A/N: I don't own Twilight, but I do own this plot and original characters. So, you know… don't steal.

Huge thanks to sncmom, Askthemagic8ball, and coldplaywhore. They're pretty awesome women, and I think I love them as much as Diet Coke.

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BPOV

"Do you think he's really going to take it to the doctor?" Abby asks as we walk home.

I sigh. "I'm sure he'll do his best, honey." I look down at her and smile reassuringly even though I'm lying.

"It was just a dragonfly." Abby mumbles. "They're pretty, not scary."

I nod in agreement because most of them are but not this one. It was huge, black and yellow body, beady eyes; it was just ugly. Admittedly, I probably would have done the same thing as the guy did. If I wasn't already so mad, I also would have tried to explain that to Abby. But I was angry, and she was crying when I walked into Rudder's to pick her up, so I didn't bother. I didn't bother to ask what happened or console her or tell him not to worry about it. I do feel a little badly, though. He was sincere when he apologized over and over again. Still, a stranger made my daughter cry.

"He was probably just surprised. That one was pretty big."

Once we're home, Abby asks what we're going to do for the rest of the day, and I promise to play a game with her or maybe watch a movie after I shower. We have errands to run, too, and even though it's not that exciting she perks up because she knows I always buy her a treat when we're out.

Abby curls her little body up in my bed and turns on the television while she waits for me to take my shower. The water is hot, almost too hot; steam fills the bathroom as I stand under the stream, and it feels so good. The muscles in my shoulders are tight, and I turn the shower head to massage, allowing water to beat against my back and neck. As I stand there, my head down, eyes closed, I begin to get angry all over again.

I love what I do, the fishing, working on the boat with my dad and Emmett, being on the ocean; it's fantastic, and I don't think I'd trade it for anything, but sometimes people can be assholes. Not my dad or Emmett, it's the single guys who get drunk by ten in the morning and not care I'm wearing a wedding band and still think it's okay to make a pass or accidentally rub up against me if they're reaching for something, like this morning. This sort of thing happens every once in a while, and when it does I simply ignore it. This morning, however, it just got to me. I don't say anything anymore to Charlie or Emmett about it when it does happen. It's not worth it. I made the mistake of telling them once – Emmett had taken the guy by the collar of his shirt, bent him over the railing of the boat and threatened to throw him over. I don't want rumors spread about our charter service that because there's a girl on crew, boys can't be boys. There's enough competition around here.

I walk out of the bathroom wearing shorts and a t-shirt; my hair wrapped in a towel. Abby is sound asleep in the middle of my bed. Liz must have worked her hard this morning. I smile.

Throwing the towel on the chair that sits in the corner of my room, I quickly brush out my hair and climb in bed with Abby after taking off her glasses. I am a little tired – I've been up since four – and think maybe a nap won't be so bad, although the both of us will most likely be up way too late tonight. It doesn't really matter because we don't have to get up early. Before lunch, Abby and I are going to catch live bait for the night charter we have scheduled tomorrow with a few local anglers. Rose is coming on the trip, too, and I'm bringing Abby as well - it's going to be a full moon which is the best time to fish tuna.

Abby's warm, and I love to bury my nose in her hair. It doesn't take me long to drift off to sleep.

"I have a surprise for you." He's grinning. The sun is in his eyes, but he doesn't block the brightness with his hand nor does he squint. They're glistening and blue and beautiful. I can feel myself smiling, too.

As I step forward, he steps back. His blond hair is whipping around from the wind.

"Give!"

"Uh, uh. Kiss me."

"Present first."

He shakes his head; his smile doesn't falter.

"Please?" I ask, but he doesn't relent.

My hands are warm. I feel him.

I reach around his back – he moves away. We begin this dance of me trying to outmaneuver him, but he's winning.

"Kiss me first." He's laughing. I look at his mouth, his lips, then at the dimple in his chin.

He holds a wrapped box high above his head, and I jump, but I can't reach it. He holds it behind his head, his elbows pointing toward the sky.

"Kiss me, Bella."

His face is beaming, and I want to kiss him.

My heart is pounding. There's sand between my toes, and I step closer to him.

"Go!" I hear from the other room and hug the pillow to my chest. I want to go back to sleep and cover my head with the blanket. I'm barely awake, and I know I can fall back asleep, so I try to relax.

There's more talking, more noise, and I know falling asleep now will be impossible.

"Come on, Starfish, go, go, go!"

