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Chapter Four: "Smile" Edward's POV

I could see that Bella was trying. She cuddled with me more, kissed me more, and even told me she loved me every now and then. But I wanted to see her smile more. The twins could always make her smile, and sometimes I could draw out a grin. But I knew she was still overwhelmed by the fact that her beloved Jacob had left bruises on her, and that her marriage was over. Maybe the right word for it would be shock.

She liked to stop by and see me while I was at work. She was job-hunting every day, and even if she only needed a hug, she would come to take advantage of my always-open arms. I grew to expect her during lunch, and on the few days when she wouldn't come visit, I felt a little empty until I saw her in the afternoon.

So one day when Gianna buzzed me and said, "Mr. Cullen, a very important woman is on line one," I nearly fell out of my chair because I was so eager to grab the phone. I snatched the receiver up. "Hey, beautiful," I greeted my caller.

To my surprise, my mother's familiar laugh echoed in my ear. "Beautiful, son? You haven't sucked up this much since you and Emmett declared Alice's Barbie dolls an 'unprotected village' and scalped them."

I snorted. "Sorry, I thought you were...someone else."

"Bella, I know," she said happily. "That's actually what I called to chat about."

"Interrogate away, Torquemada," I said, rolling my eyes.

"I'm not offering the Spanish Inquisition," Mom replied, sounding a little offended. "I'm offering to give you two a date day."

Well, that caught my attention. "Oh, really? Do you have any ideas?"

"Not for a date, but Edward, she needs you. Let me keep EJ and Abby on Saturday and you two can spend the day focusing on each other. Get out of the house. Go to Seattle or Port Angeles. Spoil her. If she sticks to typical Bella fashion and doesn't want to spend money, take her on a hike or something."

I instantly brightened at the idea. "That sounds wonderful. I'll have to ask her first...but I think she'll be up to it."

"Okay! Just let me know," Mom said, her tone much lighter. "You know I'm starting to look at wedding stuff, right?"

I winced. "She's not even divorced yet. Focus on Alice's wedding. It's a few months away."

"You know me, darling. I like to prepare for the future."


I ran the idea by Bella, and to my surprise, she loved it.

"Let's go to Port Angeles," I suggested, not sure I wanted to revisit Seattle with her. The memories of our only Seattle trip were way too fresh for both of us.

She was on the couch next to me, holding a sleeping EJ while I rocked Abby back and forth. We were at my house, because she claimed that the clutter of Jacob's cardboard boxes and piles of junk was annoying her. I knew it was simply hard for her to look at it, though. "No, there
isn't much to do there."

"We could go shopping," I pointed out. "For clothes or books. Your choice. Or we could actually go see a movie, since theaters don't exist in Forks."

She smiled and shook her head. "No, I hate shopping, I don't have time to read, and I would rather focus on you than a movie."

Her smile made me grin like a fool. I leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "Whatever you say, love. We'll figure something out."

"How do you do that?" she murmured, staring at Abby. My little girl-how good it felt to say that-was sound asleep. It had taken a total of eight minutes, and Bella and I had been talking and watching television, so it wasn't like it had been completely silent for Abby.

I shrugged.

"Here," Bella said, standing up and shifting EJ to the other arm. "I'll go put them in the guest room."

I moved Abby to her arms and watched her as she walked away. She kissed her children's forehead, holding them carefully. She was such a good mother.

I stretched out on the couch and waited for her to return. My mind wandered to my conversation with Mom from earlier. Take her on a hike or something. I suddenly remembered a hiking trip with Dad, Emmett, and Jasper. We had stumbled upon a beautiful meadow that was hidden by the forest. I knew that Bella would love it. Plus it was very private, and she could just be herself. She was most relaxed when no one but me was looking. I liked this idea a lot.

When she came back into the living room, she gently pushed me into the couch cushions so she could weasel her way into my side. She rested her head on my chest as I wrapped my arms around her, my hand stroking her back through her soft t-shirt.

"Let's go hiking Saturday," I suggested.

She glanced up at me, an amused expression on her face. "Um, have you seen how clumsy I am?"

"I'll carry you," I offered. "Please? I have an idea, but it's a surprise."

"I hate surprises," she yawned, latching onto me by wrapping an arm around my waist. I smoothed her hair as she closed her eyes.

"But it's a good surprise. Zero money will be spent, I promise."

"You're really serious about hiking?" she murmured.

