Unfamiliar

[Taniya_K]

You put me to shame

Hehe... Well, you could always update!

Anyway, thank you all for such lovely comments! I really hope you like this chapter. I loved writing it!

Chapter 11:

Her sense of smell was the first thing that came to her as she awoke. Even though her bedroom door was closed, Belle could smell the pungent coffee before her eyes opened and before she got to stretch or roll over onto her back in her empty bed. Another second, and the strong scent made her stomach lurch. Taking a couple of deep breaths, she tried to push away the urge to throw up. Unfortunately for her, her mind was being overruled by her hormones causing her to jump right out of bed and straight towards the bathroom, which she was incredibly glad to find empty.

Belle emerged into the living room almost half an hour later after emptying the contents of her stomach, which wasn’t much, vigorously brushing her teeth and washing away any reminder of her morning sickness. She swallowed deeply as the coffee smell hit her once again. Heading straight into the kitchen, her mind focused on her regulated breathing, Belle took the half full coffee pot and held it at an arm’s length as she poured it down the sink.

“Uh… Belle?” Geoff began attentively. Him and Annie had been sitting at the table, having breakfast before she had to go to school, when they saw their big sister enter the room without even acknowledging them. “What are you doing?”

“Getting rid of all the coffee.” She replied tonelessly, all of her attention being put into trying to keep her stomach calm. Once all of the prepared coffee was gone, she replaced the pot before finding the coffee packs and stuffing them all into a plastic bag.

“Belle!” Annie exclaimed as she watched her do so before seeing her throw it all into the bin. “You can’t do that!”

“Well, I just did.” She muttered back, checking all of the other cupboards to make sure there was nothing left.

“There are 3 other people who live here too, you know?” Geoff added.

“Yeah, well, I’m the eldest one here and I’m pregnant, therefore what I say, goes.” Belle snapped, slamming all of the doors shut to get rid of her frustration of the fact that, even with all of the coffee gone, her stomach was still churning.

“So what are we supposed to do then?” Annie questioned her as she placed her bowl into the sink.

“Go to the Diner.”

“Just for coffee?”

“If you don’t want to go to there for coffee, then I guess you can just do without.” Belle snapped as the other two looked at each other curiously behind her back.

“Ok, then.” Annie simply said. “Don’t you have work, Belle?”

“From home today.” She sighed as she pulled out some milk and bread from the fridge. It was Wednesday and her first scan was that afternoon. When she had let her work know, they had first given her the day off, which she refused to take, before telling her that there would be no point in going in so they settled for her to work from home for the day.

“Oh, right, the scan.” Annie recalled as Belle nodded distractedly as she prepared her drink. “Excited?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Her tone was still distant and she saw a slightly hurt look pass over Annie’s face at her vague answers. “I’m sorry, Annie. I’m just trying to focus on not trying to throw up so I’m going to be pretty much in my own world for a bit.”

“Um…” Annie was unsure as to how to reply to that. “That’s ok. I need to head off to school anyway.”

“I’ll walk with you. I’m going to have to go to the Diner now that we have no coffee.” Geoff stated.

“Sorry.” Belle said awkwardly. Now that her annoyance had died down a bit, she realised just how drastic her actions had been, not that she regretted them. If it meant that she wouldn’t have to wake up to that ever again, then it would be well worth the guilt she was sure they would make her feel over the following weeks.

---

“She did what?” Irene exclaimed as Geoff stood at the counter, explaining the situation to Roman and Aden who were both there when she walked past, only able to catch a slight snippet of his words.

“She threw it all out.” He told her. “All of it. In the bin.”

“Oh, my Godfather!” She said, exasperatedly. “Did she say why?”

“I think that’s a bit obvious, Irene.” Roman supplied as both him and Aden continued to laugh.

“And because she’s the eldest and the pre-” Geoff cut himself off at the stern looks he received, remembering just where they were. Although the Diner wasn’t too busy right then, there were still people around and even if one of them overheard what he was about to say, he would have been dead in a matter of seconds. “Anyway, she just got rid of it all and basically told us to deal with it.”

“Nice.” Aden commented with a smirk.

“You practically live at our house, Aden. This means none for you either.” He informed him with a slight scoff.

“Um… When was the last time you saw me drink coffee over there?” He replied, holding up the take-out cup of coffee he held in his hand. Ever since Belle had gone off coffee, she had made him do the same. He wasn’t sure if she knew that he would go to the Diner every morning to get his fix before lectures or whether she was just ignoring it. Either way, he was happy.

“Mate, shouldn’t you be heading off?” Roman spoke up as Irene left them, clear that the conversation was over for the time being. Aden glanced at his watched before frowning.

“Yeah, I guess so. I‘ll see you later then.” He said while walking out from behind the counter where he had helped himself to the drink.

“Alright. Good luck with everything this afternoon.” Roman called after him.

“Thanks.”

---

Belle’s foot jiggled uncontrollably as she sat in the plastic hospital chair. She wasn’t sure what had possessed the person who had placed the uncomfortable chairs there in the prenatal wing of the hospital. Out of every single section of the hospital, she thought that it would have been smart to give these women something better to sit on rather than the ugly, pre-school type chairs that made her actually contemplate standing up instead.

Sighing, she looked at the phone in her hand, seeing that it was 1.55pm. Their appointment was at 2, and Aden was nowhere to be seen. He had assured her last night and early that morning that he would be there, that he wasn’t going to miss the first chance to see their baby. But now, as she let her eyes wander around the room, her anger built up at him. Belle had sent him several text messages, getting the same reply as always. He’ll be there. He got out of his last lecture late. That he was stuck in traffic.

Eyes closing for a moment to stop herself from breaking something, she wondered why it was on that day that Aden had seemed to get all the bad luck. She smiled briefly at the couple who sat in the corner opposite her. The woman was clearly way more further along in her pregnancy than she was, and Belle was fairly certain that she must have been having twins or something. Remembering what Amanda had told her about how she hadn’t shown until late, and even then she had carried low, Belle was glad that that would be one less thing to worry about because she had seen some of the maternity clothes and they were not her style at all.

Another couple sat nearer to her. They were a bit older and Belle could tell by their calm faces that this was not going to be their first child. Feeling her eyes on them, they both looked over at her, politely smiling at her before going back to their conversation that they had been having. She knew what they were thinking about her. Their smiles were small and almost forced, portraying sympathy and a bit of pity. Making assumptions that, because she sat there alone and anxious, she was a poor, knocked up teenager.

A frown made its way to her face as she set her eyes onto the floor, not wanting to go off at anyone. She wasn’t any of those thing. Ok, so she might have been ‘knocked up’ but she sure was not ‘poor’ nor a teenager. The only person who they should feel sorry for was Aden, because if he didn’t get there soon, Belle wasn’t sure what she was going to do to him.

Getting up, she moved over to near the stairwell, making sure that she was nearby in case the nurse called her, but far away from anyone’s prying ears. Pressing ‘2’ on her speed dial, Belle decided that the only way she was going to get definite answers was to actually speak to Aden, rather than through messages. She hadn’t called him up until now because she didn’t want to seem like she was nagging him, but he was cutting it close now and the excitement of having her first scan was being overtaken by fear of having to do it alone.

”Belle, I-” Aden said as soon as he answered the phone.

“Where on Earth are you?” She interrupted him, not caring about what he was going to say.

”I‘m about 20 minutes away. The road‘s clear, so I‘ll be there soon.” Belle knew that he was telling the truth. She could hear the sound of the car speeding past other cars and bushes as he probably hurried to get there.

“20 minutes is going to be late, Aden!” She snapped nonetheless, her voice still low as she saw some hospital personnel walk past.

”I know, babe, but it‘s not entirely my fault. I promise I‘ll be there.” Aden assured her as she exhaled deeply, rubbing her forehead with her other hand while leaning against the wall.

“Fine. It’s almost 2, but there’s a lot of other things to do before the actual scan-”

”I‘ll be there. I‘m not going to miss it, Belle. Not for the world, ok?” His voice was so gentle and soft that Belle couldn’t stop the smile breaking out on her face.

“Yeah, well, make sure you don’t. Because if you do, you’re never going to see your child again, you got it?” She replied, her words tinted with a slight scowl as her smile faded.

”I‘ll be there, Belle!” Aden repeated to her urgently.

“Alright.” She sighed. “I’m gonna go now. Be here soon.”

”I will be.” He said determinedly. ”See you soon.”

Hanging up on the phone, Belle saw the time in the corner of the screen, showing her that it was now 2:03pm. She went back to where she had been sitting. Doctor’s appointments were never on time, she knew that, and for once she thanked God that was true.

---

The time on her watch showed that it was a minute past 2:30pm, with Aden still nowhere in sight. She sat on the edge of the bed in the examining room as the doctor asked her a load of routine questions. The main ones were about her diet, especially as she was vegetarian. Belle answered them in much detail as she could as she sipped the water that she had been given. Apparently she needed a full bladder for this scan, and just knowing that was wearing her thirst down.

“What about your medical history? There doesn’t seem like anything to worry about here.” Dr. Reed told her as she read though her file. The doctor was a kind woman, about 30ish, Belle guessed, with a subtle beauty and aura to her that made her feel more relaxed.

“I don’t think so…” She murmured.

“Family history?” Dr. Reed prompted her, looking at her from her position opposite her, leaning casually against a chair.

“Uh…” Belle thought about anything that she might be able to recall Amanda telling her, but nothing came to mind. She had never had that kind of conversation before. “I don’t know. I was… I haven’t spoken to my mother about that.”

“Ok, well I suggest you do.” The doctor replied. “Most women find that their pregnancy is quite similar to their mother’s so it can be useful to have some warnings of some things. And family medical history is important too, especially if your mother had any difficulties during her pregnancy, or if there are any major illnesses common.”

“Alright, I’ll ask.” Belle told her. She didn’t know if she was going to enjoy that conversation with Amanda. On the one hand, knowing what to expect seemed good, and her mother had already told her some things, but on the other hand, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to know if there was any chance of there being something wrong with her baby. Of course, she wanted to know if there would be something wrong so that they could sort it out as soon as possible, but she wanted to remain in her state of happiness for a while longer.

“And what about the father?” The doctor asked her carefully as Belle shuffled a bit.

“I-” Belle cut herself off, trying to think about anything that Aden might have told her about his family. The only things that she could think of was the fact that his dad was an alcoholic and his grandfather wasn’t even describable. Belle didn’t even know much about his mother except that she was the glue that had held his family together before dying in a car crash. “I don’t know.”

“That’s alright. We mainly asked these questions at the first appointment so that the parents can get prepared and have enough time find out.” She said with a smile before putting her file to one side. “So how’s it going with the water?”

“I don’t think I can drink anymore.” She replied with a heavily sigh. The arm that was always wrapped protectively around her waist moved to place her hand on her stomach, rubbing it gently to ease the bloating feeling she felt.

“Ok, then I guess we’re ready for the scan.” Dr. Reed told her with such enthusiasm that elation ran through Belle. This was it; she was about to see her baby for the first time. And she was still alone.

Belle had gotten over being annoyed and angry at Aden, moving onto feeling more hurt and disappointed. Deep down, she knew that it wasn’t his fault that everything else was making him late, but it didn’t stop how she was feeling. This was something that they were supposed to be experiencing together, however, as the doctor prepped her for the scan, she was alone.

Dr. Reed began to explain to her what it is that she was going to be doing, how it was going to be done and why as Belle sat upright with her legs stretched out in front of her. She was glad for the distraction and the stalling, taking up an extra 5 minutes. It was just as she was instructed to lay down that there was a knock on the door. The person on the other side waited until Dr. Reed confirmed with her to let whoever it was in.

“Hey…” Aden’s soft voice reached her ears as she sat up straight once again. “Sorry I’m late.”

“You must be Aden.” Dr. Reed said kindly, smiling at him as he rounded the bed to come stand next to Belle.

“Yeah, that’s me.” He gave her his typical smile that Belle couldn’t help but roll her eyes to. “Have I missed anything?”

“Nothing entirely important.” The doctor replied, although his eyes were more fixed onto his girlfriend who was shooting daggers at him. He knew that she would be mad, but he thought that he might get out of it seeing as there was nothing she could do with other people around, and by the time they left, she’d be more caught up with the scan than anything else. “At least, nothing that you would deem important. Just give me a minute to grab some gloves and tissues and we‘ll get started.”

As she walked over to the cabinets on the far end of the room, Aden turned his body inwards to face Belle, who still had a frown on her face and a dangerous look on her face.

“I said I would be here, didn’t I?” He reminded her.

“Enjoy it while you can, Aden. Because when we get home, I’m gonna make sure that you will never have another kid after this one!” Belle told him in a low and controlled voice. Even as he guessed that she was extremely pissed off with him, he couldn’t stop the small smile escaping at her fiery words. Not wanting to earn himself another threat, or something even worse, Aden simply nodded, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek before she pushed him away.

Before she got the chance to do or say anything more, Dr. Reed made her way back, instructing Belle to lay back down onto the bed. Doing as she was told, she kept her eyes focused on the ceiling as she felt the doctor move her top slightly so that her abdomen was showing. As the cool air passed over her bare skin, Belle felt more vulnerable than ever. Her maternal instincts were kicking in, telling her to put some kind of barrier between her stomach and the world, to protect her baby from anything that might just harm it, even though she knew that it was highly unlikely right then.

Reaching out, Belle grabbed a hold of Aden’s hand, pushing aside her previous feelings. Not having to wait a second for him to entwine their fingers together, she fought the smile that threatened to break out at the instant feeling of safety that swept over her. This was why she needed him there. It wasn’t just so that she had someone to experience all this with and to assure her, but to do the things that she couldn’t, including giving her the protection that spread to their baby, even as she laid her with her stomach exposed to anyone and anything.

A cold sensation on her stomach made her gasp, breaking out of her thoughts as she heard the other two chuckled lightly, although Aden’s wasn’t politely hidden from her. She gave him a dark look as Dr. Reed started to explain to them what it was that she was going to be doing just before she placed the cool hand-held scanner onto her exposed area. She involuntarily sucked in a breath, she stomach curving inwards for a second before apologizing and exhaling.

“That’s alright.” She chuckled, giving her a soft smile before turning back towards the screen. “Ok, so firstly, I’m going to try and locate the foetus. Hopefully, it will be perfectly positioned, but it can take a bit of time to find at times.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Belle saw Aden grimace slightly at the word ‘foetus’. She knew why. ‘Foetus’ was a more scientific, impersonal word for their baby, and she had to admit that it did take away the special significance that the word ’baby’ had. It sounded more like an actual person, calling it a baby rather than a foetus, which sounded like something that could be used for scientific experiments.

Belle turned her head to look at Aden. As the monitor where the scan was being transmitted was facing away from her at that moment so that Dr. Reed could do what she needed to, she was starting to get restless. She knew that Aden could get a glimpse of whatever there was on the screen from were he stood, leaning against the bed slightly. There was a chair right next to him, but telling him to take it would be a waste of breath, Belle could tell from the focused look on his face. He would much rather be standing there, standing over her and the baby, ready to do anything that he might need to, but at the same time, try and get a peek at the scan.

“Alright,” Dr. Reed began with a grin, making Belle look back at her. “Well, everything looks ok. From the measurement, I can roughly guess that you’re about 7 weeks pregnant, give or take a week.”

“7...” Belle murmured, and the elder lady could tell that she was working out when the baby would be due early the following year.

“Yeah. So, would you like to see your baby, then?” She asked the two of them, who both nodded without a second’s hesitation.

Turning the monitor around so that they both could see it, Belle could feeling her pulse begin to race, as the wand over her stomach moved slowly to try and find her baby once again. Squeezing Aden’s hand in hers, she kept her eyes focused onto the screen, not sure what to look for in the midst of the white and black pictures.

“There. Can you see it?” She questioned the expectant parents gently. Watching them for a second, she saw them exchange a look, a sheepish smile coming onto both of their faces that told her the answer.

“No.” Aden spoke up with a smirk as Belle faced the screen once again.

“Most people can’t the first time.” Dr. Reed chuckled lightly. “Ok, see here? This darker shade of grey?” The other two nodded and she pressed the freeze button on the monitor to keep that picture. “That’s your baby.”

“Tha-” Belle couldn’t get the reset of the words out of her mouth as she stared at the image before her.

“It’s so tiny.” Aden whispered, his eyes set on the same image. He was pretty sure that he wouldn’t be tearing his eyes away for a while now.

“It won’t be for long.” Dr. Reed assured him, placing the scanner back onto the stand and wiping away any excess gel from both it and Belle‘s abdomen. “I’ll give you two some time alone and go get those papers for you.”

Neither one of them were able to process her words or even her actions as she left. Belle let go of his hand and pushed herself up in the bed, pulling the monitor closer to the bed before skimming her fingers delicately over the image as if making sure it was actually real, actually there.

“Look.” Her voice was low and filled with awe as she grabbed a hold of Aden’s hand once again, her eyes never falling away from the screen.

“I see, Belle.” Aden’s voice was just as thick with emotion; the words would have been barely audible to anyone else, not that they would have noticed anyone else right then.

“It’s our baby.”

“That it is.” He agreed and she could hear the smile in it. The smile with a hint of pride and the omnipresent tone of love.

“We’re having a baby.” Belle said slowly, tears blurring her vision as she quickly got rid of them, not wanting anything to ruin the moment. Just looking at the image, so small and still, so plain and simple, made everything else in her head, and in her world, vanish. They were going to have a baby. ‘They’ as in in her and Aden.

“You just clocked on, sweetheart?” He replied in his normal, cheeky manner. It made her laughed, like always, facing him for a second before turning back to the image. The image of their baby. The one that she had been so scared of having to rearrange her entire future for, all her plans and dreams.

But as she kept on looking at it, knowing that it was growing inside of her and that with every second that passed, it grew just that bit more, she couldn’t remember why she was so scared. Sure, becoming a mother still scared the Hell out of her, but the worry and stressing about trying to keep her future intact stopped. All of a sudden, her future became clear once again. Belle could see it, just like she had been able to see the old future two months ago. Except this one was better, brighter and, somehow, happier. It had her baby in it, the same one she was looking at, the same one that her and Aden couldn’t stop looking at. If this was how they acted to a scan of their child, she wondered how it would be when it was born. When they could hold it and feel it. She knew right then that she never wanted to let this child of hers out of her sight. And if that meant giving up her career, so be it.

“We’re having a baby.” She repeated, her fingers still caressing the frozen picture on the screen. “It’s so much more real now. It’s there. Right there.”

“Actually, it’s right here.” Aden told her, using his free hand to place onto her now covered stomach. Finally looking away, Belle dragged her hand down from the screen and put it on top of his, realising just how true he was. That image was a good 5 minutes old. Who knows how much their baby may have changed in that time?

“I love you.” Belle said in a quiet voice, almost mouthing the words to him. She saw him smile subtly at her words.

“I love you, too.” Aden replied, leaning forwards to press a kiss to her temple before whispering in her ear. “Both of you.”

---

Hehe...

Sorry, I just really liked writing this chapter for some reason.

Hope you all enjoyed it!

xoxo

[Taniya_K]

Have a feeling Aden was up to something other than just lectures before the scan?

Hehe, unfortunately this time there's nothing else going on there. It was just a really unlucky day for Aden.

I realised that I've been lacking in fluff recently, so I thought I'd put this in. Just to get back to basics.

Enjoy!

Chapter 12:

“How about ‘Jennifer?”

“Too common.”

“’Elizabeth’?”

“Too posh.”

“’Bella’?”

“I’m not naming the kid after me, Aden.” Belle told him exasperatedly. They were in her room, and after her scan two day ago, Aden had decided that it was a good a time as ever to think of names. So now he laid, head resting against her legs as she stretched out along the bed, trying to get some work done.

“It doesn’t have to be that obvious.” He comments, flicking through the name book that he held up above him so that he could read it. “Like ‘Isabelle’ or ‘Clarabella’.”

“’Clarabella’? Is that even a name?” She asked him, incredulously.

“Yup, means bright, clear and beautiful.” He read out the description of the name to her as she screwed up her nose a bit.

“I don’t like it. It sounds so…”

“What?” Aden questioned, trying to find another name to throw at her.

“I dunno… it’s just not suiting.” She finally said before getting back to her work.

“Alright, how about ‘Arabella’. You have to admit, that’s a nice name. Stands for an eagle heroine… Yeah, I don’t know what that means, but it sounds pretty.” Aden kept talking, knowing that her attention was only half focused on him.

