Disclaimer: Not mine.

AN: Hi, guys! I'm new to the fandom and English is my second language, so be kind to me please :) Have fun reading my little story and let me know what you think. I'm really nervous about this since it's not a canon pairing but I could totally see it happening.

Chapter 1

Carlisle will get that thing out.

Oh God. Oh my God. He wanted to kill my baby. As soon as the realization hit me, I knew that I would never allow that. In one short moment between two beats of my heart, my world ended and was made anew. Edward stopped matter – everything but my baby stopped matter.

Trembling, I watched him go speak with Kaure and Gustavo and tried to take deep calming breaths. It didn't really work; my knees gave out and I crashed to the ground shattered by the helpless feeling of ultimate loss.

He was with me immediately.

"Bella, it's ok, don't worry. I will take care of it. I will not allow that thing to hurt you. We will get it out. I promise."

It was him whom I lost. My sweet beautiful love was gone and in his place was a man who wanted to take my child away from me, a man who wanted to murder my baby.

"No!" I pushed Edward's hands away and got up shakily. "What are you saying? Are you going to kill the baby?"

He appeared confused and reached for me again. "Bella, don't be ridiculous. It's not a baby."

"What?" I might have screamed. "Not a baby? Then what do you think it is?"

Edward looked at me with clenched jaw and pursed lips, stubbornly remaining silent. He was unhappy, he was angry, he was on the verge of panic and he, as always, blamed himself for something which was not his fault. I had seduced him and I hadn't considered the pill.

His eyes answered me. I didn't need to be able to read minds to understand him. He thought that my baby was a monster. But it was mine. It was my sweet little monster.

"It's going to be all right." Slowly, he brought me closer and kissed the top of my head. "Kaure knows more and she will have to stop praying eventually. Then, we will know more. Why don't you relax while I'll book us tickets?"

Edward tried to be calm and reassuring; he thought I needed to be hushed like a child. His smile was depressing, thought, and I could see the turmoil in his eyes. My husband was terrified – but for entirely different reasons than me.

It's a strange thing. I hadn't wanted children and I certainly hadn't known it could even be possible with Edward but once I had felt it move inside me… There was no going back from that. It was not a conscious decision. It was an instinct. I was going to be a mother and like all mothers in the world who're worthy of that precious title, I would do anything and everything to protect my child.

I nodded weakly and shuffled towards the bed, collapsing next to our luggage.

"I love you so much, Bella." He gave me a soft smile and grabbed his phone. "Try to rest, love. It will take a few minutes."

As soon as he was out, I opened the suitcase and pulled out his notebook and a white envelope where he kept his cash. With heart pounding furiously, I started the computer. It took much less time than I expected. I quickly opened the browser and searched for the right airport on the mainland. I knew my husband and I knew that he would want to get us to Forks as quickly as possible – which meant the nearest airport and the earliest flight.

I browsed through the list of available flights for a few minutes. My little monster kicked once or twice, probably feeling my anxiety. I didn't dare to speak out loud in case that Edward was near but I placed my free hand on my stomach and the baby calmed.

The flight to Seattle would leave at 3 p.m. which was in four hours. We would need to be there at least an hour before to go through the security but as impatient as Edward was, I knew that we would be there sooner. There were, however, three flights leaving at the same time – the second one was to London and the third to Cape Town. I booked both and paid online with the credit card he had given me. My name should be on the passenger list and I wouldn't need a paper ticket. Thank God that this was the 21st century.

Then I took a hefty sum of cash from the envelope and put it back. I fished out my passport and together with the money I stuffed it in the pocket of the hoodie I planned to wear for the run. I swallowed hard, my vision blurring momentarily. I was running away from him and I didn't know where. Honestly, I didn't know what I was doing at all. I just had to get my child into safety – and in that moment, my husband was not safe.

When Edward came through the door, I was watching YouTube.

"Ok, our flight leaves at three. We should get going. Are you ready, love?" His face looked like delicate porcelain. I was sure that it would crack and all of his pain would pour out of him and drown me.

"Yeah, yeah, as much as I can be." I didn't want to leave him but I was afraid that it was inevitable. What were my choices? Come back with him and let Carlisle kill my baby? Plead with the Cullens to listen to me and not to Edward?

It was a ridiculous thought. Carlisle was the head of the family but my husband had almost unnatural sway over the whole coven. He would argue with them and with me, he would not see reason, he would not hear anything I would say. Eventually, Edward would convince the whole family of his truth as he had always done.

Edward quickly loaded our luggage and we were on our way from the island. He was looking grimmer than before and I tentatively asked, "Have you found out more from Kaure?"

He frowned and remained silent for a minute. Then, reluctantly, he said, "It's not good."

"Tell me."

"You don't need to hear that. It… I won't let it go that far."

"Edward!" For the first time since finding out about my little monster, I lost my patience. I knew I could be dying. I knew that my baby could be dying. If there was any hope, any at all… I needed every piece of information I could get. I knew I couldn't deal with a vampire pregnancy alone and I desperately wanted him to be there for me and our child. Maybe if I could stall him, has some of his family on my side, he would understand eventually. In one last attempt to make things right, I tried to reason with him.

