Chapter 42 - Pregnancy

42- Pregnancy

During our wonderful honeymoon we did end up using the tight black bodysuit and thigh high boots Emmett had given us when we went to New York. We also went through the majority of my lingerie, as Edward seemed to delight in ripping it off me- although I found no reason to complain about it. Every night I slept peacefully, dreaming of our twin girls.

We stayed on Isle Esme until I began to get morning sickness, about eighteen days after our arrival. A quick call to Alice confirmed what we had already hoped and suspected- I had conceived on our wedding night. As soon as I started throwing up Edward booked our flights and dragged me back to Forks to ensure that I would remain as healthy as possible during my pregnancy. Alice had assured us that her visions of our children had been solidified and that she could see my pregnancy and the birth of our daughters. That had made us incredibly happy and we had of course celebrated in a particularly intimate way. Nevertheless, Edward and I knew that carrying twin half-vampires would be hard, and that I would soon need the nutrition of the blood bank that the Cullens had built up for the children and me.

Edward constantly vacillated between excitement and worry. Despite Alice's visions, we all knew that there were many things that could go wrong. Edward had kept himself occupied during the time I slept on the island by reading pregnancy and parenting books. Every morning I woke to find him with a new book in his hands. He summarised the most important bits and we read some of them together in between our lovemaking sessions and our exploration of the island.

He cooked for me throughout the honeymoon, constantly plying me with large serves of delicious foods that I just couldn't say no to. He claimed that I needed to put on weight to help me through what was sure to be a hard pregnancy, and I couldn't argue with his reasoning- especially when the food was so good.

When we arrived back at the airport the whole family was waiting for us; anticipation and excitement tangible in the air around them. Alice was bouncing up and down with excitement and Rosalie was tapping her foot impatiently while continually searching for us in the crowd. When she saw us her face lit up, and several of the men near her stoped to stare at the stunning picture she presented.

All of their eyes immediately dropped to my stomach as we neared them and you could see them looking at the very subtle bump I now sported. Edward and I had discovered it a few days ago, and I had joked that with the way he had been feeding me I was probably just putting on weight, but after Alice's call we had stood together in front of a mirror for a while, gazing in awe at the subtle bump where our two miracles lay.

Emmett was the first to congratulate us; he slapped Edward on the back, "Well done man, you knocked up your wife!" He gave Edward a fist bump, and I rolled my eyes at the smug and cocky look on Edward's face- hmph males. The rest of the family congratulated us in a less rowdy manner, all of them beaming with happiness.

We were soon speeding back to Forks, accompanied by Carlisle and Esme. Carlisle began plying me with questions about how I was feeling. "Well, I feel nauseated a lot, and I've had a lot of trouble keeping down my last couple of meals, but other than that I feel fine so far," I answered honestly.

"Good, as soon as we get home we'll get you some blood and hope that helps give you and the babies some nutrients," Carlisle started planning. I nodded in agreement and placed my hands back over Edward's on my tiny bump. Every now and then we would feel the tiniest of flutters from our babies, who were developing fast.

We got home and filled everyone in on some parts of our honeymoon, describing the beautiful island. We also called Volterra to give them the good news that I was pregnant, and Alice informed them of the date for their birth, which she had already seen in her visions. They were delighted with the news, especially Aro and Didyme. They also complemented us on our wonderful wedding, which they had all made sure they did not miss. "It was so beautiful Bella," Didyme said, and her voice was higher than usual.

"The dress was absolutely perfect for you," Heidi complimented us, "And I loved the cake."

I spent a few hours talking to them and catching up. When I finally said goodbye Carlisle came downstairs with a cup. I sniffed and realised that I recognised the rusty, salty smell of blood coming from it. This time though, instead of fainting like I normally did, I felt a yearning for the bright red liquid.

I reached out for it, and Carlisle slowly handed it to me, I looked around to find the entire family watching me intently. I took another sniff of the now delicious smelling liquid and then sipped. As the blood hit my throat I moaned in ecstasy. This was better than chocolate! I gulped the rest down as fast as possible before holding the cup back out to Carlisle with soft begging eyes. "More?" I asked hopefully. He took it from me and chuckled, eyes slightly wide in fascination.

Emmett laughed, "See Bella- I knew you'd love grizzly bears!"

I blushed as I realised they were all watching me with a sort of morbid fascination. Carlisle went back upstairs and returned moments later with the cup refilled. I downed that too, and I finally felt like I had had enough blood. I suddenly realised that I was now craving eggs. "I'm hungry now," I mentioned.