“Yeah, it’s alright.”

“Or even ‘Tinkerbelle’. That’s pretty too.” He said with a smirk, waiting for the words to sink in to her.

“I’m not even going to comment on that, Aden.” She told him a moment later, not even bothering to look up at her. “Find something that won’t get out child teased hopelessly.”

“Ok, so maybe not ‘Tinkerbelle’.” He paused, letting his hands fall down to rest on his chest with the book as she thought. “How about ‘Ariel’? Or ‘Jasmine’? Would ‘Cinderella’ be pushing it?”

“Aden! They’re all pushing it! No Disney princesses.” She informed him in a stern voice, watching as a small pout formed on his face, ever as he kept on staring up.

“But you’re named after a Disney princess.” He pointed out, finally looking at her as she pursed her lips having no response to that.

“Why do you know the names to Disney princesses, anyway?” Belle asked him in a teasing voice. His face became neutral as he tried to think of an answer that wouldn’t be used against him.

“Because.”

“That the best you can come up with?” She laughed at his dark look. “It’s alright; your secret’s safe with me.” Belle winked at him cheekily, causing him to get back to reading the book.

“Ok, what about ‘Aurora’? It’s the Greek Goddess of the dawn.” Aden tried, looking at her from the corner of his eyes. Although the laptop open on her lap obscured his view a bit from where he was, it could see her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to focus on her work. “You can’t dismiss that one.”

“She’s still a character out of a child’s movie.”

“Fine.” He sighed, finding himself another page. The main reason why he had bought that book in particular was because of how up to date it was, and the fact that in the back, there were several pages of tables which listed names that were similar in meaning, origin or rhymed. “Hmm… ‘Athena’? ‘Helena’, ‘Hera’, ‘Perseph-’”

“Ok, Aden, stop naming Greek Goddesses!” Belle finally snapped, the reaction that he was long expecting. “I know that you can read and all, but at least think about what you’re saying!”

“I am thinking!” He retorted. “They’re really pretty names.”

“But they’re really well known.”

“Meaning?” Aden asked her, looking over the computer to see her face.

“Meaning, that as lovely as those names are, I don’t want to name my kid any of those.”

“Let me get this straight. You don’t want a name that’s too common, too posh, too old, or that’s well known?” He listed.

“Yeah.” Belle’s attention didn’t stray from her work once, glad that she was almost done.

“So what do you want the name to be? Because I think that list would be shorter.” Aden rolled his eyes are her commands.

“I don’t know. Just not that.” She replied, distractedly as he sighed once again. “Look, keep going. I won’t disagree to everything you say.”

“Doesn’t seem like it.” He muttered, only to receive a jolt as she bounced her leg. “Ow!”

“Sorry.” Her sickly sweet voice showed just how sorry she really was. Aden ignored it, not wanting to get on her wrong side while she was trying to work. Flipping through the book once again, he stopped at a random page that was stained pink in the corner, indicating it was the girls’ section.

“’Scarlett’.” He read the first name on the page. “That’s a powerful name. And it’s not posh or common or anything like that.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Belle shuffled a little, biting the inside of her cheek that showed Aden that she was holding something back.

“What now?”

“It’s a colour. I don’t want a word for a name.”

“Explain.” Aden exhaled heavily once again. He wasn’t sure if it was because he had been staring at the book for the past 30 minutes, or because Belle was being so picky, but this was starting to grate on his nerves now.

“Scarlett’s a colour, and I want a proper name for a name. Not something that has about a million other definitions for it, or can be used in a sentence.” She informed him, finally done with her work.

“You mean like ‘Belle’?” Aden flicked through the book once again, going right to the beginning to the ‘B’ section. “French version of ‘Bella’, both meaning beautiful.”

“Ok, so maybe I’m being hypocritical, but this is just how I feel. I want something unique and different.” Belle told him, placing her laptop to one side.

“Like I’ve been suggesting.”

“But not something that will probably end up with our child resenting us.” She carried on. “Like naming it after a cartoon character or a Greek Goddess. Speaking of which,” She added before Aden got another word in. “Why are you only looking at girls’ names?”

“Because they’re fun to look at?” He said with a small smile, facing her to see her give him a sarcastic smile. “Nah, because I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be a girl.”

“Aden, you don’t know that.” She said with a roll of the eyes.

“I know, which is why I said I’ve got a feeling.” Aden replied slowly.

“Why, exactly, do you have a feeling that it’s going to be a girl?”

“I dunno. It’s just instinct, you know?” He said, shrugging his shoulders casually.

“Alright, but the chances are that it’s gonna be a boy now that you’ve jinxed it.” Belle giggled as he just raised an eyebrow at her. “What? Aren’t I allowed to be superstitious?”

“Whatever.” He grumbled. “I say it’ll be a girl. So, back to names?”

“Go on, then.” Belle shuffled down on the bed a bit, making Aden lift up his head for a moment before laying it back down, now resting against her thigh. She had to admit that this closeness and casualness gave her a strange sense of serenity.

“Give me a letter.” Aden instructed her and she gave him the first one that came to her.

“’M’.” He found the page with ease, and she could see the annoyance on his face as he skimmed the names.

“You’ve pretty much crossed out like ¾ of these names, do you know that?”

“Isn’t that a good thing? At least now it won’t be so hard to make a choice.” Belle reasoned with him as he tilted his head to a side slightly, not that she could see it properly.

“’Alright, how about ‘Maya’?”

“Yeah, that’s ok.”

“You don’t like it.” Aden stated, picking up on her passive tone. “Ok, let’s look at more.” He skimmed the rest of the page before letting out a small laugh. “Huh, people would name their kids ‘Miami’.”

“No names of places either, Aden.” Belle warned him, feeling him slump back a bit against her at her words.

“Fine, I guess that knocks ‘Sydney’, ‘Adelaide’ and ‘Paris’ off the list then.” He sighed dramatically, a small smirk appearing on his face.

“Why would you want to name our child ‘Paris’ anyway? That’s just social suicide.” Belle told him.

“I guess so… What about ‘Marissa’? You can’t argue with that.”

“What’s it mean?”

“Star of the sea.” Aden read, in a soft voice that made the name sound even better than she had first thought it to be.

“Yeah, alright, that is pretty.” Belle gave in, finally accepting one of the names that he suggested.

“Thank you!” He exclaimed, enthusiastically. “Finally, we have one! Ok, next letter?”

“I dunno… ‘S’.”

“Excellent. I’m taking it that Susan’s crossed off the list too?” Aden joked, earning another slap to the head.

“What gave it away?” She said dryly.

“So… ‘S’. Hmm..” He murmured some of the names, barely loud enough for her to hear until he found some that he liked. “’Sadie’?” Belle just shook her head and she could tell that he saw it. “’Sami? That’s different.”

“What’s it mean?

“Praised for.” He informed her as she struggled to decide. “Maybe?”

“Yeah.” She agreed, glad that he wasn’t fighting her on any of these.

“’Sapphire’ is nice, but that’s a gem and a colour…” Aden moaned teasingly at her. “’Shay’?”

“Sounds like a boy’s name, Aden.”

“No, it’s means a butterfly princess. Or a fairy palace. That’s cute.” He looked over at her to see that she wasn’t impressed. “Oh. C’mon, that’s cute!”

“Aden…” She said warningly. “You can keep it in mind, but I’m sure you can find something better.”

“Hmm… not with all the restrictions you’ve put on it.” This time, Aden was sure to keep his voice low. “Hey, how about ‘Princess’?”

“What?” Belle asked him, deadpanned.

“For a name. ‘Princess’. All girls want to be a princess, don’t they?” Aden tried, hope in his voice although there was a hint of humour in there as he tried to gauge her reaction. Belle stayed quiet for a moment, contemplating how to react to that.

“Do you hate our child, Aden? I mean, why else would you suggest something stupid like that?” Her words were spoken with such earnestness that if he didn’t know her so well, he would have taken his words to heart.

“Maybe not then.” Aden grinned. It was mean, but teasing her nowadays was quite entertaining for him. “Right, ‘Sky’ is out of the question. Bummer… How about ‘Simone’?”

“Nah, it’s too… basic.”

“Of course it is.” Aden scoffed. “’Sierra’?”

“’Sierra’?” Belle repeated after him. “What does it mean?”

“Mountain.” He frowned a bit. “You would think a name like that would mean something a bit prettier, wouldn’t you?”

“Aden!” Belle laughed, swatting him on the shoulder gently. “Meanings don’t matter much. It’s a pretty name.”

“That it is.” He looked up at her slowly. “Do you consent?” Belle rolled her eyes at his mocking.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Good, now we have two.”

“We’ve got like 7 months to go, Aden. I’m sure we can come up with some more in that time. Not to mention, that it might just be a boy!” Belle repeated, giggling as he just waved a hand dismissively and marking the name in the book with a pen.

“Well, if it’s a boy then we can always call him ‘AJ’.” Aden said earnestly, earning a slap to the top of his head.

“We are not naming the baby after either of us, ok?” Belle spoke though gritted teeth, trying to get the message through to him.

“Why? I don’t mind.” Aden replied lightly.

“Because one of you is bad enough. I wouldn’t be able to handle two.” Belle told him smartly.

“If that’s how you feel, then I’ll that ring back, thank you very much. Wouldn’t want to be a burden on you!” As soon as the sarcastic words were out of his mouth, he lifted a hand over his head, hoping to grab a hold of her hand. Unfortunately, his aim was way off and Belle moved her left hand and rested it up upon her stomach, knowing that he wouldn’t make any drastic moves if it was placed above their baby.

“If you break if off with me, then I get to keep the ring, anyway, Aden.” She informed him in a sweet voice. “I wonder how much I would get for it…?”

“Probably nowhere as much as I paid for it!” He growled, turning back to the book.

“Hey, Aden? About the wedding…” Belle quickly said, knowing that it was the perfect moment to ask. She had been putting it off for a week now, ever since she had gotten a call from Amanda telling her that they needed make a decision, preferably before Saturday, seeing as she was going to the city with Mattie then.

“What about it?” He prompted, turned his head to look up at her.

“Uh… We need to set a date.”

“What? Right now?” Aden asked her in surprise, rolling over onto his side so that he could face her properly, his chin digging into her upper leg.

“Kind of. Mum wants to know before tomorrow, and she asked me last week…” She trailed off, knowing how bad it sounded that she had kept this from him.

“Righto, so when were you thinking?” He turned the question back onto her, sitting up as she pulled her legs up to her a bit, stiff after keeping them straight for so long.

“I haven’t really thought about it. I thought a couple of months, and that’s it.” Belle admitted, looking down at her hands that laid in her lap, twirling around her ring slowly.

“Well, I have two weeks off in like…” Aden thought about it, shuffling closer to her so that he sat opposite to her and leant forwards against her propped up legs. “5 weeks. What about then? Or that too soon?”

“That just over a month, Aden.” She informed him with slight nervousness.

“Yeah, so? 2 weeks ago, you wanted to get married in 2 months. 7 weeks is about 2 months, don’t you think? Anyway, I’m sure that out of everyone in the world, your mum will be able to pull it off. Unless you don’t want to get married then. Because if not, then-” Aden added, noticing the distant look on her face, before she cut him off.

“No, no, I said a couple of months.” Belle reassured him. “And you’re right; Mum could do it in a week if she really had to.”

“In 5 weeks then?”

“Yeah, why not?” She shrugged, trying to sound non-chalant, although the effect was ruin by her massive smile.

“Yeah? Seriously, yeah?” Aden asked, shocked, sitting up straighter.

“I said so, didn’t I?” She laughed, sliding her legs to one side. “Why? Don’t you want to?” She said mockingly.

“Belle…” He simple rolled his eyes before smiling his smile at her. “Wow, 5 weeks. That’s pretty soon.”

“Yeah, it is.” She nodded, before pulling a small face. “I’m going to have to get some time off work, I think.”

“Get the two weeks off.” Aden suggested, his hands finding their way to hers. “We’ll need it.”

“Oh? And what are we going to be doing for the two weeks?” Belle asked him in curiosity, the smile still on her face as he leaned back, slowly stretching out her legs for her before letting her shuffle down some more so he could lean over her.

“Well, for the first week we’ll have to get away.” He informed her, one hand coming to rest delicately on her abdomen while the other brush some of her hair away from her neck before he began to drop kisses along it. “Someone quiet and secluded.”

“Hmm… sounds good.” Belle moaned in pleasure as he Aden worked his way up to her jaw line, going from her chin to her ear. “And the second week?”

“Well,” He whispered into her ear, making her squirm a bit. “That we can spend at home-”

Aden suddenly stopped what he was doing and pushed himself away from her. The quick movements caught Belle off guard. One second he was nibbling on her ear and the next he was kneeling opposite her, a look of having a revelation on his face, although it wasn’t a good one. She simply raised an eyebrow at him before he leaned forwards once again.

“After we get married, where are we gonna live?” Aden put the question to her. He could see the exact moment that it made sense to her, the look of confusion changing to understanding and then into a little sheepish smile.

“Ooops. I guess we forgot about that.” Belle let out a little giggle. They had been so much more focused on the baby that they had forgotten about the other essential stuff in their lives. Like having a place of their own. “That’s not good, is it?”

“Nope. Chances of finding a place in 5 weeks are-”

“- pretty crap.” Belle finished off for him with a sad sigh. “That’s just great, isn’t it?”

“Hey, c’mon. We can still figure something out.” Aden assured her, lifting up a hand to caress her cheek.

“I don’t want to ‘figure something out’, Aden. We should have thought about this before!” She snapped at him, tilting her head back and closing her eyes.

“Listen, leave it with me, ok? I’ll go and see some people tomorrow when you’re in the city.” Aden told her softly, his hand sliding down to join with hers. “Don’t worry about it.”

“How can I not worry about it? If we don’t find somewhere, then we’re going to have to postpone the wedding-”

“No, no, no.” Aden hurriedly cut her off. “The wedding will be in 5 weeks. That’s not going to change, ok? We’ll work everything else out around that. You will go to the city tomorrow and let Amanda and Matilda drive you crazy with all the wedding stuff, while I sort this out.”

“But-” Belle began, but was interrupted once again by an adamant Aden.

“No, ‘but’s. I really don’t want to get involved with any of the wedding planning, and I’m sure that you would prefer to do that, so it works out good for the two of us.”

“Ok. Just promise me you won’t make any decisions without asking me first.” Belle told him, lowering her head to see him nodded before smirking.

“As long as you promise me that you will make all the decisions about the wedding.”

“Sure.” She giggled as she relaxed back against the head of her bed once again.

“Good!” Aden said with a nod before crawling over to her, hovering above until her hands came up to his shoulders. “Now, where were we?”

---

I hope I haven't offended anyone with the comments I made about the names. I chose these names because I liked them. Personally, I would love to name my child after a Greek Goddess [not so much after a Disney character...].

xoxo

[Taniya_K]

Thanks you guys! You're all too nice! But seriously, I wanna know if you think that there's something wrong with the fic too. Or if you would imporve anything? Constructive critisism helps wonder!

Anyway, this chapter doesn't sit right with me. I dunno why, but I just find it a bit... bland. Hopefully, though, you'll like it and I promise more interesting sutff chapter!

Chapter 13:

“5 weeks isn’t a long time.” Mattie commented from the passenger’s seat in the car as Belle drove the two of them to the city.

“I know, but it should be enough. All we want is something simple. There doesn’t have to be anything more than the two of us and close friends and family.” She insisted. “And someone to marry us, of course.”

“It would be quite pointless otherwise, wouldn’t it?” Mattie laughed. “So why 5 weeks?”

“Because that’s when Aden has a couple of weeks off uni.” Belle told her.

“Oh, yeah. I do, too, actually, now that I come to think of it.”

“I thought as much.” She stated.

“And you’ll be like, what? 12 weeks by then?” Mattie asked her, trying to work out just how far along her best friend was.

“13, give or take.” Belle smiled. “Which means, hopefully, I won’t be showing. Apparently, with first pregnancies, you tend to start showing late.”

“I hope that’s true for your sake.” A phone buzzed right as the last word came out of Mattie’s mouth. She looked at both of their phones before handing Belle’s to her.

“I’m driving, Mattie.” She said, chuckling. “Who’s it from?”

“Three guesses…” The smirk was obvious in her voice.

“Let me see.” Slowing down the car a bit, Belle held out her left hand for the phone. She was able to retrieve the message without having to look at it. Holding it up in front of her casually, she was able to quickly skim read the text from Aden before handing it back over.

“Something important?”

“Nope.” Belle smiled, feeling the glare to the side of her head as Mattie didn’t believe her. “It’s nothing, Mattie. Just deciding on some stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?” She prompted her, not removing her eyes from her head.

“Wedding stuff.” Belle glanced over at her to realise that she wasn’t happy with that answer. “We haven’t decided on the venue yet.”

“Belle!” Mattie exclaimed. “I reminded you last night!”

“I know and we talked about it a bit.” She informed her, remembering the text that Mattie had sent her at close to midnight. Her and Aden had come up with a list of places to get married, some really pathetic ones from him, but they never got around to making a decision. “That text was pretty late.”

“Oh, please. Like you were sleeping.” Mattie scoffed with a hint of disgust.

“Uh… what’s that supposed to mean?” Belle asked, her tone over defensive. She knew exactly what Mattie was suggesting and she regretted asking her the question as soon as the words had rolled off her tongue.

“It means that I know how babies are made.” She informed her causally. “And I know how hormonal pregnant women get.”

“I am not hormonal!” Her instant rebuke, along with the small frown on her face, proved Mattie’s point.

“Sure, sure.”

“Can we not talk about this, please?” Belle pleaded as a sudden thought came to her. “Oh, and Drew and Ryan don’t know about the baby. So if they’re at home…”

“And why don’t they know?” Mattie questioned her pointedly.

“Because I’m just waiting until the right time to tell them.” Belle explained, squirming in her seat slightly at her hard look.

“Don’t you think they deserve to know? They are family. I mean, if everyone else knows, isn’t it a bit wrong to leave them out?”

“Mattie, please don’t make this worse for me. I already feel bad enough about it.” She almost begged, the sinking feeling in her stomach returning as she thought about actually telling her brothers, especially Drew. “I just don’t think I’d be able to cope with Drew’s constant jibing right now. Planning the wedding and trying to not stress out is hard enough.”

“Fine.” Mattie sighed, knowing what she was saying was true. “But they’ll figure it out sooner or later.”

“I know. I’ll tell them before it becomes obvious. Anyway, it’s not like I see them everyday.” Belle reasoned. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Yeah, it is!” Mattie argued. “Somehow, I think not telling them that you’re going to have a kid will hurt them, especially when everyone else knows.”

“Ok, but people usually wait until the end of the first trimester to tell others.”

“’Others’, not family.” Mattie pointed out to her as she sighed.

“Alright, fine, you’re right, happy?” Belle finally snapped. “But it doesn’t change anything. I’m not telling them. I don’t care how selfish it sounds or how wrong it is.”

“Ok, ok.” She replied, putting her hands up in surrender. “No need to bite my head off. You know I wouldn’t tell Drew if you didn’t want me to.”

“I know.” Belle exhaled after a moment her eyes never staring from the road ahead as they reached the city. “Sorry.”

“Not hormonal, my foot.” Mattie muttered as she turned to look out of the widescreen.

“I heard that!”

---

“So, where is everyone?” Belle asked her mother casually as they made their way over to the couches in the living room.

“Drew’s at work and Ryan’s at a friend’s.” Amanda explained just as Peter came in from the kitchen, dressed as though he was about to head out.

“Hey, Matilda, Belle.” He greeted them, walking over to where they still stood. “So, I hear congratulations are in order.”

“Thanks.” Belle replied, albeit shyly as Peter gave her a hug and a friendly kiss to the cheek before picking up his keys from the coffee table.

“I’m going to get out of here.”

“You don’t have to leave.” She hurried assured him, feeling slightly guilty for kind of kicking him out of his own house.

“Somehow, I don’t think this will be something I want to stay for.” Peter chuckled at their understanding faces, although Belle looked more self-pitiful. “Have fun.”

Bidding them all goodbye, he left the three of them in silence for a moment before Amanda turned to look at Belle expectantly. She merely raised an eyebrow at her mother’s pointed look, not sure what it was that she wanted.

“Well, darling, I hope you’ve got everything I asked.” Belle didn’t reply to that immediately, trying to find the right words to tell her that she hadn’t without getting yelled at. She didn’t know why, but she suddenly felt like a little girl who had gone out to play with some friends without finishing her homework like her mother had told her.

