Library

Love
by Katy-Cullen23

Music teacher Edward is shy and awkward and not particularly good with women. Will his best
friend Emmett help him get the girl of his dreams? Christmas drabble fic, with daily updates
until Christmas! R&R!
Rated: Fiction M - English - Romance/Humor - Bella, Edward - Chapters: 26 - Words: 22,037 -
Reviews: 536 - Favs: 450 - Follows: 376 - Updated: 1/1/2014 - Published: 12/1/2013 - Status:
Complete - id: 9891295
URL: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9891295
Table of Contents

Table of Contents

1. Chapter 1

2. Chapter 2

3. Chapter 3

4. Chapter 4

5. Chapter 5

6. Chapter 6

7. Chapter 7

8. Chapter 8

9. Chapter 9

10. Chapter 10

11. Chapter 11

12. Chapter 12

13. Chapter 13

14. Chapter 14

15. Chapter 15

16. Chapter 16

17. Chapter 17

18. Chapter 18

19. Chapter 19

20. Chapter 20

21. Chapter 21

22. Chapter 22

23. Chapter 23
24. Chapter 24

25. Chapter 25

26. Epilogue
 Chapter 1
A/N: Here's my Christmas fic for this year! It's pretty much a drabble, and it's all pre-
written, so there's going to be a chapter a day, leading up to Christmas, with an
epilogue on New Year's Eve :)

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Twilight!

Edward:

The first time I saw her was three months ago.

I only came in to check out a musical textbook, to see if it would be worth ordering for the
school I work at. I'm glad I did, though.

When I first saw her, she was huddled up in the corner, engrossed in a book. My attention was
fully drawn to her when I heard her quiet laughter, obviously amused at whatever she was
reading. After she left, I picked up the book she'd put down and checked it out, along with the
musical textbook.

That night, I read the novel the girl had been reading, finding myself laughing and enjoying it. I'd
finished it by the morning, having barely touched the musical textbook or slept a lot.

After I'd finished teaching I went back to the library, hoping to see the girl again. I was
incredibly happy – possibly too happy – when I saw her in the same position, just with another
book.

I handed the book back to the librarian and finally looked through the music book. It seemed
acceptable, if not slightly boring, so I sent a sly text to the principal that the books would be
appropriate.

Not of my own accord I find my eyes wandering over to the girl – the library girl – and taking in
her looks. Her hand is pointing down, most of her face covered by long, thick dark brown hair. I
can just see her pink lips pulled into a look of concentration as she continually reads her book.
She's slumped in the chair so I can't really assess her figure, but I can see a nice cleavage due
to her fairly low cut dress. And her legs. Possibly her best feature. Long, pale legs, one
crossed over the other.

Library girl is pretty.

As she gets up to leave, my eyes fly over to her once again. The dress she's wearing
showcases an amazing hourglass figure. Standing up, she brushes her hair out of face
revealing a pair of dark brown smoky eyes. I take note of where she places the book, but I'm
unable to move until she's walked past me. I breathe in and catch a floral scent which once
again draws my eyes to her. I turn around in my seat and just see the back of her. That, and
her spectacular ass.
Ever since that day I've visited the library every day she does, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
and Sunday. I've checked out the books she's read, but I haven't managed to find out her
name.

All I know is that she's beautiful and has exceptional taste in books.

A/N: Thoughts on the first chapter? :D

The first 10 chapters are about the same length, but after that they get longer!

Review please? :)
 Chapter 2
A/N: Thanks so much to the response to the first chapter! :D

Edward:

Lying in bed at night is both good and bad. I try to give myself pep talks, persuade myself to
ask her out. Where's the harm in that?

Then, a voice deep inside my head sneers that she'll turn me down. That, in the three months
I've known her, she's barely even glances at me.

Known her. I'd hardly class reading the same books and staring at her as knowing her. How on
earth could I admit this to her without sounding like some weird, perverted stalker?

Maybe I should start with just a simple conversation? I mean, I don't even know her age. I've
guessed early twenties, but I have no idea, truthfully. Would she think me, a thirty year old man,
would be too old for her?

Damn it, why is this so hard?

The thought that finally gets me to fall asleep is the knowledge that, tomorrow, it's Thursday. I
get to see library girl again.

I might even speak to her…

Who am I kidding? She's beautiful and I'm shy, I'll never speak to her.

"Today, class, you'll be getting on with your compositions, ok?" I announce to my senior class,
who, thankfully, can just get on with their work.

I offer suggestions; though it's mostly their own work they get on with. So, this gives me
basically a free lesson to catch up on things.

"Yo, Mr C, you busy?" Emmett, a fellow teacher, asks, walking into my classroom.

"Sadly not," I reply dryly as he walks over to my desk.

"You talked to her yet?" Emmett cuts straight to the chase, not one to beat around the bush.
And I know exactly what he's on about. I made the mistake of telling him about my library girl,
and he's been bugging me ever since.

"What do you think?" This earns me a large sigh from Emmett, and a punch to the shoulder.

"If you like, I can offer some chat up lines," Emmett offers, winking.

"Dear god, no. How you ever got a women will always be an amazement to me," I tell him,
frowning. "And I don't need help. I'm doing just fine," I add.
"Fine? So you call seeing a woman you want but not being able to talk to her for three months
fine?" Emmett points out.

I sigh, bored of the repetitive conversation that Emmett and I seem to have daily.

"Well, if you insist." Emmett holds up his hands and backs out of the room, leaving me alone to
my thoughts.

Oh, and the questioning glances of my students.

"You know Mr McCarty, he's taken one too many footballs to the head," I joke to the class.

"I heard that!" Emmett shouts back.

Good.

A/N: What are your thoughts on Emmett? Think Edward will ever get enough courage?

Reviews make me happy! :)

 Chapter 3
A/N: Thanks again for all the reviews!

To jansails: Her age will be revealed in a later chapter, though I will say everyone's of
legal age. Hope that helps! :)

Edward:

Thursday evening, I make my way over to the library. Emmett's words swim around my head,
but I just don't know what I'd say to her.

Good book recommendations?

No, she'd think I was weird.

I suppose I kind of am.

I casually walk through the library, and instead of in her usual spot in the chair in the corner,
library girl is walking around, choosing her book. And damn, she's wearing the jeans today. The
ones that make her spectacular ass even more spectacular.

I should probably sit at a table today.

Just as I'm about to sit down, I see her reaching up to get a book. After a few failed attempts,
she sighs quietly, looking defeated.

"Do you need any help?" I offer before I can stop myself. She freezes, before turning around to
locate the person whom offered her help. When her beautiful brown eyes land on me, I offer
her a small wave.

Real cool.

Shut up.

"Um, sure," she mumbles, looking embarrassed as hell as I make my way over to where she's
standing.

"Which book?" I question, hoping not to embarrass her further. Though, I must say, the blush on
library girl's face is amazing.

She just points to the book she wants, so I easily pick it up off the shelf and hand it to her. She
really is short, almost a foot smaller than me. And so much more beautiful close up.

"Twelfth Night, huh? Probably my favourite Shakespeare play," I comment as I hand her the
book. Her brown eyes widen at my admission, before she quickly takes the book from me and
stares intently at it instead of looking at me.
"Me too," she mutters quietly, scurrying away.

I frown at the speed in which she ran away, wondering why she's so shy.

Tonight, for the first time in a while, I leave the library before library girl. I wasn't lying when I
said Twelfth Night was my favourite, so I've read it several times previously.

At least tomorrow in school I can tell Emmett I've spoken to her. However one sided the
conversation may have been.

A/N: Proud of Edward for finally talking to library girl?

Review please! I love hearing your thoughts and any questions you may have :)
 Chapter 4
A/N: Most of you were proud of Edward for finally speaking to her! Let's see how
Emmett reacts...

Edward:

"You spoke to her? What was her response? Are you going on a date?" Emmett asks, a big
smile on his face.

"Um, no. I, uh, offered to get her a book down from a high shelf," I admit, busying myself with
my food instead of looking at him.

"Did you at least find out her name?" Emmett sighs.

"No," I squeak, cringing at myself. "No," I repeat in a much deeper voice.

Emmett pauses in eating, stares at me for a couple of seconds, then bursts out laughing.

"You are soooo in love with her!" Emmett coos, rubbing my head and messing up my already
messy hair.

"Who's in love with who?" Jessica, the art teacher, asks, obviously overhearing Emmett. It's not
hard, he practically shouts every sentence.

"Eddie boy's in love!" Emmett shouts pointing at me. I squirm in my seat, uncomfortable with all
the attention he's drawing to me.

"I'm not in love, she's just a friend," I mutter, nowhere near as loud as Emmett.

"A friend? I've heard how you speak about this so called friend. You never speak about me like
that," Emmett huffs.

"That's because I don't like you," I point out.

"So, who are you in love with, Edward?" Jessica grins, sauntering over to the table and sitting
down next to me.

Invasion of personal space.

"No one, ok? I'm single and not in love with anyone!"

Sadly, I thought that would deter Jessica Stanley. However, it appears to just spur her on
further.

"A handsome man like you is single? That's a shame," Jessica coos, placing her hand on my
arm.
I'm pretty sure I'm grimacing right now, not that she's aware of it.

"He's afraid of commitment. He knows absolutely nothing about women," Emmett tells Jessica.

I nod hurriedly in agreement with him, hoping that puts her off.

"I don't need commitment," Jessica whispers, leaning closer to me.

"I'll, uh, keep that in mind," I nod, planning to omit this from my memory.

Thankfully, Jessica leaves me with Emmett then, and I sigh in relief.

"You'll keep that in mind?" Emmett questions, laughing at me.

"I didn't know what else to say!" I huff, put off eating now. "And, for the record, I'm not afraid of
commitment," I add.

"So you agree that you know nothing about women?" Emmett chuckles.

"I know some things. They're just so damn confusing!" I whine.

Emmett just laughs at me, so I swear at him and then decide to head to my classroom early. At
least this means I can escape Jessica.

A/N: Thoughts on Jessica?

Review please! :D
 Chapter 5
Edward:

When it's Saturday, I sigh in relief. Because of Emmett, for the rest of the day people were
asking me who my girlfriend was. As much as I tried to tell them I didn't have a girlfriend, they
just wouldn't believe me.

Walking into the library, I immediately notice library girl isn't in her usual spot. I frown,
immediately thinking the worst; maybes she's ill or maybe she moved away? Forks is a fairly
small town, maybe she wanted to live in a city?

I sigh but go to the music section, as I need to get out another textbook to check out. I'm
hoping this isn't quite as boring as the last one. Also, while I'm here, I get out a couple of
pieces for the piano, thinking I haven't played seriously in a while.

Taking them over to the desk, I get the biggest shock of my life when I see library girl behind
the desk. As I make my way over, I try to see if she's wearing a name tag.

Sadly, she isn't.

"Hi, would you like to check out these books?" she asks me timidly, not looking at me, only the
books.

"Yes please," I reply, hoping to sound at least a little confident.

"You play piano?" she asks as she's stamping one of the books with pieces in it.

"Yeah, and guitar," I tell her, smiling.

"Wow, you must be really talented," she says, actually sounding quite impressed.

I shrug, suddenly embarrassed. "It's nothing. I teach at the high school," I inform her. I don't
need to specify the high school, there's only one in town.

"Oh, do you know Emmett McCarty?" the girl asks, seemingly relaxing around me more.

"Yeah, we're pretty good friends. Why?"

"He's my cousin."

What? The annoying oaf that's loud and obnoxious is related to her?

"R-Really?" I stutter feeling the blood drain from my face. Oh god...

"Yeah, why is that such a problem?" Library girl asks, cocking an eyebrow at me and looking
seriously hot.

Not the right time for that…

"It's just; I can't believe he's related to you!" I tell her, which only seems to increase her anger.
"He's just so loud and obnoxious, and you're…well…quiet and, um, not obnoxious…" I add,
probably making the situation worse.

To my complete surprise, library girl laughs. It's such a sweet sound.

"A lot of people say that," library girl chuckles. "I'm Bella, by the way," she adds.

"I'm Edward," I reply, wondering what Emmett's reaction will be when I tell him the girl I've been
pining for is his cousin.

Probably not so good.

"Oh, yeah, Emmett mentioned you. Said to look out for, and I quote, the 'shy, geeky and out of
place guy with messy hair'," Bella says, smiling. God, she's so damn beautiful!

"Shy? Geeky?" I huff, planning on having a word with Emmett. "Do you think I'm geeky?" I ask,
genuinely curious.

"Well, the fact you're in a library on a Saturday afternoon…" Bella trails off, grinning. "Geeky is
good, though. I like geeky," she admits, blushing at her own admission. I smile victoriously.

"You're in a library too," I point out to her.

"Yes, but it's my job!" she retorts, pretend scowling at me.

"So you claim," I wink at her, teasing her.

"Thanks for the other day, by the way. You know, for helping me get the book down," Bella
says, turning shy once more and changing the subject.

"It was no problem, really," I smile at her, hoping she'll be less shy. "At least my height can be
used for something," I add.

"Maybe I should start wearing heels," Bella muses in a joking tone.

"I like your height," I inform her, kicking myself for saying that.

How weird does that sound?

Very.

"Thanks," Bella mumbles, blushing again but this time with a small smile on her face.

