I don't own these characters. They are the sole property of Stephenie Meyer. I only borrow them. No humans are permanently harmed through my actions, though I do confess to harassing, annoying, torturing, and exasperating them – just because it's fun. I make no money from my little stories, sad day. I only play in the sandbox, I didn't build it.

Author's Note: My deepest apologies for the delay. My husband's job was eliminated in June, and to our great joy he found an amazing job a few weeks ago. Four hours away. After a lot of soul searching and consideration, I decided to stay here with our son who graduates in a year. My mother-in-law also lives with us, so I'm not sure how I ended up with the mother-in-law and not the husband around, LOL! Anyway, he'll come home as often as possible and I'll go up there when I can. It's been an adjustment and I've been sulking for a bit. On the up side, my daughter graduated from nursing school on Monday! So I hope to do better with updates and finish this story very soon. Thank you for your patience.

Chapter 19: Decisions, Decisions

Bella woke up to Edward kissing her breasts. "Oh," she moaned. "What a nice wake up call."

He chuckled against her skin and then licked a nipple. Edward reached down and took her left hand in his, his fingertips caressing the ring that he had placed there the night before. "I love you, Nurse Swan," he whispered.

"You'd better," she retorted. "Because you're stuck with me." Her right hand cradled his face. "I love you too, Mr. Cullen. So much…"

His expression went from playful to solemn in a moment. "We're going to have a good life, aren't we?" But she knew he wasn't asking a question. Not really. He was telling her something that he felt with cell of his being.

"We're going to have the best kind of life," she promised. "Because we'll treasure every moment."

"Every moment," he vowed. Their fingers intertwined and tightened as he gently thrust inside of her.

~~AATG~~

"I saw Daddy kissing Miss Rose," Alice announced as she and her father and Rose walked into the Cullen's house for their holiday baking session. She grinned widely. "And then he patted her butt...just like this," she demonstrated, giving her father's ass an affectionate little pat and squeeze.

Emmett jumped like someone had attached jumper cables to his butt and pressed his backside against the wall, glaring at Alice as he did so. Alice was not impressed and only smiled bigger.

Rose groaned and collapsed into a stool at the kitchen island. "Really, Al? You're throwing me under the bus like that?"

Edward snorted with laughter but tried to maintain his composure when his mother shot him an exasperated look and Bella gave him an elbow in the ribs.

Emmett just ducked his head and helped Alice take off her jacket. "You don't need to tell everything you see...or hear," he added in a low voice to his smiling daughter.

Alice shrugged and scampered over to the stepping stool by Esme. She was obviously unconcerned how her little announcement might have been taken by her audience. Esme carefully ignored the elephant in the room and began instructing Alice on the fine art of making Christmas cookies.

Rose leaned in and gave Emmett a kiss on the cheek. "We're busted, babe. Just go with it."

He grunted and hunkered down in his chair a bit more. Edward kept grinning like an idiot, but just shook his head when Rosalie asked him what was up with the smirking. He watched as his mother and sister helped Alice make cookies. Emmett continued to brood for a while, but Edward could tell that Bella was slowly pulling him from his funk. Every now and then, Rose would look up to catch Emmett's eye and they would smile at each other.

It was sweet.

It was also getting on Edward's nerves.

Because what no one had seemed to notice yet – and how could his mother of all people have missed it? – was that on Bella's left hand there sparkled a brand new ring. An engagement ring to be precise. His ring. On Bella's hand. His fiancée's hand.

He tried not to look at it because he didn't want to draw attention to it. At the same time, he wanted to hire the Good Year Blimp to announce the news. But Bella had wanted to see how long it would take someone to notice. His intended bride had a wicked sense of humor, it seemed.

So here they were, hours and hours after he had placed the ring on her finger, and still waiting for someone – anyone – to notice the change in status that the piece of jewelry represented. Bella looked at him and gave him a little smile, her dark eyes alight with laughter.

She thought all of this was funny - hilarious, in fact. Edward was not amused. Well, not much anyway. He returned her smile with a philosophical sigh and resumed watching his mother's Christmas cookie routine.

By the time the first batch of cookies was in the oven, his mouth was watering in anticipation and he wasn't too upset anymore by their lack of observational skills. It was kind of fun to have a secret and to wait for the moment when it would be revealed. Who would be the first to notice? And what would everyone's reaction be? He predicted that his mother would cry. In fact, he was certain of he decided to enjoy the moment.

Alice was thrilled to be a part of the whole process and Rosalie seemed to enjoy teaching her. It was heart warming to see his sister's maternal side being displayed. He had always thought that she would make an exceptional mother. And no child of hers would run wild; it would sheer folly to even consider it. Edward knew that he could look forward to well behaved nieces and nephews.

