Title: Good Karma

Summary: A last minute Saturday work schedule. A Prom at the high school. Two dinosaur-loving four-year-olds who have become fast friends. Serendipity? Or something more?

Pairing: Bella/Edward

Rating: T

Word count: 4,635

Good Karma

Bella POV

"Don't"—I wince and squeeze my eyes shut—"slam the door."

The booming sound and impact that surely rattled the dishes in the kitchen cupboards has me shaking my head. I reach into the back seat of my Honda Civic to grab my four-year-old son's forgotten backpack as well as the too-heavy messenger bag full of my evening's "homework." Once Casey's bath and story time are over, I'll need to settle in for a long session with my laptop and the literature anthology for my junior level Language and Literature classes. The midterm exam will need to be sent to Mrs. Cope in the print shop first thing in the morning in order to have it ready to hand out to students in my Forks High third period class. No matter how often I stay late, I just can't seem to keep caught up on my work. Of course, picking Casey up from daycare before closing time does put a limit to how late I can stay after school.

I juggle the backpack, messenger bag, and a bag from our quick stop at Thriftway while opening the door from the small garage into the kitchen. As I make my way over to the counter to drop off the groceries, the phone in my pocket starts to vibrate. Unloading my bags with a sigh, I pull out my phone and see Forks Kids' Placeas the caller.

"Hello?

"Hey, Bella, it's Angela. I know I just saw you when you picked up Casey, but I'm hoping you can help me with a babysitting referral for one of the other parents."

"I'll try. What's the situation?"

"He's a single dad who's been asked to work overtime here in Forks on Saturday. Of course, we're not open on Saturday. They actually live in Port Angeles and he doesn't know anyone here to watch the kids. I was hoping you might be able to recommend one of your high school students for the job."

"Gosh, I can try, but it might be tough. Saturday night is Prom and most of the kids I'd usually suggest will be busy getting ready. I'll ask around, though. Why don't you give me his number and I'll call him tomorrow and let him know if I have any luck." Angela relays my comment away from the phone, and a deep voice replies. I grab a pen and jot the number down on an apple-shaped sticky note as Angela relays the digits. "What's his name?"

"His name's Edward. Edward Cullen. His sons are two and four-and-a-half years old. He needs coverage from six thirty until about four o'clock."

Once I have everything written down, we end the call so Angela can get back to work.

I stick the note to my bag, picking up Casey's backpack, and walk down the short hall toward his bedroom. The sight of skinny little-boy legs sticking out from under the bed make me grin as Casey's pleading voice says, "Jakey, you can't really eat my Brachiosaurus. You have to give it back. My daddy bought that for me when he took me to see the dinos a long time ago." He sighs. "I wish we could go there again. I wish my daddy would call me. It's been a long time since I've seen him. I miss my daddy, Jakey."

My grin fades away as Casey's voice dwindles in both enthusiasm and volume. I bite my bottom lip and my eyes fill with tears, silently damning Mike to hell and back for hurting my son. I've never broken my resolve to avoid saying bad things about him in front of Casey, but my little boy deserves better than that selfish absentee sperm donor who calls himself a father. It's been almost a year since that museum visit, and the two phone calls in the interim ended with Mike promising a visit "soon." Casey cried himself to sleep both times, asking why his daddy never came to see him anymore.

I clear my throat and crouch down next to Casey, peering into the hopeful, big brown eyes of Jake, the mutt Casey picked out to adopt from the county animal shelter. His happy tail thump-thumps as he belly-crawls out from under the bed, plastic dinosaur in his mouth. Casey himself wiggles his way out, ordering, "Drop it, Jake!" and grabbing the slobbery dinosaur once it hits the floor, hugging it tightly to his chest.

"What should we fix for dinner tonight, Case?"

His face brightens. "Chicken nuggets and French fries!" He starts down the hall toward the kitchen. "I'll get the pan!"

I groan under my breath. Chicken nuggets again? Oh well, at least he's distracted.

"Wash your hands first, Casey. With soap!" I warn.

