A/N: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight. I just borrow the characters. I promise to give them back. :)

Thanks to everyone who has read/reviewed my story. Your encouragements mean a lot!

WOW! I can't believe the response to a tiny little chapter in only a day! Thanks so much everyone!

I didn't keep you waiting very long because this one may answer some of your questions.

Chapter 2 – Matthew

BPOV

"Mommy!"

I whirled around to see a small body running down the front path towards me. I grinned and held my arms out and he jumped right in them. I instantly felt a million times better. If anything could cheer me up, it was my son.

"Matthew," I breathed.

I heard the front door open. "Matt? Where did you – ? Oh!" I looked up to se Angela grinning in the doorway. "Welcome home, Bells!" she called.

I shifted Matt so he was sitting on my hip and waved to Ang. "Did you have fun with Auntie Angela?" I asked the boy in my arms as we started up the path towards the front porch.

He nodded. "We unpacked my room."

"Really?" I asked, surprised. Angela doesn't like to any kind of housework, not even cooking. "And Auntie Angela actually helped you?"

Matt smirked, his spectacular eyes twinkling, reminding me so much of his father. "No, she didn't."

I set him down right inside the doorway, ruffled his crazy unruly hair, and he took off upstairs towards his new bedroom. I found Angela reading a book at the kitchen table, munching on a few pretzels.

"Hey, Ang," I greeted her as I set my purse on the kitchen counter and started pulling out ingredients for dinner. "How was he? Did he behave?"

"Of course," She said without looking up from her book. "You have, like, the best behaved six-year-old ever. He's always been that way."

I met Angela Webber on my first day of classes at NYU over five years ago. I got to class just as the clock struck eleven. Matt was only about five months old and was having trouble taking a bottle that morning. I usually nursed him because it was easier for me and more convenient but I didn't have time that morning. And truth be told, I had trouble saying goodbye. I had never been away from him for a long period of time.

The last seat in class was in the last row at the end. I plopped down and took out my notebook and pen. I looked around the classroom and saw that everyone was looking in my direction. I also noticed they all had laptops open and whirring away. I blushed as I looked down at my desk. Because my family now had another mouth to feed, we didn't have money for anything but the bare essentials. A fact that Mom constantly reminded me.

"Not laptop either?"

I turned to my right to see a girl maybe a year younger than myself with long dark hair and eyes, pale skin, and black thick-rimmed glasses leaning towards me. She gestured to the notebook on her desk.

I shook my head. "Nope,"

She extended her hand. "I'm Angela,"

I shook her hand with a smile. "Bella,"

After class was over we both had a little break before our next class so we went to the coffee shop around the corner. We talked for over an hour. Needless to say we became fast friends. It almost reminded me of the way Alice and I used to be together. I ended up telling her all about Matt and the situation with his father.

Over the years, Angela became my closest friend. When we graduated from college we got an apartment together in New York City. We both had chosen to do a combined bachelors and masters program that usually takes five years to complete but we both finished in four. She started her nursing career at one of the many hospitals while I got a job as a third grade teacher at a small private school. I also waitressed on the weekends to help pay for daycare and anything else Matt might need.

When Charlie and Renee died at the beginning of the year, I felt myself longing for home, longing for Forks, especially after I found the box in the garage.

Angela mentioned – and I agreed – that maybe it was time to face someone I'd lost several years ago.

I called Forks Elementary and they luckily had a position open for a first grade teacher starting in the fall. I registered Matt for the other first grade class while I was on the phone. Angela called Forks Regional Hospital while I was on the phone with the realtor and applied for a nursing position. We moved here a couple days ago because the hospital asked Angela to start next week, mid-July.

"So what's for dinner, Chef?" Angela asked from her seat at our kitchen table.

I shrugged. "Something simple, I think, maybe salads and I could grill some chicken?"

"Sounds perfect,"

It took me about a half an hour to get everything organized and cooked and we finally sat down to dinner around six o'clock.