Since my books have all been checked I have no reason to stick around much longer, which is
very sad indeed.

"See you around," I smile at her as I walk out of the library.

A/N: How do you think Emmett will react when he finds out Edward likes his cousin?

Review please! :D
 Chapter 6
A/N: Here's Emmett's reaction!

Edward:

On Monday at school, I avoid Emmett. He knows how much I've been pining after this girl from
the library, but I'm scared of his reaction when I tell him it's his cousin.

I'm predicting two responses. Firstly, he'll be angry that I want his cousin, and beat me up. Or
secondly, he'll tell Bella how I feel about her and how I've been reading every book she read.

Either option would be bad.

"Edward! You been avoiding me?" Emmett booms, walking into my empty classroom.

Damn free period…

"No, why would I do that? I've just been really busy today," I lie feebly.

"Is it that chick? The one from the library?" Emmett asks. If only he knew said 'chick' was his
cousin.

"Maybe…" I mutter, trying to focus on marking.

"Did you speak to her? Do you know her name?" Emmett sighs, sitting on the edge of one of
my desks.

"Yes, I spoke to her. She just started working at the library," I inform Emmett, watching as he
begins to frown. Right, here goes nothing. "Her name is Bella."

I look away from Emmett and brace myself for his reaction. When he doesn't say anything, I
think, hope, that he may have left.

"Bella? As in, my cousin?" Emmett says loudly.

"She may have mentioned that…" I mumble, purposefully not looking at him.

I hear him sigh loudly before he speaks again. "She's been through a lot, ok? And as much as I
don't want to think about her dating – she's like a little sister to me – I think you could be good
for her. Heavens knows you're both geeky enough for each other," Emmett finally says.

My eyes shoot up at him, gazing over him wearily. "You're not going to beat me up? Tell her
how I feel? Or tell me to never speak to her again?"

"Do you want me to?" Emmett teases. I glare at him.

"Hell no. You're just…taking this remarkably well. Scarily well," I tell him.
"I'm not happy, but I know how much you've been pining after her. She's pretty amazing, so I
can see why," Emmett nods, looking proud of himself. "Anyway, I've been trying to find you all
day because Rosie asked if you wanted to come round for dinner tonight," Emmett adds.
Rosie, or Rosalie, is Emmett's wife of two years, and the only mechanic in town.

"I'd never say no to good, free food," I grin back, thinking of Rose's cooking. Her chicken
casserole is to die for…

"I thought that'd be your answer!" Emmett laughs, getting up as the bell rings. "Be round for 5,
we can have a beer beforehand." With that, Emmett leaves, leaving me to muse over what he
said about my library girl.

She's been through a lot? Whatever it is, I just want to give her and big hug and tell her it'll all
be ok.

And maybe kiss her.

Definitely kiss her.

A/N: Thoughts on how Emmett reacted? Any thoughts on what Bella might have been
through?

Review please!
 Chapter 7
Edward:

I change into a t-shirt and jeans, as opposed to my suit I wear to school, and make my way
over to Rose and Emmett's place. I decide to walk as they only live a couple streets down from
my house and Emmett mentioned beer.

I knock on the door and Emmett welcomes me in, grinning a little too widely.

What's he up to?

"Right on time, as always," Emmett jokes, ushering me into the living room.

"Just because you're always at least 15 minutes late," I retort, sitting down on the sofa.

Emmett goes to get us a beer, and as soon as he's handed me my beer there's a faint
knocking on the door. I open my beer as Emmett opens the door, wondering who could be
there.

Walking back into the living room, Emmett's grin is even wider as, behind him, is my library girl.
Bella.

I choke a little on my beer, standing up to greet Bella.

"Hey, Bella," I smile weakly. Is a hand shake too formal? A hug too informal?

"Hi Edward," Bella smiles back, looking…radiant.

"Want a drink, cuz?" Emmett asks her.

"I'll have a beer," Bella requests, sitting down on the sofa. I sit next to her.

"Are you even old enough?" Emmett teases.

"I'm 22, Em," Bella sighs, rolling her eyes at her cousin.

She's 22? 22!? That's a whole 8 years younger than me! And Emmett thinks we'd be good
together?

"You ok?" Bella asks, gently placing her hand on my arm. A jolt of shock rockets through me
from her touch.

"Yeah, fine. Just thought I forgot to lock my house up," I lie to her and take a big gulp from my
beer. "I'm just going to go speak to Emmett about school work," I add, putting my beer down
and walking into the kitchen.

"Hey dude, what's up?" Emmett asks as I walk into the kitchen.
"What's up? What's up?" I begin, trying to keep my voice down. "Hmm, let me think. Maybe the
fact you omitted the information that Bella is only 22!" I point out to him, walking close to him.

"And?" Emmett sighs.

"You do realise that's 8 years younger than me, right? And you were going to give me the go
ahead to date her?" I raise my voice a bit, unable to help myself.

"What's 8 years? Rosie is 4 years younger than me, and we've got on fine," Emmett points out
to me.

"That's half the age difference!" I shout to him.

"What's going on here?" Rose asks, walking into the room. She walks right over to Emmett and
hugs him tightly.

"Eddie's freaking out over being 8 years older than Bells," Emmett calmly tells her.

"Just like we thought he'd react?" Rosalie replies to Emmett.

"Pretty much," he nods in agreement.

"Hate to break up the conversation, really, but I am still here. And annoyed," I tell them both,
glaring at them.

"What's there to be annoyed about?" Emmett frowns.

"You led me to believe I had a chance with her, when I clearly don't," I tell him, wishing I'd
brought my beer with me.

I could really do with a drink right now.

Rose walks over to me and pats me on the shoulder in an incredibly patronising move. "You
really have it bad, don't you?"

"But she's-" I begin, but Rose shhh's me.

"And? There are a lot bigger age differences. Just go for it," Rose encourages me.

I sigh heavily once more, confused about what to do.

Just as I'm about to return to the living room, Bella appears in the doorway.

Please don't have heard me before…

"Why were you arguing about my age?"

Oh, shit.
A/N: Uh oh...how do you think Bella will react?

Review please!
 Chapter 8
Edward:

"Why were you arguing about my age?"

Oh, shit.

I look helplessly towards Emmett and Rose, but they just shrug in response.

"I just…um, didn't realise you were so…young?" I squeak out, hiding my face in my hands.

"Young? I'm sorry, I didn't realise my age was a problem for you," Bella replies angrily, shooting
daggers at me.

"It's not!" I quickly tell her. Well, maybe a little. But not in the way she thinks.

"Then why the argument about it?" Bella frowns, only getting angrier.

"Because…I was concerned about you. About you living alone at your age," I quickly make up.

"Oh, so you were concerned about me, huh?" Bella begins, walking closer to me. "Sorry to
disappoint you, but I can deal just fine living alone." Bella stands so she's right in front of me,
her closeness turning me on despite her words.

"Bella…" I start to apologise but she doesn't stay for my apology, instead turning around and
storming out of the room.

Just as I'm running after her Rose stops me, going after Bella instead of me. I walk over to a
cabinet and bang my head against it repeatedly, only stopping because Emmett pulls me away.

"Do you think Bella will want you will a big bump on your forehead?" Emmett questions me.

"She doesn't want me; end of discussion. Ugh, I'm an idiot!" I groan, going to the fridge and
getting out another beer.

I gulp it down as Emmett copies my actions. I pace around the kitchen, unsure of what to do.
Bella hates me. And it's entirely my fault. Just as I was calming down after finding out she was
22, she starts shouting at me.

"You look like it's the end of the world," Emmett comments. I give him a look. "Oh, come on.
She'll come around. Eventually," he adds to try and make me feel better.

It just makes me feel worse.

"I'm sorry for ruining dinner. I'll just go home and leave you, Rose and Bella," I tell Emmett,
finishing off my beer and putting the empty bottle down on the counter.

I open the kitchen door and walk out into the living room, walking quickly through the room when
I see Rosalie sat on the sofa with Bella in her arms.

I'm such an asshole.

I don't stop to say goodbye, already aware that I've caused enough trouble and both women
probably hate me right now.

Once I get home, I get another beer and drain it quickly. Since I'm going to regret everything
that's happened with Bella in the morning, I may as well add another thing to the list of things to
regret in the morning.

A/N: Anyone think Edward might be over-reacting just a little bit?

Review please! We're so close to the 100 mark! :D

 Chapter 9
A/N: Had to mention this - I love sassygirl156's name for Edward in her review: drama
dude!

Edward:

After taking some pills to ease off the pounding in my head, I realise someone's knocking on my
door. Grudgingly, I get up from my seat on the sofa and open the door, revealing an angry
Rose.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" she demands, finger jabbing my chest as she pushes her
way into my house.

"Edward Cullen?" I offer, too tired and hung over to deal with her at 10 in the morning.

"You left without saying goodbye last night!" Rose shouts at me.

"Look, if you're going to rant, I'd prefer it to be a little quieter," I tell her, somehow remaining
relatively polite. "I left because I thought I'd caused enough trouble. I did walk right through the
living room, where you and…where you were," I point out, rubbing my chest.

Damn, it hurts to think of Bella.

I don't think I'll ever be able to return to the library.

"Obviously not, because it was worse when you left! I thought you were going out for air, but
Bella was distraught when she realised she'd made you leave," Rose tells me.

"Why would she be upset? Wasn't she glad I left?" I ask bitterly, sitting back down on the sofa
while Rose continues her rant.

"You're such a man," Rose huffs, storming out of my apartment almost as quickly as she
entered.

I lie back on the sofa, confused about everything that's happened. What the hell does Rosalie
mean? Am I supposed to speak girl or something?

In the afternoon I decide to be productive – and try to take my mind off Bella – and do some
lesson planning. This, however, doesn't work, as I end up using the book I got from the library.

How did things go so wrong with Bella?

Oh right, her age.

Which I was just getting over when she decided to announce she'd heard everything I had said.

As I'm flicking through the books, I catch that they're due in today. I have to take them back to
the library. I can hardly ask Emmett, he'd mock me relentlessly, and Rose hates me currently.
Damn, I need more friends.

When I walk into the library I peer around, not spotting Bella. I'm not sure if that's good or bad,
though. I make my way over to the desk, still no sign of library girl, and place the books down.
They're pretty good, so I'm going to take them out for another week.

"Hello, how ma- Edward?" Bella startles as she rushes around the desk, eyes widening when
she spots me.

"Um, sorry. I would, uh, just like to check these out. Again," I mumble, averting my eyes.

I hear a small sigh, and see her hands reach forward and take the books, scanning them and
stamping them.

"I'm sorry," Bella suddenly blurts. I quickly look up at her and raise an eyebrow in question.
What's she sorry for? "About yesterday. I, um, over reacted. You shouldn't have left, I should
have," she adds, looking down.

"Don't be sorry. I over reacted too," I tell her, kicking myself for how I acted yesterday.

"Let's just agree that we both over reacted," Bella says. I finally allow myself to look up at her,
my eyes drinking in the smile on her face and her beautiful brown eyes. I take in all of her face,
perhaps looking at her a little too long.

I still have so many questions, though, as I'm sure she does. Why did she get so angry when I
said I worried about her living alone? Why was she sad about me leaving?

"Are you free tomorrow? We could go for coffee and talk," I ask before I can stop myself.

"Um, ok?" Bella squeaks out.

"How about 11 at the Starbucks? You know where that is?" I suggest before I back down.

"Yeah, I'll see you there," she nods, handing me back my books.

"Thanks," I murmur as I look at her once more before turning around and leaving.

A/N: Any thoughts on our awkward couple? :D

Next chapter will be longer and have some answers for you!

Review please!
 Chapter 10
Edward:

I'm in the coffee shop, but Bella isn't. It's 11:05 a.m. Maybe she's like Emmett, her cousin,
always late? Or maybe she just didn't want to see me?

I could understand that.

Though it would still hurt.

"Edward? Hi," Bella greets me, taking the seat opposite me.

"Hey, sorry, I didn't see you walk in," I smile back at her, waving a little awkwardly at her.

"You did look pretty deep in thought," Bella teases.

I would apologise again, but I think I've already said sorry to her enough times.

We both order a coffee and cake – her a chocolate cake and me a coffee cake – and sort of
look at each other for a while.

"You wanted to talk?" Bella breaks the silence, her eyes darting towards the table.

She as shy, if not more so, than me.

"Yeah. About…about the other day. At Rose and Emmett's," I tell her. She nods in response, so
I continue. "Why did you get so annoyed when I mentioned you living alone?" I ask cautiously,
not wanting to make her angry again.

"I'll answer if you answer my question," Bella replies.

"Ok, what's your question?" I ask, though I have a feeling I know the answer.

"Why you got so freaked about my age?" Bella asks, raising an eyebrow at me.

"You answer first," I say, afraid of what to answer.

The waitress comes over and gives us both our coffees and cakes, so Bella pauses a moment
to answer.

"It's to do with my ex," Bella begins. Suddenly, what Emmett said about her being through a lot
comes into my mind. "We started dating when I was 17, so was he. Like any other 17 year old,
I thought I was in love, and so I shared everything with him." Bella doesn't elaborate, but I
understand what she means. "Anyway, things didn't work out, so I moved here to be closer to
Emmett," Bella finishes quickly.

