Picking up the Pieces

Chapter Twenty-Eight

This story is dedicated to my friend, Pam, who recently lost her husband to cancer. She's a wonderful friend with a beautiful soul who didn't deserve losing her best friend to such a devastating and deadly disease. I love you, girl.

Before I post this chapter, I do want to address something that occurred after I put the previous chapter. I had a GR give me grief about my editing skills. You all know that I lost my mother. To cancer. Right? She's dead. The funeral I wrote for Esme was exactly like the funeral for my mom. It took me almost a month to write the damn thing. I could barely get through writing it without sobbing hysterically. It's not about my god-damned ego, it's about my emotional state. If you are so cold-hearted that you can't understand that, don't read my stuff. I won't miss your harsh words and criticisms of the toughest moment of my life.

I'm done.

Now, we're going to have one more real chapter with the celebration of the newest baby (the little nugget for Edward and Bella), the honeymoon and nugget's birth. This next chapter will span about a year. Think of it as a pre-epilogue. We'll have the epi after that and then, this story will be marked complete.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

BPOV

A month had passed since AJ's birth. In that month, Edward and I went to the doctor to verify my pregnancy in mid-April. We were sitting in the doctor's office after work. The kids were spending time with Carlisle and my parents. I was in a paper gown, holding Edward's hand. Gripping it, really.

"Why are you nervous?" he asked.

"Because I'm old," I snorted.

"I'm older," he chuckled. "Two years older."

"I'm classified as a geriatric pregnancy, Edward," I argued. "I'm thirty-five and geriatric."

"You weren't geriatric when I licked your pussy this morning," he smirked. I smacked his arm, blushing furiously. "What?"

"Behave, Edward. In a few moments, there's going to be a doctor in here who is going to shove a transvaginal wand up my hoo-ha to check on our baby," I grumbled.

"A what?" he asked.

"It's an ultrasound for new pregnancies. The baby will be too small to be seen with a regular ultrasound," I explained. "So, the technician will put a condom-covered ..."

"This is freaking me out, sweetness," Edward grumbled. "Why is there a condom?"

"Sanitary reasons, baby," I giggled, ruffling his hair. He gave me a glower as the doctor walked in. I decided to go to the same obstetrician, Dr. Scott, that Rose used. With my pregnancy being a geriatric pregnancy, I wanted to make sure our nugget was okay.

She smiled at us and held out her hand. "Rose has told me all about you," she said. "I'm Amelia Scott."

"I'm Bella and this is my husband, Edward," I said, shaking her hand.

"Nice to meet you both," Dr. Scott said, turning to Edward. "I'm glad I could get you in. My practice is booming. Lots of babies. And little AJ? So adorable."

"He looks exactly like my brother when he was a baby," Edward chuckled. "But, with Rose's eyes."

"So, you are pregnant," Dr. Scott smiled, blinking to me. "We ran the urine and the icon came up as positive, and I ran a blood test, too. Do you know when you think you conceived?"

"To be honest, no," I chuckled. "We got married in February, Valentine's Day. I had an IUD, but it was removed a week prior to my wedding. My periods were wonky before the IUD and I had a light period last week. Plus, we experienced a loss with my mother-in-law. I wasn't really paying attention."