Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 30: Beginnings

Bella

I parked the car in one of the visitor's spots at the hospital. I knew I shouldn't bother Edward at work, but I needed to talk to him and didn't think it could wait.

Edward's residency had been grueling. He worked ridiculously long hours, and our marriage had been truly put to the test. I couldn't imagine how our relationship would have been had I still been in Seattle, and we'd tried to keep it up as together but living separately. I was sure we'd have broken up by this point. It was hard enough living in the same house. He was stressed and tired all the time, and I spent a lot of time alone or with friends. But we were committed to making it work, and we both knew it wouldn't be like this forever. He was planning on joining a pediatric practice once his residency was over in the fall and had already been interviewing for it. Hearing him talk about it made me happy. His face always lit up with excitement.

I took the elevator to his floor and approached the nurse's station to see if I could steal him away for a few minutes. Jessica Stanley was there and came around to give me a hug.

"Hey," she said cheerily, "I didn't know you were coming by today. Edward didn't mention it. I wish I would have known - I have that book I've been telling you about and want to give it to you."

I shrugged. "It wasn't really planned. You know how it goes."

"I know. It's crazy around here. Listen, I'll go let Edward know you're here," she said as she grabbed a clipboard off the counter.

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

She began to walk away down the hallway. "Call me later. I feel like I haven't talked to you forever."

"Yeah, I know. I'll give you a ring and we can grab some coffee." I waved before she turned around.

Things hadn't always been so easy for Jessica and me. She was standoffish when I first met her, and I assumed she didn't like me for some reason. It came out after a few glasses of wine one night that she'd had a crush on Edward when he first moved to San Diego. She even admitted to hitting on him but reassured me he had been very clear about us being a couple. I trusted Edward and she'd apologized profusely for being so judgmental, but it did make me a little nervous at first. He saw her a lot more than he saw me, and it bothered me knowing she'd harbored feelings for him, even old ones. She'd tried reassuring me that she didn't feel that way about Edward anymore, and I believed her, but it was still weird.

Eventually, she and Mike began dating, and it was obvious she was crazy about him. I knew she didn't still want Edward in any other way than as a friend, so it made it easier for us to be friends. She and Mike had actually become good friends of ours, and we saw them often. They had gotten engaged over the holidays and were planning a beach wedding in the fall. I was happy for them – they really did make a great couple.

"I wasn't expecting you." Edward's voice startled me. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

He walked closer and pulled me in for a quick kiss.

I smiled, as I always did when I saw him. My feelings for him were just as strong as they'd ever been. "Do you have a minute to chat?"

"Yeah, sure. Is everything okay?" He had a concerned look on his face as he pulled me into an unused exam room and shut the door behind us.

I was nervous. I'd thought about how I wanted this to go all morning, but now that I was actually here, it was a lot harder than I thought it would be.

"Bella," he said, pulling me from my thoughts, "you're making me nervous. What's going on?"

I sat on the exam table while he watched anxiously. "I'm sorry to barge in on you at work, but I thought this should be done in person, and I didn't know if I'd see you tonight or not before I went to bed."

He shifted his weight, and his brow furrowed.

"Something's come up," I looked down at my hands, which were folded on my knees.

"Fuck, Bella, just tell me. You're freaking me out right now." I looked up into his eyes and could see the stress plain on his face.

"I'm pregnant."

There, that wasn't so hard.

But I was still a mess.

We hadn't been trying to get pregnant so soon. We'd always said we wanted to wait at least a year until Edward was firmly settled in his new practice, but life doesn't always work that way.

I couldn't decipher the look on his face, and that made me nervous. Was he happy? Angry? Disappointed?

"Edward, please say something," I implored. "Now I'm the one who's freaking out."

"Are you sure? I mean…how did this happen?"

I shrugged. "Believe me, I was just as shocked as you are. I have no idea what went wrong with my pills, but I guess nature had other plans for us."

"Yeah…I guess so." He was furiously running his hands through his hair.

