A/N: Hola! Let's do this thing.
When he realized just how tense he was, Edward released a breath in a gust. He shook his head and laughed at himself.
Carlisle stopped and cocked his head, looking at him. "What's so funny?"
"We are." Edward tugged Carlisle off to the side and took both his hands. He let his eyes roam over his husband's face, shivering with the intensity of the pull he felt. He adored this man, hisprecious man. He brushed his fingers through the gray streaks at Carlisle's temple. "We're quite a pair."
Carlisle put his free hand to Edward's hip in a possessive gesture and leaned in to kiss his lips sweetly. "We are, but what are you thinking?"
Edward sighed, his smile falling. "You still don't want me in the same room as your father."
Carlisle's smile followed Edward's, and he ducked his head. "No, I really don't."
"Yeah." Edward stepped closer, dropping his voice. "I get that. There's a difference, isn't there? Parents can do so much damage to us, and we'll tolerate it. But my parents…" He ducked his head and swallowed hard. "When they hurt my kids and you? That's when I stopped being able to forgive them."
"I stopped being able to forgive my father a long time before I met you," Carlisle said, sounding ashamed.
"That's different." Edward cupped a hand to his husband's cheek. "My parents were cold. Your father was malicious." He had to swallow again, trying hard to bite down the rush of anger that went through him. "When my parents hurt our family, that was also when I really saw the damage your father had done. Believe me, my love. I haven't changed my mind either. I don't want you anywhere near him.
"This man can't take our children away. They're protected. And he can't take you away from me. So there's not a damn thing he can say or do that will hurt me. Don't worry about me, Carlisle. We're going to face this together from now on."
His husband studied him for a long moment, his sad eyes serious. "But you still get to worry about me?"
Edward flinched and looked him in the eyes. "He's still your father. There's no getting around that."
"Yeah." Carlisle's hand brushed up and down his side absently. "Do you miss your parents, Edward?"
The words took Edward by surprise, and he sucked in a gust of air. Then, he blew it out slowly, considering. "Sometimes."
Before they could delve into that—where Carlisle was going with that line of questioning, Edward could only guess—a passing nurse came to a halt beside them. She put a hand on her hip, giving Edward a blatant once over. Her face lit up in a grin as she looked to Carlisle. "Is this your husband, Dr. Cullen?"
That broke the heavy mood that had come over them. Carlisle straightened up and smiled, wrapping an arm around Edward in a proud, possessive gesture. "This ismy husband, Dr. Cullen."
Edward rolled his eyes fondly. He offered the nurse his hand. "Edward," he introduced himself.
"I'm Jackie, William's nurse today." She shook his hand. "Well, you know what? Today is one of the few days I'm glad science hasn't caught up with us. Can you imagine how unfair it would be if you two were able to procreate? That's too much good-looking for this world."
Edward and Carlisle exchanged a glance, smiling. "I'm more than glad our kids look like him," Carlisle said, stroking Edward's back.
Jackie's eyes grew wide and bright. "You have kids?" She gave Carlisle a light smack to his arm. "You never told me that."
"I'm telling you now."
Heaven help the poor fool who got Carlisle and Edward Cullen talking about their children. The nurse was subjected to photos which she, whether out of genuine interest or simple politeness, ooh'd and ah'd over.
"Look at you two. Proud daddies. They're beauties. Look at those smiles," she cooed.
Carlisle looked up at Edward, his expression tender. "I do love their smiles." He sighed. "Well. Let me go see if he's awake."
"He was when I left him," Jackie said, watching with Edward as Carlisle disappeared into his father's room. When he was gone, Jackie looked to Edward. "Your husband seems like such a good man."
"The best," Edward agreed.
Jackie quirked an eyebrow, her eyes flashing with mischief. "He's a whole new man with you here with him. I didn't think he could get more good-looking, but the way he looks at you has taken years off his pretty, pretty face." She chuckled. "That's nice to see. Two people so good for each other."
She gave his arm a squeeze and went about her business, leaving Edward relatively alone in the hallway. He ducked his head, bemused. "So easy, isn't it?" he said to nothing.
For someone to just see them as they were—two men who loved each other, who'd built a life together. Why was it so hard for some people to see them as equal to anyone else? Why did people like Carlisle's father, and his own parents for that matter, get stuck on what they meant to each other based simply on their genitals? It was so strange to think of how many people automatically dismissed what he had with his husband when it was the most real and beautiful thing Edward had ever known.
Carlisle reappeared in the doorway then, his eyes tight at the corners. He inhaled and raised his head, squared his shoulders. Like a man, Edward's father would have said. Then, he extended a hand toward Edward. The words written all over his features were as clear as though he'd spoken them out loud.