There's yelling and screeching and laughter - I have no idea what is going on in the other room. I also have no idea how long I've slept and roll over to look at the window. The sun is peeking through the edges of the blinds, so maybe I've only been sleeping for an hour. I want to go back to sleep. I want to finish my dream; they don't come that often anymore, but then I remember what I've promised Abby.

I hear Charlie laugh again then Abby.

"Faster, Henry!" someone yells.

Henry? Who's Henry?

My eyes pop open, and I lie still in bed, wondering who's in our house. My bedroom door is closed, so the voices are somewhat muffled when they're not yelling. Rolling to my side, I wait for whoever it is to say something again. There's more chatter and a bunch of "Come on's!" but I can't tell who it is. It's definitely not Emmett.

Begrudgingly, I get out of bed and take a quick peek in the mirror. Perfect. I have a tiny sheet wrinkle running from the corner of my eye toward my ear. Rubbing at it does nothing, so I give up and sweep my hair into a ponytail. I'm disappointed I won't be able to go back to sleep, but I'm still hanging onto the feeling left in my heart and belly from seeing and hearing Riley – even thought it was only in my subconscious.

Walking down the hall, I still don't recognize the voice, but whoever it is, he's having a good time with my dad and daughter.

"How was your nap, Mommy?" Heads turn in my direction, and I stare at the stranger for a moment.

"Um, fine, sweetie." The three of them are on the floor, surrounding the coffee table. Abby's hermit crab cages are sitting on top of it. Wait. She only has one cage, and as it sinks in that there are two now, I also realize who this person is. He stands and walks toward me. "You're from the restaurant today," I say to the dragonfly killer. Why are you in my house?

I look pointedly at Charlie; he shrugs.

The stranger opens his mouth to say something, but Abby interrupts. "Look what Edward brought me!" She holds up a cylinder shaped wire cage.

"Yeah, hi," he, Edward, starts, "I felt badly about earlier… I hope that's okay." He nervously chews at the inside of his cheek as he tilts his head, gesturing toward the cage.

"How did you know where we live?" I ask because this is borderline creepy, not only because he's here, but also because I wonder how he'd know that Abby likes the gross, crawly crustaceans. I'm not fully awake, so all of this is feeling a bit surreal at the moment.

"Liz."

"Liz told you where we live?" I sort of screech-say. Why would she tell a complete stranger where I live?

"Easy, Bells. Edward just wanted to apologize to Abs and you for earlier," Charlie says as he stands. "Okay, kiddo, let's get this track cleaned up."

Edward and I smile awkwardly at each other. Abby helps Charlie snap the lids on the cages then Charlie holds a container off the edge of table so Abby can easily push the Jenga pieces into it. "My crab won. The new one, Henry, is really fast," she tells me, proudly.

Edward's hands are shoved in his pockets; he nods toward Charlie and Abby. "Hermit crab races."

I cross my arms over my chest because I realize I'm not wearing a bra. Even though I'm practically swimming in my shirt, I'm not taking any chances letting him see the girls, no matter how small they are. "Yeah, I kind of figured." I bob my head as I say this. Abby and Charlie scoot by us to put the hermit crabs in her room. "You really didn't have to do that, you know - she was fine."

"Oh, it's no problem."

Edward and I are still standing in the same spot, and it becomes clear to me that he probably thinks I'm a lunatic or a walking time bomb. First, I direct all my anger toward him, and then my dad tells me to take it easy after screeching at him.

"Sorry, I'm Bella," I say, extending my hand. With my other hand, I move it to my shoulder and pretend to scratch while forming a 'v' across my chest. I wonder if he knows I'm trying to cover myself up. "Thank you, it was really nice of you to think of Abby like that."

He half-smiles at me, and I smile back, letting go of his hand.

"She's really cute. Smart. She came up with making a race track for them out of her toy."

I nod. This whole exchange between us is just strange; he's got to feel really uncomfortable – I do.

"Are you thirsty - do you want something to drink?" I ask, but he declines, saying he's fine and that Abby gave him a glass of water already.

"Well, I am… thirsty," I say and walk toward the kitchen. I turn on the tap, flicking my fingers under the water for a few seconds until it gets cold enough, and fill the glass I've pulled out of the cabinet. I'm still keeping at least one arm in front of my chest and think I should probably just excuse myself to change.

"So, you're on vacation?" I ask, trying to be polite. It's obvious he is because of his complexion; either that or he uses one hundred SPF.