"You look disappointed. I know this wasn't planned, but now that I've had a little while to process this, I'm excited. I know you'll be an amazing father. We'll work it out." I kept spewing words, hoping to pacify him.

He pulled me into him and wrapped his arms around me. "You think I'm disappointed? God, Bella, I'm sorry if I made you think that. I'm not disappointed. How could I be? I'm surprised for sure, but I'd never be disappointed."

I felt sighed audibly. "Are you sure?"

He pulled back from the hug and cupped my face in his hands. "Positive. This wasn't what we planned, but we both knew we wanted kids eventually. Now it'll just be a little earlier than we thought." He kissed my forehead and then my lips gently.

"Thank you." I couldn't think of anything else to say. I was so happy he was okay with this.

"I love you. You don't have to thank me. It's enough that you're going to have my baby. That's all the thanks I need."

"Edward," I said, shaking him as he snored softly. "Get up!"

The man slept like a log.

I shook him again. "Edward! I'm serious. You have to get up."

He moaned and pulled me into him, trying to get me to shut up and stop bothering him. I knew this trick. He used it all the time, knowing full well I couldn't resist his charms.

He pulled me into a kiss, but I held my ground, pressing back on his chest. "Babe, I've been having contractions since three in the morning, and I'm pretty sure my water just broke."

He shot up to sitting. "Shit, why didn't you say so? Fuck…are you okay? Do you need anything?" He was so cute when stressed, especially about the baby.

"I'm fine, but we should probably get going."

He'd been great throughout my pregnancy, making sure I was getting plenty of rest and taking care of me. I'd never seen him so overprotective. I teased him constantly: if he could have carried the baby for me, he'd have done it.

He flew out of the bed and began to get our bags together. We'd been packed for weeks, but we still needed to add our toiletries and some clothes.

"How far apart are the contractions?" He yelled from the bathroom as I pulled on a sweatshirt.

"About six minutes…ah…shit…" Just then I was hit with a wave of pain and leaned on the wall for support. Edward came flying around the corner and put his hands tentatively on my arms.

"Just breathe, baby…oh shit…" He looked frantic, which was enough to distract me from the pain temporarily. He'd delivered babies before, but I guess it was different when it was his.

The pain passed, and I continued to get dressed. Soon enough we were on our way to the hospital. I had a few contractions on the way, and Edward tried to comfort me as he drove. He looked like a maniac, and I couldn't help but laugh when I wasn't in pain.

By the time we got to the hospital, Edward had called everyone in the family to let them know it was time. I was in a considerable amount of pain by that point and was hoping to get some painkillers in me.

There was no one more afraid of giving birth than me. I was terrified. I felt like I'd spent nine months waiting for a car crash. Knowing the date that I was going to be in the worst pain of my life instilled fear in me like nothing else. But I also knew the reward would be so worth it. I couldn't wait to see my baby's face and hold him or her in my arms. But I had to get through this first, and I was not good with pain.

"Edward!" I spat, gripping him for dear life. "Get me into a fucking room!"

Edward, not used to my overbearing attitude and blatant cursing, realized I must have been in some serious pain and began trying to pull his weight with his former coworkers to get me admitted.

"Hang on, Bella! They're prepping a room for us now." He didn't know whether or not to touch me and opted against it. It was probably the best bet.

I felt like an alien had taken over my body. I was fickle about what I wanted – one minute I'd ask Edward to rub my back and the next I'd swat his hands away for even coming near me. I felt bad, but it didn't stop me from acting possessed. I was in too much pain.

I curled into a ball and sighed as the worst contraction I'd had thus far faded. I really needed the anesthesiologist. I begged Edward to find out what was keeping him.

After what seemed like forever, my doctor and someone I seriously hoped was the anesthesiologist came into the room. I had never been so happy to see anyone in my life. Sure enough, I was rewarded with an epidural, and finally felt human again. I was actually nice to Edward, but he remained optimistically cautious, unsure if the real Bella was back to stay or not.