"That's not all there is to the story, is there?" I ask, wanting to reach over and hold her hand to
comfort her. I'm not sure she'd appreciate that, though.
Bella shakes her head in response. "No, there's more. But, um…"

"Hey, it's alright. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," I assure her.

"It's not that. It's more…I don't think you'd want to hear it. It's not a very nice story," Bella
admits sadly.

I reach over and hold her hand, needing to touch her. "I want to be here for you. I want to
know," I tell her gently.

"Ok," she breathes out shakily. "We'd been dating two years when someone in my class told
me the rumours about Mike, my ex. He, um, had apparently been with most of the girls in our
year. He wasn't actually a virgin, like he'd told me. Anyway, when I found out, I was pissed, so I
confronted him and called things off. He wasn't so happy with that, and when I went round to
his flat to get my things he shouted at me and called me horrible names. I was about to leave
when he stopped me, hitting me repeatedly," Bella stops here, taking a gulp of her coffee and
obviously trying not to cry.

"It's ok, Bella, take your time," I tell her, smiling to encourage her to continue. Internally, I want
to find this bastard and kick him over and over again.

"Finally he left me alone, since I'd pretended to pass out. When he turned around I tripped him
up, kick him in the nuts and phoned the police. I took out a restraining order and he's currently
in prison," Bella finishes, sipping from her coffee once again.

"I'm so sorry Bella, especially for what I said," I tell her, taking her hand once again.

"Yep, so now I'm sworn off men," Bella declares.

Um…

Right.

Where does this leave me?

"So, why were you getting so freaked out about my age?" Bella asks.

Oh god. What do I tell her? If I tell her the truth she'll just reject me, which I couldn't bear.

"I, um, well; it's just, you see…" I splutter.

"It's not anything bad, is it?" Bella asks, looking worried.

"No! No, not bad! Well, you might see it as bad," I sigh and see a confused look on Bella's
face. "I liked you. Wait, no, still like you. I, um, Emmett gave me the go ahead to ask you out
after I found out you two were related. Then I find out you're 22…" I trail off, seeing as she
gets the idea.

It only causes anger in her, though.

"So? How old are you, 24, 25?" Bella huffs, glaring over at me.

"I'm 30," I say simply, letting that sink in.

There's a long silence between us, so I take the time to drink some of my now tepid coffee.
The cake's still nice, though.

"So?" Bella shrugs, finally speaking.

"So? That's your only response? You do realise there's 8 years between us, right?" I question,
my eyes widening.

"I can do maths, Edward," Bella quips.

"But…" I trail off, not knowing what to say to her.

"But what?" Bella asks, smiling in delight at leaving me speechless.

"This is all hypothetical though, isn't it?" I sigh, sinking down in my seat a bit. "You said you
were sworn off men. I'm a man, so even without the age difference none of this matters," I
elaborate at her confused expression.

"None of this matters? Hypothetical?" Bella starts, outraged. "Why are we even here, then,
Edward, if none of this matters to you?" Bella stares at me in disbelief, looking like she's about
to get up and leave.

"I meant it didn't matter to you! You're the one who said they were sworn off men," I point out
to her, starting to get a bit angry myself.

After more silence from both of us we leave the coffee shop, and I walk Bella home. I'm not
sure where we stand, as she knows how I feel, but she doesn't want to date anyone. Well, any
men.

"Thanks for the coffee and cake," Bella says when we're standing outside her house. She's not
looking at me, though.

"Don't worry about it. Hopefully we can be friends?" I ask tentatively.

"Ugh, you're impossible!" she says, going inside and slamming the door.

What did I do?

 Chapter 11
Edward:

"What the fuck, Edward? This has to be a personal record. The two women I'm closest to both
hate your guts right now, you do realise this?" Emmett booms, storming into my classroom.

Thankfully, it's empty right now.

Not sure what my students would think about this. Actually, I do. They'd laugh at me.

"I'm fully aware, Emmett. Though, if you know why they hate me, please tell," I reply, not
looking up from the composition I'm currently checking.

"I don't know either! All I know is that Rosie said you were such a man," Emmett shrugs. "And I
know Bella's pissed because when she came round her and Rose spent an hour in a room
talking."

"Why did Bella come round? And, quite frankly, I don't understand why she hates me!" I groan,
leaning back in my chair.

"What happened? All I gathered is that you two went on some sort of date," Emmett says,
perching on a desk and clearly getting engrossed in the story.

He's a worse gossip than old women.

"Yeah, we went to Starbucks together yesterday. I asked her why she got angry about me
saying about her living alone, and she asked why I cared so much about her age," I begin,
hoping Emmett can shed more light on the situation. "Well, she told me all about that
douchebag Mike Newton, and then said she was sworn off men. Which I had to follow up by
telling her I liked her."

Emmett frowns, also looking in deep thought.

"So I walked her home and proposed being friends," I finish.

"And what did she do then?" he asks, leaning forward.

"Slammed the door in my face."

Emmett laughs. Loudly. For several minutes, while I glare at him.

"I have no idea why she did that!" Emmett laughs, wiping a few stray tears. "Women, eh?" he
adds, chuckling and shaking his head.

"Don't let Rose hear you saying that," I warn him.

"Nah, it's fine, she hates you too much, so I'm practically a god in comparison."
Finally Emmett leaves to teach his lesson, and my mind is taken off women by the arrival of my
next class.

Only, one of the girls who sits in the front row has tears streaming down her face, being
comforted by her best friend.

"Um, is everything alright?" I ask awkwardly.

Woman and tears don't mix. At all.

"Obviously not!" her best friend replies. Stacey? I think that's her name.

"Can I, uh, help in any way?" I offer as the classroom fills up.

"It's boy issues, Mr C," Stacey informs me.

"Oh. Do you want to go to the toilets or something?" I run my hands through my hair nervously.

"Yes, please," the girl…Charlie! That's her name!

The two girls soon scurry off, and once they've left the room I find the male students laughing at
my feeble attempts to comfort her.

"You're laughing now, but just you wait until you're faced with a crying girl. Then who'll be
laughing?"

Yeah, that shuts them up.

A/N: Aww, Edward isn't very good with women, is he?

Review please!
 Chapter 12
A/N: Sorry for the late update (I so did not nearly forget to update at all ;) )

Edward:

"You're such an asshole…inconsiderate…no awareness of feelings…an oblivious man…tears…

thought she could trust you…I can't believe you…what the hell…are you even listening…"

I flick through the music book, which has piano for beginners in it. It's a bit patronising.

"EDWARD ANTHONY MASEN CULLEN ARE YOU FUCKING LISTENING TO ME?"

Shit. That would be a no.

"Yeah, sure," I reply, picking up the phone.

When I realised Rose phoned to rant, I just left her to it. I'd rather not have a headache.

"Then what did I just say?" Rose huffs.

"You asked me if I was listening," I joke, hoping to lighten the tension.

"Fucking smartass," Rose groans. "Seriously, Edward, do you have any awareness of female
emotions?"

Um, what?

"Of course I do!" That'd be a lie.

"Are you lying?"

"No." Yes.

"Edward-"

"Ok, fine, I was lying! Women are complicated! But I don't see what this has to do with
anything," I interrupt, considering hanging up.

"You realise that Bella is a woman, don't you?" Rose asks me slowly.

"I'm very aware of that," I reply. I'm too aware of that.

"Then do you understand the link?"

"Look, Bella was the one who slammed the door in my face! I suggested that we be friends,
and then she slams the door. So, yes, I understand the emotion of hate or dislike, because
that's what Bella showed me."
I hang up, then, fed up with everyone's sudden interest in my love life.

A/N: Poor Edward...maybe next chapter things will start looking up for him?

Review please!
 Chapter 13
A/N: Anyone had a lucky/unlucky Friday 13th?

Edward:

The rest of the school week passes fairly calmly, with no more crying pupils or rants from
Emmett. Clearly Rose got the message when I hung up on her.

The music book is due back to the library, so, once again, I find myself sneaking around the
library, hoping not to bump into Bella.

Just as I'm walking through the library, I almost step on a fire engine.

"Oh, sorry, buddy," I grin down at the little boy. "That's a cool fire engine you've got there," I
add, crouching down to his level.

"Thanks. My mummy got it for me," the little boy says, somewhat shyly. He only looks to the
about 4 years old, but I don't see any sign of his parents.

"Cool. Where is your mummy?" I ask him, a little concerned for the boy.

"Ova there," he mumbles, gesturing wildly around the library. I frown.

Just as I'm about to say something else to this little boy, another voice speaks.

"Arthur! What have I told you about speaking to strangers?" A very familiar voice reprimands.

Standing up and turning around, I see Bella looking down at the little boy.

"I was just asking him where his mother was," I tell her, wondering what her connection to the
little boy is.

"Well, she's here now," Bella replies.

I glance around her, but she's the only person standing there.

"Wait…you're…" I trail off, seemingly unable to get the words out.

"Yes, Arthur's my son," Bella says, a little angrily, and then she picks up the small boy.

"Mama!" Arthur grins up at Bella.

"I never knew you had a son," I say dumbly. I think that's pretty obvious.

"It's not something I shout from the rooftops." Bella turns away and starts walking away from
me then.
"Who's that, Mama?" Arthur asks, and I can see him looking at me over Bella's shoulder. I grin
and make funny faces, making him laugh.

"He's a friend on Uncle Emmett's," Bella tells her son, not looking at me.

I casually walk over to the desk, where she's brought Arthur.

"You know Uncle Emmie?" Arthur asks, looking up at me.

"Yep," I smile to him.

"Was there something you needed?" Bella demands, clearly not wanting me to speak to her
son.

"I need to hand in these books," I tell her, grinning when she looks a little shocked that I actually
came here for a reason.

She stamps the books with added ferocity, though I'm still bemused as to why she hates me.

Ah, well, she has a cute son. It's clear to see he has his mother's features, with short brown
curls and brown eyes much like his mother's.

"See you around," I say to both of them before leaving the library.

A/N: Thoughts on Bella having a son?

Review please! :)
 Chapter 14
A/N: Just wanted to clear something up, because a lot of you seem to be hating on Bella
at the moment. The reason she's being a bit short with Edward is because she's had
bad experiences in the past. Also, Edward wasn't told about her son, as Emmett was
leaving it for Bella to tell, and Bella wasn't ready yet. This chapter kind of answers that
more, too :)

Hopefully some of you will start seeing Bella in a different light now :)

Edward:

"How come you didn't tell me Bella had a son, Uncle Emmie?" I ask Emmett when I arrive at his
house.

"Don't call me that," he grits out. "Wait, how did you find out?" he asks as we walk into his living
room.

"I had to go to the library yesterday, and I met him," I shrug, plopping down on the sofa.

I straighten up pretty damn quickly when Rose walks in, though.

She shoots me a glare before sitting next to Emmett, snuggling up to him and kissing his cheek.

"Edward knows about Arthur," Emmett says casually.

"What?" Rose shrieks.

"Pretty cute kid," I reply, equally as casual as Emmett.

Emmett chuckles before I briefly explain how I met him yesterday at the library.

"I don't get why she was so secretive about him, though," I muse.

"Because, Bella's 22 and Arthur's 4," Rose tells me.

"So? I don't get why she couldn't have told me," I comment.

Rose looks at me with an expression I can't read.

"Tell me something, Edward," she begins. "Why did you suggest to be friends with Bella, when
it's painfully obvious to Emmett and me that you want her?" Rose asks, raising an eyebrow at
me.

I sigh heavily. "She said she was sworn off men."

There's a moment of silence, but I don't chance a glance at Rose. I'll admit; I'm a little scared
of her.
"That's the reason? The only reason? Just because she told you she didn't want to date
anyone?" Rose asks. I just nod. "Did she say this before or after you told her how you felt?"
Rose presses.

"Before. Why does this matter?" I huff, finally glancing over at them both.

"Do you really like her?" I look at Rose in disbelief. "If you do, you'd go over to her house and
tell her how you feel!"

"But-"

"Move your ass, Cullen!"

A/N: Thoughts now on Bella and Rose?

Review please! :D
 Chapter 15
Edward:

I knock continually on Bella's door, being met with the sound barking. I don't care; I'll keep
knocking until she answers.

"What?" Bella demands as she opens the door. "Oh, Edward. What do you want?" Bella asks,
frowning at me.

"I want to speak to you," I say, hoping she'll invite me inside.

"Speak about what?" Bella places her hand on her hip, and, fuck me, what a distraction.

"About us. Or the possibility of an us. I, uh, I think we got off on the wrong foot. Sorta. I really,
really like you, Bella. I want you so badly, and I was an idiot when I suggested being friends
because I know now that I could never be just friends with you. And I'm rambling because I'm
nervous and Rose was shouting at me," I blurt out.

The expression on Bella's face softens, but she still seems weary.

"Why couldn't you say this before?" she asks.

"You, uh, you said you were sworn off men," I mutter. "I'm a man," I add, to clarify.

"You're an idiot," Bella says.

"That too," I nod.

"And so am I," Bella says. "I shouldn't have said I was sworn off men, because I like you too,
Edward," Bella explains, staring down at the floor.

I reach forward and cup her cheek, tilting her face up so that she's looking at me.

"You do?" I murmur, grazing a thumb across her lips.