"I am about this hiking trip," I replied. "It's not even that far of a hike, anyway."

She sighed and opened her beautiful brown eyes to stare at me. "If I say yes, does that mean I get to give you a surprise?"

"Sure," I said immediately. "As long as you don't spend money on me."

She giggled. "Okay, fine. I'll go on the silly hiking trip. But if you have to carry me all the way, don't be mad at me."

"I won't. You only weigh like, five pounds."

She gave me a very unladylike snort. "If only that were true."

"Bella," I rolled my eyes. "You're so gorgeous and perfect. Can't you believe me?"

"You only like me because I have dark features and pale skin like—" She paused to yawn. "Scarlett O'Hara. What was the actress's name?"

"Vivien Leigh. And you are sadly mistaken, love. You're so much more beautiful than her."

"Edward, why am I so tired?"

"You're spreading yourself thin. Come on, let's go to bed."

"Don't move," she disagreed, burying her face in my shirt.

I kissed the crown of her head and laughed. "You may be comfortable, but my feet are hanging off the couch and I'm going to have a crick in my neck."

And I want a proper goodnight kiss, but I'll keep that little tidbit to myself and see if you volunteer.

I sat up, earning a grunt of disapproval from Bella, and tossed her over my shoulder. She giggled as I carried her to my room. "Edward! Put me down!"

"You said you're awfully tired," I reminded her as I dropped her on my bed.

"You'll be carrying me enough when we go on that godforsaken hike."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll leave you alone to change into your pajamas. Where is your bag?"

She sighed. "I forgot to bring one."

"I'll go get you some pajamas," I offered.

She shook her head. "Nah…do you have a t-shirt I can use?"

"Yep." I tried not to think of Bella only wearing my t-shirt. I knew that it would be a long time before we could be intimate. She just wasn't ready for it yet, and she was still married. I went to my chest of drawers, grabbed the biggest t-shirt I could find, tossed it to her, and then went to my closet to give her privacy. I wore pajama pants and a t-shirt, sort of missing my days of sleeping in my boxers. It's a guy thing.

"You can come out," she called after a few minutes. I emerged to find her laying on top of my covers, my t-shirt safely covering her thighs. It was actually one of Emmett's shirts that had managed to find its way into my bag on a camping trip. Since my brother was bigger than me, it was much more decent on Bella than one of my shirts would have been.

I stepped by the bed and bent to kiss the pad of her right foot, which made her giggle. I was fully convinced that it was the most beautiful sound in the world, so I poked at her ribs as I laid in bed next to her. Very ticklish, my Bella responded with some laughs and a kiss as I wormed my way under the covers.

"How are you feeling?" I asked gently, lacing my fingers with hers and pulling her closer. We laid parallel to each other, on our sides so we could stare into each other's faces.

"It's not as hard as I thought it would be," she admitted. "I just packed Jacob up, but I'm not moping around. I'm just tired since I was doing most of the work."

"Good," I approved. "It's still a bit surreal to me, having you here next to me."

"I'm never planning on leaving," she admitted. "I just…"

"Need time, I know," I filled in for her, moving some of her hair out of her face. "But that's okay, because I'm never planning on leaving, either."

"I love you more," she said softly. "I know I sound like a desperate hag with how much I say that, but it's true."

I dropped a kiss on her nose. "You can say it a lot more often, if you'd like. Or you could just kiss me in front of Jessica Stanley some more. I kind of like that."

She snickered. "I didn't mean to get so possessive…"

"I liked it. Plus it discouraged her. She reminds me of her single status every day."

"I told Jacob I want to start the divorce process this week," she suddenly said, her voice completely serious. "How long should it take?"

"Does he want joint custody or anything?" I replied.

She winced, like she was in real pain. "I don't know," she admitted. "It really makes me wonder what is going on in his head. He told me he wants to work that out with a lawyer."

I sighed. After Jacob had left bruises on Bella, I didn't trust him with the children. Not that he knew how to take care of them, anyway. I didn't want him anywhere close to my precious bugs.

Bella looked genuinely tortured over the whole thing, so I pulled her close, indulging a little by letting my hand brush against her hip. "We're going to do what's best for Abby and EJ," I promised her. "I know I can pull some strings where your attorney is concerned. Honestly, the mother is the preferred parent, so I don't think it will be hard for you to win full custody."

She sighed into my chest and nodded. "I know. I just sort of want you to be the only father my kids know. Is that wrong?"

