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Table of Contents

Summary

1. Milk and Cookies
2. Cupcakes and Coffee
3. Big Top and Birthday Cake
4. Big Brother and Pizza
5. The Aquarium and Mom's Chicken Pot Pie
6. Cloves and Margaritas
7. Floods and Miracles
8. Laughter and Tears
9. Tapas and Fears
10. Worries and Shopping
11. Fights and Flights
12. Hangovers and Marshmallows
13. Reunions and Makeups
14. Trials and Tribulations
15. Epilogue: Future and Bright
16. Not a Chapter

- 3 -

Summary

When social worker, Bella Swan takes a possible abuse call, the last thing she

expected to see is the hunky doctor whom she's been secretly panting over to be the
one to answer the door. Expanded from one shot Milk and Cookies. ExB AU AH

- 4 -

Milk and Cookies

Summary: When social worker, Bella Swan takes a possible abuse call, the

last thing she expected to see is the hunky doctor Edward whom she's been
secretly panting over to be the one to answer the door. How will their
relationship blossom despite his ex's drama interfering with their lives?
Originally called Milk and Cookies, and written for Ninapolitan's D.I.L.F.
contest. No longer just a one shot! AU AH ExB

A/N: This story is the continuation of the one shot I posted for

Ninapolitan's D.I.L.F. contest. I never really intended for it to be more than
a one shot, but then I was thinking about how else to torture these
characters, and voila, I had an outline. So, this chapter is the one shot and
chapter two will be picking it up from where I left off... Happy Reading!

Twilight and all it's characters, is under the ownership of Miss Meyers... I

don't own...

Exes and Ohs

Chapter One

Milk and Cookies

BPOV

I hate Mondays. Today had to be the worst Monday I have ever had. Not only did I

forget to set my alarm last night, but the secondary alarm on my phone didn't go off
because it died in the middle of the night. I was rushing around trying to get
everything done before I had to leave, when I realized the last pair of pants I
thought were clean, actually had a large stain along the bottom hem. So now I was
stuck in a skirt which was normally reserved for date night...which, come to think of
it, hadn't been in way too long. I ran out the door with wet hair and no coffee. This
was quite possibly the worst way to start off my day.

When I got to work, Mike Newton, the slimiest, laziest, good-for-nothing

co-worker tried to simultaneously grope my ass and pass paperwork off on me. I
should have known the skirt would be a problem. Newton normally didn't bother me
too much since I was out in the field more often than not. I only came into the office

- 5 -

to fill out paperwork and check in with my supervisor, Esme Cullen. She was one of
the few reasons I stayed at this job. She was a constant source of encouragement for
me when the stress of the job made me want to loose myself in the bottom of a bottle
of vodka. She was constantly reminding me of how much good I was doing for all the
kids I helped.

We were in the middle of our weekly meeting, when I got a page regarding one of

my kids. The first time I met Bridgette was two years ago. She had been removed
from her home because of neglect. A neighbor called the cops reporting a domestic
dispute. When the cops had arrived on scene, the argument was still going with both
of them screeching at each other. A fight between the two of them broke out shortly
afterward, and the two were sent off to cool down at the county jail. I had received a
call from Jasper Whitlock, the lead investigator on the case, when he found a little
girl locked in one of the rooms. She had been dehydrated and badly malnourished.

My heart broke when I saw the scared blue eyes peeking up at me from

underneath the blanket that she had been wrapped in. Her skinny arms were
wrapped around Jasper's neck and she didn't want to let go at first. I had finally
gotten her untangled from Jasper and taken her to the hospital where she had
stayed for a couple of days recuperating. My friend, Alice Brandon, had an opening
in her foster home, and had taken her in when she was released from the hospital a
week later. When Alice came in to pick up Bridgette from the hospital, she met
Jasper who was visiting with Bridgette.

The call I received today had been just as heartbreaking as the one I had gotten

two years ago. Both of Bridgette's parents had spent some time in jail due to the
amount of cocaine found in their home, but her mother had gotten out six months
prior due to good behavior. Against my protest, Bridgette had been placed back with
the mother, Victoria, a month ago. The same neighbor called in another domestic
dispute earlier in the day and, once again, I got a phone call from Jasper. They were
letting me know that they had called an ambulance and she was en route with
multiple injuries.

I informed Esme of the situation, and she told me to get to the hospital as soon as

I could. I told her I would check in with her when I knew more about what was going
on. I met both Jasper and Alice at the hospital. I had called Alice on my way in to let
her know of the developing situation with her former foster daughter. She and
Jasper had gotten married last year and the two of them had been trying to adopt
Bridgette. Their adoption had been denied even though they had gotten permission
from the father, because Victoria didn't want to release custody of Bridgette. Alice
had been moping the last three weeks, missing little Bridgette. She was sobbing
uncontrollably when I met her in the lobby. I held her for a while and rubbed her

- 6 -

back mumbling that things would be alright. I spotted Jasper and motioned him
over.

"Do you know anything yet?" I asked quietly.

"No, they won't tell me anything since I'm not Bridgette's parent," Jasper said

dejectedly. He pulled Alice into his arms but she continued sobbing.

"What happened?" I asked him.

"She's been beaten pretty badly. Apparently, the mother's boyfriend has been

abusing her. The neighbor who called two years ago reported the violence. As soon
as I heard the address on the radio, I got there as fast as I could. When I got to the
house she was crying for me..." Jasper's voice broke on the last sentence. He didn't
bother to wipe the tears that leaked from his eyes. He continued to rub Alice's back
and she started to calm down.

"Let me go see what I can find out. I'll be back with more info." I hugged Alice

quickly and walked toward the admittance desk. I spoke with one of the nurses who
sent me to the triage area to speak with one of the nurses. They would know more
about Bridgette's condition.

I spoke with Rosalie, the charge nurse on duty. I introduced myself and explained

that I was Bridgette's social worker and would be taking charge of the case. She told
me that Bridgette was currently undergoing emergency surgery to repair a
punctured lung, and some internal bleeding. So far, they weren't having any
complications, and were nearing the end of the surgery. They expected a complete
recovery. I thanked her and told her I would be waiting for any more information out
in the lobby.

I quickly walked out, pausing in the hallway, to take a moment and call Esme. We

discussed how to handle Bridgette's case. She quickly came to some decisions on
how it should be handled. She said she'd get the ball rolling on the paperwork. She
also mentioned that she knew a judge that owed her a favor and might be able to cut
through some red tape. I thanked her before we hung up and took a moment to pull
myself together before going back out to see Alice.

When I got out to the lobby, Alice was still in Jasper's arms and she had calmed

down considerably. As I walked towards her, she gave me a watery smile.

"She's in surgery right now. They estimate it should be complete in another thirty

minutes to finish, and then they'll move her to recovery." Alice's breath shook as she

- 7 -

gulped in air and looked as if she was going to tear up yet again, but stopped when
Jasper kissed her on the forehead.

"Is she okay?" Jasper asked.

"The nurse said she was asking for both of you as they were wheeling her into

surgery. They hadn't run into any complications, and if everything goes as planned,
there won't be any permanent damage." Alice let out a breath of relief as I relayed
the information. A little bit of the stress that was evident on her face melted away
when I told her the news. "I talked with Esme. She's going to be taking over
Bridgette's case."

"What? Why?" asked Alice, panic creeping into her voice.

"Because she's filing the paperwork to have your adoption approved. Victoria's

custody will be revoked immediately, and so you'll have a chance to try and adopt
Bridgette. It should be pretty quick if they grant it, since you've already gone
through the process and been approved as parents. We didn't want it to be caught
up in the system because I have a personal interest in the case. That was why I
wasn't involved in your adoption case earlier this year." I squeezed Alice's arm
gently and she visibly relaxed into Jasper.

"Oh, okay. Do you have to go back to work soon?" Alice was petting Jasper's arm

absentmindedly. Alice has always been one of those people who needed tactile
reassurance especially when she was worried about something. I knew that she
would want me to stick around as long as I could.

"Esme told me that I was okay to stick around for awhile. She said she would call

me if anything pressing came up."

"Good." We sat in silence for a while. Not because we had nothing to say, but

almost because there was so much to say. I tried to distract myself by looking
around the lobby and noticed a clock that had cats on the face. Why would you have
cats on a clock? I was startled from my musings by the sound of my name being
called. I turned my head and met the brightest green eyes I had ever seen. The
smiling eyes were so deep and penetrating it felt as if he was looking into my soul.
My eyes traveled across his face, taking in the sharp angles and the mop of unruly
hair. I focused in on his lips, which looked so soft and kissable. I realized that I was
watching those elegant lips call my name once again, and that it was he, who was
calling for me. The trance that I was in was broken by Alice's elbow digging into my
back.

- 8 -

I stood up and walked toward the man who had been gracing one too many of my

fantasies lately. I had glimpsed him every once in a while when my work happened
to bring me to the hospital. I had first seen him two weeks ago when he was leaving
as I was walking in to answer a call about a possible abuse case. His scrubs did
nothing to hide his god-like physique. As I got closer to him, I realized that he was
taller than I had estimated. Although I had seen him quite a few times, I had never
been the subject of his penetrating gaze.

"Yes?" I said quietly.

"Hi, I'm Edward Masen;the surgeon on Bridgette's case. You're her social

worker?" he asked in a velvet tone.

"No, my supervisor will be taking over her case, but she has asked me to step in

as a liaison for her while Bridgette's in the hospital. She's trying to get some of the
paperwork handled so that we can get her case squared away quickly."

"Ah, alright then," he cleared his throat quickly and continued on, "the surgery

was successful. We repaired the internal bleeding and the puncture to the lung but
she has some cracked ribs and quite a bit of bruising. We'll keep her under
observation for the next couple of days to see how she's doing. She should be
released within the week. We have your information on file for her point of contact.
We'll call you back when she regains consciousness. You'll be able to see her then."

"That's fine. I'll handle the personal aspect of this case until Esme can properly

take it over. Bridgette's very familiar with me since I have been her case worker for
the last two years." Edward nodded and I turned to walk away. I was stopped by a
hand on my arm. I felt a warmth spread out from where his fingers rested on my
skin. I looked back at him with a quirked eyebrow. "I'm just curious, but who are
Alice and Jasper?"

I nodded my head towards the couple in question. "Her previous foster parents.

They have been trying to adopt her for the last six months."

"She said to tell them she loves them," he said with a small smile on his face.

"Thank you, that will mean a lot to them," I said as I grinned back at him. I

admired the fit of his pants as he walked away from me and back towards where he
came from.

"Was that green eyes?" I jumped as Alice poked me in the shoulder. Her eyes

sparkled at me.

- 9 -

"I thought you were off crying," I said teasingly.

"I needed a distraction. And guess what... You're it!" she said with a small smile.

"So, was that the scrumptious doctor you told me about at dinner two nights ago?"

I groaned and looked toward the ceiling. I should never have confessed to her of

my latest obsession, but the sadness in her eyes was somewhat alleviated when I
told her of my little crush. "Yes, that was him. His name is Edward Masen, so we can
stop calling him green eyes," I tried to hint at her.

"But green eyes is such a better nickname for him. And that way no one but you

and me know who we're talking about." Alice loved nothing better than a secret
shared between friends. It was one of the reasons I told her about him in the first
place. I swear the reason we started hanging out was because she needed someone
else to be in her secret club. My parents and I had just moved in down the street
from her and sadly enough, the two of us were the only kids our age on the block.

"Alright fine, he's still green eyes, but you can't tell Jasper about him." I narrowed

my eyes at her hoping against all hope that she hadn't said anything to him yet. My
hopes were dashed as I saw the tell-tale signs of guilt creep over her face.

She nervously started picking at the imaginary lint on her dress as she said, "I

already told him."

"Alice, what's the point of telling you secrets if you can't keep them?" I asked in

mock anger.

"You know I don't keep anything from Jazz. It makes me want to throw up!" The

distress on her face made me cut back on giving her a hard time. I laughed at her
and hugged her tightly.

"I know, I was just hoping you managed to not tell him for once," I grinned at her.

"You know that's about as likely as finding a snowman in hell." We laughed as we

walked back to the chairs and settled in to wait.

Later that night I was at the office, finishing up my notes for the day, when I

received a phone call from Esme. She said that she knew I was going to be leaving
the office for the day, but asked if I could run out to an address. There had been a
report of abuse to the hot lines. She said that the information was sketchy, and the

- 10 -

person sounded rather nervous, but the call needed to be checked out. I wrote the
information down and told her I would be on my way in a few moments.

As I drove to the address, I thought about all that had happened today. Having a

name to go with the face that stared in all my most recent erotic dreams was nice. I
had resigned myself to admiring him from a distance. But now that we'd had a
conversation, maybe I could screw up a bit of courage and ask him out for coffee.
Doctors loved coffee right? Knowing me, I'd trip and spill the coffee on his clothes,
and then he'd have to change. Hm... I wonder if he'd let me help. Snap out of it,
Bella.

I realized I was at the address I had written down, but had to double check. The

house was huge. It was an isolated part of town, where they weren't cramming as
many houses into as small a place as possible. The lots were huge and the houses
sat deep into them. If I didn't know we were in the middle of a sprawling metropolis,
I would have sworn I was out in the middle of the countryside. The house I walked
up to was a rustic style house, looking as if it had been built during the California
Arts & Crafts movement. The large square beams, shake roof, and plethora of
stained glass made the house into a work of art.

I mused on who would be living in this beautiful house as I walked up the long

drive. I rang the doorbell and waited for a bit. I had been gazing at the lovely
stained glass that adorned the edges of the front door, when I heard the door open. I
glanced slowly up the body in front of me starting with the bare feet, traveling up
the jean clad legs, skimming over the built chest encased in a gray t-shirt, to the
face of the man. My heart stuttered to a stop when I realized who the man I had
been calmly perusing. Fuck, Green Eyes.

EPOV

When I heard the doorbell ring, I thought it was my mother coming back for

something she had forgotten yet again, so I took my time, kissing Lizzie on the
forehead as I passed her on the way to the front door. My little girl was alternately
staring at the timer and looking through the glass front of the oven. We had been
baking cookies together and the last batch had two more minutes left, and she was
impatient for them to be done. She knew she wasn't allowed to have any until all the
cookies were made and the dishes cleaned up. We had just finished washing the last
of the dishes and now she was impatiently waiting for the last of the cookies to bake.

On my way to the front door, I mused about the beautiful woman whom I had

finally gotten to meet today. I had seen her around the hospital quite a few times,
but not often enough to indicate that she worked there. Her mahogany hair had

- 11 -

been down unlike the other times I had seen her. Previously, her hair had been
scraped back into a tight bun that she no doubt, thought made her appear more
professional. Her expressive brown eyes were concerned when I spoke about the
little girl that I had performed surgery on. I felt the urge to smooth out the wrinkle
between her eyebrows when I first walked up to her, wanting only to pull her into
my arms and comfort her. I couldn't stop myself from staring at her slim legs as she
uncrossed them to get up to walk towards me. I could just imagine how they would
feel wrapped around me as I buried myself in her warm depths.

I shook my head, trying to knock the images from my head. It wouldn't do me any

good to answer the door with a hard-on. A couple of the women have been trying to
welcome me to the neighborhood by attempting to warm my bed. I didn't want to
give them the false impression that I was interested in a quick fling.

I opened the door and was startled by the vision of the woman before me. Bella

Swan. I felt her gaze as it wandered up my body and was entranced by the
expression on her face. The shock was evident when she met my eyes.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you again today?" I said smoothly.

"I'm sorry to have to say this, but we got a phone call on our hotlines, reporting

abuse going on at this address." Fucking Tanya.

"Come in, come in," I said as I opened the door wide enough for her to just brush

past me. "I think I know what this is about. Did the caller leave a name?" I knew it
was highly unlikely for Tanya to have left her name, but it could have happened.

"It was an anonymous tip. So, you've had something like this happen before?"

Bella asked with curiosity lacing her tone.

"Yes, this has been my ex-wife's favorite brand of torture lately. When I first

moved out of our house, there was a different social worker there every week. I had
hoped that moving across country would diminish the possibility of this happening,
but apparently she's up to her old tricks again. Would you like to meet Lizzie?" As I
asked I heard the timer go off, and a squeal from my little girl.

"DADDY!!!!! THEY'RE DONE!!!! Hey, where did you go?" she hollered. We heard

her feet pattering on the floor as she started running toward where we were
standing. She rounded a corner and threw herself at me saying, "Catch me!"

I caught her with ease, and swung her around once. She giggled as she buried her

head into my neck. "Lizzie, I'd like you to meet someone very nice. Her name is

- 12 -

Bella, Bella this is my daughter Lizzie."

"Nice to meet you," she said shyly from her perch on my hip. She turned to me

and said, "Bella's pretty, Daddy!"

Bella chuckled, "It's nice to meet you, too, Lizzie. Would you mind if I asked you a

couple of questions?"

"Sure, but only if we can have cookies at the same time!" She looked up at me,

knowing that I would never renege on a promise.

"Do you like chocolate chip cookies?" I asked Bella as I turned to head towards the

kitchen.

"Sure, I don't think I know anyone who doesn't."

I dropped the munchkin off on one of the bar stools, and grabbed the hot pad to

pull the last batch out of the oven. Bella sat on the other bar stool as I flipped the
cookies onto a plate and set it between the two of them. "Milk, milk, Daddy!" Lizzie
demanded.

I started pulling glasses out of the cupboard and cocked my head at Bella

questioningly. She nodded indicating that she would like a glass. I had just poured
the three glasses, when Lizzie started crying. I quickly turned and saw that she was
holding her hands gingerly and there was a cookie sitting on the bar. I scooped her
up and turned the kitchen faucet on. I stuck her fingers under the cold water and
tried to examine her fingers. "You burned them again didn't you munchkin? You
have to wait for the cookies to cool before you can grab them. You know better."

"I know," she said with tears sparkling in her eyelashes, "but they're just waiting

for me to eat them!"

"You know, if they're too hot for your fingers they're going to be too hot for your

mouth. How do they feel. Are they still warm?"

"No, they're good." She sniffled a little and wiped at the stray tears on her face.

"Can I have a cookie now?"

"I don't know, why don't we ask Bella if they're cool enough to eat?" We turned to

Bella, who grabbed a cookie and quickly took a bite.

"Mmmm..." she said as she waggled her eyebrows at Lizzie, getting a laugh out of

- 13 -

her. "These are perfect!"

I plopped Lizzie back in her seat and handed her her cup of milk. She smiled so

big at me I couldn't help but kiss her on the forehead.

Bella turned to Lizzie and asked, "How old are you, sweetheart?"

"I'm four," she said, proudly holding up her fingers. "But I'm going to be this many

on Saturday," she held up her other hand, as well, and stuck up one extra finger.
"We're having a party. Do you want to come?"

"I don't know about that, sweetheart, we'll have to ask your dad. Who takes care

of you?"

"Nana Lizbeth does. I'm named after her. Oh, and Daddy, too. Who takes care of

you?"

"I take care of me."

Lizzie frowned and she said, "it's always nice to have someone take care of you

though. Mommy used to take care of me, but now she doesn't. Don't you have a
mommy or a daddy to take care of you?"

"My mother lives in Florida and my father lives a couple of hours away. I don't get

to see them too much. What's your favorite food?"

"PIZZA!!! I especially like it when Daddy and I make it together. We did that last

week." I watched as Bella and Lizzie continued trading questions back and forth.
Bella snuck in the tough to ask questions seamlessly, not letting Lizzie feel like she
was in an interrogation. When the cookies were eaten, the milk drank, and the
questions asked, Bella looked at me and nodded her head towards the door. I
plopped Mary Poppins into the DVD player, and started it up for Lizzie before
walking Bella to the door.

"Well, did I pass your test?" I asked quietly.

"With flying colors. Your daughter shows absolutely no signs of abuse. She's got a

large vocabulary for her age which means she's used to speaking with adults on a
regular basis, but there's nothing wrong with that. You have a wonderful daughter
and it's obvious that you love her and she loves you." I stared at her lips as they kept
moving, wondering what it would be like to taste them.

- 14 -

"Thank you. It's nice to hear that you're doing a good job at raising your child. So,

you'll be here Saturday at 2 PM?" I said as I reached to open the door.

I looked back at her and saw the shock that flashed across her face. "Wha-What?"

"The birthday party? Here, at 2 in the afternoon on Saturday? I'm pretty sure that

Lizzie will have my head if you aren't there." I grinned at her as she paused in the
doorway.

"Well, sure, I, I guess." She looked slightly uncomfortable as she thought of the

upcoming party.

"You should bring Bridgette if she's out of the hospital by then. She's the same age

as Lizzie right? Oh, and Jasper and Alice. That way you won't feel as if you don't
know anyone." Her eyes sparkled at this idea. "Maybe you'd like to go out for coffee
sometime next week?"

The shock in her eyes was evident, and I started to fidget as she let the silence go

on. She slowly nodded and I breathed out a sigh of relief. I walked her out to her car
and as she unlocked it she paused and turned back to me. A couple of strands of hair
blew across her face, so I tucked them quickly behind her ear. I couldn't stop myself
from following the line of her neck, down to her shoulder. I leaned in towards her,
concentrating on her pink lips. I looked back up at her warm brown eyes and saw
that they were rather dazed looking. I pulled back thinking that our first kiss should
only be after our first date. Oh well, another time... "Good night, Bella. I can't wait to
see you on Saturday."

I helped her into her car, tapped the roof of it just before she drove off. I walked

back into the house and to the living room. I pulled Lizzie into my lap just as Mary
Poppins blew into the neighborhood. She put her head over my heart, listening for a
beat or two and then said, "You should have asked Bella to stay for Mary Poppins,
Daddy."

"Maybe next time, munchkin. Maybe next time." Best Monday Ever.

As always, thanks goes to my beta Pire. You still are a sparkly bitch... and

you help me make sense. :D

Special thanks goes out to Kimpy0464, thanks for all the advice!

- 15 -

They both have stories - GO READ THEM!!!!

What's your favorite cookie?

- 16 -

Cupcakes and Coffee

Twilight and all it's characters, is under the ownership of Miss Meyers... I

don't own...

Exes and Ohs

Chapter Two

Cupcakes and Coffee

BPOV

"I'm sorry ma'am, but we cannot deny custody based on the fact that your

previous son-in-law is a cross-dresser. We have observed him on many occasions and
the decision has been made. Of the two, he's the better candidate for parental
custody." Because he is responsible unlike your daughter who left the child at the
school on multiple occasions in order to get her brains screwed out by the postal
worker... or was that the UPS guy? I shuddered as I tried to get the image out of my
head of her and the delivery man getting it on in the doorway of her apartment.
They apparently took the saying 'what can brown do for you?' to the next level.
Nothing could have prepared me for the sight of the two of them going at it as I
walked up to her apartment. What I really didn't understand was how she could
have forgotten that we had an appointment which was specifically to ascertain
whether or not she was responsible enough to have custody of the little boy.

It was Thursday, and I was wrapping up loose ends at work, excited about being

able to get out of there at a decent hour since I was planning on going to Alice and
Jasper's for dinner. Bridgette was home from the hospital and we were going to
celebrate. I still needed to pick up the cupcakes from Bridgette's favorite bakery.
She had pulled through just fine, and was released early because of how quickly she
was healing.

I couldn't believe it was Thursday already. It seemed as if I had just left Edward's

house feeling dazed and a little confused. When he had asked me to come to the
party I was pretty sure that he was doing it to keep his daughter happy, but when he
asked me out for coffee, I was so shocked, all I could do was nod. I was certain that
he was leaning in to kiss me from the way his eyes darted back and forth from my
eyes to my lips, but then he pulled away at the last minute.

- 17 -

As I mulled over what could possibly be going on in his head, I stopped in at

Frosted Cupcakery and picked up a half dozen cupcakes. Chocolate and Chocolate
for Bridgette and Alice, the chocolate addicts, and Lemon Cupcakes for Jasper and
me. I snagged a good spot on Ocean and walked up the street to Alice and Jasper's
cozy house which they had just finished decorating. The small front patio was lined
with tropical plants to give a sense of privacy. As soon as I walked in the gate, I was
met with the sight of Jasper in board shorts and an apron, checking on the food
grilling on their big barbecue. I walked over to him and gave him a one armed hug
as we both observed the steaks and veggies that looked to be just about done.

"Right on time, as always!" Jasper said.

"You know it. Is that one of Alice's rejects?" I said as I gestured towards the frilly

apron he had on. Alice's business was creating crafty things from fabrics, be it
quilts, aprons, burp cloths for babies, or doll clothes, which meant that there were a
lot of abandoned projects. Whenever she wasn't quite happy with how the design
was working out, it went in her reject pile. I had snagged quite a few projects from
her reject pile that I thought were perfectly good, and had her help me finish them
up and kept them for myself. I had a rather large collection of aprons and hot pads.

"Yup, you know it!" he said as he hip-bumped me. He started pulling the steaks

and the veggies off the grill and onto a plate.

"What was wrong with this one?" I asked, grabbing one of the plates as we walked

towards the side door. He held it open for me as I ducked under his arm and walked
into the kitchen.

"She said the bias of the fabric wasn't working out for her. Or something like

that," he said with his eyebrows scrunched together, trying to recall exactly what it
was Alice had said.

"I said that the gingham needed to be cut on the bias for the straps. I redid the

design and sold quite a few of them on Etsy," Alice said as she came up to me and
took the plate and box of cupcakes from my hands, kissing me on the check quickly.
"Brii's in the sewing room, looking through the latest projects I've been working on.
She said she couldn't wait to see you earlier."

"K, I'll go check on her." I walked down the hall to the back room which had

previously been two small rooms and had the wall between the two taken out. Along
one wall there were deep metal shelves, filled with fabric of all types, from cottons,
to flannel, to minke, to velvets, coming in all sorts of colors and patterns. Along
another wall was her sewing machine and long arm quilter. She even had one of

- 18 -

those forms that they use for creating clothes which she had dressed in her current
project. In the center of the room was a large, high table which was used for cutting
fabrics and laying out designs. Sitting at one of the stools sat one of my favorite kids
in the world, Bridgette. She looked up as the door softly hit the wall with a thump.

"Bella!" Her little body hopped off the stool and she walked over to me as fast as

she could, gingerly throwing her arms around my waist. "I missed you! Do you think
Mama Alice will let me help on her new project?"

"I don't think Alice would ever say no to her favorite helper!" I said smiling at her.

The excitement she had for what Alice did almost made me want to help out as well.
Having grown up around Alice guaranteed that I could sew a straight line, but
designing and creating the projects she did were well out of my range of expertise.

It was so good to see the sparkle back in Bridgette's eyes. When she first woke up

in the hospital she looked so scared and lost. In the beginning, I was the only one
allowed back there, but Rosalie, the charge nurse who had kept me informed when
Bridgette was first admitted, finagled a way for Alice and Jasper to get to see her as
well. The relief on Bridgette's face was evident when Alice and Jasper walked in the
room. Big fat tears welled up in Bridgette's eyes as she said, "I thought you were
lost forever." The four of us all cried for a bit, holding onto each other and
reaffirming that our loved ones really were all together.

I was brought back to the present by Alice's squeal when she saw what we were

looking at. "Don't you just love this new fabric? I love the vintage look, and who
doesn't like toys? I'm almost done with the top, all I have left is the quilting and
binding. I should be done with it tomorrow afternoon." I watched as Alice lovingly
touched the pieced quilt. There were jacks and marbles and balls, as well as dump
trucks, tug boats and fire trucks, stars and stripes, all in vintage colors.

"That's so cute Alice! I need a favor though." If I was going to tell Alice about

Saturday, it was best to do it quickly; like ripping off a band-aid. "We're invited to
Green E-- I mean Edward's daughter's birthday party on Saturday. I need a gift. Any
ideas?"

"Who's we?" Alice asked with a gleam in her eye. Oh no, cue inquisitor Alice,

someone save me!

"You, Jasper, Bridgette, and I. It's her fifth birthday. Do you have any quilts that

would be appropriate for a little girl?" I asked as I hoped that would be enough
information to appease her curiosity.

- 19 -

"And how did you come about this invitation?" NO! NOT THE PROPER ENGLISH!

That was a sure sign of her curiosity being fully peaked. I wasn't going to get out of
this room without telling her the whole story.

"I got a call I had to check on Monday night, Gree- Edward's ex had made a false

call trying to get him in trouble with social services. Had some cookies with him and
his daughter, Lizzie, got us invited to her birthday party and coffee next week." I
tried to say that as quietly as possible, hoping she wouldn't have heard, or paid
attention to it. My hopes were dashed as I saw her eyes sparkle and her grin widen.

"A date with Green Eyes, eh?" she asked coyly.

"Yes, I have a date," I responded in the same manner, rolling my eyes. "So, back to

the subject at hand, do you have any suggestions for a gift for Lizzie?"

"How 'bout that princess quilt we started before I left? It's all done, yeah?"

Bridgette piped up. Yes, mission accomplished!

"Yes, but I thought you wanted that for your room?" Alice said as she turned

towards Bridgette.

"Nope, I want to do something different. I've decided I want butterflies.

Something like this." Bridgette was flipping through one of the old magazines Alice
had lying around. She had pointed out one of the first quilts Alice had had published
in a magazine as a designer.

"Hmm... I have more than enough of a coordinating print to do the canopy bed as

well as the quilt. How bout we..." Their voices got quieter as I took my chance to
make a break for it unnoticed by the two design divas. I walked to the kitchen to see
if Jasper needed any help with the last of dinner preparations.

"You escaped!" Jasper rejoiced as I walked into the kitchen.

"Just barely," I smiled at him. "Got any plans for Saturday?"

"Apparently now I do. Just let me know where and when." That had to be one of

my favorite things about Jasper. His ability to keep things simple. No need to give
me the third degree. Besides, he knew Alice would tell him all the details before the
day was done. He handed me a stack of plates and shooed me towards the side door.
"Can you set the table outside on the patio? The heat's gone out of the day and it's
nice out there. I'll go let the two of them know dinner's almost on."

- 20 -

I headed out to the patio table which already was set except for the plates which I

quickly set out. The three of them came out with Bridgette in Jasper's arms.
Bridgette had been enjoying all the extra attention she was getting immensely.

As we ate we reminisced about our favorite memories with Bridgette. Bridgette

kept complaining that we weren't supposed to make her laugh, since it hurt her ribs,
but then she would go on to tell us funny stories, causing us to hold our own ribs we
were laughing so much. My favorite had to be when she told us about how she asked
Jasper to be Alice's boyfriend. The two of them had thought they were being clever
and hiding their attraction for each other, from each other. They were in for a rude
awakening when Bridgette grabbed their hands, clasped them together and popped
the question. I had been almost certain that Bridgette was going to do it again when
it came to their engagement, since Jasper had had the ring for two weeks before he
finally asked Alice. He of course had to ask permission from Bridgette, but that was
a given that she would be okay with it.

After dinner Jasper and I quickly cleaned up the dishes and the kitchen while Alice

got the cupcakes ready. She put a sparkling candle on the cupcake for Bridgette and
we walked out singing 'congratulations to you' in the tune of the Happy Birthday
song. Bridgette's eyes lit up when she saw the cupcake just for her. We spent the
rest of the night watching her favorite movies.

The next day, I was on my way into the hospital to clear up some paperwork when

I bumped into Edward again. He had on a pair of jeans, a black v neck t-shirt, and a
black leather jacket that he was in the middle of zipping. He looked up and spotted
me, his green eyes sparkling when they met mine.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" he asked with concern laced in his voice.

"Nothing bad I hope?"

"Nope, just gotta picking up some paperwork for Bridgette's case," I said with a

grin.

"Hey...I know I said we would go get coffee later next week, but how bout we go

get dinner now? I just got off shift," he said as he cleared his throat.

"Sure, I'm done as soon as I get the paperwork. I can bring it in on Monday.

Anyplace around here that's any good?" I said as I did the happy dance in my head.

"You ever been to Chuck's?" the sparkle was back in his eyes at my easy

- 21 -

acceptance. "'Home of the world famous Weasel'?" he asked using air quotes. "It
was recommended to me by one of the doctor's here on staff. It's a short drive down
the road, but it's supposed to be worth it!"

"I love Chuck's! Breakfast food sounds great. But I thought they close early...?"