"Yes."

Leaning forward, I crash my mouth against hers, kissing her while keeping my hand on her
cheek. Bella's hands move into my hair as my tongue swipes across her bottom lip. We make
out on her porch for a while before I slow things down, kissing her more chastely.

"Are you free tonight?" I ask, resting my forehead against hers. "Because I want to take you
out. On a date," I add, grinning widely.

"What about Arthur?" Bella asks, biting her lip.

"He can come too if you don't have a babysitter," I tell her.
These words make her kiss me again for some reason, not that I'm complaining. I kiss her back
with earnest.

"You're the sweetest man ever, Edward," Bella grins, pulling me inside.

Um, ok.

Bella leads me into the living room, where I see the cause of all the barking when I was
knocking.

"How does such a tiny dog make that much noise?" I frown, looking down at the tiny black dog
with curly fur.

"I only got him a couple of weeks ago. Frankie's just a puppy," Bella says, picking up the dog.

She coos at the puppy, who waggles his tail in delight. Is it wrong to be jealous of a dog?

Probably.

"Mama, who's at the door?" Arthur asks, running into the living room. "Uncle Emmie's friend!"
Arthur shouts when he sees me.

"Yep. This is Edward, sweetheart," Bella grins, picking up Arthur and placing him on her hip. He
entertains himself by playing with some of Bella's hair.

Frankie, the dog, runs over to me, sniffing my feet and pawing at my legs. I'm just considering
picking him up when he lifts his leg and pees. All over me.

"Oh, Edward, I'm so sorry!" Bella says, putting down Arthur and scooping up Frankie. "Naughty
dog! He's just a bit excited, he's only a puppy!" Bella murmurs, taking Frankie out of the room.

When she returns, she kneels down in front of me – fuck – and starts attempting to clean the
hem of my trousers.

"Hey, don't worry about it, it's fine," I tell her, pulling her up.

She's chewing her bottom lip and looking extremely worried.

"No, it's not fine. I'm really sorry about Frankie. He's never pee'd on anyone before," Bella
says, shaking her head.

I chuckle as I pull her into my arms, kissing the top of her head.

"It's fine. He's a dog, I should have expected this."

A/N: Thoughts on Frankie? ;) And Bella and Edward finally admitting their feelings for
each other?
Review please!
 Chapter 16
A/N: Here's the long anticipated date!

Edward:

"So, the dog actually peed on you?" Emmett guffaws.

"Did you have to tell him, Bella?" I groan. Even Rosalie is laughing.

"You wanna date my cousin, you'll let me take the piss out of you," Emmett shrugs.

"You took the piss out of me before I even knew Bella!" I reply, tempted to hit him.

I glance over at Bella and see her giving Arthur a big hug and kiss on the forehead.

"Mama, I'm 4. I'm a big boy now," Arthur pouts, scrubbing away at the place Bella kissed him.

"I know, but you'll always be my baby." Bella ruffles his hair and stands up, leaving him playing
with a fire engine on Emmett and Rose's sofa.

We quickly say our goodbyes to Rose and Emmett, and I drive Bella over to my place. I lead
her up to my apartment, feeling a little self-conscious. Bella's place is so homey and mine is
so…white.

"Nice bachelor pad," Bella giggles, glancing around at the space.

"I prefer your place. It's a lot more homey," I admit, walking into my bedroom to change my
trousers.

After I'm changed I walk back into the living room, where Bella is looking at the only photograph
I have in here.

"You and Emmett are really close," Bella comments, turning to face me. The picture she was
looking at was one of Emmett, Rosalie and me, taken a couple of years ago.

"Yeah," I shrug, scratching the back of my neck and feeling a little embarrassed. "He's like a
brother to me," I add.

Bella nods, looking at me quizzically. I don't even try to work out what's going through her mind.

"Should we go, then?" I break the silence and lead her back down to my car.

I open the door for Bella, and then start driving a little out of town. Forks is pretty small, with
not too many restaurants, so I thought I'd take Bella to Port Angeles.

I drive around Port Angeles a bit, looking for a quieter restaurant. Since I only asked Bella out a
couple of hours ago, I haven't had chance to book us a table anywhere. Eventually, I pull up to
a quiet looking Italian restaurant.

As we walk inside I rest my hand on the small of Bella's back, trying to tamper down my
excitement at being on a date with her. I've wanted her for months and now I can't quite believe
we're on a date.

"That's a pretty big grin there," Bella teases as we take our seats.

"I'm happy. Do you know how long I've wanted to ask you out?" I tell her.

"It can't have been that long, I've only been working at the library for about a month," Bella
points out.

Shit. I hope she doesn't work out what I mean. How I practically stalked her for months.

"Oh, yeah, good point," I nod and then pick up the menu.

"Edward, you're a terrible liar," Bella tells me.

"Ok, so I may have seen you a couple of time in the library, before you started working there," I
admit.

"Yeah?" Bella asks, hiding her grin behind her menu.

"Yeah. But, as you may have noticed, whenever I open my mouth random things come out. I
have no control over it whatsoever," I tell her.

She laughs and puts down her menu, shaking her head at me.

"It's a good thing you're pretty, then," Bella says.

"You think I'm pretty?" I ask.

"You sound like a girl," Bella replies.

I pretend to glare at her, but it doesn't last too long.

"I think you're pretty," I mumble. Though, of course, Bella catches it. A blush covers her cheeks,
and I want nothing more than to lean over the table and kiss her. Just as I'm about to take her
hand and kiss it, the waitress comes to take our orders.

Talk about bad timing.

After we've both ordered drinks and meals, our eyes lock. For a few minutes we just grin
goofily at each other and I feel like I'm on my very first date all over again. I'm nervous, excited
and so thrilled, all emotions Bella seems to pick up.

"So you really don't mind that I'm the mother of a four year old?" Bella asks, biting her lip.
I lean across the table and gently pull her lip from between her teeth, making her eyes darken.

"I don't mind at all. Arthur seems like a good kid," I tell her honestly.

"He really is. It's just; I had him at a fairly young age…" Bella murmurs. "I'm sorry I didn't tell
you about him sooner," she adds. "I've not really dated anyone properly and I've never
introduced him to anyone other than family and friends," Bella explains.

"I can understand that. I'm glad I got to meet him, though," I say, reaching forward to take her
hand.

Very reluctantly, I let go of her hand when our food arrives, as she claims she can't eat one
handed. Personally, I'd rather struggle through dinner with one hand and keep holding hers, but
she said no.

For dessert, we decided to share a slice of chocolate cake, which I agree to mostly so that I
get the excuse to feed her.

I move my chair around the table, closer to her, and steal a quick kiss to her cheek. She
blushes and glances up at me, but doesn't say anything to me. I pick up a fork and get some
cake, and then hold it up to Bella.

"Mmm, so tasty," Bella hums, closing her eyes. She continues moaning and humming as I feed
her the cake, occasionally eating a bite for myself. In the end, she eats most of the cake, but it
was so worth it. "Edward, you hardly had any!" Bella points out.

"I don't mind. You seemed to be enjoying it, anyway," I smirk, kissing her cheek again.

Bella blushes a delightful shade of red while I pay the bill, and then I lead her out to my car. I
keep glancing over at her, and I know she notices because her cheeks remain slightly pink the
whole time.

"How was this for a first date?" I ask her as we approach Emmett and Rose's house.

"Pretty great, actually," Bella says, glancing over at me.

"Yeah?" I confirm, grinning.

"Yeah, but it'd be better if you kissed me."

I don't have to be told twice. I lean across the car – not the most comfortable thing – and press
my lips to hers. We move our lips together, though I keep things relatively chaste as I'm very
aware of her very muscular cousin, who's inside the house that's not too far away.

"Come on, let's go get Arthur," I tell her, pecking her lips once more.

A/N: Thoughts on their first date?

Review please! :)
 Chapter 17
A/N: You all loved the date, yay!

Edward:

The day after our date, I'm on cloud nine. I arrive at work early, and decide to give my students
extra fun lessons, since Christmas is coming up. I also want my students to help organise the
Christmas concert we have each year.

"As you all know, the Christmas concert is in just over a month. I'm currently looking for any
volunteers who will be willing to help me out," I tell my first class of the day, twelfth grade.

Thankfully, I get a few volunteers, which means I won't have to do too much of the work.

All my students notice my happier mood, but none of them say anything because I'm giving
them more fun lessons. Emmett, however, does decide to say something.

"You're unusually happy today. I hope you were a gentleman with my cousin," Emmett warns
me at lunch.

"You know I was! We picked up Arthur from you!" I remind him.

"And no funny business happened after that?" Emmett confirms.

"No!" I tell him. "I'm just happy because I finally asked her out. Finally got to kiss her," I add,
grinning.

"I thought you said there was no funny business?" Emmett asks, glaring at me.

"Come on! It was just a kiss," I tell him.

"Fine. Just make sure you treat her right," Emmett says.

I roll my eyes at him; because of course I'll treat her right. I've waited long enough for her; I'm
not going to mess things up now. Well, that's the plan, anyway.

"Believe me, I will," I tell him sincerely.

Finally he goes easy on me, and I relax a little bit. Well, until Jessica decides to sit next to me
again.

"So, you thought any more about my offer?" she asks, sitting way too close. There are other
seats she could sit at.

"What?" I blurt, looking desperately over to Emmett.

"From the other day," Jessica says, shuffling closer.

"Oh!" Now I remember. "Um, yeah, about that…" How do I put this politely? I glance over at
Emmett, but the grin on his face tells me he's not going to help me out with Jessica. "I'm not
single… I'm sort of dating someone," I end up telling her.

"Well, I don't mind about that…" Jessica grins. I shudder and move away from her.

"The girl he's dating is my cousin. I do mind," Emmett interjects.

Jessica's face visibly pales as she moves away from me and glances up at Emmett. I can
almost feeling her brain turning, trying to work out an excuse for Emmett. If she wasn't so
annoying I'd feel sorry for her.

As it turns out, I find it quite enjoyable watching her discomfort.

"Oh, that? I was just kidding, of course," Jessica says, adding on an overly fake laugh at the
end. She abruptly gets up and practically runs away to the other side of the staff room.

Emmett and I both break out laughing, and I gasp out my thanks to him. Watching Jessica flee
has definitely been the highlight of the day.

"Dude, I will never understand why women want you," Emmett says, shaking his head.

"Hey! I'll have you know I'm very charming," I tell him, which only makes him laugh some more.

"You may be charming, but you're utterly clueless when it comes to women," Emmett replies.

"Oh, and you're not?" I retort.

"Fair point. But I'm married, therefore I know more than you," Emmett states.

I frown, because, to me, that makes no sense. But since Emmett just saved me from Jessica's
evil clutches, I let him think he's won this round. Though, I'm pretty sure we're both equally
clueless about woman. Many times he's called me, absolutely panicked, because Rose is
crying and he doesn't know what to do to cheer her up.

I'll never know how we managed to get woman to like us.

A/N: Happy Jessica's finally got the message? ;)

Review please!
 Chapter 18
Edward:

After school, I go round to Bella's house because I missed her just a little bit. She doesn't seem
to mind, though, as when she opens the door and sees it's me, she kisses me.

The best kind of hello.

"Hey you," Bella says, blushing as she steps away.

I wrap my arms around her waist to pull her closer to me, and peck her lips again.

"Hey," I mutter back, placing kisses along her jaw. I have to lean down since she's pretty small.
Though, she fits perfectly in my arms.

"Stop molesting my friend," Rose says, appearing behind Bella.

I glare at her and give Bella one last kiss before reluctantly letting her go. Bella leads me
inside, so I stick my tongue out at Rose as we walk inside. Arthur laughs at my immaturity and
Rose just rolls her eyes.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" I ask Rose, sitting down next to Arthur.

"Am I not allowed to see my friend?" Rose replies, raising her eyebrow.

"No, I just thought you had a job," I shrug, glancing down at Arthur who's playing with her fire
engine. He has little firemen figures, who seem to be climbing up the coffee table.

"What does that mean?" Rose huffs just as Bella walks back into the living room. I smile when
she sits next to me.

"That you have a job?" I answer Rose, confused. Why is she getting annoyed?

"And I'm not allowed a day off?" she presses. Bella glances between the two of us, looking
nervous.

"I figured you'd be pretty busy, since there's only one garage in town," I tell her.

I glance down at Bella and see she's trying not to laugh. I'm not the only one confused, right?

"Edward, I own the damn place! If I want a day off, I can have a day off!" Rose glares at me.

I decide it's probably best to just keep my mouth shut. I wrap my arm around Bella's waist,
pulling her a little bit closer to me. Bella buries her head into my shoulder to stifle her giggles,
while I'm still oblivious.

After Rose leaves, I immediately turn to Bella. "Now, what the hell was that about?"
"Rose is feeling a bit…hormonal," Bella says, still grinning.

"Mama, can I play outside?" Arthur asks, jutting out his bottom lip just a bit. I think even I'd fall
for that look.

"Alright," Bella sighs reluctantly. "But not for too long! And we'll be sat out on the back porch to
keep an eye on you," Bella compromises.

Bella picks up Frankie and leads me out to the back porch, where there's a small bench that we
sit on while Arthur kicks a ball around the large garden and plays with Frankie. For a while,
Bella and I sit in a comfortable silence, our hands entwined.

