** Thanks so much for the reviews I have received. I would love to get more! It would help me decide if I should keep this going or not. Thanks!!!

The silence was like a gift from the heavens to Edward as he stood in the master bathroom and attempted to get dressed the third time that morning. If he hid out in there, he couldn't hear the screams and squeals of the children downstairs. If he hid out in there, he wouldn't have to hear his mother-in-law talk at record speeds and fire out question after question.

As he dropped his towel, and quickly slipped his boxers on, Edward remembered he'd left his lab coat in the laundry room. No longer would he be able to sneak downstairs and out the front door without Renee noticing. Nor would the kids miss his exit, saving meltdowns from both of them when he left. Climbing out the bathroom window and down the side of the house was also out, thought it was a very tempting idea at least.

He exited the bathroom and fumbled his way around the dark bedroom. He wasn't sure if it was the medication Bella had started taking, or the effects of the last weeks of pregnancy, but she was requiring more sleep. Her mood swings also made it impossible for her to overlook such offenses like someone being too loud or waking her up. For that reason, he didn't dare turn on the light.

Looking at the bedside alarm clock, Edward saw it was 6:24am and his shift was scheduled to start at 7am. There was a time in his life when he was able to pride himself on always being early. Those days were long gone. He reached down to retrieve his shoes from the bottom of their large closet when he heard it.

Before he could react, he saw the bedroom door fly open as a crying Ali came rushing through. "Mommy," she wailed. "Mommy!!" Obviously, something had happened. If Edward had to guess, Masen probably wasn't far behind.

"Ali Elizabeth," Renee whispered, as if the damage hadn't been done already. "Come here, sweetheart, let me see." Just as Edward expected, Masen came toddling in right behind the girls looking quite proud of himself. He was full of mischief, and was usually the culprit of whatever tragedy Ali was crying over.

Ignoring the fact that he was still standing in his bedroom in only his boxers, Edward quickly picked Ali up and did his best to comfort her. "What happened, Al?"

"Masen hit me with his truck," she continued to cry. "On my head."

"Let's see," Edward said sweetly. "It's just a little red spot. You are going to be just fine." He kissed the tiny red spot on her forehead as she sniffed, slowly drying up her tears. "That feel better?" She laid her head on his shoulder, not sure if she was finished with her public suffering or not.

"Give her to me," Bella said quietly from underneath the mountain of pillows and blankets. "And put him in time out."

The moment Masen heard the words from his Mother; he quickly hit the floor in hysterics. Time out a fate worse than death to an almost two-year-old.

Edward placed Ali in bed with Bella and watched as his little girl crawled under the blankets and snuggled up to her Mother. She would be out in no time and he was certain Bella would drift back off as well. If only he had that luxury.

"Masen Charles Cullen," Edward said, trying hard not to laugh. It was rather funny to watch his little boy have a meltdown over something as simple as a couple minutes in time out. "You shouldn't have hit your sister with a truck, son. Why did you do that? You know that isn't how you are supposed to behave."

"Me not do it!" The little boy said defiantly. Edward ignored his protests as he picked him up from the bedroom floor and made his way downstairs. He could hear Renee right behind him, though she did very little in the way of discipline.

"Yes, you did do it," Edward replied. He sat Masen down atop the tiny chair Bella had designated as the time out spot for both children. Though Masen frequented it far more than Ali. No sooner than he sat Masen down, the little boy fell out in the floor. "Masen, you are just making your time here longer."

The next few minutes consisted of Edward sitting Masen in the chair, only for Masen to dramatically remove himself from it in a fit of screams and tears. Finally, after being put back on the chair for what Edward swore was the tenth time, Masen resigned himself to sitting there. Not without his bottom lip poked out and an adorable little scowl on his face.

"If looks could kill, huh?" Renee laughed.

"Bella calls that his Cullen face," Edward smiled. "I do agree we can show a temper if we need to."

"How long does he sit there?"

