shoulders as the truth was released. "No matter what happens, I will always love you. And now that you know the truth, it's up to you what you want to do. I would understand if you never wanted to talk to or see me again. If your only involvement with me is that I am the mother of your child, well, I've screwed up enough to deserve that."

"Bella," he shook his head back and forth slowly. "Sometimes you are utterly ridiculous."

"Wha-" Edward interrupted me quickly by leaning forward and capturing my lips in his. All tension left my body as he moved my lips over mine.

Edward's lips were connected to mine for only a brief moment, and when he pulled back, I felt like I could finally breathe. Edward leaned over, opening the drawer in his bedside table and pulled out a little box which he placed on my lap. He looked up into my eyes, "Open it."

I nervously brushed my fingers over the little velvet box before opening the lid. My breath caught, when inside, I found a solitaire diamond ring set on a platinum band. I looked back up at him, tears brimming in my eyes again.

He took the box from my hands, taking the ring, and holding it out for my inspection. "Isabella Marie Swan, in the twenty some odd years that we've known each other, we have always been there for the other. The past three months, I experienced what it was like to not have you in my life anymore. I never want to go through that again." He reached out taking my left hand and held the ring in front of my ring finger and took a deep breath. "I want to be with you for the rest of our time here on earth and whatever may come after. Will you marry me?"

A tear slid down my cheek as I looked into his beautiful green eyes, pleading with me to make us both happy, to end the terrible life that I'd imposed on us both. I couldn't find the answer within me to match his proposal. So I simply nodded my head and whispered, "Yes."

He smiled, slipping the ring onto my finger. The fit was snug due to the water that I was retaining, but it didn't take away from our moment. Edward leaned forward, pressing me down into the bed as he took my lips again. "He separated his lips from mine and looked down at me. He was laying down next to me, careful not to press onto the small bump that had once been my concave stomach. He tucked a strand of air behind my head. "You have to promise never to do anything like that again, Bella. I can't live without you. I'm incomplete without you."

I took his face between my hands. "I can't be without you again, Edward. It nearly killed me. I promise." I leaned up and brushed my lips against is. "I love you."

He bent down and captured my lips again. This time I could tell that he wasn't going to be pulling back. His tongue came out and brushed against my lips, and I sucked it in eagerly. There was nothing as sweet as the taste of Edward. Our tongues brushed together and we both moaned as the familiar sensations that I'd missed so much flooded my system.

Without moving his mouth from mine, Edward slowly began to peel my clothes away from me. First came my yoga pants, the only pants that fit me anymore. Then, he slipped his hand under my shirt, brushing reverently across my stomach and pushing the shirt up. He broke contact with my lips long enough to take the shirt and throw it across the room. He quickly removed his own shirt before descending upon my lips again.

Edward slowly rolled to hover over me. He was very careful to keep the majority of his weight off of me. Not wanting anything between us anymore, I reached down and undid his jeans. I pushed them down as far as I could, completing the job with my feet, not wanting him to move his lips from mine.

Eventually, his lips did move from mine, though. He slowly dragged them down my throat and across my shoulder. Moving my bra straps down, he left a trail of open mouth kisses in their wake. Expertly unclasping the front clasp, he discarded the flimsy piece of material. He pulled back to look at what he'd revealed. He laughed, "If you hadn't told me, baby, I think I definitely would have figured out."

I couldn't help but chuckle in return. My breasts had grown in at least half a cup size since I'd found out. Then his mouth came down upon one of them. I hissed as his tongue came into contact with my over sensitized nipple. He hummed and I could feel the vibrations traveling straight to my heat. He moved slowly, worshiping one breast before moving to the other. There really was no other word for it. He was taking his time relearning everything about my body.

When he was satisfied with his work on my breasts, if only momentarily, he began to leave a trail of wet kisses down my stomach. He lingered there. He brushed his lips across my stomach, as if trying to convey his love to the little girl who hadn't joined us yet.