"Nope, my co-worker said they extended their hours recently, they're open later

on weekends. You know where it is then?" I nodded in response. "How bout I head
down there and get us a table while you go get your paperwork finished? That way
you don't have to wait in line too long."

"That sounds perfect, I'll see you in a bit."

I quickly found the nurse I needed to speak with and got my business with her

squared away. I hopped in the car and drove down to my house. What Edward
hadn't known was that Chuck's was where Alice and I went to breakfast every
Sunday since it was a quick walk from both of our homes. I walked down to the
restaurant and found him sitting outside at one of the small tables. He was looking
at the menu, but looked up when he heard me pulling the chair out to sit down. I
watched as he ran a hand through his hair, wanting to be the one to muss it to it's
full sex hair glory.

"Hi." he said with his lopsided grin.

"Hi." I said back with a small smile. I had to stop myself from staring at his hands

which were currently folded in front of him on the table. I wondered how they would
feel running all over my body, from my breasts, to my thighs as he prepared to dive
into my--- No more fantasizing, Bella, get it together!

"So, what's good here?"

"Everything." I waggled my eyebrows at him.

"You've had everything on the menu?" his eyebrows drew together in concern. I

just barely kept myself from smoothing the lines out with my fingers.

"Not at one time, but I have tried everything on the menu. I've been coming here

for years with Alice. It's a great place. It's right down the street from my house."

"Oh," he said dejectedly.

"This is my favorite restaurant actually. It's great to find someone who enjoys

- 22 -

breakfast food and is willing to eat it at non-breakfast hours."

"Yeah, well, when you rarely get a chance to eat breakfast when its breakfast

time, you take it when you can get it." he said with a chuckle.

We went back to studying our menus and put our orders in when the waitress

asked what she could get for us. We both sipped on our coffees as we started talking
about how our day had gone. Edward had just come off a 24 hour shift, but said it
felt like he had been at the hospital forever. He had to pull in some favors with the
other doctors, which meant longer shifts, in order to get the weekend off to spend
with his daughter.

There had been a major traffic accident that had come through the E.R. earlier

this morning. It had been chaotic, trying to take care of all the patients at one time.
Thankfully, all the emergency surgeries where minor and everyone was doing okay.
One of the patients was a little boy about his daughter Lizzie's age. He had been the
most critical of all the patients. Edward had kept an eye on the little boy all
afternoon, and had been able to bump him out of I.C.U. a half hour before he went
off shift. All the other injured parties had been stabilized by noon.

Our food came up and we continued discussing what had been going on in our

lives. I told him about my day, how one of the mom's I had been working with had
finally gotten custody back of her two girls. She had been addicted to pain meds
after the birth of her second child and was arrested for possession and intent to sell.
After she got out of jail, she had gotten herself cleaned up and employed at a small
bakery. She had her life on track and she was so glad to have her girls back. It had
been a good day.

We were sitting back after the plates had been cleared, still sipping on the coffee

that was always flowing, when I asked, "So, why did you become a doctor?"

"You know, I never really had a noble reason for becoming a doctor." he told me.

"My father was a doctor and I always wanted to be just like him. I had been going to
school, doing all the work and doing it well, but it came easy to me. I didn't really
appreciate how being a doctor can affect lives until I had been in the middle of my
residency, when I met a little girl. She had been in and out of the hospital for years
with a medical condition that would continue to affect her for the rest of her life.
She said that she grew up she wanted to be a doctor just like me, she wanted to help
people get better. She had such hope even while going under treatments that were
very painful."

"What she said really affected me. It was almost as if I caught her passion for

- 23 -

helping people. From then on, I felt like I understood why I was a doctor. Why I had
this need to help people in this way. I've never wanted to be anything else since
then."

"What happened to the little girl?" I asked quietly.

"She died about two months after that. She caught a cold that quickly turned into

pneumonia, and the antibiotics couldn't do enough to keep it from getting worse.
From then on I try to cherish every day I have on this earth, whether it's another day
at the hospital, or being able to spend the time with my daughter. It really opened
my eyes up to how much we have to be thankful for everyday."

We both reached for the check when the server set it down, but he quickly

snatched it out of my hands. "Uh-uh, missy, I asked you out on a date, and I'm gonna
pay. That pout won't work with me," he said teasingly.

"So, when I ask you out on a date, I'll get to pay for it?" I teased back.

"Maybe," he said with a wink.

We started walking towards the register as Edward asked, "Where did you park

your car?"

"I parked by my house and walked." I answered as Edward handed the cash and

the bill to the cashier.

"Can I walk you home?" He asked as we walked out the door and onto the

sidewalk.

"Sure. I'm down on St. Joseph." I nodded my head in the direction of my house.

"So, why did you become a social worker?" he asked.

"That's a long and messy story, you sure you want to hear about it?" I asked

tentatively as I bit my lip.

"I want to know everything about you," he said and my heart melted.

"K, here goes." I tucked my hair behind my ear as I continued to tell my story. "I

was adopted when I was about six years old. I had been in a foster home for about a
year before that, but it was horrible. We were beaten regularly." I paused for a
moment to take a shaky breath. "My brother, who had been in the foster care system

- 24 -

with me tried to protect me from it as much as he could, taking most of the beatings
on himself. When we finally got out of that home, we were split up and I was
eventually adopted by my parents now. I can still remember my brother screaming
for me when they put us in to different cars. We were all we had left in this world
and they were splitting us up. I miss him more than anything. He is the reason why I
do this job. To make sure that families stay together, and that kids never have to go
through what we did." I blinked rapidly to try and clear the tears that were
threatening to spill from my eyes. I always got a little teary eyed when I told this
story, so I generally didn't speak about it.

"What happened to your brother? Did you ever find out?" He asked with a

concerned look in his eyes.

"I tried looking him up after I started working here, but his records were lost in a

fire ten years ago. I tried looking him up by our last name, but if he was adopted, his
last name might have changed. I have no idea how to find him." The frustration at
not being able to find him crept into my voice.

"I'm sorry," he said as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and kissed me on

my temple. My heart fluttered as a warmth enveloped me from head to toe. I shook
myself a little to continue on.

"It's alright. My adopted parents were great. They helped me deal with all that

stuff and I like to think I came out as a well adjusted person." We continued walking
in silence, with his arm wrapped around me. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, just
restful. Neither of us felt the need to fill the silence; both of us thinking about what
the other had said. We walked up to my tiny little house and I pulled my keys out of
my purse and said, "This is me."

"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said it was close." He put his hands in his

pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels. "So, can I call you sometime?"

"Sure, I'd like that. I had a really nice time." I smiled at him.

"So did I," he paused and looked around. I could have sworn I saw his adam's

apple bob once. "I'd like to try something if you don't mind." He said as he pulled his
hands out of his pockets and stepped closer to me. We stood so close to each other
our breaths mingled in the warm summer air.

"What?" I whispered. My heart raced as he got closer, watching as his eyes went

back and forth between my lips and my eyes, pausing longer on my lips with every
pass.

- 25 -

"This." He gently sunk his fingers into my hair at the nape of my neck and

wrapped the other around my body, finding the small of my back. He pulled me
closer to him, till our bodies were flush against each other, his hard muscles being
cushioned by my soft curves. He leaned down and touched his lips gently to mine.
He moved his lips on mine, gently nibbling on the outer edges. He pulled my bottom
lip in between his and gently sucked on it, wringing a whimper from me. I couldn't
stop myself from wrapping my arms around his neck, one of my hands thrust into his
silky hair. He deepened the kiss, sinking his tongue into my mouth, caressing along
my tongue. Time seemed to stop as we continued to kiss, and I never wanted it to
end. Unfortunately it did. He pulled back a bit, pecking me on the lips as if he didn't
want to stop kissing me. He looked into my eyes, still holding me in the circle of his
arms, kissed me one more time, and set me apart from him.

"Goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow," He said after clearing his throat.

"Uh huh." I barely managed to get out.

A/N: Frosted Cupcakery and Chuck's really are places in Long Beach, CA.

The lemon cupcakes are really good. Chuck's is only open till 2 though, but I
extended their time for the sake of this story. Because I love Chuck's and
their pancakes are killer!!! :D

As always, thanks goes out to my beta, Pire. Without you, I would be

sitting at home reading a book, not imagining how I could torture some
poor, hapless characters... Everyone give her a round of applause for getting
the job done despite having a broken laptop...

What is your favorite kind of cupcake?

- 26 -

Big Top and Birthday Cake

A/N: There seems to be an overwhelming amount of you who prefer

chocolate on chocolate cupcakes, but I think my favorite response, was
Edward with chocolate frosting... :D I'll take that any day!

Links to the banner for the story and the clothes for this chapter are on

my profile.

Twilight and all it's characters, is under the ownership of Miss Meyers... I

don't own...

Exes and Ohs

Chapter 3

Big Top and Birthday Cake

EPOV

The night had gone better than I expected. Once I got the okay from Bella, I called

my mom and let her know that I was going to dinner with Bella, and to ask if she
would stay a bit later with Lizzie. I talked to my little munchkin, promising her that I
would make her pancakes in the morning for her to make up for the late night.

Chuck's was great. When Bella said that she had been there before I was initially

dejected, remembering how I was trying to sell her on going someplace she already
had been to so often before. But when she made that comment about loving
breakfast foods, I started to fall in love with her. My mother had never understood
my obsession with breakfast at dinner time, and to find someone who loved it just as
much as me? There couldn't be anyone else as perfect for me as Bella.

The food was great and the service was awesome. Although we stayed longer than

the average table, there never seemed to be any hurry to get us out of there. We
seemed to talk forever, about things we both actually seemed to care about. I was
shocked when she told me about the reasons why she became a social worker. I
never expected her to be so open and honest with me so quickly. I hoped that it was
because we were building a solid foundation; something to build on.

- 27 -

The night only got better when we kissed. I could still taste the warm spice of

coffee on her tongue as we explored each other. Her soft hair wound round my
fingers like silk as I pulled her towards me. The small bite of her nails as she griped
my shoulder and ran her nails along my scalp hinted at the passion we would share.
I could just imagine how those nails would rake up my back as I thrust into her over
and over. It took everything I had to keep myself from ravishing her up against the
wall, in spite of anyone who might walking down the street. As I pulled away from
her, I couldn't resist kissing her lips just a few more times. I had been fantasizing
about how her plump lips would taste for so long, I was almost certain of how it
would be. All my expectations were blown out of the water with that one kiss.

She seemed a little dazed when I pulled back, but I made sure that she made it

into her apartment alright. She stumbled just a little bit over the threshold but other
than that she was okay. I heard a thump on her door shortly after it closed and the
sound of her keys hitting the floor. I called through the door and asked if she was
alright. She quickly said uh-huh and I chuckled as I made my way back to my car.
The sun was just setting as I got in my car and went home.

My mother was watching TV quietly when I walked into the house. As she

collected her belongings she filled me in on the days events, from their treasure
hunt to the drowning of Lizzie's Tickle Me Elmo doll. Never had I been so excited to
hear about the death of a toy. She informed me that she would be over early to help
set up for the party, and to make sure I saved some pancakes for her. I watched out
the front door until she got in the car and left.

I walked up the stairs to the explosion of pink that was my daughter's room. The

covers had been kicked off, so I pulled them back up and tucked them around her
tightly. I kissed her on the forehead, and whispered to her how much I loved her.

The next morning, I was awoken by a weight pouncing on my chest. Rubbing

where she had landed, I groaned out, "Careful there, munchkin, you're going to
break daddy's ribs."

"I'm sorry, Daddy," she said quietly before jumping up and down on the bed as she

screamed excitedly, "but it's my birthday today! C'mon, time for pancakes!"

"That's right, I do owe you some pancakes now don't I? Do you want chocolate

chip, blueberry, or plain?" I asked.

"Chocolate chip with chocolate syrup!" she said as she continued to bounce on the

- 28 -

bed.

"You're going to bounce off the ceiling with all that chocolate. You sure about

that?"

"YES! Maybe some whipped cream too? It is my birthday, and you always said I

can have whatever I want to eat on my birthday."

"Yes, you can, but remember the time that you ate all that cake and ice cream by

yourself?

She paused in her jumping and looked at me with a frown, "Yeah, it made my

tummy hurt. I didn't like that."

"So maybe we shouldn't eat everything you want to eat today? Just a little bit of

everything?"

"Okay, let's go daddy! Time's a wasting!" Where she comes up with some of these

phrases just makes me wonder. She bolted off towards the stairs, leaving me to pull
myself out of bed, grab my slippers and wander off after her.

As I got to the last step on the stairs, the doorbell rang, and Lizzie skidded to a

stop on the way to the kitchen, turned herself around and headed back towards the
door. I walked into the foyer, as she threw open the door and yelled, "Grandma! It's
my birthday today!"

My mother gathered her up in a big hug and said, "I know, love bug. We're going

to have a party just for you. Have you had your pancakes yet?"

"Nope, not yet. Daddy's gonna make me chocolate chip pancakes with chocolate

syrup!" She was practically shaking with excitement.

"Hmmm... I'm just in time then aren't I?" She raised an eyebrow at me.

"What? It's my day off. Can't I at least sleep in till..." I looked at the large

grandfather clock, "nine thirty?"

"Not when we have lots to do to get ready for a birthday party." she walked over

and kissed me on the cheek on her way to the kitchen, still holding Lizzie in her
arms. "Let's get to the pancakes, I have a list for you." Lists; damn my mother's lists.
From the time I could remember, there were always some lists of things to be done.
They always seemed never ending.

- 29 -

It was twelve thirty before I was done with running all the errands my mother

wanted me to do before the party started. As I walked into my house, I made my way
to the backyard to check on the progress. The back yard had been transformed into
a circus carnival, with games, face painting, and even a miniature petting zoo. This
had been the first time my mother had been able to plan a birthday party for Lizzie,
so she had gone a little overboard. Apparently at two o'clock, when all the guests
were here, there would also be jugglers and clowns as well.

"Daddy!" I heard just before my daughter came crashing into my legs. I looked

down at her and saw her face shining with happiness, which made me smile. If she
was this excited about her birthday party, I would let my mother plan all of Lizzie's
birthdays for the rest of her life.

"Hey, munchkin, what have you and Grandma been up to?"

"We decorated! See?" She then proceeded to drag me around to all of the

different booths that were set up and explained to me all of the things we should do
once the party started. I was shocked at how much stuff they fit into the backyard. I
was certain my mother had knocked down the back wall and taken over my
neighbor's backyard as well.

"You need to go upstairs and get cleaned up, young man!" I rolled my eyes at the

sound of my mother's voice. "Did you get everything on the list?"

I nodded my head, handing my daughter back over to her care, and headed

towards my bathroom. As the steaming hot shower cascaded down my body, I
imagined what it would be like if Bella were here with me. If it was a birthday party
that she was hosting for my little girl instead of my mother. She could boss me
around any time. I could just imagine her with her hands on her hips, with a sparkle
in her eyes, as she told me what to do. I'm sure I would do a couple of things wrong
just to see the fire in her eyes as she yelled at me. Then I would distract her from
her anger by kissing her, wrapping her tightly in my arms and not letting go. I could
feel her soft little body pressed up against me, her hard little nipples pressing
against my chest as I nibbled my way from her her lips, to her ear, down to her
neck. I could just imagine her breathy moans as I found one sensitive spot after
another. As I was reaching down to grab my achingly hard dick, a loud pounding on
the bathroom door interrupted me from my imaginings.

"Dude, if you're beating one off in there while I'm slaving away trying to do all the

things your mom asked me to do on this damn list of hers, I'm going to kill you." I
heard Emmett yell through the door. "Hurry the fuck up!"

- 30 -

I finished my shower quickly, knowing Emmett knew where the hot water heater

connection was, and wouldn't be afraid to turn it off if he thought my shower was
taking too long. I had first met Emmett three years ago when he first started dating
my cousin, Rosalie. He had been at all sorts of family get-togethers, such as
Christmas and Thanksgiving, and we had become pretty good acquaintances.

It wasn't until I moved back to California with Lizzie three weeks ago that he and I

got to know each other even better. He had been the first one to volunteer to help
unpack all of our belongings. It wasn't until late that night over a couple of six packs
of Guinness that I found out about why he was so excited to be around the family.
He had had a hard family life growing up and had felt like he finally belonged with
the easy acceptance my family had of him.

A lot more of his actions seemed to make sense after that night. He and Rosalie

were always the first ones to arrive and the last to leave. He was always the first one
to get down to Lizzie's level and play with her. He would do anything with her,
including playing tea party and dressing in whatever she asked of him. He had
confessed that night that he really wanted to get married and have a couple of kids,
but was unsure of whether or not Rosalie would be interested. I reassured him that
despite Rosalie's unwillingness to discuss the subject, she wanted nothing more than
marriage and kids with him, she just didn't want to scare him off with talking about
it with him. Apparently, he took my advice to heart and they were engaged the next
week. I don't think I had ever seen either of them happier.

Emmett and I had taken to hanging out whenever our schedules coincided. Since

both of our schedules were pretty hectic, it only happened about once or twice a
week. Most of the time it was just hanging out at the house watching sports and
drinking beers, but one time, he convinced me to go get the tattoo that I had been
thinking about getting since my daughter had been born. A week and a half ago, I
had gotten her name and birth date written in a script tattooed over my heart. It had
hurt like hell, but it had been worth it. Emmett had the final pieces of his sleeve on
his right arm finished up while we were there. When he took his shirt off so that
they tattoo artist could get to the top part of his shoulder, I peeked a glimpse at one
of the tattoos that ran along the tops of his shoulder blades that said, 'wherever you
are baby girl, I will find you.' When I asked him about it, all he would say about it
was that it was his first tattoo. I never brought up the subject again since the pain
on his face was evident when he spoke about it the first time.

I wrapped up my shower, and walked into my room, finding the clothes my mother

had laid out for me. Apparently she wanted me to continue on in the circus theme
since she had chosen a top hat, black jacket complete with tails, a red vest, and a
button up shirt. I threw out the pants she chose for me once I tried them on and

- 31 -

realized how tight they were. There was no way I was going to be caught dead in
them. I replaced them with a pair of comfy jeans instead, and walked down stairs in
relative comfort. When I got there I found the rest of my family in the kitchen,
dressed in similar fashion. Emmett was dressed as the strong man, Rosalie as a
trapeze artist, my daughter looking like a miniature version of her, my mother
dressed in a fortune tellers getup, and my father as a lion tamer. He even had a
stuffed animal lion draped across his shoulders.

I could tell that everyone had finished their 'lists' and was just waiting for the

guests to start arriving since they were all standing around chatting. My aunt and
uncle, Rosalie's parents wandered in from the backyard, wearing matching juggler
costumes. When it got closer to the time the party was supposed to start, we put a
sign on the door, directing people to go around the side of the house to the back
yard. Emmett immediately started playing some of the games in order to win Rosalie
and Lizzie some prizes. My mother had generously paid for the stuffed animals that
were adorning the back walls of the tents the games were housed in. Anyone who
played a game was guaranteed to win a prize. Lizzie grabbed my hand and started
dragging me to the games she wanted to play.

I saw Bella with Alice, Jasper, and Bridgette out of the corner of my eye as I was

throwing the last baseball at the milk bottles. They crashed down and Lizzie next to
me screamed in delight. She pointed to the stuffed animal on the back wall, and the
carnival worker handed it over to her.

"Daddy, look what I got!" she said excitedly shoving the pink monkey up so I could

see it.

"I see it, munchkin. I also see Bella. Do you want to go say hi to her?" I asked.

I watched as she searched anxiously for Bella, and started running up to her once

she spotted her. Bella was caught unawares as my daughter crashed into her from
the side. I watched as she bent down to give Lizzie a hug. My eyes traveled over her
form as I strolled towards them at a considerably slower pace than my daughter
had. Bella was wearing a green sleeveless dress that showed off her shapely arms
and legs. Her dainty collarbones were framed by the small straps that covered her
shoulders. Her petite feet were encased by a pair of high-heeled sandals that had
straps that wound half way up her calves. I could just imagine unwinding those
ribbons from her legs and kissing my way from her toes up to her knees towards
that little piece of heaven. I realized where my thoughts were headed and instantly
derailed them. No fantasizing at your child's birthday party. Get it together, Masen!
I overheard Bella introducing Lizzie to Jasper, Alice, and Bridgette, as I walked up to
their small group.

- 32 -

"And this is my Daddy!" I heard Lizzie say as she grabbed my hand.

"Hi, Dr. Masen!" Bridgette said to me.

"Are you feeling better?" I asked her.

"Yup!" she said smiling brightly.

"Bridgette, let's go get our faces painted!" Lizzie said as she grabbed Bridgette's

hand and started wandering off towards the tents.

I turned to Bella and pulled her into my arms, kissing her on the temple. She

pulled back from me, but didn't leave the circle of my arms. The world shrunk down
to just me and her as I stared into her eyes.

"Hi." I said as my right hand traveled up her back and rested on her shoulder with

my thumb resting on her collarbone, gently brushing back and forth.

"Hi." she replied with a smile.

"I'm glad you came."

"So am I," she said as I started running my fingertips up and down her biceps,

causing goosebumps to break out on her skin. Her breath hitched as I heard
someone clearing their throat from right next to us.

I turned toward Alice and Jasper and stuck my hand out first to Jasper without

moving my left arm from around Bella's waist and said, "We've never been
introduced, but I'm Edward Masen. I've heard a lot about you from Bridgette."

"Jasper Whitlock, and this is my wife Alice." Jasper smirked as we shook hands.

I turned and offered my hand to Alice, but when she grabbed my hand she pulled

me into her arms hugging me solidly. I was shocked at how strong she was for how
petite she was. "Thank you for saving my baby. I'll always be grateful."

"You're welcome. It always makes my day to see my patients whole and healthy.

I'm glad she's healing fast enough to come out today." I could feel Bella's hand creep
around underneath my jacket and started playing with where my shirt was tucked
into my pants. I started naming the muscles in the body in my head in order to not
think about what her hands on me were doing to me. Quadratus femoris, superior
gemellus, piriformis, gluteus maximus, mmm... Bella's ass is the perfect example of

- 33 -

a nice taut gluteus maximus ... No, think of baseball, you ass!

"I can't believe how you decorated for Lizzie's birthday. I love the circus theme!"

Alice said as she clapped her hands together.

"I can't take credit for that. My mother was the one to come up with the designs, I

just do what she tells me." I said as I smiled. "Would you like to meet her?" I asked
as I started heading towards the center tent where the refreshments were held with
extra tables and chairs. Later on there would be a magician performing in there.

"Yes, I want to ask her where she found those sparkle lights."

I kept Bella close to me as we walked figuring that her heels would sink into the

grass and didn't want her to trip. Admit it, it has nothing to do with the fact that she
might trip, you just want to hold her close to you. I spotted my family once we
stepped inside the tent. I would have never noticed Bella's slight hesitation in her
step if I hadn't been holding on to her so tightly. I looked at her and saw that her
face had gotten extremely pale and her breathing seemed shallow. I paused and
asked, "are you alright?"

"Yes, fine. Just a little bit of deja vu." she said in a strained voice. I rubbed circles

on her back as she started walking with me again towards my family.

My mother's eyes lit up as she spotted my arm around Bella and she walked

towards us meeting us in the middle of the tent. She held her hand out for Bella to
shake as she said, "You must be Bella, I've heard so much about you from Lizzie and
Edward here."

Bella turned to me and caught me rolling my eyes. She smirked at me as I took a

deep breath. "Mother, this is Bella Swan, and Jasper and Alice Whitlock. Bella,
Jasper and Alice, this is my mother, Elizabeth Masen. Jasper and Alice are the foster
parents trying to adopt that little girl who was in the hospital on Monday. She's
running around with Lizzie at the moment. I trust that I can let you entertain our
guests as I go get us some drinks?" I asked what everyone wanted and headed over
to the bar.

I was on my way back with the drinks when I spotted Emmett and Rosalie making

their way over towards us with Emmett in the lead. I saw Emmett clasp Jasper's
hand and pat him on the back in the stereotypical man's hug. As I walked up to the
group I heard Jasper say, "small world, huh?"

"Yeah, totally. So how did you get invited to this shindig?" Emmett replied.

- 34 -

"Bella, here was invited by Edward." I watched as Emmett's eyes narrowed in on

Bella. His head cocked to one side as if confused by what he saw. He stuck his hand
out at Bella for her to shake. "Bella, this is my good friend Emmett McCarty." Alice
gasped in surprise at this. Jasper turned to her as he finished what he was going to
say with a confused look on his face. "He's one of the captains in the fire
department. His house is down the street from the police department."

Bella looked down at his outstretched hand before clasping it with her own. When

she looked up I saw that there were tears running down her face. "Isabella McCarty
Swan. I thought I'd never find you again, Emmers."

A/N: Thanks goes out to my beta Pire. You are so sparkly, they could see

you from outer space...

Special thanks to the last couple of reviewers for the last chapter. If I

didn't send a review reply, I was having an argument with FF and it won. SO
THANK YOU!

The Tickle Me Elmo Doll drowning incident really did happen... I have

pictures... :D

What toys have your kids/nieces/nephews killed? Tell me a story... I like

'em....

- 35 -

Big Brother and Pizza

A/N: not many kids killing off their toys, but there were quite a few of you

who happily offed some toys, amazingly enough a lot of barbies were hurt. :D
By far my favorite had to be the chopping of the barbie's heads off with the
guillotine. That and getting rid of the talking toys (those are creepy!)
Awesome stories guys!

Twilight and all it's characters are under the ownership of Ms. Meyer... I

don't own.

No barbies were hurt in the making of this chapter...

Exes and Ohs

Chapter Four

Big Brother and Pizza

BPOV

When I walked to Alice's house, I couldn't stop my daydreams about Edward's

body wrapped around me just as he was last night. Since their house was only a
couple of blocks away from mine, I couldn't daydream long. I did however prolong
the walk by walking up to Second Street to Sweet Jill's to pick up some muffins for
Jasper, Alice, Bridgette, and me. I was temped to buy a brownie that was smothered
in chocolate chip cookie dough for later, but passed since there was a certainty of
birthday cake at the party we were going to. Cookie dough, hmm... I wondered if
Edward would be adverse to me slathering cookie dough on him and licking it off
him... Down girl, you've only just kissed the man. Don't go asking about the kinky
stuff and scare him off now.

I walked into Alice's house yelling out my hello's as I headed for the kitchen. I was

greeted with Bridgette's smiling face as I walked into the light filled room.

"What didja bring me?" she asked excitedly.

I grabbed two of the muffins out of the bag and held them behind my back. "Pick a

hand," I told her. She pointed to the right one and I handed her the blueberry

- 36 -

muffin. She started walking back to her room with her muffin in hand as I started
peeling the wrapper off of my own cranberry muffin, and grabbed a plate to put the
extra muffins on. I noticed the French Press sitting in the middle of the counter,
which looked to be the perfect color of mud as Jasper liked to call it. I poured myself
a cup as Alice floated into the room, the large arms of her silky robe fluttering
behind her as she stopped next to me. I handed the cup to Alice, knowing that it
would be easier to just give it to her and pour myself another one. She doctored her
coffee with cream and sugar and we both sat at the bar nursing our coffee quietly,
enjoying the sound of the ocean that filtered through the open windows.

"God, that's good. My man makes a mean cup of joe. Thank goodness I married

him," she said as she stared into the cup as if it held all the answers to life.

"I promise I won't tell him that's why you married him." I said jokingly as I

bumped my shoulder into hers softly.

"What are you talking about, I married him to keep him away from you, you

hussy!" she said as she bumped me back with a smile on her face.

"Where is your man anyways? It's not like him to let a good cup of coffee sit

un-drunk." I asked.

"He's out for his run. You're earlier than normal, so you just missed him."

"You said I had to be here early, so I came when you asked," I said as I stuck my

tongue out at her.

Bridgette chose that moment to walk back into the room, still dressed in her pj's.

She yawned a bit before she asked, "we aren't going to get to bake today are we?"

"Sorry, pumpkin, I know it's your first Saturday back, but we've got to get ready

for that party. You know Alice won't let us get away with not looking our best." I
smiled at her and she nodded with reluctance. We had started our Saturday baking
parties during December last year when we were baking up a storm for the coming
holidays, and just continued since Bridgette loved it so much.

"Can I pick what we bake next week then?" she asked.

"Of course, sweetheart, what ever you want to make." Her face broke out into one

of the largest smiles I had ever seen.

"Shopping," Alice said quietly, as if trying to get me to agree to it without realizing

- 37 -

what it was she wanted.

"No." I disagreed, already knowing where this conversation was headed.

"You need something new! I know each and every thing that's in your closet, and

let me tell you, nothing is appropriate for a summer afternoon child's birthday party.
PLEASE? I'll let you drive?" She was resorting to begging and bargaining. SWEET!
That means I'll get my way for once.

It wasn't until five hours later, when Alice had blow dried and curled my hair and

made-up my face to perfection that I realized, there was no way I was getting my
way today. She was determined to make me as glammed up as she could since as
she says, she never gets the chance to. When we were out shopping, I did however
fall in love with the new yellow sundress that I was currently wearing. It made the
most of the girls, and was light in the summer heat. I was nervously standing in the
back yard of Edward's gigantic home, hoping to see him in the crowd of people
milling about. I almost lost my balance as a small bundle ran into my legs. I quickly
greeted Lizzie and introduced her to Bridgette, Alice, and Jasper.

When Edward joined us and asked a few questions of Bridgette, I couldn't keep my

eyes off of his form in the old-styled tuxedo jacket. It was tailored closely to his
frame, showing of the breadth of his shoulders. I wasn't really paying attention to
the conversation he was having, and everything else really faded into the
background when he pulled me into his arms and kissed me softly. I was running on
autopilot from then on until we got to the tent where Edward's family was supposed
to be.

My reverie was broken when I spotted someone across the tent that reminded me

of an old picture of my father that I had. It was one of the few remaining possessions
I had from my birth parents. The man across the way had brown curly hair and
bright blue eyes. I had never seen anyone as large as him, he looked as if he could
easily bench press a Volkswagen Beetle. I quickly brushed it off as deja vu when
Edward asked about my hesitation. Edward introduced us to a statuesque woman
with long silvery hair that sparkled in the sun light. The only indication of her age
was the color of her hair since her face was only lightly lined from age. Alice
immediately struck up a conversation with her, discussing the lighting that we could
see around the back patio.

Edward had left momentarily, and I worked on getting my breathing under

control. I was just about calmed down when I noticed the man who looked exactly

- 38 -

like my father, was walking towards our group. I was so focused on his face, I didn't
hear the conversation he started up with Jasper. The only thing I heard was his
name, Emmett McCarty and Alice's indrawn breath. It can't be... I could remember
the feel of the sunshine beating down on my brother and I as we ran towards the
swimming hole out on the back of our old property. A boy gangly in comparison to
this mammoth beside me now. I was brought out of my memories by Edward's
presence on my side and noticed that Emmett had stuck out his hand. I couldn't stop
my tears from spilling down my face as I reached out to grasp his outstretched hand.
The warmth of his hand enveloped mine and I felt like I was home.

I could barely choke out, "Isabella McCarty Swan. I thought I'd never find you

again, Emmers."

I scarcely heard "...Bella?" before I was wrapped up in the arms that I had been

missing all these years. I breathed in the scent of him and it was the same. The smell
that would always remind me of sunshine and laughter. I continued crying quietly
into his shoulder as he held me in his arms, my feet off the ground. I heard his voice
whispering, "Shh, baby girl, it's alright. I've got you now..."

I calmed down a bit as Emmett's grasp tightened even more. "Emmers... can't...

breath..."

"Oh, sorry, baby girl." Emmett carefully put me down and I sat at one of the large

round tables that were all over the tent, running my fingers over his face,
memorizing the changes in it. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I just can't believe I finally found you." I said as I finally got my tears under

control.

"I tried to find you when I turned eighteen. The adoption agency wouldn't release

anything about you when I asked for more information," he said quietly.

"Yeah, Charlie put a hold on the release of information for me because James

came after me again when he got out of prison." We both shuddered when I
mentioned our previous foster care 'father' who had put us through so much.
"Luckily, Charlie had been able to keep him from kidnapping me, since that was
what they figured out he was trying to do."

"Who's Charlie?" Emmett asked.