"Um," Edward said. "About two to three minutes. Then he has to apologize to Ali when he gets out, but since she is sleeping, as soon as she comes back downstairs. Bella has this whole little routine with them. Clearly it works, since they are banging one another in the head with trucks before 7:00." Edward said sarcastically.

Edward glanced at the clock to see it was 6:40am, he was still in his boxers, and his shift was to start in exactly twenty minutes. The fact that his mother-in-law had been having a conversation with him while he was in his underwear didn't bother him much considering he had no time to spare. He was most definitely going to be late. "Renee, could you call the hospital and let them know I am going to be late? Just make sure you specify it is Edward late and not Carlisle. My Dad is never late."

"Of course, honey."

Edward immediately started back upstairs when he noticed Masen right on his heels. At the current time, he couldn't worry about it. He didn't have time to argue with a toddler. He smiled as Masen toddled right past him on his chubby little legs; his sippy cup of juice tucked safely under his arm.

Edward followed behind him into the bedroom to start getting ready once again. He had lost count on what number attempt he was on. He watched as Masen went up to Bella's side of the bed and did his best to climb into a bed that was much too tall for him.

"Masen, did you sit in time out?" Bella asked him sweetly.

"Yep," he replied, still doing his best to climb up.

"You have to apologize to Ali first. You hit her and that wasn't nice at all." It didn't matter that Ali was sound asleep; he was going to apologize.

Masen immediately started to throw one of his temper fits when Bella put a quick stop to it. He had the Cullen temper for sure. Most days, she absolutely loved that about him. "Masen, if you act like that, you'll go right back downstairs and sit in time out again. You know we don't hit one another."

"I sowwy, Alwee," he finally conceded. With that, Bella helped him climb up in the large bed and snuggle up on the other side of her. Her relaxing and childfree morning had quickly ended. "Your such a sweet boy, you know it?" Bella said, kissing the top of Masen's head as he drank his juice. "You just have your Daddy's temper when something doesn't go your way." She quickly turned the TV on in their room to occupy him. If he was interested in TV, maybe he'd leave his sleeping sister alone for a little while.

"Baby," Masen smiled, pointing to Bella's large tummy.

Bella took his small hand and placed it on the side of her stomach. Thankfully, the baby had been awake for a while. If Bella had to sleep through her kicks, at least she'd allow Masen to get some entertainment from it. "Do you feel her?"

She watched as his face lit up and he started giggling. "She likes you, Masen." She couldn't wait to see him with the baby. He was rambunctious and playful, but when he needed to be gentle, he did so perfectly. He was so much like Esme described Edward as a child. "Aww, you're so sweet to her, Masen." She watched as he hugged her tummy. "You'll be a great big brother."

"He better be glad Ali is sleeping," Edward laughed as he reentered the bedroom. "You know this is her baby. A fact I am going to remind her of when we're up at two or three in the morning." The four year old had no problem telling everyone that mentioned the upcoming event that the baby was indeed hers and only she would be allowed to care for her. Edward thought it was a fine idea, and one that would result in he and Bella getting much more sleep than they had anticipated.

"You know, that isn't a bad idea," Bella joked in return. The sight of him in his black dress pants and light blue button up made her want to jump up and attack him right then and there. The addition of the lab coat would only make matters worse, so she was thankful he was putting that on downstairs. Of course, there were the children stopping her from attacking Edward. Then there was also the large belly they'd have to deal with. Those things considered, Bella decided to stay in bed and admire him from afar.

"I am so late."

Bella had to laugh. Since Ali had arrived she was certain she had never gotten anywhere on time. "I'm sure it will be ok. You are never late."

"Any big plans today?" Edward asked, finishing getting dressed while he spent a few minutes with his wife.

"No," Bella said quietly. "I guess more sitting around doing nothing. Tell me Mom has stuff to do today. Yesterday she sat and rattled on about recipe ideas for hours. I think my blood pressure was sky high by the end."