Instead of moving down to my core, he skipped it completely. He made his way down to my feet, kissing the tops of my arches before making his way back up. It was a torturous process, and my body had missed his so much that I had to fight the urge to wiggle down to him, forcing him where I needed him to be. Instead, I lay patiently through his torture, trying to memorize the way it felt to be loved by him.

Hooking his fingers beneath the waistband of my underwear, he slowly rid me of the last of my clothing. He kneeled in front of me for a moment, just studying me. Then he slowly laid himself back down between my legs. Placing one leg over each of his shoulders, he leaned in and inhaled my essence. I could feel his breath as he exhaled, causing a shudder to run through my whole body.

He wrapped his arms around my waist, previous knowledge telling him that I wouldn't hold still, and ran the flat of his tongue through my slit. I nearly screamed as I realized just how sensitive I was now to his touch. His head came up and I could see that he was breathing heavily. "Bells, baby, you're going to have to be quiet. Everyone is downstairs, and they're going to think that I'm strangling you if you scream."

My teeth clamped down heard on my lips as I tried to keep myself in control. Once sure that I was going to remain quiet, he bent down and went back to work on my nether regions. He took a few more swipes of just running his tongue from top to bottom of my slit. Once satisfied with that, he moved to alternating between circling my clit and pushing into my entrance. My broken breaths reached his ears and he brought one of his arms from my waist so that he could push into me with his finger. His tongue gained sole supervision of my clit as he pushed into me over and over again with his finger. He added a second finger, and eventually a third. I bit down so hard on my lip trying not to scream, that I could feel a slight trickle of blood escaping.

With three fingers inside of me, he used the flat of his tongue to press on my clit as he curled his fingers. My body bowed under his command. My orgasm burst through me like the Hoover Damn breaking. Edward hummed as he drank from me. The vibrations prolonging the pleasure that pulsed through me.

Edward quickly shed his boxer briefs before quickly comeing up to hover above me again. I reached up and grabbed his face, bringing it down so that I could lick his face clean before clamping our lips together. As our lips molded together, I let my hand trail down his stomach and wrapped it around his cock. He was so hard that he was pulsing in my hand. He hissed as I grasped him firmly, using my thumb to rub the liquid at the head around.

I began to stroke him, but he reached down to still my movements. I looked up into his eyes questioningly. "I just need to be inside of you," whispered.

He positioned himself at my entrance and pushed in just enough so that the head was inside of me. We both moaned with the sensation, having nothing between us. Edward bent down and opened his lips over mine before quickly thrusting into me completely. He caught my yelp with his mouth. I had forgotten how large he was, and how it felt to be stretched and filled by him.

Taking one of the pillows behind my head, he placed it under my hip so as to angle my pelvis up toward his. He looked down at me. "I love you, Bella." He pulled back and pumped forward slowly. "I love you so much, baby." He pulled back and slid forward slowly again. "And no matter what happens now," he continued his pattern, accentuating each phrase by pulling out only to fill me again. "I'm going to be here."

A breathless chuckle escaped my lips as he continued. He leaned down, brushing his lips across mine lightly. "You're never going to get rid of me again," he whispered. "We're going to spend the rest of our lives together." I gasped as his pace picked up slightly. "And we are going to make each other happier than anyone else in the world could."

I nodded and reached up to tangle my fingers in his hair. I tugged his face down, bringing our lips together so they just barely touched. "I'm never letting you go again."

Our lips were welded together as Edward's pace became nearly frantic. I could feel my body coiling tighter and tighter with each thrust of his body. He throbbed inside of me, bringing to my attention how close he was to his own release. He reached down and pressed into my engorged clit, and my body again obeyed his every command. It clamped down on him hard, causing him to break our kiss and arch back with pleasure from the new friction.

Then he dropped his head down to my shoulder and began to push into me at an uneven pace. Liquid heat rushed through me, and I could feel my walls rippling around him, trying to bring him in further, trying to make us the same person so that nothing could ever come between us again. He and I connected, as we should be, for all eternity.