After a while, my doctor came back and checked me, telling me the news I'd been dying to hear – I was ready to push. This was the moment I'd been waiting for, and I had never felt so scared and exhilarated at the same time. At last we were going to meet our baby.

I only had to push a few times before the doctor said the head was out. Edward was my rock, keeping me focused and grounded on the task at hand. I was exhausted but knew I needed to stay strong.

I pushed one last, intense time, and the baby came out.

"Congratulations," the doctor said. "It's a girl."

I couldn't stop the tears as I looked up at Edward and saw the look of adoration on his face. A little girl. We had a little girl.

Edward leaned in and kissed me as tears flowed down his face. I'd never seen him cry before.

It was a blur of activity after that as the nurse took the baby to a station located right by my bed. I couldn't see the baby well, only flashes of purple skin as they cleaned her up. All I wanted was to hear her cry, and then, just as I was getting worried, I heard it – a tiny squeal packed with the punch of a very angry little girl.

"Is she okay?" I asked through my tears. "Edward? Is she okay?"

"She's perfect," the nurse said, holding her up and handing her to me.

I held the tiny girl in my arms, noticing the wispy hair on her head. She had a perfect little face. She was perfect.

Edward leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Hello, beautiful," he whispered and then kissed her again.

Edward held our daughter with a reverence I'd never seen before as the doctor finished up with me. I couldn't take my eyes off them. He rocked her and kissed her, and the love he felt for her was so obvious on his face. My heart was full of emotion and love.

When it was just the two of us, he sat on the side of the bed while I held our beautiful baby girl, and we just stared at her, unwrapping her blankets, marveling at the tiny, complete little person, unable to comprehend that she was really here – healthy and beautiful. She was a miracle.

"So, you do know we have to name her," Edward said as he caressed her head. "We can't put it off forever."

We'd been unable to narrow down a name and decided we'd wait and see the baby, and hopefully we'd just know.

"What about Renesmee? You know, combining both of our moms' names?" he asked, chuckling.

"You can't be serious. She'll be tortured for life. You aren't serious, are you?" I caressed my sweet little baby's cheeks. "No, she needs a name she can be proud of."

As I looked into the face of our daughter, I knew.

"I think Elizabeth," I said, looking at Edward. "I think your grandmother would approve."

Elizabeth had been a family name in Edward's family for generations. His grandmother was the most recent. He'd always had a great relationship with her, and we both wanted to honor her in some way.

He smiled and kissed me sweetly. "I think Elizabeth is perfect. But only if she gets a name from your family, too."

"Elizabeth Renee. It's got a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"I do. Elizabeth Renee Cullen. It's perfect."

He scooted up next to me and put his arms around me, kissing my temple. "I was so proud of you today, baby. You always say you're terrible with pain, but you were amazing. I'm completely overwhelmed right now."

"It's pretty surreal, isn't it? I mean, we have a daughter."

"A daughter. Wow."

He rested his forehead on my shoulder. "I love you, Bella. You astound me."

"I love you, too. So much. We've come a long way."

He chuckled. "Yeah, we have. So what happens now?"

It was my turn to laugh. "I have no idea, but whatever it is, we'll do it together as a family."

A/N: Well, that's it. I hope you enjoyed this story. The last chapter was one of my least reviewed chapters, which made me very nervous. You guys still out there? If you've been reading and never left me a review, please do let me know what you thought.

Many, many thanks to Viola Cornuta, my beta, who helped me so much with this fic and always in record time and with a smile. I appreciate it so much. Also, I love my pre-readers for giving me the confidence to post chapters despite my nerves. I have a great team, so thank you!

What's next? I have a new fic in the works called Confidential. I'm really liking it so far, and I hope you'll stick around for that. I have great readers, and I can't wait to see what you think of my new story. It should be up very shortly. Please make sure I'm on author alert so you get notified.

Thanks so much for reading, and with that, I click Complete!