"Don't joke about that," Edward said, leaning down to capture her lips with his. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"I'll be home around 8 or so. Late day for me," he explained.

"We'll be here," Bella replied. "Hanging out in bed all day, watching Sesame Street." She laughed as she looked over at Masen who was in a daze watching Elmo on screen. "Tell Daddy bye, Masen."

"Bye Daddy!" The little boy grinned.

"Bye Bud," Edward smiled. Leaning down to give Masen a kiss atop his head. "Love you."

"Wuv you," Masen replied.

"He's killing me," Edward smiled. "Give sleeping beauty over there a kiss for me when she wakes up. See you later." She really did have no idea. He would trade every second at work to be home with his family all day. Especially with everything going on. He had to trust that Renee would take care of them. It was all he could do.

___

The hours seemed to drag by all day. Edward was certain he had watched every hour pass on the clock in front of him until the last. The last hour of his shift arrived, and everything fell apart. Such was life and such was his luck.

It was now well after 9pm and Edward was still at the hospital working on discharging the last wave of patients that had presented to the emergency room with things that could have waited for the doctor's office the following day.

"Did you put in a call to my wife earlier?" Edward quickly ask the ward clerk as he printed out yet another prescription. He had meant to call Bella, but with everything going on, he had to rely on his co-workers to handle that. It was impersonal, but it was the best he could do at the time.

"I did," the woman replied. "I let her know you'd be late, but I wasn't sure how late."

"Thank you." Edward grabbed the prescription off the printer and handed the nurse the chart he was holding. "Give her a 500mg shot of Rocephin. Keep her about 20-30 minutes after you give it to make sure there is no reaction."

"Sure thing, Dr. Cullen."

Edward picked up the final chart to see what needed to be done with that particular patient. "Is Dr. Cullen taking unreferred call tonight?"

"He is."

"Ok, let's get him on the phone. This patient is a definite surgery case." He went back to writing, getting as much work done as he possibly could so he could leave sooner. He knew Bella didn't mind and would never say anything, but he hated so much missing yet another day of his children's lives while he worked.

"How much longer do we have you?" The head nurse asked. "I know you have another little one coming. We have no idea who our replacement will be on your shift. It could be someone scarier than the one we had before you."

Edward laughed. "I'll tell them to get someone nice, I promise."

"Dr. Carlisle is on his way down here," the ward clerk informed Edward.

"Thanks. No, I am not sure who will take over for me the weeks I am off. Hopefully nobody too horrible," he laughed.

"You can say that again! You have a name for the baby yet?"

Edward laughed to himself. The ongoing saga in their household. "No, we really don't. We went with family names for the last two, so we're getting out into the world of names with no association and that is proving to be difficult. Bella did mention one name to me the other day, but I am unsure. With the other two it just came to us instantly."

"Well I know whatever you decide on will be beautiful," the nurse smiled.

Edward looked up to see Carlisle entering the nurse's station. "Hey son, you had me paged?"

"Yeah, this is definitely a surgical case. At least from every angle I am looking at. I'm thinking bowel obstruction. We placed an NG tube, started him on fluids, and gave an antiemetic. There was about 1000 cc's of drainage upon placing the NG. We're awaiting the results of the CT now, but I am thinking you'll definitely have to take him to surgery," Edward rattled off.

"I'll definitely take a look. If so, I'll try to get him in tonight. Weren't you supposed to head out earlier? How's Bella?"

Edward sighed. "It was crazy down here. Picked up right as I was getting ready to leave. Bella is doing as well as can be expected. I think Renee is driving her crazier than the bed rest."

Carlisle laughed. "I can see that. How's the medication working?"

"It is holding things where they should be. Her pressure was 130/88 last night, so it is stable for now."

"That's good," Carlisle replied. "Just a couple more weeks and she'll be out of the woods incase they need to take the baby."