Arthur occasionally glances over at me and grins widely, before going back to his game.

"He seems to really like you," Bella comments.

I glance over at her and quickly kiss her cheek. "I'm glad he has," I tell her honestly. "His
father…is he, um, around, or…?" I ask nervously. I don't want to overstep any boundaries by
asking her, but I can't help being curious.

"He's not around," Bella says, shaking her head. "He's in jail," she adds.

"Mike? He's the father?" I ask incredulous.

"Yep," Bella nods. Frankie starts barking loudly at a bird, but after a shout from Bella he lowers
the volume. "He didn't want anything to do with Arthur. I gave birth after our breakup, and he
just signed away his rights. He even had the audacity to ask if Arthur was actually his!" Bella
explains.

I squeeze her hand to try and calm her down, before finally wrapping my arm around her and
pulling her close to me. As she rests her head on my shoulder, I catch sight of a tear rolling
down her face.

"If I ever meet this guy, I'm going to punch him," I tell Bella. "I should warn you, however, I don't
have the best punch," I add.

Bella chuckles and snuggles closer to me, kissing the side of my neck.

"Though, I think he's had a large punishment anyway. Missing out on watching Arthur grow up,"
I tell her.

"You're so sweet, even if you can be kind of clueless sometimes," Bella teases me.

"I'm not clueless at everything," I smirk.

I lean down and press my lips against hers, my hand resting on her hip. Bella quickly kisses me
back, her hand tugging on my hair. She really is the sweetest thing I've ever tasted.

"You're right," Bella admits breathlessly. "Not clueless at kissing," she winks, kissing my cheek.
A/N: Some of you had questions about Arthur's dad, so here's your answers!

Review please! :)
 Chapter 19
Edward:

"Emmett! Get in here, I need your help!" Rose shouts from the kitchen.

Emmett sends me a panicked look while I just snicker.

"Is Uncle Emmie in trouble?" Arthur asks me.

"Probably," I tell him, grinning. Emmett scowls at me and takes another sip of beer. "You should
go, Uncle Emmie," I tease him.

Emmett's scowl increases since he can't cuss at me, so, with a heavy sigh, he sets off into the
kitchen. I'm still grinning.

"Edward?" Arthur asks, gently placing his drink down and turning to me. I give him my full
attention. "Can you teach me how to play guitar?" he asks.

"Sure, buddy," I tell him, smiling when he clambers into my lap.

Bella walks in, then, just as Arthur is thanking me. She raises an eyebrow at me, so Arthur
eagerly explains that I'm going to teach him how to play guitar.

"Really? Already turning my son into a musical prodigy?" Bella asks, kissing my cheek and
sitting down next to me.

"What's a prod-gy?" Arthur asks, frowning.

"Someone's who really, really talented," Bella tells him.

"I wanna be a prod-gy!" Arthur exclaims, bouncing a little bit.

Eventually getting bored of 'grown-up talk', Arthur turns his attentions to his fire engine, down
on the floor. Bella takes my hand in hers while I turn my head to kiss her cheek.

"Things are a lot different from the last time we were here," Bella comments.

"I'm still sorry about the age thing," I tell her.

"I'm sorry, too. I thought you were younger. You really don't look 30," Bella says.

"Thanks," I grin, leaning down to reach her lips.

"Hey!" Emmett shouts. "No canoodling on my sofa!" he says.

I groan and steal a quick kiss - which makes Bella giggle - and then I shuffle away from the
temptation. I keep her hand in mine, though. That's not unreasonable.
We all move into the dining room to eat lunch. Rose seems to be alright with me now; well, she
doesn't shout at me whenever I see her, so I'm calling that progress. Emmett, on the other
hand, doesn't seem to be fairing so well. I catch Bella and Rose sharing looks and briefly
wonder what it's about, before deciding it's best I don't know. If I ask Bella, I'll probably just get
in trouble with Rose. Which, seeing as I've just starting getting in her good books, if rather not
do.

"What are you plans for Christmas, Bella?" Rose asks Bella, glancing my way.

"Um, I'm not sure. I'll probably visit my parents at some point, but for now it looks like it'll just
be Arthur and me," Bella answers.

I glance down at the food, suddenly not finding it so delicious anymore. I know Bella and I
haven't talked about Christmas, but…I kind of wanted us to spend it together. But maybe it's
too soon?

"Edward?" Rose asks.

"Hmm?" I hum.

"What about you?" At my frown, Rose clarifies. "Any plans for Christmas?" she asks.

Oh. Um, well. "I'm not sure. I, uh, should call my parents or something," I answer with a shrug.

For the rest of the evening, I'm lost in my thoughts. I really, really want to spend Christmas with
Bella and Arthur, but I'm worried about asking in case she doesn't want to. I do need to call my
parents, though, so maybe I'll fly out to Chicago to spend the holiday with them.

Except I really don't want to do that.

"I'll see you tomorrow, or something, then?" I tell Bella when we're standing on her front porch.
Arthur has already run inside to find Frankie.

"Oh, ok. You, um, don't want to come in for a bit?" Bella offers.

"I've got a lot of marking to do," I lie, nodding.

"You mentioned about your parents…where do they live?" Bella asks, biting her bottom lip.

"Chicago," I answer.

"Chicago? You're going to Chicago for Christmas? When? How long for?" Bella blurts.

"Um, it's not decided yet," I shrug.

"We could, um…" Bella trails off. "I should leave you to your marking," Bella says, quickly
changing the subject.

"We could always do something on Christmas. You know, together? Like, at your house, or my
house. And with Arthur, of course…" I ramble.

"I'd love to," Bella grins, wrapping her arms around my neck and pressing her lips against mine.
I kiss her back while walking us back, inside her house. I shut the door with my foot, not
wanting to break contact with Bella's lips. "Don't you have marking?" Bella asks breathlessly, as
I trail kisses along her neck.

"I lied," I admit.

"I know," Bella grins, pulling my lips back to hers.

A/N: Thoughts on our shy and awkward couple? :D

Review please! :)
 Chapter 20
Edward:

"You need to put your fingers like this." I show him how on my own guitar, "And then strum."

Arthur puts his fingers like how I showed him, and then tries to make a G chord.

"Well done, buddy!" I praise him, ruffling his hair. His face scrunches up.

"You messin' up my hair. Your hair is messy!" Arthur giggles, pointing to my own hair.

"You're lucky, you've got your mum's hair," I tell him, grinning at the little boy.

I look up and see Bella has entered the room, and she's just watching Arthur and me.

"Look, mama, look what Edward show me!" Arthur proceeds to attempt another G chord, a
look of concentration on his face.

"That was amazing, baby!" Bella hurries over and kisses his forehead, before frowning. "Did
Edward ruffle your hair?" she asks, looking at me.

"He just wanted my hair to be like his," Arthur grins, then messes up his own hair.

Thankfully, a loud knock at the door distracts Bella, and I quickly grab Frankie so he can't try to
make a great escape. Every time anyone opens the door, he's off.

Emmett and Rose walk into the living room, where I'm trying to wrestle Frankie off my guitar.
As soon as the dog sees Rose, he's off and humping her leg.

I chuckle.

"Shut up, Cullen," Rose glares at me.

Bella giggles as she sits down next to me, and places a soft kiss to my cheek.

"Is that all I get?" I murmur quietly. Bella leans in closer to me, pressing her lips against mine.

Unfortunately, the moment is ruined by Arthur and Emmett both making noises and fake
gagging noises.

"Anyone want coffee?" Bella offers. Emmett and Rose both accept, and Arthur tells us he
wants a chocolate milkshake.

"I'll help make the coffee!" I quickly say, getting up from the sofa to follow Bella into the kitchen.
"Arthur, I'm leaving you to entertain the guests."

As I enter the kitchen I hear Arthur explaining to Emmett and Rose about the guitar. The perfect
distraction…
"Edward, we do need to actually make some coffee," Bella reminds me.

"In a minute," I mutter and then quickly reattach my lips to her neck.

Little whimpers escape Bella as I suck gently, moving down along her collar bone.

"Edward," Bella groans, tugging at my hair and pulling me away from her neck.

"Fine, make coffee."

I lean back against the counter and watch as Bella hurries around her kitchen, making coffee
for all of us.

"You're supposed to be helping," Bella says when she catches me watching.

"I'd much rather watch you," I tell her, grinning widely when she blushes.

"You can make the milkshake," Bella says.

I do as she says to make her happy, quickly making Arthur's milkshake. As soon as that's done
I glance over at Bella, who's facing the other way.

I wrap my arms around her waist and kiss her neck, making her squeal pretty loudly.

"Christ, you scared me!" Bella whisper shouts, turning around in my arms.

I lean down and kiss her nose before capturing her lips with my own. I tighten my hold on her,
pulling her against me. Bella moans into my mouth so my hips react of their own, grinding
against her.

"Dude, that's my cousin!" Emmett booms as he enters the kitchen.

We quickly break apart, though when Bella tries to move away from me I hold her tighter.

"And my girlfriend. Am I not allowed to kiss my girlfriend?" I reply.

"Not when her cousin is in the other room!" Emmett says, glaring at me.

"Can you stop talking about me like I'm not here?" Bella frowns.

"Sorry," Emmett and I say at the same time, making Bella laugh at us.

"Boys," she mutters, rolling her eyes.

"Sorry, beautiful," I murmur, lightly kissing her neck. She shivers against me and Emmett looks
like he might hit me.

"I said you could date my cousin. I didn't say you could hump her in front of me," Emmett
complains.
"Nothing's stopping you from returning to the living room," I smirk, wrapping my arms around
Bella's waist and pulling her close to me.

"I could hear her squealing and shit! I don't want to hear that!" Emmett frowns.

I hide my face in Bella's hair so that he doesn't see the massive grin on my face. Bella chuckles
and pushes against my arms so, when I'm more in control of my smile, I let her go. Emmett
remains standing in the kitchen to stop me from kissing Bella, so I make a mental note to
cockblock him and Rose next time I'm at their house.

When we return to the living room, I give Arthur his milkshake, and grin when he climbs up and
sits on my lap. I even catch a small smile on Rose's face, but she turns away so quickly I
almost miss it.

"Edward, can I show them the chord?" Arthur asks, turning on my lap to look up at me.

"Sure, buddy," I tell him, picking him up and placing him down on the chair, and then walking
over to the guitar. After I settle him on my lap again, I help him hold the guitar and remind him
of the positioning.

He strums the guitar a few times, looking proudly over at Rose and Emmett. They both applaud
him and make his face go brighter and brighter.

"You're turning Arthur into a mini Edward!" Emmett chuckles, the kitchen escapades long
forgotten.

"I wanna be a musical like Edward," Arthur declares.

"Do you mean musician, sweetie?" Bella asks him.

"Yeah, that," Arthur nods, grinning.

Arthur goes on to tell Emmett and Rose all about the guitar he wants for Christmas, and how
he wants to start his own band – which he wants me to be a part of. When I mention to Bella
that I do a bit of singing, her eyes darken slightly and her mouth parts. I definitely plan on
singing for her sometime soon.

"So, we came here because we have some news we'd like to share," Emmett starts, a large
grin on his face. He takes Rose's hand in his and squeezes it gently.

"I'm pregnant!" Rose announces, a bright smile on her face and tears in her eyes.

"Congratulations!" I tell them honestly. I know they've been trying for a while now and it's no
secret how much Rose dotes on children. Bella also congratulates them, wrapping an arm
around Rose and fist bumping Emmett.

"Mummy," Arthur draws out, frowning. "How are babies made?"

A/N: Thought's on Rose and Emmett's news?

Review please! :)
 Chapter 21
A/N: Sorry for no update yesterday, it was my friend's birthday so I was out!

Chapter 22 will be up later :)

Edward:

The past few weeks I've been in a couple Bella-induced bubble, going over to her house most
days and even helping with Arthur at bedtime.

Today, however, Emmett and I have to brave Christmas shopping. We were going to go on
Christmas Eve, but, according to Rose, that was unacceptable. Damn it.

"Any ideas what you're going to get Bella and Arthur for Christmas?" Emmett asks while we're
driving out to Seattle. We figured that the shops of Forks and Port Angeles wouldn't be
sufficient for all of our Christmas shopping. Rose and Bella also asked if we could get them
some extra decorations.

"I'm gonna get Arthur some sheet music for his ukulele," I answer him. "But, for Bella…shit," I
groan. I have no idea what to get her.

Jewellery? No, she doesn't seem like she'd appreciate that.

"I'm the same. No idea what to get for Rose," Emmett says as he pulls into the mall car park in
Seattle. It's still fairly early but it's already filled with cars.

"Right. Let's finish this shopping as quickly as possible, ok?" I say to Emmett as we get out of
the car.

"Of course," Emmett nods in agreement. "And this year, you get the joy of shopping for a
girlfriend. Have fun with that," Emmett teases.

"She's your cousin, so you should give me tips," I point out, grinning.

"The fact that I'm her cousin means I'm not going to be giving you tips. I'm not gonna help you
pick out underwear or some shit," Emmett groans, shaking his head.

I don't reply straight away, since, as soon as we step into the shopping mall, we see it's
swarming with people. I have a feeling this isn't going to be a quick shopping trip.