Edward immediately darted up from his place beside me on the sofa, "What would you like love?"

"Eggs please," I grinned at him.

He whipped them up quickly and I dug in eagerly, demolishing the entire plate quickly. This time there was no nausea. I admitted this to them and Carlisle smiled. "It seems you need both while you are pregnant to keep the babies happy." Edward looked pleased that I had not needed to run for the bathroom and regurgitate his cooking this time, and there was a tiny amount of relief in his eyes.

As the sun got ready to set Alice started bouncing. Edward frowned at her. "Alice, what are you hiding?" She smiled innocently at him and refused to answer.

Esme rose from the couch and smiled at us, eyes shining with anticipation. "We have a surprise for you two," she announced. She led us outside. "It's a little way away, so you're going to have to carry Bella, Edward." That was all she would say before I found myself safely ensconced in Edward's arms as we darted through the forest on Esme's heels. Behind us the rest of the family were shadowing us.

We stopped and Edward set me down carefully. I turned and was shocked to find a beautiful little stone cottage in front of us. There were little flower beds framing it, and I immediately fell in love. "Oh, it's beautiful," I breathed in awe.

"It's our wedding gift to you two," Esme beamed at me. "We thought you two would like to have your own space for a while- at least until we move elsewhere."

I hugged her tightly. "Thank you Esme, this is wonderful!" I stepped back into Edward's arms and looked at my little cottage in awe.

"We moved all of your stuff in while you were away, so you should be all set for tonight- we'll let you explore on your own," Carlisle thoughtfully led the others back to the house for the night.

Once they were gone I eagerly grabbed Edward's hands and led him to the door. I stopped their and turned to him, "Do you want to open it?"

His response was to sweep me into his arms as he opened the door and carried me over the threshold. Inside the house was beautiful, yet homey. I could definitely see myself living here with Edward and our children. It was perfect. "Wow," I breathed.

Still holding me, Edward nodded in agreement. "I had no idea they were renovating this place for us," he admitted, "they must have been hiding it extremely well."

The inside of the cottage had high timber ceilings, a rustic fireplace, and smooth stone floors. The furniture included an ottoman, recliners and a couch in the living room, with a bookcase next to the ottoman, already filled with my books. My paintings had been brought over from Charlie's house and were hanging on the walls, making it feel even more like my home already.

The next room was a large nursery. It was already fitted with two matching cots, and an abundance of other necessities. It didn't take much to know that Alice had had a hand in designing this room, since it had a walk-in closet already full of clothes for baby girls. Edward and I chuckled at that, and looked wistfully at the empty cots as we both rubbed our hands over my bump.

Our room was designed to look much like the one on the island. It had a low light timber bed, and glass doors led outside to a daybed on a porch area overlooking a small walled garden and pond. It was perfect. I sighed with happiness. Life could not get any better. I had a wonderful loving husband and family, a perfect home, and two children on the way.

Of course, being held closely in Edward's arms soon had me feeling a little hungry in a different sense of the word. I turned and initiated a kiss that quickly became hot and wet. Edward did not take long to catch on, and appeared to be in complete agreement as he shredded the dress and lingerie I was wearing before leading me to the bed. His own clothes were not far behind, and soon we were breaking in our new bed enthusiastically.

The next morning Edward surprised me soon after my breakfast of blood, steak, eggs and tomatoes. I was back at the Cullen mansion, relaxing with everyone in front of the TV when Edward suddenly disappeared and then reappeared carrying a set of large padded headphones connected to his iPod. I eyed him with confusion. "What's that?"

"It's so that the babies can listen to music," he explained with an excited grin. "Research shows that babies can hear sounds fairly early in development, and that they like the sounds of music- it has proven beneficial effects. I thought they could listen to some of our compositions." Tears came to my eyes as Edward carefully placed the headphones on my developing bump and turned on his iPod. The first song our baby girls ever heard was my lullaby. I felt them move as it played, and I placed Edward's hand on my bump so that he could feel them too. Their flutters seemed to increase with the music. I locked eyes with Edward as tears started streaming down my face. His own eyes were full of awe, joy and love.

From that moment on every time I sat down Edward was picking out songs with me for our babies to hear. After all, we wanted them to have good taste in music when they got older. We also talked to our babies constantly, wanting them to get used to our voices. Of course, once the rest of the family figured out that we were getting the babies used to our voices, they all crowded around to talk to the babies too.