"I never thought I'd say this, but I'll be relieved if her doctor takes the baby as soon as it's safe to do so," Edward confided. He knew Bella would fight it, but for once, he was going to go with his own instincts. "Do you need anything else from me?" Edward asked, hoping Carlisle wouldn't need his assistance on anything. All he wanted to do was get home to Bella and the children.

"No, I should have everything here. Give Ali and Masen a kiss for me, will you?"

"Sure," Edward replied. He quickly gathered his cell and stethoscope off the desk and headed straight for the doctor's lounge so he could gather his other belongings. It wasn't until he nearly ran right into Emmett that he noticed his family was standing in front of him. "What are you two doing here?"

The look on her face spoke volumes. Rosalie was never one to worry over much. In fact, when everyone else was worried, it was usually her carefree attitude that got everyone riled up. "Rosalie, what is it?"

"We need to talk," she said quickly. "Where is Dad?"

"He's about to see a patient, why? Just tell me what it is, Rose." Edward was starting to get angry. Sleep deprivation, being away from his family, and worry were not a good combination when it came to him.

Rosalie hesitated to tell him, but knew secrets had gotten them in the mess they were in to start with. "It's Alice. Something has happened and she can't see the future concerning Asa any longer. I had wondered why her visions had been so quiet lately, now we know."

"How do you know?"

"We saw him tonight, Edward," Emmett said. Cutting to the chase might be harsh, but he knew Rosalie would take all night to get to the point. "We saw him, but Alice never saw us see him, know what I mean? Alice never saw him at all."

Edward couldn't believe this. Just when he thought things were complicated enough. "So basically we have no idea what he is up to and no way to find out?"

"Edward, I didn't want to tell you, but…"

"I'm thankful someone can be honest with me," he interrupted. "Thank you."

"Someone will have to guard the house at all times now. Unless Dad has another idea. I don't see any other way. Alice and Jasper are over now. Don't freak out, but they are up in a tree where nobody can see them if they look out the window."

Edward sighed to himself. The neighbors probably thought they were strange enough as it were, all he needed now was for his family members to spend their days and nights living in the large oak in the front yard. "I'm going to have to tell Bella."

"We know," Rosalie said quietly. "We just didn't want anyone to see Alice and Jasper before you had a chance to."

Edward thought about listening to whatever it was the three members of his family would discuss, but he only wanted to get home. Whatever they came up with, they could fill him in later.

"Call me tomorrow?" Rosalie asked.

"I will," Edward replied. He quickly walked away before he let them see just how upset he was over this. There didn't seem to be an end to the nightmare.

____

The house was completely dark when he finally pulled in the garage. Indicating everyone in his house was sleeping and he had, indeed, missed an entire day with them. He thought briefly about going out in the front yard to speak with Alice and Jasper, but he was too tired and bogged down with worry. It would have to wait.

As he entered the kitchen, the first thing he saw was a note from Bella in the usual spot he found them. "Mom put your dinner plate in the fridge. We're off to bed early. I love you, Bella" Just reading a simple note tore at his heart when he thought about what was looming over them once again. It just wasn't fair. It was painful.

Painful because he had made so many promises that he was now unable to keep. He promised Bella he would never allow his family situation to bring harm to her or their family. She had trusted him completely and now, now he was going to have to make her see that he had absolutely no control over the situation and was just as vulnerable as she was.

He felt his appetite leave him and rather than heat up whatever it was Renee had prepared, he turned the downstairs light off and made his way upstairs. The house was so quiet, so peaceful, and he felt ashamed for bringing his worry into their home.

He peeped in on Masen, careful to not enter the room too far or make any noise. His son was a light sleeper and he definitely didn't want to wake him. Just seeing the gentle rise and fall of his little chest was enough to comfort Edward in some way.

He immediately went to look in on Ali after leaving Masen's room. He quietly opened the door and walked in her room, knowing she could sleep through anything. She looked so peaceful when she slept, just like her Mother. Edward took a seat on the floor next to her bed and simply watched as she slept, praying she was dreaming of something happy.

