Caught in the Flames

Chapter One Hundred Sixty-Three

As always, none of this is mine. I'm just the perv who want to make our beloved Twilight characters swear, drink, and go at it like horny rabbits. This story will be a combination of love, suspense, some violence and steamy, sweaty sex.

Chapter 163

BPOV

"Alice, I don't understand why you're putting make up on me," I grumbled as her hands flew over my face deftly. "I'm in the hospital. On bedrest. For the foreseeable future. It's not time for me to have a makeover."

"Nonsense," Alice said, waving her hand dismissively. "Every woman deserves to be pampered while she's pregnant."

"What are you scheming, Mary Alice?" I asked. I stopped her hands, glaring at her. "Tell. Me."

"Nothing!" she sang, putting down her palette. She picked up a curling iron, working on my hair. I rolled my eyes, letting Alice do her thing. She was up to something. I knew it. The nurses and physicians were being all secretive and didn't bat an eye when Alice came in with her bags of goodies. They also didn't bitch when Alice dressed me in a simple dress. It felt weird to wear clothes, a bra, or panties. I'd been wearing nothing but a hospital gown and a fetal monitor since I'd arrived. I couldn't wear underwear since every examination included a pelvic.

My hoo-ha was constantly on display. I hated it.

It had been two weeks since I was admitted to the hospital. Edward had been with me every single day, save for the day he had his interviews at Northwestern University and University of Chicago. And, well, today. He was out, running errands for Alice, supposedly.

During those two weeks, we had found out all about James and his final act. James had been living with Sheila in her tiny apartment in Evanston. He had approached her and played on her need to help broken things. Sheila had always had a soft spot for lost men. James knew it and he played on it. Sheila had healed him to the best of her ability. His thanks was breaking her down and from the videos that were discovered in Sheila's home, James was quite brutal in his sessions. Somehow, he'd managed to brainwash Sheila and convince her that I was a horrible person. He got her to help him sabotage my office with the rigging around the doors. All that needed to be done was the trip wires had to be attached. James fixed the front door while Sheila worked on the back. Sheila gave James her key so he could let himself into my office. James knew he was going to die and he had left a letter, describing what he had done.

He was never going to let me go. We were going to die together. In a fire. The gun wasn't ever loaded. He found it and he just carried it to scare people. And to pistol whip my fiancé. The pills found in the apartment were the same acid pills that caused James and Sheila to implode. It was a version of Ecstasy that had gone terribly bad. James had bought the whole lot when he heard about some pill that caused its user to burst into flames. It was the perfect weapon for my psycho ex-boyfriend to destroy me, and ultimately, him.

Unfortunately, my office was toast. Nothing was salvageable. In fact, the entire building was deemed structurally unsound because of Alice's fire and now mine. The other tenants were upset with that news, but were given hefty sums by the insurance company to reopen in different locations.

"Bella, you're done!" Alice chirped. She put all of her stuff away, skipping out of the room and returning with a wheelchair.

"Alice?" I asked, arching a brow. "What the hell?"

"Get in!" she said, helping me off the bed and into the wheelchair. "I asked Dr. Popper if I could have your baby shower and she said yes. Granted, it won't be the big to-do, I originally planned, but my goddaughter needs to be celebrated." She rolled me to a large conference room that had been completely decorated in purple and yellow decorations. It was adorable, reminding of the baby's room. It had a 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star Theme' with a touch of butterflies. Edward was standing on the table, affixing some butterfly mobile above the table. "Looks great, Edward. You might have missed your calling as an interior decorator."

"Shut up, Alice. I'm shocked that the hospital let you do this much," Edward griped as he got down from the table, walking over to me to kiss me sweetly. "You look beautiful, my Bella. I love you."

"I love you, too," I answered, smiling against his mouth.

"It helps that Dad works here," Alice said, separating me from my fiancé and rolling me to the front of the room. Edward sat next to me, threading our fingers together. She handed me a glass of punch before she trotted off to make me a plate. As she did that, Leah, Jessica, Angela and Claire came into the hospital with Esme, Charlotte, Peter's girlfriend, Dr. Popper and a few of the friendlier nurses as well. Piled on a table opposite of the windows, there was a ton of presents and the food. All around the conference room, there were tiny round tables with subtle decorations. "Do you like it, Bella?"

"It's beautiful, Alice. I'm sorry for giving you shit earlier," I said, my eyes glazing over with tears.

"Only the best for my goddaughter and my best friend," Alice replied, hugging me gently, being mindful of my IV. The women, along with Carlisle, Jasper, Peter and Emmett enjoyed the shower, eating the goodies that Alice had catered in. After everyone ate, Alice had a few games planned before we opened presents. Dr. Popper put the kibosh on a few of the planned activities, but we did have fun playing 'Name that Baby.' It was pictures of famous people when they were babies or kids. Claire and Charlotte tied for the win, receiving some Bath and Body Works lotions. I opened the mounds of presents, thanking everyone for the adorable onesies, clothes, stuffed animals, and necessities needed for our little miracle. Probably, the most cherished gift was from Emmett. It was a crocheted baby blanket that he made. While he was with Jet, the makeup artist, she had taught him to crochet. It calmed him and he took that newfound ability to create the perfect baby blanket for Marie. He even made a stuffed owl, matching the owl on the corner of the blanket.

I was going to stand to hug Emmett, but a crippling pain tore across my belly. I gasped, falling back onto the wheelchair. A gush of liquid seeped from between my legs. Dr. Popper jumped up, her eyes wide and her normal calm façade gone, whisking me away as more pain rip through me. My baby was coming and she was coming now.

A/N: Baby Marie is on her way. Bella, at this point, is about eight months pregnant. So, we're in early August. Leave me some loving! Pictures of the baby shower décor and the gift from Emmett are on my blogs (links for those are on my profile). You can also find me on Facebook: Tufano79's Twilight Fanfiction Appreciation and on twitter: tufano79. Thanks for reading!