"I'm not gonna get Bella underwear! We haven't even…No," I shake my head.

"Didn't need to know," Emmett grimaces.

I follow Emmett through the crowds, since he can clear a path due to his size. Our first stop is
to a jewellery shop, where Emmett does his routine of buying an expensive jewellery set for
Rose. Rose absolutely loves jewellery and, since we're in a jewellery shop, I decide to buy a
pair of earrings for Bella. They're pretty, like she is.

Next, I drag Emmett to a bookshop to buy the sheet music for Arthur and I also pick up a
couple of books for Bella. I just pray she hasn't read them, though I don't recall her having read
them when I visited the library often.

After that, Emmett has the brilliant idea to buy some clothes for Rose. Now, Emmett claims to
be an expert on women, but I'm not so sure, for three reasons. Firstly, women are ridiculously
picky, so I doubt Emmett will be able to find something Rose will like. Secondly, sizes. If
Emmett gets a size that's too big, Rose will think that he thinks she's fat. If he gets a size that's
too small, Rose will think he wants her to be that size. Either way, Rose won't be happy with
him.

"Ow!" I shout, after being hit by yet another massive handbag. That'd be the third reason.
Women get scary when they go shopping. And violent.

"Stop being such a wimp!" Emmett shouts at me, pushing through the crowds.

"Why couldn't I wait outside?" I whine, dodging a handbag.

"Because you would've wondered off," Emmett says, rolling his eyes.

"You make me sound like a child," I complain.

"Edward; shut up," Emmett says, finally arriving at the right section.

I hang back as he riffles through the racks, pushing past aggressive female shoppers. I'm
stressed just watching him.

Emmett eventually settles on some pregnancy clothing for Rose, which I'm not sure is such a
good idea. I don't say anything, though, because I just want to get out of this place which, I'm
pretty sure, is the closest thing to hell I can imagine.

"What now?" Emmett asks.

"I need a present for my parents," I tell him.

"What are you going to get them?" Emmett asks.

"No idea," I shake my head as we start wondering around aimlessly.

A couple hours later, I've got presents for my parents and I think I'm about done for presents.
Well, I need to get Emmett's present sorted, but that's easy. Every Christmas I get him tickets
for a game or something, and we go together.

"Can we leave now?" I beg Emmett.

"One more shop," Emmett says.

"Are you kidding me? We've been here hours, we've been to practically every single shop! I'm
covered in bruises from vicious women's handbags and I can't-"

"Dude, I'm kidding! We can leave now," Emmett laughs.

Oh, thank god.

A/N: Thoughts on Emmett and Edward's shopping trip? :D

Review please!
 Chapter 22
A/N: As many of you have been requesting, here's a chapter of just Edward, Bella and
Arthur :)

Edward:

Like I do most days, as soon as I finish up at school, I head over to Bella's place. I kiss her
quickly on the lips when she opens the door, startling her a bit.

"Sorry, I missed you," I shrug, grinning sheepishly.

Bella just replies by pulling my head down and kissing me deeply. "Come in," Bella murmurs,
tugging my hand and leading me inside.

"Edward!" Arthur shouts, running at me. I scoop him up into my arms and hug him to me. "It's
only ten days until Christmas!" he shouts, grinning.

"You better be good, then," I tell him, putting him down on the sofa.

"Mama says you're gonna be here Christmas day," Arthur says.

"That's the plan," I smile at him. "Is that ok with you?" I ask him.

"Yeah! It's gonna be the coolest!" Arthur grins, before leaping off to play with Frankie.

Bella walks back into the living room with three mugs on a tray, and I can see whipped cream
on top. "I made hot chocolate!" Bella says.

Arthur bounces over to her and scoops up some cream quickly. I chuckle at the eagerness of
him.

"I was thinking that maybe you could stay over Christmas Eve. Arthur will want to be up pretty
early on Christmas morning," Bella suggests.

"I'd love to," I grin, kissing her cheek. Bella turns to face me, giving me easier access to her
lips, which I take full advantage of. I gently nibble on her bottom lip, before running my tongue
along it. Bella moans and arches into me, her hands in my hair. I move my lips across her skin,
gently sucking on her collarbone.

Just as I'm about to pull her into my lap, Arthur comes running back into the living room. We
quickly break apart, Bella blushing and me trying to cover my lap.

"I'm just, um, going to go to the bathroom," I mumble.

Bella smirks at me while I hurry off. In the bathroom, I manage to calm myself down, though I'm
not sure how much longer I can hold off. Bella is just so…perfect.
When I finally return downstairs, Bella and Arthur are snuggled up on the sofa. Bella informs me
that they're getting in the Christmas spirit by watching Elf, so I snuggle up with them and drink
my hot chocolate.

As I look over at Bella, feeling utterly content, I realise that I might just be falling for her.

A/N: Thoughts on the cutest couple ever?

Review please! :)

Also, I'm currently watching Elf - seriously, watch it. You'll instantly feel Christmasy ;)
 Chapter 23
Edward:

After we've put Arthur to bed, we return downstairs. I sit down on the sofa and turn on the TV
while Bella sits next to me.

"Do you want to stay over tonight?" Bella asks, snuggling up to me.

For the past week I've practically lived at Bella's house.

"Sure," I tell her, kissing her forehead.

"Good, because I like sleeping next to you," Bella grins, placing her legs over my lap. I start
massaging her feet.

"I like waking up next to you," I reply, smirking at Bella. I'm pretty sure she knows exactly what
I mean.

Let's just say, she's more than happy to help me with my morning problem. And I always
reciprocate.

"You do, huh?" Bella says, moving to straddle me.

Fuck.

"Very much," I murmur, gripping her hips.

Bella leans into me, pressing her chest against mine, and begins kissing my neck.

"Fuck," I breathe out, my head falling back.

"You like this?" Bella whispers, moving her hips just a tiny bit.

"Yes," I hiss, thrusting up against her.

Bella's lips move across my neck, along my jaw and up to my ear, where she sucks in the lobe
and bites it. I moan loudly, my hands going under her shirt.

"Take it off," she whispers in my ear.

I don't need telling twice.

Her top is soon off and lands somewhere on the floor, but I don't really pay attention. Her bra
quickly follows, and then she makes work of my own top.

The feeling of our naked chests pressed together is overwhelming, but I still want more. I want
her completely naked.
"Stand up," I order. Bella frowns at me, raises an eyebrow, then does as I've asked. "I want
you naked, Bella." Her eyes darken and she slowly begins to unbutton her jeans before pushing
then painfully slowly down her legs.

When she's standing in just her panties, I can't help but palming my now hard cock.

"Take them off, Bella," I tell her, motioning to her panties.

"You first," Bella tells me, her hands on her hips.

I raise an eyebrow at her, causing her to bite her lip. That alone makes me push off my jeans
and boxers faster than ever before. My hand immediately goes around shaft, stroking myself as
Bella removes her panties.

"So fucking beautiful," I murmur, taking her in.

Bella straddles me once more, kissing me hurriedly. My hands cup her tits, tugging on her
nipples. This makes her grind against me, and I can fucking feel her wetness on my cock.

"Bella, I fucking need you so bad," I groan.

"I love it when you swear," Bella hums; leaning down to place kisses along my chest.

I almost lose it when her tongue flicks my nipple.

"You keep teasing me and we'll have a mess on you and your sofa," I warn her, squeezing my
eyes shut when her hand wraps around my cock. So fucking good.

"So responsive for me," Bella moans in my ear.

"I'll be even more responsive when I'm inside you," I tell her, bucking against her hand.

"I know, but I love teasing you," Bella giggles breathlessly to me.

"Bel-la," I moan, so close to begging.

"Beg me," Bella smirks.

"You want me to beg you to sink down on my cock?" I ask her.

Before she can reply I flip us over, so that she's lying underneath me on the sofa. Her eyes are
wide and I think she realises her mistake in teasing me.

"I think it's only fair I return the teasing favour," I smirk.

I grab my cock and line it up; only I don't push inside her. I push gently against her pussy, only
to pull back a bit. I repeat the action a few times until I have Bella squirming and moaning under
me.
"Edward, please, I'm sorry! I need you, Edward," Bella moans, wrapping her legs around my
waist.

"What do you need, baby?" I ask, trying to refrain from smirking.

"I need you to fuck me," Bella says, staring intently into my eyes.

Without thinking I slam into her, crushing my lips to hers to quieten the loud moans. I pull out
and slam back into her just as hard.

"Christ, you're so fucking tight!" I groan, resting my forehead against Bella's.

Bella moans loudly, tugging roughly on my hair. I continually slam into her tight, wet heat,
moaning loudly as I do. So fucking good.

"Not sure I'll ever be able to stop, baby," I tell her, leaning down to kiss her again.

"Yes, Edward, fuck! Don't stop…don't ever stop!" Bella whimpers, arching into me.

Bella clenches around me, her legs tightening around my waist. Fuck!

"Are you close, baby?" I groan.

"Yes!" Bella gasps out.

I start pressing against her clit, increasing the sound of her moans. Fuck, she's loud.

I attempt to kiss her, but it doesn't really work. When I press down particularly hard on her clit,
Bella clenches incredibly tightly around me, throws her head back and comes. Her orgasm
triggers my own, and after a few more hard thrusts I collapse on the sofa, holding her against
my chest.

"I don't think I can move," Bella sighs happily, snuggling up to me.

"Am I going to have to carry you?" I smirk, placing a light kiss to her forehead.

"Yep," Bella hums, nodding.

After a few more minutes, I grab all of our clothes and scoop Bella up into my arms. I carry her
up to her bedroom, placing her down on the bed and quickly joining her.

"Edward?" Bella murmurs quietly, just after I've turned off the light.

"Yeah?" I ask, wrapping my arm around her to pull her close.

"I, uh, I have to tell you something," Bella says quietly. Even though the room is dark, I can still
see she's scared.

"What is it?" I ask, getting a little worried myself. "Oh, shit, we didn't use a condom!" I suddenly
blurt.

"No, that's not it," Bella quickly dismisses.

"Um, you do realise we just had sex without protection, right?" I frown, wondering how she's so
calm about this.

"Edward, I'm on the pill," Bella says.

"Oh," I mumble, burying my face into the pillow.

"Edward? Come on, look at me!" Bella groans, tugging at my hair. I remain hidden in the pillow.
"I love you, you silly man."

What?

Did she just…?

She what?

"Um." I should probably emerge from the pillow. Kind of hard to breathe. "You, uh…what?"

Very eloquent. Dammit.

"And you're sure of this?" I ask, because I had to.

"Very sure," Bella says, rolling her eyes.

"Oh," I nod. I think I'm still in shock.

She loves me? Me? And she's sure of it. Is she really sure, though?

"You do realise what you said, right?" I ask, hoping for casual.

Bella hits my arm. Pretty hard, actually.

"Yes, Edward, I'm absolutely certain that I love you, even if you are a little crazy and know
absolutely nothing about women," Bella huffs, crossing her arms.

I pull up the covers a bit – mostly because Bella's still naked and I'm very aware of that fact –
and turn to face Bella.

"Well, I love you and all your craziness, too," I grin, leaning forward to kiss her.

She stops me.

"My craziness?" Bella questions, eyebrow cocked.

"Yep," I nod.
"I'm not crazy! You ar-"

I cut off Bella by kissing her deeply, pushing my tongue inside her mouth. She whimpers when I
hover over her, which makes her completely forget what she was going to say.

"I love you," I grin, placing pecks all over her face.

"I love you, too," Bella says, wrapping herself around me.

A/N: Thoughts on the first 'I love you's'?

Review please! :)
 Chapter 24
A/N: Merry Christmas Eve!

Edward:

The next morning, I wake to a small body jumping up and down on the end of Bella's bed. I
quickly remember that we're both still naked, so I grab the covers to make sure we're both
covered up properly.

"Shit," Bella whispers as she wakes up, spotting Arthur at the end of the bed.

"Mama! Wake up!" he giggles, crawling closer.

"Hey, sweetie. How about you give mummy some time to wake up, ok?" Bella says, gripping
the covers tightly.

"Ok," Arthur grins, not moving.

"Have you brushed your teeth this morning?" Bella asks him with a pointed look.

"No, but I was gonna do them, mama," Arthur says, pouting.

"How about you go do them now?" Bella suggests.

Arthur jumps down off the bed and runs off to the bathroom, leaving Bella and me alone.

I wrap my arms around her and pull her close to me, giving her a big kiss on the lips. I rest my
hand on her waist and try to deepen the kiss, but Bella stops me.

"Arthur will be back soon, we can't," Bella says, smiling.

"Not even a little?" I protest, kissing along her neck.

"Maybe later," Bella whimpers, moving away. "Now, get dressed, Cullen," Bella says, grabbing
a top.

"Isn't that mine?" I ask her as I locate my boxers.

"Possibly," Bella grins, pulling on some shorts and walking over to kiss me. "You got a problem
with that?" she asks.

"Not at all. You look hot as-"

"Mama!" Arthur shouts.

"Fuck," I whisper, pulling on my jeans.

"No kissy. Uncle Emmie says I should stop kissy kissy," Arthur tells me, pointing his finger at
me.

"Does he now?" I ask, scooping up Arthur and putting him over my arm.

"No! Put me down!" Arthur squeals.