Once all the dishes were cleaned and put away, Matt ran out to play on his new swing set and Angela and I grabbed two glasses and a bottle of wine and headed to the back patio.

We were talking about how excited Angela was about starting her new job and how anxious I was to face everyone I'd left behind all those years ago.

Angela was just pouring her second glass when we heard a shriek and a loud thump. I was instantly on my feet and running towards the swing set, my heart beating out of my chest, with Angela not too far behind. Matt was face down on the woodchips under the swing set. He let out a strangled cry and rolled over onto his back.

I dropped to my knees next to him and pulled him towards me. "Mattie, sweetie? What hurts baby?"

Matt burst into loud, body-jerking sobs and sat up to cling to my shirt. "Mommy!" he cried. "I hit my head on the monkey bars!" He wailed through his sobs.

"It's okay, baby, Mommy's here. It's okay." As he clung to my shirt, it was then that I noticed that there was a long gash on Matt's forehead and blood was gushing down his face. "Angela!" I called. "Get a towel and the car keys!"

Angela dashed back into the house as I lifted Matt into my arms and carried him around the front of the house to the driveway. Matt curled up in my arms like he used to do when he was a toddler and nuzzled my shoulder. His sobs were starting to slow but tears were still falling down his cheeks.

I sat in the back of Angela's car with Matt while she drove us to Forks Regional. I kept the towel she found pressed tightly against Matt's forehead on the drive over.

She parked in the parking lot in front of the Emergency Room and we both ran to the large glass doors. I hurried over to the registration desk of the nearly empty ER waiting room.

"My son fell on the swing set and hit his head. It won't stop bleeding." I said in a fairly frantic voice.

The reception nurse smiled sympathetically, like she knew exactly what I was going through. "It's okay. Mrs…"

"Swan. Bella Swan."

"It's okay, Mrs. Swan. Your son . . ."

"Matt," I supplied for her.

"Matt is going to be just fine." She finished with the same sympathetic smile.

Matt reached up and wiped at his cheeks, looking to brush away tears but all he found was blood. "Mommy?" His voice waivered as he looked at the blood on his fingertips.

I hugged him closer and started bouncing him like I used to do when he was a baby. "It's okay, baby, everything will be okay."

"Let's get you to a bed so a doctor can fix you up, big guy." The nurse said sweetly to my son.

Matt nodded. "Okay," he whimpered.

We followed the nurse, who said her name was Pam, through some double doors and down a hall to a large room with about ten beds with the curtains that run on tracks on the ceiling. Tow curtains were already drawn around beds. Pam led us to the middle bed on the left side, handed us a pen and clipboard with the usual paperwork attached, and drew the curtain around us as she left.

Angela filled out the information on the clipboard while we waited for a doctor to come see us. I consoled Matt as he sat on my lap on the bed until his tears eventually lulled and stopped.

About ten minutes after Pam brought us to the bed, the curtain was thrust open and shut again behind a blond doctor that was on the shorter side for a man.

"Hey, guys, I'm Dr. Cheney and I'll be helping you out today. Now where's the patient?" He looked over at Matt and I on the bed with a huge grin. His brow puckered suddenly before smiling again. "Bella? Bella Swan?"

I looked at his familiar face and searched for a name. Cheney . . . Cheney . . . Ben! "Ben Cheney?"

"It so good to see you!" Ben said in his usual upbeat voice. He leaned over and pulled me into a one-armed hug.

I found myself actually really happy to see Ben. He was one of Edward's good friends in high school and he was always very nice to me.

"It's good to see you too, Ben." I looked over at Angela and almost laughed when I saw her face. I knew that face, she thought Ben was hot. "Ben, this is my best friend Angela Webber. She's a nurse here starting next week. Ang, this is Ben Cheney. We went to high school together."

Angela shook Ben's outstretched hand and smirked. "Nice to meet you, Doctor." She purred.

"Uh, yeah, you too." Ben sputtered. He collected himself and turned to face Matt. "And who's this guy?"