It's also apparent he's been here, in my house, for a little while, considering he, Charlie, and Abby were knee deep in hermit crab races and acting pretty comfortable with each other. That much is fine, but this is still just weird.

Edward walks into the kitchen – our house isn't tiny per se, but I also don't have to raise my voice to be heard from one room into the other. "Sort of. I-"

"He's writing a book about Hemingway," Charlie says, grabbing a set of keys from the refrigerator, and I lift my eyebrows at Edward.

Edward chuckles. "Not exactly. I'm from Chicago and wanted to get away for a little while. Hemingway is one of my favorite authors, so…"

"So, you're not writing a book?" I ask, and take a sip of my water.

"No, I am… trying but not about Hemingway." His face reddens; he's embarrassed.

His posture is stiff, and I'm sure he wants to leave so he can start his vacation or whatever he's going to do to write his book. I'm trying to think of something to say without sounding rude to give him an easy out. He really does seem nice, but he's just standing in the middle of our kitchen, not leaving.

"Oh, yeah? That's pretty cool." I really don't know what to say, so I just turn toward Charlie. "Are you going out, Dad?"

"In a few. I'm going to meet some of the guys over at Rudder's." Charlie is patting down his shirt then the pockets of his jeans. I glance at Edward; he looks at me, and I shrug.

"Lose something?"

"My wallet – have you seen it?" Taking a step toward the fridge, I reach up and pull his wallet from the top then hand it to him. He leans over and kisses my cheek. "Thanks, Bells. Oh! Alice called while you were sleeping. She's bringing Jack over - something about dinner?"

Shit. I almost forgot I told her I'd babysit Jack so she and Jasper could pretend to go out to dinner together – they're actually having a post-birthday sexfest back at their house. I inwardly cringe, thinking about the things Alice said she's got planned for Jasper tonight. Best friend or not, there are some things she really needs to keep to herself.

"I should get going," Edward announces, following us back into the family room. Abby's lying upside down on the couch, the ends of her hair touching the floor, and she's flipping through a book.

"Abby, can you sit up, please?" I turn toward Edward and nod. "It was nice to meet you. Good luck with your book, and thank you for the gift for Abby."

"Tomorrow night, right?" Charlie interjects, clapping Edward's shoulder.

"What's tomorrow night?" I ask.

"Moonlight fishing! I told Edward he can't come down to the Keys and not fish our waters!" Charlie's a little too enthusiastic about this, however, that is his nature – he likes just about everyone, and admittedly it is a lot of fun.

"Oh." I look toward Edward. He's nodding - he looks so unsure at the moment, even though there's been a lot of nodding going on. I wonder if he's waiting for my approval or something. I'm not sure why I think this, maybe it's the way he's eyeing me. Great – he really does think I'm crazy. "It's a lot of fun," I offer. "Have you ever fished in the ocean before?"

"No, but I'm actually looking forward to it."

"Dramamine," I suggest; his eyebrows furrow – he's obviously confused. "Seasickness?"

It's one thing to ride on the ocean for the first time when the sun is up, but it's something else entirely when everything is so dark. The sense of sight is all but diminished only intensifying the feeling of the boat bobbing up and down.

"Thanks for the tip." Edward smiles, his face relaxing a little.

"No problem." He's looking at me, and it's uncomfortable – his eyes are really green, I avert mine toward the floor just as Alice and Jack walk in.

"Abby!" Jack yells. He purses his lips, narrows his eyes, and makes horns with his fingers holding them against his ears. He takes off running toward Abby.

"Jack! No!" Abby scolds him as if he were a puppy that's done something wrong. She's still lying upside down, and I know Jack is going to tackle her.

I scramble to grab him, attempting to deflect a possible head injury, thus spending the night in the emergency room – it's happened before. Before I can get my hands on him, Edward has already nabbed Jack by the waist and is holding him like a football.

Jack is giggling, squirming to break free, and Edward looks at me... again. I thank him quietly as he puts Jack down on the floor. Abby quickly sits up; Jack jumps on the couch next to her and lays his head on her arm. I'm fairly certain he has a crush on her – either that or he enjoys the way Abby likes to mother him.

I don't like the way Edward keeps looking at me. It's not as though he's checking me out, it's more of a mixture of wary and curiosity – I think, and I suddenly feel like I'm under a microscope.

"So, Edward, I guess we'll see you at the dock at eight tomorrow night?" I ask, now definitely saying goodbye to him, and walk toward the door. I don't ask if Charlie has given him directions because honestly, I kind of hope he doesn't come, especially if he's going to keep staring at me all night.