~oo0oo~

"Any luck with that babysitter?" Angela asks as I step into the outdoor covered play area the next afternoon. I look around for my son, spotting his favorite purple hoodie and thatch of blond hair high atop the climbing structure laughing with a boy of similar size and age. I don't recognize his playmate, but snort at the boy's wildly tossed reddish-brown hair sporting both twigs and pine needles. Must have been a busy outdoor play day.

"No, I'm afraid not. Everyone I talked to is either getting ready for Prom or getting out of town for defiantly non-Prom activities."

"That's really too bad. I know Edward was really looking forward to the overtime pay this week. Have you called him yet?"

"No, not yet. I struck out with the last kid I asked on my way out of the building. I figured I'd call when I get home. What time does he usually pick up his kids?"

"They're usually the last to be picked up, so about six o'clock." She points toward the climbing structure. "That's one of his sons playing with Casey. They get along really well."

Just then Casey turns his head in my direction, waves, and begins to scramble down the play structure, stopping at the bottom to say something to his playmate. Both boys run full-tilt in my direction.

"Mom! This is my new friend, Masen. Can he come over to our house and play? He likes dinos too, and I wanna show him my collection." Two sets of hopeful eyes peer up at me, one set a familiar bright blue and the other a stunning shade of green.

"Sorry, boys, not tonight. We'll have to see if we can figure out something for another day." I crouch down to give Casey a hug and ruffle Masen's hair. "You've got pine needles in your hair, Masen."

He grins at me crookedly and reaches up to rake at his hair. "See you tomorrow, Casey. Don't forget to bring your dino book." He turns and heads back toward the playground where another smaller boy sits digging holes in the sandbox.

I help Casey grab his backpack from his cubby, sign him out, and we dash through the ever-present Forks drizzle to our car. I check to make sure his seatbelt is properly threaded into his booster seat and fastened then walk around to the driver's side, pausing as a large pickup truck pulls into the daycare center's parking lot. As I shut my door, long, jean-clad legs wearing work boots exit the cab of the pickup. Focusing my attention in my rear view mirror, I back out, turn, and head toward home, mentally reminding myself to call Edward when I get there.

~oo0oo~

Glancing at the clock on my kitchen range, I reach over and pick up my phone and the sticky note with Edward Cullen's phone number. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but even after calling a couple of other students I thought might be able to babysit on Saturday, I still can't find anyone available. I sigh then enter the digits and hit Send.

"Cullen," a smooth, deep voice answers.

"Um … hello, this is Bella Swan. Angela from Forks Kids' Place gave me your number and said you're looking for someone to watch your boys on Saturday?" Darn it, why do I sound like one of the teenagers who wasn't available to help him out?

"Can you hold on for a minute? I'm driving and need to pull over." A radio plays in the background and a child's voice asks why they're stopping. "Thanks. This is Edward. Did you find someone? Angela said you didn't have any luck."

"None of the students I asked were available on Saturday. I tried, but just couldn't find anyone. I'm sorry."

"Well, thanks anyway. It was worth a shot." Quiet disappointment resounds in his voice.

I make a snap decision. "Wait, Edward. Why don't you bring the boys over to my house and I'll watch them for you. Casey, my son, asked if Masen could come over to play, and I know they'd get along just fine. Your other son is younger, right? I'm sure Casey has some toys he'd like to play with, too."

"Are you sure? I'd really appreciate it, but I hate to take up your day off. Won't it cause a problem for you and your husband?"

"No, I'm a single parent, too, and I know how hard it can be to find a sitter when you need to get stuff done. Let me help you out—one single parent to another. What time do you need to bring them by?"

"Thank you so much. It'll be early—about six thirty. I need to be at the jobsite by seven. I'm sorry to ask you to be up that early on a weekend," he apologizes.

"No problem. I'll leave a note with my address and directions to my house with Angela tomorrow and see you Saturday morning, okay?"

"Yeah, thanks again. You have no idea how much I appreciate this. Bye."

I huff out a sigh. Way to go, Bella. So much for sleeping in on Saturday morning. Hopefully I'm racking up some good karma by helping out a fellow single parent in need.

~oo00oo~

I reach over and hit the snooze button on my alarm just to shut the damned thing up. I yawn, stretch, and roll over, hiding my face in my pillow while trying to remember why the alarm is even going off on a Saturday morning. Oh, yeah—my Good Samaritan act and a day of babysitting. Might as well get up.