In the evenings though, Edward would carry me back to our cottage, and I would lie out on the day bed watching the reflection of the moon on the garden pond if the night wasn't too cloudy and read my favourite stories to our baby girls with Edward cuddled up to me under an electric blanket rubbing soothing circles on my steadily growing bump.

I still had terrible nausea in the mornings that no amount of blood could soothe, however I soon found that my new craving for chocolate covered ginger helped a lot with keeping my morning sickness from being overwhelming. This meant that Emmett and Jasper were sent to scour every shopping centre in a two hundred mile radius for chocolate covered ginger for me, while a larger bulk order was sent for to be delivered in a week.

I was almost continuously eating the ginger as if it was a drink, and it seemed to be one of my strongest cravings. Edward soon learned that it was best to not get between me and my ginger, as my mood quickly became unpredictable, and I used my ginger to console myself. At times I would snap at Edward, especially if he was hovering- which he did a lot of. Unfortunately, with my mood swings, I also couldn't stand for him to be away from me for longer than about ten minutes before I would break down in tears and worry that he was not going to return to the babies and me. Luckily, Edward had no intentions of leaving me, even when he was due to hunt and I reluctantly agreed to part with him for the day and remain under the strict care of Carlisle and Rosalie, both of whom had medical degrees. Edward refused, and in the end Jasper and Emmett caught a pair of elk for him and brought them back. Edward met them about a mile into the tree line near the house to drink the elk, and I had a shield around him the entire time so that I could feel that he was still near.

As far as my own blood drinking experience went, it appeared that the babies and I shared their father's tastes, as mountain lion quickly became my favourite, although to be fair, grizzly bear blood was a close second.

One surprising development that happened the week after we came back from our honeymoon was the discovery that I craved Edward's venom. Edward had always been careful about the way he kissed me, but as out sex life got steadily more heated with my raging sex hormones he allowed me to take increasing liberties with him. I would often wake during the night to assault my all-too-willing husband, and it was lucky that he did not get tired. I had already had a healthy libido before the honeymoon, but partnered with my pregnancy hormones it had skyrocketed- it didn't hurt that Edward was so good looking either. As a result we soon discovered that I seemed to crave his venom even more than I craved blood. Every day I sucked as much venom out of his mouth as he could produce- which proved to be a particularly pleasurable task that often led to us ripping each other's clothes off and passionately loving one another.

Carlisle theorised that perhaps when I ingested the venom it made me stronger and helped our half-vampires grow, for I always felt better after having Edward's venom, and our babies were always more active afterwards.

Every day I steadily grew noticeably larger, and Rosalie and Alice insisted that my bump be photographed and measured every day. I was now sleeping for around twelve hours a day, and every time I woke I found Edward softly singing or talking to our baby girls. They steadily became more active too- rolling around in my stomach as if it was a wrestling cage.

I called Charlie and Renee a few times and guiltily assured them that Edward and I were doing well and settling into our new house near Dartmouth. We sent them a few pictures of us on the island taken during the rare times that we were actually clothed. I had already registered to do my Dartmouth course online, since I didn't want to waste any time away from our children as they grew up- it would be simple enough to do the work while our children were sleeping at night, and with Edward's help it wouldn't take very long. We were hoping that perhaps in a few years, when I would hopefully be able to be around humans, that I might even be able to invite Renee and Charlie to my graduation ceremony at Dartmouth and they would see me receive my degree. By that time, with a little bronzing makeup they would hopefully attribute the rest of my changes as me simply getting older.

I was a little worried about the change- I was not a big fan of pain, and the idea of voluntarily throwing myself into flames and staying their while a fire burned my body was not a particularly appealing thought, but I wanted to be with Edward and our children forever, and I knew that I could handle anything for them- I would happily burn for an entire year if that's what it would take, but luckily it would only be two days.

I was also a little jealous that for the two days that I would be changing my baby girls would grow significantly and I wouldn't be there to see it. I made the whole family promise to take videos and photos of them constantly during that time. I wasn't worried about harming them after I became a vampire- firstly, they were my children, and I already loved them and knew I could never harm them, and secondly, my Volturi vampires had assured me that the few hybrids they had met had not smelt like food.

As I neared the end of my pregnancy, Edward watched me like a hawk, and I couldn't hide the fact that now I was so large I was distinctly uncomfortable. My size meant that my back and feet were aching, and my bladder was constantly pounded by the movements of the twin- who were particularly strong kickers. One day as I was lying out on the daybed with Edward I felt a particularly hard kick. I winched and rubbed at the spot on my stomach where pain was emanating from.

