Hey everyone! Thanks for all the reviews, I'm getting some great feedback to help me out. Sorry I waited so long to update I've been distracted with work and all this rainy weather I'm having! Lol :) Hope you all like this chapter have a great week!

Chapter 4

"When he was ten months old, I had been working from home and I had been taking classes online. We had a hard time making ends meet financially and it was because my pay had been decreased since I was working at home. So I made a decision to find a nanny so I could go to work and make things a little easier for us." Bella paused for a minute and held her hand up so Alice and Rosalie wouldn't ask the question she already was about to answer. "I know it doesn't make any sense because nannies are expensive, but I hired one through the college so they are paid mostly through them, I just pay the driving expenses."

Rosalie and Alice nodded, "That makes sense, makes it easier on the student." Alice smiled and waved her hand to continue.

Bella smiled softly, "I found a lady in particular that had her own children and has grandchildren, so I got in contact with her and interviewed her. Her name was Linda, she was 63 years old, I liked her a lot she seemed very nice and she was a teacher for twenty five years. She was a little older than I would have liked for her to be, but I looked passed that because she seemed so genuine and loving towards children. I even looked into all her previous jobs, I contacted them and got a full understanding of her work with children. I was that protective of my son, I refused to let even the smallest wrong or bad near him."

"I hired her about a week after I had interviewed her. Nick seemed to like her okay, he kept his distance at first but he seemed to warm up to her after a little while. I had stayed at home the first couple of days before I started back at the office I worked. She was able to keep up with Nick and find ways to keep him entertained and busy, she didn't let him stay in front of the TV or any electric devices for too long. So I returned to work feeling confident that she would be perfect until I finish school."

"Things continued that way for two years and then I started to notice when I came home that Nick would have marks on his body, ones that didn't look quite right, and when she would go to tell him goodbye, he would shy away or find an excuse to leave the room. She seemed to change as well, she became mouthy, always would have something negative or rude to say about my house or about the way I did things. I didn't really think it was anything but old age getting to her so I let it go and always made sure Nick was okay and spoke to him about how getting old can make you say things or just do things that you may regret later, I told him to just give her a smile and not to let it bother him." Bella wiped the tears from her eyes and pushed her hair out of her face, then she took a deep shaky breathe and continued her story.

"It kept up until about 6 months ago when I came home early from work because of the weather. I walked up the front porch steps and heard screaming, it wasn't Nick's screaming that I knew for sure. I unlocked the door and walked into the living room, the screaming was insanely loud and I knew instantly it was coming from Nick's room. I dropped my things and ran down the hall to find his bedroom door closed, I slammed it open to Linda towering over my son a bottle of something in her hand, I found out later it was tequila with soda, and a big leather belt in the other, she was raising that arm up when I came in. I had grabbed the arm that held the belt and threw her to the floor and placed myself on my knees in front of my son. I had tears falling down my cheeks like a river as I held him and cried, this was one of the fears I had when I searched for a nanny and it had come true anyway.

Nick had patted my hair later that day while I held him on my hip talking to the officer who had arrested Linda. After everything he had been through, he still found the strength to smile and comfort me when I should have been the one doing it. After all that had happened I made the decision to leave, I had already finished school and I was looking for a different job anyway that would put my degree to work."

"I looked into Forks, because it was far away from the place I didn't want to be and Nick liked the idea of being around the woods and not being in such a busy city. So I found Esme, I told her my story and asked for her help. She did a lot more than I had ever expected, she even helped me find my new job, Esme is a fantastic women and I don't think I could ever thank her enough."

Alice wiped the tears from her cheeks and smiled at Bella, "I'm so glad you and Nick are here, this is definitely what you both need. Believe it or not, everyone considers you both family, Esme already has Nick calling him Nana Esme just wait here soon she'll have him calling Carlisle, Pop." They all laughed as they wiped their tears and smiled at one another.

"I agree with Alice, Bella. It's great you both are here to start over and we Cullen's and Whitlock's," Rosalie nodded at Alice as she got poked by the petite women. "are just the weirdos you need." Bella laughed and nodded in agreement.

