A/N- This is probably between chapter 33 and 34 in A Walk Through Hell. Hope you enjoy!

Jeannie liked playing in the mud, that was my first lesson alone with her the first day that Bella was my fiancée and was living with me. It was inevitable here in Washington, with all the rain that kids would find the mud entertaining. She made a face when I took her out of the mud puddle. “I’m sorry, I can’t let Mommy come home to you this messy,” I said. “I’m sorry, you’re getting a bath.”

She had completely messed up her outfit. I’d stick it in the washer, and if it didn’t come out, I’d never tell Bella, just “Oh, that must have gotten lost in the move, love!” Maybe she wouldn’t remember that she had dressed Jeannie in it this morning. Even Jeannie’s cloth diaper was soaked through.

Mud got all over my own clothes, too, when I carried her in. I had to give her a bath and quick- Bella was due back at 4. I left the muddy clothes in a pile in by the laundry room door- my shirt would join the pile, soon, too. I took Jeannie upstairs to my bathroom. The last person I had given a bath had been… her mother, and I think that was the night I got her pregnant. Jeannie’s diaper needed changing, anyways. I put her in the bathtub. “Sorry, Jeannie, I don’t have any toys for you,” I said, running the tub bath. I was pretty sure she wouldn’t get scalded if I ran the bath while she was in the tub itself. I didn’t know where her baby shampoo was, so I was going to have to be careful with my own shampoo that I used on her head to make sure it didn’t get in her eyes.

Jeannie began singing a song that had the words of “Momb momb momb momb momb,” while she slapped the water. She got pretty good at slapping the water, and started splashing me.

“Hey, don’t do that!” I cried, taking off my own shirt.

She pretended not to understand me. I had the feeling she was only doing that because she didn’t have any toys to entertain herself with. I squirted some shampoo into the water stream to make a bubble bath. Bean was up to her chest in water that covered the jets, and I turned them on. She was fascinated. “Oooh!” she cried.

The bubbles began to build. I had to buy more bubble bath incase Bella wanted to take bath… with me… that would be nice. In the meantime, I got a white washcloth and scrubbed Bean’s little hands and back and shoulders and chest. Her face was covered in mud- that was the most difficult to get off because Jeannie resisted. I used only a little bit of shampoo on her head- she was so little, she didn’t have that much hair, yet. It was nice washing her hair. It lathered up into a single horn. I went and got my camera. I played with it, making it a Mohawk, then a pair of horns. I took pictures of each hair style. I tried to get her head under the water to rinse it, but she screamed when I tried. I remembered Bella telling me she was afraid to get her head under the water. I got a plastic cup from under the sink and rinsed it by pouring the water over her head. “That better?” I asked. She sang a few more nonsense gibberish songs. “Time to get out.” She pouted. I took her out and wrapped her up in a regular towel that was much, much too big for her right as I heard the front door open. Jeannie hollered out something that sounded like Mama but not quite.

“Edward?” Bella called. “Where are you?”

Damnit. I had lost track of time taking pictures of Jeannie’s hairdos in the bathtub. If she wasn’t just so damn cute. “We’re upstairs,” I yelled.

“Why did you just give my daughter a bath?” Bella asked, entering the bathroom, seeing me drying Jeannie off.

“She was dirty and needed one,” I said.

“She just had a bath this morning,” she said. “I leave her alone with you for an hour and she needs another one?”

“She was playing in the mud,” I said. “Mud and babies don’t mix.”

“What about her outfit?”

“It needs to be washed,” I said.

“You let her play in the mud in her clothes? Edward, have you learned nothing?” Bella asked.

“I learned not to give her a bath without toys,” I said. “Otherwise, I get splashed.”

“You gave her a bath in the Jacuzzi?” Bella asked. “She must have been swimming! That’s a huge waste of water!”

“She had fun,” I said. “Where are fresh diapers and clothes?”

“In her room,” Bella said. “That’s where all her toys and things are- in the guest bathroom.”

“Oh, why didn’t you tell me!” I said, taking her downstairs. I found clean clothes and diapers for Jeannie in her bedroom. We still didn’t have baby furniture for her since Charlie had kicked Bella out.

“For a doctor, I’d think that would be common sense,” Bella said, coming down behind me. I pinned the rugrat to the bed and put the diaper on her. I found a onesie to put her in and a dress to put over it. “You’re learning!” she cried. “Good job! You’re bonding with Jeannie.”

“I got great pictures of Jeannie’s shampoo hairdos,” I said.

“I got her, if you can go put a shirt on, Dr. Cullen,” Bella said, picking Jeannie up.

I ran upstairs to put another dry shirt on and bring the muddy one downstairs to the laundry room and the camera. “Here,” I said, handing Bella the camera while she and Jeannie watched Noggin. “Just look. It’s so cute.”

A smile lit up Bella’s face while she scrolled through the pictures. “You see that?” she asked Jeannie, showing her the pictures. “You’re so cute!”

Jeannie was more interested in Noggin at this point. I started the wash with everything but Jeannie’s diapers. I came out to the living room to see Bella and Jeannie curled up on the couch, watching TV. Jeannie wiggled out and toddled around the living room. I curled up behind Bella, rubbing her pregnant belly. “You make for a very sexy pregnant woman,” I said.

“Thank you very much,” she said. “Will you do our baby’s hair in shampoo horns?”

“I already have,” I said.