I pulled the towel off Matt's face. "This is my son, Matt."

Ben eyes widened. "Son? Wow. Well, hi, Matt. I'm Dr. Cheney. What did you do you your head there?" He pulled on latex gloves and opened a stitching kit that he pulled from his pocket.

"I hit my head on the monkey bars. Mommy says I'm too little for the monkey bars but I didn't listen." Matt croaked.

Ben laughed. "Moms always know best. Always remember that."

"Bells," Angela spoke up. "Why don't you go get some coffee or get some fresh air? It's been a stressful half hour. I've got things here."

I looked wearily at Matt who nodded. "Go 'head, Mommy. I'll stay with Auntie Angie."

I sighed and nodded before helping Matt sit on the edge of the bed. "Okay, I'll be back in a few minutes. Be good." I warned Matt.

Ben chuckled. "I'll still be here when you get back. We can catch up later."

I smiled at him before leaving the ER and making my way to the cafeteria. I spent a lot of time at Forks General when I was little on account if my clumsy nature so I pretty much knew my way around.

I was waiting in line for the coffee machine when I felt someone walk to stand in line behind me. I felt a familiar tingle in my spine and gasped quietly. I could only guess who was behind me.

It was suddenly my turn at the coffee machine. I turned to face the machine and reached over to gab a cup from the stack on the counter, trying to stay as calm I possibly could when I was shaking in my sneakers.

I heard a deep gasp from next to me and I knew that I'd been found.

"Bella." There was no question. He knew it was me.

I turned to face the man next to me. "Edward."

He looked perfect, as usual. His tall – almost six-foot, two inches, if I remember correctly – and lanky from was clothed in light blue scrubs and a white doctor's coat. His red hair, with hints of brown, was perfectly messy, like he just rolled out of bed. No matter how hard he tried, he could never tame his crazy head of hair. I always loved that about him. It was one of my favorite things about him. His brilliant green eyes, now wide with shock and surprise, sparkled in the light like they always used to. Those eyes were so familiar to me now. His usual lopsided, carefree grin was missing from his face. Instead his mouth was shape in an "o", a mask of surprise.

"What are you doing here?" he asked quickly. "Are you hurt?"

I almost laughed. "No, I've almost grown out of my clumsy ways. I'm here with a . . ." I looked for an appropriate word so as not to reveal too much. "Friend who fell and needed stitches." I looked him up and down again, noticing his attire. Man, he really fills out those scrubs . . . "So I see you ended up as a doctor, just like you wanted."

"Yeah, I'm in the middle of my residency." He ran a hand roughly through his hair, a familiar gesture of Edward's nerves. "Well, do you have a minute? Maybe I could buy you a coffee and we could catch up?"

"Yeah, I have a few minutes. That would be nice."

There was that smile.

We both got our coffees and made our way to an empty table after Edward paid the cashier. We sat on opposite sides of the table and each took a long sip of our coffees.

"So," Edward began, setting his cup back on the table. "Why are you back in Forks?"

I sighed and held my cup between my hands, feeling the warmth of the scalding coffee seep through the paper cup. "I missed the only home I've ever known. Charlie and Renee passed away at the beginning of the year."

I heard his quiet intake of breath. "Wow. What happened?"

"Drunk driver." I answered simply, setting the cup back on the table in front of me and leaving my hands to rest on the table. "The police said they didn't suffer."

Edward leaned across the table to cover my hand with his own. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Bella."

I gave him a small smile and squeezed the hand that covered mine. "Thanks, Edward. I moved back here officially a few days ago with my friend Angela. She got a job here as a nurse starting next week."

"I'll be sure to look out for her then." Edward smiled quickly and looked at me questioningly.

There was silence between us for a couple of minutes before I decided enough was enough. "Just ask me what you want to ask me, Edward. I know you too well to know when you're curious."

"Why did you leave, Bells?" he asked so quietly it was almost a whisper.

Ah, there was the question I was waiting for.