"My adopted father. He's great, you would have loved him." I looked around at

this point wondering where everyone was. I spotted the group of them huddled at

- 39 -

one of the tables. Alice looked up as if she felt my gaze on her. She smiled at me and
continued to distract everyone else. I should thank her for keeping them away so
Emmett and I could talk for a little bit. "You know, Charlie and Renee thought you
were my imaginary friend for the longest time. They didn't know that you were my
brother until I was fifteen."

"What did you do, not talk until you were ten?" he joked.

"Close, I was eleven." I said seriously.

"Oh, baby girl," he said as he pulled me back into his arms and kissed me on the

forehead. I took a deep breath in as I tried to keep from crying again. I hated to cry
and I was tired of it. He released me and I sat back in the chair.

"It's okay. Charlie and Renee were great. They put me in counseling and that

really helped me to open up to them. They showed me with patience and diligence,
that they were never going to leave me. Even when they got divorced, they were
good at showing me that they weren't going to give up on me. What about you? Did
you ever get adopted?"

"Nope, I got bounced around to a couple of foster homes and some group homes

until I was old enough to get out of the system. I moved back into the area as soon
as I could and have been living in Long Beach ever since. How bout you?"

"Charlie moved out to Victorville when he retired and Renee ended up moving out

to Jacksonville after the divorce. They left me the house I grew up in, in Downey, but
I sold that and bought a tiny house in Belmont Shore. I live about two blocks from
Alice, who's my best friend. I didn't really hear what Jasper was saying but do you
know him somehow?"

"Yeah, we're acquaintances through work. I'm one of the captains for the Long

Beach Fire Department, so I've seen him on scenes from time to time. I've even been
out drinking with him a couple of times."

"So, is it true that your mom named you Baby Girl?" I heard Alice ask as she

walked up to us.

"Yeah, she was kinda odd like that." I said as everyone else came trickling back

and sitting around the table that we were at.

"Odd," Emmett said incredulously. "She was loopy! Remember the time she tried

to feed us crunchy peanut butter, mayonnaise, and sweet pickle sandwiches?"

- 40 -

Everyone cringed at the sound of that combination.

"Yeah, you fed it to the dog for me so I didn't have to eat it." Alice started busting

up laughing when I said that.

"What?" Jasper and Emmett said at the same time.

"I always wondered where she got that from, she kept feeding stuff to her dog

whenever she didn't like it. Renee totally freaked when she finally figured out why
the dog was so overweight." Alice said between giggles.

"Hey, it worked!" I exclaimed, my face immediately going red. "Renee wasn't any

better a cook than mom had been. I learned all I know about cooking from Alice's
mom."

"How did you get the name Bella then?" Edward asked as he snaked an arm

around my waist.

"Emmett named me." I said as I felt my face heat. Everyone turned to Emmett and

looked at him expectantly.

"She was one year old when I realized that baby girl was not a normal name for a

baby girl. I asked Mom about it and she said that if I wanted her to have a different
name, I had to be the one to decide what it would be."

"And what was it you named me after, Emmers?" I said as I smirked at him.

"La Bella Italia, my favorite restaurant." Everyone busted up laughing at that

point. When they started calming down, he continued, "I was only five years old,
come on, give a kid a break!"

Everyone just laughed harder at him. I was so glad I found him. He was the same

as I remembered; same happy-go-lucky attitude that never failed to make me feel
better. I wiped at the tears that were leaking out the corners of my eyes from
laughing so hard.

"Wait," the tall blonde that had been hanging off of Emmett earlier, interrupted

our laughter. I looked closer at her and realized it was Rosalie, the charge nurse at
the hospital who had sneaked Jasper and Alice into Bridgette's room. I smiled at her
and she smiled back at me as she continued, "You mean, she's the Baby Girl that's
written on your tattoo on your back?"

- 41 -

"Yup. I swore to myself the day we got separated I would find her again. And now

I did." he said as he squeezed my hand once again.

"You have a tattoo on your back with my name on it?" I asked incredulously. "Will

you show me some time?"

He nodded his head as Alice piped up, "You should show him yours, Bella."

I gave her a dirty look. Emmett said, "You have a tattoo?"

"You can show them, just be careful. Come on, I love your tattoo." Alice said as

she bounced in her chair a little.

"Only you would ask me to do that in a skirt, Alice." I grumbled, as I carefully

scooted my chair back and grabbed a large napkin off the table. I dropped the
napkin into my lap as I hiked my left leg up and balanced the ball of my foot on the
edge of the table, keeping the napkin meticulously in my lap so as not to give anyone
a free show. I pulled the ribbons that were wrapped around my leg up and down so
that the space around the inside of my ankle was clear. The tattoo was a large E in
cursive script that started two inches above my ankle bone and the bottom of it
wrapped around the bone. If you didn't know what you were looking at you wouldn't
have known it was an E. Edward stood up to see it since he was on my left side and
couldn't see it. I turned my foot so that he could get a better view of it when Emmett
had seen it. His hand ghosted over it and sent shivers up my spine.

"Geez, baby girl! Did you have to put it on one of the most painful places to get a

tattoo?" Emmett asked as I fixed the ribbons and dropped my foot back to the
ground. I scooted back in and put the napkin back up on the table.

"I needed something to remember you by, and that was nothing compared to what

you went through in the year of hell." Edward's hand came up to rest along my
shoulder, his thumb gently rubbing along the base of my neck. The warmth from his
hand seeped into my skin, relaxing me, keeping the bad memories at bay.

"Nuh-uh, baby girl, we're not talking about that right now. We can discuss that

later, but not now, nothing's gonna bring down the moment of finding you again."

I put my arm around him and squeezed him tight. I dropped my gaze to Rosalie's

hand which was currently wrapped around Emmett's right bicep. I was nearly
blinded by the sparkly ring that was on her third finger and I realized what that
meant.

- 42 -

"You're engaged?" I said surprised.

"Yeah, we got engaged last week. Are you upset?" he looked a little sheepish.

"No, I'm just shocked. Not only did I find my big brother, but now I'm going to

have a sister!" I was as excited as Alice finding the perfect pair of Jimmy Choo's on
clearance at Nordstroms.

"I've never had a sister before either," Rosalie said. I reached around Emmett and

gave her a one armed hug. "Will you be one of my bridesmaids?"

I nodded my head at her, "You'll have to have Alice help you go shopping, it's her

favorite thing. She can smell sales."

Alice, who had been talking quietly with Jasper, popped her head up at the sound

of her name. "Shopping? Did I hear someone say they need to go shopping?"
Everyone chuckled at this.

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy." We heard as Lizzie and Bridgette came tearing into the

tent, shocking us all with their delight. "Catch," she said and Edward had barely
enough time to turn to Lizzie as she threw herself into his arms. Bridgette climbed
into Alice's lap and Alice immediately started putting Bridgette's hair back into the
ponytails that they had been in before the two of them went running off together.
When Lizzie saw what Alice was doing, she squirmed onto my lap and pointed to her
own messy hair and said, "fix."

"Is that how you ask for something, Lizzie?" Edward said gently reminding her of

her manners.

"No," she turned half around so she could look at me and asked, "Bella, may you

pwease can you fix my hair?"

"Sure, I would love to." Lizzie turned back around as I took out the ponytail holder

that was barely hanging on to half of her hair. I combed my fingers through her fine,
blond hair as Emmett started poking her in the side making her squirm in my lap. I
smacked him on his shoulder and scolded him, "Emmett, leave her alone so I can fix
this."

"Geez, baby girl, you sure hit harder than you used to." Emmett said as he rubbed

his shoulder.

"That's 'cause I was five." I rolled my eyes and finished putting Lizzie's hair to

- 43 -

rights. "There you go, all done."

Lizzie turned around in my lap and looked up at me with her big green eyes and

asked, "Bella, may I pwease can I have cake?"

"That's up to your dad, sugar pie." My heart melted to a puddle of goo when she

asked me for cake. This little girl knew exactly how to work me.

"Daddy?" she turned those big green eyes towards her father.

"Of course you can, munchkin. Why don't you go tell everyone that it's time for

cake and then you can open your presents?" She and Bridgette ran off again,
weaving around through the tents, telling everyone that it was time for cake. By the
time they came back and everyone else at the party had trickled in, Elizabeth had
the cake ready with all the candles lit, and we started singing her 'Happy Birthday'.
She made her wish and blew out her candles.

Edward and I sat with his arm around my shoulders and watched as Lizzie moved

on to open her presents. She giggled ecstatically as she opened present after
present. It wasn't until after she had opened everything, that they started the magic
show that would close out the party.

Lizzie sat on Edward's lap, but pulled me close to play with my hair all through

out the show. I rested my head on Edward's shoulder so that she could run her
fingers through it as she watched. Edward's fingers drew patterns on my bare skin. I
shivered a couple of times and he whispered in my ear, "Cold?"

I looked up at him and shook my head. He winked as he squeezed my shoulder,

then gently pushed my head back onto his shoulder and continued the same patterns
along my arm. We sat like that in comfortable silence and watched the end of the
show.

"Lizzie-bear, what did you wish for your birthday?" Emmett asked her after all of

the guests had left. It was just Edward's family, Jasper, Alice, Bridgette and I, since
Lizzie had been attached to me ever since the magic show. I didn't want to leave
anytime soon as it was, since I wanted to spend as much time as I could with my
brother. Edward and Rosalie's parents had both left a little bit ago, saying that they
would leave us to our own ends as it had been a long day for all of them. We were all
sitting around the large family room that was next to the bar area in the kitchen
where Lizzie and I had sat when we had our cookies. Edward had ordered some

- 44 -

pizzas to be delivered while the carnival workers started tearing down the backyard.
The cleaning crew Elizabeth had hired was cleaning up everything else. Lizzie and
Bridgette were laying on the large ottoman with their chins propped up in their
hands, watching Mary Poppins, which turned out to be Bridgette's favorite movie as
well. All the adults were sitting on the large couches, talking and sharing stories.

"I wished for Bella to go with us to the aquarium tomorrow. Pwease Daddy?

Pwease Bella?" She pulled out the puppy dog look that I had trouble saying no to,
and I turned to look at Edward. His eyes sparkled as he infinitesimally nodded his
head yes. I smiled back at him and looked back at his daughter and said, "I would
love to go with you. Just tell me where and when."

"Yay! Daddy, she's gonna go!" Lizzie said as she danced in place.

"I heard her munchkin. How 'bout I pick you up around ten tomorrow?" Edward

asked me. I got lost in his eyes and I nodded. "Great!" he said.

Ten minutes later the movie was over and Lizzie collapsed onto Edward's chest,

saying, "my tired, Daddy." I looked up at the clock and saw that it was getting pretty
late. I looked over at Jasper and Alice and noticed that Bridgette had curled up in
Alice's lap, her eyes heavy with sleep.

"I'm going to go put her to bed real quick. Wait for me before you leave?" Edward

asked as he got up with Lizzie in his arms.

"Sure."

"Want Bella, too, Daddy." I heard Lizzie softly say against his chest.

"You mind?"

"Not at all." I got up and followed him up the stairs to her room. She had already

been put into her pj's before dinner, so he just put her in bed and tucked her in.

"Night munchkin." Edward said as he kissed her head. "I love you."

"Love you, too, Daddy. Bella, hugs." She said as she held out her arms for me to

hug her. I leaned down and hugged her little body to me.

"Good night, sugar pie. I'll see you tomorrow." Her eyes were closed tight and she

was almost instantly asleep.

- 45 -

We headed back down towards the stairs when Edward grabbed my hand and

pulled me into an open doorway. He closed the door behind him, pushing me up
against the wall. He crushed his lips onto mine feverishly as he snaked his tongue
into my mouth. He pressed closer to me as his hands started moving restlessly up
and down my sides, causing me to shiver every time he got closer and closer to my
breasts. I arched my back, trying to get him to touch my nipples which were aching
with need. When he finally fulfilled my silent request, I moaned into his mouth. He
pinched my nipples through the thin fabric of the sundress, causing me to jump and
then moan again. His lips left mine as he alternated kisses and licks down my neck,
pausing momentarily to swirl his tongue over my collarbone, and head towards my
breasts.

I felt his long fingers push aside the fabric covering my breasts and his lips were

just an inch away from ecstasy, when I heard I'm all out of love, I'm so lost without
you coming from Edward's pocket. Edward looked up at me and we both burst out
into laughter at the song by Air Supply. He pushed my dress back into place and I
whimpered as he squeezed the nipple one last time.

"Seriously, that's Emmett's ringtone. If I don't answer that he'll come find us." He

said as he made some final adjustments to the top of my dress.

"Why don't we just go downstairs? It'll be faster."

"Alice and Jasper are getting ready to go but I wanted to ask you a question before

you guys leave. You busy Tuesday night, baby girl?" Emmett asked as we came back
down stairs. His eyes immediately went to my lips suspiciously. I blushed as I licked
them self-consciously. He narrowed his eyes at Edward, but didn't say anything.

"No, why?" I asked as I bit my lip.

"I think we should all go out for beer at Murphy's on Tuesday." Emmett said with a

giant smile that showed his dimples.

"What, Emmett? You're going to bail on our plans?" Edward asked.

"No, I figured you'd be there since you can't seem to keep your hands off my baby

sister." Emmett said as he rolled his eyes at Edward.

"Oh. Okay," Edward said easily.

"Isn't that the bar that has the passport?" I asked.

- 46 -

"Passport?" Edward frowned in confusion.

"Yeah, it's seventy beers from around the world, and once you finish them, you get

your name on a plaque and a free t-shirt. I've done it twice now." Emmett explained.

"Cool, sounds good." I said. I watched as Jasper came walking towards us with

Bridgette asleep in his arms. Alice was walking beside him with my purse and
sweater.

"Alright baby girl, I'll see you then." Emmett enveloped me in his warm embrace.

We stayed like that for a few moments. He released me and Edward grabbed my
hand and started walking with us out to Jasper's SUV. Jasper put Bridgette in her
booster seat, as Alice climbed into the front. Edward kissed the top of my head as he
pulled me into a hug.

"I'll see you tomorrow. I had a great day today." Edward said quietly.

"So did I." I whispered back.

"We'll have to finish what we started some other time." Edward whispered in my

ear as I tingled with anticipation. He kissed me lightly and then helped me into the
car. I ended up falling asleep that night to fantasies of how exactly he would fulfill
that promise.

A/N: Thanks as always to my beta Pire. See, the rain did make you sparkly

again... :D

I haven't recommended any stories on here yet, cause I read A LOT and it's

hard to just pick one, but there's this one that I'm currently reading, that's
so good you HAVE to read it. So, if you haven't already, you should read Not
Like This by pomme_de_terre over on Twilighted. And have a box of tissues
ready, I'm convinced she has stock in Kleenex. It has to be the worst/best
story I've read in a while. Worst because it makes you cry. Best because it's
GOOD. Not just good, it's amazing, wonderful, fantabulous. So if you haven't
already, check it out. K enough of my fangirl moment...

Sweet Jill's is a bakery on 2nd St, in Belmont Shore, CA. If you stop in

there I would recommend the brownie with chocolate cookie dough, and the
red velvet cake. They have really good baked goods.

- 47 -

Murphy's is a bar in the 2nd story of the Belmont Athletic Club. They have

a passport and it is about 70 beers that are both imported and domestic. I
recommend the Czeckvar (Czech Republic) and Framboise (Belgium).

The peanut butter, mayonnaise, and pickle sandwiches were real. They

were on rye bread, and I hated them...

What's the worst food combination you've ever had to eat?

Oh, and I'm going to start sending out previews of the next chapter to

anyone who reviews... So, want to know what's next for the happy couple?
Push the button below and let me know...

- 48 -

The Aquarium and Mom's Chicken Pot Pie

A/N: You all have some crazy food combinations. Thanks for all the love

people, I really appreciate it!

Twilight and all it's characters are under the ownership of Ms. Meyer... I don't

own.

Happy Reading!

Exes and Ohs

Chapter Five

The Aquarium and Mom's Chicken Pot Pie

EPOV

I heard the alarm go off in the morning, shocked that Lizzie hadn't gotten me up

before it had a chance to do it's job. I slapped the thing off and rolled over, finding
Lizzie's warm body next to me in bed. Oh, yeah. She had had a nightmare last night,
and, trembling, asked to sleep in my bed. She wouldn't tell me what her nightmare
was about, she just kept crying hysterically.

I carefully got out of bed without disturbing her and went to go take a shower. I

kept thinking about yesterday and the birthday party, how beautiful Bella looked,
how Lizzie seemed to get closer to her. Lizzie had gotten pretty attached to Bella
when she had met her the first time, but to see Lizzie interact with Bella warmed my
heart. Lizzie didn't have an easy time getting comfortable with many adult women.
She had my mom and her aunt Rosalie, but other than that she shied away from
them. Bella was the first woman that she got close to since her mother, Tanya, left
us.

When Lizzie asked for Bella to help put her down last night, I realized that this is

what Lizzie had been missing in her life. Even when Tanya was around she rarely
showed Lizzie any affection. The way Bella lovingly fixed her hair was something
Tanya rarely did. I learned early on how to get Lizzie up and going in the mornings,
since Tanya couldn't be bothered most days. I was quickly up to my elbows in bows
and hair ties. Luckily, she grew out of the 'popotails' and just liked to have her hair

- 49 -

in a headband, which she could do herself. I rarely had to figure out which bows
matched her outfit anymore.

I thought back to when Bella and Emmett met yesterday. Alice had pulled us all

aside, quickly explaining that they needed a little time to reconnect. I realized that
this was the brother Bella had been speaking about on Friday night. I was so happy
for her that she found her brother, but I couldn't help the small spark of jealousy
that squeezed around my heart as Emmett pulled her into his arms as she cried. I
wanted to be the one to hold her as she cried. I wanted to be the one she went to for
comfort. You're jealous of your soon-to-be-cousin, her brother? Yeah, it was a little
irrational.

I finished up my shower, got dressed and woke up my daughter. She sleepily got

up and wandered down to her room. She picked out what she wanted to wear, and
asked me if Bella would like it. It made me chuckle that we were both dressing to
impress Bella. I left her alone to get dressed and wandered back into my room to
text Bella.

We're about to leave in ten minutes. Want me to pick up breakfast? -E

Sure. Sounds good. -B

Any suggestions? -E

Coffee and pastries from Babette's Feast? -B

Sure. See you in about a half hour. -E

K... Later! XO -B

I wandered back down the hall and knocked on the door to Lizzie's room. "You

ready to go munchkin?"

"Yup! Let's go! I want to find Nemo!" I groaned and realized I was going to be

watching Finding Nemo for the next month. I had just gotten her to watch other
movies.

"Alright, let's get in the car, we're gonna pick up some breakfast for Bella on the

way to her house alright?" She nodded her head on the way to the car while I
grabbed the Finding Nemo DVD and her sippy cup of milk since I knew she would
want to watch the movie while drinking something on the way over to Bella's.

- 50 -

We stopped at the bakery that Bella had recommended and we put our order in. I

let Lizzie decide on what to do for breakfast, and she played by herself as we waited
for our order to come up. I could just imagine what it would be like to live in this
area, where Bella and I could bring Lizzie to places like this, when I was interrupted
by Lizzie pulling on my arm. "'reakfast is ready, Daddy!"

We picked up our food, got in the car, and drove the short distance down to

Bella's house. I grabbed the food as Lizzie ran up to the door and knocked. My
breath stuck in my throat momentarily when I first saw her. The morning sunlight
shone upon her shiny brown hair and nearly naked face. Her natural beauty was
enhanced by the happiness that was evident on her face when she smiled down at
my daughter. She scooped her up and hugged her, then looked at me and smiled.
She turned and walked into the house leaving the door open for me. I shook myself
from my stupor and followed her in.

Her house was small yet... quaint. There were a few framed eight by tens sitting

on an entry table. One was of a presumably small Bella with a woman that was
probably her adoptive mother. There was one that was taken in what looked to be a
dance club. Bella had a huge smile and she was holding a drink high. Alice's head
was poked into the frame giving the camera-man a goofy face. I smiled at the
unknown memory of Bella's and looked forward to making some memories of my
own with Bella. Bella and Lizzie's laughter sounded from around the corner and my
feet pulled me in that direction. On my way through the front room which was a
comfortable living room I headed towards a hallway, and passed what looked like an
office on the right. I found them in the kitchen where Bella was pulling plates out of
the cupboards and Lizzie was sitting at one of the bar stools.

Bella walked up to me and said, "Good morning."

"It definitely is," I replied as I set the goodies down on the counter and pulled her

into my arms. I kissed her lips softly and then set her way from me before I was
tempted to do things I shouldn't in front of my impressionable daughter. My arms
ached for her to be back in them but I stifled that feeling since I knew there would
be many stolen moments through out the day.

"Do you want to eat inside or out on the patio?" she asked as she started pulling

the croissants out of the bag.

"Patio!" Lizzie exclaimed as she hopped down from the bar stool. She ran towards

the back door which was right next to the kitchen. I grabbed the coffees as Bella
walked towards the back door with the plate of pastries in hand. We sat out on the
patio and spoke of inconsequential things as we ate our breakfasts.

- 51 -

Soon after we loaded up into my car and were on our way to the Aquarium. It

didn't take us very long to get there and we were soon all walking hand in hand
towards the entrance, with Lizzie in between Bella and I. I handed the tickets to the
lady at the front and started to look around.

"Daddy, Daddy, look at the whale!" Lizzie said excitedly as she pointed up at the

life size model of a blue whale hanging from the ceiling.

"Yup, baby girl, I see it." I smiled at Lizzie's enthusiasm.

"Look, there's a baby one! She's so cute!" We wandered around the exhibits,

Lizzie getting excited when we found the tank with all the clown fish in it. She
fruitlessly tried to count all the Nemo fish she saw, but quickly got frustrated since
they kept moving around on her. "Daddy, they won't stop moving!"

"That's because that's what they're supposed to do," I replied.

"Oh, okay," she shrugged nonchalantly. We moved on to some of the other exhibits

and ended up in what was like a glass tunnel. There were fish on both sides as we
walked through. To the right some divers were swimming around in the large tanks
and Lizzie quickly waved at them and they waved back. "Bella, look!"

"I see sugar pie!" Bella replied. Lizzie ran over to Bella and quickly grabbed her

hand. We headed outside to look at the areas where you could touch the things that
you would normally find in tidepools. There were all sorts of things to touch and
feel.

Lizzie squealed excitedly when she was touching the sea cucumber exclaiming,

"It's slimy, Bella, touch it." I watched as the two of them went through the other
things in the exhibit feeling the different textures. I was standing back from the
exhibit watching their interaction when I heard the voice from all my nightmares.

"Edward, fancy meeting you here." I turned and saw the woman I had hoped to

never see again.

"What do you want, Tanya?" I asked impatiently. I ran my fingers through my hair

in frustration.

"Just to talk. We can talk right?" I looked over at Bella and saw she was looking at

me. I raised my eyebrows in a silent question and she nodded at me and went to play
with Lizzie at the shark pool. Tanya and I walked over towards the small outdoor
cafe and sat down at one of the tables.

- 52 -

"You're just lucky Lizzie hasn't seen you. She still has nightmares about you

leaving us." I tried to get this conversation going so that I could get back to Lizzie
and Bella.

"Ah, that's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. I've changed my mind. I

want Lizzie back, and you as well." she said calmly while studying her nails.

"You have got to be kidding me." I said incredulously. "You left us, remember? You

can't just change your mind and think life is going to do what you want. I've moved
on; Lizzie's finally moving on. Why can't you just do the same?"

"Because, I've found that divorcing you has, how should I say, limited the power I

was able to wield in the social circles that I have become accustomed to moving in.
Without the Masen last name, I've been unable to live as I had previously. I want to
be where I was in social standing before our divorce."

"I don't get what the logic of you trying to get me back has in any of this? You

know there's no way I'll take you back, and why would I give custody of Lizzie up to
you?" I was completely flabbergasted at her logic.

"Ah, but don't you see? That's the beauty of this plan. Since I am the one who

'initiated' our divorce, my social standing has gone down. But if it comes out that
you were abusing me, and abusing our daughter, I will be back in the game. I will do
anything I have to in order to get what I deserve. If you don't come back to me, I will
ruin you." She looked up and I saw the determination glinting in her eyes.

"You are out of your mind! I never hit you or Lizzie. In fact, you were the more

abusive towards her since you ignored her all the time. There's no way, you have no
proof. I won't deal with this." I got up to leave the table.

She made me pause as she grabbed my arm. "Think it over, Edward. Do you really

want Lizzie going into foster care while all of this is straightened out? It could take
weeks, months even to get this taken care of. Don't worry, I'll let you have your little
pet on the side, if that's what you're worried about."

"Don't you ever talk about Bella that way! I'm done with this conversation. You

have no grounds, and I'm not going to even contemplate giving in to your demands."
I shook off her arm and left. I walked quickly towards the shark pools where Bella
was laughing with Lizzie as they touched the rays and sharks. I walked up behind
Bella and wrapped my arms around her, breathing in her scent, letting it relax me.

"Are you alright? What did she want?" she asked quietly, so as not to alert Lizzie

- 53 -

of what was going on.

"I think I will be. I'll explain it all later tonight. I need to make a phone call to a

friend though, are you two going to be okay?" I asked, rubbing my hand up and
down her arm, just needing to touch her and be reminded that there were some
decent people out in the world.

She turned around in my arms and kissed me on the lips. "Yeah, we're good, she's

been saying 'fish are friends, not food' to the sharks whenever they come by," she
chuckled at the antics of Lizzie.

"Alright, I shouldn't be longer than ten minutes, I'm just going to be leaving him a

voicemail." I pulled my phone out and stepped away from the shark pools.

I quickly dialed the number for my lawyer and friend, Carlisle Cullen. "Hey,

Carlisle, it's Edward. Tanya's kicking up a fuss about trying to get custody of Lizzie.
She's threatening to blackmail me into getting back with her. Please call me back as
soon as you can about whether or not this is possible. Thanks."

I walked back over to where Bella and Lizzie were playing, and paused for just a

moment as I watched them. Resolution came over me as I realized there was nothing
I wanted more than to have the three of us together for the rest of our lives. I wasn't
going to let Tanya and her scheming ruin what we had.

I walked over to Bella and put my arm around her, just reveling in the feel of her

soft skin. She looked up at me and smiled as I leaned in to kiss her quickly. She
looked over at me and smiled calmly.

"We need to talk. Is there any way we can discuss some stuff privately? I think I

need to explain a bit more about Tanya," I said.

"Why don't you and Lizzie come over for dinner tonight? Lizzie can go over and

play with Bridgette over at Alice and Jasper's since they're only a block away. I'll
invite Jasper and Alice to join us for dinner when we're done talking. Alice will do
anything for me to make her mom's chicken pot pie." She smiled at me once again
and I was amazed at her ability to be so supportive of me.

"That sounds great. Thank you so much." I kissed her temple while squeezing her

shoulder tight.

"It's no problem. I'll go call Alice right now and see if I can get the plans all

worked out." I watched as she dug around in her purse and stepped away to call

- 54 -

Alice. Lizzie pulled me over to where she was standing watching the sharks and
started singing the 'just keep swimming' song to the sharks as they swam by.

"How are the sharks doing, munchkin?" I asked her as I stuck my hand in the

water to feel one of the rays as it passed.

"They're not eating any fish like the good sharks that they are! See this one keeps

coming up for me to pet!" she said as she pet the Zebra shark swimming by.

Bella walked back up and asked, "Lizzie, how would you like to go play with

Bridgette for a little while?"

"Really? I wanna go!" she clapped excitedly.

"Alright, have we seen all we need to see?" I asked.

"Yup, I found Nemo, and Dory, and the Jellys, and Bruce..." she grabbed both of

our hands as we headed towards the exit. When we got out to the parking lot, Lizzie
begged for us to swing her. We did and she laughed all the way to the car.

We got in the car and headed back to Bella's house. Bella and I walked Lizzie over

to the Whitlock's and Lizzie squealed with excitement when her and Bridgette saw
each other. They quickly grabbed hands and ran off to play together. Bella hugged
Alice real quick and said, "Thanks again for doing this. Dinner will be around six.
Just call when you're on your way over."

"No problem. You babysit for me on short notice all the time, it's about time I get

to pay you back." We said our goodbyes and headed back over to Bella's house. She
opened the front door and we both got comfortable on the couches.

"So, what's up?" Bella asked as she curled up into my arms. I rested one arm on

the back of the sofa and wrapped the other around her holding her tight.

"You know how when you first came over to my house last week?" She nodded her

head. "I said that the reason for the false call was my ex Tanya?" She nodded again.
"That woman at the Aquarium was Tanya. She wants to blackmail me into giving her
back custody of Lizzie."

"What? Why? And how could she do that?" she asked with a growing worry in her

eyes.

"See, back in Chicago, my family is old money," I started as I picked at the loose

- 55 -

thread on the blanket that ran along the back of the couch. "My mother and father
moved out here about thirty years ago, so that they could raise me away from the
social entanglements that being a 'Masen' would include. They didn't want me to
have to play the game that they barely escaped from. My grandfather made it
possible for me to go to school at one of the best schools out there, something to do
with traditions and all that. I met Tanya there at one of the sorority parties. We
dated through most of my pre-med, and got engaged a year into my med school. We
had a long engagement and got married after about a year into my residency. About
a year after we were married, I realized that she was more interested in having my
last name attached to her than having me attached to her. Any Masen would have
done the trick, hell, she would have been happier if it had been my grandfather she
had married since she would have outlived him. But luckily my grandfather is very
happily married to his wife, and has been for the last forty five years.

"It didn't get to it's worst, until she got pregnant." I ran my hands through my

hair, tugging it a little at the ends, trying to relieve the tension I felt. "Two years
after we got married, she got pregnant. Which she had sworn she wouldn't do. She
had screwed up, took some antibiotics and forgot her birth control wouldn't work. I
had never been so excited in my life. Her immediate reaction would be to terminate
the pregnancy. The only reason why she didn't was because I threatened to divorce
her without a penny to her name. Luckily my grandfather had insisted on a pre-nup
and she would have walked away with nothing. She still did four years later and has
been trying to scam me out of money ever since. She's come up with the idea that if
she has custody of Lizzie, she'll have some hold over me. No doubt she's going to try
and get child support as well out of this. I've been the one taking care of Lizzie for
all of her life."

"Wow, she sounds like a real piece of work. Do you have a lawyer that you can

have look into this?" Bella asked with only concern in her eyes. Her hand tightened
around my bicep, reassuring me.

"Yeah, that was the phone call I made shortly after speaking with Tanya. Carlisle

handled my divorce so he's familiar with the kind of stuff she's pulled before. I left
him a message asking him to look into what she could possibly pull and how to
protect myself against it."

"I'm so sorry, Edward. I'll be her for you no matter what. If you need anything just

let me know," she said as I pulled her into my lap. I tucked her head under my chin,
and we sat in silence for a while. After a bit she pulled me up and directed me
towards her stereo, which had an iPod hooked up to it. "Put something on. I'm going
to start dinner."

- 56 -

I looked through her playlists and found one named Relax. As I flipped through the

playlist, I realized it was almost the same as one of my own. Imogen Heap's Hide
and Seek started flowing out of the speakers, which immediately put me at ease.
Bella had a pot of water on the stove and was chopping up some veggies when I
walked into the kitchen. By the time she was done chopping and had tossed the
veggies in the water, Clair De Lune came on. We danced around the kitchen slowly
holding onto each other, just rocking back and forth.

"My mom and I used to dance like this. I remember her picking me up anytime

Clair De Lune came on and dancing with me. Usually it was in the kitchen. She may
have been odd, but she loved us. She loved us very much."

We continued to dance slowly until the song came to a close. After that, she

quickly put me to work, stirring a white sauce that she was letting come to a boil.
We worked in sync with each other. It was rather strange but comforting cooking
with someone, instead of just for someone. Tanya had never done that. Seriously, I
need to stop comparing her to Tanya. There's just no comparison. Bella is a million
times better than Tanya.

Bella had just put the pot pie into the oven, when Alice called saying they were on

the way over. Bella handed me a bottle of wine and a wine key, asking if I would
open it. "By the way, I need to know what you are okay with me sharing with Alice.
She's going to ask what tonight was about at some point and I don't want to share
with her something you aren't comfortable having me sharing with her. If you don't
want me to tell her I won't."