“She hasn’t.” Mattie supplied as she took a seat on the sofa. Belle threw her a reproachful look as she began to realise that for the next 5 weeks, at least, she was going to be outnumbered and it was going to be her against her mother and best friend.

“Belle!” Amanda exclaimed, shaking her head before sitting down too, as if the news was too much for her to bear. Belle sighed and sat down too, stuck in between the two of them. Deciding to make it seem less intimidating for her, she pulled her legs up and turned to face her mother; her back to Mattie who sat on the other sofa.

“Sorry.” She said sheepishly. “We did set a date though. 5 weeks.”

“5 weeks?” Amanda repeated in shock. “That’s so soon!”

“I know, but it’s a really good time.” Belle saw Amanda’s eyes avert to over her shoulder and she knew that her and Mattie were communicating without words. Crossing her arms, she sat back so that she was now able to see her best friend too. She felt a childish pout appear on her face at the annoyance and the twinge of jealousy that she felt. “You were the one who asked us to set a date, Mum.”

“Ok, ok.” She replied. “I guess we can work with 5 weeks.”

“We’re going to have to.” Mattie added with a small roll of the eyes as Belle just shook her head dismissively. “So first thing first… venue?”

“Still haven’t decided, Mattie.” Belle sighed, not sure when in the past 30 minutes she thought that they might have settled on a place.

“So, so far, we have… what?” Amanda asked her. “A date and a maid-of-honour?”

“Bride and groom. Don’t forget that!”

“Yes, of course.” She said in a dry voice.

“Well, you’ve been trying to plan it for 2 weeks already; don’t you have anything else to add to it?” Belle tried hopefully. Even she could tell that this was not a good start at getting a wedding planned in 5 weeks.

“We tried.” Mattie spoke up, a clear hint to make sure that Belle knew that she was trying to plan it too.

“But we couldn’t because you didn’t have any ideas about anything.” Amanda finished off.

“I do have an idea.” Belle told them as they both looked at her in surprise. “Something plain and something simple.”

“That’s not an idea, Belle. That’s just a suggestion.” Mattie informed her before reaching for her bag. “Lucky for you, I’ve been preparing.”

“Oh, joy.” She replied with a small smile that she couldn’t hide before her jaw dropped at the folder that her best friend pulled out. “Uh… what’s that?”

“This is all the planning that I’ve been doing.”

“You’ve put a folder together?” Belle asked her in shock, sitting forwards as Mattie placed it onto the coffee table. “For my wedding?”

“Someone had to! If it wasn’t for your mum and I, I doubt there would even be a wedding.” She scoffed as Belle flicked through it. It was pretty big and there were several different sections, everything from dresses, flowers to cakes.

“There would be.” Belle muttered back, she mesmerised by the folder. “Just probably at the registry office.”

“Which, thank God, will not happen!” Amanda told her with emphasis.

“Yup.” Mattie agreed, turning the folder to face her as she sat on the floor. “First thing’s first; your dress.”

“We had that one picked out…” Belle trailed off when Mattie frowned.

“I doubt it’ll still be there.”

“Oh, don’t say that! Even if it isn’t, I’m sure there’ll be one that really similar.”

“Mattie’s right.” Amanda supplied. “Do you remember what store it was?”

“Uh…” Belle tried to think back, looking over at Mattie who just shrugged.

“I know where it is.” She supplied. “I hope my dress is still there.”

“I told you, you should have bought it then.” Belle teased as her phone went off. Searching for it through her bag, she frowned when she saw Aden’s name on the caller ID. “Uh… I’ll be right back.”

Belle made her way into the kitchen, dragging her bag with her before she answered the phone.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

”Hey, nothing much. How‘s it going?” His voice came back to her. There was an obvious tension to it but she left it for a second.

“Yeah, it’s ok. We only get here about 15 minutes ago.” Belle replied. “Where are you?”

”I‘m just driving home.”

“How did it go, then?” She asked him. Aden had left earlier than her and Mattie in the morning to go see the real estate agent that had helped him a few years back to sell the old house. “If you’re still in the city, you can always come here.”

”Yeah, it was ok. I‘ll fill you in properly later.” Belle could tell by his vagueness and tired voice that it hadn’t been ‘ok’ at all. ”And no thanks. Not while you‘re doing all that girly stuff.”

“Alright…” She sighed as he remained quiet for a moment longer. “Aden?”

”Yeah?”

“What are the chances of finding a place-?” Belle kept her voice low, glancing over her shoulder to make sure that no-one over heard her even as he cut her off.

”I‘ll work it out, sweetheart. Don‘t worry.” Aden’s voice was soft and reassuring although she knew that it wasn’t that simple.

“Aden-”

”Look, Belle. You don‘t need to stress out about this, ok? Like I said, I‘ll deal with this, you deal with the wedding stuff.” This time, his words were more forceful that she felt as though she had no choice but to do as he said.

“Ok.” She gave in, leaning back against the counter that she had been holding onto until now, letting her free hand come to rest upon her abdomen, rubbing it gently. “See you later?”

”Course. Love you.”

“Love you, too.” Belle told him before hanging up. Even though he had told her not to worry, she couldn’t help it. She knew that Aden would do everything that he could to follow through on this, but there was still that inkling inside of her telling her that there was no way it was going to be possible for them to find a place and made it liveable in 5 weeks.

“Belle?” Amanda’s voice broke her out of her thoughts, pulling down the hand that held her phone as she tapped it against her chin. “Everything ok?”

“Yeah.” She tried to sound convincing, but from the look on her face, she knew she hadn’t succeeded at all.

“Was that Aden?” Her mother prodded, attempting to find another way in.

“Yeah.” Belle repeated. “He went to see the real estate agent this morning…”

“And?” Belle shrugged as Amanda came to stand opposite her, leaning back against the island in the middle of the kitchen not too far from her.

“I dunno. He goes that it went ok, but we’ve got 5 weeks, so I doubt it will be.”

“You only started looking now?” Amanda was clearly shocked and Belle looked down slightly in embarrassment.

“It kind of slipped our minds. You know, with the wedding and the baby. We just… forgot.” She explained to her. Looking up again, she saw her mother purse her lips before her eyes widened slightly. Giving her a curious look, she watched as Amanda’s face changed back to neutral in an instant.

“I’m sure something will work out, darling. Have a bit of faith.” Her words confused Belle even more, not sure what to make of them. Nodding slowly, she replaced her phone back into her bag. As she did so, her fingers slipped over some smooth, glossy paper that she have forgotten that she had brought with her.

“Here.” She said, holding out her ultrasound image to her mother. “I thought you might want to see.” Amanda took it from her with a frown before opening the flap to see the picture inside. Belle could tell the exact moment that her mother recognised the little smidgen that was her grandchild.

“Aw!” She almost squealed. “So tiny!”

“What’s so tiny?” Mattie asked as she walked into the kitchen, obviously have heard Amanda’s raising voice and deciding that she had given enough ‘mother-daughter’ time. “Ah, the scan. Doesn’t it look like a little bean?”

“Mattie!” Belle reprimanded, although there was a smile on her face. She had heard it all before, and even though she knew Mattie just kidded, she still felt the need to defend her baby. “Stop calling it that.”

“It’ll grow soon enough.” Amanda advised, handing it back to her daughter. “Trust me, you’ll wish it stayed this small when you can no longer see your feet.”

“I thought you said that you didn’t show much?”

“Oh, no, with Ryan it was different.” She told her.

“Hey, you might be able to figure out if it’s a boy or a girl before it’s born.” Mattie said excitedly. Belle had told her that she wanted to keep it as a surprise and not find out the sex of the baby until it was born. She wasn’t sure why, seeing that patience was not one of her strong points.

“Hmm… maybe.” She mumbled, recalling how Aden thought it was going to be a girl. Every time that she remembered that, Belle could help but feel a little pang of envy at him. She was the one carrying their child, yet she had no idea whether it was going to be a girl or a boy. She had no ’feeling’ at all, and she was supposed to have the maternal instinct that usually hinted to the mothers.

“Ok, so are we going to go shopping then?” Mattie broke the silence that they had fallen into. Belle lifted her eyes up from where they had drifted to the floor to look at them, who both in turn were look at her.

“Sure?”

“Cool. We can go check out that dress place!” She said excitedly as Belle’s mood lifted suddenly.

“Cool.” Belle repeated following Mattie out of the kitchen and back into the front room. It was only when she noticed that there were no footsteps behind her that she paused. “Mum? Aren’t you coming?” Her tone was slightly light and teasing.

“Um… no. You girls have fun. I’ve got something I just remembered I’ve got to do.” She replied. That was certainly not the answer that Belle expected.

“What kind of something?” She asked her funnily. “Surely it can’t be more important than my wedding!”

“Of course not, Belle.” Amanda said with her bright smile. “But I can’t leave it. You two go ahead, and don’t make any rash decisions without me, alright?”

“Ok…” Belle answered, cautiously, before crossing her arms. “Is everything ok?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?”

“Because we’re talking about shopping here, Mum.” She explained as Amanda rolled her eyes.

“Yes, I know darling, but some things, believe it or not, are more important.” She told her as she began to move past her.

“Are you sure everything’s ok?” Belle couldn’t fight the feeling that there was something that her mother wasn’t telling her. Not only was it because of the fact that Amanda never turned down an opportunity to spend money, especially on her, but because of the way her mood had changed considerably in almost an instant. Before, she had been anxious and excited about the wedding, and now she seemed more distant.

“Yes, I’m sure.” She insisted as Belle followed her into the room. “Anyway, you have Matilda with you, which means that you can’t go too wrong.” Belle simply shook her head at her mother’s jesting. “I’m sure you two will be able to handle it for now.”

“You’re not coming?” Mattie asked her in the same tone of disbelief as Belle had used.

“I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Alright.” Belle sighed as she let it go while Mattie gave her a curious look before deciding to do the same as her best mate. “We’ll see you later then.”

“Ok, have fun.” Amanda gave her daughter’s arm a slight squeeze as they left, waiting at the door until the two younger women reached Belle’s car. She watched as they pulled out of the driveway, only re-entering the house when they were out of sight.

Shutting the door behind her, Amanda debated what to do first. Making up her mind almost straight away, she made her way to the kitchen, picking up the phone as she did so, hoping that she could get in touch with her husband and that he wasn’t too busy to help her out with her ‘something’ that she had to do. She bit her lip in excitement as she dialled the number, wondering how she hadn’t thought of this before. But now that she had, Amanda hoped that her assumptions were right and that it all went to plan.

---

Hmm...? Questions, questions questions!

xoxo

[Taniya_K]

Constructive Critiscm!

Ok. First off you need more interaction with Irene and Aden and Belle as they dont seem to have enough scenes together.

Second thing, more dialogue. I know dialogue ruins fics but in this case I think it will be good for it anyways..

Thank you for your thoughts!

Hmm... I guess Irene hasn't had many scenes with them, has she? I think it's only been two and they were pretty short. Alright, I'll see what I can do. I do like writing her too, mainly for comedy purposed [you'll see what I mean in upcoming chapters].

More dialogue? Righto, lol. I thought that I had too much at first so I cut it down, but okies! I'll try to add a bit more. I think this one is more focused on the dialogue.

Thank you all for your comments. adelle, if I could have, I would have updated then! But unfortunately, fanfics don't write themselves

Okies, I hope you like this chapter. I think it's better than the last.

Chapter 14:

“Wasn’t it this?” Mattie asked, skimming her finger along the trim of a halter neck dress.

“No.” Belle replied, exasperated. They had been in the same boutique for about 30 minutes now and every dress that Mattie had thought had been the one she had found months before turned out to be totally wrong. The assistants were trying to help too; finding a catalogue of dresses that were in store when they previously came to visit. “It was either strapless or spaghetti strapped.”

“Oh… right, then.” She turned around and tried to scan the tens of dresses. Calling the shop massive didn’t do it justice. There were more wedding dresses there than Mattie could even count. She was sure that the last time they came it hadn’t been such a big shop, but she guessed that they had extended their premises, which could only be a good thing. “This is why you should have gotten it earlier. Not to mention getting it fitted will take time too.”

“Getting it fitted is the last of my worries right now.” Belle muttered as she sat down onto the arm of one of the many couches that lined the wall. “Why are there so many dresses here? Don’t they usually make to order?!”

“No need to get snappy.” Mattie patronised her. “And I don’t know, but the fact that this place is doing good in business can’t be a bad sign.”

“Doesn’t matter if it doesn’t have my dress.”

“I was thinking, Belle. Shouldn’t you look for a maternity wedding dress instead?” With her back to her best mate, Mattie missed the dirty look that Belle threw her.

“No. Why is everyone talking to me about maternity clothes all of a sudden?” She grumbled, remembering what Nicole had said the week before.

“Because, believe it or not, you’re pregnant.” Matter told her in a matter-of-fact tone. “Anyway, this dress isn’t for now. It’s for 5 weeks. Who knows what you’ll look like then.”

“I won’t be that big. Hopefully, I won’t be showing at all. Besides, 3 months is nothing. I could hide it and find someway to fit into the dress for a day.” Belle remarked, shrugging lightly.

“If you say so… Just don’t complain on the day when we can’t zip you up.” Mattie laughed.

“Well, it’s your job as my maid of honour to make sure that doesn’t happen.” She informed her as she lifted an eyebrow for emphasis.

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry, I’m sure some fatness will just do you good rather than looking like a skeleton.” Mattie chuckled to herself at her own words as Belle just rolled her eyes.

“What about your dress, Mattie? Found it, yet?”

“Yup! Saw it straight away, although it‘s in another colour, but that’s ok! I knew it wouldn’t have gone.” She smiled brightly, nodding towards the front of the shop where the bridesmaid’s dresses were. Belle turned to look over her shoulder, not sure which one it was. There were plenty of dresses there and most were pretty.

“Please don’t tell me it’s the pink one.” Belle groaned as Mattie grabbed her by the hand, forcing her to get up and walk over to where they were.

“Of course not. I wouldn’t do that to you.” Mattie reassured her. “It’s this one!”

The dress that Mattie pointed too was a pretty simple, plain and slim dress, held up with two thin straps. The material looked slightly shiny and it fell to the ground graciously, with a loose neck line that wasn’t too low. But the thing that caught Belle’s eye the most was the colour of it. It was blue, but trying to describe it was hard. It wasn’t a light blue at all, but it wasn’t a dark blue either. She tried to compare it with other things. The sea was too green but the sky was too pale. Belle shook her head as she realised that those blue colours were still too light for this material. This was much darker. Like a midnight blue. Like when the sun has gone and the moon is just about to start shining, or in the morning when the opposite happens. It was a twilight blue, and that was when a sudden idea struck her.

“Belle?” Mattie called out to her carefully as she rooted through her bag for her phone.

“I’ve just thought of something.” She replied with a smile, biting on her bottom lip to stop herself from saying more as she pressed speed dial ‘2’. Without paying much attention, Belle walked back over to where they had been before, perching on the chair once again. This area was secluded and spacious, a perfect place to have this conversation.

“Ok, then…” Mattie just replied, taking a seat on the couch opposite her. Once Belle had got the phone to her ear, she shot Mattie was cheeky smile that got her wondering what it was that she had thought of.

”Hey there, gorgeous.” Belle could hear Nicole in the background scoffing, telling her that he was most probably at home seeing at there was no other noise.

“Hey, are you busy?”

”N-”

“Good.” She cut him off, honestly not caring. “I’ve finally found the perfect venue for the wedding.” Belle saw Mattie perk up, her eyes widening as she leant forwards in her seat.

”Yeah?”

“Yup, in a bridal shop, of all places.” She laughed.

”A bridal shop?” Belle could hear the confusion in Aden’s voice and she knew him well enough to know what he was thinking.

“Not getting married here, you idiot.” She rolled her eyes, even though he obviously couldn’t see it. “I was thinking of maybe the beach.”

”Didn‘t I suggest that yesterday?” Aden replied in an inquisitive tone. ”And didn‘t you dismiss it?”

“Yes, ok, maybe you did, and maybe I didn’t like it then, but it’s perfect. Think about it-”

”Belle, you don‘t need to convince me.” He chuckled. She could hear some shuffling so she presumed that he was moving, probably away from Nicole. The blonde hadn’t been very happy with the fact that Mattie and Amanda were the ones organising the wedding, and when Belle had asked her if she wanted to tag along for the day, she had blown her off, saying that she was on Aden’s side of the family, not hers. Belle had had to laugh at that, knowing that she wasn’t being mean, just loyal.

“So you agree?” Belle questioned hopefully as Mattie opposite her nodded her head enthusiastically. Rolling her eyes once again, she couldn’t stop the little giggle from escaping.

”Sure. Why not?”

“Cool. Oh, and I was thinking maybe having a really small ceremony at like dusk?”

”Fine by me. But, uh… how small are we talking about?” Aden asked her. He honestly didn’t sound fussed by any of it, as if they always spoke about finding somewhere to get married.

“I dunno. You, me, close friends and family.” Belle repeated to him what she had told Mattie earlier that day.

”Ok. That sound‘s good.” He agreed. ”Are you going to be able to get it sorted in 5 weeks?”

“Yeah, seeing as it isn’t me who’s sorting it out.” Belle said passively. “You sure you’re ok with it? I mean, I’ve basically planned the whole thing out in a matter of minutes.”

”I‘m sure, Belle.”

“Good.” She smiled even if he couldn’t see it. Suddenly, the whole wedding thing was getting more and more exciting by the minute. “How did everything with you go?”

”Uh… yeah, it‘s ok. I‘ll talk to you about it later.” Aden’s hesitation to explain it dampened her mood as she sighed. ”Hey, don‘t think about it. You carry on with what you‘re doing, ok?”

“Yeah.” She replied, trying to sound non-chalant. “Bye.”

”See ya..” Belle chuckled at his response before hanging and looking up to see a buzzing Mattie.

“What?”

“On the beach at dusk…” Mattie sighed happily. “Didn’t know you could be so romantic.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” Belle giggled as she tucked her phone away. “So, are we going to find my dress or what?”

“Totally! Where’s that girl gone?” Mattie’s mood changed to irritation all of a sudden, standing up with her hands on her hips, looking around the store. “She said she was going to bring that catalogue about 20 minutes ago!”

“Hmm… maybe you should go find her?” Belle suggested, moving to sit properly on the sofa.

“Yeah, I will, actually.” She stomped off in the direction of where she could see some other assistants, leaving a laughing Belle behind. Relaxing back into the sofa, she rested a hand on her stomach, caressing it gently with a small smile. It was hard to believe that there was a child growing inside of her. Physically, her body had hardly changed. She knew that that wouldn’t last long, having read in the books that changes can occur gradually if she’s lucky.

Pulling out her phone once again, she opened up a blank text, typing out 9 letters with the ease of one hand. She didn’t have to wait a minute to get a reply.

’Love you, too. x’

---

“Mum?” Belle called out as the two of them entered the house 3 hours later. It was close to early evening now and the weather had started to cool. “Mum, you home?”

“In the kitchen.” Her voice called back. “Hey, how did it go?” She asked them as they joined her there, Belle immediately taking a seat at the table with her while Mattie sat at one of the stools.

“Go-”

“Great!” Mattie cut her off. “We got the dress.”

“Well, it wasn’t the dress, but this one’s just as beautiful.” Belle added.

“More beautiful! And it’ll be perfect for a beach wedding.”

“Whoa, whoa, one thing at a time!” Amanda laughed, slightly in shock. “Beach wedding?”

“Yeah, Aden and I decided that we want a beach wedding. You know, something off on the side, somewhere secluded.” She explained to her mother, shrugging to make it sound more casual.

“At dusk.” Mattie supplied.

“Oh, how romantic!” Amanda’s words raised a small red tint to Belle’s cheeks. “At least we have that sorted. Do you have an image of the dress?”

Nodding, Belle pulled it out of her bag, along with some other information, mainly about the bridesmaid’s dress and appointments. She watched as she mother opened the small folder. She didn’t know why, but when her mother smiled at the image, Belle felt a sweep of relief pass over her, as if knowing her mother approved would have changed her mind.

“It really is beautiful.” The dress was simple like she had wanted, with only a small pattern on the left hip that bunched up the top layer of the skirt to that side. There was almost a Roman feel to the dress, which Mattie had agreed to, especially the trail it had. As the dress was strapless, Belle had opted for a lace, half-top that had long sleeves, covered her back but not her front. All in all, it was her perfect dress and she just hoped that it would fit her on the day.