"I'll be there." He smiles then tilts his head, holding up one hand. "Bye, Abby."

"Bye, Edward. Thank you for Henry!" Jack whispers something to Abby, then she takes his hand and leads him down the hall, most likely to her room to show him who Henry is.

Shortly after Edward leaves, Charlie follows, leaving Alice glaring at me. She's defiantly holding her hands on her hips, and I already know what she's going to say.

"I didn't introduce you to him because there's nothing to introduce."

"That makes no sense at all," she tells me. "Who. Was. That?"

"That was Edward. He's just someone down here on vacation." I continue to tell her about the deathly dragonfly incident, what happened with me on the trip this morning, but then I make the mistake of telling her I dreamed about Riley.

"You realize how unhealthy it is to still be pining for your dead husband after four years, don't you?"

Alice doesn't believe in holding back punches. I both love and dislike her for this.

"I'm not," I lie, and I can feel tears welling up in my eyes.

"Sweetie, I know how much you loved him. We all did, but you've got to move on." Alice hugs me, and now I'm sobbing into her shoulder. She rubs my back. "Just go out or something. You don't have to go out on an official date with anyone, just let yourself go for one night."

"I don't know, Al. I'm scared. I'm afraid to let him go."

Alice steps back, her hands are on my arms. "You don't have to let him go, honey. You don't ever have to do that. I just don't want my best friend ending up an old cat lady," she says, smiling, and I laugh.

"I don't like cats," I counter.

"You don't need to like them. I hear they gravitate to women who choose the spinster lifestyle."

Shaking my head at her, I wipe my cheeks and chuckle. "Is Jack spending the night?"

"Are you going to be okay?" she asks, and I tell her I will be. She says she'll pick him up in the morning then goes to kiss him goodbye.

I order a pizza for the three of us and plan to completely immerse myself into Wii bowling and whatever other games Abby and Jack want to play. Maybe we'll make a tent in the family room, too. It doesn't matter; I'm going to keep myself and the kids busy until the three of us pass out from exhaustion. I try not to hope I can continue my dream.

Twenty minutes pass, and the doorbell rings. Jack and Abby are playing Wii tennis, and I dig through my purse for cash for the pizza.

As it turns out, it's not the pizza guy, it's Edward.

He's back. Why.

I'm watching him through the screen door; he's shifting uncomfortably, holding a white plastic bag – the kind that has 'Thank You' written on them in red letters.

"I got you chocolate as a way to say I was sorry to you, too, for earlier today – you didn't seem like you had a good morning." He looks down then back at me. "But I left it in the jeep and it melted, so I went to buy more right after I left. I got turned around, and it took me longer to get back here to give it to you." He holds up the bag in his hand.

I don't say anything for a moment; I'm surprised and actually a little touched by his gesture. "Thank you, Edward. You really didn't-"

"I know." He shrugs, awkwardly, and I open the door to take the bag.

I love chocolate.

He smiles and rolls his eyes. "I had planned on driving down to Key West but haven't made reservations anywhere." I furrow my brow at him, wondering why anyone would plan a vacation, but not secure a place to stay. "Yeah, don't ask," he laughs. "I was wondering if you could tell me if there's a decent motel around here. I figure I may as well just stay in the area tonight since I'm going to be back up here tomorrow night anyway."

Edward runs his hand through his hair then shoves both in his pockets. I suggest he try the place on Overseas Highway and give him directions. Our Key is so small; I really don't think he'll get lost.

He thanks me and we say goodnight to each other. The pizza guy pulls up just as I'm about to close the door. A small part of me is tempted to invite Edward to eat pizza with us… but I don't.

Pulling the white box out of the bag, I recognize the gold emblem on top from Leah and Claire's. They have a couple of glass cases of chocolate, candies, and fudge in the back of their store. They don't make it but worked out a deal with a confectioner from Key Largo who wanted to get his name out there.

It's really, really good chocolate.

I lift back the lid of the box to find an assortment of dark and milk chocolates. When I look up, the delivery guy is now standing on my porch; over his shoulder I see Edward standing next to his jeep, and I wave to him and smile.

As I pay for the pizza, Edward gets in his jeep then drives away. I decide maybe he's not so creepy, and if he does show up for the fishing trip it may not be so bad. However, if he looks at me the way he was earlier, I will give him the full-service chum tutorial.

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