"No, it's okay. You can tell her whatever you want. I'd rather there not be any

secrets between friends, and I consider them friends."

"Is that what we are Edward? Friends?" she asked curiously. I felt my heart drop

when I realized that's what she thought we were.

"I was hoping we were more than that, actually. But if you just want to be friends,

I understand." I said a bit dejectedly. I looked down, trying to hide the hurt in my
eyes.

"No, you silly man." she said as she grabbed my face, and brought it up to look

into her eyes. She searched my eyes for a moment. "Edward, what do you want?
Where do you see this going?"

"I want you to be my girlfriend. I want to be your friend, your lover, your

confidante. I want you to be mine and for me to be yours. Forever if it's possible," I

- 57 -

said with conviction. I was hoping she could see the earnestness in my face.

"I am yours. For as long as you'll have me," she pulled my lips down to meet hers,

immediately opening her lips and snaking her tongue into my mouth to slide along
with mine. I was momentarily stunned at her boldness, but instantly responded,
pulling her tight to me, letting my hands wander down her back and towards her
perfect ass. I lifted her up and sat her on the kitchen counter, parting her legs. I was
instantly hard and couldn't help but gain some friction on her jean-covered warmth.
She moaned into my mouth as she plunged her fingers into my hair, holding it tight,
just how I like it. We paused as we heard the front door slam and the slapping of flip
flops along Bella's hardwood floors. I pulled away from her reluctantly as we both
breathed heavily, staring deeply into each other eyes. I stepped away from Bella and
she crossed her legs as she tried to smooth down her hair and clothes.

"DADDY!" I heard my munchkin scream as she threw herself at me. It would never

be quite the same without her interruptions in my life.

A/N: Thanks goes out to my beta Pire... Cause you're the sh*t... And yes, I love

elipses... Can't you tell?

Special thanks goes out to my mom... Cause when my computer crashed,

she let me use hers to finish writing this...

Yet again, I'm going to bribe you all for reviews by giving out a sneak peak

of the chapter to come.... Please review!!! I love them!

What's your favorite comfort food?

- 58 -

Cloves and Margaritas

A/N: Thanks goes out to my beta Pire. As usual.. you are the sh*t... I love it

when we speak Russian...

THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed. You put my story over the 200

mark last chapter and I LOVE IT!!! I love everything you wrote and have
read and tried to respond to every single one. All your responses made me
hungry...

Round of applause goes to my mother. I wrote this from her laptop since

my hard-drive died and I had to replace it.

Twilight and all it's characters are under the ownership of Ms. Meyers. I

don't own...

Happy Reading!

Exes and Ohs

Chapter six

Cloves and Margaritas

BPOV

I woke up to a warm body next to me. I rolled over and stared at the handsome

man next to me. His hair was a riotous mess of auburn locks shining in the brilliant
morning sunlight. My fingers itched to run through the chaos and test to see if it
was as soft as it looked. My gaze wandered down to his eyebrows, which even in
sleep, seemed drawn together, as if concentrating. I longed to smooth out the
tension carried there. My gaze wandered even further to his incredibly long lashes
which formed fans against his lower lids, fluttering as his eyes moved behind his
eyelids.

My gaze moved on to the bridge of his nose, which I was shocked to see that it

wasn't bruised considering how often he pinched it yesterday. His long, straight
nose and high cheekbones pointed down to a pair of full soft lips that contrasted
with the sharp angles of his face. I ran my fingertips over those kissable lips, softly

- 59 -

brushing over the full bottom lip, and carefully tracing the dip in the top one. He
groaned a bit as I let my fingers trail down his neck, over the tightly corded tendons,
down along his shoulder and down his bicep. I ghosted my hands back up his arm
and over the rugged planes of his chest. He let out a moan as I circled around his
nipples. The sheets rustled slightly as he rubbed his legs together and pressed his
growing erection up against my thigh. A groan escaped his lips as I lightly grazed
his nipples with my fingertips. One of my hands continued down towards where his
cock was now standing at full attention, while my other hand started pinching and
twisting his nipple. When I took his large erection in hand, I watched as his bright
green eyes popped open.

"Bella," he growled before he rolled me over onto my back with his knee pressed

between my thighs. He attacked my lips with fervor, roughly biting and sucking as
he claimed my mouth as his own. I arched into his hands as he kneaded and pinched
my nipples. My hands, which had wandered around to his shoulders, grabbed
tightly, digging my nails in slightly, as his mouth left mine. His lips trailed down my
neck, inhaling deep, sucking and nipping at the skin. The moans that I tried to keep
behind my lips, escaped as his hands left my breasts to grab my ass and pull me up
against his throbbing cock. He lined up my wet slit with his dick, rubbing the head
up along my clit. I was almost certain I was going to come from just the sensation of
him thrusting along my pussy. Our heavy breathing matched in time to his thrusts
and I was about to beg for just a bit more when he paused, just at my entrance,
looking into my eyes asking silently for permission to

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Damn alarm! I slapped it off and rolled over realizing that the harsh reality of the

morning sunlight on the empty spot on my bed made me wish I could go right back
to that dream. And what a dream it was.

It was Tuesday, and while Edward and I talked yesterday, that had been all we

were able to do. In order to cash in some favors to get the weekend off for his
daughters birthday, he was spending a lot more time at the hospital, covering for
those who covered for him. This week was going to be a little tough to get our
schedules in sync enough to go out.

Tonight was beer at Murphy's with my brother. He had sent me a text yesterday to

let me know that Rosalie was going to be there as well since her schedule was open.
He wanted to know if Jasper and Alice were going to come as well since they seemed
to hit it off at the party. I had been over at Alice and Jasper's when he texted and my
ears were still ringing from her squeal of delight when I asked her about it. She
immediately made plans to go shopping since she thought I needed a brand new

- 60 -

outfit.

"But it's just Murphy's, Alice!" I complained.

"Yeah, but it's your first date with Edward as his girlfriend. You have to remind

him what a great catch you are."

I rolled my eyes at her comment. "I'm pretty sure he'd like me even if I wasn't all

dolled up. He has seen me in my work clothes before."

"Maybe but do you really want to risk it?" I kept my mouth shut, just wanting to

get that conversation done and over with. Alice could find an excuse to go shopping
without my help. I'd let her shop for me as long as I didn't have to go with her.

That was why at seven o'clock I was staring at the shortest dress I've ever seen,

convinced that she forgot something along the way. "Alice!" I hollered. She popped
her head out the door to the bathroom with her hair full of curlers. "Part of this
dress is missing."

"No it's not," she replied with a look of determination.

"I have shirts longer than this!" I protested.

"You're wearing it!" I could see her starting to waver.

"No way," I said firmly trying to take advantage of her slight hesitation.

"I won't make you go shopping with me for a month," she offered.

I couldn't stand the pleading look in her eyes as she said that. "Deal."

I went back to dressing as Alice finished her hair. She had already done my

make-up and hair; only curling the ends a bit and adding darker eyeshadow and
eyeliner. I really liked the way she did my eyeliner since she continued the line out
past my eyelashes and it made my eyes pop. The knock on the door startled me as I
was slipping on the killer heels that Alice insisted I wear. I'd only recently gotten
used to walking in them. Jasper stuck his hand around the door and pointed at his
watch reminding me of the time. "Alice! You ready to go? We need to leave soon."

"Yeah, give me a second. I'm using your perfume," she said.

"Yeah, yeah, just buy me a bottle for Christmas since you use it almost more than

- 61 -

me," I complained at her jokingly.

"Pshaw, whatever," she said as she walked out of my bathroom, giving her hair

one final fluff. "I knew that dress would be killer on you. I'm sure Edward will
swallow his tongue." She clapped gleefully in anticipation, bouncing a bit on her
toes.

"Come on, brat, let's get a move on." We walked arm in arm out to the living room

where Jasper and Edward were waiting patiently. Jasper had a game on the TV and
they were watching avidly. Edward had only arrived five minutes prior and had
quickly joined Jasper on the couch. Jasper was a pro at waiting for Alice and I to
finish getting ready, he knew my house almost as well as his own. At our approach ,
Jasper turned off the TV and both of them got to their feet. Edward paused
momentarily when he got a good look at me. His eyes went wide as they traipsed
over every inch of my body, lingering a bit on my legs and cleavage, which was
currently on display.

"Is this alright?" I asked cautiously as I bit my lip momentarily. I barely refrained

from saying 'ta da' as I lifted my arms from my sides, palms up. "I know it's a little
much to be wearing to Murphy's, but Alice insis--" my words were cut off as
Edward's finger came to a rest on my lips.

"You look exquisite," he said reverently as he leaned down to quickly kiss me just

to the left of my lips, not wanting to muss my make-up. He had more of a fear of
Alice's reaction than me. I would have made out with him on the spot, my make-up
be damned, but he pulled back too quickly for me to be able to catch his lips with
mine.

"Emmett just texted." Jasper interrupted, dropping his phone back in his jean

pocket. "They're parked and walking to Murphy's. We need to get going." I watched
as Jasper tried to move Alice towards the door. I had given up on trying to get Alice
to do something outside of her own schedule; it was like herding kittens.

She finally stopped primping and we walked out the door and headed toward the

bar. I held tightly to Edward's hand on the short walk, certain that I would trip and
fall on the way. We made it to Murphy's quickly and were greeted enthusiastically
by Emmet and Rosalie who had commandeered a table in the corner. They both
stood and hugged us all. When it came time for Emmett to hug me, he held me out
in front of him and raised an eyebrow. "Where's the other half of your dress?"

I immediately burst into laughter and pointed to Alice, which was all I could do

with how hard I was laughing.

- 62 -

"What?" Alice asked belligerently. "It looks great on her."

"It's the size of a postage stamp." Emmett protested; I only laughed harder.

"May I remind you that your fiancee is wearing even less?" Alice commented.

"Yeah, but this is Baby Girl. She's not allowed to wear clothes like that." I

immediately stopped laughing at Emmett's reply.

"Emmers, I'm a grown woman," I chastised him. "This overprotective stuff, while

nice to know you care a lot, is not going to fly."

Emmett just nodded glumly.

"Now tell me how beautiful I look." I elbowed him lightly in the ribs, earning a

grin from him.

"You do look beautiful tonight. I'm just scared I'm going to have to beat the jack

asses off with a stick."

"No worries, that's what Edward's here for." I smirked at Emmett while I grabbed

Edward's hand and squeezed lightly. He rewarded me with that crooked grin at me
that never failed to get my panties wet. Edward and Jasper went up to the bar to get
Alice and my drinks. They came back with Framboise for Alice, a Snakebite for me
and Black and Tans for themselves. We chatted about work for a bit. Rosalie and
Alice started speaking about her wedding plans. I got lost in my own thoughts as
Edward's thumb rubbed along the top edge of my dress, barely skimming along my
skin.

We had all finished our first round and Emmett was about to go get our second

when Alice's question made the both of us pause. "What's the story with James? I've
never heard the full story, just bits and pieces."

"I'm going to need copious amounts of alcohol in order to get through that story."

I replied guardedly with a nervous chuckle. Emmett's and my eyes locked for a
moment, his expression questioning my ability to do this. I nodded my head almost
imperceptibly and his face relaxed slightly. "How 'bout we go back to my house and
get comfortable? Jasper, you want to walk over to Ripples and pick up some more
tequila? I think I'm going to need some of your margaritas."

"Sure, I'll pick up some more beer while I'm there. You're almost out." We all got

up and made our way out of Murphy's. The guys walked us the few blocks down to

- 63 -

my house before heading over to the liquor store.

On my way toward the backyard, I started collecting blankets and extra pillows

that we might need to get comfortable. I handed them to Rosalie to take outside
while Alice and I grabbed a metal bucket that we used to hold drinks at BBQ's and
such. We filled it with the remaining beers and some bottles of water. Alice and I
carried it out to the backyard and set it between the two large round chairs that
faced the hammock. We rearranged the furniture a bit so that they were all centered
around the outdoor fireplace that was ready to be fired up. The fire was quickly lit
as I snuggled into the large chair with the quilt that Rosalie had placed in it. Alice
settled into the hammock and Rose made a nest out of the blankets in the chair next
to me. I pulled out the emergency pack of cigarettes I had grabbed on the way
through the house, lit one and let the sweet smell dissipate into the night air.

"Cloves?" Rosalie asked.

"She only smokes them when she's really stressed," Alice said. The pack and the

lighter flew over to Alice when I tossed them to her, knowing she would eventually
get around to bumming one off of me. I was surprised when Alice handed them back
via Rosalie, and Rosalie took one and lit up as well.

"I can never resist a clove," she said as she smiled sheepishly.

"That's what they're there for," I said as I placed them on the table between the

two of us.

The three of us sat in silence for a bit, just listening to the fire crackle. I heard the

blender turn on from inside the kitchen as Emmett came outside with a bottle of
wine and a glass for Rosalie. I watched as he kissed her gently. The entire evening I
watched as he handled Rosalie as if she was made of spun glass. It gave me warm
fuzzies to think that he had found someone who cared about him so much. It was as
if she was his whole world and he, hers.

Emmett cuddled in next to Rosalie, grabbing a beer on the way. He was searching

over the different things on the table when he turned to me and asked, "bottle
opener?"

I held my open hand out to him and took the beer when he handed it to me,

grabbed the bic and popped the top off with it. He raised his eyebrows at this simple
trick so I answered the unasked question by saying, "random thing I learned in
college."

- 64 -

He just shook his head as I heard the blender stop. My attention was drawn to the

back door as it yet again opened to Edward stepping through with two glasses of
margaritas. He handed one to Alice and then came over to join me. I flipped the quilt
back as he joined me under the blankets.

Jasper walked out the door with the pitcher of the leftover margaritas and a six

pack of beers. He dropped the beers in the cooler and the pitcher on the table
between the chairs. I looked questioningly at Jasper when he dug a pack of cloves
out of his back pocket and added it to the pack that was already on the table. "I
figured if you needed margaritas, you'd be needing cloves. Last time you were this
stressed, was when we found out Brii was going back to her mother and you and
Alice smoked half the pack then."

We all sat in without talking for a bit, listening to the ocean crash to shore, the

fire crackle in the fireplace, and the random car that drove by. I watched the smoke
lazily dispersed into the night sky as I sipped on the margarita. Alice couldn't stand
the silence any longer and interrupted it with a, "so?"

"So, I was born...." I started.

"Not that far back!" Alice interrupted.

I smiled at Alice as I continued, "Mom and Dad died the summer I turned five.

Emmett, you were, what, nine?" Emmett nodded and I continued. " We were sent to
Forks, Washington, to live with an elderly aunt. Two months didn't even go by when
she kicked the bucket and we were put back into the foster care system."

I took a deep breath as I tried to keep myself calm. Emmett picked up the story at

my hesitation. "James was the meanest sonofabitch I've ever encountered. He
expected Baby Girl and me to cook and clean. And when it wasn't done to his
standards, he'd beat us for it. I did my best to keep him from hurting Baby Girl, but I
wasn't always successful." He looked down at the ground, hiding his face from me.

I went over to him, grabbed his face in between my hands, and forced him to look

up at me. Seeing the tears formed in his eyes caused mine to spill over and pour
down my face.

"You did the best you could. Don't blame yourself for not being able to stop him

from hurting me. It shouldn't have been up to a nine year old kid to keep an adult
from hurting either one of us." He pulled me into his arms as we both let go of the
past hurts and regrets. I was startled when Emmett got up with me still in his arms.
Emmett still held me as he walked up to Edward.

- 65 -

"I'm only gonna say this once, take care of Baby Girl. If you don't, I know where I

can hide your body." The two of them exchanged a solemn look as Emmett placed
me in Edward's lap carefully.

"Good to know I have your permission, jack ass!" I said sarcastically. Everyone but

Emmett and Edward chuckled at this. Alice motioned for another cigarette and I
tossed her the pack. It made it's way around the circle, with Rosalie grabbing
another one as well. "Anyways, so we had a horrible life with James. After being
there for a year, a social worker made a random visit to the house, interrupting
James in the middle of beating us. I was certain that if they hadn't shown up, both
Emmett and I would be dead now. They separated us because of our age difference,
and I was adopted by Charlie and Renee.

"Charlie was the Sheriff in Forks and Renee was a housewife. Renee was a lot like

mom." I watched as Emmett's dimpled grin spread across his face. He kissed Rosalie
on the temple and pulled her tightly into his arms as I continued. "She was very
free-spirited and stifled by small town life. She had threatened to leave him if they
didn't get out of Forks.

"A year after I was adopted by them, we moved to Southern California, where

Emmett and I were originally from. That's where I met Alice." I glanced at her and
she smiled in remembrance of our first meeting. "I had stopped talking out of fear of
James while under his care. Alice didn't care if I didn't talk, she was more than
happy to talk for the both of us. I had been in therapy for a couple of years but still
only spoke rarely and not more than a whisper when James was released from
prison. I was twelve."

I took a deep breath, looked up into the sky and blinked fast, trying to get the

tears forming in my eyes to go back where they came from. Edward pulled me into
his arms a bit tighter, rubbing soothing circles on my back. "He came in through the
window in the middle of the night." I paused again trying to keep my breaths from
becoming the rough gasps of a full panic attack. "I woke up to him above me, his
rancid breath hot on my face, with his hand covering my mouth. He told me that if I
made a sound, he would kill Charlie and Renee while they slept. All I knew was that
I couldn't be taken by him again." The tears I was trying to keep at bay slipped
silently down my cheeks.

"I bit his hand as hard as I could and kicked him in his groin." I concentrated on

the burning ember on the end of Rosalie's cigarette, spacing out a bit, trying to not
relive the memories as I told the story. I lit another cigarette and felt the burn in my
lungs as I sucked the too-hot air down my throat. "He jumped off of me momentarily
and I took the chance to scramble out from under him. I screamed out Charlie's

- 66 -

name as I started running towards their room. Charlie opened the door and I was
never so happy to see him in my life. I saw his service revolver in his hand as I ran
around him and into their bedroom. Two gunshots rang out as I climbed into the bed
with Renee, huddling in next to her. Charlie came back into the room and gathered
me into his arms as he told Renee to call his Sergent. As soon as she got through, he
took the phone and told him what happened.

"Twenty minutes later the house was swarming with cops. Charlie was arrested

pending further investigation. They released him two hours later after they
discovered what James had in store for me had he been successful in taking me. He
had a torture chamber of sorts set up in the basement of the house he was renting.
They found a couple of bodies buried out in the backyard that looked an awful lot
like me." Emmett hissed in anger as Edward held me even tighter. I released all the
rest of the pent up tension, glad to be done telling this story.

"I can't believe you've been through all that and are still normal," Rosalie

commented.

"That is due to thousands of dollars of good counseling and Alice. She keeps me

sane." I lit one last cigarette for the night, noticing that we had smoked the rest of
the pack

"Dankeschön, Bella." Alice said as I threw the pack of cloves at Alice, knowing she

would want another.

"Bitteschön, Alice." I replied.

"You know, we should speak Russian more often," she said in all seriousness.

"It's German, Alice," I said as everyone else chuckled, dispersing the lingering

sadness that was effecting everyone.

"Whateves, I'm just glad you're alive," Alice said with a rueful grin.

"So am I, Alice. So am I," I said as Edward pulled me tightly to him and kissed my

temple.

Thanks to Coldplaywhore for pimping out my story. If you haven't read any

of her stuff yet, I recommend it. She's got lots of stories, a lot of which are
complete.

- 67 -

Rec's:

Boys Wanna Be Her by dankegeorge (Whip It! inspired Twilight fanfic my

beta got me addicted to)

Dartmouth Diaries by Clurrabella which is a great Jasper/Bella fic (will

gladly take any rec's for any good J/B fics, I'm currently addicted to them...)

bmango (fellow D.I.L.F. contestant) is continuing her fic Emmett's new

Pussy. The latest chapter blew me away, so go and show her some love so
she updates faster!!! :D

Anybody got any good rec's for me? I read A LOT!!!! :D

If anybody has wandered over here due to someone else rec'ing it can you

please let me know? I'd like to be able to thank them... :D

I don't recommend removing beer bottle caps with any lighter other than a

Bic. Others have broken off in my hands.

What languages do you know?

- 68 -

Floods and Miracles

A/N: Thanks to my beta Pire... She's the reason I sound halfway intelligent

and stay sane...

Twilight and all it's characters are under the ownership of Ms. Meyers. I

don't own...

I do however own one ticket to New Moon on Saturday, October 21, at 9:45

AM...

Happy Reading!

Exes and Ohs

Chapter Seven

Floods and Miracles

BPOV

Saturday morning dawned and I woke for a heavy slumber, trying to understand

why it sounded like rain in my house. There was no prediction for rain when I
checked the weather channel right before bed last night; in fact, it was supposed to
be in the hundreds in the inland areas. I dragged myself out of bed and grabbed the
robe hanging off the door knob to my closet. I followed the sounds of the water
falling out into the hallway and stepped into two inches of standing water. Ugh. This
was not going to be good...

I carefully walked over the water-soaked carpet and made my way downstairs. I

quickly found the source of the sound of the 'rain' and found water dripping out of
one of the vents in the ceiling of the living room. There were a few inches of
standing water in the downstairs, more than there was upstairs. I let out a
frustrated groan at whatever it was that caused this catastrophe as I dropped my
head into my hands utterly defeated. I went to sit on my couch, but immediately shot
back up when water soaked into the seat of my favorite pair of pajamas. They were
already soaked up to the ankle and this just made the situation worse.

I grabbed my cell and called Edward. When it went to voicemail, it occurred to me

- 69 -

that he was on shift and wouldn't be able to take my call. I left him a quick message
and then called Jasper.

"Mornin'," he drawled in that Southern twang.

"It's raining in my house! Help!" I said desperately, fisting my hair with my free

hand.

"No problem, sugar. I'll be over in a minute." His steady voice reassured me

almost as much as Edward's would have.

I took a moment to breathe and stop the panic that was trying to claw it's way

from my gut into a full panic attack. Water. In. My. House. Hmmm... water has to be
turned off somehow. Now where was the damn water main?

I went outside and found the shut off valve for the water main and felt a little bit

better. I walked out to the front door to wait for Jasper to get here. I didn't wait long
before I spotted his messy blonde hair as he turned the corner onto my block. He
pulled me into a hug as the tears that I hadn't acknowledged tried to make their way
out from underneath my lashes.

"It's going to be alright, Bella," Jasper whispered. We broke from our embrace as

he tugged me into my flooded house. "Did you turn the water off at least?"

"Yeah, I found the main and turned it off," I replied as we started up the

waterlogged stairs. There were two bedrooms upstairs, the master with an attached
bathroom, and the guest bedroom which had been set up for Bridgette whenever
she wanted to spend the night. There was a small unattached bathroom near the
guest bedroom, which is where we found the source of the problem. The tank on the
back of the toilet had broken and it had been pumping water out for quite a while, I
assume.

"You know where the number is for your homeowner's insurance?" Jasper asked

as he took in the scene in the upper bathroom.

"I didn't even think about it. They'll probably take care of this right?" I said with

hope for the first time since I woke up and heard the rain in my house. I headed
back downstairs to my office where that info would have been filled away.

"Yeah, most likely. I'll get started on soaking up the water up here," Jasper said as

I stepped on the first stair down.

- 70 -

I was rifling through my paperwork when my cell phone rang; I had to slosh my

way upstairs to answer it in time.

"Hello?" I said without looking at the caller id.

"Bella, you called?" Edward said with worry in his voice. The tension that was still

resting in the pit of my stomach like knots unwound at the sound of his velvety
voice.

"I'm just having a minor crisis at the moment." I said sarcastically. "The upstairs

toilet broke in the middle of the night and flooded my house." The stress I was
feeling was evident in my voice.

"Oh, baby, I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked, concern lacing

his voice.

"You're at work, right?"

"Um-hmm. I'm on till noon."

"I need people to help me clean up right now," I said as I started playing with the

tie on my robe. "I'm going to call my homeowner's insurance and let them know
what happened. Jasper's here now and has started on clean up. Would you mind
coming over after work and helping out? I'll probably end up buying pizzas and stuff
for lunch."

"Yeah, I can be there around one. I'm going to bring Lizzie, since I figured she'll

play with Bridgette in the backyard. Is that okay?" His voice seemed slightly worried
and I was quick to assure him.

"Yes, bring her. I'll see you then." We said our goodbyes and I went back

downstairs to find the info I was looking for when the phone rang.

The first phone number that I called said that they were closed but if there was an

emergency, to call a separate phone line. I called that and had to wait on hold for a
half an hour before I got through to someone. Alice and Bridgette had wandered in
during that time. A cup of coffee and a kiss on the cheek were given to me as Alice
came through. The sounds of banging around in the kitchen made me curious but
not curious enough to wander out of where I had holed myself up in the office. Ten
minutes later I was presented with a plate of scrambled eggs, one of the only things
Alice was able to do successfully in the kitchen. The cheesy music while I was on
hold was the accompaniment to my breakfast as I quickly ate them with a mumbled

- 71 -

thanks to Alice. She pointed upstairs to tell me she was going to go help Jasper.

I had just finished the eggs when I was connected to a representative and spoke

with them about what had happened. She said that they really couldn't do anything
for me today, but she started the paperwork for me and said that they would send
someone out on Monday to look at the damage. My best bet was to just clean up the
mess for now. I was assured that from what we discussed of the situation, that it was
covered under my insurance policy. I thanked her for her help and hung up the
phone.

I grabbed my cell phone as I headed towards the stairs to see how far Jasper and

Alice had gotten on cleaning up the mess. Before I made it to the first step, I was
taken by surprise when the front door was thrown open and Emmett and Rosalie
stood there.

"Baby Girl! I heard you had a flood," Emmett said as he grinned at me. I couldn't

stop myself from giggling when I saw that he had on the most ridiculous looking
galoshes that I have ever seen in my life. They were lime green with yellow rubber
duckies printed on them. I was completely shocked that he could find them in a size
large enough for his feet. When I managed to get my giggles under control, Emmett
declared, "We're here to help!"

"I'm glad, I'll take all the help I can get, but how did you know?" I asked as Rosalie

and I exchanged a hug. She just rolled her eyes at Emmett's antics.

"Edward called," I watched as a frown came over his face, "I was kind of surprised

that you didn't call me."

I pulled my brother into my arms and explained, "I just got off the phone with the

homeowner's insurance. You were going to be my next call."

The grin that blossomed on his face made me grin in response. "Well, then let's

get to it!"

We made our way up to where Alice and Jasper had made a bit of headway in

getting the water mopped up. I quickly changed out of my pajamas and Emmett,
Rosalie, and I joined Alice and Jasper as they continued cleaning up all the water
that had seeped into the carpets in the upstairs hallway and the guest bedroom. It
hadn't made it's way into my room, which I was grateful for.

We had finished mopping up upstairs when Edward and Lizzie arrived. Lizzie took

off immediately for the backyard to play with Bridgette after pausing momentarily to

- 72 -

give me a hug. Edward pulled me into a hug and I let him hold me for a minute, just
breathing in his scent. After a bit he pulled back so that he could look into my eyes,
still keeping me in his arms.

"You alright?" he asked with concern etched into his face.

"Yeah, I'll be okay." I said as I realized that with him here, I truly was alright. Ever

since Tuesday night, when I told everyone the story of James, his care and concern
for me had been even more evident than before. Edward never asked questions of
what happened and his quiet acceptance of what happened was a comfort to me. He
was constantly finding ways to touch me as if reassuring himself that I was there. I
reveled in his touch for just a minute longer.

"Did you get a hold of your homeowner's insurance?" I quickly filled him in on

what all had gone down with the phone call.

"I have Monday off. Do you want me to come over and meet with the rep so that

you don't have to take the time off?" he asked as he rubbed my arms lightly.

"No, I want to be there to speak with them but I would love it if you were here

with me." I smiled at him and his crooked grin came out.

"K, I'll be there," he said as his eyes danced. "Do you know what time?"

"Early morning. I'm about ready to order pizzas, what kind do Emmett, Rosalie,

Lizzie and you like?"

"We're all good with Cheese or Pepperoni."

"Alright I'll call now, do you want to walk down to the liquor store and pick up

some more beer for me?"

"Sure. Guinness sound good?"

"Yup!" I replied as I grabbed the phone and called the order in for the pizzas.

The eight of us ate the pizza and then got back to work. Well, the adults went back

to work; the girls went back to playing. They had set up a fort in the back yard using
an old sleeping bag and the lawn furniture. They were playing with the few toys I
had for when Bridgette came over and some that Lizzie brought with her. They were
playing together noisily, which was good because we never had to wonder where
they were. We could keep track of them by their giggles.

- 73 -

The monotony of cleaning up all the water was broken by Emmett and his antics. I

think Rosalie, Alice, and my favorite part was when Emmett started slapping Jasper
and Edward with the wet towels we had been using to soak up the water and then
convinced them to do an impromptu wet t-shirt contest. Us girls were supposed to
be the judges, but since we were all partial to our own men, the guys got Lizzie and
Bridgette to judge. Emmett ended up winning because of all the 'pretty colors' that
were peeking out from his shirt, according to the two of them. We were busting up
laughing at the way Emmett preened over the two girls and then scooped them up
screaming and got them just as wet as he currently was.

It was about four in the afternoon when we got as much as the water soaked up as

we could. We ended up running up to the hardware store and renting some heavy
duty fans to try and keep the air circulating and dry the house out faster. All the
windows had been opened and the hot summer heat had been starting to dry it out.
The humidity of living near the beach didn't help though. We let the fans do their
thing while we went out to dinner at Domenico's, an Italian restaurant up on 2nd
Street.

Monday morning dawned bright and early. On Sunday, we had all gone to Chuck's

for breakfast, taking up two tables outside on the sidewalk. Emmett had been there
a couple of times and was determined to try the Weasel this time. When Emmett and
Rosalie found out about our Sunday breakfast tradition, they decided that they
would join us whenever their schedule allowed.

We had all walked back to Alice and Jasper's house after and the guys watched

whatever baseball game was on the television. The girls all went into Alice's sewing
room, since that was where Alice had accumulated all the information that she had
gathered for Rosalie's wedding. Rosalie was so impressed with Alice's attention to
detail, she suggested that she go into wedding planning. Alice commented that she
did that for a while, but didn't find it as rewarding as she thought she would.

Edward's shift didn't start until later in the afternoon, but would be a long one,

getting off just before coming over to my house to wait for the insurance
representative. I called Esme and told her about what was going on and that I would
try to be in by lunchtime. She was understanding as usual and said that she would
forward all the field calls that I would normally take to Mike. I was sure he'd be so
thrilled at not being able to push any of the actual work onto me for once.

Edward showed up around 8:30, and I was hoping that the rep would be there

soon after that. We were sadly disappointed when the guy didn't show up till about

- 74 -

10:30, cutting it close into the time when I needed to get going to work. He was in a
constant fight with gravity as he kept hitching his pants up. His sparse hair was
being constantly harassed with the way he kept flopping his greasy hat back and
forth on his head. We shook hands quickly making an introduction. He told us his
name was John as he handed me a business card with greasy fingerprints on it. He
explained that he would only be dealing with the structural damage to the house and
not any personal items that might have been damaged.

John made a quick survey of the damage inside the house, taking extra time in the

upstairs bathroom doing who knows what. I couldn't stop my curiosity as I heard a
banging coming from the upstairs. Edward and I, who had been waiting in the
kitchen, one of the few rooms not damaged by my 'flood', bolted up the stairs when
we heard the noise. It however stopped as soon as our pounding footsteps on the
stairs were heard.

"Yeah," hitch, "so," flop, "we'll cover the damage but you'll have to be out of the

house for the duration of the construction. We're going to have to rip out the walls,
carpets, and some of the air ducts and replace it all. We'll repaint the walls that
have water damage, and replace your crown molding as well. If there's any furniture
that is damaged, you need to take pictures and send it to your agent. Any
questions?"

"Yeah, how long are you expecting me to be out of my house?" I asked, hoping it

would only be a week or two.

"Well," hitch, "on a job like this it can take anywhere between a month to two

months." My heart dropped to my toes when I heard this. A month? I have to be out
of my house for a month?

"One suggestion I might make?" John said as I nodded my head slowly; Edward's

arm tightened around my shoulders. "Hardwood floors are cheaper than replacing
carpets. You might look into that as an option instead of replacing with carpet. An
other thing you might think about is if you want any of the walls a different color.
Otherwise," flop, "they'll just match it to what it is now.