“Yeah, well, we haven’t done anything yet. No rash decisions without you, remember?” Belle laughed.

“True, true.” Amanda joined in, handing the information back to her, who in turn handed it over to Mattie. They had agreed that she would keep all of this stuff in the folder because there was not only a chance of her losing it, but of Aden finding it too.

“I’ll just go put this away before I forget it.” She told them as she left the room, leaving other mother and daughter alone.

“Did you get what you had to do done?” Belle questioned as she slipped off her shoes and pulled her feet up onto her chair.

“Yeah, wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.” Amanda replied easily. “You alright, Belle?”

“Hmm?” She looked up from where she had been staring at her feet. “Oh, yeah. Just a bit tired and achy. You know how it is.” Belle laughed off. “If you got your stuff done, how come you didn’t join us?”

“Because I was looking for something.” Her said cryptically. The smile on her face got Belle intrigued.

“Yeah? Like…?”

“… this.” Amanda pulled out the chair next to her and lifted whatever there was there up onto the table. Frowning, Belle wondered what was so special about it.

“A shoebox?” Belle questioned incredulously.

“It’s not the box, darling. It’s what’s inside!” Amanda rolled her eyes as she pushed it over to her daughter. Reaching out for it, Belle couldn’t help but noticed the streaks of dust that lined it.

“It’s old. And really dusty.” She grumbled as she pulled off the lid. “And it’s filled to the top.”

“Yup, everything from when I was pregnant with you.” She explained as Belle found a cover slip for photo. Pulling it out, she wasn’t surprised to see many different pictures.

“Wow, you were really blonde!”

“Thank you, darling. That’s what I wanted to hear.” Amanda said sarcastically as Belle laughed.

“I meant it in a good way.” She turned the photo over to see the date. “You were… what? 5 months here?”

“Yeah, about.”

“You were right; you really didn’t show much.” Belle commented as she flipped through the pictures. She paused, frozen, when she came across an odd one. “Is that-?”

“You at 26 weeks.” Amanda nodded, confirming it. “I haven’t seen this stuff in ages.”

“I didn’t know you kept it all.” Belle replied in awe as she replaced the photos, not sure that she wanted to keep going at the moment.

“I was going to throw it out. But then I realised that if I did that, it would be like you never existed.” She told her softly, causing Belle to stop digging through the box and look up at her mother. “So I kept it. Never looked at it since, though. I guess I should have showed you when you found me.”

“Yeah…” Belle murmured, taking in what she had said. “I mean, no, I understand why you didn’t throw it out or show me. But why now?”

“Because you’re having your own child, and I know that they say the best way to know what to expect is to ask your mother, so I thought that this would be all the information you would need.” Amanda explained to her as Belle listened carefully, eyes still searching the box as she hands stilled. Finding a book at the bottom, she pulled it out slowly. “Ah, my diary.”

“’Diary’?” Belle asked in amazement. She would never have taken Amanda as a girl who kept a diary. “I think you should keep this.”

“No, no. It’s basically a diary from the day I found out I was pregnant until the day you di-” She broke off halfway through the word before clearing her throat to carry on. “It was mainly because I didn’t tell anyone, so I had no-one to talk to about it, so I used this to write it all down. You’ll get most of your information from that.”

“Mum, are you sure? This stuff is pretty personal.”

“It’s all about you, Belle.” Amanda reasoned as Belle replaced the diary back into the shoe box and closed the lid. “I knew there was a reason why I kept it and it’s this. I’m just glad that I did.”

“Thank you.” Belle said earnestly. “Seriously, if you ever want it back-”

“It’s ok, darling. Take your time with it. I haven’t looked at it in 20 years. I’m sure 7 months won’t kill me.” She pointed out.

“Are you sure? I mean, I could take half if you want to look at the rest.”

“I’m sure.” Amanda assured her, reaching across the table to squeeze her hand. “Trust me, I’m going to be a good grandmother, no matter how old you’re making me feel. So if I can help in anyway, I will.”

“Alright, but, uh…” Belle stretched her legs out once again. “Thinking about grandmothers, compared to our family, you’ll be a great one.”

“I’d hope so, considering…” Trailing off, they both knew that Kitty was the person they were thinking of right then, even as Belle pushed aside another grandparent who was too disgusting for words.

The silence that they had fallen into was only broken when Mattie returned back into the kitchen. It didn’t take a genius to know that she had been wary of their conversation and giving them time. After all, even Mattie couldn’t take 5 minutes placing a piece of paper away.

“So, uh… we should get going.” Mattie said slowly, albeit quietly as the other two looked at her.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. It’s getting pretty late.” Belle agreed, putting her shoes back on as she pushed away from the table.

“You guys can always stay. We have more than enough room.” Amanda offered as the two girls politely shook their heads.

“You know we can’t, Mum.” She laughed softly, a hand resting on the shoebox that was on the table. “Thank for this, by the way.”

“Hey, like I said, anything to help.” Amanda replied, standing up too and grabbing a small, plain gift bag to place it into so that it didn’t look weird carrying it around.

“Thanks.” Belle said again as she took it off of her, making Amanda give her a stern look while they headed outwards. “Sorry.”

“That’s alright.” She sighed, not missing the way her daughter carried herself now with an arm loosely wrapped around her waist, making it look so casual by holding onto the strap of her bag on her other shoulder. “See you soon?”

“Yup. I can’t remember when-”

“Next Friday.” Mattie supplied for her, remembering the day for the dress fitting.

“Yeah, then.” Belle laughed.

“Ok, take care then.” Pulling her into a hug, Amanda waved goodbye to Mattie as they walked over to her car, slightly dawdling from the tiring day.

“Do you want me to drive?” Mattie asked her as they approached her VW Beetle.

“Would you?”

“Sure. Anything to get back home alive.” She joked as Belle dug out her keys and handed them over.

“I’m so glad right now that you finally passed your driving.” Belle shot back at her teasingly. Even in the low lighting of the day, she could see Mattie rolling her eyes as she unlocked the car.

Opening the back door, Belle placed the bag that Amanda had given her onto the seat as Mattie placed her bag on the other side. Simultaneously slamming the doors shut, the revving of a familiar car reached Belle’s ears.

“Is that-?”

“Yup.” Belle replied hurriedly, knowing she had gotten the same conclusion. “Let’s go.”

“What? Don’t you at least want to say ‘hi‘?” Mattie’s tone was filled with fake sweetness as Belle shot her a dark look, getting into the passenger’s seat of the car. “Fine, we’ll go.”

They had reached the bottom of the driveway and they both saw Drew’s car pulling up, waiting for them to get out first. Giving him a cheeky smile, Belle waved as he just raised an eyebrow mischievously.

“He’s going to get suspicious.” Mattei warned.

“No, he won’t. This is Drew we’re talking about. I could probably be about 2 weeks away from giving birth and he would just think I’ve put on weight or something.”

“Oh, c’mon.” Mattie sniggered. “That’s a bit mean, don’t you think?”

“Maybe.” Belle said sheepishly as her phone buzzed. She hadn’t realised that she has placed it into her jeans when she had dug out her car keys.

’Ignoring me, are we?’ Drew’s message was. Belle sighed, suppressing a smile as she did so while typing out a reply,

’Would I do that?’ Pressing send, she saw Mattie peeking over at her mobile as they stopped at a red light.

“Oh yeah, Drew’s not going to notice a thing.”

---

Once again, some visual aids

Belle's dress

Unfortunately, I couldn't find an image of Mattie's. I just hope it was well enough described for you to get the idea of it.

Let me know what you think. Especially if you like the dress[es] or not!

xoxo

[Taniya_K]

I guess I missed my 7 o'clock deadline, lol!

This chapter's fluffy once again. Hardly any answers to any questions though. Sorry.

Enjoy!

Chapter 15:

He could never get enough of this, Aden realised as he skimmed his fingers over Belles bare stomach, rubbing gentle circles all over the place. She laid on her back, head turned away from him with her body perfectly still except for her chest, which rose and fell with every deep breath she took to regain her normal breathing after their pleasurable activities.

Aden could feel the muscles of her abdomen clench a bit as he caressed the tender areas where she was the most ticklish. Looking up at her face, he saw that there was no recognition of his movements showing on there. Pursing his lips gently, moved closer to her, resting his forehead against her jaw so that he could tuck his face into her neck.

Continuing with the stroking of her stomach, Aden wondered how long it would be before he would be able to get some response from the other side of the barrier at his actions. Although it was as flat as ever, just knowing that below his fingertips there was a child growing, his child growing, made him want to never remove his hand away, awaiting its first movements.

Pressing a tender kiss to Belles neck and feeling her pulse beat under his lips, he finally felt her respond to his actions, squeezing the other hand that she held tightly. Aden slowly began to kiss his way along her neck, brushing the small, affectionate gestures down to her collar and over to her shoulder where he lifted his head up to see that she still stared off into the distance on the other side of the room. It was only when he paused in rubbing her stomach that she looked over at him, confusion in her eyes as to why he had stopped.

Dipping his head down to meet her lips, Aden only had to wait for a split second to get a response from Belle this time, her lips moving in sync with his instantly. Her hand untwined from his to let wander up his arm that had now wrapped itself around her waist as he leaned over her slightly, always mindful to apply as little pressure as possible onto her body now. She could feel his other hand smooth back the hair from her face before resting on her cheek, stroking it with his thumb.

Mmmm. She murmured deep in her throat as they pulled apart, sharing a couple of brief kisses before Aden collapsed onto his side next to her.

Feeling better? He whispered into her ear before propping himself up on an arm as he rearranged the duvet around them to make it more comfortable before his hand found its way back to her stomach.

Feeling better from what? Belles forehead creased at his question, tilting her head in his direction to give him her undivided attention, even as his was split two ways between her and their baby.

From whatever it was that you were thinking about earlier. Aden replied, moving his hand that supported his head up to play with her fringe, pushing the bits of hair back and forth.

Oh, that was nothing. She smiled, dismissing it earlier. I was just thinking in general.

Yeah? What about? His eyes shifted from where he played with her hair to her eyes and back again. What are you worrying about?

Nothing.

If its about finding somewhere to live, Belle, I told you itll be ok. Aden knew that he had got it spot on as her eyes averted from his, becoming more focused on where her hand travelled over the muscles of his arm through the covers. Belle, seriously. You need to stopped stressing out about these things.

I cant just stop, Aden. Were not talking about something small here, were talking about somewhere to live. To call home, to bring up our baby. She sighed heavily as his hand dropped from her hair.

Ok, I know that, but I dont want you to worry about it. Ill get it sorted-

I know that youre trying, Aden, but what if 5 weeks really isnt enough time? I mean, no-one forgets to find a roof over their heads! Belle scoffed, turning her head to look up at the ceiling. Well, no-one but us. Or me, more like it.

Hey, this not just on you, ok? I should have thought about it earlier. He informed her. Besides, youve got enough on your plate with the baby and all.

Yeah, but who was the one that wanted to move the wedding forwards so that we could get settled before the babys born? She reminded him. Then I just got so caught up worrying about my job and everything. How could it have slipped my mind? A place to live!

Belle! He chuckled lightly at her frustration. Youre looking into it too much. Ok, so we kind of forgot one of the most important things, but at least we remembered before it really become too late.

Tell me honestly, Aden. She faced him once again. What are the chances of getting a place before the wedding? And having it set up so that we can move in straight after?

The chances of getting a place is really high, Belle. He told her pointedly.

But the chances of getting a place that we dont just stay at until we find somewhere better that we actually want? Belle questioned him, knowing exactly what he was implying. His silence was enough for her. Exactly. Some people have to wait months to get a good place.

Belle-

No, you know what? Im going to call Mum in the morning and tell her that were waiting to get married. Belle told him determinedly, even as her voice broke at bit towards the end.

Belle, cmon, youre overreacting. Aden tried to calm her down as she shook her head stubbornly.

Im not; Im being reasonable. We cant get married unless we find a place. A couple of months wont hurt. She reasoned, although Aden knew that she was trying to convince both of them.

I thought that you wanted to get married sooner rather than later so that you can fit into that dress of yours?

Cant get everything my way, can I? Belle shrugged as she exhaled heavily. At least this way well have everything sorted out.

And if we still cant find a place? Or if theres no time between finding a place and setting it up and the baby being born? Aden asked her.

Then I guess we can just wait longer.

No, Belle, Im not letting you do that. He told her. As she opened her mouth to say something else, he leaned in to softly press his lips to hers to effectively stop her. You want to get married in 5 weeks. I want to get married in 5 weeks. Just leave this to me. Ill find us somewhere good.

But you cant find something that isnt there! Belle snapped, dropping her hand from his arms onto her stomach, resting above where Adens was. Do you think this is a sign?

Ok, you need to stop being superstitious. He said lightly, placing his arm above her head as he laid down again. If worst comes to worst, then well go and stay at a hotel for an extended honeymoon. Doesnt that sound good?

Aden. She gave him a warning look. Be serious.

I am! He claimed before nodding, seeing that she wasnt going to appreciate his humour right the. If we have to, then well look a bit further. Im sure theres something, somewhere, Belle.

I dont want something. She murmured while snuggling in closer to him. I want a home.

It will be. As long as its you, me and our baby, itll be home. Aden whispered to her, the quietness of his voice multiplying the passion in it. Slowly, Belle shifted, turning her whole body towards him.

Alright. She spoke into his clavicle where she had buried her face before looking up at him. I trust you.

---

No luck, mate? Roman asked him as he sighed deeply.

What gave it away? Aden grumbled as he sat at the kitchen table with the laptop open in front of him. After the talk with Belle last night, he was determined to find them the perfect place. No matter how hard she tried to hide it, he knew that Belle wanted was still stuck on the idea of getting married in 5 weeks and having a place to do up until the birth of their baby, even as she tried to negotiate with him that morning, telling him that he had a week before she was postponing the wedding. There had got to be something.

Im sure there will be. He said in his calm manner, leaning against the fridge door for a moment. Look, Aden, you know that you and Belle are always welcome here, right?

Thanks, Roman. Aden replied, looking over to the older man. Its just that the whole point of moving the wedding forwards was to get everything prepared before the babys born.

Yeah, I get it. Roman told him. But if theres anything I can do help, just let me know.

Sure, but I doubt that theres anything that can be done about this. He sighed. I just wish that Belle would stop stressing out about it, you know? Shes got enough to deal with, with planning the wedding and the baby. Not to mention her job.

You know what Belles like, Aden. Roman reminded him as he came to lean against the chair opposite him.

I know, I know. But I tell her that Ive this under control, yet she still worries.

Well, have you got it under control? He asked him cynically as Aden shook his head slowly, slumping back against the chair, eyes fixed on to the laptop.

Ive only got this one thing to do and I dont want to let her down. He confessed. Shes doing so much right now and she seems to be doing it all great, yet I have one thing, and I cant even get it remotely done.

Hey, cmon, mate. This isnt not your fault. Roman tried to reassure him. Its out of your control. Im sure she can see that youre trying. Itll pay off in the end.

I hope so.

Alright, listen, I need to head off to work, but if you want, I can try and see if I can get in contact with some people who might be able to help? He turned it into a question at the end so that it didnt sound like a piteous offer to Aden.

Um yeah. That would be great, thanks.

No problem. Roman smiled before looking at his watch. Ok, Ill see you later then.

He had gotten to the door when Aden had realised that it was the perfect opportunity to ask him something that he had been meaning to for a long time now. Belle had been nagging him to do it, but he just hadnt gotten around to it, mainly because of the fact that he spent most of his time away from home nowadays.

Actually, Roman, could I talk to you about something? He asked as he stood up. Itll be quick.

Sure, as long as its quick.

Right, well Ill keep it short. Aden said, coming to stand against he counter opposite the door. Its just that I really want to thank you for everything that youve done for me.

Aden- Roman began but he cut him off quickly.

No, hold on. Let me say this, because Im pretty sure I wont ever again. He said in his typically cheeky tone. Roman nodded with a smile, crossing his arms and relaxing against the doorjamb. Back then, when you gave me a place to stay it must have been the nicest thing that anyone had done for me, even though you hardly knew me at all. And I honestly dont think that I would be here if it wasnt for you.

I just did what anyone else would have. Roman told him modestly as Aden smirked and shook his head.

Somehow, I doubt it. He stated, remembering just how well-loved he had been back then, by both his family and the community. Anyway, I just wanted to say that if it hadnt been for that then I doubt that I would be looking for a place to stay right now, yet alone be at uni, getting married and having a kid. So, uh I was hoping that you would be my best man.

Aden, Roman began, totally shocked before cracking into a huge smile. Yeah, of course I would! Id be honoured to.

Yeah? Great. He let out a breath that he hadnt realised that he been holding, a smile appearing on his face.

Cool. Roman agreed as he caught a glimpse of the time on the clock to the side of Aden. Ok, I really need to get to work, but uh Ill talk to you later.

Sure. And thanks.

No problem. He laughed while leaving the room. A moment later, Aden heard the front door slam shut as he took his place in front of the laptop again. Now that he had gotten one thing out of the way, the more pressing matter at hand awaited him.

---

Do you have a diary? Aden asked Belle that evening. They were sitting on her bed, or rather, Belle was sitting while he was laying on his front across it, with the box that Amanda had given her open.

No, I dont need one. She replied, flicking through the diary in her hands. She still didnt feel comfortable reading it right then, so she stuck to taking little peeks at snippets of it to get the gist of it. So far she could conclude that, although she was scared, Amanda had loved her baby from the moment she had decided to keep it. It gave her an almost surreal feeling of longing, knowing just what her life could have been if Kitty hadnt interfered.

Sure you do. All girls keep diaries, dont they? He said in a casual tone while he looked at the pictures of Amanda while pregnant, focusing more on the ultrasounds of Belle as a baby. You know, if you were to go blonde, I think you could look like your mum.

Which is why I wont go blonde. Belle muttered. A second later her head snapped up as she realised what he had said before that, giving him a kick to the side of his ribs as she did so. And Im not a girl.

Would you rather I call you a boy? Aden questioned smarmily, not looking over at her until she gave him another kick. Hey, do you mind? I kind of like being able to breathe, you know?

Stop annoying me then. She snapped.

Geez, you pregnant women! He muttered under his breath while turning back to the pictures. Unfortunately it had been loud enough for her to hear.

Women? Belle asked him testily, an eyebrow raised as her voice remained dangerously low.

Woman. Aden corrected himself, not liking the dark looks that she was shooting him when he looked at her. Woman, singular.

Uh-huh.

Oh, cmon, sweetheart. You know theres no-one but you. His trademark smile accompanied his words, making it too hard to remain even mockingly angry at him.

Sure, sure. Belle replied, turning her attention back to the diary in her hands so that he would see the small smile gracing her lips. She wasnt certain whether her plan had worked or not until she felt him rolling onto his side and slide a hand up her leg as he crawled over to her.

You know its true. Aden said matter-of-factly when he was level with her, his face only inches from her. He took the diary out from her hands with his free one before capturing her lips with his.

What started off as a little, loving kiss soon escalated into a passionate, hungry one when Belle pushed on his shoulder gently, making him lay down so she was leaning over him. Pressed up tightly to Aden, she let her hands roam his body, only stopping at the hem of his shirt when she realised just what time it was and where this was heading.

We shouldnt. She murmured, pulling away with a sheepish smile.

We could. He insisted, running a hand through her hair as the other remained on her waist.

Not now. Belle sat up straighter, letting his hands drop onto the bed. If we do, well never get out of bed.

You say that like its a bad thing. Aden joked, sitting up against the headboard.

You know what I mean. She rolled her eyes at his response, climbing off the bed to put some space between the two of them. She remembered reading in a book how her crazy hormones could be good as well as bad at times. One example of that that Belle had discovered was her increased, and seemingly uncontrollable, sex drive. Fortunately for her, she was able to gain some control over that now.

Fine. He huffed. What do you want to do now, then?

Umm Belle tried to think of something that would keep them both busy, yet something out of the house right then, as she searched through her drawers for something. Do you want to go see a movie? We havent seen one in ages. Plus, itll be good to relax a bit.

Yeah, sure. Aden replied easily, watching her crouch on the floor as she rooted through the bottom drawer. Whatre you looking for?

Just something She said vaguely and distracted. There was a moments silence before she let out a sigh of relief and stood up, holding out a book in her hands towards him. Here. My diary.

I thought you said you didnt have one? He asked her, confused as she threw it in his direction.