I start spinning around with him, making him giggle and squeal more.

"Mama! Save me!" Arthur pleads, still laughing.

When I glance over at Bella, she has tears in her eyes as she watches us. I shift Arthur around
so that he's resting on my hip, and then take a few steps closer to Bella.

"Come on, let's kiss mummy's cheeks," I tell him.

Arthur puckers his lips and leans forward, pressing his lips against Bella's cheek. I copy his
actions, kissing her other cheek at the same time.

Bella grins and shakes her head at us, so I steal a quick kiss to her lips. Arthur complains and
wriggles in my arms, so I put him back down. As soon as his feet touch the ground he runs off,
probably to play with his toys.

"I love you. Just…watching you with him…" Bella sighs happily, wrapping her arms around me.

"He's an amazing kid, Bella. He's not hard to love, and neither are you," I tell her honestly.

"Do you mean that?" Bella asks, looking up at my face.

"Of course," I say, dipping down to kiss her.

"You love me and Arthur?" Bella confirms.

"So much," I agree, kissing her slowly and passionately, showing her how much I care for her.

Eventually we break apart, since Arthur comes in complaining he's hungry and he wants
breakfast. I offer to help make breakfast, but Bella just instructs Arthur and me to sit and wait
at the table.

"Are you looking forward to Christmas, buddy?" I ask Arthur.

"Yes! I asked Santa for a guitar, so that I can be like you!" Arthur tells me, grinning.

My heart swells when he says this, and I find myself desperately trying to stop myself from
bursting out crying.

"Really?" I choke out, just as Bella joins us with a plate of pancakes.

"Yep," Arthur grins, reaching forward to grab a pancake.

I help him cut it up as Bella gets one for herself, and, once Arthur seems happy, I grab my own.

"So, at school, there's the Christmas concert coming up soon," I announce, a little nervous.

"Yeah?" Bella asks between mouthfuls.

"Yes, and, well, I'm sort of organising it, so I was wondering if maybe you and Arthur would like
to come?" I ask her.

"We'd love to, wouldn't we, Arthur?" Bella says, looking over at Arthur.

"Will there be guitars?" Arthur asks, looking very serious.

"Of course, buddy," I grin, ruffling his hair.

"Ok then," he shrugs.

Bella rolls her eyes at Arthur, though, personally, I think the kid has taste.

A/N: Thoughts on the penultimate chapter?

Review please! :)
 Chapter 25
A/N: Merry Christmas!

Sorry for no update yesterday, the website wouldn't let me onto my account!

Edward:

"Mark stole my pick!"

"Where's my reed?"

"Mr Cullen I've lost my music!"

Yes, and I've aged about ten years in the space of ten minutes.

"Mark, give Stacey back her pick. George, there's a draw of spare reeds and Lucy, please,
please tell me you're joking," I say, though the look on Lucy's face tells me she's not joking.

"It's alright, Mr Cullen, I have our music!" Lucy's friend tells me.

"Thank god," I blow out a loud breath.

"That's blasphemy, sir," Mark pipes up.

"I'm stressed. I could be saying a lot worse," I tell him.

"Like what?" Mark asks, grinning.

"Nice try," I tell him, glancing up to see Rose, Emmett, Bella and Arthur walk in. "Everyone, sort
yourselves out," I say as I walk over to my friends.

I greet Bella with a chaste kiss, though my students still feel it's worthy of whistling. I roll my
eyes as I greet Arthur with a ruffle of his hair, which makes Bella huff and glare at me.

"How's it going?" Emmett asks me.

"I think my hair is going grey," I reply.

"It doesn't look grey to me. It looks red," Arthur says, looking up at my hair.

They all get their seats, since I have to check up on my students. I see Arthur pointing over at
the guitars, a look of excitement on his face. After he told me about wanting a guitar for
Christmas, I suggested to Bella that a ukulele might be better due to the size. Plus, a ukulele is
much cheaper than a full size guitar.

"I didn't know you had a wife and a son," Mark says as I walk over to him.
"We're not married," I tell him, holding up my ring finger. "Now, everyone get in your seats," I
instruct them.

"Sir, you've got some lipstick on your lips," Lucy informs me, smirking.

I hastily wipe at my mouth while all my students snicker at me. To stop the laughing, I just
threaten to give them extra homework. It works pretty well.

The school hall starts filling up rapidly, and some of the kids begin to get stage fright. I attempt
to reassure them, but I'm not the best at reassuring people.

Finally, it's time to start the Christmas concert, and everything seems to be in order. No one is
nervous, at least not excessively, and everyone has their correct instruments and music.

Time to start this thing.

At the end of night, after I've praised everyone who participated, I let Arthur on one of the
guitars. Stacey's sat with him, showing him how to play some of the basic chords.

"Thank you for inviting us," Bella says, resting her head against my shoulder.

"My pleasure. Though, one of my students did ask if we were married," I tell her, kissing the
side of her head.

"What?" Bella questions, looking up at me.

"He said he didn't realise I had a wife and a son," I say.

"And what did you tell him?" Bella asks.

"I told him we weren't married," I shrug, glancing around before stealing a quick kiss.

"You didn't say Arthur wasn't yours?" Bella asks me.

"Shit, sorry, should I have?" I fret.

"No, it's just…he really looks up to you, you know?" Bella says. "Which is slightly annoying. You
have to make him fall in love with an expensive hobby, don't you?" Bella huffs, glancing over at
Arthur, who's playing the D chord over and over again.

After lots of promises to buy him a guitar and let him play on mine, we finally pry Arthur away
from guitar. Since Bella and Arthur came here with Emmett and Rose, I drive us all back to
Bella's place.

"It'd probably be easier if I just brought some clothes over to your place," I tell Bella after we've
put Arthur to bed. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. All the playing of guitar
must've worn him out.

When Bella doesn't say anything, I glance over at her. She's just staring at me with her mouth
slightly open.

What did I say? Did I say something wrong?

"Bella?" I question, gently raising her chin so that she's looking me in the eye.

"You don't realise what you just said, do you?" she asks, a couple of tears spilling over.

"I just suggested bringing some clothes over," I tell her, trying to work out why she's crying.

"You've been staying here an awful lot," Bella murmurs.

"Oh, shit," I mutter, taking a step back. "If you don't want me here so much, just tell me. Shit, I
didn't even think. I should just, um, go, or something…" I take another step back and begin
walking off, only to have Bella move in front of me and block my path.

"It would be easier if you had your clothes here. And your furniture and other belongings," Bella
says, staring up at me.

"You mean…You want…here?" I ask, smooth as ever.

Bella giggles and starts placing light kisses along my jaw. "I love waking up next to you, and
Arthur's confessed he loves having you tuck him in at night. So, yes, I do want you here," Bella
tells me.

"Really? It's not too soon?" I confirm, backing her up against the wall.

"No. You're practically living here, anyway. We might as well just make it official," Bella says,
biting her lip.

I gently pull her lip away from her teeth and then kiss her slowly, showing her how much I love
her. Bella responds by fisting my hair as my hands move up and down the sides of her body.

Slowly we move over to her- our bed and begin undressing each other. I kiss all over her
flawless body, briefly wondering how I got so lucky to be able to call her mine.

That night, for the first time, I understand what it feels like to make love. I feel like I can't get
close enough to Bella, like I can't touch and feel enough of her skin. It's consuming and
overwhelming and it makes me fall in love with her even more.

"I love you," I repeat over and over as I hold her close to me.

"The feeling's mutual," Bella replies, snuggling against me.

Just like her son, Bella falls asleep quickly, her breaths fanning against my chest. I lie next to
her and for; I don't know how long, just watch her. She's so perfect and I can't wait to be living
with her and Arthur.

They're definitely the best Christmas presents I could ask for.

A/N: Thoughts on the last chapter?

I'd just like to say thanks to everyone who has read and stuck with this story. Your
reviews have been awesome, and I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Review please :)

See you all again on New Year's Eve for the epilogue :D
 Epilogue
A/N: Happy New Year! I hope you all have a wonderful 2014!

Edward:

"Dad! DAD!" Arthur shouts impossibly loudly.

I groan and bury my face in Bella's hair, pulling her tighter against me.

"Dad! Wake up and stop molesting mum!" Arthur says, about to pull away the covers.

"I strongly advise you don't move the covers, unless you want to be permanently scarred," I
warn him. Bella pushes against my arms, trying to get me to release her. Not going to happen.

"Ugh, mum, tell him!" Arthur complains. "I'll wait outside," he adds, pulling a face.

When he leaves the bedroom I start kissing Bella's neck, pulling her body against mine. I grind
against her ass and groan into her neck.

"Edward, we don't have time for this. Remember, Arthur's band is coming around today," Bella
reminds me.

"Fuck!" I sit bolt upright, suddenly remembering. "Do we at least have some time?" I ask,
glancing down at the tent in my sweatpants.

"No. Now go get a cold shower," Bella says, pointing to the bathroom.

"Not even a quickie?" I ask, massaging her shoulders. The wife loves it when I massage her.

"Edward…" Bella whimpers.

"Come on, we both need a shower," I murmur, nibbling on her ear lobe.

"Alright," Bella groans. I grin and scoop her up in my arms, carrying her into our bathroom.

I place her down on the counter and kiss her deeply, sliding my tongue against hers. My hands
slide up her legs as I wait for the shower to heat up, and I continue kissing her deeply.

"For a guy who's nearly 40, your sex drive sure hasn't gone down," Bella comments, giggling
breathlessly.

"Hey! I'm not nearly 40!" I tell her, pouting.

"You will be in a couple of years," Bella shrugs.

I pull all her clothes off her and quickly pull off mine, and then push her into shower. I kiss her
more firmly, more deeply, showing her that just because I'm getting closer to being 40; it
doesn't mean I want her any less.

Bella moans and tugs at my hair as my fingers slip inside her. I get her nice and worked up,
pumping my fingers in and out of her.

"Edward," Bella whimpers.

My fingers leave her as I wrap her legs around my waist. I line up with her and slam inside,
making Bella moan louder. I lean down and suck on one of her nipples as I drive into her
quickly. It still feels so good being with her, even after all this time.

"Kiss me," Bella begs breathlessly. I happily obliged, leaving her breast to press my lips against
her own. I reach down between us to rub on her clit, trying to keep up with my promise of a
quickie.

"Love you, so fucking much," I groan, grinding into her.

"Ugh, yes!" Bella moans, sucking on my collarbone.

I speed up, feeling that familiar tingling in my groin. I rub faster on her clit, wanting to feel her
tighten around me.

"Edward!" Bella cries out as she climaxes, clinging onto me. I pound into her a few minutes time
before I start coming, moaning out her name.

When I stop panting against her neck, I press a soft kiss to her lips and then slide out of her.
Bella stays wrapped around me for a bit, placing kisses along my jaw.

I put Bella down and quickly start showering, since I know Arthur has to be getting annoyed by
now. Also, Beth will probably be waking up soon, too. Beth, our six year old daughter,
absolutely dotes on her older brother Arthur. Though there may be six years between them,
they're pretty close.

After the shower, I catch Bella glancing at her stomach in the mirror. I walk over and wrap my
arms around her waist, kissing her neck.

"We haven't been trying long. But, after last night and this morning…" I trail off, grinning. Bella
rolls her eyes at me.

About a month ago, Bella told me she wanted another kid. I quickly agreed – I've always
wanted a big family – and so Bella stopped taking the pill. We've been trying, a lot, but so far
Bella hasn't gotten pregnant. Last night, however, we spent most of the night making love, so
I'm feeling pretty positive right now.

"Come on, you need to get dressed," Bella says, pulling me into our bedroom.

Once we're both dressed – I have to wear a top that covers up my collarbone, because of
Bella and her sucking – I leave the bedroom to find Arthur.
I find him in the kitchen, eating some burnt toast.

"I thought you hated burnt toast?" I tell him, frowning.

He quickly turns around, only to glare at me. "About time," he mutters, taking another bite from
the toast.

"Sorry, buddy," I say, sitting down next to him. "Want me to make you some unburnt toast?" I
offer. He turns and looks at me with a raised eyebrow. "Fair point. Only your mother can cook,"
I reason with him. "So, what time is the rest of your band arriving?" I ask him.

Arthur stares down at his plate for a bit. "Do you even care?" he finally asks.

"What? Of course I care!" I tell him. "How could you think that?" I ask. He just shrugs. "Is it
because of this morning?" I ask again.

"No, it's just…" Arthur huffs. "It doesn't matter." He gets up, then, about to leave.

"Hey, not so fast," I tell him, standing up as well. "Of course it matters. Why would you think I
don't care?" I question, pretty hurt.

Arthur huffs and shrugs again. "You're not…you're not my real father."

I freeze, not knowing what to say. I may not be his real father, but I've been here for him for
eight years of his life. I love him the same way I love Beth, they're both my children.

"I may not be, but you know I still love you, right?" I tell him.

He just shrugs.

"Do you…do you want to see your real father?" I offer, even though I hate myself for offering.
Mike's an asshole who hasn't even attempted to contact Bella or Arthur since being released
from prison. Mike may be his real father, but he's never been on Arthur's birth certificate. After I
married Bella, I legally adopted Arthur, too.

"No!" Arthur quickly shouts. "It's just…some people at school…" Arthur trails off.