With Edward's head in my shoulder, he groaned out my name as his seed pooled within me. His thrusts slowed, and instead of collapsing on me like he once would have, Edward rolled onto his side, pulling me onto my side as well so that we didn't lose your connection. He brushed a lock of sweat damp hair from my face and began to pepper my face with kisses.

I giggle as he got to my neck, sucking on an extremely ticklish spot. "Edward, stop," I somehow got out between giggles.

He pulled back smiling, and I relaxed into the pillow. He kissed my forehead. "We should go downstairs before they send someone up to check on us."

I pouted, and he leaned in and nipped at my bottom lip. "Put that thing away. You know that Alice is going to kill me if we don't tell her about the engagement soon."

Carlisle made it to the wedding, but he didn't live to see his first grandchild born. In honor of his memory, Edward and I named our little girl Carlie. She got his blue eyes and his sweet temperament. It broke my heart that she would never meet her grandfather, but she was everything and more than I could have ever wanted.

Edward continued with his music, though he didn't do anymore tours. He still sold millions of CDs. But now, his music had shifted. I'd noticed him taking to the piano around the time of Carlisle's death. For a while he'd lost the will to write lyrics, only spending hours at a time in front of the piano just pouring his emotions out.

We'd lived with Esme for a few years, not wanting her to live alone in that big house. But eventually she'd kicked us out, designing a cottage for us to live in, appeasing us by allowing it to be close to the house.

Even when he was going through his depression, Edward was a great father and a great husband. Every night, after I'd fed and burped our little girl, he would walk around humming a song that he'd composed for her until her lids closed over her beautiful blue eyes. Then he'd put her down in her crib and just stare down at her. Eventually, he'd push away, with tears in his eyes and pull me into his arms. Then he'd whisper into my ear words of love, adoration, and thanks for our beautiful baby girl.

I could hear the squealing laughter of our now four year old little girl coming down that hallway. "DADDY! DADDY!"

I laughed and tried to lift my now seven month pregnant body out of the rocking chair as they both came running in the room. Edward scooped her up and tossed her on his back and then spun around. It made me giggle and my laughter brought Edward's attention to me. He stopped spinning and took the few stops to bring our bodies together. He leaned down and captured my lips.

I heard the slapping sound of Carlie covering her eyes like Edward had taught her to do in the romantic parts of movies. "Ew, Daddy's kissing Mommy. I could feel him smiling against my lips. We broke apart and I reached up on my tiptoes and Edward bent down so I could kiss Carlie's little chubby cheeks.

She giggled, and Edward set her down so that she could run into the living room and watch TV. He bent down capturing my lips again and rubbing his hand over my now extremely swollen stomach. "You know you shouldn't standing so much," he chastised.

Rolling my eyes, I shoved at his chest. "Edward, you're sister is almost just as pregnant as I am, and you are being nowhere near as protective of her as you are of me."

He smiled, "She has her own overprotective husband to force her to stay off her feet." He bent down and swiped his arm behind my knees and catching me before carrying me out to the living room to watch whatever Carlie had turned the TV to. Edward sat down on the couch, draping me across his lap.

Carlie turned around and ran toward us. She placed both hands down on my stomach carefully, like Edward had taught her. Her eyebrow furrowed and she bit down on her lip as she waited for the baby to move. Edward laughed and placed his much larger hand on top of both of hers. They were both really quiet, until a little foot or elbow collided with the skin under their hands. Carlie's giggle made both Edward and I smiled at our little girl. "Baby moved!" She said excitedly.

Of course her four year old mind couldn't be held to the situation long and she returned to sitting in front of the television and watching one of her favorite cartoons. I couldn't keep up with which one was which anymore. Edward leaned down and kissed my neck, and said the words that I would never get tired of hearing. "I love you, Mrs. Cullen."