"That's okay, I wasn't looking to redecorate." I just wanted to finish this meeting

and deal with the aftermath.

"Now," hitch, "if you have any more questions, you have my card. The sooner you

leave the sooner you can come back. We'd like to start construction tomorrow if we
can."

- 75 -

I could barely nod and Edward stepped in for me replying, "she'll give you a call

by the end of the day."

I shook his hand in a daze, then watched as he got in his truck and drove away;

empty hamburger wrappers flew out the bed of the truck as he took off. I barely
registered that Edward was rubbing the tension out of my shoulders as I spaced off.
Where was I going to go?

"You alright?" he quietly interrupted my musings.

"Yeah," I replied half-heartedly. Edward pulled me into his arms, and I burst into

tears.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" he asked as he tipped my chin up so that he could look

me in the eye.

"My h-house fl-flooded, and I-I have to move ou-out and d-don't know where I'm

g-going to go." I said as I continued to cry.

"Breathe, Bella, it's going to be okay." Edward tried to wipe the tears that were

freely flowing down my cheeks. They had been threatening since I first heard the
'rain' in my house Saturday morning, I had just been keeping them at bay until now.

"I can't stay at A-Alice's house, her g-guest room is now Br-Bridgette's room." My

tears, which had started to abate a bit, came back with the realization that I might
have to max my credit cards out to pay for a hotel stay. "How a-about Emmett's
house?"

"Emmett's and Rosalie's house is too small, and I know he has a tendency to walk

around naked, so that's out." Edward suggested.

"I don't want to move all the way out to Victorville with my dad." My tears started

to dry up as I moved on to solving the problem.

"You going to take off the six to eight weeks from work? How are you going to

commute?"

"K, so I guess that's out as well." I played with the hem of my shirt as I racked my

brain for somewhere to stay.

"Well... that leaves only one place." he said with a grin.

- 76 -

"Where?" What was I missing?

"My house," he wiggled his eyebrows at me suggestively.

"No." I said as I shook my head. Not happening.

"Come on, I've got plenty of room. That house is gigantic with just me and Lizzie

in it." he said cajolingly.

"I'm not going to move in with you, even if it is temporary." I put my hands on my

hips, but Edward just pulled me into his arms, derailing my attempts to stand firm.

"I could put you in the other wing of the house, I would barely even know you're

there."

"No, I don't want to impose. I'd feel like I was invading your house." I could feel

my cheeks heat with the idea of becoming a burden to Edward.

"Not at all." he reassured me as he rubbed circles on my back, "and besides, you'll

be paying me back for it."

"How?" I asked curiously. I wiped at the trails of my tears with the backs of my

hands, making sure to get the last of the remnants of mascara that had bled with my
crying.

"Free babysitting!" he exclaimed excitedly. I narrowed my eyes at him and

smacked him in the arm playfully, "Ow!" he said half-heartedly as he rubbed his
biceps.

"Fine, at least your mom will get a break from babysitting at night." I brightened

at the thought of getting to spend more time with both Lizzie and Elizabeth.
Elizabeth and I had struck up a conversation regarding volunteer work with regards
to social services during the birthday party last week and was looking forward to
chatting with her again about the various charity works she participates in.

"I was just kidding about the babysitting, but if you want to, I'm sure my mom

would love the break. You sure?" a skeptical look came over his face.

"Yeah, I love hanging out with Lizzie." I replied as the look of disbelief

disappeared and was replaced with happiness.

"Good. Do you want me to come meet you back here after you get off work and

- 77 -

we'll pack up your stuff?" I nodded slowly realizing what the implications would be
of moving in with Edward, albeit temporarily. If I thought he dazzled me now, how
was I going to handle seeing him every day? Maybe even, waking up with him?

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! I love each and everyone. You keep me

writing!

Thanks to the people who added me to their Communities. I had three

more add my story this last week. You're all awesome!

Rec's:

Mine by Lethologica86.

Human Nature by MadamePlume

Serendipity by circe290

What major/minor disaster have you been through?

- 78 -

Laughter and Tears

A/N: Thanks as always to my beta Pire, who has the same obsession for

Twilight and fanfiction that I do. And also the willingness to see New Moon
over and over again!!!!

Your reviews never fail to brighten my day!

BamaBabe, this will be a two tissue chapter. I'm not disclosing what panty

rating it gets. You'll have to read and decide yourself!!!

Happy Reading!

Exes and Ohs

Chapter 8

Laughter and Tears

BPOV

It had been three weeks since I moved in with Edward and Lizzie, and I was

seriously contemplating kidnapping Edward, dropping Lizzie off at Alice's and
locking us in a hotel for three days straight. I had never been so frustrated before,
with the interruptions and the bad timing. Edward really did have to put me in the
guest room since Lizzie had been having nightmares and wandered into his bed in
the middle of the night. He didn't feel it would be right to have her find me in his
bed, which I totally agreed with.

The first Saturday, we thought we were in the clear, since we purposely kept

Lizzie up late so that we could get a little lovin' in in the morning. I was in a pair of
his boxers and one of his button ups since I had been pilfering his clothes for pjs,
sitting on the counter in the kitchen. Edward had a rare Saturday morning off, but
would be heading in in the afternoon, so we were taking advantage of the quiet. The
last button of my shirt had just been unbuttoned as we were making out when I
heard a loud cough. Not having heard the doorbell, or Alice's knock, we were both
taken by surprise when we looked over and saw her with a large tote slung over one
arm, one hand over Bridgette's eyes, and a stern look on her face. I quickly buttoned
up and jumped off the counter before Alice could start tapping her toe impatiently.

- 79 -

"Let me just go wake up Lizzie," Edward said trying to make an escape. Coward.

"Alice, why are you here so early?" I asked.

"We're baking today, Bella, or did you forget?" Alice let her hand go off of

Bridgette and she quickly came up to me and gave me a hug. I kissed her on the top
of her head and held onto her for a minute.

"Bella, she's not going to save you from me, so let her go." Bridgette giggled at

what Alice said.

"You're way early though Alice." I complained. "We usually don't start baking 'till

ten and it's only eight thirty. What gives?"

"I forgot that it was a Saturday, so there wouldn't be any traffic. Besides, you're

up already so what does it matter?" Cockblocking best friend. I pulled her into a
hug, letting go of my exasperation with her.

"Fine, whatever, can you at least call before you come over next time?"

"Sure, why don't you get dressed and I'll start the oven?"

"No, you wait until I get back down here to touch the oven, I don't want you

breaking it. You already did that with your mother's remember?"

"Whateves, I'm just trying to help out," she pouted as I walked out the door.

I went upstairs to my 'room' and got dressed quickly, pulling on a pair of comfy

jeans and putting my hair up in a ponytail. On my way back downstairs, I knocked on
the door to Lizzie's room. When she said a quiet come in, I opened the door and sat
on her bed. She was already dressed and ready to go, but still half asleep. I watched
as she grabbed a ponytail holder from her porcelain turtle that held all sorts of
ribbons and bows. She sat in front of me and handed the holder and a comb back to
me in silent request. Her hair was silky in my hands as I pulled it all up and off her
neck into a high ponytail.

"Did your dad tell you what we are going to be doing today?" I asked.

"No," she answered with a yawn.

"Alice and Bridgette are here to bake with us." She caught me by surprise when

she turned and tackled me to her bed.

- 80 -

"Really?" she asked from her perch on top of me. The excitement on her face was

contagious and I couldn't stop myself from grinning back at her.

"Yup, we normally bake every Saturday, but we've been a little off schedule. Alice

thought we should bake at your house since I'm not at mine." Lizzie jumped off me,
grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the door.

"Come on, Bella. I want to make cookies!" I followed her down the stairs and into

the kitchen. That day had been interesting to say the least. We started making
chocolate chip cookies since that was what Lizzie and Bridgette decided we needed
to make. Everything was going just fine until Edward and Alice both grabbed for the
flour bag, ripping it in the process. They both stared at each other in shock for a
moment as the flour slowly drifted down, getting them both lightly coated in it.
Edward was the first to react, grabbing a handful and throwing it at Alice's brand
new designer top.

"You are so dead!" Alice screeched as she grabbed a fistful of flour.

"You have to catch me first!" Edward quickly darted around the kitchen when

Alice threw the first handful, which inadvertently hit me as he ducked around
behind me.

Both girls, who had been quietly watching the interraction between the Alice and

Edward, gasped when the flour hit me on the face. Alice's face was in complete
shock as I slowly stalked towards the pile of flour and took my own handful.

"Bella, sweetie, you know you really don't want to do that, I didn't really mean to

hit you, I was aiming at Edward." The pleading look in her eyes was comical. Out of
the corner of my eye I could see Edward holding his sides trying to keep from
laughing out loud. I quickly turned to him and threw the handful at him, hitting him
square in the chest. Lizzie and Bridgette's laughter rang out as Edward turned
towards them.

"You think that's funny do you?" he asked them with a mischevious glint in his

eyes.

"No, Daddy, don't!" Lizzie cried out as Edward advanced on the two of them,

grabbing more flour on the way. Both of them jumped off of the stool they had been
sharing and tried to run out of Edward's way. Bridgette quickly ran behind Alice and
Lizzie hid behind me saying, "Bella, help, Daddy's gonna get me!"

I swiped at another handful of flour and threw it at Edward, trying to distract him

- 81 -

from the smaller prey. The flour flew for quite a few minutes, with both of the girls
giggling and screaming as we all dodged and threw flour.

When the flour settled, the five of us were covered in flour as well as the kitchen. I

was amazed that Lizzie and Bridgette had the least amount of flour decorating them,
but since they were the smallest and thus the hardest to hit, it made sense. The two
of them had also constantly taken refuge behind Alice and I, letting us take the hits
meant for them. Alice had volunteered Edward and her to clean up the kitchen
afterwards if I would get the girls cleaned up. I easily took that deal since cleaning
the girls would be a cinch in comparison to cleaning the kitchen. They had gotten
flour everywhere.

Edward stopped me on the way up to the bathroom as the girls ran ahead. He

kissed the tip of my nose, and said, "I can't remember the last time I heard Lizzie
laughing so much, thank you."

I quickly got the girls into the bath and then into clean clothes, taking the

opportunity to change into a pair of clean clothes as well, and brush out the flour in
my hair. The three of us walked downstairs to see the last of the flour being poured
into the trashcan from the dustpan and I couldn't stop myself from laughing at Alice
and Edward. They had wiped the flour off their faces, but the flour clung to their
hair, making it look as if they had frost along the tips. The two of them looked at
each other and busted out laughing as well.

"I know they won't quite fit, but at least they're clean," I told Alice as I handed her

the Juicy Couture sweat pants and jacket that she had bought me for Christmas last
year. She took the opportunity to run upstairs and change.

Edward loomed over me and I caught my breath as he kissed the corner of my

mouth. "You had a bit of flour there," he said with a wink before he sauntered off to
find some clean clothes.

We finished the cookies without any other food flying instances and packed half of

them up for Alice and Bridgette to take home.

Lizzie had definitely taken a liking to me. We had gotten into a routine, with

Elizabeth staying to chat for a while when I got there, while Lizzie and I got started
on making dinner. She loved to help in the kitchen and would make any excuse to
help me out. Every Monday after our first baking day at Edward's I made sure to
have a plate of cookies or treats for Elizabeth to take home to share with Edward
Masen, Sr.

- 82 -

The next week it had been the loveliness of my period that interrupted our next

opportunity for some shmexing, but Edward was a trooper. He had a rare night off
and just held me through the night as I tried to ignore my uterus trying to claw its
way out of my body. It was awkward when I first confessed why we couldn't do
anything on a night that Elizabeth had Lizzie spend the night at their house, but he
quickly realized what was going on from my mumbling. He immediately grabbed me
a heating pad and two ibuprofens and hustled me into his bed where we stayed up
watching late night and tried to ignore my misery. All week he was constantly
making sure that I was feeling okay and even after it was done he still doted on me.
I could definitely get used to this kind of treatment. The week after that I hardly saw
Edward, as he took on extra shifts to help out a fellow doctor who was away on
vacation.

The third Sunday after I had moved into Edward's, I had the most wonderful

dream. I was in the middle of a field of flowers, naked as could be but completely
comfortable with it. The heat from the sun was enticing over my breasts and
stomach, warming me completely. I felt a heat run down my side as I arched my
back into the suns gentle caresses. The suns rays tingled along my collarbone,
trailing down towards my stomach and lapping around my bellybutton. My right
nipple was enveloped in a wet heat and I couldn't keep from sighing at the exquisite
feeling. The sun's tongue abraided my nipple as it's teeth lightly grazed the pebbled
peak. Wait... the sun doesn't have teeth.

I cracked my eyes open and saw the most glorious head of hair just below me and

couldn't keep myself from winding my fingers through the strands. I arched into his
mouth and hissed, "Edward."

He released my nipple with a pop and looked up at me, his stunning green eyes

dazzling me, "Yes, my Bella?" he asked as he nudged my legs apart with his knee,
bringing his thigh up between mine.

"Where's," he continued to play with my other nipple with his long fingers, rolling

it and keeping me from coherent thought. "Umm... that feels so..."

"Where's what, love?" he asked as he pulled himself up and started nibbling on my

neck just below my ear. My hands tightened in his hair, curling my fingers into the
hairs at the back of his head, trying to keep him exactly where he was. I tugged a bit
and reveled in the sound of his groan as his erection made itself known along my
hip.

"Hmm...oh... where's," the warmth from his leg seeped into my center as the

pressure increased. I breathed heavier, panting with the sensations being rung out

- 83 -

of me with his hands. He continued to play with my breasts, kneading them and
pinching the nipples a bit, as his tongue and teeth continued to work it's magic
along the tendons of my neck. "Lizzie?"

"My mom took her to the zoo. We have all morning to play." He whispered into my

ear. He made his way towards my mouth, planting butterfly kisses along my jaw as
he slowly, torturously made his way to my lips. When he finally got there he made
slow and languorous love to my mouth, controlling each and every aspect of our
kiss. Before there had been a lot of give and take in our kisses, but this, this was him
mastering me with tongue and lips and teeth. I ground myself against his thigh and
gripped his perfect ass, urging him to take me with every movement of my body.

We broke from our kiss, staring into each other's eyes for a few moments, hearing

each other's labored breathing. He kissed my lips gently one more time before
nipping his way down my body, towards the place where I most desired attention,
pausing momentarily to nibble around the edge of my nipples. My legs were nudged
further apart as he gripped my thighs, as he placed a gentle kiss at the top of my
mound. I shivered when his hot breath bathed over my pussy, his thumbs gently
grazing along the outside of my lips.

He gently pulled my lips apart as his tongue gently licked me from slit to clit. I

cried out as he swirled his tongue around and over my clit. One of his hands slipped
underneath me and grabbed my ass as he pushed his face into pussy, flipping my
legs over his shoulders. I grabbed his hair once again, trying to to get him to apply
more pressure as he lightly teased my clit over and over again. My heels dug into his
back and I nearly saw stars when he sucked it into his mouth and nibbled on it a bit.

I couldn't stop my legs from tightening around his head as my hips bucked up into

his mouth of their own accord. His long fingers curled inside me, and the
combination of his tongue on my clit and the sensations in my pussy caused my
orgasm to break over me like a tide quickly coming to shore. For the first time did I
ever understand the meaning of seeing fireworks during sex. I opened my eyes as I
felt his tip gently nudging along my entrance. His cock slid into my depths slowly,
feeling each and every inch of his length as my pussy slowly stretched to
accommodate his size.

I couldn't look away from the intensity in his eyes as he continued to thrust into

me, pounding faster and faster. I had never before understood the appeal of
missionary style sex, but in this instance, with the way he masterfully took me, and
the extreme intimacy of looking into each others eyes as he plunged over and over, I
would die happy if this was the only position we used for the rest of my life. His
hand snaked down between our bodies, rubbing the little bundle of nerves, as he

- 84 -

took me from standing at the edge of the cliff to soaring into oblivion.

"Mine," he grunted out in his release quickly following mine. We stayed there

intwined for long moments before he got up and then pulled me toward the shower.
The heat of the shower relaxed the both of us. We stood there just touching and
holding each other, reveling in the new level of intimacy that we had just entered.
After realizing what time it was, we quickly soaped each other's bodies up and then
rinsed off, gently toweling each other off when we stepped out of the shower. It
wouldn't do us any good to get Alice pissed off at not being on time to Chuck's.

The next morning all three of us were barely awake as we walked towards the

door to leave. Edward was going to be dropping Lizzie off at his mother's on his way
to work and I was headed into work as well. Lizzie had been grumpy due to staying
out late with her grandmother and not getting her nap the day before. Edward and I
had been up late, taking advantage of the silence of the house, christening every
surface that we could. I wouldn't be able to look at the kitchen without blushing for
a long time.

The doorbell rang, just as we reached it and Edward and I exchanged curious

glances. Edward opened the door and Tanya stood there, dressed in a blood red
dress that looked as if it had been painted on and a pair of five inch spike heels
which I was sure would leave marks in any surface she managed to walk across. I
looked beyond her to see my co-worker Mike lurking behind her. What the hell?

"Edward, darling." Tanya said sickeningly sweet. "I see your little mistress is still

here. It only makes my case that much easier. I'm serving you your papers. I'm suing
you for custody."

"What papers?" Edward asked incredulously as he pulled Lizzie behind him. "You

can't be trying to file for custody, it won't work. Bella already cleared me of the
abuse inquiry."

"Oh, it can and it will." Tanya's voice hardened as she continued, "You made it

only too easy for me by moving this tramp into your home. No one will believe that
you weren't already sleeping with her when she took the report. She must have
falsified it on your request. You don't stand a chance."

"I've never beaten you or Lizzie in my life!" Edward shouted at her. I looked down

at Lizzie and saw the confused expression on her face as she gripped Edward's
pants in her little fists.

- 85 -

"It's your word against mine though, darling," she simpered. Mike stepped

forward, holding out his identification as a social worker.

"I'm sorry, but we're going to have to take her into custody until this is

straightened out," Mike said with a smarmy grin. "Unless, of course, you can think
of something to convince me not to." He winked when he said 'convinced'. Why you
sorry son of a... I couldn't even complete my thought in my head I was so peeved.

"I'm not doing what you're implying, Mike," I sneered at him and tried to keep my

hands from wrapping around his scrawny neck. Edward pulled me tighter against
him, trying to put me behind him, but I kept him from keeping me out of eyesight of
Mike and Lizzie.

"Fine, then. Hope to see you at the office, but I hear that might not be for a while."

he smirked. He reached out, grabbed Lizzie's arm and started pulling her towards
his beat up jalopy.

"Mommy!!!!" I heard Lizzie cry out as she was being pulled away from Edward

and me towards the car. Mike's fist looked a little tight on her arm as Lizzie tried to
get away from him. Lizzie nearly broke free, so Mike picked her up and held her
squirming body in his arms.

"Oh, baby, you know you'll be coming to me soon. We just have to get this worked

out with the courts." Tanya said patronizingly. I had almost forgotten that she was
there.

"You're not my Mommy," Lizzie said as she reached for me, trying to get out of

Mike's arms. "Bella's my mommy. I want Bella." The tears that I had so carefully
kept inside burst out when I heard that small admission from Lizzie's lips. I knew
that I had made my way into her heart as thoroughly as she had become a part of
mine.

"It's going to be alright, Sugar Pie," I said back to her, trying to calm her down.

"You'll be back before you know it."

"Uncle Carlisle is going to take care of this Lizzie-bear. I promise you'll come back

to me." My heart broke with the sorrow in Edward's voice as he called after her
following Mike towards his car, but keeping enough distance so that Mike wouldn't
think of him as a threst.

Mike quickly put Lizzie in the car, straping her into a booster seat that he had in

the back. Lizzie was still crying and screaming as he closed the door, shoving her

- 86 -

arms out of the way since she was still reaching out to Edward and me. Her little
hand was splayed on the glass, and Edward quickly placed his much larger hand on
the glass to mirror hers. He mouthed I love you to her as she continued to sob. He
backed up a bit when he felt Mike put the car into gear and take off. The dust kicked
up and my heart broke at the sight of her looking out the back window as they drove
away.

Tanya sauntered towards her own car as she said over her shoulder, "Bye Edward.

I'll be seeing you in court."

Edward and I walked back to the house in silence. When we got inside with the

door shut behind us, Edward immediately whipped out his phone and I pulled mine
out as well. I headed into the kitchen trying to give Edward some privacy as I dialed
Esme's number trying to find out exactly what was going on. She picked up on the
second ring, as if anticipating my call. "Yes?"

"Esme, it's Bella, what's all this about my findings being turned over? What's

going on?"

"Oh, Bella, I know you wouldn't have done any of this at all, but it was brought to

the attention of one of my supervisors that you moved into Edward's house. I know
that you would never falsify a report, but it doesn't look good. They want to do an
investigation into your relationship with Edward and whether it came before or after
the report. They want to put you on temporary leave until they get it all straightened
out."

"What? Carlisle, this is impossible! FIX THIS!" I heard Edward yell from in the

living room, and I quickly went over to the doorway to check on him. He was pacing
the floor and pulling at his hair. Somewhere along the way he had tugged his shirt
tails from his pants and looked thoroughly disheveled.

"Bella? Did you hear what I said?" I turned back into the kitchen to continue the

conversation with Esme.

"Yes, I'm sorry Esme, but Edward's on the phone with his lawyer right now. Mike

just came and picked up Lizzie. Do you happen to know where she's going to be
placed?"

"Bella, I'm talking about your job, you might get fired if they don't find in your

favor." Esme's worry crept into her voice.

"I don't care about my job right now Esme," I said quietly but firmly, "what I care

- 87 -

about is whether or not that precious little girl is going to be in a home that she
won't come out even more damaged after this ordeal is over. I have no doubt in my
mind that Edward and I will be exonerated. Now, where is she going to be placed?
Please?" I begged quietly.

"We don't have any openings right now in some of our usual homes but I was

thinking that for this I might be able to take her home myself. I was speaking with
my superiors and they approved me for temporary custody of Lizzie."

I breathed out a sigh of relief, knowing that Lizzie would be with Esme. "Thank

you, Esme, you have no idea how much that means to me."

"I'll keep you informed as much as I can. An old colleague of mine is going to be

running the investigation and we already spoke of what it's going to entail. They're
going to be going through some of your old case files to see what kind of a history
you had. Hopefully this will get done with soon and you'll be back to work in no
time."

"Thank you, Esme. I know that with you around, I'll be back in the trenches sooner

than I expect. Can you do me a favor, Esme?"

"Sure, anything."

"Can you check Lizzie for bruising when she gets in? Mike grabbed her arm a little

roughly and I don't want it being said that Edward was the one who put any marks
there."

"Yes, Bella, of course. I'll make sure that it's documented." We said our goodbyes

and quickly hung up. I of course did what I always do when I'm stressed, I baked. I
was just putting the first batch of cowboy cookies in the oven when Edward walked
in. I turned to him and held my arms out which he gladly walked into. He rested his
forehead along the junction between my shoulder and my neck, breathing deeply.
We stood there for a few minutes, just rocking side to side, as I rubbed his back and
tried my hardest to keep him calm.

He looked up at me with unshed tears in his eyes and said, "I can't loose her,

Bella. She's my world."

A/N Because I don't want to get a bunch of reviews asking why I didn't

have them using contraceptives, they used a condom. I just didn't feel the

- 88 -

need to add all that extra stuff in. Just imagine at some point they used it
and eventually removed it.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I loved all the stories of minor

household disasters, and some not so minor!

PLEASE REVIEW!!! I love to get your feedback on this! It makes me write

more.

What was the best or worst day of your life?

- 89 -

Tapas and Fears

A/N: Thanks as always to my beta Pire. Can we go see New Moon again?

Please????

Thank you to everyone who reviewed! It really warmed my heart to know

that you all hate Tanya just as much as I do! :D I love it when my fictional
characters get death threats... Hope this chapter makes it a little better...

Twilight and all it's characters are under the ownership of Ms. Meyers. I

don't own.

Happy Reading!

Exes and Ohs

Chapter Nine

Tapas and Fears

EPOV

As soon as Mike left with Lizzie, I immediately got on the phone to Carlisle. I

paced around the living room as I waited for the main operator to connect me to his
line. The sound of his voice did nothing to soothe me as it normally would. I snarled
into the phone, "You said she couldn't take Lizzie away from me!"

"Edward? What are you talking about? What happened?" Carlisle's calming voice

came over the line.

"Tanya. The bitch took my daughter. I thought you said that she couldn't take her.

She came to the door with Bella's co-worker and he took Lizzie into custody. And
now she's suing for custody!"

"What? I looked into it. She had no case against you. It was an easy settlement

from your divorce. Let me see what's going on. Do you have the paperwork with
you?"

I looked at the small stack of paperwork that I had thrown on the coffee table

- 90 -

prior to calling Carlisle. "Yeah, I have it here."

"Good, can you bring that in to me? I can look through them and see what's going

on. I'm not guaranteeing anything until I know what it is they have against you, but I
don't see any problems."

"Yeah, I'll be there in about an hour. I'm bringing Bella with me."

"Doesn't she have work?"

"She's on temporary leave from work. They're investigating her findings on the

accusations brought against me about me abusing Lizzie," I said with a frustrated
sigh. I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration of this situation.

"What? How can they do that?"

"Something about her influencing the decision and it being inappropriate since

we're dating."

"Edward, please tell me that they don't have anything against you. You didn't date

Bella until after she made her report right?" Carlisle's normally steady voice
sounded a bit worried.

"No, we didn't start dating until the Friday after the report. Why?"

"It could just look bad on paper. We'll have to have someone else come in and

re-investigate the matter just to make sure."

"What? Carlisle, this is impossible! FIX THIS!" I snarled shoving my hands into my

hair.

"I know Edward this is a frustrating situation, but the only thing you can do is be

calm and wait it out. Losing your cool will just play into her hands. I'll see you in a
bit." We said our good-byes and hung up. I quickly called into work and informed
them that I was taking the day off due to a family emergency. When I got off the
phone I stared out the large windows to the backyard for a minute, not really seeing
anything. The sounds of the oven opening brought me out of my stupor and I went
into the kitchen to see how Bella was doing.

I paused for a moment as I saw Bella close the oven door. She had the standing

mixer uncovered and the baking sheets out. A few of the ingredients were still
sitting on the counter and I realized that she resorted to something that she says

- 91 -

never fails to relax her.

Bella turned from what she was doing in the oven as I walked up to her and she

pulled me into her arms. I leaned down to take in her intoxicating scent and revel in
the comfort of her arms for a few minutes. After a moment I leaned back and looked
into her chocolate brown eyes which were tinged with a sadness that I couldn't
stand to see. "I can't loose her, Bella. She's my world."

"Oh, Edward, neither can I." She pulled me back into her arms, and I could feel

the warmth of her tears soaking into my shirt. The hole in my heart got worse as I
realized that Bella felt the same amount of frustration and sadness at my daughter
being taken from us. Because it was no longer just Lizzie and I in our little family, it
was Bella, too. "What did Carlisle have to say?"

"We have to bring the paperwork down to his office so he can see what we're

dealing with. Can you be ready to go in ten minutes?"

"Yeah, just let me take this batch out of the oven and stick the dough in the fridge.

I called Esme," she admitted tentatively.

"Yeah, what did she say?"

"She's going to take Lizzie." I felt a little bit of relief as Bella ran her fingers

through my hair soothingly. Bella and I had talked in length about her boss, and had
nothing but good words for the woman who treated all the kids who came through
her office as if they were her own.

"Alright, that's at least one good thing." I sighed and rested my chin on her head,

basking in the support of this wonderful woman. The tiny sound of the alarm rang
out in the silent kitchen and Bella turned to get the cookies out of the oven. I
grabbed the bowl of cookie dough and placed it in the fridge as she took the cookies
off the trays. "Let's get going."

We got to Carlisle's office in record time, Bella's knuckles were white from the

grip she had on the armrest next to her. We walked in and I waved at Heidi,
Carlisle's secretary as we came up to her desk. She waved us in, probably knowing
that Carlisle was waiting for us to get there.

I tapped on the door just before I opened it and escorted Bella in. Carlisle stood

looking out the windows of his office, his hands on his hips. I cleared my throat and
he turned around quickly.

- 92 -

"Ah, Edward, and this must be Bella. So glad to meet you, but I wish it was under

better circumstances. Carlisle Cullen," Carlisle thrust his hand out for Bella to shake
and then we sat in the comfy club chairs on the opposite side of his desk.

"It's nice to meet you, too," Bella said as I handed the papers to Carlisle and he

looked them over, rifling through them nearly noiselessly. Bella captured my hand in
hers and smiled at me when I looked over at her. Relief coursed through me at the
idea of this wonderful woman being with me in spite of the drama that was currently
plaguing me.

"Well, this is pretty cut and dried Edward. She's claiming that you abused Lizzie

and her during your marriage. The firm that's representing her is De Luca &
Romano. I'm not surprised that they're taking on a case like this; they're known for
giving lawyers a bad name. I've gone head to head with Aro De Luca, and so I know
some of the tricks he likes to pull. Now, since there's no proof of your abusing either
of them, it's going to come down to testimony. Is there anyone who can testify on
your behalf?"

"Yeah, my old mentor in Chicago, Eleazar Castillo, along with his wife Carmen;

they came over regularly and had seen many example of Tanya's neglect. We were
also over at their house on a semi-regular basis. Carmen babysat for Lizzie on
occasion. My cousin Rosalie and her fiance, Emmett, could also be brought forward
as character witnesses since they come over frequently and could testify as to the
care and treatment that Lizzie gets in my custody since being in California."

"That's good." Carlisle was scribbling down notes on a pad of paper as we talked,

hopefully creating a defense that would be able to get rid of Tanya and her
scheming. "I'll need their contact information, so I can get in touch with them as
soon as possible. Now, Bella, since I know Aro is going to use you to smear Edward
as much as possible, I'm going to need to get testimony on your behalf as well.
Would your boss be able to testify?"

"I'm sure Esme would be more than willing to testify on my behalf." If I hadn't

been looking at Carlisle when Bella mentioned 'Esme' I would have never seen him
flinch. I wonder what's up with that? "Do you need character witnesses for me as
well? I'm sure Alice and Jasper would be willing to testify."

"We'll speak with them and have them ready to testify, but only as a last resort. I

would really like to sit down with your boss -- Esme is it?" Carlisle's voice wavered a
bit as he asked and Bella nodded in confirmation, "--and speak with her about what
is going on with the investigation into your findings. This will be pivotal in the case.
Do you think she would be adverse to a dinner meeting tonight? That's the only free

- 93 -

time that I will have today."

"I'll call her and ask. I'm sure she'll be able to make it."

"Well, Bella, Edward, it looks like I have my work cut out for me. If you can just

provide me with the contact information for all the people we spoke about and I'll
get started on gathering the necessary information." We quickly ran down all the
information, both Bella and I pulling out our cell phones to get the necessary phone
numbers. Carlisle asked us to meet him at Cafe Sevilla, in downtown Long Beach,
for dinner that night. We agreed and Bella told us that she would have Esme meet
us there at seven.

We walked back to the car in silence, with Bella's hand in mine, her thumb

rubbing along the outside of mine every so often. The ride home was also silent, not
uncomfortable, just both of us lost in our own thoughts as we reviewed what had
already happened so far. I stopped at a burger joint on our way and picked us up
something to eat, knowing that even though I wasn't hungry, we still needed to put
something in our bodies.

We got home, and I helped Bella finish baking the last of the cookies. When we

were done, Bella put some of the cookies in a Tupperware to give to Esme for Lizzie.
We sat around on the couch after that and popped in a movie, just trying to take our
minds off of the stress. Holding her in my arms was the closest thing to comfort that
I could get at the moment. The only thing that could have been better was if there
was another, smaller pair of arms wrapped around me as well.

We wasted time until we needed to get ready to go to dinner. I had been to Cafe

Sevilla before with Carlisle, so I dressed casually in a black button up with jeans.
When Bella stepped out of her room, I caught my breath at the vision before me. She
was wearing a tight pair of jeans that looked like they were painted on and a soft,
short sleeve sweater that made my fingers itch to touch her. Her feet were encased
by a pair of heels that made my own feet feel pinched with how sharp they looked. I
did like them, though, because the height made it easy for me to steal kisses from
her which I did as often as I could.