Now I'm pissed. "What did they say, Arthur?" I ask him, quite firmly.

"Just that you, um, you were only here because of mum. If it wasn't for her you wouldn't want
me," he admits, looking down.

"Come here," I tell him, and then pull him in for a hug. "Yes, I love your mother, but I love you,
too. You, Beth and your mother mean the world to me. I'll always be here for you," I tell him
honestly.

When I release him, he hurriedly wipes at his eyes. I pretend not to notice.

Bella and Beth walk in, then, and Bella glances over at us. She gives me a quick kiss on the
cheek while Beth runs over to Arthur. Arthur quickly picks up his sister, who starts prodding his
cheeks. The doorbell rings, so Arthur walks off with Beth to answer the door.

Arthur comes back into the kitchen with three friends in tow. All of whom Beth is assessing.

"Mom, Dad, this is Seth, Harvey and Liam," Arthur introduces.

Seth grins over to Beth, who reaches over and tugs on his hair. "Beth, no! Let go of his hair,"
Arthur says firmly to his little sister.

She quickly does what he says, and I'm left wondering why Beth listens to him but not to Bella
or me. An elbow to my ribs brings me out of my musings.

"Nice to meet you all," I smile at the three of them, who are trying to subtly look at our house.

"Do you boys want a drink?" Bella offers.

They all say yes, so Bella takes Beth with her into the kitchen to make them some drinks.

"So, who does what in the band?" I ask them.

"I'm the singer, Harvey's on drums, and then Liam and Arthur are the guitarists," Seth explains
to me. "Though sometimes Arthur plays piano. You know, for slower songs?" Seth continues.

Arthur shuffles on the sofa, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Arthur gets his talents from me, I
can assure you," I grin. "When he was younger he begged me every year for a drum kit. We
held back mainly due to the noise," I tell them, grinning wider when Arthur scowls at me.

"Edward, stop embarrassing Arthur," Bella huffs when she returns with the drinks. My grin
vanishes at having been caught. Arthur snickers.

"We need to go practise and tune up," Arthur says, motioning for his friends to follow him.

"Call me when you want me," I tell him just before he walks off.

Bella sits down next to me on the sofa while Beth climbs onto my lap. I lean over and kiss
Bella's cheek, and then Beth's.

"Daddy, I wanna hear Arthur's band," Beth pouts up at me.

"Maybe later, sweetie," I tell her, brushing some hair from her face.

With a huff, Beth runs off to her room. I thought this kind of stuff only started when they were
teenagers?

I turn to Bella, who just laughs at me and shakes her head. I decide to take advantage of
having the room to ourselves, so I pull Bella closer to me and press my lips against hers.

"Edward, we have guests," Bella reminds me.

"We better be quiet, then," I grin, leaning in to kiss her again, only to have her turn her head. I
groan into her neck.

"Maybe later, Cullen," Bella says, grinning a little.

"You better stick to that, Mrs Cullen," I murmur in her ear, giving it a quick flick of my tongue
before standing up.

*******LL*******

As I take my seat on the edge of Arthur's bed, I can't help but grin a bit. Arthur's band – who,
I've been informed, are called The Beavers (after the official state animal for Oregon) – are
currently setting up, ready to play for me. I still can't believe how grown up Arthur has become,
though I must say, I am dreading the teenage years.

Emmett and Rose are on the way to having a football team. Their kids; Lily, Piper, Max and
Emmett Junior, are pretty close with Arthur and Beth. Apparently (according to Bella) they're
even trying for another.

I think Bella and I will stop after three.

"Ok, we're ready," Arthur says, nodding to his bandmates.

My heart swells with pride. I recall his earlier comments about me not being his real father.
While I may not be, it's still clear to see the influence I've had on him. Yes, he has a lot of
Bella's looks and her love of reading, but his love of musical instruments definitely comes from
me.

I listen closely to the music, actually quite impressed. They've written their own song, and Seth
isn't a bad singer. Arthur has clearly been playing guitar much longer than Liam.

Once the song is over, they all look over at me with hopeful expressions.

"That was really good. You guys actually wrote that?" I ask. Seth nods quickly, so I'm guessing
he wrote most of the lyrics. "It was pretty good. I'm impressed," I tell them.

I walk over and hold my hand out to Arthur, who grins widely. He slaps my hand with his own,
giving me a slightly painful high-five. I ruffle his hair in response which makes him scowl at me.

"I can't wait to go to high school to have you as a teacher!" Seth says, grinning.

"I am a pretty cool teacher," I nod.

"Dad!" Arthur whines.

"Come on, admit it. You can't wait either," I wink at him. He just scowls even more. "Alright,
alright, that's my cue to leave," I say, holding my hands up as I walk over to the door. "Keep up
the practising and you'll be even better," I tell all of them before leaving.
I linger for a moment by the door, wondering what to do with the rest of the day off.

"Your dad is so cool!" I hear one of Arthur's friends gush.

I smile a little wider as I go in search of Bella. I find her in the kitchen, preparing a meal for
what looks like hundreds. Sneaking up behind her, I wrap my arms around her waist and start
kissing her neck. She squeals a bit before hitting my arms.

"Edward! You scared me!" Bella complains. I continue kissing her neck as I feel her relax
against me.

"Can't I show my wife how much I love her?" I ask, my hands roaming up her chest.

"Yes, but not when we have company!" Bella huffs, turning her head slightly. I take that as my
cue and kiss her lips while my hands cup her tits. Bella arches into me and moans quietly.

Eventually she ends the kiss, and puts a stop to my wondering hands. Not even my pout can
change her mind.

"Oh, by the way, Rose and Emmett are coming over for dinner," Bella tells me. "They have
news," Bella adds with a scowl.

"When you say Rose and Emmett, do you mean just them or the whole bunch?" I ask, watching
as she hurries around the kitchen.

"The whole bunch," Bella says, chopping some carrots viciously.

"Hey, hey, woah. Slow down. You'll cut yourself," I warn her, taking the knife from her hands.
"What's up, beautiful?" I ask her, brushing my hand over her cheek.

"It's just… I shouldn't be jealous, but I am! We have two kids, Edward, two! They already have
double that and now they're going to have another? I'm…I'm just feeling particularly maternal
today," Bella rants, glancing up at me.

I sigh heavily, glancing down at my wife. "How long have you wanted another?" I ask, cupping
her chin so she can't look away from me.

"About a month, since I…" Bella begins. "Damn it. I can't lie while looking straight at you," she
huffs.

"You're a terrible liar anyway, love, it wouldn't have made much difference," I point out. "Now,
though, I want to know why you were going to lie?" I ask, kissing her forehead.

"I don't know. I didn't know if you'd want another kid. I only said anything because Rose made
me," Bella says.

"How long have you wanted another kid for?" I ask her.

"I…um…" Bella starts, clearly attempting to lie again. "A couple of years?" she finally offers.
"You should've said something!" I groan, closing my eyes. If I'd known…we could have another
one by now.

"Are you mad at me?" Bella asks in a small voice.

I quickly open my eyes and pull her small frame against me. "No, love, of course I'm not mad.
Just promise me you'll tell me about anything important in the future, ok?" I ask her.

Bella nods against me, and then leans up and presses her lips against mine. I kiss her back
eagerly, only for Bella to slow things down.

"If you keep rejecting me I'm going to stop putting myself out there," I tell her, pouting.

"Right," Bella snorts, rolling her eyes at me. "Now, let me cook," Bella adds.

"Fine, fine. I'll go find Beth," I tell her, kissing her cheek before leaving.

*******LL*******

My quiet afternoon abruptly ends when the McCarty's arrive. Bella and Rose hug, and then
Bella moves on to hug each of the children. I just stand back and watch as the living room soon
fills with people. Even though Arthur's friends left about an hour ago, we've still got a lot of kids
in here.

I glance up to see Bella holding and cooing at Piper, Emmett and Rosalie's current youngest at
3 years. I must admit, seeing Bella with a young child makes me pine for another just a bit.

"You wanna keep her? She screams a lot at night, but sleeps like a charm during the day,"
Emmett tells me.

"Nah, we're alright. We might have another of our own, soon, anyway," I comment with a shrug.

"Dude!" Emmett gasps, punching my shoulder. Ow. "Really?" he asks me.

Oh, shit. Bella told me not to tell anyone, so that we could surprise people once she was
pregnant. "Um, yeah. But you can't tell anyone, ok?" I beg, even though Emmett is atrocious at
keeping secrets.

"My lips are sealed," he grins, waggling his eyebrows. "Now, where's my favourite niece?" he
booms, glancing around to find Beth.

"Uncle Emmie!" Beth squeals, running over and holding out her arms. Emmett picks her up and
swings her around in his arms, making her laugh loudly.

I decide to go over to where Arthur and Emmett Junior – or EJ, as he prefers to be called – are
sitting. EJ's a few years younger than Arthur, but they seem to get on pretty well. Max and Lily
– twins – are shaking their heads at their dad, as they mostly take after their mother.

Once everyone's sat down, with Piper ending up on my lap, Rose and Emmett announce the
news that they're expecting another child. Most of the kids seem pretty excited, though I hand
Piper back to Rose when she starts asking about how babies are made.

I stifle my laugh when I hear Rose talking about storks.

"Edward, could you help me out in the kitchen?" Bella requests.

I frown but follow her anyway. She knows I'm terrible at cooking, so I don't understand why she
needs my help?

As soon as we're in the kitchen Bella pushes me against the counter with surprising force and
kisses me deeply. It takes my brain a minute to catch up, and when it does I pull her against
me and kiss her back with as much passion.

"Not that I don't like this," I begin, as Bella starts kissing my neck. "Because I'm really enjoying
this; but why, exactly?" I ask, moaning when Bella grinds against me.

"I want another baby," Bella says between kisses. "And I want you," she adds, returning to my
lips.

"Bella, we have guests," I remind her, grabbing her waist to hold her still. I can't believe I'm
doing this, but I'm very aware that Bella's cousin, as well as 6 young children, are all only in the
other room.

"But I want you, Edward," Bella pouts.

"Bella, us having sex now isn't going to make it any more likely for you to get pregnant," I tell
her. "And don't even try and deny it," I add when she starts to protest.

"That's not the only reason," Bella states, still pouting. "I'm feeling pretty horny right now, too,"
she tells me as she gets back to cooking.

"Fuck, Bella. Trying to calm down over here," I groan.

"Sorry, honey," Bella says, flashing me a grin over her shoulder.

I roll my eyes as I grab a beer for Emmett and myself, only to be stopped by Bella.

"Alcohol affects both of our fertility rates," she informs me, putting one of the beers back in the
fridge.

"On the man's part it's only excessive alcohol! Come on, beautiful, it's just one," I plead my
case. Bella just shakes her head. "I bet Emmett was allowed alcohol," I mutter.

Bella raises an eyebrow at me. "I'd threaten to withhold sex, but that wouldn't help," Bella says,
frowning.

"So, what you're saying is that you have no weapons to use against me?" I ask, smirking as I
wrap my arms around her waist. I lean down and place a couple of kisses on her neck before
leaving her in the kitchen.

When I return to the living room, I hand Emmett the beer. "How come you haven't got one for
yourself?" Emmett asks.

"Didn't fancy one," I tell him, trying to shrug it off.

He raises an eyebrow at me but thankfully doesn't comment. The whole conversation is

diverted when Bella announces the food is ready, so we all cram around the dining room table.
Bella managed to find the high chair we kept after Beth was born. I'm about to ask her why she
kept it when I realise she was thinking about if we had another child.

After an amazing meal, all of us are pretty full. The children decide to go and watch a film in the
living room, so once we've set them up with an Ice Age film, us four sit around the table in the
dining room and Bella makes us some coffee.

"How far along are you?" Bella asks Rose.

"Two months. We wanted to wait until after the first scan to tell people," Rose says, pulling out
some ultrasound pictures.

"How long do you reckon you two will wait to announce it?" Emmett asks, looking between
Bella and I. Shit.

Bella glances over at me, the expression on her face fierce. I sink a little lower in my chair while
I consider hitting Emmett.

"I wasn't supposed to mention that, was I?" Emmett says to me. "Bells, if it's any consolation,
Edward only told me accidentally," Emmett adds. "I actually forced it out of him, really. So, you
know, I'm the one to blame!"

Ok, I don't want to hit him quite so much, now.

"I'm sorry, beautiful. I didn't mean to tell him. I just saw you holding Piper and sort of forgot," I
tell Bella, reaching out to take hold of her hand. I'm relieved when she doesn't pull away.

"Wait, you only told him today?" Bella asks. "Honey, I'm surprised you lasted this long," Bella
says, leaning forward to kiss me. I don't question it, I just go with it.

"Woah, woah, she's still my cousin!" Emmett groans.

"And she's my wife," I grin, kissing her cheek. "You're the best," I murmur to her.

"Anyway," Rose draws out, grinning. "You're trying for another? We could both have babies at
the same time!" she says.

I roll my eyes at her excitement while placing my arm around Bella's shoulders. Bella shuffles a
little closer to me.
Considering I started out by stalking her in a library, I'd say Bella and I have come a long way.
And I couldn't be happier.

A/N: Thoughts on how our couple turned out?

Review please and thanks for sticking with me! :)