"Just tell me! It concerns me, doesn't it? You can't do that anymore. We are husband and wife and I need you to talk to me. We need to talk about it."

"No."

"So, you decided it on your own." I swallowed, closing my eyes.

"I… Love, the thing is a danger to you. What Kaure knows? Well, if you really want to hear, the mother always dies before the end of the pregnancy. The thing kills her, sucks the life out of her. Happy?"

Hardly. I turned away from him and watched the sea which was as turbulent as his handsome face. I was giving up on him and it hurt. God, I didn't want to. Wasn't there any chance, any possibility of us facing my pregnancy together? I had an absurd idea of contacting Rosalie for a moment. She would be the only one willing to listen to me, right? She would be on my child's side. Perhaps I didn't have to run away from my family, perhaps I could call her and explain it first…

"I'm sorry." Edward's whisper sounded so broken and he lightly touched my hand. "I shouldn't have said that."

"It's all right." Rosalie with her own yearning for a child would understand me. It could work and I smiled at him. "As you said, it's going to be ok. I'm not afraid."

"I'm not surprised." He gave me a tiny smile in return. "You are much braver than me."

Yes, I was. I was afraid of the unknown – but I wasn't terrified. It fascinated me instead; I wanted to explore it despite my fear of it. I had approached him, after all, and I had followed him to Volterra, I had stood by him facing a damn newborn army, I was a friend to a pack of werewolves…

Then it hit me. The Volturi! They could know more – weren't they the ancient rules of the vampire world? Edward was terrified because we didn't know much but with their information, we could make it work. I just needed time to convince my husband of it, to make him hope as well. Rosalie could give me that time. I breathed out audibly.

Edward looked at me with concern and I tried to shake my head and smile. "Sorry, I think I forgot my phone on the island."

"You didn't." He patted my hand. "I have it."

"Great. Could you hand it to me? I'd like to check my emails." And call your sister.

"I think I will hold onto it a little longer, love." Edward gave me a wry smile. "Just in case you would get any ideas."

Well, that settled it then. I forgot how well he knew me. My happy bubble burst and I watched him for a second. He would never reconsider, would he? My mother instinct kicked in full force again. I couldn't call Rosalie and I couldn't risk landing in Seattle without any kind of ally. He truly wanted my baby dead and as I swallowed and turned away from him, I knew that I couldn't forget that.

I would never look at him the same way; never love him like an hour ago. For the rest of my life, Edward would be the husband who rejected my baby, who wanted my child removed…murdered.

My hoodie was safely secured around my waist and I felt the weight of the passport and money in its pocket. Edward left me no choice. I truly needed to leave him if I wanted to save my child.

Where would I go, though? We had left the paradise behind us and I felt like I was on my way to hell. My life without him would be painful but my life without my child was unthinkable.

I didn't speak to him after that, feign sleepiness – and I really fell asleep in the taxi. Two hours later, we were at the airport and Edward gently roused me.

"Love, we are here. Are you alright? Would you like something to drink? Are you hungry?"

He was supporting me as we walked into the airport but he looked a little ill at ease. There were security cameras everywhere and it must have made him nervous. The cameras were a blessing for me, though.

I looked around, my eyes scanning the departure board and where the exits were. "How much time do we have?"

"Forty minutes until the plane takes off. We should go through the security; they're getting ready to close the checkpoints."

"Uhm, ok… I'm a little hungry and I definitely must look like a walking nightmare. Where is the restroom?"

"You're beautiful." He chuckled and hugged me closer to him. "I'll go get you something to eat and drink."

"I love you," I whispered.

He smiled and kissed me softly. I cherished the kiss – it was our last kiss – and watched him walk at human speed away. He could not do any unnatural stuff in the hall, in front of these people, under the gleaming eyes of the security cameras. I took a deep breath and turned, walking towards the checkpoint. It was closing but I managed to beg my way in.

In a matter of minutes, I was through the security and in the duty-free zone together with other people on the flight to London. In that moment, I noticed that Edward was standing on the other side of high glass panels separating the area. He was still holding bottled water and a sandwich in his hands.

The look in his eyes killed me but his face was expressionless. He shook his head and lifted his right hand, touching the glass with his palm. I could see him mouthing my name but I turned away from him, tears stinging my eyes.

He didn't leave for the next 10 minutes and kept watching me. I didn't dare to look his way and I boarded the plane to London when the time came. I was shaking like a leaf in a vicious thunderstorm and my heart was bleeding but I knew that I was doing the right thing.

I had to fight for the life of my baby and there was only once place in the entire world where I had the chance to survive my pregnancy; Volterra. The vampires there were the only ones who could help. They had experience, money, resources and… they had Aro as their leader.

He was my only chance at survival. My own husband wanted my child dead and I could only guess how other vampires would react. How Jacob and the pack would react. But Aro? He was a curious creature, fascinated with the unknown just like me. I hoped he would be willing to help me – he had found me intriguing before and this situation was so unexpected and so unique that he surely would be fascinated even more.

I smiled grimly and touched my stomach. He was a collector after all.

Next: Bella reaches Volterra and seeks Aro's help. Oh my. Who is interested in another chapter?