I sighed deeply and scrubbed my hand over my face. "That is a long, complicated, and painful story. I have a lot to tell you. Do you think we could get together tomorrow? Maybe somewhere more private? I promise I'll tell you everything then."

Edward nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good. I'm off tomorrow night. We could meet at my house?"

"That sounds great," I checked my watch and decided that I should probably get back to Angela and Matt. "I should probably go. My friend is probably done getting stitches."

Edward and I stood, threw away our empty coffee cups, and started walking towards the ER. We made small talk on the way, basic filling the awkward silence between us. We stopped outside the double doors and looked at each other.

I shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, uh, here's my address." He quickly took out a pen and a scrap of paper and wrote down his address before handing it to me. Before I knew what was happening, he pulled me in to his arms.

I stiffened for a second in surprise before relaxing into the familiar hug. I inhaled the familiar scent of Edward and felt safe, as I always did in Edward's arms.

"It's so good to see you again, Bella." He whispered to me before releasing me, flashing me his lopsided grin, and disappearing around the corner.

I walked shakily back into the ER and quickly found the bed where I left Angela and Matt. When I opened the curtain, I found Ben just finishing Matt's stitches. Angela was sitting beside Matt on the bed, holding his hand.

"Hi, Mommy!" Matt called, waiving with his free hand. "I had to get six stitches! Dr. Cheney said I'll have a cool scar!"

I walked over and sat down on his other side. "Wow, buddy, that's so cool." I kissed his temple as Ben set down the needle, picked up some gauze, and smiled at me.

"All set! Let me just clean your face and you'll be good to go." He said to Matt.

Ben quickly wiped away the dried blood with some gauze and gasped once he got a good look at my son's face, no longer hidden by blood. "Bells, h-he looks j-just like – " He stared at me. "Is he . . .?"

I nodded. "Please don't tell him, Ben. I'm going to tell him tomorrow. I promise."

He sighed and nodded grudgingly. "Okay." He looked from me to Matt. "Is that why you left?"

I nodded again. "Not by my choice."

Ben brought me Matt's discharge papers and I signed them quickly before bringing them to the nurses' station in the ER. After the nurse looked them over, she gave me some last minute care instructions for Matt's wound and let us leave.

I helped Matt down off the bed and took his hand to leave the ER. I called to Angela across the nearly deserted waiting room to where she was talking with Ben. I saw them exchange slips of paper before Angela scampered over to us and we left together.

By the time we got home, Matt was exhausted and was ready for me to put him to bed.

Angela and I changed into our pajamas and met on the couch with two bottles of beer. It was our ritual if one of us had a stressful or exciting day.

"Oh, Ang!" I groaned as I flopped back on the couch. "I saw him! I saw him in the cafeteria."

Angela's face turned serious and she turned to face me on the couch, giving me her undivided attention. "Tell me everything."

I told her about my encounter with Edward in the cafeteria and our subsequent conversation and scheduling to meet tomorrow.

"So you're actually going to tell him." Angela stated with a nod of her head. "Good for you, Bells. I'm proud of you."

"A secret seven years kept from him." I sighed. "He's going to freak out!" I groaned.

Angela snorted. "I think any self-respecting male would freak if they were told that they had – "

"Yeah, I get it!" I rolled my eyes and whacked her with a decorative couch pillow.

She collected our empty beer bottles and stood. "I'm going to bed. I'll see you tomorrow but please don't spend too much time stewing on the couch over possible outcomes of your chat with Edward tomorrow." She kissed my cheek and headed to the kitchen to throw the bottles away before climbing the stairs to her room.

Despite Angela pleas, I spent over an hour on the couch that night.

A/N: Thanks SO much for reading! PLEASE leave me a review let me know what you think! Love it? Hate it? Just okay?

Whoa! much to discus!

What do you think her secret is? Why did she leave Forks? How do you think the conversation with Edward will go?

So many questions! Most will be answered in about two-ish chapters!

NEXT UP: A little peak into the mind of Edward and we meet the Cullen family.

Thanks again!

- Nikki