It wasn't the clothes that made me catch my breath, it was the air of dignity and

complete lack of awareness of how beautiful she was. Her hair fell down her back in
waves and I just wanted to gather it up and run my fingers through it. She had
washed her face free of make up, and I saw that her eyes were red from crying.

I wrapped my left arm around her back and pulled her into me, my right hand

coming up and brushing just below her eye. "How are you holding up?"

- 94 -

"I'm alright." she said as she brushed aside my concern for her. "If I talk about it

I'm just going to cry more. I'm okay for now. How about you?"

I was amazed yet again at her selfless caring, and said to her, "We'll get through

this. I know we will."

I pulled Bella along to the car and held her door as she carefully got in. I shut the

door carefully and made my way around. The bittersweet sounds of Nocturne by
Chopin floated quietly out of the speakers as I started the car. We both listened to
the music and didn't speak much on our way to the restaurant. We got there quickly
and I parked in one of the underground parking lots peppered throughout downtown
Long Beach.

I grabbed Bella's hand and helped her out of the car, steadying her a bit after she

stumbled. I tried not to think about how good her soft breasts felt against my chest
as I held her there for just a moment.

We walked to the restaurant which was only a little bit away from the parking

garage. I spoke to the hostess at the front of the restaurant, and she said that
Carlisle and his other guest had already been seated. Bella's hand on my arm
tightened as the hostess leaned over the desk, and offered to take us back to them. I
ignored her and headed back towards the direction she had indicated.

I pulled Bella to my side and wrapped an arm around her shoulder as I searched

for Carlisle's blonde hair in the crowd and spotted him in a booth near the back. I
made eye contact with him as we walked up to the table and took in the caramel
haired head that was sitting across from him. Carlisle looked stress and from the
volume of the conversation, I could tell that it was not going well.

"You know what, Carlisle, I don't think that's any of your business," I heard the

woman, who I assumed was Esme, say to him as she stood up, grabbing her purse
and coat.

"I just wanted to-" Carlisle stood, his hand reaching out to her as if to calm her

down.

"I don't care what you want. Fuck you Carlisle," she fumed, then added, "And your

brother." The look on her face was murderous as she stormed past Bella and I.

"What the hell was that Carlisle?" I asked.

"I just asked her why she was still using the last name of Cullen."

- 95 -

"Still?" Bella questioned as she slid into the booth with me right behind her.

"She was married to my brother." Carlisle's face dropped at this and the agony

was written on his face.

"What is this? Carlisle, I want details. You told me your brother was scum." I

pushed him for answers.

"Alright, but you can't tell Esme anything about what I'm going to tell you. Do you

promise Bella?" Carlisle's gaze was pleading as he asked her. She nodded and he
continued, "I met Esme Platt, on the day before she got married. To my brother,
Marcus. For me, it was love at first sight. I couldn't help myself, she was so
beautiful, her happiness was radiating out of her.

"I kept my distance from her, especially at family functions, since it was hard to

see her so happy with my brother. It was an easy thing to accomplish, at that time I
was still going to law school, so I had the easy excuse of being to busy to come or, if
I showed up, staying too long. I was graduating from law school when we got the
news. Esme had been in an accident and had miscarried her baby. She was three
months pregnant at the time. As soon as my graduation was over, my parents and I
rushed to the hospital. I can still feel the shock at being told she was in the hospital.
I couldn't stand that she had been hurt.

"As soon as we got the news that she was alright, I left. There was no way that I

would be able to keep my distance if I saw her at that point, so I left without even
seeing her. My mother kept me informed as to her condition, since she had figured
out my secret while we were all waiting for more information at the hospital.

"Two more years passed, and I was a junior partner at a family law firm when my

brother first approached me. Marcus explained that Esme wanted to divorce him
and he was wondering if I would represent him. I, of course, said yes.

"It wasn't until we were midway through the proceedings that it came out that he

had been abusing her for the last four years. Her 'accident', hadn't been an accident
at all. He had pushed her down a flight of stairs after another one of their
arguments; she had threatened to leave him. She was staying at my mother's house
during the divorce, and he finally gave up on her, happy to slap his mistresses
around instead. When I found out about this, I made sure that he gave her
everything in the divorce. She got the house, the cars, alimony, everything. He was a
wealthy real estate agent, so it was no skin off his back to give it to her.

"It broke my heart to realize that all this time he had been hurting her, when I

- 96 -

would have jumped at a chance to love her." The look of defeat on his face as he
finished his story must have been how I looked earlier in the day when Lizzie was
taken from me.

"Why don't you explain all this to her?" Bella asked quietly.

"I've tried," he replied, "but she won't let me speak with her. She hates me. My

brother filled her head with lies, saying that I hated her and never wanted to be
around her. Unknowingly, he saw my reaction to her at their wedding rehearsal. In
fact, he even confessed, under the influence of copious amounts of alcohol, that he
would beat her whenever she asked him about me.

"My brother and I had a rocky relationship to begin with and his sense of

competition was only exacerbated by the love he knew I harbored for her. He
couldn't stand to see me win.

"Enough; this is enough." Carlisle said as his face cleared of emotions. "Now, on to

your situation. Since I won't be able to speak with Esme, I'll just fill you two in with
what information I found. It seems to me that Tanya's bitten off a little more than
she can chew." Carlisle smirked.

"What? Why?" I asked, excited at the prospect of being able to bury Tanya at her

own game.

"I looked at who was slated to preside over this matter, and it seems that Maggie

Fírinne, a previous colleague of mine is going to be the judge in this. She has a
reputation for not tolerating any lies in her courtroom and will be able to
differentiate the truth from the fiction."

"Well, that's a bit of a relief, then. Any other good news?" I felt a bit of anxiety and

stress melt away at the news.

"I got the dates nailed down for when we are to start bringing in testimony and

Eleazar and Carmen have cleared their schedule to fly in for that week. All of the
other witnesses are scheduled to come in this week and speak with me about what
they can testify about and I can finish preparing the case. I don't foresee any major
problems."

"Well, let's just hope it stays that way," Bella said as our food arrived. We dug in

and the conversation turned to inconsequential things. Neither Bella nor I were
fooled by his covert attempts to get info out of Bella about Esme. At one point, she
just broke down and told him everything she knew about Esme, from her favorite

- 97 -

flowers, to her favorite bands. Carlisle absorbed this information like a thirsty man
in the desert absorbs water. We laughed at him when he tried to pry for more
information, but Bella said that that was all she knew. I'd never seen Carlisle pout
before, and it made us laugh even harder.

We left the restaurant in a better mood than when we got there, and Bella and I

stopped at the beach by my house on the way back and walked out on the sand. The
sand felt good under our bare toes as we listened to the waves crash on the shore
and looked at the lights twinkling across the water from the harbor and from further
beyond in San Pedro and Palos Verdes. We made our way back to the house after
dropping by mine to see how the repairs were going.

When we got home, we both got into our pj's and put a movie on in my bedroom

and held each other as we fell asleep. There's nothing better than falling asleep in
the arms of the woman you love.

A/N: The Eddies and the Bellies Nominations are up, so go nominate some

of your favorite fics... That's what I'm going to do next....

REC'S

No Sleep for the Wicked by justaskalice ExB

Insecurities by James Ramsey JxB

Into the Mystic by 107yearoldvirgin ExB

Please review! I really like knowing your opinion of what's going on.

What's your favorite Tapas? Mine is the Shrimp Azafran, Dates stuffed

with Cabrales Blue Cheese, and the Seafood Crepe. mmm-mmm-mmm.

- 98 -

Worries and Shopping

A/N: thank you to my beta, Pire. Without you, I'd still be buying my

entertainment instead of reading it for free on the internet... :D Thanks for
saving me a boat load of money!!!

I'm sorry this it out late. I knew where this chapter was supposed to go,

but I had no idea how to get it there. It took me a while longer to figure it
out than I normally do, so yeah... Thanks for the patience on this one!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter. I really appreciated it and

it encouraged me to write. I know I didn't reply to any of them, which I
normally try to do, but I kept thinking, 'I'll write the preview before I'll
reply' and I didn't write anything till Wednesday night (which wasn't worthy
of the preview)... SORRY, and thank you so much to everyone who reviewed!
I did read each and every one of them and appreciated the encouragement.

To answer the question that came up a couple of times, Tapas are GOOD!

Wikipedia defines tapas as this: Tapas (IPA: [ˈtaˌpas]) is the name of a wide
variety of appetizers, or snacks, in Spanish cuisine. They may be cold (such as mixed
olives and cheese) or warm (such as puntillitas, which are battered, fried baby squid
). Whenever I've gone out for Tapas, we usually order 2 or 3 per person and
share. Some are really rich so it would be hard to eat more than a little of it
anyways.

Anyways, enough of this long A/N...

Twilight and it's characters are under the ownership of Ms. Meyer. I don't

own.

Happy Reading!

Exes and Ohs

Chapter Ten

Worries and Shopping

BPOV

- 99 -

Tuesday was slow, with nothing to do but worry about how Lizzie was doing.

Edward went back to work and I sat at home staring at the TV, dazing off into the
distance, remembering each and every moment I had spent with that precious little
girl. The night went slowly without Edward by my side, and when I finally hauled
myself to bed; I tossed and turned much of the night.

By Wednesday, I had eventually moved onto thinking about every case that I had

ever worked on, and how they might find something wrong with decisions I had
made. Had the abusive mother that I had taken her daughters from deserve a
second chance? Was the dad who had a history of drug abuse actually sober? I
started second guessing myself and all the decisions I had come to. I was nearing a
panic attack when my cell phone started ringing.

"Hello?" I asked timidly.

"Bella? Get dressed, we're going shopping," I heard Alice's voice come through the

phone dictatorially.

"Huh - wha?" I mumbled at her as I stared down at my pajama clad body. How did

she know I wasn't dressed?

"Go take a shower, too. I'm sure you stink." I sniffed my armpit at her accusation

and didn't smell anything out of the ordinary. I shrugged as she continued. "I will be
there in twenty minutes. Rose is going to meet us at the mall."

"And why am I going to subject myself to your favorite form of torture?"

"Because you're moping, and worrying, and you need to get your mind off of

things. I know you and we're going to indulge in a little retail therapy."

"But you're definition of retail therapy isn't good for my wallet," I complained

realizing the uncertainties of my employment meant that I needed to save all my
pennies.

"You're not bringing your wallet with you, now stop complaining and get your butt

in the shower." Click. I stared at my phone for a moment, realizing that Alice had
just hung up on me. Ah, well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

I pulled myself out of the funk I was currently in, turned off the TV, and wandered

into the bathroom to start up the shower. As the steam started to build up, I stared
at myself in the mirror. There were slight bags under my eyes from the restless
night's sleep I'd been having. I knew that the circles would only get worse as this

- 100 -

week progressed. I brushed my teeth and hair quickly and then slipped out of my
pajamas and stepped into the shower. The hot water cascaded down my back and
the heat permeated my bones, relaxing me more than anything else could. I made
quick work of my shower, only lingering a little at the end to let the hot water do it's
magic on my tight muscles.

The doorbell rang just as I was putting my shoes on. I had dressed in a pair of

comfy jeans and a graphic tee that was sure to put Alice's teeth on edge. If she was
going to be subjecting me to shopping, it was only fair for me to dress in
'Comfortable Hobo Couture' as she liked to call it. She was sure to be dressed to the
nines and I wasn't disappointed when I opened the door to let her in. I barely missed
being attacked by her giant tote that hung off her arm like a lead balloon, as she
pulled me in for a hug and gave me a couple of air kisses. Her black, spiky hair was
covered with a black and white print silk scarf and her giant glasses covered half
her face. It wasn't until I pulled back from her that I got a clear view of her entire
outfit.

"Where did you get that dress? I like it!" I was shocked at how much I liked what

she was wearing. Alice had a tendency to wear all modern styles of clothes, and I
liked to wear more classic and vintage style clothing whenever I could. She was
clearly making a nod to the classics, with her black button up shirt dress. It was
tailored throughout the torso, till it got to her waist, where it poofed out as if she
wore a crinoline underneath. The sleeves were three-quarter length but had been
rolled up to just above the elbow. The chunky white beaded necklace reminded me
of the necklace Wilma Flintstone wore.

"I kind of knew you would. This is my test pattern. I wanted to check and make

sure it fit the way I wanted to before I made one for you. I think I'm going to do
yours in black and white gingham with red buttons." Alice twirled once to show of
the way the dress flared and I caught sight of the back-seamed nylons she had on
that went with her dress.

"I love it! Are you branching out into clothing now?" I asked curious about her

newest creations, knowing she had only been sewing quilts, baby clothes/burp
cloths, and aprons.

"I'm only going to do a couple of vintage items, and see how they sell. If they do

well, I'll make some more. Now, let's go back up to your room, and we'll fix this train
wreck you call an ensemble." Alice said as she circled around me once, taking in my
clothes.

"Alice, please let me be comfortable," I pleaded with her.

- 101 -

"Oh, no worries, I'm not going to change much," she said as she pulled me up the

stairs towards the guest room I'd been occupying. Alice started flipping through the
hangers as she searched through what I had clean. "Ah-ha! Found it!"

Alice pulled out a modified blazer that she had made for me a couple of months

ago, but I never knew exactly what to wear it with. She had taken a black blazer and
added uneven, teal stitching to the all the edges as well as outlines of the pockets.
There was even a couple of teal fleur de lis embroidered on the lapels as well as
some non-uniform, silver pin striping all over it. The sleeves of the blazer came out
to a point where the buttons were supposed to be, and there were some teal
gemstones sewn into the button holes. "Put this on over what you're wearing, and
take off those shoes," she said as she went back to going through my closet.

I huffed as she continued to dig and sat down on my bed, pulling my shoes and

socks off. She threw me a pair of basic black stilettos which I obediently put on.
While I was doing this she pulled my hair out of the messy bun I had thrown it into,
and pinned it up into an elegant chignon. I slipped on a pair of black feather
earrings, and a black lace-covered, silver bead necklace. When I looked into the
mirror I was pleasantly surprised to see that the couple additions to my outfit did
make me look like I was a lot more fashion forward than I actually was. I added a bit
of eyeliner, mascara, and a sheer lipgloss, instantly making me feel as if I could take
on Alice and her shopping torture.

"Beautiful," Alice said quietly when I turned to her. I grabbed her hand and we

started towards the stairs and quickly left the house. There was no way I was going
to spend any more time than necessary getting out of the house, otherwise Alice
would have changed her mind and found another 'perfect' outfit for me to wear.
Since I would be changing enough today with the, no doubt, inordinate amount of
time I would be spending in the dressing rooms. I grabbed my purse off the little
table in the foyer on the way out the door and locked the door behind us. Alice's
bright yellow porsche gleamed in the sunlight as we got in and took off for the mall.

We were amidst piles of clothes Alice had been sorting into rejects and keeps,

when she got a text message from Rose asking where we were. She sent a message
and not more than five minutes later, Rose was standing in the doorway of the giant
dressing room smirking at the piles of clothing at our feet.

"You know, that dress will never flatter your figure as well as the one on the

hanger behind you will." Rosalie said as she pointed to the charcoal gray knit dress
that had been the one thing that I had actually been tempted to buy.

"She's right, you know," Alice agreed quickly. "That knit dress looked awesome. It

- 102 -

will be great in the winter time when it gets cold."

"Yes, I'm aware," I said trying to defend myself. "I was going to buy it. I was just

hanging up this one for the poor saleswomen."

"Isn't it their job to clean up after there customers?" Alice asked.

"I'm sure, but you have the ability to make a bigger mess than five customers." I

rolled my eyes at Alice's ability to shop till she dropped.

"Whateves. I may make a bigger mess, but I'm also buying more clothes than five

customers, and since they make commission, I think it's worth the price of cleaning
up after me," Alice retorted. "Besides, I have been a loyal customer to Margarite for
the last ten years... Ever since mom and dad gave me my first credit card." Alice got
a weird, shiny-eyed, far-off look. "She loves me, she always lets me see all the new
stuff before it goes out on the floor."

"She only does that since she knows you can't go a week without buying

something. You can't resist shopping," I said with a smile so she knew I was only
kidding with her.

"True, I love me a good sale!" Alice smiled and we all chuckled at her enthusiasm

which was written all over her face.

"So, I was thinking that since we have you in a mall, and I need to get some

decisions for the wedding done, we could maybe look for your bridesmaid dress?"
Rosalie asked timidly.

"YES!" Alice answered for me. "She'd love to!"

I rolled my eyes at Alice's comment, but the eagerness in Rose's eyes to this with

me caused me to change my reply from a derisive statement to an answer in all
seriousness. "Of course, Rosalie, I would love to."

"Good, I thought that since you didn't really seem interested in the wedding," she

went on carefully, "you might not be interested in-"

"Rosalie Hale, do you think I'm not interested in your wedding?" I was completely

flabbergasted by this woman's lack of confidence in herself. She was beautiful and
poised. I'd never met a more confident looking woman in my life.

"Well, you never want to talk about the wedding when Alice and I talk about it, I

- 103 -

thought you didn't care..." she trailed off nervously picking at some imaginary lint on
her sleeve.

"You are the woman my brother is marrying. I'm interested in you, not what

flowers you choose for me to hold. I'm sorry if I've given you that impression, I like
you very much. I think you're perfect for my brother." Rosalie pulled me into her
arms, sniffling a little.

"Rosalie, once you get to know Bella better, you'll realize that she's not normal."

Alice ducked as I grabbed one of the dresses off the rack and threw it at her. "She
doesn't do all those girly things that you would expect of her. The fact that she
invited you straight off to Chuck's on Sunday mornings is a big thing to her. It took
six months for her to concede to my begging to bring Jasper to our little
get-togethers."

Rosalie giggled as I replied, "Oh, whatever, Alice, it was not six months. Try six

weeks."

"Yeah, well it seemed like forever." I rolled my eyes as we finished putting the

dressing room to rights and grabbed the things we had decided to purchase. On the
way out the door I snagged the gray dress we had been discussing, and took it with
me to the cash register.

Two hours later, we were at the David's Bridal, going through the bridesmaid's

dress options. Rather than picking one dress that might not flatter all the girls, she
decided to get different dresses for every girl in the same color, black with touches
of red. I came out of the dressing room in what felt like dress number twenty-seven,
when Alice let out a low moan and clutched her side as she abruptly sat down on the
chair that was behind her. Rosalie and I were immediately at her side; Alice's face
was screwed up in pain and she was panting heavily.

"What's wrong?" I asked pulling Alice's hand between mine. She immediately

squeezed mine, holding onto it tightly.

"Sharp. Pain." Alice answered between breaths. Her breathing evened out and the

tension in her face smoothed out.

"What the hell was that?" I asked letting the worry creep into my voice.

"I don't know, it was a really sharp pain, like a hot knife in my side." Alice's voice

was still breathy from her heavy breathing.

- 104 -

"Have you been having these pains recently?" Rosalie asked, her tone in nurse

mode.

"Not as bad, but I figured I was just finally having my period."

"How late is your period?"

"I think about two weeks, but it's never been very regular."

"How long have you been having these pains?"

"The last couple of days."

"I think you should go to the hospital. I don't know what exactly is wrong, but you

should probably get it checked out."

"But if it's just my period coming, I'll feel stupid going into the emergency room,"

Alice protested. She hated going to the doctors and since she was generally healthy
as a horse, she protested even more when she had to go. I had to force her to go to
the emergency room when she had bronchitis last year.

"Alice, you're going," I said firmly. "If Rosalie said you need to be checked out, I'll

drag you there myself if I have to."

"That was some pretty serious pain you were in. You need to get it checked out."

Rosalie added.

"Fine. But if it's nothing you owe me," Alice said as she glared at me.

"Yeah, fine, I'm getting out of this dress, and I'm driving your car," I said as I

turned toward the dressing rooms.

"No, I refuse to let you drive my baby," Alice protested.

"Do you really think you could keep control of the car if you get hit with that pain

again?" I asked incredulously.

"I guess not. Alright. Let's go get this over with."

I changed and we headed out to her car. The quick drive to the hospital took less

time than I was expecting since I drove faster than Alice normally would. We got out
and walked quickly towards the doors. We got her checked into the emergency room

- 105 -

and luckily they didn't have a long wait. Thirty minutes later, the three of us were
being ushered into an exam room. I thought I saw a flash of copper hair out of the
corner of my eye, but knew it couldn't be Edward since he had been off work for the
last thirty minutes. I had texted him while we were waiting to let him know that I
would be home later, and that I was currently with Alice.

The doctor asked Alice some questions, and I was distracted through most of it. I

barely heard the doctor call out to the nurse, "Can I get a pregnancy test in room
102 and an ultrasound machine brought in?"

A/N: This week I'm not recommending a story, I'm recommending a blog.

Altered Lions and Sacrificial Lambs is an amazing blog to get reviews,
recommendations, and my favorite, House of Debauchery pics... Amazing
blog.

Thank you to everyone who reviews. I really do appreciate it. I will try to

reply in spite of my epic fail last week.

- 106 -

Fights and Flights

A/N: Thanks goes to my beta Pire. I love the ideas that come out of your

brain!

No excuses, I suck, this is late, and yeah... that's all I've got. On a side

note, it is longer than the last chapter, so it's like one and a third chapters...

Twilight and all it's characters are under the ownership of Ms. Meyers. I

don't own.

Happy Reading!

Exes and Ohs

Chapter Eleven

Fights and Flights

EPOV

I had to have had the shift from hell tonight. Besides all the craziness throughout

the shift, we had a emergency come in an hour before I was scheduled to be off.
There were quite a few complications that couldn't have been expected and the
surgery ran longer than was originally called for. My entire body was achy and sore
afterward and I was ready to go home.

I was about to call Bella and let her know that I was running late on getting home,

when a text message came in from her letting me know that she was out with Alice
and would be home later. I walked down to the emergency room to say goodnight to
one of my colleagues, when I saw Bella walk into one of the exam rooms. I was about
to walk down there and find out what was going on when I heard the doctor call out,
"can I get a pregnancy test in room 102 and an ultrasound machine brought in?"

What? She's pregnant?

My mind went in a million directions at once trying to figure out the ramifications

of getting pregnant right now. My career was just taking off, would I have enough
time to devote to Bella and the little one? How would we handle having another

- 107 -

child in the house? How will Lizzie deal with the new addition? How do we get them
acclimated to each other? Do we rub the new one's body with a worn t-shirt of
Lizzie's so that the new one smells like her? That's cats you dumb ass.

I thought back to every time we had sex. We used condoms and I didn't remember

any of them breaking. I reversed directions and headed to my car; once there, I
quickly started it up and drove home.

I took a hot shower, trying to relax my body which had previously been exhausted

and ready for bed, but was now wound up with the possibilities of having another
kid. Did Bella even want kids? We hadn't even said I love you, let alone discussed
white picket fences and bundles of joy. I let myself wander along those lines and was
half-way to proposing to her when I stopped myself short - How do I even know if
she was pregnant? I'll just have to be patient and wait for her to tell me.

With that thought in mind, I hopped out of the shower and changed into a pair of

sleep pants and went downstairs to watch tv as I waited for Bella to come home.

Three hours and four episodes of Don't Lie to Me later, Bella finally walked into

the house looking as if her cat died. She immediately found me and collapsed into
my arms.

"You alright?" I asked into her hair as her warm breath tickled along my skin.

She shook her head.

"Want to talk about it?" I asked.

She shook her head again. "I just want you to hold me." Her voice was rough as if

she had been crying.

I pulled her in tighter to my chest and ran my fingers through her hair, dragging

my fingertips along her scalp. She burrowed into my side as I started up another
show to watch, this time House, M.D. since she liked had confessed to having a
mini-crush on Hugh Laurie.

Halfway through, I noticed that she was no longer laughing at the antics of Dr.

House and realized she had fallen asleep. I turned off the tv, gently lifted her in my
arms and made my way up to my bed, turning off the lights as I went. Carefully, so
as not to wake her, I laid her down in the bed and stripped her of her clothes. My
pajama pants were quickly tossed on the floor as I slid into bed pulling Bella into my
arms carefully. I quickly fell asleep with dreams of babies and bottles floating in my

- 108 -

head.

Thursday morning was bright and clear as I woke to the sound of Bella heaving

her guts out. When I heard that sound, all I could think of was that's it, we're
pregnant! I wonder if it would be too soon to propose to her this weekend? I walked
into the bathroom and held her hair back for her and helped her back to bed when
she was done. It was a good thing Bella was still half asleep, since it was hard for me
to wipe the goofy grin off my face.

I had another killer shift starting later this morning, but Bella had to be in to work

at nine for an interview with whoever it was that was investigating her case. An
hour after she emptied her stomach, she started getting ready to go into work, and
kissed me before she left. I was hoping that she would tell me that we were
pregnant sooner rather than later. The tension was killing me.

Thursday afternoon blurred into Friday morning quickly. My mind was

preoccupied with all the different arrangements that would be needed to welcome
the new little one into our family. This, along with the stress of Lizzie not being
home and that mess, added to the mess of worry and fear that sat in my stomach
like a lump of cold oatmeal.

I was tempted to pull Bella's file from records and check and see the results for

myself, but I knew that it would be a gigantic violation if I got caught. It wasn't
worth it to me to know for sure. Bella would tell me.

One of my favorite patients was being released in the middle of my shift. Thomas

Danville, age sixty-two, had come in with a mild cardiac arrest, but had
complications during surgery. He had been kept under observation for an extra
couple of days to make sure the complications didn't lead to anything else. His wife,
Betty had been at the hospital constantly. Their two gray heads were constantly bent
together in conversation, as if plotting how to break him out of the hospital if he had
to be here any longer. I was constantly being badgered and kept on my toes by
Betty's requests to get Thomas released. We were finally able to clear him today and
they were going home.

It was their level of devotion that made me realize that that was what I wanted

with Bella. I wanted to know that in thirty five years from now, we would be just as
completely in love with each other as I am with her now. Seeing the two of them
cemented my resolve to propose to Bella tonight.

After my shift, I went home and collapsed. Bella had called earlier in the day to

leave me a message saying that she would be at Alice's house, and not to expect her

- 109 -

till later.

I slept until she got home but she was just as quiet as she had been Wednesday

night.

"Do you want to go out to dinner tonight, baby?" I said, hoping the word baby

would prompt her into telling me the good news.

"Yeah, I don't really feel like cooking right now." she sighed as she fell back

against the couch.

"How 'bout Le Creperie?" I asked. It was one of her favorite places and would be

just the right type of mood for what I had planned.

"That sounds good."

We went to the restaurant and had a romantic dinner; the live jazz band played in

the background. Throughout dinner we held hands, the softness of her small
delicate hand so warm in mine. I was so nervous I nearly blurted it out in the middle
of dinner, but realized, the closeness of the tables together wouldn't make it quite as
special as I wanted it to be. We took a walk down to the beach, to wander on the
sand, after dinner. She looked so beautiful with the light from the setting sun
making her glow. I took a couple of moments to prepare myself, running my hand
through my hair, fiddling with the ring in my pocket, which I swear got heavier with
every moment I waited, and just plunged in head first.

"Bella, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" I waited on bended knee

for her answer, the sand still warm from the heat of the day.

BPOV

Edward had been acting weird most of the week. I couldn't place my finger on

what it was that was different with him, but I knew it was there. Between Lizzie
being taken, the investigation, and Alice getting sick, I didn't need this added
tension to the mix.

I had been spending most of my days helping Alice at home, who was recovering

from her surgery. Bridgette loved to help out, but Alice needed someone to make
sure she rested and didn't try to push herself too hard.

Friday night rolled around, and I was so worn out from helping Alice, I easily

acquiesced to Edward's suggestion of dinner at one of my favorite restaurants.

- 110 -

Throughout dinner I was only half listening to the conversation with Edward, just

managing to nod and mumble at the right points. We finished it up and walked down
to the beach that I loved so much. I was staring off at the lights from Palas Verdes as
they reflected on the water, trying to imagine what it would look like without the
port of Long Beach and Los Angeles between there and here. I turned to Edward
after he tugged at my hand and found him kneeling on one knee looking earnestly at
me.

"Bella, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" I stood there in shock for a

moment.

"What?" I finally managed to gasp out, ripping my hand out of his in shock.

"Will you marry me?" He pulled an antique ring out of his pocket, and took my left

hand holding it at the tip of my ring finger.

"Why? Don't get me wrong, Edward, I'd love to marry you, but we've only been

dating for a month. Isn't this a little sudden?" His face fell and I could barely stand
to see the hurt look in his eyes.

Edward, still on his knee, pleaded with his eyes and said, "Yeah, it is sudden, but

when you know, you know. My parents only dated two months before they got
engaged, and they've been married thirty-five years."

"I don't know Edward. Can we do this later? It feels really sudden to me. We don't

even have your daughter back. Can we shelve this for now and discuss it when we're
both not under so much stress?"

"Yeah, but I would think you would want to get married before you got bigger," He

said as he got up from his knee and wrapped his arms around me, with my back
resting against his front, his hands on my stomach.

"Bigger? Am I gaining weight?" Now I was really confused.

"Well, you know, with the baby."

What the - ??? "Edward, do you think I'm pregnant?" I asked, barely whispering

the last word. I turned around in his arms to look in his face.

"Well, yeah." he said, his brows drawing together.

"Edward, I'm not pregnant." My mind scrambled to come up with how Edward

- 111 -

managed to go from point A to point C without a stop for point B which was
apparently where the logic was being handed out.

"But you had morning sickness. On Thursday morning." He cocked his head to the

side in confusion.

"I had food poisoning. Rosalie and I had some bad sushi." I felt my body getting

colder in the warm air.

"But you were at the hospital?" This time it came out as a question. "On

Wednesday? They ordered a pregnancy test, and an ultrasound."

"That was for Alice. They thought she had an Ectopic Pregnancy." I said, trying to

fight back the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Oh," the disappointment was evident in his voice. He stared at the sand as if

someone kicked his puppy.

"Did you only propose because of the pregnancy?" I asked horror rising as I

realized the implications of his proposal.

"No, I love you! I know I've never said it, but I do, I love you! That's why I want us

to get married." his eyes went wild.

"Yeah, but you only proposed when you thought I was pregnant. You can't deny

that if you hadn't thought I was pregnant, you would have never proposed."

"No, but I want this! I never thought about it till this situation came up, but I know

this is right Bella." The stubborn tilt to his chin made me realize that he wasn't
going to be giving up anytime soon.

"How do I know that you'd only want me if I was pregnant, Edward?" the tears

that were fighting to break free, finally did and tracked down my face. "Well, I guess
the jokes on you since there's a low probability of me ever getting pregnant." I
couldn't help the bitterness that tinged my tone.

"What?" he said in a strangled voice. The devastation on his face was enough to

keep the tears rolling down my face.

"I was diagnosed with cervical cancer ten years ago. If I got pregnant, which

would be very unlikely, I would most likely be unable to carry to full term. It would
be a very high risk pregnancy. But you know that, you're a doctor." I sneered.

- 112 -

"But - "

"I don't think I can do any more of this tonight," I cut him off, not willing to listen

to the platitudes I was sure to receive. I'd heard them all before and had no
tolerance for them. "I'm tired. My best friend is recovering from surgery, and it
hurts too much thinking that you only want me for what I can produce."

I turned away from him and started to walk away, but was brought up short by his

hand on my arm. "Where are you going? Your house isn't finished yet."

"Alice's house. Her couch is calling my name," the tone of my voice sounded dead

even to my ears.

"Will you at least let me walk you there? I don't like you being out here in the dark

alone."

"Fine." I walked quickly, going over the events in my head trying to figure out

what had happened and how we had gone from normal to nightmare in the course of
a conversation. What could I have done to prevent this tragedy?

I texted Jasper on the way over and when we arrived, the door was unlocked. I

turned to Edward and dodged his lips as he moved to kiss me, his lips brushing my
cheek. I pulled back to see the desolation and hurt in his eyes and tried to offer him
a bit of salve to his pain saying, "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Edward."

I walked into the house and headed toward the kitchen where there was still a

light on. Jasper was standing there in the kitchen, pulling two mugs out of the
cupboard and pouring us a steaming cup of coffee. I moved to one of the bar stools
and stared at the dark brew, hoping that it would give me answers to all of my life's
mysteries.