Peering at my sleep-tousled brown hair in the mirror, I just pull it into a messy ponytail and head in to make coffee. The heavenly aroma soon fills my kitchen. I pour a liberal portion of peppermint mocha creamer into the cup and add the rich, dark nectar that will make getting up so early on a Saturday morning bearable. Taking a grateful sip, I'm startled by a sharp rapping sound coming from my front door. What? Why is he here so early? A glance at the clock shows he's right on time. I must have dozed a little longer than I thought.

As I walk over to answer the door, I glance down at my tank top and sleep shorts and debate whether to dash down the hall and change my clothes, but a second knocking sound suggests I don't have time. I sigh and reluctantly set down my coffee.

I unlock the front door, and Masen's sleepy green eyes blink up at me over a face smeared with—is that brown stuff maple frosting? I've seen the sugar high those big frosted donut confections cause, and it's not pretty. My gaze shifts to workboot-clad feet and then well-worn jeans encasing muscular thighs. A Carhardt jacket stretches across a broad chest, and muscled arms hold a small child wearing gray sweat pants and a bright blue shirt who clutches the remnants of yet another sticky maple bar in a tiny hand. My eyes dart up, intending to confront the father about his poor parenting skills, but the words die in my throat when meeting the same green-eyed gaze as Masen's. He reaches up and pulls off his baseball cap, revealing a messy head of auburn hair sun-streaked with blond. His nose has a little bump as if it may have been broken at one time, and his straight, white teeth are framed by sensual lips and a bit of reddish scruff. His eyebrows are raised as if he's waiting for something, and I'm suddenly aware that he's spoken while I was gawking.

"I'm sorry—what?" I mumble. "Oh, please, come in. I'm Bella." My cheeks heat as I realize he just introduced himself. I step back from the door to allow him room to enter and notice he must be well over six feet tall.

He sets a backpack on the floor, speaking softly to the little boy with reddish-gold curls whose face is burrowed into his father's shoulder. Slowly, the child's head turns in my direction, solemn blue eyes watching me cautiously.

"This is Tyler. He's two, and I think you've met Masen." He nods toward his elder son. "I'm sorry about the mess, but we were out of cereal bars and I wanted them to have something to eat …" His voice trails off and he looks chagrined. He sets Tyler down on the floor and begins to unzip the backpack, fumbling inside. "There should be some wipes in here—"

"No, no, I've got this. We'll clean up in the bathroom." I smile at both boys. "Hi, Tyler. Hi, Masen. You can call me Bella." Tyler's blue eyes fill with tears and his arms latch tightly around his father's leg in protest. "Let's go show your dad the play room. I'll bet Casey has some toys you'd like to play with. Do you like dinosaurs?"

I lead the way down the hall toward the spare bedroom where Casey had set out some toys he was willing to share with his new friends, stopping along the way at the bathroom to grab two wet washcloths. I hand one to Masen, who scrubs at his face hurriedly after cleaning his hands then heads straight to the small table with its overflowing basket of plastic dinosaurs. Kneeling down in front of Tyler, I gently clean his little hands and face with the soft cloth then hand him a soft rubber T-rex that had been one of Casey's favorite toys at that age. He thanks me quietly with a shy smile and steps over to see what his brother is doing.

A door opens down the hall and the thump-thump of quick footsteps pounds behind us. "Masen! Tyler! You're here!" Casey grins as he comes into the playroom, going directly to join the other boys who are sorting through the dinosaur toys. Soon, the chatter of three little voices makes it clear the day is off to a good start.

Edward steps forward between his two boys, giving each a hug and telling them to be good and that he'll see them later. They each give him a perfunctory hug and kiss and turn back to their play.

I walk back to the front door with Edward, picking up the backpack that he explains holds clean clothes for both boys, Pull-Ups for Tyler, and the list of emergency contacts in case they are needed. He turns in the open doorway, smiling. "Thank you again, Bella, for giving up half of your weekend to watch my boys. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I should be able to pick them up at around four o'clock. By the way, my job site is the new Twilight Apartments complex over on Sol Duc Road, and I'll have my cell on me. Call me if you need anything and I can be here pretty quickly."