I dont but I did. Belle told him while clearing up the stuff that Amanda had given her and replacing it back into the shoebox. I got it when I was about 13 and stopped writing in it when I got here. Or soon after that.

Aden nodded minutely, opening up the front cover to see the words Property of Susan Taylor written on the very first page, although the name Susan had been crossed out with no other substitute taking its place.

Pretty old, huh? He commented, flicking through the pages before closing it and holding out to her.

You can read it if you want.

Im not going to read your diary, Belle. Aden scoffed, laying it down onto the pillow next to him.

Its not my diary anymore. She shrugged while checking her reflection in the mirror, debating whether to change or not. Itll give an insight to my life before Summer Bay.

I dont care about the past. He sighed.

Youve hardly asked me a thing about it. I think you should know some things. Belle reasoned turning around to look at him.

Well, then you can just tell me. Other than that, its only now that I care about. Aden informed her. Now and the future. Our future.

---

Hope you liked it!

xoxo

[Taniya_K]

So many questions, and so many answers! Yet, I'm not going to say a thing except for read on, because if I do try and answer a question, I'll just ruin it [more like give away my plot]. But the answers are all coming soon. Unfortunately, not much in this chapter, which ended up going in a direction that I had no intention of going! But it's all fluffy, so I hope you like!

Oh, and wrongturntaken, yes, I do have Todd with me, right here next to me as I type actually. And sorry, he says that he doesn't want to leave me.

Chapter 16:

”Don’t you dare hang up on me, Aden Jeff-!” Nicole’s shrill voice was cut off as he did exactly what she had warned him not to. He knew he would dearly pay for it later, but he couldn’t tolerate anymore of her whining and threats.

“Belle! Nicole’s going to kill the two of us if you don’t hurry up!” He yelled from where he stood in the living room, leaning against the couch as he waited for his girlfriend to get changed and ready for Nicole’s impromptu dinner.

“Hold on a minute!” She voice came back. It wasn’t filled with irritation or anger, but rather light and musical that just made him roll his eyes, wondering what was taking her so long.

“Well, be quick. I’m starving here!” Aden could here her giggle as the door to her room opened.

“You shouldn’t have skipped on the cake I offered you, then should’ve you?” She laughed as she went straight into the bathroom, staying there for only a moment before re-entering her bedroom, giggling once again at Aden’s exaggerated groan. “5 minutes, max.”

Sighing deeply, he flipped his phone around in his hands, wondering if it would be worth it to call the real estate agents. Since Sunday, there had been no further developments with the house hunting, which left him with only 3 days before Saturday when his deadline was. He desperately hoped that something would come up within that time, even as he prayed that Belle hadn’t been serious with her negotiation to postpone the wedding if they didn’t find a place.

Just as Aden scrolled down to the name in his phonebook, the opening and shutting of a door made him look up. He knew that it wasn’t Belle’s; it was too muffled for that. Waiting a moment, he heard footsteps move upstairs, realising that it was probably Annie. The footsteps were careful and they captured Aden’s attention, especially as they approached the stairs and walked down slowly.

The first thing that he saw were boot-covered feet. Raising an eyebrow in surprise he kept his head low, looking through his eyelashes as the teenager walked down the stairs. Hearing her pause halfway, Aden took it as a sign to look up at her as she carried on down the stairs.

“Uh… Where are you going?” He asked her slowly, slightly in shock with the way that she was dressed. Remotely, he remembered the smaller-than-mini skirt as being one that Nicole had given her about 2 years ago. It was matched by the black corset type top that she wore. All in all, it was something that he would never have imagined Annie to own, yet to ever wear.

“Out.” She simply replied, adjusting the bag on her shoulder.

“Dressed like that?” Aden questioned pointedly, crossing his arms to show just how unimpressed he was.

“Yeah, why?”

“Have you looked in a mirror?” At her sarcastic look, Aden simply shook his head, knowing that he couldn’t say anything to her to make her get changed. “Belle!”

“Hold on, would you?!” She laughed.

“Could you come out here for a second?” He called back, never taking his eyes off of Annie to make sure that she didn’t do a runner. He could see by her stance and the look on her face that she wasn’t happy with is strategy.

“What?” Belle asked him exasperatedly as she stepped out of the room, putting some earrings on. Aden turned to her, nodding in Annie’s direction. She understood immediately what he was getting at. Letting her eyes wander head to toe and back up again, she could stop the wry chuckle from escaping her mouth. “No.”

“What?” Annie’s tone was so simply innocent that the other two just knew she was putting it on.

“You’re not leaving the house wearing that.” Belle told her, walking up to where Aden stood.

“Why?”

“Because you’ve got less clothes on than you have off.” She said slowly that Aden had to bite back a smile at her words.

“That’s not true! Anyway, you wear-” Annie began, unable to get the rest of the words out as Belle jumped in.

“It doesn’t matter what I wear. You’re 16 and so not suited for that kind of stuff.”

“I’m almost 17.” She argued.

“Yeah, that doesn’t matter. You’re going to either go get changed, or put at least another 2 layers on. Especially some jeans.” Belle instructed, giving her outfit another look. “What possessed you wear this anyway?”

“So I’m not allowed to change my style, am I?” Annie snapped. “It’s just for tonight.”

“I don’t care if it’s just for an hour!” She snapped back before taking a deep breath and calming herself down. “Just go get changed.”

“You can’t make me.”

“I think you’ll find that I can, Annie.” Belle replied, shock colouring her words. She couldn’t remember a time when the younger girl ever talked back to her like that. “And if you don’t want to get changed, then you can stay here.”

“You’re being so hypocritical!” Annie cried as she huffed almost childishly, spoiling her angry tone.

“Really? I don’t remember the last time I wore a skirt that looked more like a belt wrapped around my waist with boots that only went up just past my ankles. And let’s not get started on that top.” Belle could hear Aden stifle his laughter from behind her, where he had moved to give them some space, and she got to admit, that she was doing her best not to either join him or just shout at her.

“Those tops you wear are pretty short too!”

“I’m also older than you. Besides, this isn’t about me; it’s about you. You’re far too young to go out like that.” Belle said softly, trying to explain to her. “Look, give it a year, and you can do whatever you want without anyone saying a thing.”

“But-”

“Annie, just go get changed, please?” She tried only for Annie to look away in anger. “Ok, fine. You can stay here then.”

“Fine!” She scoffed. “I’ll go get changed. I don’t see why I have to, though.”

“Take a look in the mirror then.” Belle called after her in an amused tone as she growled in frustration, stomping up the stairs. “Well, that was fun.”

“Hmm… Tell me about it.” Aden replied, walking up to her, both of them laughing. “Seriously, though, I never thought I’d ever see her wear something like that.”

“Oh, c’mon. She’s 16! I wore things way worse than that at 16.” She told him, as his arms came around her waist. “Just don’t tell her that.”

“I won’t. But, uh… do you happen to have kept those clothes?” He asked her cheekily as she playfully hit him on the chest while pushing him away from her. “I was kidding. Kind of. Well, ok, no I wasn’t-”

“Alright, alright. I need to finished getting ready.” Belle stopped him from going on, knowing that it would lead to no good.

“But you are ready!”

“Just give me 2 minutes to fix my hair.” At his exasperated look, she pushed herself up to press a brief kiss to his lips. “2 minutes, I promise.”

“Belle…” He whined as she heading back to her room, holding up two fingers while smiling sweetly. “I’m counting down the seconds.”

“You do that.”

“And if you’re one second over, I’m going to drag you out of there myself.”

“I’d like to see you try.” Belle’s laughing voice brought a smile to his face. After all the stressing they had both been doing over the past few days, it was good to just relax a bit.

“Don’t think I won’t. You don’t weigh that much yet.” Aden informed her only to be met with a brief stony silence where he realised what he had just said. Usually, he knew that she would be able to brush it off, but being pregnant, Belle’s emotions and reactions were hard to gauge at the best of times.

“’Yet’?” She asked him, the coldness in her voice travelling even from her room.

“I’ll just shut up now.”

“Good idea.”

---

“I don’t think I can eat anymore.” Belle claimed as she slumped back against the chair.

“Yeah, I’m amazed that this is actually good enough to get filled on.” Aden joked as Nicole gave him a swift kick to the shins underneath the dinner table. “Ow!”

“Stop being mean, then.” She retorted before turning to Belle. “Does that mean that you’re going to turn down dessert?”

“Uh… I think so.”

“Even though it’s some mud cake?” Nicole tempted her as she stood up, taking her the empty plates to the sink.

“Yeah, you can’t turn down cake, Belle.” Charlie added as everyone laughed. The five of them had enjoyed Nicole’s dinner casually, surprised with how much she had managed to make.

“It’s only because she’s had a week’s worth already today.” Aden supplied seriously, although a smirk was clear on his face. Belle simply rolled her eyes and gave him a gentle push on the arm.

“It wasn’t that much.” She defended herself while standing up to help Nicole with the clearing up. “Roman’s the one who served me; ask him.”

“No comment.” He quickly replied. “I’m not getting involved with this.”

“Thanks.” Belle said dryly with a small laugh, placing her plate by the stuff that Nicole had left by the sink to be washed. Feeling slightly bad for all the hard work that she had gone to, she twisted her engagement ring off her finger and slipped it into her jeans’ pocket like she always did before washing up, scared of either losing it or damaging it.

“Hey, what’re you doing?” Nicole asked her as she looked over when she turned the taps on.

“I thought I’d get these done.”

“I’ll do them! You should relax.” She told her as Belle rolled her eyes.

“You know, that’s probably the first time I’ve heard you actually wanting to do some housework.” Aden teased her as he approached the two of them. “Although, Nic’s right. You shouldn’t stress yourself out.”

“It’s washing! I don’t think it’s anywhere remotely close to being stressing!” Belle scoffed at him. “Anyway, you guys enjoy your dessert. Aden will help me.”

“And what if Aden wants dessert?” He said, speaking in third person as he leant against he counter in between the two of them.

“Then he can wait until later.” She replied pointedly while he sighed dramatically.

“Alright then, thanks.” Nicole said as she shut the lid of the cake before carrying three bowls out into the front room where Roman and Charlie followed.

“Thanks for this, by the way. This is exactly how I love to spend my evening.” Aden told Belle sarcastically as she washed up, laughing at his words.

“Would you rather be in there without me?” She asked him sweetly. His response was to roll his eyes. “I didn’t know that Charlie was going to be here.” She stated, dropping her voice slightly as she heard the TV in the front room come on while the three of them also talked a bit.

“Yeah, I think things have gotten back on track with them.” He replied. Charlie had moved out of the house about 6 months previously when her and Roman had gone through a rough patch in their relationship, ultimately breaking up for a while. They had seemed to have gotten back to being friends a couple of months back, before something else had came in between. Now, he assumed, things were working out for the better again.

“That’s good. Roman deserves it.” Belle insisted, nodding her head determinedly. “But speaking about people getting back together…”

“Yeah?” Aden prompted, wondering who she could be talk about now.

“What’s up with Nicole? Why’s she being so nice all of a sudden?”

“What? She’s always been nice.” He told her causing her to shoot him a ‘get serious’ look. “Yeah, ok, I’ve got to admit, this was a bit out of the blue.”

“Just a bit?” Belle asked cynically. “You don’t think her and Geoff…”

“Nah, not yet.” Aden easily dismissed the idea. “If so, then she would have invited him too.”

“I guess so.” She had no choice but to accept that. “I just feel like there’s an ulterior motive to all of this. Nicole isn’t this nice. It’s almost scary.”

“That’s not true. Nic can be nice when she wants to be.”

“Usually when she wants something.” Belle informed him. “I’m telling you, she’s going to want something. I’ve just got a feeling.”

“You’re being paranoid.” Aden laughed as he picked up a dishcloth to get about with the drying.

“I don’t think so.”

“Well, I do!” He claimed. “If Nicole wants something, she wouldn’t suck up for it. She’s just ask.”

“I bet you it’s something to do with the wedding. Or the baby.” She carried on, ignoring what Aden had just said. “I stick to what I said before. If she even tries to interfere, I will hurt her.”

“I’m sure she got the message.” Aden tried his best to hold back his amusement, not wanting to annoy her right then. He had learnt from that mistake many times over already.

“Don’t laugh at me!” Belle exclaimed, flicking some of the bubbles in her hands at him.

“Oi!” He cried, batting the stuff away from this face. “Right, you find that funny do you?”

“Maybe.” She giggled.

“Two can play that game.” Aden taunted her with a handful of the bubbles as she tried to avoid his hands, all the while not wanting to destroy any of the crockery in her hands.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Is that a dare?” He raised an eyebrow as she smirked before smoothing the bubbled down her bare arm, making her jump from the coldness.

“Gross, Aden!” She squealed, trying to wipe it away with her other arm with no avail. “You’re going to pay for that!”

“Try your best.” Belle grabbed the washing up liquid bottle, and held it in threatening manner, aiming the top of it towards him.

“Do you really want me to?” She asked him sweetly. “Because I will.”

“Yeah, right. You’ll only have a bigger mess to clean up.” Aden pointed out, smiling at her as she thought it over.

“Oh, well. I’m sure I could get out of it.” Belle replied coolly, lifting a perfectly arched eyebrow at him in a menacing way. Before he could say or make another move, she had splashed some water from the running tap onto him, chortling at the stunned look on his face. “Ooops.”

“Alright, if that’s how it’s going to be…” He trailed off as he approached her and sink while she backed off, reaching around him to grab the towel that he had been using to dry both her hands and her arm. Getting it all off, she used the cloth as a shield from him, realising just how unwise it was of her to have left her place by the sink. Now, she had nothing to use against him.

“Aden…” Belle said warningly. “Don’t you even think about it.”

“Oh, I never do.” Aden replied lightly before throwing the suds that he had formed in his hands at her, along with a decent amount of water. Luckily for her, the bubbled didn’t travel far enough, and the bits that did were soaked up by the towel. But the water, on the other hand, had got her right on her side and she could feel it soaking through onto her skin.

“Aden!” She shrieked. “That’s cold!”

“So?”

“And you’ve made a mess!” She pointed to the floor where there were little puddles of water where the bubbles had burst. Belle jumped over them carefully, reaching over to where Aden stood, looking a bit sheepish, although more amused. “Truce?”

“Hmm…” He eyed her carefully as she came to stand right in front of him. “’k, truce.”

“Good.” Belle smiled, trying to keep it innocent as one of her arms went around his waist to seal the deal with a kiss. Aden readily accepted it, an arm coming around her shoulders while the other hand was placed lovingly on her cheek. He felt Belle’s other arm move slowly, keeping a slight distance from his body until she reached the bottom of his neck, where she slid it down in one quick motion. Instead of the usual warm feeling it gave him, it left him with a shiver, realising immediately what she had done.

Breaking away instantly, Aden saw the cheeky smile on her face that showed that she was just giving as good as she got.

“That was mean.” He growled, keeping a tight hold onto her.

“Just payback.” Belle insisted as she tried to pull away, especially as he reached out towards the running water with one hand. She wasn’t that amazed with just how strong he was, able to keep her in place with a single arm. “Aden, c’mon. I thought we had a truce?”

“Yeah, that was before you soaked my back!”

“Ok, ok, I’m sorry!” She tried to sound genuine, but her laughter ruined the effect. “I am. Truly sorry.” His face showed her just how much he didn’t believe her. “C’mon, you wouldn’t. I’m pregnant.”

“Oh, please. You can’t play the pregnant card on me.” Aden rolled his eyes as she managed to break away from him slowly.

”Sure I can.” Belle told him. “So, truce? Honestly this time.”

“Fine.” He sighed, holding out a hand to her. She stared at it and saw that it was the dripping wet one.

“Dry it first.” She instructed, throwing him the towel as he reluctantly did as she said, a bit peeved that she had ruined his last chance to get back at her. “Good.”

“Truce.” Aden agreed as she finally took his hand, stepping closer to him just as another presence was made clear in the room.

“Oh, my God!” Nicole screeched. “I was wondering what all that screaming was about. You two are so immature!”

“Uh… look who’s speaking.” Belle remarked.

“Whatever. I’m not cleaning this up. You wanted to wash up, so you can dry up too.” She told them, dumping the three empty bowls in her hand onto the counter next to the sink.

“Thanks, Nic.” Aden replied in mock enthusiasm as she walked away.

“I just feel sorry for your child. Poor thing isn’t going to know who the parents are and who the kid is with the way you two act!”

"We're not that bad, are we?" Belle enquired, facing Aden.

“Nah, that was an over exaggeration.” He stated she as turned back to the washing. "This is Nic we're talking about."

"True. I mean, what would Nicole know about parenting?” Belle asked incredulously, although they were both speaking in a light tone.

“Exactly.” Aden agreed. “She’d probably go shopping and leave the baby in the car. Or the shop.”

“Which is why she’ll never be a babysitter for us.”

---

Yup, that had more fluff than a fluffy... thing. Ok, so I'm bad with words

I hope you liked it!

xoxo

[Taniya_K]

Thank you all for the lovely comments! I'm glad you all enjoyed the fluff! And I'm also really glad that everyone's liking the different aspects of the fic and the different relationships. It's all good to know!

Right, well, unfortunately, there's not really any fluff in this, but I do have answers! Is that a fair trade?

Enjoy!

Chapter 17:

Belle’s head swarmed with the too much information that Mattie was presenting to her. They sat on the latter’s bed after she had insisted on getting some more things sorted out before their trip to the city in 2 days. As keen as she was get cracking on her wedding plans, Belle’s mind was elsewhere, mainly due to the fact that if Aden couldn’t find them a place by Saturday, she was going to push back the wedding. Although she had promised him not to say a word about that to anyone else, she felt bad for Mattie and her mother going to all this trouble to get everything done in just over 4 weeks now, when they might have a longer period of time.

“Belle, are you even listening to me?”

“Huh?” Her head snapped up to look at the other girl sitting opposite her.

“Are you ok? Is everything alright with the baby?” Mattie questioned quickly. A curious look passed Belle’s face, wondering why she would think there was something wrong. When she saw her eyes fall to where her hand rested on her stomach, subconsciously rubbing it as she sat lazily, propped up by the headboard, she realised why that had been her logical conclusion.

“Yeah, everything’s fine.” Belle told her, pushing herself to sit up straighter and look more alive. “So, you were saying…?”

“How many bridesmaids?” Mattie repeated with a small laugh, her question about whether she had been listening or not answered.

“Um… well there’s you and Annie.”

“Anyone else?”

“Not that I can think of.” Belle shook her head as Mattie sighed.

“What about Nicole?” As soon as her words left her mouth, they both let out a dry chuckle.

“Yeah, right.” She rolled her eyes, remembering the blonde’s words. “She’s on Aden’s side of the family, anyway, so she can’t be my bridesmaid.”

“What? So, she’s going to be Aden’s-” Mattie paused for a second, tying to think of what that would make her. “Groom’s maid?”

“You better pray that she doesn’t think of that!” Belle informed her. “Otherwise, you might have to battle her with all this planning.”

“I can take her on. It’s not just me; it’s me and Amanda.” She pointed out. “Not to mention that Aden would probably make her stop too.” At Belle’s raised eyebrow she carried on. “C’mon, the guy would do anything to keep you happy. And Nicole interfering would not make you happy at all.”

“Please, if Nicole tried to interfere, Aden wouldn’t get there in time to make her stop.” Belle claimed, reminding her of the threats that she had made not only towards Nicole, but even her best friend about touching her or throwing parties or anything of the like.

“True. Although I wouldn’t mind seeing that.” Mattie laughed. “Oh, yeah, I was going to ask. Do you have a list of people that are going to be invited to the wedding?”

“Not really.” Belle shrugged. “Just close friends and family.”

“Yeah, but around here, everyone is a friend.” She replied slowly. “Give me a list so that we can start sorting the other stuff out.”

“Mattie, don’t you have uni stuff to do? What about that Perth thing? Have you told Ric yet?” Belle had tried to get her to talk about the Perth offer for a while now, but each time the reply was the same.

“I’ve done my work, I’m still thinking about it and no.”

“Mattie-” She began, only to be cut off quickly.

“Give me a list of names, Belle. Otherwise, I’ll invite the whole town. And half of the city too, if you annoy me enough.” Mattie warned her as the corner of Belle’s mouth raised, forming a small smirk.

“You wouldn’t even try it.” She replied easily.

