Caught in the Flames

Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Two

As always, none of this is mine. I'm just the perv who want to make our beloved Twilight characters swear, drink, and go at it like horny rabbits. This story will be a combination of love, suspense, some violence and steamy, sweaty sex.

Chapter 152

BPOV

"Bella, we have to go," Edward called. He was waiting by the car, scratching a bit at his compression bandage on his right arm. His skin was healing and subsequently itching like crazy.

"Stop scratching, Edward," I said, pushing his hand away as I waddled down to the garage. Since we'd had our doctor's appointment with Dr. Popper, my stomach had popped out and I was moving slower, when I was allowed out of bed. Yes, I had some freedoms with my confinement, but for the most part Edward wouldn't let me lift a finger. He was adamant on keeping me healthy for as long as possible to keep our little Marie tucked in her safe little bubble of my belly.

"Sorry," Edward mumbled. "With the heat, it's uncomfortable and very itchy." He went to scratch his arm again before clenching his hand and stuffing it into the pockets of his shorts. "We do need to go. Dad is picking up Charlie from the airport with Emmett and they should be back."

"I feel so badly that Charlie can't stay here," I frowned.

"Bella, with your pregnancy, my recovery and the nightmares we are both having, it wouldn't be all that nice for him," Edward said, enfolding me in his arms. Since we found out the gender of our baby, I started having nightmares of my attack from James when we were together. What was the most disturbing was that James morphed in Edward, beating me to a bloody pulp in my mind. I'd wake up screaming and Edward would try to calm me down, but the nightmares were too fresh in my mind. On top of that, Edward was having his own night terrors from the night of the fire that had occurred nearly three months ago. They were memories from the attack, but had been fuzzy.

"Come on, love. Your dad understands and my parents have more than enough room," Edward said quietly, breaking me from my reverie.

I got into the SUV and buckled my seatbelt. Edward got in, backing out and driving to his parent's home. The smell of barbeque permeated through the air, making my mouth water and the sounds of laughter danced in the breeze. The guys from the firehouse were all off, spending the Memorial Day holiday with Edward and his family. That and Edward had some sort of announcement to make that had encouraged all of them to come to the Cullen compound.

Parking the car, Edward helped me out of the SUV and we walked to the backyard. Emmett and Garrett were playing beanbags while Jacob, Seth, and Ben were tossing around a football. The women were all underneath a small tent, nibbling on some food that was put out. Jasper, Carlisle and my dad were at the grill, cooking hamburgers, hotdogs, bratwursts and kebobs. My dad looked up and his eyes lit up excitedly when he saw me. He jogged over, wrapping me in a warm hug. "Bells! You look more beautiful every time I see you," he said into my hair. Pulling back, he smiled when he saw my belly. "And how's my grandbaby?"

"The baby is doing fine," I answered, chuckling quietly. I was surprised when I told Charlie about the baby. He was happy, over-the-moon excited when he found out he was going to be a grandfather. I was afraid that he'd be pissed for me having a baby without being married, but he knew my history with James and he considered the baby to be a miracle. We all did.

"Are you going to tell us the gender, yet?" Alice asked impatiently. She smiled impishly, frustrated that we were prolonging the reveal. However, the baby's gender was going to be revealed today. Edward was holding cake, frosted to look like the American flag and was pink beneath the layers of white frosting.