"No problem, Edward. I'm sure everything will be fine. Angela told me Tyler and Masen are great kids. I was thinking of walking them down the street to the elementary school playground, if that's okay with you. Our yard's pretty small and Casey loves that playground."

"That sounds great. Tyler loves to swing." His mouth opens and closes a few times as if he's not sure what to say. Eventually he settles on, "See ya later." He pulls his cap back on and takes long strides to a familiar-looking pickup.

I shut the door behind him and lean against it, letting out a big sigh. Holy hell, he is hot!

~oo0oo~

As the day progresses, the house is full of the sounds of happy children. Casey shows his friends how to make his favorite weekend breakfast, "dino eggs," which is really just a fanciful way to serve scrambled eggs inside a cut-out slice of toasted bread. I really hope the healthy breakfast will offset the effects of the maple bars, and fortunately that seems to be the case.

Masen and Tyler are sweet little boys who play well with Casey. I pack up a picnic lunch and walk with the boys to the playground two blocks away. Tyler is like a little shadow to the older two boys, pushing his shorter legs to keep up with their longer strides and climbing everything they climb. At one point, however, he does allow me to push him on the swing while the two four-year-olds sit atop a geometric climbing structure, chattering away. I hear bits and pieces of their conversation and wince at Masen's explanation that he used to have a mommy, but she left because she got tired of being cooped up with two little brats all the time—at least, that's what he heard her tell someone on the phone. So now they just live with Daddy. Casey commiserates and shares his own story of a father who lives far away in Seattle. What bothers me the most is the way the two boys seem to wear a mantel of culpability in their family constellations that were each missing a major star.

I allow Tyler's swing to slow when his head droops and a yawn stretches his chubby cheeks that still hold a hint of the mere baby he was when his mother left. The boys collect the toys they chose to bring to the playground while I pack up the remains of the picnic lunch, and we make our way back to the house. Despite a chorus of protests, each boy selects a soft pillow and a snuggly fleece throw and settles down in front of the television to watch a dinosaur DVD. Only minutes later all three are soundly asleep, and I tiptoe down the hall to my bedroom where my laptop awaits with access to my students' electronically submitted exit exercises from the day before. Maybe I can get through these while the boys nap.

Edward POV

It's been an overcast day on the jobsite, but no rain so far. I'm grateful for the chance to rack up some overtime hours this week, but it was hard to find daycare for my boys on a Saturday. Being one of the guys with the least seniority at the construction company I hired on with after Tanya left, I've been required to work on the crew for the job in Forks. The fifty-mile commute each way effectively adds an additional two hours to my workday and required me to find a new daycare to match with my extended hours. I was lucky there were two openings at Forks Kids' Place. It seems like a good quality program, both boys are settling in well there, and Masen seems to be making friends. The job is projected to last for at least another six months, and although it means getting them up really early and getting home later than I'd like, at least it gives me some extra time with them on the drive. I try to make the most of our time together, but sometimes Tyler gets pretty cranky or falls asleep in his car seat on the way home. It's not ideal, but we're doing the best we can.

I take another bite out of my ham sandwich and wash it down with a swig of cola from the convenience store across the street from the jobsite. It's a good thing tomorrow's a day off, because the cupboards are getting pretty bare in our kitchen. I intended to do some grocery shopping last night, but Tyler had a meltdown in the shopping cart when I wouldn't let him play the claw game at the entrance of the store. I hated the disapproval reflected on the faces of all the people within hearing and sight range of his tantrum and chose to skip the shopping and just take him home.

Unfortunately, that meant I didn't have any cereal bars to give my boys for breakfast this morning; the only thing the tiny convenience store had was doughnuts. I hated giving them maple bars for breakfast before dropping them off at a new babysitter's for the day. They probably spent the morning bouncing off the walls from the sugar high, and I certainly noticed the look of censure on Bella's face as she took in their sticky, frosting covered hands and faces when we arrived.

Bella. Man, she sure did me a solid favor by watching Tyler and Masen today. When I asked Angela if she could recommend a babysitter in Forks for today, I didn't hold out a lot of hope since it was pretty last minute, but it was worth a try. It's sometimes hard to make ends meet now that I have to pay for daycare for both boys, and the overtime hours on this paycheck will help a lot. My grandmother had been a big help for a while after Tanya left and I had to drop out of college only two years from completion of my architecture degree. Tyler was still a baby and she'd been able to take care of him while I worked full time, but as he got older and more mobile and her arthritis got worse, she just couldn't chase after him, and my childcare expenses doubled.