No matter what happens here, I will never be anything but proud to call you mine.
Edward slipped his hand into his husbands' and twined their fingers tightly, looking back at him.
I love you now without condition. It's true now, and it'll be true when this is over.
Carlisle nodded to him, and stepped back into his father's hospital room, pulling Edward with him.
Edward's first impression of William Cullen was that he couldn't possibly have been scary to anyone. He was an old, frail, obviously sick man. But then, Edward looked at his eyes. Ice blue eyes that pierced him as if he were staring into Edward's soul.
"Dad, this is my husband. Edward. Edward my father, William Cullen."
"Edward what?" William asked, shaking Edward's hand with a surprisingly firm grip.
"I'm sorry?" Edward said, brow furrowed.
"Your surname," William said.
"Cullen, Dad." Already Carlisle's voice sounded tight. "Dr. Edward Anthony Cullen."
William finally let go of Edward's hand still pinning him with his eyes. "I'm sure your youngman can speak for himself, Carlisle."
Neither of them missed the emphasis on young. A flicker of annoyance passed through Edward. He was in his thirties for chrissakes. It wasn't as though he was a child. "Yes, sir. I changed my name to Cullen when we were married. I was proud to take the name of a man as good as your son."
"So, you weren't proud of your own family then?"
"Dad."
"It's okay." Edward reached out to take Carlisle's hand, giving it a firm squeeze. "I like the idea of spouses sharing a name. I wasn't overly attached to Masen, so here we are."
Carlisle guided him toward the seat at the side of the bed. Though Edward wanted to stand tall, he sensed Carlisle needed to protect him. He let himself be guided into the seat, and when Carlisle came to stand behind him, Edward put a hand over his on his chest. He saw William take them in. The old man gave a small huff, and looked away.
"It was nice of you to make room in your busy schedule to visit," William said.
Edward was confused by that comment, but before he could speak, Carlisle responded in a clipped, angry tone he'd never heard before. "Shouldn't you be pleased? As it happened, Edward agreed with you that he should be with me."
William turned to his son. "I think it's awfully convenient that when I raised a concern with you, your story changed and your husband magically appeared." He shook his head. "Don't put on a show for my sake. I can accept you've made your choice to lie with men, but playing at marriage is another matter altogether."
"Playing?" Edward protested.
"You think marriage is a matter of a name change?"
"Dad—"
"It's okay, Carlisle." Edward patted his hand, pleased that his voice was still steady though he was seething. "You think two men can't have a normal marriage. That's the argument, right?"
"I'm not here to argue anything. It's just difficult to see my own son make a mockery of a sacred institution."
"How's that, exactly?" Edward asked, again keeping his tone polite. He kept hold of Carlisle's hand, smoothing his thumb over his knuckles. "I've been with Carlisle for nearly a decade now. I vowed to love, honor, and cherish him. We've built a life together from our finances, to our home. Every aspect of our lives is connected. I didn't take Carlisle's name as part of an act, and I know plenty of heterosexual, married women who didn't change their names. It was just meaningful to me to have the same name as my husband. So tell me, sir, what is it you think makes my marriage a mockery?"
William stared back at him, his mouth set in a hard line. "It's not natural. A union should be able to produce children."
Behind Edward, Carlisle laughed. "By that logic, any marriage I had with a woman would be unnatural and a mockery. You know I'm sterile. My children were never going to share my biology, but they're mine. They were conceived and born into a loving, committed union, and they're…"
Carlisle trailed off, and Edward knew he'd realized what he'd done. His own heartbeat picked up, beating a nervous rhythm as he saw comprehension cross William's features. "You have children?"
Edward squeezed Carlisle's hand again, hard. Carlisle let out a slow gust. "Yes. We have three beautiful children."
"You didn't say." William sounded hurt.
"Because I don't want to hear anything you'd possibly have to say about my kids," Carlisle shot back. "You've made it perfectly clear what you think about my marriage and the man I've chosen to spend my life with. I don't want to know what you think about how the two of us, as wrong as we are, must be ruining our children's lives, if not their souls."
"You're being dramatic again, and over-sensitive."
"That's enough," Edward said sharply. He had to grip the sides of his chair. Intimidating a bedridden man was rather redundant. He did look the man in the eyes, holding his ice-cold glare. "Listen to me, okay? I'd like you to listen, because I don't think you want your son to walk out on you again, and I know Carlisle would prefer not to."
"He's responsible for his own actions same as anyone else. I never forced him to walk away."
Edward felt Carlisle flinch, and he reached back to take his hand again. He continued to stare steadily at William. "You're not responsible for what Carlisle does, no, but you are responsible for the things that come out of your mouth. I'm not asking you to talk it out. I'm asking you to listen for one minute. Can you do that?"