The thought of children made him glance back at Bella. They had once discussed children in the abstract. They had both stated an ambiguous, vague liking for children. Perhaps even a desire for them. One day. Now that they had decided to marry, how far away would that 'one day' be for them? How many would they want to have? Would Bella want to work after they had kids? Would he need to consider moving to a higher paying job in the private sector? He would happily do so for his family. Bella had once talked about furthering her education and perhaps becoming a nurse practitioner. Would she still want to do so? Before or after they had children?

"Hey," Bella's voice dragged him away from his musings. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her close, burying his nose in her hair and inhaling her Bella/sugar cookie scent.

"Hey yourself," he murmured back. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You're beautiful."

Her lips quirked. "Well thank you," she said with a nod. "But what brought that on?"

"Just thinking," he replied.

"About what?"

He nodded toward Rosalie, her golden blond hair a striking contrast to Alice's dark curls, their heads pressed together as Rose demonstrated how to spread colored sugar on the dough. "Just watching my sister and Alice."

"They're cute together," Bella observed.

"Yeah," he said. "And I was thinking about us...and kids...one day."

"You were?" she sounded surprised and Edward wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

He shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. "Just random thoughts. You know how my mind wanders," Edward said, trying to dismiss the topic.

Bella laughed softly and kissed his cheek. "I love your dirty, wandering mind."

"I didn't say anything about dirty," he reminded her with a grin.

"But I know it's there," Bella teased. "It always is."

"I should probably apologize," he admitted quietly.

"Don't you dare," she whispered in his ear, reaching up to cradle his face in her hands. Then she licked his ear for good measure. "You have many wonderful qualities, Edward Cullen, and your absolutely filthy mind is just one of them."

He chuckled. "Good to know I'm appreciated."

"Hey!" Rose's voice interrupted them. "What the fu- What the hell is that on your finger, Isabella Swan?"

Bella gave a small groan. "We're busted, Mr. Cullen."

"So we are, Nurse Swan," he agreed just before he turned to face his sister, a completely innocent expression on his face.

"To what might you be referring, Rosalie?" he asked.

Rose just jumped up and down, squealing like a little girl. Alice joined in just because it seemed like a good idea at the time. Esme started crying, while Emmett just looked confused by all the commotion. The noise brought Carlisle running. He took one look at his wife and daughter and then his eyes swung toward Edward, who appeared both embarrassed and smug at the same time.

"What did I miss now?" Carlisle said with exasperation.

Rose could only point at Bella and laugh; then she picked up Alice and began dancing around the kitchen. Alice was throwing her arms wide and enjoying every moment of it. Esme approached Bella and Edward and hugged them both close, giving kisses along the way.

"Why didn't you say anything?" she asked as she pulled away.

Bella shrugged. "We just kind of wanted to see how long it would take everyone to notice?"

Carlisle snorted, having caught sight of the ring on Bella's hand. "We'll have to remember to keep an eye on you, or we'll have three grandchildren before you bother to tell us!"

Bella and Edward looked at each other, eyes wide and swallowed hard. While he had been contemplating that very thing, it was a very different matter to hear the words coming from his father's mouth.

~~AATG~~

"Yes, Dad," Bella was saying when Edward walked back into the living room. "I love you too." Then she rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm aware that we haven't known each other for very long." Edward grimaced. "No, I'm not!" Bella rolled her eyes again. "Dad, I think I know how to prevent a pregnancy. I'm a nurse, remember?" Bella heaved a sigh and slumped on the couch. "Yes, I know. Knowledge doesn't always trump stupid. Yes. Yes. Of course. We'll see you soon. Give Sue and Seth my love."

She hung up the phone and looked at Edward. "So…how does Vegas sound?"

"Better and better with every passing moment," he admitted. He pulled her into his lap. "Seriously, I don't really care how we do this, as long as we're married at the end of it."

"Pretty easy to please, aren't you?" she teased.

He shrugged and nuzzled against her throat. "As long as I have you, yeah, I'm pretty easily satisfied."

"So tell me, Mr. Cullen, now that you've decided to keep me, have you made up your mind about kids?" She snorted when he shifted uneasily beneath her. "I saw that deer in the headlights look you gave when your dad mentioned grandchildren."

"Well…" he cleared his throat. "What are your thoughts on the matter?"

"My thoughts are…I don't want one," Bella replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh," he said, his expression downcast and surprised.

She laughed and kissed him – hard. "So gullible," she mocked. "What I meant is that I don't want to have just one. I hated being an only child, and now with Seth and Leah around, I realize even more what I missed. So, Mr. Cullen, I guess what I'm saying is that I'd like you to knock me up. More than once." She kissed the tip of his nose. "When the time is right, of course."

"Oh," he said again, but in a totally different tone. He pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "I think I can manage that."

"But maybe we should practice," she suggested solemnly.

"Perhaps we should," he replied just as seriously.

She gave an indignant squeal when he lowered her to the floor and then followed her. "Starting now," he said wickedly.