Wolverine

Chapter-24

Bella's POV

Remy strolled across the room and knelt down next to me. He took my hand in his and brought it up to his lips. I giggled. "Always such a charmer, Remy. You'd flirt with your own executioner if she were a woman."

"Especially her," he agreed with a grin. "I might persuade her to botch the job."

I giggled again. "Better watch out, my husband's got a temper." I looked at Edward and found that he was almost seething with jealousy. "What? It's nice to have someone look at me without barely-concealed horror. It's not like I slept with him or anything."

Remy muttered a French curse and said, "Don't remind me." He peered at my enlarged stomach with curiosity. "Is this the problem?"

I gritted my teeth. "He's not a problem. He's just really strong and it's making it hard for me to heal fast enough. Victor thought it would be a good idea to fly out to Stryker's island to find the adamantium Stryker was experimenting with."

Remy grinned, as if he were going to say something funny, but Victor cleared his throat threateningly and he wisely chose to say something else. "So, it's a boy?"

I bit my lip. "I think so, but we can't get a clear ultrasound, so it's anybody's gue-" I gasped as I felt a strong kick to my gut. For a second, the breath was knocked out of me and I struggled for air.

Remy put his hands on my stomach. "No, no chéri, you're hurting your mother." I felt the baby settle down inside of me as he crooned. My vampire family leaned forward, engrossed in what was happening. Jasper and Jacob finally came downstairs, the former seeming a little unnerved. I wondered if Remy's scent was as tempting as a normal human's, or if the metal alloy dulled it.

Remy grinned. "I guess that settles that. It's a girl."

I pouted as Edward took a step forward. "How can you tell?" he asked Remy.

I chose to answer. "Remy has a subtle, pheromone-based ability. It's kind of like what Jasper can do, only it can only be used to influence you to feel positive emotions, and it only works on girls. It doesn't work on me, though."

"Unfortunately," Remy murmured. Edward shot him a terrifying look and Remy wisely backed away.

I gasped as I felt another kick, this one stronger than the first. I groaned in annoyance. Edward leaned forward and rubbed my stomach. I laughed bitterly. "Guess that proves that; it's a boy."

"Or, your daughter has inherited your unusual resistance to my charms," Remy disputed.

I patted my stomach lovingly. "I still think it's a boy; my little Vick."

"Vick?" Victor asked.

I blushed and looked down. "What? It's a nice name." I lifted my eyes in time to see Victor grin. "Shut up," I said. "It's not like you have any better ideas."

"Oh, I like the name," Victor reassured me while holding his hands up in a sign of surrender. "I just want to know if you have a backup; you know, just in case Loverboy's right, and your daughter is resistant to his, quote-on-quote, charms."

"I don't know," I murmured. I looked up at Edward. "Do you remember your grandmother's name?"

Edward seemed startled, and I remembered that he wasn't exactly pleased with the baby. His eyes narrowed and he looked at the ceiling. "Caroline," he finally answered.