"Forty-two," Jasper's voice broke the silence.

"Huh?" I asked completely confused as my eyes met his twinkling ones.

"Forty-two. It's the answer. To Life, the Universe, and Everything." He grinned at

me in a way that never failed to alert me to his random moments.

"Oh, jeez," I chuckled when I realized what he was referring to. The weight of the

conversation between Edward and I was temporarily lifted by Jasper's humor. "You
and your Douglas Adams addiction. How many times have you read that book?"

- 113 -

"Hey, it managed to make you laugh."

"True."

"You want to talk about it?" he asked, suddenly serious.

"Talk about what?" I deflected.

"You can't bluff me Bella, I may not know you as long as Alice, but I've picked up

on all your tells. You're upset," he commented knowingly.

"You're right. But I don't want to talk about it. I want to drink about it; you up for

beer at Murphy's?"

"Yeah, let me go tell Alice, and we'll head on down there," he said as he walked

toward their bedroom.

"Alright." I dumped both cups of coffee into the sink and walked to the couch in

the living room where I had dropped off my purse. I pulled some cash, my id, and my
keys and tucked them into the back pocket of my jeans.

"Ready?" Jasper asked as he walked up, shrugging into a zip-up hoodie.

"Yeah. How's she doing?" I asked as we stepped out into the night. It had gotten a

little chilly and I pulled my sweater closer to me as we started walking up the street
to Murphy's.

"She's alright. Hates being on bedrest, but is putting up with it for now. Every

time I come home from work, I'm certain I'm going to find her up and about, doing
something crazy. I feel like I should tie her to the bed in the mornings to make sure
she doesn't get up."

I chuckled at the visual of that dancing in my head. "Yeah, I've never known her

stay down for long. Just wait a week, she'll be up and about by then."

"I'm going to just have to threaten her then, I guess. Maybe she'll stay down for

the baby's sake." I looked over and saw the frown that marred his face.

"I hope so. Not that it's good that she had appendicitis, but I'm so glad that the

pains weren't caused by the ectopic pregnancy, that would have been horrible. For
the both of you. There was enough stress on her body from the appendicitis, it's a
miracle she didn't loose the baby as well."

- 114 -

"I'm just glad they're all right." he said, his relief tinging his voice.

"Rose told me after we got to the hospital that she was scared it was an ectopic

pregnancy but didn't want to say anything to Alice since it would probably freak her
out. She knew that there was no chance of keeping the baby if it was. We both
breathed a sigh of relief when they found the baby in the right place on the
ultrasound."

"I'm so glad that the both of you were with her then. I'm pretty sure I would have

been useless with worry."

"Yeah, probably," I agreed with a chuckle. We had arrived at Murphy's, headed up

the stairs, and took a seat at the bar.

My favorite bartender, Angela, was on and immediately came over as we climbed

onto the barstools. Her straight cut bangs were a dark fringe above her eyes, just
touching her eyebrows. She had a red and white bandana tied around her head,
keeping her hair out of the way. Her black polk-a-dot button down with short cap
sleeves did nothing to hide the tattoos that bled across her arms. The full sleeves
were a walking advertisement for the quality artwork her boyfriend Ben was able to
create. Although hers were all in the sailor jerry style, he was able to branch out and
do other styles as well. He had done the work on the few tattoos that I had.

"The usual?" she asked as she pulled two glasses out of the refrigerated case. At

our nod, she poured a Guinness for me and a Smithwick's for Jasper. The head of the
beer slopped a bit over the sides as she put them on the little cardboard coasters in
front of us. "Did I show you my new ink?" Angela asked as we took our first sips,
wagging her eyebrows.

I shook my head and she turned her head to her left and pulled the collar of her

shirt away from her neck to show a fresh tattoo of leopard spots running up the back
of her neck into her hair behind her ear.

"Wow," I said admiring the piece. "That's nice. How's his work going? Steady?"

"Yeah; between the new shop he and his partner opened in Downtown Long

Beach, and the original shop in San Pedro, he's pretty busy."

"That's good," I said as I nursed my Guinness.

"Alright, Bella, now spill," Angela said, spreading her arms over the bar.

- 115 -

Jasper bust out in a howl of laughter that made me jump.

"What?" Angela asked when Jasper calmed down. "You've rarely been in here

since you started dating that Edward guy, and you look all mopey right now. Care to
tell me why you're here instead of with him?"

"He proposed," I said completely lacking in emotion.

Jasper's jaw dropped as Angela screeched, "What?"

"He proposed. Tonight. After dinner."

"And?" Angela turned her hand over and over to indicate that I needed to continue

my story.

"I asked him why. I said it seemed kinda sudden to me, and we decided to discuss

it at another time."

Jasper had managed to pick his jaw up off the ground and got involved in the

conversation again. "That couldn't be the only reason you were wanting to get drunk
tonight."

"He thought I was pregnant. He saw me walk into the hospital room when I was

there with Alice and thought I was there to get a pregnancy test."

"Fu-" Jasper cut himself off from finishing the rest of the word as he pulled me into

a one-armed hug. "I'm sorry. Did you tell him about the cancer thing?"

"Yeah. I also told him it would be highly unlikely for me to get pregnant."

"And what did he say?" Angela asked.

"He didn't say anything. I got mad and wouldn't let him talk about it. I came to

your house," I nodded my head in Jasper's direction, "saying that I was spending the
night there."

"Bella, sweetie, you can't do that." Angela spoke as if she was talking to a

kindergartner. "You have to talk about your problems. You can't fix them if you don't
discuss them."

Damn her and her voice of reason.

- 116 -

"What if that wasn't the issue for him?" Jasper added. "You never told him before

about your bout with cancer, how do you expect him to know. Maybe he was just
processing that information and didn't have the reaction you were expecting."

"Yeah, but he should have asked me about the pregnancy thing," I complained,

"instead of just assuming that I was pregnant. We could have avoided this whole
problem all together if he just asked me about it from the beginning."

"You're right," Jasper conceded. "It would have been better if he asked you about

it instead of jumping the gun, but I think you were both wrong. You guys need to sit
down and discuss this instead of ignoring the issue."

"Bella," Angela said, "do you love Edward?"

"Yes." I said as I realized it had been in my heart for a while, I just never gave

voice to the feeling sliding around, warming me from the inside out.

"Then you owe it to yourself, to talk to him about it," Angela said, concern lacing

her voice.

"Alright, fine, you win, I'll talk to him about it. I already told him I'd call him

tomorrow," I divulged on a sigh.

"Well, at least that's a step in the right direction," Jasper commented. He turned

to Angela and said with a grin, "Now, Ang, keep the beer coming, we're going to get
plastered."

She chuckled as she turned away, grabbing a couple more glasses as we clinked

our nearly empty glasses together, "To Life, the Universe, and Everything."

A/N: The holidays are here and I'm just going to warn you now, I will most

likely not post next week, seeing as I will be on a mini-vacation with the fam,
and will have no internet. I will still write, it just might be a while till I post.
Hopefully not as long as this was....

Please review! Hearing from you gets me motivated to write...

What is your favorite romantic restaurant?

- 117 -

Hangovers and Marshmallows

A/N: Thanks to the beta extraordinaire: Pire. Can't wait for ToaF!

Sorry it's so late, people, your patience astounds me. Thanks to everyone

who reviewed! I read each and every one of them.

I'm seeing a light at the end of the tunnel for this story. Probably only

three or four more chapters and an epilogue...

Twilight and all it's characters are under the ownership of Ms. Meyer. I

don't own.

Happy Reading!

The song I was listening to a lot when writing this was Dancing With Tears

In My Eyes by Ke$ha. Kinda appropriate for where Bella is throughout most
of this chapter.

Exes and Ohs

Chapter Twelve

Hangovers and Marshmallows

EPOV

How. The. Fuck. Did. That. Happen? I kept turning the conversation we had over

and over in my head as I tossed and turned all night. My heart ached, missing the
warmth of Bella in my bed which I had gotten used to.

A few times, I grabbed my cell phone to call her, flipped through the contact list to

her name, hovered my finger over the green button, but flipped the phone closed
and dropped it back onto the table where it had been charging. I had no idea how to
fix the mess that we had landed in, and hoped that there was a way back from here.

I knew that I was responsible for part of it, but if she had talked to me when Alice

first went in the hospital, most of this could have been resolved. When she started
cutting me out of the conversation, I was so hurt. We needed to talk through our

- 118 -

problems, not run away from them. And that's what she did. The more I thought
back on the conversation, the more frustrated I got with how she handled the
situation. No more of this, you'll just make it worse. You'll cross that bridge when
you get there.

My thoughts turned to my daughter, missing her with every part of my being. I

wondered if Esme was doing okay with her nightmares. She was bound to be having
some with the way she had been taken from me. The nights were the worst, since I
was used to her small body crawling into bed with me at least once a week.

I missed the smell of her clean hair, the enthusiasm in which she embraced life,

and the impossible questions she was always asking. She was the reason why I kept
going at work, when things got rough. The way she would run at me screaming my
name when I got home; when she asked me if I saved anybody at work, made it
easier for me to get through the long shifts. She made this life worth living, and
when Bella came into our lives I didn't think it could get any better. From the way
Bella immediately put Lizzie at ease, to the way she fit into our family as if she was
the missing piece, made me realize how much Bella was meant to be. I didn't
understand how Bella could have casually tossed us aside.

It was nine o'clock the next morning when the ringing of my phone brought me

out of the half-asleep stupor I had finally managed to fall into an hour earlier. I
rubbed my eyes a bit trying to clear my head of the foggy pounding. Bella. I
scrambled to grab the phone, hoping that it was her.

"Hello?" I asked, anticipation making my stomach churn.

"Hey, Edward? This is Carlisle," his smooth voice came out through the phone.

"Yeah, Carlisle, what's going on?" I asked as I got out of bed, trying to keep the

disappointment out of my voice.

"I know that this is going to sound odd, but I'm going to have to hand your case off

to one of my fellow partners. It's going to be a conflict of interest for me to continue
in the lead position on this case."

"What the hell, Carlisle?" I roared into the phone, momentarily putting Bella to the

back of my mind. I couldn't keep from pacing the floor and tugging on my hair at
this bit of news.

"I feel that with my situation with Esme, it would be better that Garrett and Kate

take over the case so that there isn't any sense of impropriety going on. There is

- 119 -

enough of the implied unseemliness going on already, I don't want to add to it. Both
Kate and Garrett are up to speed on what's going on in the case. I am more than
comfortable having them take charge of it."

"Really, Carlisle?" I asked incredulously. "You're abandoning me to a pair of

lawyers I don't know and have never worked with? How do I know that they're going
to do what need to be done to get me my daughter back?"

"Edward. Calm down." Carlisle's smooth voice managed to take the edge off of my

anger. "Kate and Garrett are actually better at this kind of thing. This is their
specialty, and in fact, when this came up I was asking them for direction a lot of
time. I'm not as practiced in laws governing adolescents. They are actually a better
choice if you want to get Lizzie back."

"Fine, but I want a meeting with them Monday," I sighed resignedly.

"I'll let them know you're coming in. Stop by my office before you head to theirs."

"Yeah, I'll see you."

How could my life get any worse?

BPOV

My entire body ached. I knew that the second to last beer at the bar should have

been my last. It didn't help that we also stopped and picked up a six-pack on the way
back to the house and decided to polish them off. The red haze of my eyelids still
covering my eyeballs let me know that it was light outside, and even that small
amount of light was enough to have my head pounding in pure agony. My entire
body ached as I rolled over trying to escape the sunlight pouring down on my face.

The soft thud that accompanied the small weight that hit my back was unexpected

and caused me to jump. I ignored it, figuring if someone wanted to get my attention,
they'd do other things. A second thud came as the same type of object made contact
with my shoulder. My forehead hit the back of the couch as the third object hit the
back of my head hard enough to make my head move forward an inch.

I rolled over and cracked my eyelids, just barely making out Alice and Bridgette

sitting across from me on the love seat. Alice was sitting sideways on the couch with
her back against one of the armrests. Brii was sitting underneath Alice's propped up
knees. They were both still in their pajamas and there was a bag of marshmallows
propped up in Alice's lap. I wasn't sure who was throwing them, either Brii or Alice,

- 120 -

since neither of them had a marshmallow in hand.

"What?" I croaked out. My mouth tasted like armpit and my throat felt like

sandpaper. Water. I need water.

"There's a bottle of water on the end table by your head." Alice said quietly. I

know she whispered but it felt like she was talking in a normal voice. "There's also a
couple of asprins there as well."

Thank. God. I quickly pulled my arm out from the entangled blankets and reached

over to grab the bottle. The two small pills made it into my mouth after taking a few
small sips. I tried to keep my eyes closed as much as possible while doing these
small tasks, but that proved difficult when I nearly poured the water down my shirt
instead of in my mouth. It also didn't help that I was still laying down. I was highly
suspicious of Alice's quietness, so I cracked my eyes and looked over at her again.

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" I asked in a voice that sounded as if I had

been smoking for twenty years. I closed my eyes again, trying to keep my head from
pounding.

"I'm on bed rest, not bed ridden. Jasper carried me out here, and as long as I stay

put, he's okay with it."

"Where is he?" I asked hoping he felt just as shitty as I was feeling.

"He went back to bed as soon as he carried me out here." Great, so he left me in

the clutches of the little dictator. Traitor. I grunted at her in response and took
another small sip of water.

"What time is it?" I asked in my gravelly voice, not willing to open my eyes long

enough to find a clock.

"Eleven o'clock. I figured you should be up since you got in at one last night," she

paused for a moment, "So?" she asked, throwing another marshmallow at me.
Luckily it hit my arm and not my head. I cracked an eye again and glared at the bag
of marshmallows.

"So what?" I scrunched my face up in confusion.

"So where's the ring?" she was peering at my hands as if they held something

precious.

- 121 -

"What ring?" Now I was really confused.

"Your engagement ring, silly!" Her voice went up a couple of notches and I

screwed my eyes tight with pounding in my head.

"Don't have one," I said shortly.

"What? Jasper said Edward proposed," her voice was taking on a more

authoritative tone.

"He did," I replied.

"So?" she asked in what felt like a shout.

"I said no," I said as I braced myself for her reaction.

"What?" she screeched. I tried to burry my head under the pillow at the sound of

her shrill voice. "Why?"

"Cause we've only been dating for four weeks!" I said exasperatedly, sitting up as

I nearly yelled at her. I immediately regretted it since the pounding in my head felt
as if my brain was trying to escape my skull. I screwed my eyes up tight and fell
back against the pillows.

"Oh, Bella, how long are you going to let what that asshole Felix did to you dictate

how you live your life?" her sad voice was so soft I barely heard it, but it hit me hard
when I did.

And that was it right there. Jasper had never known about Felix, so he wouldn't

have been able to draw the right conclusions about the real problem with Edward's
proposal. When I was in college, it had been so hard for me to form any intimate
relationships after what my foster father, James, had put me through. I was so
scared of being hurt. Alice was constantly trying to get me to date, and she had set
me up on the 'perfect' date. He seemed perfect. He knew exactly what to say,
exactly how to put my guard down. We fell into a very close relationship shortly
after that first date.

We were engaged within six weeks. Alice had said she thought we were taking it

too fast. I didn't believe her. He knew me so well, it was almost as if he had done
research on me. Truth came out and he had. The week after his proposal, I showed
up at his apartment unannounced and found out the truth of our relationship quite
quickly.

- 122 -

He and his friends had a betting pool to see how long he would take to get me into

bed. There was a large whiteboard which was tracking our relationship, from our
first kiss, to our engagement last week. From what I could tell, many of them bet
that the engagement would be the thing to seal the deal. I threw the ring that had
meant so much to me at his head and fled the apartment. Alice and I had a chocolate
and Ben & Jerry's weekend, crying my eyes out into many pints of ice cream
goodness. Alice never tried to set me up on a date again.

Another marshmallow spinning past my head brought me out of my reverie. "I was

scared," I admitted. At some point during my trip down memory lane, Bridgette had
left the room. I could hear the faint sounds of the TV turn on from in her room.

Alice let the silence drag out, knowing that at this point it was best to just let me

get it all out.

"All I could think was about what had happened previously. I," I paused, trying to

find the words to explain my reaction. "I panicked. I said no."

"Alright. That's pretty bad, but that's not reason enough for why you're so badly

hungover." Alice said. Damn, I thought that would be enough confession time for
Bella. Might as well get this all out.

"He thought I was pregnant," I said the tears burning my eyes.

Alice gasped, bringing her hand up to her throat in shock.

"He was in the hospital when we brought you in for the appendicitis." I continued

as the tears I could never stop whenever this subject came up, rolled down my
cheeks. "He saw me going into your room, but didn't see either you or Rose there
with me. He assumed I was the one who had the pregnancy test, and when I had
food poisoning, he chalked it up to morning sickness." I had resigned myself to the
possibility of never having kids and when Edward had thought I was pregnant, it
reopened the wound I thought had healed.

"What did you say?" her voice echoed a bit in the stillness.

"What else could I say Alice? I was mad. I was hurt. I angrily told him that it was

highly unlikely to ever get pregnant because of the cervical cancer. I'm not sure
what else I said, not much registered at that point." I paused again, thinking back on
what I could remember of the conversation.

"I think he said he loved me, Alice," my heart broke thinking back to the panicked

- 123 -

look in his eyes as he realized what he said wasn't making a difference. "I think I
hurt him badly."

"What else did you say?" she prompted.

"I don't remember much; just wanted to get to your house and get away from the

situation," I said quietly.

"So you decided that the best thing to do would be to, run away and go get drunk

with Jasper?" Alice said in an exasperated tone, summarizing what happened.

"Yeah, I was already not thinking straight, why not make it worse?" I said glumly.

"So you decided to try and drink Jasper under the table? The man who can put

away more alcohol than you and me together?" Her smug grin irritated me.

"Yeah, he helped me sort through some things though," I said, defending myself.

"And?"

"He and Angela helped me realize that I reacted really badly," I said on a sigh.

"And?" she asked again.

"And I'm going to call him and apologize. I had already planned on talking to him

today and talking about it since I wasn't very rational last night. I just figured I'd
take a bit of time to sort out my head before discussing it further."

"Good. You do realize how much that man loves you right?" My heart ached when

she asked that question.

"Yeah, it sunk in after the second beer. Angela told me she would never let me

drink Leinenkugels after that," I said with a slight grin at Angela's lecture on not
ruining a good Guinness with tears.

"What are you going to do about his proposal?"

"I'm not sure." I started playing nervously with the binding on the quilt. "Now that

I've thought about it and stopped freaking out, I wish my answer was different. But I
think I've screwed it up. I don't know if I can fix this."

"Well, your phone's right next to you. Call him and find out what's going on," she

- 124 -

said with a small smile.

I sat up as I reach over to pick up the phone with trepidation and called him. He

answered on the second ring with a very short, "Yeah?"

"Edward?" I asked tentatively.

"Yeah?" he said again this time with resignation in his voice.

"It's - It's Bella. I said I'd call," I paused. "I wanted to talk about last night and

maybe explain some things that happened. Can I come over?" I rushed to get the
last part out before my courage gave out.

"Yeah, when will you be here?" he asked shortly.

"Thirty minutes?"

"Fine, see you then," he said abruptly as he hung up the phone. I stared at my

phone for a minute just trying to figure out if there was any hope of our relationship
continuing. It didn't seem like it from the conversation we just had.

"Well?" Alice's quiet question broke me from my self-destructive thoughts.

"I'm going to meet him at his house. He didn't seem happy about it though."

"Well, you hurt him pretty badly, you probably need to do some groveling and a

serious amount of asking for forgiveness. You better get going though, you have
what thirty minutes to get there?"

"Yeah," I said starting to get up.

"Well, you smell rancid. Go take a shower, and tell Brii to come out here on the

way to the bathroom." Alice ordered in her 'won't take no for an answer' voice. Ah,
there's my favorite little dictator.

"Alright." I walked slowly to the hallway, knocked on Bridgette's door, and

finished walking to the shower. I was startled when I first looked into the mirror. My
reflection was heinous: mascara running down my face and my hair a mess from
sleeping on it. I brushed out my hair and trudged into the shower, making it quick.
When I got out, there was an pile of folded clothes waiting for me on the counter;
Bridgette must have dropped them off for me. I did the bare minimum make-up,
mascara and lipgloss, and walked out to the kitchen.

- 125 -

"Much better; feeling better?" Alice said from her perch on one of the stools.

"I thought you weren't supposed to be up and about." I asked suspiciously.

"I'm allowed to make small trips," she said indignantly. "Before you leave you can

help me back to the couch, and I'll stay there for the rest of the day."

"Alright."

"There's coffee for you in the travel mug, and a couple of muffins left over from

last week's baking. The keys to my car are on the hook. I figured you would need
some way to get there. My largest, darkest pair of sunglasses are in the glovebox.
Now take me out to the living room."

Rather than argue with her I helped her out to the living room and tucked a

couple of blankets around her. I quickly searched the room for the tv remote, finding
it between the cushions of Jasper's favorite armchair. Bridgette came in while I was
looking and started a DVD, then sat on the couch next to Alice. I walked back into
the kitchen, grabbing the things Alice had set out for me, and walked out to Alice's
car.

My eyes felt immediate relief as I slipped on Alice's sunglasses and started up the

car. I took a few gulps of coffee, and bit into the blueberry muffin before putting the
car in gear and starting on the quick drive to Edward's. When I got there, the
muffins were gone, but there was a little coffee left, so I sat there for a few minutes,
finishing it and trying to screw up enough courage to walk myself up to the front
door.

I rang the doorbell and heard it echoing throughout the house. The door opened,

and I was treated to nearly the same sight as when I first met Edward at his home so
many weeks ago. That day, while only a little over a month previous, seemed like
ages ago. The only difference in how he looked was the hurt and bruised look in his
eyes. It made my heart ache, realizing that I was the one responsible for putting that
look there. I never wanted to see that look in his eyes again. I made a resolution
then and there to make sure it never happened again.

He took a step back without saying a word, allowing me entrance into the house. I

stepped into the foyer as I waited him to shut the door, and followed him into the
family room and sat on one of the couches. He sat opposite and I carefully slipped
my sunglasses from off my eyes, squinting a bit at the brightness of the sunlight in
the room.

- 126 -

"You wanted to talk," he said quietly. "So talk."

"First thing I would like to say is: I'm sorry," I started out. He nodded his head in

acknowledgement. "I reacted badly to your proposal last night and that's of no fault
of yours. It's a long story and I don't know if you want to hear it."

"Yes, please tell me why you so callously said no." I felt hurt at the dig even if I

deserved it.

"When I was in college, I got engaged. We had only know each other for a little

while but I thought I was so in love, I said yes. A week after our engagement, I found
out that it was an elaborate ruse to see when he could get in my pants. There was
this large betting pool going on among all his buddies.

"When you proposed, it made me think that it was happening again. It was a gut

level reaction to what you were saying. It was illogical, and after thinking about it, I
know that you would never have proposed to me without a lot of thought and
consideration on your part. Even though it was partly because you thought I was
pregnant, I still know you well enough that I know that you didn't go into this lightly.
You wouldn't have proposed if this wasn't something you really wanted.

"The whole pregnancy thing was like the last nail in the coffin for me," I

continued, blinking back tears I hoped had been done with. "More than one of the
break-ups have been contributed to the fact that I will most likely not able to have a
baby. I've resigned myself to the idea that I will probably never conceive, but when
you thought I was pregnant, it just reminded me of everything I couldn't have. I
can't give you kids, and I don't want to loose you because of that."

"That explains why," Edward said after a moment of silence, "but it doesn't fix the

hurt I feel. I love you, and I can't handle it when you just push aside something and
refuse to discuss it with me. You cut me out of the argument as if I didn't matter."

"I love you, too. So much. I know I reacted badly last night. Please just give me a

second chance." I didn't care anymore about dignity, I would beg on my knees if I
had to.

"How can we do this Bella? How can we keep going?" The hurt continued to tinge

his voice.

"I want to be with you Edward. More than anything. I don't want to give you up," I

said imploringly.

- 127 -

"How do I know that this won't just happen again, that you won't just freak out

because I want to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you? Because that is
what I want. More than anything," he said as if giving up on getting what he wanted.

"I want it too, Edward," I pleaded. He shook his head slowly, not saying anything

else.

"I'll prove it to you then." I got down on one knee -- the same position he was in

last night. "Edward, you mean more to me than life itself, will you marry me?" I
asked softly.

A/N: My beta did research into why a marshmallow is called a

marshmallow. This is what she found:"Stems of marsh mallow [plant] were
peeled to reveal the soft and spongy pith with a texture similar to
manufactured marshmallow." I know... she's awesome...

I'm rec'ing non-cannon couple fics because that's what I've been reading

of late.

Notion by Dalia907. A really good Emmett/Bella fic. AH

The Air That I Breathe by Journey2002 a Bella/Jasper fic. AU

Anybody got any rec's for me?

Please review! I love hearing your take on every chapter. Even if it's just a

yay or a nay. It encourages me to write more. It also thrills me when I find
that some of my favorite parts are also your favorite parts. :D

Ever had an irrational reaction to something that turned out to be

innocent?

- 128 -

Reunions and Makeups

A/N: To the best beta in the world, you rock my socks! Thanks Pire!

Sorry this is late, but I'm making it up to you by giving you a lemon... RL

has been interesting to say the least.

Thank you for all the reviews people! You guys put this little story over

600!!!! WHOOT WHOOT!!!

Twilight and all it's characters are under the ownership of Ms. Meyers. I

don't own!

Happy Reading!

Exes and Ohs

Chapter 13

Reunions and Make-ups

Previously

"How do I know that this won't just happen again, that you won't just freak out

because I want to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you? Because that is
what I want. More than anything," he said as if giving up on getting what he wanted.

"I want it too, Edward," I pleaded. He shook his head slowly, not saying anything

else.

"I'll prove it to you then." I got down on one knee -- the same position he was in

last night. "Edward, you mean more to me than life itself, will you marry me?" I
asked softly.

BPOV

"Um, huh, what?" Edward asked, flustered. I could see the confusion quickly

overtake the anger and pain in his eyes.

- 129 -

"Will you marry me?" I asked again.

"Yes -- No -- Wait, I'm the one who's supposed to ask," he said as he pulled me up

onto the couch next to him.

"Well, I figured since I'm the one who messed up the first time, I should ask this

time. So what do you say?"

"I-- " Edward's panicking face looked relieved when he heard the phone ring. He

reached over to grab the wireless extension while still holding onto me tightly. I
fiddled with the hem of my shirt, trying to keep myself busy, trying to pretend as if
my heart wasn't in danger.

"Yes?" he asked. He squeezed the arm that was snaked around my waist, smiling

at me nervously when I looked up into his eyes.

"You want me to come in now? What about Jefferson?" He paused for a moment

listening to the other person on the line. "Alright, I'll see you in about twenty," he
said before hanging up the phone.

"Baby," Edward said as he turned me in his arms to look into my eyes, "I love you,

but I'm not going to answer that question. Only because I want you to be the one to
answer it. I'm old-fashioned and right now is not the time for me to ask again. And I
will ask again."

I nodded at him, trying to keep from being disappointed. "Was that work?" I

asked, recognizing the mention of one of his fellow surgeons.

"Yeah, there's a large scale trauma and they are calling in any surgeons who can

make it in. The 405 overpass collapsed and they're flying the injured in as fast as
they can. I'll be back home when I can. Please stay here. I don't think I can handle
another night without you." The pleading look in his eyes was the same as Lizzie's
when she wanted something. Damn, I can never say no to that!

"Alright. I'll see you when you get back." Edward got up, found his keys, and

headed towards the garage.

I sat there staring off into space for a bit and then decided that I had to do

something or I would make myself crazy. I did the one thing that was guaranteed to
be mindless; cleaning. I was finishing up vacuuming the family room when my phone
started ringing. I dug through my purse to find the thing.

- 130 -

"Hello?" I asked, not recognizing the number that was on the screen.

"Bella?" Esme's voice came through the tiny speaker.

"Esme, how are you doing?" I asked, glad to hear from her.

"Good, I have some news for you." Esme said with relief tingeing her voice.

"Really, can I come back to work now?" I asked jokingly.

"Yes, but we discovered some things during the investigation and I really need to

talk to you about it in person."

"Alright." I said, my relief about getting my job back overshadowed by the worry

of what they could have discovered. "I'm at Edward's right now, do you want to
come over? Either that or I can meet you for coffee somewhere."

"Edward's house is fine. See you in thirty?"

I gave her directions and we quickly said our goodbyes. The kitchen was calling

my name as I walked in to do the thing that always relieved my stress. Baking. I had
put the first batch of cookies in the oven when I heard the doorbell ring. Upon
opening the door, my lower half was immediately enveloped in warmth as I felt two
little arms wrap around my hips. I looked down and saw Lizzie's head buried in my
stomach.

"Lizzie girl, what are you doing here?" I asked as I swung her up into my arms and

buried my nose in her soft hair. I pulled her tighter to me as relief swept through me
at being able to hold her again. I am never letting her go again. Ever.

"Auntie Esme said I could come visit with her," she whispered in my ear. My eyes

found Esme's and I motioned for her to come in the door.

"Thank you," I said as I hugged her with one arm, not bothering to put Lizzie

down.

"I knew you and Edward would want to see her. Is he here?" Esme asked.

"Yeah, where's Daddy?" Lizzie perked up, looking around the room as if he were

there; she just had to spot him.

"He got called into work, there was an emergency." The pout on her face was so

- 131 -

cute I just had to say something to cheer her up. "There's cookies in the oven,
though."

Her face brightened. "That's almost as good as having Daddy."

After we walked into the kitchen, I settled Lizzie on the counter, immediately

grabbing a spoonful of cookie dough and handing it to her. I let her down and
watched as she wandered off to the family room, which was open to the kitchen. I
turned to Esme and said, "Now, what was this news that you had?"

"They've cleared you of all accusations," Esme started. "They did, however, find

some oddities in your files."

"What?" I asked alarmed.

"There were some doctored documents in a couple of your files. Someone has

been tampering with your old case files. Whoever it was, it looked like they were
trying to discredit you as a good employee. The forgeries and false documents
weren't very good, and the investigators picked them up almost immediately.
They're now investigating who did it since it's a felony to tamper with official
documents."

Lizzie's soft footsteps, as she walked out of the kitchen and into the family room,

was the only sound as we stood there in silence. Me trying to absorb this new
information, Esme, trying to gauge my reaction. I was unsure of why anyone would
want to discredit me; there's no purpose to it.

"Is there anyone you can think of that would want to do something like this to

you?" Esme asked. "Someone obviously went to a lot of trouble to try and make you
look bad."

"The only person who had to gain by doing this was Tanya, but I have no idea how

she would have gotten access to the files, or even know what to tamper with." I
watched as Lizzie browsed through the DVDs on the shelf, trying to find something
to watch.

"True; anyway, I'm taking the findings to Carlisle on Monday morning." Esme said.

"Hopefully they'll be able to do something with the info and it might help their case.
If anything, it can be submitted that Edward does take good care of his daughter."

"What will this mean for Edward's custody case?" I asked, nodding at Lizzie, who

was comfortably settled on a couch, watching a movie.

- 132 -

"The original decision you came to stands. Edward will get visitation, but Lizzie's

going to remain in my care until the custody hearing is cleared up."

"Yeah, but Tanya's whole case was dependent on this bit of evidence, shouldn't it

be overturned now?" I asked.

"The legal process has already been put in motion. The judge, Maggie Fírinne,

needs to make a ruling, and then it should be settled. Once she rules in Edward's
favor, which I'm sure she will, Tanya won't ever be able to do this again. Nothing
will get between the two of them again."

"That's a relief," I said. The timer beeped, so I grabbed a pair of hot pads, then,

switched the cookie trays and unloaded the cookies onto a plate. "So, back to work
tomorrow?" I asked as I grinned at Esme.

"Yes, back to the normalcy that is our jobs. I can..." The sound of the garage door

opening interrupted Esme's comment.

"YAY! Daddy's home!" Lizzie squealed as she came running into the kitchen. She

grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the door to the garage. We heard his car
shut off, and the door open and close as Lizzie hopped from foot to foot, waiting for
the door to open. When it did, she screamed, "Surprise!"