Edward watched me with worried eyes before talking softly to the babies, his velvet voice soothing them. They stopped kicking and I breathed a sigh of relief. Every day they kicked harder, and I had a few light bruises on my stomach from their efforts now. The only good thing about it was that it meant that they would soon be ready to come out.

Only a couple of months after conception Edward and I found ourselves over at the Cullens after an excited call from Alice. Alice wouldn't tell us what was up, but everyone knew that something important was about to happen by the way Alice was bouncing on the spot, her eyes glowing with excitement. She made us stop for a second and took a photo. Then she ushered me in through the door and sat me down on the couch, dragging Edward to sit beside me. "Sit down," she ordered everyone else. When they had complied she sat on my other side and glanced at the clock. She nodded and looked satisfied. "Now, Bella, please shielded everyone's thoughts from Edward. Everyone else; be very quiet."

I did as I was told, shrouding everyone except Edward in mind shields. I then stayed very still, casting confused glances over at Alice every now and then. All of a sudden Edward gasped and we all turned to look at him. His eyes were glowing, a look of wonder on his face, and a smile that rivalled the one he had worn on our wedding day. He was looking intently at my bump, and he slowly raised a hand and caressed it softly. "Hello my sweet girls, I can hear you now," he crooned to them. I gasped, and when Edward's eyes rose to meet mine I gifted him with a beaming smile to match his own. He could hear our children.

"What are they thinking?" I asked. The rest of the Cullens sat in rapt attention to us.

"They love us all, especially you and me. They seem aware that you are their mother and I am their father, they know our different voices. They adore us and they are so happy." His face was that of a doting father as he continued to caress my stomach over our beautiful little girls.

"Of course you are," I crooned to my babies, "How could you not be happy when you have the most wonderful father and family in the world." After our wedding and honeymoon I had wondered whether I could ever feel happier than at those moments, but this surpassed even that.

"Wow," Jasper breathed. "I didn't notice before, but now that everyone is still and calm I can feel their emotions. Coming from you Bella is your normal amount of love and happiness, but also two more measures of love, happiness, adoration and curiosity." He was smiling, basking in the happy emotions he was feeling from us. I was awed. My talented babies could already think and feel.

"They recognise your voice too Jasper- they love you and from their thoughts they are quite anxious to meet us all," Edward murmured.

Alice nodded in agreement. "Two days," she promised. I was suddenly surprised by how quickly my pregnancy had passed and was a little nostalgic. Sure, I had known that it was going to be a very short pregnancy due to the accelerated growth of the babies, and I never wanted to repeat morning sickness ever again, but I was suddenly worried. My babies would no longer be safe and protected inside me- they would be out in the world, where there were many supernatural creatures that might try to hurt them. Then I relaxed. I knew that neither my Cullen family, nor my Volturi family would allow anything to happen to our baby girls.

"Two days." I repeated and nodded. In two days I would see our baby girls for the first time. Suddenly all my worry vanished in the excitement. I couldn't wait to see them- although I knew it would only be a glimpse before I would need to be changed, but that would be enough to get me though the burning torment I would then face.

The rest of the family took turns murmuring sweet nothings to our babies, and after a while Edward chuckled softly. "They're hungry," he announced. Carlisle immediately disappeared upstairs and reappeared with a cup full of blood. I drank it down quickly and after a moment Edward nodded approvingly. "They're a little happier now, but I think they're after some other food."

"Well since I'm craving a turkey roll and lots of ginger, perhaps that's what they're after," I smirked.

Esme zipped out of the room, and was back as soon as vampirely possible with my food. I wolfed it down, with all of them watching on, and we then continued to take to the newest members of our family. Later on I felt our children settle. "It seems that that was exactly what they wanted love, they're very happily fed now," Edward murmured. "They are taking a nap."

At the world nap I yawned, and Edward felt the change in me as I registered me sleepiness. As quietly as possible we bid our family goodbye and Edward carried me back to our cottage. I fell asleep in his arms only seconds into our journey and woke some time later to find myself tucked up in bed with Edward humming to our girls. A feeling of contentment washed over me as I watched him.