William's nostrils flared, but he gave a short nod. "Say what you have to say. I'm tired, and I'd like to get some rest."
Edward nodded. "Fair enough. Listen to me, and then we'll leave you alone."
He waited another moment. William wasn't looking at him anymore. He was staring up at nothing, his jaw obviously clenched. Edward took it as acceptance to his terms. "I can understand what you're going through to an extent," he said, making his tone soft but strong. "You were raised to believe reality is one way and one way only. There are men and there are women. You need one of each to make a good, righteous life.
"I can understand that even if I don't believe in it myself. I can't for the life of me figure out why it would bother you so much that someone doesn't believe what you do. Carlisle and I are consenting adults, and no matter what else you think of what we do in the privacy of our own bedroom, we make each other happy. We lead good lives and our children are well loved and well provided for."
Edward took a deep breath. William hadn't moved much, but Edward thought he was still listening. "I know you're struggling because your reality tells you that we're wrong, and you don't want that for your son. You want him to be in the right. I believe you want what's best for him, even if he doesn't agree with what you think is right or good.
"Whether or not you think Carlisle makes the right choices is irrelevant. He's your son, and he wants to help you." Edward had to swallow around the lump of bile that rose to his throat, fighting back his instinct to speak the next words. "And that means I want to help you. Believe me, Mr. Cullen, I don't approve of you anymore than you approve of me. There's plenty about you, at least the you you've shown me, that I'd like to change.
"But, now that we know what we don't like about each other, why don't we forget about the things we can't change and try to find some common ground? How about a do-over?" Holds hand out. "I'm Edward Anthony Cullen, and I'm your son's husband. It's nice to meet you."
The air was heavy with tension. Edward saw William's nostrils flare. But, after a moment, he swallowed hard and took Edward's hand, giving it a firm shake. "I'm William." His gaze darted to his son above Edward's head and then back. "Carlisle's father."
The tension eased, and everyone seemed to take a deep breath. William nodded as though settling something inside himself. His glance when he looked again at Carlisle was almost furtive, though he did tilt his chin up. "Do you have a picture?"
There was a beat of silence, and Edward tensed. He heard Carlisle take a steadying breath before he asked, "Of what?"
"Your children. They're my grandchildren, right?"
The words seemed awkward as William said them, and Edward's lips quirked the slightest bit. They'd encountered this before. Some people couldn't quite wrap their heads around the logistics of two men having children.
"Yes," Carlisle said after a moment. "They're my kids, so they're your grandkids." He stepped around the chair and only hesitated slightly before he handed his father his phone. "Ethan Jackson, Isabella Daria, and Lucas Liam Cullen."
William's eyebrows shot for his hairlines. "Triplets?"
"It happens more often when there are fertility issues. We used a donor egg, and they were carried by a dear friend of ours."
William hummed his understanding, but Edward caught a quick glance his way. Had he put together that Edward was the biological father? It didn't matter to them—they were the only parents their children would have and that was the end of it—but people tended to get stuck on biology.
"They're still babies," William murmured instead, the smallest of smiles playing on his face as Carlisle flipped the photo for him.
"They'll be three in a few more weeks."
William grunted and handed the phone back to Carlisle. "They seem like they'd be a handful."
"Never a dull moment."
"That's good." William leaned back against his pillow. "Children are a joy."
Carlisle was quiet at that. Edward bit his tongue. If William had thought his own child was a joy, he'd had a horrible way of showing it.
"Are you still tired, Dad?" Carlisle said after a moment.
William made a face but he nodded. "It would be nice to be awake for more than six hours at a time."
Edward stood up as Carlisle gave his father's shoulder a light pat. "You'll need some strength to get through physical therapy in an hour. I'll be back then."
William made a noise of acknowledgment, but his eyes were already closing as Edward and Carlisle got to the door.
As soon as they were safely in the hallway, Carlisle surprised Edward by pulling him into a bone-crushing hug. He released him after a few seconds only to take his face in his hands and kiss him.
Edward sighed into Carlisle's mouth, winding his arms around him, holding him and kissing him back. They only parted when someone cleared their throat, tossing them a disgruntled look as they walked past. Carlisle chuckled softly and tilted his head against Edward's. They were both breathless.
"I love you," Carlisle whispered near his ear.
"I love you too." Edward ran his fingers through Carlisle's hair, looking him over carefully. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, of course. Just...thank you."
Edward was about to ask what on earth Carlisle could be thanking him for when he suddenly realized he knew the answer.
This was probably the only time in Carlisle's life that anyone had stood up to his father in his name.
A/N: I'm pretty sure my prereaders have no qualms about pulling the plug on an infirm (fictional) old man. I lol'ed.
How are you all doing?