"That's what I want, too," I confessed. "But from a legal standpoint, DNA usually equals custody rights. And we really have to think about what is best for EJ and Abby in the long run. You know they are going to ask why they don't have light skin like I do, and if you and I have kids," I added in a very gentle tone, "they'll want to know why they are the only ones without bronze hair or green eyes or whatever. They may grow into teenagers and realize that Jacob is a missing piece in their lives. It's a lot to think about, Bella. Sadly, this isn't an issue that can only be solved by a mother's intuition."

"If only the world could be run by mothers," Bella said a bit dreamily. "We wouldn't have war, starvation, or child abuse. Well, let me take that back. If only the world could be run by good mothers. Like Esme. I think Esme could be a good dictator for the world…"

I laughed softly and kissed her forehead. "I think you could be a fabulous dictator as well. Don't worry your pretty little head over the custody dispute. I'm pretty positive that the pictures Dad took of your bruises will be enough to earn you full custody. Plus the fact that Jacob has not followed counseling commands from the Army."

She gave me a look of pure shock. "What pictures?"

Whoops, I had forgotten she didn't know about that. I coughed uncomfortably. "That was Dad's idea…don't be mad at me…"

"When did he take the pictures?"

"When you were asleep at Mom and Dad's house," I said quickly. "He does it to all of his domestic violence patients, Bella. Don't feel like your privacy was invaded."

"I don't," she said quickly. "I'm just amazed Carlisle didn't say anything to me. I'm not mad, I swear."

I ran my fingers through her curls. "You're tired, love. Go to sleep."

I reached for the lamp, but she stopped me. "Wait, I have another question."

"Ask away." I continued to stroke her hair, simply luxuriating in the softness and thickness of it all. Bella really was an angel of light and beauty. There was something celestial about her.

"You think we'll have kids one day?" she asked meekly, even though a small smile was on her face.

I pursed my lips. "Um…do you want to?"

She nodded slowly. "Mmm, yeah, I think I do. But when the bugs are older…"

I couldn't stop the smile from taking over my entire calm composure. "A little girl," I whispered in her ear. "With brown curls like you…and Abby's spunk and EJ's love."

Bella's hands travelled to my hair, her fingers combing through and softly rubbing my scalp. "No. A little boy with auburn hair and green eyes. Just like you described earlier. With Abby's love for her daddy, and EJ's love for me. And we could have a white house with blue shutters…and Abby and EJ and our son could be best friends with their cousins. Em and Alice's kids."

I craned my neck so I could kiss her. I had been fighting it ever since she put on the t-shirt, and now that we were discussing children of my own biology (which equaled marriage, in my mind), I could fight no longer.

She kissed me tenderly for a minute or so before she giggled against my lips.

My tongue snaked out as a rebuke before pulling away. "What's so funny?"

"I'm not thinking about Jacob," she mused. "I'm thinking only about…you, and our future together. It feels nice."

Yep, the meadow suddenly seemed like a brilliant idea. I needed to let this side of Bella come out more. I needed to make her comfortable with his absence and my presence one again. "I love you," I whispered.

"I love you, too," she confessed before pecking my lips. "I'm really sleepy," she added quietly, completely snuggling into me, her creamy thighs sending a flash of white in the lamplight.

I turned the lamp off and pulled her tight. "Good night, my angel," I murmured.

"Good night, love."

Of course we were interrupted a little while later by a crying EJ. Bella ran to get him before I could react very much. But she brought him into the bedroom with his bottle, too tired to sit in the kitchen or living room with him.

"Is he okay?" I mumbled, watching our little boy as he sucked the rubber nipple like a baby. The only problem was he wasn't a baby. He had left the bottle behind, and it bothered both of us that he had gone back to relying on it. But Bella had been so stressed out that she hadn't weaned him off once again.

"He just needs some comfort," she replied lovingly, kissing EJ's face. "I hope that when Jacob leaves, the bugs' lives will be more stable and they can go back to their normal way of doing things."

"Maybe we need to focus on these two bugs before we start dreaming about another one," I mused as I watched my love comfort him. There was something so beautiful in the way she mothered Abby and EJ.

"I think you're right," she admitted. "I think these middle-of-the-night feedings have to stop, too."

Fatherhood was going to be an interesting ride, that was for sure. And significant-other-hood…or whatever I was for Bella that day.


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