Later that night I finished my human memories photo album that the Volturi had given me. The last photos were a multitude from our wedding- some formally posed, others were fun, like the photo of me smashing cake into Edward's face. My favourite was one of us dancing together. Our bodies were close, and both of us were ignorant to everyone else as we stared intensely into each other's eyes. After the wedding photos were some of our honeymoon, and the very last picture was the one taken by Alice this morning. Edward was standing behind me, hands clasped with mine as they rested on my large bump, and both of us were smiling joyfully at the camera.

The next two days passed far quicker than I had anticipated, and all too soon we were ready for my delivery. Jasper and Emmett had left, not sure that they would be able to able to handle the scent of my fresh blood. Also, none of us wanted Jasper to have to feel the immense pain that I would be in when my change started, so it was Emmett's job to keep him away.

I lay down nervously on the padded table that I our babies would be delivered on. Edward held my hand, his eyes showing his anxiety. I smile weakly at him. "Cheer up Edward- soon we'll be seeing our babies, and in two days I will be a vampire, and nothing will ever be able to separate us- not even death." He smiled half-heartedly in response, and I knew that as while I was changing he would be torturing himself over every wince and scream that I let loose while I burned. "Take good care of our girls while I'm changing." I ordered.

He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it softly. "You know I will, and all three of us will be waiting for you while you change."

Carlisle came in then with Rosalie. They both had a serious demeanour. "Are you ready?" he asked us. I hesitated a second before nodding. "We don't know whether the morphine or even the local anaesthetic for delivery will help you or not, but we'll try anyway." I nodded weakly. I doubted it would help, but it was definitely worth a shot.

"Okay, I'm ready," I clasped Edward's hand tightly for a second before reluctantly releasing it. Carlisle nodded, and they uncovered my large rounded stomach. They put up a small barrier so that I couldn't see them working because there was no way I wanted to see them reach into my stomach and pull out our children.

I felt the slight pinch as needles were injected into me, and then a numb feeling came over my lower body. "How are you feeling?" Carlisle asked.

"I can't feel my lower body at all," I muttered.

"Good," I took it to mean that this was supposed to happen.

I couldn't feel when Carlisle made the incision, but I knew when he called Edward away from my head what was supposed to happen next. I felt a slightly tingling start as Edward sunk his teeth into the hard protective membrane that held our children. From Aro we had learned that the protective membrane was as strong as a vampire's own skin, and could only be torn through by the sharp teeth of the child, or another vampire.

All I could feel was a burning tingle somewhere below me, but as I was still numb I couldn't locate it, and so far it was not bad enough to distract me from the fact that my babies were coming out. I listened anxiously, and finally I heard it- loud twin cries. I gasped as the last tears I would ever shed ran down my face. Carlisle quickly stitched my stomach, covered it and pulled down the screen while Edward and Rosalie cleaned up our girls.

"How are you feeling now Bella?"

"So happy Carlisle," I ignored the slight burning I was now feeling as Edward and Rosalie brought our seconds-old babies to me.

Just like the pictures Alice had drawn, our babies were absolutely beautiful. They already had little crowns of light chocolate hair, and as they opened their eyes I saw their stunning hazel irises; the perfect blend of milk chocolate and emerald green. I smiled exultantly up at Edward. "We did it Edward- look at our little miracles!"

He was glowing as he gazed adoringly at them. "I know love- they're perfect."

He placed them both in my arms, and I looked adoringly down at my daughters. They were incredibly warm to hold. "Welcome to the world Carlie Rosemary Cullen, and Jenna Renesme Cullen," they both gazed up at me, and I could already read the love in their eyes. I sighed as I reluctantly handed them both over to Rosalie and Carlisle. Already I could feel the tingling burn in my stomach start to accelerate. It was time for me to change. "Goodbye my darlings- I'll see you again soon," I whispered as they were taken to meet the rest of the family and be fed from the blood stores we had collected.

I watched until they were out of the room before looking at Edward. "I love you," I reminded him.

He smiled softly, "And I you."

I closed my eyes as he injected more morphine all over my body, and I could feel myself becoming extremely drowsy. I opened my eyes for him to give me a soft and loving kiss before he plunged a syringe of venom into my heart. Almost immediately the burning tingle in my stomach was superseded by a raging inferno in my chest. I clamped my mouth shut before a scream could escape and locked my jaw. I tried not to moan in pain as Edward quickly bit my wrists, thigh, neck and legs, forcing more venom into my body. When he finished I closed my eyes before he could read the pain and agony in them. I was determined to not make a sound during my change- I would not have Edward suffer with me.

The fire roared viciously and ruthlessly through my body, and I was certain that my happiness these past few months was being repaid now with this intense agony I was going through.