“Are you going to risk it?” Mattie countered, holding out a pen and a piece of paper. Sighing dramatically, Belle took it along with a book that was laying next to her on the bedside table to lean on. As she thought about it, Belle wondered where to draw the line between ‘close friends’ and just ‘friends’. She tapped the pen against he book for a while before Mattie’s hand reached over. “Stop that; it’s annoying!”

“Sorry.” She said softly, still deep in thought as she began to write down a list. The first few were obvious; Irene, Roman, Amanda, Peter, Geoff, Annie, Nicole, Ryan and Drew. That was the family part done. Who else would be there? She hadn’t spoken to Aden about this yet. All they had decided was something really small for the ceremony.

Continuing with the list she added Mattie and Ric, Leah, who should have been part of the family, she realised, and then Charlie and Morag with question marks. She knew how close Morag and Aden were considering that she was the first one to give him the benefit of the doubt. The thought of that always gave Belle a strange feeling of envy and guilt. She wished that it had been her who had gotten to see this other person that he had tried to hide first instead of thinking that he was just a bully who liked to hurt people for the fun of it.

“Here.” Belle handed the piece of paper back to Mattie, who had been looking at something else that she couldn’t really see from her position, and she couldn’t be bothered to move either.

“Is that it?” She exclaimed, scanning the list twice over. “Belle!”

“What? I said something small, didn’t I?” She defended herself, playing around with the pen that remained in her hands.

“Sure, but this is not just small… it’s tiny!” Mattie told her. “What about Martha and Jack? Or Ruby, Jai-?”

“Mattie, stop it! You’re making me feel bad!” Belle broke her off. “Look, I’ve never wanted anything big. You know what I’m like. Just something simple and different. Almost casual.”

“Right, well if you want casual, then how about we have the wedding in the back garden and then all go to the Diner for the reception?” She said sarcastically with a hint of anger that made Belle burst out laughing.

“Ok, you’re taking this too seriously! It’s my wedding, Mattie, not yours. Don’t forget that. I don’t want you waking up that day thinking you’re marrying my boyfriend.”

“Yeah, right.” She scoffed. “And I would want to marry Aden because…?”

“Do you really want me to answer that?” Belle asked her in a sly tone that made her just smile and shake her head.

“I don’t think we have the time to hear it all.” She joked. “Besides, there’s only one reason why I’d ever consider marrying Aden.”

“What’s that?”

“His money.”

“Matilda!” Belle gasped, throwing the pillow that laid next to her towards her. “That’s just wrong.”

“But it’s true! C’mon, you know it’s true.” Mattie laughed when she saw Belle just look at her in disbelief.

“There’s more to life than just money.”

“Yeah, but it plays a huge part of it.” She argued. “Alright, before we start talking politics and philosophy, lets get back to the planning.”

“Sure, what else?” Belle asked her, leaning over to look at the open folder. “The reception?”

“Where do you want that?”

“I dunno. Haven’t thought about it.” She shrugged, sitting back again.

“Have you thought about anything?” Mattie enquired cynically.

“Yes! The actually wedding! I’ve got it all planned out now.” Belle informed her with a cheeky smile as Mattie’s eyebrows shot up.

“Really? Tell me!” She immediately perked up, forgetting about the reception for the moment. “Well, you’re going to have to if you want it to happen seeing as I’m helping to organise it.”

“I could always just tell Mum.” Belle teased as Mattie frowned, holding up the pillow in a threatening action. “Alright, well basically, seeing as there’s only like 15 people, it’ll all be standing up. And Aden and I found the perfect place for it on the beach yesterday.” She recalled their little trip that she had dragged him on down the shoreline before they approached the more secluded areas. It was this area that she had had in mind in the bridal boutique, and after walking around for about 15 minutes, they had found the perfect place, and had spent another hour just talking about what the ceremony was going to be like.

“Where is it?” Mattie prodded.

“Um…” Belle thought about way of how to explain it, but she couldn’t find the words to give directions. “How about I show you?”

“Yeah, cool! Now?” She had jumped off the bed before Belle had the chance to reply.

“Sure, why not?” Belle murmured, getting up and picking her bag up off the floor and swinging it over her shoulder before following her best friend out of her room.

“And you can tell me exactly what you had planned for the wedding there!”

---

“I think we can get all that arranged in 4 weeks.” Mattie commented as the two of them walked back up towards the Diner. “You really want something simple, don’t you?”

“You finally get the message?” Belle laughed.

“Funny.” She said sarcastically. “At least I get to do something with the reception. Speaking of, we need to find a cake!”

“Oh, God.” Belle muttered into the darkness of the late evening. The sun had set while they had been at the venue for the upcoming nuptials, and she had to admit that the sight of it was better than she had imagined. She couldn’t believe that in a month, she’d be getting married there. “We’ll do that later.”

“Or tomorrow.”

“Yeah, alright. Now, let’s get going!” She linked her arms through Mattie’s as they walked along the beach, slowly reaching towards where the lights of the Bay shone. Belle had already received at text from Aden asking where she was. Anyone else, she would have flipped, hating the constant suffocation of making sure that she was ok when she was out and about at night or alone. However, as Mattie had pointed out, the text had brought a smile to her face. Somehow, Aden managed to convey his concern and love through even his texts which she couldn’t help but find adorable.

They made it to the pier approximately 20 minutes later, although the walk could have taken half the time. Nearing the steps that led up into the Diner, a familiar voice called out to Belle, causing her to stop short and turn in shock.

“Mum?”

“I’m glad I finally found you! I went over to the house but Annie said you were out.” Amanda told her as she walked up the pier closer to the two of them.

“Yeah, we were just on the beach. I was showing Mattie where Aden and I wanted to have the wedding.” Belle replied with a hurry to get to her question. “Why are you here? I mean, it’s good to see you and all, but we’re coming down the city on Friday.”

“I know, but there’s something that I needed to talk to you about that couldn’t wait until then.” She explained.

“Do you want to go inside?” Mattie asked the two of them politely.

“Actually, not to sound rude, but I’d rather talk to Belle somewhere quieter than the Diner.”

“Um… yeah, of course.” Mattie said, sharing a curious look with Belle. “Do you want me to…?”

“Yeah, you go in. I’ll probably see you tomorrow now.” She assured her, giving her a brief hug before watching her disappear inside where Ric had been waiting for the two of them. “So, where do you want to go?”

“Let’s take a walk.” Amanda answered as Belle nodded, turning to head back up the wharf with her mother by her side. The walked along the top of the dunes, staying on the path rather than the sand, in silence for a bit. “How’s it all going then?”

“Yeah, good.” Belle nodded before laughing. “No problems except for Mattie hassling me with wedding plans left, right and centre.”

“At least this way, you’re getting a wedding.”

“True.” She agreed, her laughter dying into a subtle smile. “No, I appreciate it all. What both of you are doing. I really wouldn’t be bothered with most of this stuff. Probably wouldn’t even remember half of the things, actually.”

“That’s not true, Belle.” Amanda scoffed as Belle snorted.

“Trust me, I forgot about the reception, the cake, and believe it or not, the guests!”

“Oh, well…” She tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t sound so bad, but when she came up blank, Amanda settled for a little giggle when she imagined the wedding that Belle would probably end up organizing.

“What is it that couldn’t wait, then?” Belle finally asked her. They were halfway on the journey back home and there wasn’t going to be a quieter place than where they were now.

“Oh, right.” Amanda brightened a bit, although her words that came out had an underlying tone of nervousness that started to intrigue Belle. She reached into her bag and pulled out an envelope. Frowning, Belle stared at it for a while as they stopped walking. “Here. I think you should open this first.”

Belle did as she said, taking the envelope that she held out. Inside her, she couldn’t fight the uneasy feeling that started to rise up. The other time someone had presented her with an envelope like this had been Aden, and that had contained tickets for their trip around the world a year and half ago.

Opening the flap, Belle peered inside, just able to make out the folded pieces of paper. Now that the sun had set, the only light that reached them was from the moon and the artificial light of the street lamp about 10 metres away from them. Although it cast a shadow upon what was before her, Belle was still able to make out certain words as she pulled out the contents of the envelope, holding it tightly in case a gust of the evening wind decided to come along.

“What is this?” She questioned her mother as she squinted and turned to the side to get a better look at it all. The various sizes of the typed writing made it hard for her to focus on it, reading words but nothing sinking in.

“It’s a wedding present. An early wedding present.” Amanda informed her.

“Mum…” Belle began warningly, giving her a glace out of the corner of her eyes, slightly worried as to what her mother was now up to.

“Just read it. Or, go home and read it.” She insisted but Belle shook her head and fully turned away from her so that the light was now shining clearly onto the paper as she tilted it towards it. Certain words stuck out to her, and as she skim read the top page, Belle got the gist of it. Gasping as she read both her and Aden’s names at the top of the second page, it all finally went into her brain, realising what the present was exactly.

“This is…” She faltered as she turned back to look at her mum, eyes widening in shock for a moment when she saw her nod, confirming it. “I can’t accept this.” Belle said quickly, folding the documents in her hands back up and pushing it into the envelope before holding it out in Amanda’s direction.

“It’s a gift, Belle. You don’t give gifts back.” She almost reprimanded her.

“A gift?” Belle asked in outrage. “It’s a house! It’s not a gift… Now take it back.”

“Have you two found somewhere?” Amanda ignored her words, going directly to the cause of her actions. When Belle ran a hand through her hair, looking away briefly, she knew the answer was the same as it was the last time she had asked. “Exactly.”

“Aden’s still looking.” Belle informed her. “We have 4 weeks, anyway.”

“If you want a place to move into after you get married, you need a place now so that it can be ready by then.” She argued.

“We’ll find one.” Belle insisted. “I’ve told him that if we can’t find somewhere by Saturday, then we’ll postpone the wedding until we do.”

“Darling, you know you don’t want to do that.” Amanda told her, picking up on the fact that her daughter’s words were forced and almost void of all emotions. At her words, Belle turned away and started back in the direction of homebound. Waiting for a moment, she caught up with her quickly, seeing as her steps were very small. “Belle?”

“I don’t know what to do.” She confessed, wrapping her arms around her body, the envelope hanging from one hand, still held tightly.

“About what?”

“The wedding. Finding a place…” Belle sighed. “It’s just all messed up again. For about a week, everything was good, you know? We were getting married soon, having a kid and go on to our future. And then this one thing that we stupidly forgot about, and it’s just thrown everything out of my control. Again.”

“It doesn’t have to be.” Amanda reminded her.

“I appreciate this, Mum, I really do, but you can’t bail me out of things like this.” She told her with small smile, glancing over at her before turning her head back down. “I don’t expect you to. I’ve got new responsibilities now and I’ve got to deal with them.”

“Belle, listen to me.” Reaching out, she pulled her to a stop with a hand on her arm, making her face her. “You’re my daughter, and yes, we haven’t always seen eye to eye-” Belle scoffed at her words, bringing a smile to her face. “But you’ll always be my daughter, even now that you’re having your own child. And that means that I will never stop trying to help, or ‘bail you out’, as you put it, if you ever need it.”

Belle listened to her words and the tone that she spoke in. her voice was soft and there was unconditional love colouring everything that she said. Through the past 3 years or so, the relationship with her mother had been a rollercoaster, never lasting up or down for too long until she had moved into the city, where it remain just flat and neutral. But now, preparing to become a mother herself and after reading bits of Amanda’s diary, Belle could see their relationship was starting to head upwards. Neither one of them had been good with portraying their emotions to each other, so her words now brought tears to Belle’s eyes as she tried to blink them away.

“Stupid hormones.” She muttered while wiping at her eyes while Amanda chuckled, wrapping a gentle arm around her shoulders in a motherly fashion.

“I mean it all, Belle.” She told her while guiding her back home.

“I know. But it doesn’t change anything.” Belle replied, managing to get a control of her emotions. “I can’t accept this. It’s too much.”

“You haven’t had the time to think it over yet.” She didn’t even look down where the younger woman held out the envelope in her direction.

“I don’t need to. It’s a house. You don’t give houses for wedding presents.” Belle tried to joke.

“Well, it’s from both Pete and me.” She tried to reason. “And you can count it as an early ‘baby shower’ present too.”

“’Baby shower’?

“Yeah, you’re going to need to have one! Don’t worry, I’ll organise it.”

“Oh, God no.” Belle groaned good naturedly. “But seriously, Mum, I doubt you give houses for baby showers too.”

“I’m guessing it is a necessity to bring up a baby though, isn’t it?” Amanda asked in a mockingly inquisitive tone.

“Yes, ok, but-”

“No ‘but’s. Belle, it’s just a house. I’ve never gotten around to selling it for some reason, and this is why. I guess it was just supposed to be. And it’s in the Bay, close to everything and everyone you are close to right now. Plus, you’ve lived there before.” Amanda paused for a moment, not wanting to get into it entirely.

“I know that, but it’s just… I don’t think Aden will be as understanding. You know what he’s like.” Belle informed her.

“That’s why you have to go and talk to him instead of telling me ‘no’ right now. If it helps, the place is entirely empty which means that you’ll the 4 weeks to go shopping for stuff. And by empty, I mean that there is nothing in there unless it’s stuck to the walls, floors or the ceiling.” Amanda reasoned.

“Yeah, maybe.” She replied with uncertainty, knowing that Aden wasn’t going to take Amanda and Peter giving them a house lightly, especially if she admits to him that she thinks it would be rude to not accept it.

“Belle?” She prompted.

“I’ll think about it. And I’ll talk to Aden about it.”

“Well, whatever you decide, it’ll always be there. I’ve signed it over onto the two of you, so if you don’t want to move in, then it’s just going to be there.”

“Thanks, Mum. Way to make me feel good.” Belle said sarcastically as Amanda laughed, squeezing her shoulder gently before letting go as they approached the beach house. “Aren’t you going to stay?”

“I can’t, darling. I only came here to give you that before you found another place.” She told her. “I’ll see you on Friday, right?”

“Yeah, you’ll come this time? I’ve tried to convince Irene to come, but she’s working. Annie’s coming though.”

“I’ll be there this time.” She assured her as a look of realisation passed Belle’s face.

“So this is what you were doing on Saturday when Mattie and I went shopping! I should’ve guessed. I saw a look pass your face when I mentioned Aden going to the real estate agent.” Belle announced, laughing softly at herself.

“Yes, it was what I was doing.” Amanda confirmed with a nod. “How about you go and have that talk with Aden, and let me know on Friday?”

“Somehow, I think it might take longer than a day to convince him.” Belle frowned.

“Does this mean that you‘re accepting the gift?” Amanda asked her with an air of hope and excitement.

“Uh…” She unfolded her arms and looked down for a moment, not sure what she was saying. The idea of actually having a place sorted was great, especially a place as big as this one. But the fact that it was given to her by her mother kind of tinted it a bit, although she tried to convince herself that it was now in her and Aden’s name, meaning it was no longer Amanda’s house, but theirs. Thiers to move into after getting married to get prepared to raise a child. The thought of it brought a smile to her face. “Yeah, I guess it does. But if Aden says no, and he finds another place that’s just as nice-”

“I understand.” Amanda cut her off, although a look of glee was evident on her face. “Although I don’t think that you will.”

“Yeah, I think we’ve been kidding ourselves about finding a place so soon too.” Belle admitted before shaking her head and smiling. “Are you sure you don’t want to come in? We haven’t had dinner yet. Or, at least, I haven’t.”

“Hmm, as much as I would love to stay for that, I should really go. You know what the boys are like.” She joked.

“Ok. Well, I’ll see you on Friday then.” Amanda nodded before pulling her daughter into a hug as they said their goodbyes. As Belle watched her walk away, heading towards the car that she realised was parked in front of the house, she contemplated just how she was going to bring this up with Aden. Starting the conversation wasn’t going to be as hard as ending it, though, she concluded.

Turning and entering the kitchen, Belle looked down at the envelope in her hands. There was a light feeling all of a sudden, as if some of the load had been lifted off of her. She could see herself moving into that house with Aden and bringing up their baby there. Sure, it had a lot of bad memories, but it also had some good ones too. Besides, she could always make new ones, better ones, with her new family. All that stood in between that dream and reality now was Aden.

---

I do hope you liked it. I realised while writing writing the Amanda/Belle stuff that I haven't had much of just the two of them. I really like writing them too.

xoxo

[Taniya_K]

Haha, I think I'm getting too predictable. Hmm... what do to about that? Maybe some major twists? Hmm...

Anyway, here's the next chapter. Sorry for the delay. Hopefully, I can update regularly from now on, but there's a chance that I'll be missing a couple of nights every now and again

Chapter 18:

“It’s the deeds to a house.” Aden stated as he scanned the documents that Belle had handed him. “You found-?”

“No.” She quickly cut him off. Shuffling towards him on his bed, she rested a hand on his leg to try and seem like she wasn’t worried about his reaction to her following words. “Mum’s giving it to us.”

“What!?” He exclaimed, head snapping up to look at her to see her nod. “No.” Aden folded up the papers again before shoving them roughly back into envelope.

“Aden, think about it.”

“There’s nothing to think about.” His voice remained low and controlled as he held out the envelope back to her. “Give it back.”

“It’s in our names now. It’s ours, whether we want it or not.” Belle pointed out.

“I don’t care.” Aden replied gruffly. “Give it back. I’m not taking charity-”

“It’s not charity, Aden.” She kept her voice soft so not to start off an argument. He sat still at the top of his bed, looking downwards where her hand laid on his thigh. “Do you really think that I would take charity?”

“Then what is it? Did you ask her-?”

“Of course I didn’t ask her for it!” Belle finally snapped. “She said to take it as an early wedding present.” She decided to leave out the ‘baby shower’ bit, knowing that he wouldn’t be impressed with it right then.

“You don’t give houses for presents.” Aden almost echoed the same words that she had said to her mother earlier that day.

“I know, but it’s from Amanda. You know how she likes to go all out.” Belle said lightly, hoping to make him smile although she failed miserably.

“Why would she give us this anyway? Did you tell her that I couldn’t find anywhere?” Even though his voice was cool, she didn’t miss the look of hurt and something like guilt that shone in his eyes for a moment.

“I didn’t tell her a thing, Aden.” Belle reassured him. “All I said was that you were at the real estates on Saturday and that we were looking for a place.”

“Then why did she feel the need to give us this?”

“I don’t know! Maybe because she still had the house lying around, or maybe because she knew as well as we do that there is no way we’ll find a place in 4 weeks!” She told him, her words sharp as irritation ate at her. She had been prepared for all this and had all of the answers to any questions that he could throw at her ready. But now here she was, sitting opposite him on his bed, trying to calm herself down before she started up a fight.

“You don’t know that.” He murmured, his eyes averting away from her towards the window where the blinds were drawn. It was close to 10pm and she had been there for a couple of hours before she got the courage to bring this up. Luckily for her, Geoff had wanted to head over to see Nicole, apparently she had needed to talk to him, so she had had someone to walk with in the dead of the night.

“Honestly, Aden? Do you really think that we can get a place and have it set up to move in by the wedding?” Belle’s tone was gentle, yet forceful as he looked back at her, licking his lips as he thought a bit.

“You want to take this?”

“Yeah, I do.” She admitted freely. “I know it seems like we’re taking the easy way out, but Mum’s right. It’s a gift, not charity or a piteous offer, and it’s in our names now, so even if we don’t move in, we’ll just have this massive place that belongs to us just off to the side somewhere.”

“Doesn’t mean we have to take it.” Aden said coldly before sighing. “You said until Saturday.”

“I know I said that, but that only gives us a day now. And you’ve got uni too, which means that you’ll have just half a day, and if you haven’t found anything yet, then what are the chances of finding something now?” Belle tried to reason with him.

“Belle, I just… I don’t feel comfortable accepting this from your mum.” He confessed, shrugging gentle while flipping the envelope around a couple of times on the bed. “It doesn’t feel right.”

“Look, I’m the last person that you will find who would willingly accept a gift this big. Especially with no other good reason apart from the fact that it was an early wedding present.” She chose her words carefully so not to contradict herself. “But Amanda is only trying to help, and her reasoning’s are good. She’s not trying to force anything upon us or make us feel guilty if we don’t take it.”

“That’s not the point.” Aden said while sliding down the bed slowly and tilting his head upwards to look at the ceiling.

“Then what is?” She prodded. “Aden, tell me what’s wrong.” When he stayed silent, Belle began to list the things that came to her head. “Is it because it’s my mum? Or that you think that I went behind your back? Because I didn’t, Aden. I swear, I-”

“Belle, I know you didn’t.” He interrupted her before she started to babble.

