AN: I don't own twilight

I said I was going to be posting like crazy, I'm making good on the promise.

Chapter 7

I walked over to the door and opened it. Sure enough, standing on the steps was Bella. It wasn't a particularly cold night and it wasn't raining but, I still didn't want her to stand outside for very long. She was wearing a midnight blue dress that had a rounded neckline and went just below her knee, over top of it was a black sweater that matched her black ballet flats; Bella was never one for heels. I noticed she was also carrying two bags, one was marginally bigger than the other and was obviously filled with Ashley's things, and the other, smaller one was half empty, both were balancing on her right shoulder. She had Ashley balanced on her left hip attempting to juggle all the weight comfortably.

I opened the door wider, smiling. She took my silent invitation to walk inside and automatically looked around. She smiled after doing a full sweep through.

"Wow, it looks just like I remember it," she said quietly. I wasn't sure if she was talking to me or simply thinking aloud. In response, I just chuckled.

Ashley peeked out of Bella's chest and looked at me. She said "hi" quietly, blushing and giggling afterward.

"Wow," Bella remarked looking at the child that resembled her so much.

"What?" I asked curiously.

"She must like you, she hardly talks to anyone besides me and Charlie," she explained. She put Ashley down on the ground beside her and I noticed the little girl was still staring at me. I keeled down to her height and she walked over to me, giving me a hug. I picked Ashley up and surveyed Bella for a reaction, she just smiled.

"I guess I don't have to worry about her not liking people," she muttered to herself.

We walked to the living room; I still had Ashley in tow. Rosalie didn't bother looking up; she simply didn't care about the situation. Esme got up and hugged Bella. Alice stayed in her seat, but she looked torn between doing what Esme or Rosalie was doing. Instead she looked at her old friend and I could see her hurt for the first time.

"Bella, it's so good to see you again," Esme said adoringly. She had always had a soft spot for Bella; she was like her third daughter.

"It's good to see you too, Esme. It's been too long," Bella said carefully, pulling out of the hug.

"Who's this?" Esme asked, looking at the child I was holding.

"This is Ashley, my daughter," She replied shyly.

"She's adorable, looks a lot like you."

"Thanks," Bella blushed, as I expected. "And thank you for watching her tonight."

"It's no problem. After all, the girls and I are just going over wedding details. Carlisle will probably be in his study all night."

"Right," Bella chuckled quietly without humor. "So, who's getting married?" I could tell she wasn't sure if she should be asking that question.

"Alice and Jasper," Rosalie piped in. She wasn't looking at Bella menacingly, like I expected. She seemed as though she was talking to a distant relative she tolerated.

"Oh, congratulations," Bella said, unsure of any other proper response.

"We better get going," I reminded Bella.

"Alright," she said. She then looked at Ashley."Be good."

Ashley just rolled her eyes and replied, "yes mommy." I chuckled at how well she held her own against Bella. Rosalie, Esme, and Bella soon joined in my muffled laughter. Esme then held her arms out for Ashley and I gently handed her to Esme. Bella handed her the bags containing Ashley's things.

I began walking towards the door with Bella following. "Don't stay out too late," Esme reminded us. I rolled my eyes; I am an adult and perfectly capable of making it home at a reasonable hour.

I held the door open for Bella both when leaving the house and getting in my Volvo. We drove in silence for a few minutes.

"I see you haven't changed much," Bella remarked, looking around the car.

"How so?"

"Well you still love Volvos," I chuckled before she could continue. "You're still messy," She glanced around at the various Cds, books, and jackets lounging around in my car. "And you're still the gentleman you used to be," she smiled.

Her happiness caused me to instantly smile."So, Ashley doesn't talk much?" I asked, remembering she mentioned it back at the house.

"No, not unless she's at home or she's comfortable with that person." She was looking out the window so I couldn't quite see her facial expression.

"So she's comfortable with me?" I pressed.

"Evidently," Bella shrugged," She also thinks you're cute." She smirked after saying that, which led to her giggling.

"And you know this how?" I asked out of amusement.

"She told me after we left from the coffee shop. Apparently she has my taste," she blushed a little after saying that.

"So you're an editor?" I asked in attempt to change the subject.

"Yes, I did go to school for it after all. Plus, it's easy; all I have to do is read and check grammatical errors." She followed along with my topic change without mentioning it, although I know Bella recognized it.

"It's all you did most of the time anyway," I noted of her usual behavior and she laughed lightly.

"And you're a doctor?"

"Yes, I work with Carlisle actually."

"At the same hospital as before?"

"Yes, he wouldn't move from there."

"I remember all the times I had to go to that hospital," she laughed.

We continued the last few minutes of the drive in silence. I pulled into a casual restaurant, something I knew Bella would approve of. Again I opened both doors for Bella. We took our seats once our hostess led us to them and I took into account the romantic, secluded setting.

"So you have full custody of Ashley?" I began to make conversation.

"Yeah, the father didn't want to be a part of it. He basically chickened out."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but Ashley seems really happy."

"Yeah, she can be a handful though," she said smiling.

"So Alice and Jasper are getting married?"She asked once the waitress left after taking our orders.

"Yes, it's been pretty hectic. Of course, you know how Alice can get."

"Jasper's still handling her so I'm sure she's not that bad."

"Rosalie was worse, Alice is just more excited."

We spoke of our families for awhile. Renee and Phil got a divorce after hidden marriage counseling. I told her about Alice and Rosalie's boutique, Emmett's construction company, Jasper's job as a history teacher, and the bar Jasper and Emmett own in Port Angeles. I wanted my answers, but I didn't want to rush Bella.

We talked about her daughter a lot. Ashley has plenty of Bella in he, it was extremely obvious to me. She didn't speak much of the father, only that he didn't want to be involved and Bella didn't want to subject Ashley to that.

Our drive home was relatively silent. We had a meaningless conversation about how we still listen to the same music we did in high school. I know I was counting on this dinner to get my answers, but maybe I could drag this along and spend more time with Bella.