Just as Alice was about to call Jasper, Nick ran into Bella's knees giggling and grinning from ear to ear. They looked up to see Emmett, Jasper, and Edward coming up to them. "Figured we would come get you girls before we walk into the ice cream shop and get in trouble." Emmett smiled as Rosalie stood up to meet him, Alice following suit with Jasper. Bella kissed Nick's cheek and stood up as he grabbed her purse for her.

Edward smiled at her as she stood and took Nick's hand, as he noticed the slight redness of her eyes his smile faltered but never fully left his face. He looked at Alice and Rosalie and noticed they too had a slight redness in their eyes as well as their make-up being slightly smudged. I'll ask Bella later when I drop them off at home, Edward thought as Bella and Nick walked in his direction.

The group went to the ice cream shop and each enjoyed their different flavors, Edward shared a large bowl of milk chocolate with Bella and Nick, Emmett got a waffle cone with a scoop of cookies and cream and strawberry, Rosalie got a small bowl of vanilla, Alice got a small bowl of mint chocolate chip, and Jasper got a waffle cone with chocolate chip cookie dough. They all sat at two tables scooted together and ate their ice cream and listened to Nick talk about the arcade.

When they had all finished, they walked back to the cars and said their goodbyes till the next weekend. Edward and Bella listened to Nick sing with the radio till half way through the drive he became silent, Bella looked back and smiled at Nick's sleeping form. She turned down the radio and turned to find Edward looking nervous and in deep though.

"Is everything okay, Edward?"

Edward nodded, "Yeah everything is great. I'm just not sure of how I should ask the question bouncing around in my head."

Bella smiled softly, "Ask away."

Edward smiled back, "When we met you, Alice and Rosalie at the fountain, I noticed you all looked red eyed and a little sad. Can I ask why?" He looked quickly at Bella then back at the road, listening to the silence that seemed to drag on as he waited for her answer.

Bella thought deeply about what to tell him. "I told them about why we moved here. I told them how Nick became my son. I shared my disaster with them." Bella watched Edward's face as she spoke. She noticed all he did was listen intently, no face twitching or any change of facial feature. She smiled sadly, "I really don't want to tell it to you or anyone else right now. I hope you aren't mad-"

"Why would I be mad? That's your business, yours and Nick's, the last thing I want to do is interfere with that. All I care about right now is that you and Nick are happy, and that I can take you out to dinner someday." Edward's mouth snapped shut and his eyes grew wide. Shit, he thought, I did not mean to say that.

Edward focused on the road trying to ignore the elephant sitting on the armrest between them. Bella blushed furiously and looked at her hands on her lap, she had thought about Edward often after meeting him at dinner the night before but she didn't think he felt the same.

Bella gathered what little courage she had for her next response, "Give me a few weeks to get comfortable, and for Nick to adjust some more, then maybe we can go out." Bella continued to watch her hands, not noticing the grin that reached from ear to ear on Edward's face.

The rest of the ride home was quiet except for the radio playing softly in the background. Edward pulled into Bella's driveway and turned off the car. As Bella was grabbing her and Nick's things and got out of the car, Edward was pulling Nick out of the car seat. Bella smiled at him and walked up the porch to the door and unlocked it. Edward followed Bella into the living room and set Nick carefully on the soft chestnut colored couch.

Bella walked Edward to the door and turned to tell him goodbye when he interrupted her, "I don't mind waiting a few weeks and even if we can't be more I'm glad I can be here for you and Nick. I can't imagine what it must be like raising him on your own, just know I'm always here if you ever need anything at all."

Bella smiled and nodded, "Your right, it's not, but it is worth it to see him smile every day and thank you I'll definitely call you if I need you."

Edward smiled, pulled out his phone and handed it to Bella. He watched patiently as she typed in her name and number then handed it back. He saved it then texted her and waited for the beep in her pocket to go off before he put his phone away. Edward grabbed Bella in a tight hug, "You're not alone anymore, and you have a whole family behind you and Nick now. Whatever happened in the past can stay there, you don't have to tell me anything. Just know that it won't change the way I or anyone else sees you, you are a wonderful mother and a great friend."