I grin as I remember my surprise when the front door opened this morning and I recognized today's babysitter as the same brunette I admired in the parking lot at the daycare center on Thursday when I arrived a little earlier than usual. At first I wasn't sure it was her since on Thursday she was wearing a raincoat with her hood pulled up and this morning she was wearing … not much. She'd obviously just rolled out of bed and probably hadn't even had any coffee yet, if her reaction time to my arrival was any indication. I introduced myself and found my eyes wandering appreciatively down her body past a tank top and shorts to long, bare legs and toenails painted a deep red. I jerked my head back up, half expecting a slap for ogling her so rudely, but she seemed not to have noticed.

I had no idea what to expect from the kind stranger who'd offer to give up her Saturday off to help out a fellow single parent, but I sure didn't expect her to be so stunning. Back in my single days, I'd have been all about asking her out, but now—

"Hey, Cullen! Time to get back to work."

My musings are interrupted by our crew chief, and as I take a last swig of my soda, I find myself looking forward to picking up my kids and seeing her again. It's really too bad I have so little to offer her, or any woman really, these days because there's just something I like about her and the way she made my sons feel at home so easily. Her own son is a cute kid, and I've heard plenty about him from Masen. I'm glad he's made friends at his new daycare. He's been begging to go over to Casey's house, so today worked out pretty well all around.

I toss my lunch litter into a nearby trashcan, pick up my tool belt, and head back to the apartment complex we're building. It's not the career I dreamed of, but I'm making decent money and supporting my family.

~oo0oo~

The workday winds down and finally the crew chief decides we're done for the day. I stretch my arms and shoulders and rotate my head to try and release the tension from my tired muscles then climb into my truck and drive the quiet streets back to Bella's house to pick up my sons. Forks is a nice little town, and I could see myself settling into a community like this. It seems like a good place to raise a family.

As I pull up in front of Bella's house, I can hear the boys shouting as they chase a shaggy reddish-brown dog around the yard. He seems to have a toy in his mouth, and it reminds me of a Keystone Kops routine as they try to catch him. Tyler stumbles and falls, but a laughing Bella comes around from the backyard to join in the chase. I smile as she scoops Tyler up and has him giggling again in no time, his tumble forgotten. It strikes me that this is the scene I always wanted to come home to, that I dreamed of. How is it that I never had it with my own wife, but here it is at this house, with this woman I've only just met today? Maybe …

Another POV

I've been keeping an eye on these two for a while now. There are a couple of systems for rewards and punishments that operate on a much higher level than mine, but occasionally I'm able to intervene in some small way in the lives of those who deserve it. Oh, not in a totally over-the-top action; more like a small nudge in the right direction. From there, it's totally up to them where they take things.

In this case, both Bella and Edward always try to do the right thing. Although they both made unfortunate choices in spouses, they each worked hard to make their marriages work, and when Mike and Tanya chose to walk away, they acted with strength and dignity and did not stoop to acts of revenge or retaliation.

Most importantly, they put the needs and happiness of the children above their own, maintaining a sense of love and security in spite of the bewildering devastation children feel when a family implodes and one parent removes themselves from their lives. They were safe and well cared for. All three young boys knew without a doubt that at least one of their parents loved them and would always be there.

So, I've done my part, and now it's up to Bella and Edward to follow through and see if they're as compatible as I think they are. Life won't be easy for these two if they choose to juggle two young families, homes and jobs in different towns, and "other" parents who will undoubtedly pop in and out of the children's lives from time to time and stir up trouble.

I'll check back occasionally to see if they need me, but I have a feeling they'll work it all out and find the life they each dreamed of but have lost the faith they would ever have. Maybe someday they'll name their next child after me. Humans seem to be choosing some unique names for their children these days. "Karma Cullen" would be a nice name for a little girl, don't you think?

Now, time to get to work on some type of punishment for those foolish people who insist on muttering "Karma is a bitch." The nerve!

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