Edward immediately fell to his knees and hauled Lizzie into his arms. She started

chattering to him like a magpie, as if it had only been an hour since she had last
seen him, not the almost week that it had been since they were last together. I
barely caught the last of it since part of it was mumbled into his chest. "Auntie Esme
brought me over to visit, and Mommy made me cookies and I said they were almost
as good as having Daddy, but only almost. I missed you Daddy. I like it at Auntie
Esme's house though." At Esme's name, Edward looked over and grinned at her.
"Auntie Esme makes the best s'mores in the whole world, I told her she has to teach
you how to do it. She said she would."

I pulled Edward up off his knees, and pulled him further into the family room and

pushed him and Lizzie towards the couches. The shock had worn off and the grin he
had on nearly split his face. I left the two of them to reconnect, which was what they
both needed.

After dropping off another plate of cookies and a glass of milk for Edward and

Lizzie (and a wink from Edward), I rejoined Esme.

While the two of them were talking, I took Esme on a tour of Edward's house. We

- 133 -

ended back at the kitchen when I realized it was nearly supper time. "Do you two
want to stay for dinner?" I asked Esme, hoping Edward would get a little more time
to spend with Lizzie.

"Of course, we would be happy to. I know Lizzie won't say no. Do you need any

help?" Esme asked.

"I was just going to make a simple pasta bake. Doesn't take much, but I wouldn't

mind the company," I said with a smile.

Dinner was filled with smiles and laughter as Lizzie told us stories of what she'd

been doing at Esme's house. Just having the three of us together reaffirmed my
beliefs that this is where I belonged. No matter what, we were going to get through
this, and we would be stronger together because of it.

After dinner, Esme helped me wash and load the dishwasher while Edward and

Lizzie settled back on one of the couches in the family room and started up the
movie again. Esme joined the two of them in the family room as I finished wiping
down the counters and putting the leftovers away, as well as packing up some of the
cookies for Lizzie to take with her.

I heard the pad of Lizzie's little feet as she walked into the kitchen. I turned to her

and saw Edward walking silently behind her.

"Mommy, Daddy wants me to ask you a question." Lizzie fiddled with her dress as

she continued, "Will you marry my Daddy?" I looked over at Edward at this, seeing
his cheshire cat grin.

"I knew you would never say no to her," he smirked.

"Yes, Lizzie, I will marry your daddy." I said, and with that, Edward pulled me into

his arms.

"Good. What does marry mean?" Edward and I both cracked up.

"When two people love each other and decide that they want to be only with each

other for the rest of their lives, they get married."

"Like Jasper and Alice?" she asked.

"Yes, just like Jasper and Alice. Grandma and Grandpa are married also." Edward

said.

- 134 -

"Were you married to Mean Mommy?" Edward and I both chuckled at Lizzie's

name for Tanya.

"At one point," Edward said.

"Oh, k. I'm going to go watch Finding Nemo with Auntie Esme. Can I have a

cookie?"

I handed a cookie to her and then she scampered off to watch the movie. I turned

to Edward, who still had his arms wrapped around me. "So, you used your daughter
against me, huh? Is this going to be a habit of yours in our marriage?" I asked
cheekily.

"I'm going to use every advantage I can to make sure you're mine and stay that

way." I melted a bit as he said that. "Here, since you wouldn't let me give it to you
before... " he trailed off as he fished the ring out of his pocket. I watched as he
slipped it on my finger and studied it for a moment. I hadn't looked at it the night
before so I took the chance to really look at the rock he put on my finger. The
antique ring had intricate filigree carved into the side leading up to the large
diamond in the center.

"Oh, Edward, it's beautiful." I said.

"Not as beautiful as you." he said as he pulled me in for a kiss. The instant his soft

lips touched mine I knew I was done for. I immediately opened my mouth to his as
his tongue stroked mine in a lazy dance of passion and heat. I wove my fingers
through his hair, trying to keep him as close as possible. One of Edward's hands
wandered down my back, almost to the curve of my ass as the other cupped the back
of my neck. Edward pushed me back against the cabinets as we continued to kiss,
and I hitched one leg over his hip, trying to pull him in closer to me.

We were interrupted by a throat being cleared from the bar area of the kitchen.

Esme stood there with a sleeping Lizzie in her arms. "If you wouldn't mind helping
me out to my car, I think I'm going to put her to bed."

"Yeah, let me take her for you," Edward said as he jumped at the chance to hold

his daughter one last time tonight.

I walked into the family room, picking up the random things that were in there

and shutting off the DVD that was still playing. Edward's arms snaked around me,
pulling me from my thoughts, "I could do with a shower, how bout you?" he
whispered in my ear.

- 135 -

Shower. Edward. Wet. Mmmm. I nodded my head and we headed towards the

stairs, Edward's arms still wrapped around me. When we got to the bathroom, we
slowly undressed each other, reacquainting ourselves with each other's bodies. Soft
touches and caresses were exchanged as we washed each other. I was so relaxed by
the time we were done, I nearly fell asleep standing there. "Uh-uh, no time for
sleeping, my lovely soon-to-be-wife."

I peeked a glance at him through my lashes and saw his eyes concentrated on my

lips which I had caught in my teeth. His thumb brushed my lips before slowly
descending to softly touch his to mine. This kiss was unlike any we had exchanged
before. The passion slowly built as we sipped at each other's lips, pulling and licking
leisurely. The heat built as his warm arms pulled me in closer to his, our wet bodies
sliding against one another. He pulled my leg up and I wrapped my leg around him,
trying to get friction where I desperately wanted it. His hard cock was rubbing
against my pussy, teasing me with the promise of it. I barely noticed when Edward
turned off the water and pushed us towards the shower door.

I moaned in protest when his lips left mine as he grabbed one of the towels to

start drying us off. The towel was soft against my skin as he dried me off quickly,
taking extra care to abrade my nipples with the velvety cloth. I turned towards the
door, intending to move our play to the bedroom, when I felt him smack my ass
softly making me jump.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked as he pulled my back up against him,

his erection digging into my back.

"Bed?" I asked suggestively.

"Uh-uh, Bella, you thought wrong." he said as he grabbed my hands and turned

me to face the counter. He placed my hands on the counter and bent me over
slightly. "We're not going anywhere."

He continued to play with my nipples, causing me to moan and grind back against

his hot erection, encouraging him to take what was already his.

"Do you want it?" he asked as he rubbed his length along my ass.

I nodded, unable to put into words how much I did.

"Do you really? Tell me." he said as his eyes burned into mine.

"Yes," I begged. "Edward, please."

- 136 -

I gasped in bliss as his hard cock filled me swiftly from behind. His fingers

plucked my nipples and I melted at the sensations quickly taking me over.

"Open your eyes, my Bella." Edward growled in my ear. "I want to watch you come

apart."

I slitted my eyes open to see Edward's bright green eyes nearly glowing in the

reflection in the mirror. His right hand moved down to cup my center, his fingers
teasing me, causing me to shiver and moan. He licked his way from my ear to my
neck, gently sucking, his fingers playing me to perfection as he pounded into me
harder and harder.

"Come, my Bella." Edward said, looking into my eyes again as he gently bit my

shoulder and I couldn't stop myself from doing exactly that. My breath stopped
momentarily as my world fell apart and remade itself in that glorious instance. His
thrusts continued to push me higher in my own ecstasy and I managed to open my
eyes to see his face as bliss overtook him. He pulled out and crushed me in his arms,
kissing my forehead, both of us breathing heavily.

"I love you, my Bella."

"I love you, too." I said as we made our way into the bedroom and got into bed,

finally feeling as if I was home.

"Mine." he murmured softly as he pulled me into his arms.

"Yours" I agreed softly as I drifted off to sleep.

A/N: K people, one more chapter and then the Epilogue. You guys rock my

socks.... :D

Rec's:

Wanted by Anadabyel JxB, lots of Lemons... VERY GOOD!

Bella discovers after a wild night with old friends that she has been lied to for

years. She must heal herself from the betrayals, but once she does will she be able
to help her friends as well? OOC/AU/AH Lots of lemons/adult language.

Sassafrass Junction by VampishVixen JxB, Amazing story, updates

- 137 -

regularly.

Twice abandoned, three times as heartbroken. Bella leaves Forks behind to start

over in Phoenix. New Bella, new life. A familiar face shows up at work one night;
Jasper can't believe his eyes, but he's liking what they see. Ditto Bella.

Alright people, I just want to let you all know that I am co-authoring a new

story with my beta Pire. It's a Jasper/Bella fic, cause we heart Jasper. My
beta came up with the idea, I just added to it. :D

If you want to put us on author alert for when it comes out, we created a

new profile with the penname Pire in the Gutter. It won't start posting until
after this is finished, so no worries, I will finish this first. Here's the
summary:

Turbulence of a Flame

Summary: Earthdate 246. The world is changed. Kidnap, deception, struggle,

power, and lust thrive in the story of a rescue mission that could further change the
future of Earth. AU, BxJ, slightly OOC~

Note:The characters in this story have taken on a life of their own and some small

aspects do not follow the canon of SM's Twilight. We hope you embrace the new
stuff as much as we do!Oh, and this will be a Bella/Jasper, so move along if you
disapprove of blond lovin'.

What's your favorite non-cannon pairing?

- 138 -

Trials and Tribulations

A/N: To the best beta in the world.... PIRE.... I miss you.... I think I'm

going through withdrawals....

A BIG thank you goes out to my friend, Heather, who was my personal

dictionary during this chapter. Without her you all would not have this
chapter even as late as it is. Thank you for getting me out of the house and
making me write (and answering all the stupid questions I asked...).

Thank you to everyone who is reading this and reviewing! Sorry this took

so damn long...

Twilight and all it's characters are under the ownership of Mrs. Meyer. I

don't own.

Happy Reading!

Exes and Ohs

Chapter 14

Trials and Tribulations

BPOV

I snapped my phone shut just before heading up the stairs to my favorite pub on

2nd Street. Meet me at Murphy's was the text message I got from Edward on my
way home for the day. I stayed late trying to get a lot of the cases wrapped up that
had been put on hold while I was on leave. The trial started today and I knew that it
couldn't have gone too well if they were already at the pub.

The noise in the bar was enough to wake the dead as I walked in and was greeted

with the smiling face of Angela behind the bar. She sat a couple of water bottles on
the counter and pointed me over towards a table in the back where I spotted
Edward and Emmett each nursing a beer. I don't know which one of them looked
worse, Edward or Emmett. Emmett looked as if someone told him he couldn't have
sex for a year because of something he did, and Edward looked as if his dog just
died. The guilt and sadness on Emmett's face rivaled the pure misery on Edward's.

- 139 -

I turned back to Angela and asked, "How long have they been here?"

"Three hours; they got in at half past five. They've gone through four pitchers by

themselves. Cheer them up, would you?" She winked and I nodded at her as took the
waters for them to their table.

Neither of them looked up as I slid into a seat next to Edward. He looked

surprised to see me when I leaned into him for a kiss. "What's up, boys?" I asked
cautiously; their moods worried me and I just wanted to get them home.

"Bad day," Edward said quietly. The silence from the two of them bothered me and

I grabbed Edward's hand, pulling him to his feet.

"C'mon. Let's get you both home." Edward was compliant, but I had to smack

Emmett up side the head before he paid attention to what I was saying. I got them to
the car, handing each of them a bottle of water encouraging them to drink, trying to
sober them up a bit. The drive to Edward's house was short, but the heavy silence
fell like an oppressive blanket you couldn't claw your way out of. The two of them
walked dejectedly into the house, slumping into the first couch they could find.

The silence continued for a bit before Emmett broke it when he said, "I'm sorry,

man."

"It's not like we didn't expect it. Kate and Garrett said they would try something

like that." They must be talking about the trial, since Kate and Garrett were
Edward's lawyers. They had warned Edward that since there is no evidence of
wrong doing on either Edward or Tanya's part, it would come down to a smear
campaign. It would be a matter of how much dirt the other could fling. Something
must have happened in the trial that made Emmett and Edward upset.

"Yeah, but I can't believe I walked into that. That was so stupid." The curiosity was

eating at me, I just wanted to shake Emmett and ask him what the hell he was
talking about, but I knew that if I didn't get the whole story out of him now, Edward
and I would stay up late going over how the trial went. He knew that it was killing
me to not be able to be there for him and Lizzie, and that I wanted every detail of
what happened. I looked over at Emmett and was surprised when I saw him burst
into tears. He continued to sob as I pulled him into my arms and let him cry it out on
my shoulder.

"Emmett, it's okay. Tanya's lawyer's job is to make you look as shitty as possible.

They'll tear anyone down that I have as a witness as a way to make her look better."
Edward's reasonable tone did nothing to stop my brother from becoming a

- 140 -

blubbering mess. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Rosalie with one
hand, while rubbing Emmett's back with the other.

"Hello?" she answered on the second ring.

"Hey, can you come pick up your man?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah, where are you?" I could hear the crisp edge to her voice that brooked no

nonsense from her patients.

"Edward's. I just picked them up from Murphy's."

"I'll be there in ten."

Five minutes later we heard a jingle of keys as Rosalie walked in the front door.

She came in and gently pulled Emmett into her arms as she mouthed thank you to
me. Emmett's tears had nearly dried up and she wiped the last of them away
carefully. Rosalie pulled him into her arms and rubbed his back. "Come on, baby,
let's get you home."

"K," came a watery sounding acceptance from Emmett. They slowly shuffled

towards the front doors, Emmett's large frame being supported by Rosalie's smaller
one. I knew then and there that Rosalie was probably the best person to marry my
brother. Her no nonsense attitude was softened by Emmett's boisterous outlook on
life. And yet, she grounded him in a way in which no other person could. Seeing the
way Rosalie took care of him when he was so obviously hurting, cemented her
standing in my heart. She would be a sister to me for the rest of her life as long as
she continued to look after him in the way she did tonight.

I walked over to where Edward was staring off in the distance, and pulled him up,

herding him towards our room upstairs. Edward and I got ready for bed in silence. It
wasn't until we were both laying there in the dark that Edward spoke up, "I'm
worried, Bella. If this is how the whole trial is going to go, I don't know if I want to
go through with it. But I can't loose Lizzie. She means so much to me."

"Tell me what happened," I said as I grabbed his arm and pulled him closer. He

snuggled into me, wrapping his arms about me and resting his head on my shoulder.
Our legs entwined as he rested half on top of me.

"It started out okay. Emmett did pretty well when Garret questioned him. It wasn't

until halfway through Aro's questioning that his composure cracked. When Aro
asked what it was Emmett and I did while watching Lizzie, he confessed to drinking

- 141 -

and watching TV. Aro made it seem as if we got drunk and didn't watch Lizzie when
he was over. It was pretty bad Bella. Aro's good at twisting your words to make it
seem as if you said something completely different from what you meant."

I combed my fingers through his hair, giving myself a moment to collect my

thoughts. I wanted nothing more than to reassure this man. "Edward, I've been
checking around at work. Kate and Garret are some of the most competent lawyers
when it comes to custody hearings. They're success rate is unparalleled. Your case is
in good hands. Don't let your doubts keep you from believing that you will get Lizzie
back."

"I know, but I can't help but feel that this is going to go horribly wrong. Today was

just horrible." We continued to lay there in silence, Edward slowly drifting off to
sleep as I continued to hold him in my arms.

"It'll be alright Edward. You'll get Lizzie back. I have no doubt." I whispered to an

already asleep Edward as I tried not to worry about my day in court.

"Your witness, counselor," Kate said as she went to sit down at the table opposite

from where Tanya was sitting. She had just finished up questioning me in regards to
some of the details of my investigation. I was sitting in the witness's chair next to
the Judge's desk, trying to keep from being nervous. Edward was sitting at one of
the tables with an empty chair between him and Kate. Garret was missing at the
moment, but Kate had reassured Edward and I that he would be there later on. Alice
and Bridgette were sitting in the front row behind Edward. My spot, which was next
the them was currently vacant while I was sitting up on the witness stand.

Tanya was sitting at the table across from Edward's, looking like a corporate

hooker, with a business suit that was conveniently missing the blouse that should
have gone with the jacket. I was a little confused as to why she would have thought
it would be a good idea to have that much cleavage on display.

Aro De Luca, Tanya's lawyer, stood, straightening his expensive looking suit jacket

before beginning to question me. "Now, Ms. Swan, you were in charge of the first
evaluation of Mr. Mason's home, is that correct?" the pompous sneer that crossed
the lawyer's face as he asked the question put knots in my stomach as I opened my
mouth to answer.

"Yes, two months ago we received a phone call, reporting Mr. Mason's alleged

abuse." I answered.

- 142 -

"And you went to evaluate him on that day?" Aro asked.

"Yes, I arrived at his house around 6 PM." I answered.

"And what did you find?" Aro asked.

"He was making cookies with his daughter." I looked over at Edward. An

encouraging, yet timid closed-mouthed smile played on his lips which bolstered my
courage and calmed my rattled nerves.

"And you inspected his home?" Aro asked.

"Yes, his home and care were over and above regulation standards for care," I said

"And did you come to this opinion before or after you slept with him?" Aro asked

snidely.

"Objection, badgering the witness." Kate said from her seat.

"Sustained." Judge Fírinne said indicating to Aro to drop the line of questioning

and move on.

"Did you come to this opinion before or after you got into a relationship with Mr.

Mason?"

"I met Mr. Mason for the first time that day."

"You must have had some contact with him while you were in the hospital, did you

not? Our records indicate that you are at the hospital frequently for your job," Aro
said.

"Yes, I had seen him previously in the two weeks before I met him," I said.

"And did you or did you not meet him previous to your meeting with him that

evening." He smiled his smarmy smile, reminding me of a snake about to pounce.

"Yes, I was introduced to him earlier in the day when one of the children from a

previous case I had worked on was admitted to the hospital in which he works." The
lawyer's smile melted away leaving an expression of contempt on his face. "He was
the lead surgeon on her surgery and was supervising her recovery."

"You were the child's case worker?" he asked.

- 143 -

"I was previously." I said, not quite sure what this had to do with Edward's ability

to be a competent parent. "Ms. Esme Cullen, my supervisor, took over the case."

"And, why would she do that?" Aro asked.

"Objection: Relevance?" Kate asked.

"Overruled, Ms. Swan?" Judge Fírinne said as she turned her attention back to me.

"My friends," I started to explain, "who had been Bridgette's foster parents, were

looking to adopt her. It would have been a violation of ethics for me to continue to
be her case worker."

"So, you were not there in an official capacity?" he asked.

"No, I was there as a concerned friend, worried about the health of my friend's

foster child." I said.

"Your relationship with Mr. Mason, when did it start?" Aro asked.

"We went out to dinner that next Friday," I answered after a moment to remember

when was the first time we went out.

"And you started sleeping with him when?" he asked.

"Objection, your honor, I don't see how this line of questioning is relevant again."

Kate stood up making me breathe a sigh of relief.

"I'm establishing whether or not the witness's relationship interfered with how she

evaluated Mr. Mason." The contempt that had been written all over Aro's face was
quickly concealed as he turned to the judge.

"Your honor, the witness has already testified that the relationship was not started

until the after her evaluation had been completed. This line of questioning is an
invasion of the witness's privacy."

"Sustained. The question will be stricken from the record," Judge Fírinne said

calmly.

"I have no more questions your honor." Aro gave a small bow to the judge before

spearing me with a hateful glance.

- 144 -

"The witness may step down," Judge Fírinne said as I let out a trembling breath.

My part of the trial was over with. I stepped down from the witness's seat and made
my way to the seat right behind Edward. Alice gave me a one armed hug as I sat
next to her.

"I'd like to call to the stand Michael Newton." Kate said. I watched as Mike stood

up and straightened his cheap looking suit and walked towards the seat I had just
vacated and was sworn in.

"Mr. Newton, you work for social services correct?" Kate stood as she began to

question Mike who was sitting uncomfortably in the witness chair, fiddling with a tie
that looked as if it was tied too tight.

"Yes, I was assigned to evaluate Tanya Reynolds and the care she provided for her

daughter Elizabeth Mason," his voice cracked on the last syllable.

"What days were you evaluating her?" Kate asked.

"Our first evaluation was on Monday, May 13th, two weeks ago. She had

confessed to me that she was worried about the care Elizabeth was receiving from
her father."

"Objection, your honor," Kate said, turning to face the judge.

"Sustained. Mr. Newton, please answer the questions asked of you, and only what

is asked of you." Judge Fírinne said.

"Yes, your honor." Mike said, further worrying the tie ends.

"And on that day, what did you observe about Ms. Reynolds and the care that she

could provide?" Kate asked.

"The apartment that she had rented had everything that was required by the state

for health and safety standards. She had provisions to feed and clothe the child in
question," Mike answered.

"And how long did you spend in Ms. Reynold's apartment?" Kate asked.

"The inspection took twenty minutes. I was there for the amount of time necessary

to inspect the apartment and then I left," Mike swallowed nervously and continued
to fiddle with his tie.

- 145 -

"Did you have any follow up evaluations with Ms. Reynolds?" Kate asked.

"Yes, a week later, on the 20th," Mike said. The door in the back of the room

opened and closed and I looked back to see Garrett striding towards the front of the
room with a large manila envelope in his hand. He quickly sat at the table next to
Edward while Kate continued on in her questioning of Mike.

"And how long did you spend this time?" Kate asked as she walked back to the

table and picked up the envelope that Garret now handed her. She opened the
envelope and flipped through the documents as she waited for Mike to answer her.

"I was there for about thirty minutes at two o'clock," Mike tugged on his tie as he

answered her.

"Judge Fírinne, I'd like to submit new evidence to the court," Kate said as she

turned to the judge and handed her the documents she had received.

"I'll admit them." Judge Fírinne said after she flipped through them. A look of

disgust flitted over her face as she handed them back to Kate.

"Mr. Newton, you testified that you evaluated her on the 20th of this month at two

o'clock. These pictures I have here," Kate paused as she handed the photographs to
Mike who promptly turned beet red, "testify to something completely different. Can
you please tell me what the time stamp says in the upper right hand corner?"

"May 20th, 2:05 PM," Mike answered grudgingly.

"And what are these pictures of, Mr. Newton?" Kate asked.

"Um, Ms. Reynolds and I." Mike answered.

"And what activity are you in the middle of?" Kate asked.

"Um... We're um..." he stuttered as the tugging on his tie resumed and sweat

broke out on his forehead.

"You're sleeping with Ms. Reynolds aren't you?" Kate asked.

"Objection, your honor. Leading the witness," Aro piped up, a look of worry

crossing his features.

"Overruled. Mr. Newton, please answer the question."

- 146 -

"Yes, I am," Mike answered.

"Would you like to restate you testimony Mr. Newton? Did you evaluate Ms.

Reynolds on the 20th? Please keep in mind that you've been sworn in." Kate
reminded him.

"No," Mike answered quietly.

"Have you ever evaluated Ms. Reynolds?" Kate asked.

"No,"

"And when did your relationship with Ms. Reynolds start?"

"Two and a half months ago," Mike answered glumly.

"And when were you going to advise your supervisors that you were in a

relationship with Ms. Reynolds?" Kate asked

"I... Uh..." Mike stuttered.

"And when did you decide to sue for custody of the child?"

"I didn't."

"You didn't hatch a plan to take Elizabeth Mason from her father? Knowing

intimately the workings of the social services policies and regulations?"

"No, it was Tanya's idea," Mike said, a look of desperation on his face. "She came

up with the false accusation idea."

Tanya shifted uncomfortably in her seat as Mike's testimony took a turn for the

worse. "You admit that the accusation was false?"

"Yeah, she's the one who called it in."

"And the falsified documents in Ms. Swan's case histories?" Kate asked.

"That was Tanya's idea, too!" he exclaimed, a look of relief crossing his face.

"Liar!" Tanya screeched as she stood up from behind the table. "It was your idea

to falsify the documents, since you always hated her for rejecting you."

- 147 -

"Mr. De Luca, please control your client," Judge Fírinne reprimanded Aro as he

put a hand on Tanya's shoulder and forced her to sit down.

"I have no more questions for the witness, your honor." Kate said.

"Mr. Newton, you may have a seat." Judge Fírinne paused before continuing, "In

light of the testimony we have heard today, I'm making a ruling right now. I don't
feel that it's necessary to waste tax payers dollars by stringing this trial on by
listening to more testimony, when it is obvious that this case is a farce.

"I'm granting custody to Mr. Edward Mason. It shall be stated for the records that

Ms. Reynolds's custody will be permanently revoked. Case dismissed."

A/N: Alright peeps, review the heck out of this please, so I can go out with

a bang. The epilogue is already written, but I won't post until I get at least...
70 reviews? There's over 700 of you who have this on story alert, so that's
only 10% of you!!!!

Rec's

I'm pretty sure I rec'd these before but if you haven't read it, you should,

The Sound of Silence by hopeisabluebird. Edward/Bella Fic

Dartmouth Diaries by Clurrabella. Jasper/Bella Fic

Any of the stories by Coldplaywhore (cause she writes like a demon!!!)

Love you all, please review.

- 148 -

Epilogue: Future and Bright

Special thanks goes out to Coldplaywhore for beta'ing this for me...

Thank you to everyone who is reading this and reviewing! You guys are

awesome. So far there have been 100 reviews on the last chapter alone... You
all amaze me!!!

Twilight and all it's characters are under the ownership of Mrs. Meyer. I

don't own.

Happy Reading

Exes and Ohs

Epilogue

Future and Bright

Five Years Later

BPOV

"Mommy, Eva and I want to hear it superlouder!" I heard Lizzie pipe up from the

backseat.

"Yeah, supa-louda!" Evangeline parroted.

"Alright, but only since baby Chance isn't in the car with us." I turned the music

up so that the two of them could sing as loud as they wanted and not worry about
hearing any sour notes that might accompany it.

I looked back at the two of them, so happy that they got along so well. I knew that

it was harder for an older child to accept when a new child is brought into their
lives, but Lizzie was an exception to the rule. When Evangeline, or Eva as Lizzie
called her, came into our family, Lizzie took to her like a duck takes to water. While
Eva was still in the hospital, Lizzie was constantly asking to look at her sister, her
nose pressed against the glass, watching her sleep. When we brought Eva home,
Lizzie was always asking to hold her. No one could calm Eva down as fast as her big

- 149 -

sister Lizzie, when Eva was in one of her crying fits.

Edward and I had been married for a year when we got the news that I was

pregnant. We hadn't been trying, but I didn't think I would get pregnant, so it came
as a complete shock to us. I was on bed rest through much of the pregnancy and
whenever I got the urge to go out and do something rash, Alice would show up and
entertain me until I got over my 'stupidity' as she liked to call it. It was rough at
first, and I had to take a leave of absence from work, which ended up with me
quitting the first month after Eva was born. She had my brown hair and Edward's
bright green eyes, same as Lizzie and there wasn't anyone she loved more than her
big sister Lizzie.

"Alright, we're here," I said as the two of them bounced happily in their seats.

The girls piled out of the car, Lizzie helping Eva with her car seat buckles, and

raced to the front door of the two story ranch-style house. I popped the trunk before
I got out, grabbing their overnight bags from the trunk and made my way to the
door. Halfway up the drive, the front door opened, and Esme stood there beaming at
my two girls. She swooped the two of them into her arms as they giggled, swapping
kisses and hugging each other tight. When Esme put them down, the two of them
scampered away inside the house screaming, "Unca Carlisle!" as they went.

Esme held the door open as I continued my way up to her and pulled me into her

arms once I walked up the steps. "You have no idea how much it means to me that
you two are going to watch them this weekend."

"You know how much we love having them. Carlisle threatens to come over and

kidnap them when he feels like he hasn't seen them in a while." Esme said with a
grin. "Where's Chance at this weekend?"

"He's staying with Emmett and Rosalie. Emmett's finally convinced Rosalie that he

really does want children, and he's using it as an opportunity to convince her that
he's responsible enough to take care of a child."

"And you trusted your brother with your son? Are you crazy?" Esme asked.

"No, he's actually watched them all for me before when I had the flu two months

ago. Chance loves him. I trust Emmett just as much as I trust you and Carlisle."

"How's the business going?" Esme asked as she walked me back to the car.

"Just as busy as ever." After Alice's vintage clothing business took off three years

- 150 -

ago, she opened a boutique on 2nd Street filled with her particular style of clothing.
She hired me to keep her supplied with baked goods which she liked to keep on
hand for her regular customers. We had a nice little trade off going, she kept my
wardrobe up to date, and I'd bring her fresh baked goodies every day.

Two years ago, I was hired by a couple of Alice's neighboring stores to bring them

fresh baked goods as well. At the moment, I baked for five stores along 2nd Street,
as well as Alice's. Edward was encouraging me to just open a bakery, since it would
be easier in the long run, but I wanted to wait until Chance was a little older before
doing that. However, I was convinced that he didn't want the mess in the kitchen
anymore.

"You know they're letting Mike out of jail next month," Esme said as I unlocked

the car door. Mike and Tanya had been prosecuted for tampering with governmental
documents, two months after the custody hearing. Both of them had been involved
in the scheme and had been found guilty. They were each sentenced to seven years
in jail.

"No, I didn't know that," I said.

"He's getting out for good behavior," Esme continued, "but it looks like Tanya will

be serving her full term."

"Now why doesn't that surprise me?" I smirked

"Well," Esme said, "I don't think it surprised any-"

"AUNTIE ESME!!!!!" my two little girls screamed as they ran out the front door.

Carlisle watched from the open door as they ran up to Esme and grabbed her hands,
pulling her back towards the house.

"Be good!" I yelled out to them as they giggled and waved at me.

"Bye Mommy," they chirped.

I chuckled as I started the car and drove towards home. The drive was silent as I

enjoyed the moments alone, letting myself relax as I looked forward to the upcoming
weekend. Edward wasn't supposed to be home for another hour, so I was planning
on getting dinner started. I was in the middle of staring at the contents of the fridge,
trying to figure out what to make, when an arm snaked around my waist and
another one closed the refrigerator door. I leaned back against Edward's chest and
looked up into his eyes, which were sparkling mischievously, as he leaned over me

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and planted little kisses on my lips.

"You-" kiss, "are wearing-" kiss, "way-" kiss, "too many-" kiss, "clothes." He

finished as he deepened the kiss, making me melt in his arms as he turned me
around and crushed me to his chest. I realized he had been waiting for me naked
when I wrapped my arms around him and only encountered heated flesh. Our
tongues continued to rub along each other's as he let me go in order to unbutton the
coat that I hadn't taken the time to take off when I got in. He dropped it on the
kitchen floor as he started moving me toward the stairs. My shirt came off in the
living room, my bra on the stairs, my pants in the hallway, and my panties in the
bedroom. Edward pushed me onto the bed and quickly followed me down, warming
my body with his.

"I'm going to make love to you all weekend," he whispered as started kissing a

trail down my neck.

"I certainly hope so." I moaned.

That's all folks.... Hope it was worth the time to read it!!!! Thanks for all

the reviews!!!!

Oh... and if you all want to know a little more about me and this story,

head over to PIC Fanfic Corner. My interview with Mean Mrs. Mustard is
supposed to be posted on Friday! www(dot)picffcorner(dot)blogspot(dot)com

THANK YOU!!!!

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Not a Chapter

Hey all, I'm just doing a little shameless plugging right now. I've started a new

story called Playing with Fate. Here's the summary and a little sneak peak from
chapter 1.

Summary:

How will the worst dates ever end up meaning love everlasting? Will Fate

intervene and put right what has been set up as wrong? Cannon Couples. AH.

Chapter 1: Dating below Standard.

The phone started ringing as soon as I walked in the door. I quickly checked the

caller id before picking it up. "How do you always know when I walk in the door you
little pixie?"

"Hey, you can't call me little anymore. I grew. Some." Alice said and we both

giggled. I quickly slid off my heels and collapsed onto the sofa. All of my things were
currently piled around me in boxes waiting to be shipped. While I would be flying to
Los Angles, the rest of my things would be shipped down by the moving company
tomorrow. My fellow volunteers at the hospital had tried to set me up on one last
date before I left, hoping to get me to stay. They all thought that I was moving to a
new place. What they didn't know was that I was moving back home. Home to the
land of sunshine and warmth, not rain clouds and dreariness. "How was the date
Bella? Was he up to the Cullen Standards?"

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