“Then what?” Belle prompted as he sighed once more, never looking down even as she reached for his hand with her other one. “Aden?”

“This was my responsibility, Belle. It was the one thing that I said I would do while you took care of the wedding and everything else. Yet, I couldn’t even do that.” He explained.

“It doesn’t mean anything, Aden. You tried, and we didn’t have enough time-” She tried to reassure him. The hurt that she had seen in his eyes along with the guilt was now clear in his voice.

“Yeah, it does! Belle, we’re getting married, and we’re having a baby. I don’t want to rely on other people.” Aden finally looked down at her, seeing both understanding and confusion written over her face. “I should be the one who can sort all this out and take care of our family. Not your mother. That’s my job.”

“Hey, this doesn’t mean anything.” Belle quickly spoke before he carried on. “Aden, you tried and I know you tried your hardest, but this was just something that wasn’t going to work out in the 5 weeks, yet alone by Saturday.”

“You don’t know that.“ He repeated. She watched him shake his head while looking away before changing her position and kneeling on the bed before him, taking both of his hands in hers to make him face her.

“Ok, maybe not, but Aden, you do take care of us. Just because Mum’s giving us the house it doesn’t mean that she doesn’t think you won’t be able to look after us, to be there for us or to protect us, cos she knows that. And so do I.” Belle tugged on one of his hands softly, bringing it to rest on her abdomen and holding it there. “There’s no-one I trust more than you, and I’ve never doubted for one second that you wouldn’t be able to take care of both me and our baby.”

She saw him take in a deep breath as he closed his eyes for a minute before exhaling and opening them again, looking straight back into her eyes. The emotions that had been in them had gone and she saw the clear blue eyes shine back at her with more love than words could ever describe. Moving forwards slowly, Belle could feel him let go of her hands and wrap one around her waist, pulling her closer towards him as the other tucked back her free flowing hair. Belle leant in the final few inches that separated the two of them, her lips brushing teasingly against his as she held onto his shoulders to keep balance.

“I love you.” The words were barely audible, but Aden could feel them form against his lips.

“I love you, too.” He replied in the exact same volume and way before bringing her into a kiss that deepened almost immediately. Breaking apart when the need for air become necessary, Aden could tell by the way that Belle nipped at his bottom lip, never once moving away from him, that all thoughts about discussing Amanda’s gift were now long gone from her mind.

Taking her lips with his once again, Aden removed his hand from her hair and swept his arm along the bed until he reached the envelope and carelessly pushed it onto the floor before placing both of his arms around Belle’s waist and gently turning them so that he could lay her down onto the bed. If she was in this mood right now, then he wasn’t going to be one to argue with her.

---

Belle had already been woken up once by Aden getting up about 20 minutes earlier when a new disturbance broke through into her sleep. The constant beeping started off low and muffled before the sound become a tune that penetrated her mind, louder than any other alarm that she had ever heard.

Flinging a hand out from under the covers, she searched Aden’s bedside table for the object that was stealing her precious sleep, never once opening her eyes. Not finding anything but her phone, Belle realised that the sound was coming from behind her. Growling, she lifted the duvet over her head, burying her face into the pillow in hope for the multiple layers to cover up the sound. Unfortunately, it didn’t work and the sound still managed to reach her.

She remained perfectly still for a while, praying that Aden would return and save her from the noise, but with passing second, it started to bring her out of her sleep. Finally giving up, Belle rolled around completely, reaching the other side of the bed easily on the single bed. Throwing out a hand again, she found the offending object and started to press every button that she could feel. When that didn’t work, she tried again putting more force into it. Arm aching from the effort, Belle retracted it back on to the bed and pulled down the duvet slightly, allowing her to see. Her hair cascaded in front of her eyes, distorting her vision greatly as she squinted in the bright light shining through the window.

Giving it one last try, Belle found the origin of the noise and tried to switch it off once more before getting fed up and just throwing it off the table. It was only when she heard a small crash that she realised that, because she was now facing the wall instead of the room like she was use to, it had probably smashed into it and into a million different pieces. However, in her state of sleep, Belle couldn’t care less as she pulled the duvet back up, glad that the noise had now stopped.

The next time that she woke up was due to a hand rubbing gently on her back and soft murmurings in her ear, telling her that if she didn’t get up soon, she would most definitely be late for work. Groaning, she turned, blinking slowly to see Aden, now fully dressed and ready for the day, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Good. I thought that I was going to have to call into work for you make up some excuse.” He laughed, pushing the hair out of her eyes as she struggled to wake up. “You feeling ok?”

“Yeah.” Belle yawned. “Just sleepy. But I’ll get over it.”

“So…” Aden began with a small smirk before nodded over to the other side of the bed. “You want to tell me what happened to my phone?”

“Your…?” Belle’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion as her eyes followed to where he was looking. She leaned carefully over the side of the bed before realising what she had done. “Ooops.”

“Why-?”

“It wouldn’t shut up and I had no idea that it was your phone.” She explained as she pushed herself up in the bed, tucking her knees close to her to keep warm. “I was still half-asleep.” Aden laughed at her confession, especially as a shy smile reached her face. “Fine, laugh all you want.”

“Sorry. I just never took you as someone to get so violent. First my iPod and now my phone… Anyone would think you hate technology! Or just mine.” He teased, squeezing her covered leg softly as he saw her frown a bit. “Don’t worry about it. I was due a new one anyway.”

“I’ll get you another one.”

“Belle, it’s just a phone.” Aden said casually, shrugging at he spoke.

“I know, but I feel bad.” She told him. “I’m heading into the city in the afternoon, anyway, I’ll get it then.”

“Belle-”

“Don’t argue with me on this!” Belle warned him sternly as he obediently shut up and nodded. “Good. You can take mine today.”

“Won’t you need it for work?” He reminded her as she frowned. “Never mind, I’ll get one off of Nic. I’m sure she has one of her old ones lying around somewhere.” Aden chuckled, knowing what his housemate was like, getting a new phone whenever it seem like the one she had was getting out of style.

“Alright.” She sighed, slouching a bit in the bed as she let her eyes travel over the room, spotting the envelope from last night on the chair at the far end of the room. “Have you thought about that?” She asked, pointing out what she was referring to with her chin. Aden looked over quickly before looking at her.

“What do you want to do?” He answered her question with a question.

“I want to have a home with you and our baby.” Belle replied after a moment’s thought. “Somewhere where we’ll be happy.”

“Is that house where you’re thinking of as ‘home’ at the moment?”

“I meant what I said last night, Aden.” Belle avoided his question for the moment. “Taking the gift won’t mean that I think any less of you, or anyone else doing the same for that matter. I know what you do for me, everyday, and I know that you’ll keep on doing things for me. Nothing will change, except that we’ll have a place to do up. Mum said that the place was totally empty, so we’re going to have to go shopping.”

“Will it make you happy? If I agree?” He asked her softly as she reach out a hand for his.

“No. Not unless it’s what you want. I don’t want you to agree because it’ll make me happy. I want you to be happy with it too. And if you really don’t want to accept it, then we can keep on looking.” Belle told him, trying to stop the sigh from coming out at the end of her sentence. She knew that asking him to accept this was a lot for him, someone who was so used to doing everything on his own and show that he was able to be a normal guy, not the one that he feared people would see if they ever found out about his past. “Whatever you decide, wherever it is, Aden, as long as we’re with you, everything will be fine.” Belle wasn’t sure when she had started talking in the first person plural, but she was sure that it never happened unless she was with him. “I know you’ll take care of us.”

“If it makes you happy, Belle, then I’m happy.”

“But is it what you want?” She asked him with worry that he was going to agree just because she had admitted that it was what she wanted.

“What I want is to get married in a month and move into our place, no matter where or what it may be. I want to set up a home with you, get a nursery ready,” Aden said the last words in a light tone with a grin that made her reciprocate it. “And anything else that we might have to do. So if that means that we take Amanda’s gift, then I can handle it.”

“I don’t want you to ‘handle’ it-”

“I want to, Belle.” He corrected himself with a soft smile. “I want all that and I don’t care whether it’s in a house from your mother or one that we have to fight for. As long as it’s somewhere that we can get started on.”

“Yeah?” Belle made sure, biting her bottom lip to stop herself from either screaming or crying, both in joy.

“Yeah.” Aden repeated. “At least this way, it’s all already sorted out.”

“Thank you!” She exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck, forgetting the coldness of the morning as she slid over onto his lap. Burying her face into his neck for a moment, she inhaled his clean scent before looking up at him, her fingers playing with hair at the nape of his neck. “Thank you.”

“Actually, it’s me who should be thanking you.” He informed her.

“What for?”

“For everything.” Aden’s hand came in between them, resting tenderly on her stomach, giving her a hint as to what he was talking about when he said ‘everything’.

---

I hope you enjoyed it. Thought I would mix the drama with some light-heartedness. Didn't want too much angst right now.

xoxo

[Taniya_K]

Right, so this chapter is a mix of fluff and something that, when reading back over, I found a bit OOC, but I've spent all day writing it so I couldn't change it I just hope you like it, and find it funny/cute too.

Chapter 19:

The three girls laughed practically the whole drive back from the city on the Friday evening. After spending about 2 hours in the bridal shop alone, Belle was surprised just how much fun she had had. She had told Amanda straight away that her and Aden were going to accept her gift, which had put her into a great mood that was instantly contagious. Suddenly, there was nothing standing in the way between now and getting married, and instead of being scared or nervous, she was excited and almost close to getting hyper. Even the downsides of her pregnancy wasn’t enough to get her down that day.

“I think you should be worried, Belle.” Mattie commented from beside her. “You never know what Amanda might want to wear.”

“Mum’s not going to risk it.” She laughed, keeping her eyes focused on the road ahead as she drove them back to the Bay. “I won’t hesitate to ban her from the wedding if it’s something hideously pink or anything of the like.”

“Amanda likes to be noticed.” Annie piped up from where she sat in the back, glancing at the two elder girls via the mirror. She saw Mattie nod enthusiastically in agreement as Belle rolled her eyes.

“You guys are making her sound like a… a…” Belle couldn’t think of the right word that didn’t involve swearing. “You know what I mean. Anyway, as long as she doesn’t look better than me, then I’m happy!”

“No-one could look better than you, Belle.”

“Yeah, Annie’s right.” Mattie chirped in. “That dress of yours is gorgeous and it’s your wedding day, which means you get the limelight. Not to mention, you’ve already got that glow that people talk about. Oh, and your naturally pretty.”

“Thanks.” She murmured in response, glad that the semi-darkness of the early evening made sure that neither one of them could see the shy smile on her face or the tints of redness making their way to her cheeks. “So, Annie, do you like the dress that Mattie picked out?”

“Yeah, it’s beautiful.” Annie said earnestly. They had decided, or more like Mattie and Amanda had decided, that as the two bridesmaids, Mattie and Annie should have the same dresses. Although she had been sure that Mattie would want the dress to herself, Belle was amazed by her enthusiasm at being matched to someone else. “I can’t wait to actually wear it properly!”

“Yup, 4 weeks and counting.” Mattie commented, tapping Belle’s leg in excitement. “Just think, in 4 weeks and one day, you’ll be a married woman. How does that feel?”

“Uh…” She hesitated, biting on her bottom lip, once again glad for the dim lighting of the roads which hid her huge smile this time at the thought of being married to Aden. Knowing the strife that she would get from her best mate if she admitted to her that she couldn’t actually wait, she replied with a forced coolness. “I’ll tell you in 4 weeks and 1 day.”

---

A couple of hours later, Belle sat on her bed, swapping messages back and forth on her laptop with Mattie about the wedding planning. Now that there was a date set, a venue, a list of guests and dresses sorted, Mattie was moving onto the reception. Belle had conveniently forgotten about the cake because she knew that that would have added at least another hour to their time in the city, and she had no energy for that. Even though it was now just reaching 8 o’clock, her feet already ached as did her back.

Digging into the open packet of chocolates next to her, Belle wondered what it was about these sweet treats that gave her such a good feeling and made her more relaxed. Laughing at her own foolish thoughts, she typed out another message to Mattie, telling her that her and Aden were going to check out the house on the following day so that they could start getting it ready. Mattie’s response was instant and predictive; she wanted to come too. Shaking her head, Belle told her that she wasn’t invited but that she was more than welcome to help set it up after they had gone shopping. That had gotten a positive reply.

“Dinner’s almost ready, Belle.” She heard Irene’s voice call out from the other side of the door. Groaning, she sat up straighter, crossing her legs slowly as she wondered what kind of excuses would get her out of eating. She knew it was a long shot, but she really wasn’t hungry right then. Nor couldn’t she be bothered to move out of her warm and comfy room. “Belle?”

“Yeah?” She called out softly as Irene knocked on the door gently and opened the door.

“You ok, darl?”

“Sure, why wouldn’t I be?” Belle shrugged good-naturedly, trying to push the chocolates under the pillow to her side before Irene saw them.

“Because you didn’t reply.” She eyed her carefully, not missing her movements before fixing her with a look of disbelief. “Belle!”

“What?” She replied innocently, stopping with her actions and trying her best to look like she had no idea what Irene was thinking about.

“You know what! How many times do I have to tell you, girly? You need to start eating properly!” Irene reprimanded her, crossing her arms as she stood in the doorway. “And that doesn’t mean stuffing yourself full of chocolate before dinner.”

“But baby wanted chocolate.” Belle said in a small voice, rubbing her stomach in an automatic gesture, even as Irene rolled her eyes.

“The baby, or you?” She asked her cynically before snatching the packet from her bed. “You need to control your cravings. Now where’re the rest of them.”

“Rest of what?”

“Belle…” She told her warningly as Belle sighed, pointing towards the drawer where she had hidden them. As Irene walked over and opened it to take it from her, she realised just how naïve of her it had been to keep it hidden all in one place. “Is there anymore?”

“No.” Belle mumbled.

“Good.” Irene nodded, happily. “Now do I have your word that you’ll stop eating too much chocolate?”

“Sure, but only the stuff that I buy.”

“So where’s this come from?” She asked her, holding up the bag.

“Aden.” Belle shrugged, not caring if she got him in trouble too. If she was going to have to suffer with this, then he was going to have to too.

“Uh-huh.” She murmured before peeping out of the bedroom door and seeing something there that had caught her eye earlier. “And what about the cake?”

“Roman.” She informed her. Belle had gone to the Diner for a quick drink of juice after arriving back into the Bay where the chef had insisted on her taking a piece in case she got hungry later. And, of course, no-one would ever turn down free chocolate cake.

“And the ice-cream?”

“What’s ice-cream? We have ice-cream?” Belle perked up immediately. The last time she had checked, there was nothing of the sort in the freezer, and that had been the day before. “Since when?”

“I dunno. I thought you might know.” Irene told her pointedly.

“Nope. I don’t have a clue.” She informed her before a bit of a memory that she had regarding as nothing and shoved to the back of her mind came back to her. “Oh, it might have been Nicole.” She said with a frown.

“Why on Earth would Nicole be bringing ice-cream?” She huffed.

“I dunno. I never spoke to her; only saw her heading this way with a grocery bag as Annie and I left for the city this arvo. I thought she came to see Geoff.” Belle confessed, wondering why Nicole would do such a nice thing. Her thoughts about her having an ulterior motive were coming back, especially after the dinner several nights before. “I think she’s up to something.”

“What? By bringing you ice-cream?” Irene scoffed. “Unless she’s trying to poison you or give you diabetes with the amount of sugar you’re taking in, I doubt it. Now, dinner will be ready in 5, and if you’re not at that table, I’ll drag you out there. And if that doesn’t work, then I’ll get that no good of a boyfriend of yours to do it for me. Understood?”

“Yes, Irene.” Belle replied with a sigh, opening her mouth to say more but only to be cut off before she could get a word out.

“Don’t you even think about telling me that you’re not hungry.” Irene warned her, leaving her room, as Belle pouted and slumped back against the headboard of her bed. Her laptop still remained in front of her, the conversation with Mattie still open with a lot of angry replies from the latter trying to get some answers. Not in the mood to plan anything anymore, Belle told her goodbye and signed off before tiredly climbing off her bed and heading into the main part of the house.

---

Belle felt the bed dip behind her even before she got the chance to open her eyes at the sound of her window sliding up. She sat crossed legged in the middle of her bed, sitting up as straight as she could manage to try and not only fight away the slight nauseousness she suffered after eating so much, but also work out the kinks in her back that were irritating her. She had had a bath, but all that had done was help relax her and think that the pain had gone until she got out.

“Hey…” His voice came to her softly just before she felt his lips brushed over her bare shoulder. “Everything ok?”

“Yeah, just achy.” She replied in the same tone, finally opening her eyes to look at him using the mirror in front of her. “Did you get my text?”

“Yup.” Aden simply said, skimming his hands up her sides gently.

“And…?” She prodded, noticing that he was empty handed. After dinner, she had told him about Irene taking away her stash of chocolates, asking him extra politely to get her some more.

“And, then, I spoke to Roman.” He told her with an air of interest. “Apparently, Irene had gone in to help him close up and she had a little go at him. Something about the three of us spoiling you and not taking into account that, just because you have cravings, it doesn’t mean that we should limit your diet to them.”

“She had a go at him?” Belle laughed as Aden’s hands worked on her lower back, helping to massage out the knots. “Would love to have seen that.”

“Wouldn’t we all?” He chuckled. “Anyway, the fact of the matter is that, because Irene thinks we’re the bad guys here, you’re not getting anything remotely close to chocolate from us anymore.”

“What?” Her head snapped up to look at him via the mirror once again as he nodded, continuing with is work on her back and dropping the occasional kiss to her shoulders or neck. “That’s not fair.”

“You should have thought of that before you failed mention the fact that Irene had told you to stop eating so much chocolate.” Aden smirked, pressing another kiss to the base of her neck. “Sorry, but I for one am not going against that woman.”

“Chicken.” Belle teased, eyes falling shut at his movements, before sighing. “Now what do I do?”

“Ask Irene.” He suggested. “Oh, and start eating healthily. I’ve got to agree on that. It‘s not good for the baby otherwise.”

“I have my three meals, don’t I?”

“A slice of toast in the morning and a sandwich for lunch do not count for meals.” Aden informed her sternly, yet lovingly. “Proper stuff. Otherwise we’re just going to have to force feed you.”

“Urgh.” Belle groaned. “Please don’t talk about force feeding. I can’t remember the last time I ate so much. You should have seen Irene, sitting opposite me, watching every bite I took.”

“Well, maybe next time, you won’t eat so much before.” He felt her tense a bit and open one eye slightly to give him a curious look. “Don’t think I don’t know what happened. How else did Irene catch you out with the chocolates?”

Belle didn’t bother to reply, knowing that anything she did say would have just discriminated her. Instead, she just sat still with her eyes closed, focusing on Aden’s fingers as they worked their way around her back, undoing all of the day’s, and probably the week’s, stress. She wondered just how much pain she would be in when the baby actually grew some more and she began to show if she was already aching. Thinking about being 9 months pregnant was something that Belle just pushed to the back of her mind. That was going to be extremely uncomfortable.

“You know,” She began as she stifled a small moan of pleasure that threaten to erupt. “I’ve suddenly found a new sense of appreciation for Amanda. I don’t know how she did this without being able to speak to anyone about it.”

“Or without a boyfriend who brought her food and gave her massages to help her relax.” Aden added in a serious tone, but she could hear his smirk in it.

“Hmm… yeah, that too. But to think that the only time she could express her thoughts was when she was writing in her diary… I’m surprised she actually kept me at all. I wouldn’t have blamed her if she hadn’t.” Belle explained. She had gotten around to reading a couple of the earlier entries in her mother’s diary earlier that day and had found it quite interesting as to how she remained more optimistic considering what she had to deal with.

“Well, I can’t say that I’m disappointed that she kept you.” He stated, earning a smack to his leg that laid beside her.

“I’m being serious here.” She told him. “I mean, right now, if I had to do this on my own, without anyone else knowing a thing and keep it hidden from everyone, I don’t think I’d be able to cope. I snapped at Geoff this morning because…” Belle trailed off, trying to remember why she had snapped at him. “See? I can’t even remember why I snapped at him. But he just shook his head and rolled his eyes, which he needs to learn how to do either behind my back or not near a reflective surface like a window.”

“That wasn’t because you’re pregnant, Belle. You’re a pretty nasty person in the morning regardless.” Aden informed her in a factual tone that earned him another slap to the leg, this time more harder causing his hands tense up and drop off her body. “Anyway, you were saying…?”