It was hard to keep my mind focussed away from the immense pain, but I managed by thinking of Edward, Charlize and Jemma- the three most important people in my world. Vaguely I felt him pick me up, and I knew he was moving me to his room- we had planned this. He placed me down lightly only moments later, and I could feel him changing me into some comfortable sweats and one of his shirts. Wonderfully he began to talk- giving me something stronger to focus on.

EPOV

I lay beside her, stroking her hair softly. Despite the fact that she hadn't screamed, I knew from Jasper that she was in pain, but Jasper had although told me through his thoughts that she still seemed slightly aware.

"I don't know if you can hear me right now, but I remember hearing the minds of Rosalie and Emmett as they changed, and sometimes they could understand us, so I want you to know that I can hear our family downstairs- Emmett and Jasper are back and have met our beautiful girls, Jasper managed to come inside for a little while- he says your pain is not near the threshold of the newborns he felt when he was in the southern wars- so I guess that makes me feel a little better." It really did help to know from Jasper that she was not suffering as much as I remember my change had.

"Our babies appear to have definitely inherited my tastebuds love, because they already have a preference for mountain lion over deer." It was amazing to hear our daughters' thoughts as they tried blood for the first time, and hear the adoring thoughts of my siblings and parents as they gathered around to watch them. "Carlisle is trying to give them baby formula right now, but they seem to think it smells horrible," I chuckled, and downstairs I could hear more laughter as they heard me.

I continued giving her a play-by play of Carlie and Jenna for the first few hours, until our girls eventually fell asleep in the arms of their doting aunt Rosalie and grandmother Esme. I concentrated on Bella then. Already her skin was hardening, and I could see her changing.

Alice soon skipped through the door, a bright smile on her face. I raised an eyebrow questioningly, but she ignored me and came over to hold Bella's hand. "Good news Bella. I don't know how or why, but by this time tomorrow you'll have completed your change- less than 20 hours to go now."

My head shot up in surprise and hope. "Really?" Downstairs I could hear the incredulous thoughts of my family.

Alice grinned. "Yes," she showed me her vision of Bella waking as a vampire tomorrow.

I sighed in relief. That meant even less time that Bella would have to suffer through the burning pain.

Carlisle zipped into the room- eyes bright with the knowledge of a new discovery. "Perhaps with all the extra venom you injected, and the fact that she has already been ingesting your venom for the last few months has increased her change," he theorised.

"That makes sense," Alice agreed. "I didn't see this coming because the last time I looked for Bella's change was just after you got back from Isle Esme- before she started drinking your venom, and now when I look her change takes less than a day."

"I don't really care how or why it happened, I'm just grateful that her change will be fast," I admitted.

As they went back downstairs to watch our soundly sleeping babies, I turned on my stereo and selected Bella's lullaby. I hoped it would soothe her, but at the very least it soothed me. "Darling, I suppose you should be happy to know that our babies are both dreaming of you and I, and the rest of our family, but we are already showing up more than the others in their dreams. They are very comfortable and happy, and already they are sleeping soundly. I suppose since I can hear both of their thoughts clearly, that means that neither of them have inherited your mind shield, and since I can't hear the thoughts of anyone else through them they haven't inherited my telepathy either. I'm happy about that- it's not an easy thing to have to listen to everyone's thoughts all the time, but you make it far more bearable for me love. I'm not sure how happy our daughters will be when they grow up and I can still hear their thoughts though Bella, I'm sure there will be some things they won't want their father to know, and if they ever find mates, I hope you'll shield their thoughts because there are some things I will never want to hear in my baby girls' minds." I chuckled dryly.

I kept her updated and talked to her the whole time. When the twins woke up the next day after a solid eight hours of sleep, I gave her running commentary on their thoughts, as well as what the rest of the family was thinking, much to their amusement. I told her about how they had already grown to look weeks old instead of less than a day old, and how Carlisle was measuring them regularly, so that we would have an accurate record, since the only previous knowledge was from memories Aro had gained from South American vampires.

As Alice had predicted, I could soon hear Bella's heart racing as her change neared completion. "You're almost done now love," I assured her. Downstairs Jasper, Emmett and Carlisle offered to come up and help me in case she went wild, but Alice and I assured them that she would be fine. Bella's heart beat sped up and then stopped. I watched anxiously as Bella gasped, sucking in her first breath as a vampire.

Slowly she opened her blood red eyes.