More Than Life

Chapter 19

A/N: I can't thank you all enough for the awesome reviews. I'm sad to say that this is the last regular chapter of the story, but the epilogue will be up in roughly two weeks and then perhaps some outtakes. On you go.

....

Seventeen hours. That was how long Bella had been in labor, and I was beginning to freak out. No, fuck that. I was completely freaked out. Everyone had told us that first babies took their time, but seventeen hours was ridiculous. Not that I would mention that to Bella. I'd done that once already and gotten smacked hard on the back of my head. Bella in labor was a cranky, angry Bella. Granted, I would be too if I were in pain for that long.

"Not much longer, Bella," her doctor said after taking a look. "You're at nine centimeters. One more to go and then we can have you start pushing."

"That one centimeter better hurry the fuck up and get here. I want this baby out now!" Bella snarled.

Thankfully, it wasn't too much longer before Bella was fully dilated. As soon as Dr. O'Brien told her to start pushing, she did, crushing my hand in the process. I was fairly certain I would be walking out of the delivery room with a broken hand, but I wasn't going to complain. I couldn't even begin to imagine how painful it would be to give birth, especially when you opted for a natural , yes. Bella had decided that she didn't want any pain meds, but I was betting she was rethinking that decision right about now.

"God fucking dammit, this shit hurts! Never again, Edward! Do you hear me?" Bella shouted at me as she continued to push.

"I hear you, love," I told her, hoping that she didn't mean it. I had loved having a sibling when I was growing up, even though she had been more than annoying at times, and I wanted our boy to have a sibling as well.

After one last push, William Charles Cullen came into the world. All seven pounds, seven ounces of him, and he had a pair of lungs. After the nurse cleaned him up, let me cut the umbilical cord, and weighed him and whatnot, he was given to Bella.

Immediately, she gathered him close, and as I sat beside her, we examined every inch of him. He was fucking perfect. He had a head full of brown hair and big blue eyes that Bella swore would turn green. It didn't matter to me what color they turned out; all that mattered was that he was healthy.

"Here, Daddy," she said. "Hold him for a few minutes."

Gingerly, I took the small bundle from her and gazed down at my son, floored by the emotions running through me. I had a son, and I was a dad. I didn't even try to fight back the tears that welled up in my eyes.

Once Bella had been moved to a regular room, we spent about thirty minutes with our boy before I went to get our family so they could see him. They'd taken up residence in the waiting room of the maternity floor for the past ten hours or so. With a giant ass grin I couldn't get off my face, I headed out to them and told them Bella was ready to see them.

I was practically run over as they all raced down the hall from where I'd come. Rolling my eyes at their antics, I told them to calm the hell down and led the way to Bella's room. Within seconds, Bella was surrounded by Mom, Alice, and Rose while Charlie, Emmett, Jasper, and Dad hung back.

"We'd like you to meet William Charles Cullen. Or Will as we'll call him," Bella said, holding our little guy up so they could see him. I swore I saw Mom's hands twitch at her sides, and I was positive she was using all of her restraint to keep from snatching Will from Bella. Knowing it was inevitable, Bella handed Will over to Mom, and I warned her she had to share him.

"You'll have plenty of time to hog him later," I said.

"Oh, he's so beautiful. He looks just like you did," Mom said as she cuddled Will.