“Nothing else.” Belle replied with a small shrug. “I think the prospect of becoming a grandmother’s scaring Mum, though. She claim’s she’s too young.”

“Better than Nicole.” He commented, stretching his legs out before relaxing back onto the bed, propped up lazily by the pillows. “She’s already made a list of things that she’ll buy for the baby as soon as you let up.”

“What kind of things?” She asked him in a worried tone, twisting around to face him, glad that her back was feeling much better now.

“Clothes, mainly. And toys. Oh, and she’s determined to be our interior designer. Not just for the nursery but for the whole house.”

“That’s not going to happen.” Belle told him quickly. “Not in a million years. I’ve seen her room; it’s like an explosion of all things that’s pink, purple and fluffy.”

“I know. I’ve told her as much.” Aden said non-chalantly. “But it’s Nic, so I doubt she’ll pay any attention. Just be warned.”

“I told you she had an ulterior motive, didn’t I?” She reminded him, repositioning herself to lay down next to him with her head on his shoulder. “I just knew it.”

“Yeah, yeah, you were right.” He laughed, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before resting his chin on it. She could feel his arm make its way around her waist to protectively wrap around it, pulling her tighter to him. “Oh, and she’s decided that our kid will call her ‘Aunty Nicky’, because it sounds better and less like an old person.” Belle looked up at him with an incredulous look that was mixed with a hint of concern. “Yeah, I know.”

“Why? I mean… why?”

“Don’t ask me how her mind works. I don’t think there’s enough time in the world to figure it out.” Aden stated, chuckled as she laid her head back down with a small smile.

“You know, I said the same about you once upon a time.” Belle pointed out. “But then again, I still don’t know how your mind works…”

“Ah, that’s because it’s too complex for the like of the common people to understand.” He replied arrogantly while Belle just rolled her eyes.

“You keep telling yourself that.” She quipped, patting his chest lightly as she shuffled down on the bed to make herself more comfortable. “You know, I think this kid is going to bring Mum and I closer. It already has on some levels. But I don’t think it’ll work with Nicole. I can see myself killing her if she carried on like this.”

“Well, try and control those urges, please. Nic comes in handy at time.” Aden smirked, remembering all the times that he would have encouraged any violence between the two girls for his entertainment.

“Oh, I got you your phone, by the way.”

“Huh, I’d forgotten about that. Where is it?” He had managed to get a decent one for the day off of Nicole that wasn’t a girly one like she normally went for. That was how he had ended up having to listen to her ideas about the house and the baby.

“On the chair.” Belle mumbled, her eyes drooping close already. Everything was catching up to her and she was glad that it was the weekend the following day. “I’ll show you in the morning.”

“You do realise that if you fall asleep now, I’m not going to be able to move, right?”

“That’s your problem.” She told him, her hands curling to grip softly onto his top while he stroked back her hair. “Do you want to move?”

“Yes.” Aden said forthrightly, hearing her exhale deeply before loosening her hold on him slowly. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Go to sleep. I’m not going anywhere, anyway.” He felt her hands tighten once more, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips as she did so.

“I know you’re not.”

---

Hope you enjoyed it!

xoxo

[Taniya_K]

Good to know that you all like the purpleness! Cos I'm not planning on changing it anytime soon!

If it was the bit about Irene and the chocolate that had you worried about being OOC I don't think you should as it was too funny that it didn't matter to me whether it was OOC or not.

Yeah, it was that bit and the way that Belle was acting that made it seem OOC, but I'm glad that noone else found it bad! I thought you'd all just think it was really childish...

Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to xknomex, because she needs the fluff that's coming up! I hope it gets you into the homework mood!

Chapter 20:

Aden let out a low whistle as he walked down the stairs of the house, seeing Belle step out from the kitchen and look at him expectantly.

“What do you think?”

“This place is bigger than I thought it would be.” He laughed, approaching her as she stood in the middle of the front room, their voices echoing slightly as they bounced around the empty room.

“It’s not that big. Trust me, when we get it furnished and all…” She nodded, trying to visualise the place being done up. It would be different to how Amanda had done it, that was for sure.

“It’ll look great.” Aden completed her sentence. “But it’s going to need a lot of furnishing. There’s literally nothing here that isn’t nailed or stuck down.”

“Yeah, that’s what Mum said.” Belle laughed. “And we need to get it cleaned. It’s really dusty.”

“That too. Nothing that can’t be fixed though.”

“How desperate was Nicole on the interior designing?” She suddenly asked him with a sly smile as he looked at her, knowing what she was hinting at.

“Not desperate enough, unfortunately. Anyway, would you want Nic to clean the place up? She’s probably miss a lot of it, or end up using the wrong stuff and turn the place into some radioactive site.” Aden joked in serious voice as she laughed.

“True, true.” Belle commented. “Shopping‘s going to be fun!”

“About that… Is there any way that I can get out of it?”

“No.” She replied instantly with a shake of the head while she looked around the living room.

“What if you take Mattie? She‘d be better than me.” Aden tried.

“Aden!” Belle stopped with her inspection and faced him with her arms crossed. “Mattie‘s not moving into here; we are.”

“Fine.” He sighed. “It was worth a try.”

“So how’s the upstairs?”

“It’s just the same.” He said with a shrug. “Plenty of rooms with a lot of space and dust.”

“Found us a room?” She asked while grabbing his hand and taking him back up. “And a nursery?”

“Yup. It’ll be perfect.”

“Perfect for what?” Belle questioned as they got to the top landing, walking down the hallway as Aden took the lead.

“You’ll see.” He replied vaguely with a smile before stopping them when they got to the room in the middle of the right had side. “That room there,” He pointed to the room on the opposite side and a bit more further down the hallway. “Will be ours.”

“And this one?” Belle enquired while her tummy flipped at the ‘our’ in regard of a bedroom.

“This, my love,” Aden gave her his smile as he pushed open the door and took her in. “Will be the nursery.”

As they entered the room, the first thing that Belle could see was the window on the opposite side of the room. It was quite big and lit up the whole room as the sun shone through it, the giant tree in the back yard throwing the odd shadow onto the walls. There was a window seat built in too, and she instantly knew why Aden had chosen that room as the nursery.

“It’s a big room for a nursery.” Belle told him as he just rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, but by the time we fill it up, it’ll be less spacious.” He reminded her. “We’re going to need a wardrobe, drawers, a table, crib-”

“You’ve really been thinking this through, haven’t you?” She smiled warmly at him, wrapping her arms around his waist as they stood in the middle of the empty room. “But there can’t be that much that we’ll need all this space.”

“I’m sure we can find stuff to add.” Aden simply said, his arms coming around her shoulders to hold her tight. “Nothing but the best for my baby.”

“Our baby.” Belle corrected him with a giggle, tucking her head under his chin while staring out of the window. “In our house and in our baby‘s nursery.” Although she had lived in that house before, she couldn’t remember what this room had been used for. It certainly hadn’t been her room. For some reason, the bare house seemed like any other house to her. Sure, there were memories from old times somewhere here, and locked in her mind, but they wouldn’t connect. They were from her mother’s house; this was now their house.

“Yeah, it’s all ours.”

---

“How’s the place, guys?” Roman asked the two of them as they entered the Diner.

“It’s good.” Belle told him, leaning up against the counter. Her feet were already aching and it was only past 2 in the afternoon.

“A bit dusty and really empty, but that can get sorted.” Aden added, tugging his girlfriend towards him as he saw her place most of her weight onto the counter. He saw her shoot him a dangerous look out of the corner of his eye, but he ignored it. “Hey, tell Belle that she would be much better of going shopping without me.”

“He’s right, Belle.” Roman laughed. “You should have seen him choosing your car. He had no patience whatsoever.”

“I don’t care. You’re not getting out of it.” Belle said in a strict yet light voice. “Can we get something to eat now? Or are you gong to keep on finding more excuses?”

“They’re not excuses, they’re reasons.” He insisted while letting her drag him to the table nearby, his words falling upon deaf ears. “Fine.”

“It won’t take long, Aden.” She said in an exasperatedly voice as she sat opposite him. “A day, that’s all. Even less.”

“We’re going to get everything for the house in a day?” Aden questioned in disbelief. “No offence, babe, but I doubt that’s likely.”

“Not everything. I can’t burn money that easily. That’s one thing I didn’t get from my mum.” Aden opened his mouth to say something, but Belle jumped in before could get a word out, predicting exactly what his following words would be. “No, I’m not taking Mum shopping instead, either. You’re coming, end off.”

“Fine.” He huffed once again. “So what’s the plan then?”

“Just the basics first. The stuff for the-” Belle broke off, realising just how busy the Diner was. Mentioning the word ‘nursery’ or anything linking to the pregnancy would most probably be picked up on by someone she really didn’t want to know right then.

“Ok, we’ll leave that room for later.” Aden continued, knowing what she meant. “But that’s still a lot of stuff.”

“Which is why we now have a month to get it sorted. It’ll be fine.” She said in a calm voice.

“Why are you so calm about this? I thought you’d be stressing.” He asked her curiously. “Which is actually a good thing, considering.”

“Because we’ve got plenty of time. If we’ve managed to find a place and organise a wedding in about the space of 5 weeks, then I think we can get this done.”

“Um… we didn’t find the place and your mother and best friend are organising the wedding.” Aden pointed out to her with a small frown as she sighed.

“What’s up with you? You’re being all pessimistic. What happened to look at the bright side of everything?” She asked him, the frown transforming into a smile as he shook his head at her words.

“I’m just being realistic. I don’t want you to be set up for disappointment.” He simply said.

“Aden, we’re getting married, we have a place to move into after that, and then some.” Belle reached across the table to take his hands, making sure her voice was low and overridden by the hubbub of the busy place. “I don’t think disappointment fits in right about now.”

Instead of replying with words, Aden lifted her hands up to his lips, brushing kisses against her knuckles tenderly as the charms on her bracelet jingled a bit. She smiled unashamedly as he placed their hands back onto the table, keeping them joined and fiddling with her fingers. She watched as he twisted her ring around her finger and she realised that in one month to the day, there would be another ring right on top of that.

“We need to go get wedding rings.” Belle informed him as he paused with the playing around and looked up at her in slight shock.

“Oh, crap. How do we keep forgetting these things?” He exclaimed with a short laugh.

“Hey, speak for yourself.” She commented. “Besides, we’ve got time.”

“Yeah, true. Although I really don’t fancy going jewellery shopping with Nic again.”

“Well, it’s a good thing that I was thinking we can get them together.” Belle told him as he frowned slightly, letting go of one of her hands to hold her left in both of his.

“I thought the rings were supposed to be chosen by the groom?” Aden asked her in confusion.

“No…” She drew out. “They don’t have to be. Plus, it’s not like it’s much of a surprise, now is it?”

“Guess not.” He replied as she tried to hold back a laugh at his ignorance. “Don’t laugh at me.”

“I’m not!” Belle insisted. “It’s not your fault you’re a boy.”

“And what’s wrong with that?” Aden questioned indignantly.

“Boys are stupid.” She simply said with a nod as he look at her, unimpressed.

“Thanks.”

---

“I thought you were tired?” Aden moaned as they walked the path along the beach, planning to head back to Roman’s to get his car.

“But I’ve eaten now, so I’m full of energy.” She said gleefully, her fingers drumming constantly against his back where her arm was wrapped around his lower back as his rested on her shoulders. “C’mon, there’s no time like the present. And we don’t even have to go to the city if you don’t want to. I know some great shops in Yabbie Creek.”

“Belle-” He started, his tone already whiny even before he got another word out.

“Please?” She stopped them on their journey, coming to stand in front of him with a sweet smile and a look in her eyes that pleaded with him to give in. “You know you want to.”

“Urgh.” Aden groaned while walking past her, knowing that he really had no choice in the matter any more. “Fine, but only to Yabbie Creek. And if you want to go to the city tomorrow, then I need to get my assignment done tonight.”

“I promise I’ll let you get it done tonight.” Belle agreed, catching up with him and leaning back into him. “If you don’t get it done, then we won’t go tomorrow until you do. Your work comes first.”

“Hmm… I’ll see how long that promise lasts for.” He teased as she playfully shoved him, knowing that he wouldn’t reiterate nowadays.

“Fine, if that’s how it is then you can stay over at yours and I’ll stay at mine tonight.” She informed him. “That way, I won’t be breaking my promise, will I?”

“And about tomorrow?”

“Well, if I’m not there to distract you tonight, then you’ll have gotten it done by tomorrow, won’t you?” Belle pointed out with a giggle. Aden let his eyes wander around the path ahead and the surrounding areas as he faltered for words, trying to come up with an excuse. Fortunately, in some ways, he saw something that he knew would get the matter off her mind.

“Belle?” When she looked up at him, he nodded towards the figure that he had spotted leaving the Surf Club a few feet ahead of them. Aden had seen him look both ways before seeing them walking up the path and take a couple of steps in the other direction until he stopped and waited, knowing that he wouldn’t have gotten away without Belle finding out one way or another.

Seeing what Aden had pointed out to her, Belle felt a frown form on her lips, not sure whether to be shocked or angry. She decided that getting angry would just make things uncomfortable, so she stuck with shock as they approached her step-brother.

“Hey, sis.” Drew said causally, weary of the fact that she wasn’t alone.

“What are you doing here?” She asked him straight out.

“I came to see Ric.” He told her with a small shrug.

“Why didn’t you say anything yesterday?”

“Because I only decided this morning. Amanda’s driving us all crazy with your wedding stuff, and Mattie’s driving Ric crazy, so…” He trailed off, knowing that his point was well made. Belle realised that even though he said ‘your’, he was still speaking just to her. He pointedly ignored Aden, who stood right next to her with an arm around her shoulders, although he was looking off into the distance, looking uninterested. Even after all this time, the two guys still didn’t get on. They tolerated each other for her, but that was it.

“You still could have called me or something.” Belle reprimanded, the frown still in place.

“I thought you’d be busy with the planning too.” At her raised eyebrow, he carried on. “Clearly, I was wrong.”

“Clearly.” She repeated, dryly. There was an awkwardness inside of her, bubbling guilt up from her stomach, almost as if it originated from her baby itself. It took all her strength to not place her hand there to steady, knowing just how suspicious it would be.

“Look, I need to go see Ric, but I’ll catch up with you tomorrow, seeing as you’re free and all.” Drew laughed lightly as she nodded, about to agree before another thought came to her.

“Actually,” Belle glanced over at Aden quickly. “What you doing tonight?”

“Nothing, why?” He shrugged as she saw Aden roll his eyes not-so-subtly.

“Wanna come over? We can just hang out at the house.” She suggested, finally smiling at him.

“Sure, I’ll give you a call later.” Drew said while taking a couple of steps backwards, ready to go.

“Alright.” She called out as he left, heading in the direction that he had been trying to escape down earlier. Turning to face her boyfriend, Belle didn’t miss the look of slight amusement on his face. “What?”

“Nothing.” Aden sighed, pulling her along the other path towards home.

“At least now I have something to do while you work on your assignment.” Belle claimed. The guilty feeling had vanished now that the cause of it was gone.

“Sure, sure.” He chuckled softly, pulling her tighter to him. “We’ll see how long that’ll last.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That you’ll be calling me before the night’s over.” Aden told her as she just scoffed.

“Yeah, alright, if you say so.” Belle giggled. “C’mon, let’s get going before the stores close.”

“Urgh…” He moaned once again as she dragged him forwards at a quickened pace. “There won’t be enough time to get anything today, anyway.”

“So we’ll just look. No buying. I promise.” She insisted.

“Fine, let’s go.” Aden gave in once again. “The quicker we get there, the quicker we get back.”

“That’s the spirit!” Belle said enthusiastically, although Aden was certain that there was a hint of sarcasm somewhere there too.

---

Drew grinned as he walked into the Diner later on that evening. After spending most of the day with Ric, catching up on some stuff and having their usual fun, a night in sounded good, even if it was with Belle, who would, undoubtedly, bring up the subject of her upcoming nuptials to him and ask him to start being nice.

Heading over to the main counter, he waited for the one person that he had seen to turn and notice him there. It didn’t take a minute for the blonde girl to stop her rant to her father, who was most probably flat out working on the busy Saturday evening, and look out towards the Diner. Drew could pinpoint the second that Nicole saw him, her lips forming a short scowl before pursing them as he smiled at her brightly. Ever since he had outted her about the tattoo to her father over a year and a half ago, they had an icy relationship. Like him and Aden, they hated each other, except with Nicole, Drew took the effort to annoy her.

“Dad, you’ve got a customer.” He heard her inform the chef dryly as he took out his phone.

“Could you go and serve them, then?” Roman’s reply came. “I’m a bit busy here, and some help would be appreciated.”

“But Dad-” Nicole started to whinge, making him laugh as he brought his phone down when it went to Belle’s voicemail.

“Nicole.” Roman said warningly making the teenager huff and walk towards the counter with a fake smile.

“What?”

“Is that how you greet all your customers?” Drew asked her politely.

“Only the ones with more hair than brains.” Nicole quipped, crossing her arms in a defensive move.

“Hmm, good one. I’ll have to remember that.” He chuckled, shaking his head at her automatic response to him. “Nice hair pin, by the way. Now I know where you got your inspiration from.” Drew watched, smirking, as she raised her right hand to feel which clip it was, the scowl returning to her face when she realised that it was the butterfly.

“What do you want?” She snapped at him just as his phone started to ring.

“An OJ.” Nicole grabbed the bottle from behind her. “Cold, please.” He told her with a smile as she shot him a dark look and walked into the kitchen to get it out of the fridge.

”Hey, you called?” Belle questioned him as he finally picked up.

“Yeah, just wondering what time you want me to come over.”

”Um… give me about 30 minutes or so. Any time after that.” Drew could hear some shuffling over the phone and what sounded like a hairdryer being flicked on and off really quickly.

“Alright, I’ll see ya then. I’m at the Diner; you want anything?”

”Uh…” Belle hesitated and he could tell that she was fighting herself whether to say yes or no. ”No, that’s ok.”

“Ok, if you’re sure.” He laughed before hanging up as an annoyed looking Nicole stood in front of him with his drink.

“Anything else?” Her tone proved that she was only asked him because Roman was most likely listening in.

“Yeah, actually. A couple of slices of that mud cake.” Drew decided that having this little treat for Belle might be a good way to get her to not bother him about the wedding and stuff that night.

“For Belle, by any chance?” Nicole questioned with genuine interest as if he was any other customer, that it took him aback a bit.

“Yeah, why?” His words were cautious as she brought out the cake and started to take out the two pieces.

“Just curious.” She muttered while concentrating on the job at hand. “Make sure that if Irene asks, that you tell her it was you who gave her the cake, not any one of us.”

“Why would Irene ask?”

“Because she’s banned Belle from eating too much chocolate and us from giving it to her.” Nicole told him slowly. “Which is ridiculous, because that girl needs to put on weight.”

“Uh-huh.” Drew merely commented, not sure why the blonde was telling him this. It was probably the only time she had willingly spoken to him. “Ok.”

“Just don’t forget the ‘you‘ bit. I’m not getting the blame for this.” Nicole sighed as she took the cake back to where it’s kept before returning and mumbling under her breath, yet loud enough for him to hear. “I dunno why I’m telling you this. You should get in trouble for feeding her cravings too.”

“Her- what?” Drew was now past caring as to why she was telling him this and was now just plain confused.

“Cravings.” Nicole said slowly and distractedly as she fiddled with the lid of the cake box, trying to see why the flaps wouldn’t slip in and shut the box. “You know, what women in her state ha-” She cut herself off suddenly when a thought came to her. Eyes flitting upwards at him, she knew that she had thought right. “Forget everything I just said.”

“Is Belle-?”

“No.” She hurriedly replied, managing at last to close the cake box and shoving it towards him.

“But you-”

“I didn’t say a thing.” Nicole reminded him pointedly as he frowned at her, an angry look passing over his face. “It’s on the house, seeing as it’s for Belle and she’s practically family now…”

Drew got the impression that Nicole was trying to get rid of him rather than trying to be nice for once. The faint blush rising up from her neck and to her face hinted that she had done something wrong, and her hurried movements and anxiously quick words told him that it was something to do with him. He didn’t need any more confirmations from her as he grabbed the box and his juice bottle and threw a fiver onto the counter despite her words before leaving the Diner, wondering why it was that Belle had forgotten to mention the fact that she pregnant.

---

Hehehe...

I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think!

xoxo