It felt like someone was ripping his heart out when he thought of broken promises to her. He knew very well in her eyes, he was her hero, but he didn't feel like one. As he continued to watch her sleep, his mind went back to the very day he first promised to love and protect her always.

The soft glow from the moonlight outside the window was the only thing illuminating the hospital room as Edward sat cradling his newborn baby daughter.

It had been a long, hard day, and family had left only a few hours earlier. At the beginning of Bella's pregnancy, Edward had been convinced it would be just as the books said it would be. Sitting from his current position, he was convinced of one thing. Nothing on earth could prepare someone for childbirth.

He felt as if he had just run a marathon, though he knew it couldn't be even 1/10th of what Bella had to be feeling. He had many preconceived notions of how he would act and feel when the day finally arrived, but in the end, the only thing he could focus on was the beautiful little girl in his arms. The pain, tears, and exhaustion had all but left his mind as he took in her perfect, tiny form in what little light he had.

"Hey you," he whispered sweetly. He didn't think he could wake Bella if he tried, but he didn't want to chance it. He watched as the tiny baby in his arms slowly and carefully blinked open her little eyes. A rare treat, but one Edward knew he was being blessed with because there was no bright light in her face.

He watched her carefully, completely mesmerized by everything she did. "I love you so very much," he said softly. "We waited so long for you. I thought this day would never come." He leaned back in the chair carefully as he placed Ali on his chest. He watched as she immediately curled up in a little ball and fell right back to sleep.

"You know, angel, you have lots of people who are crazy about you. Your Mommy, of course. She loves you so much. I have never seen anyone go through what she did today and actually be thankful for it." Edward rubbed her tiny back as he continued to talk. "Then you have two Grandmothers who are so crazy about you that they are bordering on silly. Your Grandfathers are crazy about you too. Then there is Aunt Alice, she will probably dress you up constantly. You are named for Aunt Alice. She is one of Mommy's best friends."

He placed a kiss on her head before continuing, "Aunt Rosalie can be a bit odd at times, but she loves you. Then there is Uncle Jasper and Uncle Emmett. Not sure how they feel about babies in general, but I know they love you."

"And me, Ali Elizabeth, well, you had me wrapped around your finger from the moment I saw you. Even though you were covered in stuff and looked a little scary, I was completely gone." Edward quickly wiped the tears forming in his eyes away. He wasn't going to do this again. He had cried in front of people he never wanted to cry in front of earlier and that was enough for one day.

"You're technically the first person I've ever met in my life that I was actually related to," he explained. "I can look at you and see some of my features and I've never felt that before. I know you'll be with Mommy a lot, but I'm telling you now that you are my girl, ok. 100% Daddy's girl and don't you forget that."

He continued to sit and stare at her, getting lost in her precious little face. Everything he had been warned about was happening. He had long passed the point of no return when it came to her. "I love you so much. Nothing you could ever do or say could change that. I promise you right now that I'm always going to love you and protect you and be there even if it gets on your nerves. That is just what Daddy's do."

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard Bella readjusting herself in bed. "Hey," he whispered sweetly. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a truck," she said honestly. He could hear the exhaustion in her voice. Still, she had the glow only a new mother could possess and he could tell she was the happiest he had ever seen her.

"Are you in any pain? Should I get the nurse?"

"No," Bella said, trying to find a comfortable position in bed. "I'm a little sore, but it isn't unbearable. Will you bring her and lay in bed with me? I can't sleep with you over there."

Edward hesitated, looking at the bed that was much smaller than their bed at home. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Edward, after today, I hardly doubt you could inflict anything on me that would even come close." She smiled as she saw him carefully stand with their baby girl and make his way over to her. He held her so carefully; almost as if he thought she would break. She looked even tinier in his large hands, but completely protected.

"You want to take her?"

"Yes," Bella smiled, reaching out to take Ali into her arms. "Hey sweetheart," she whispered sweetly as the baby nestled into her arms as if they had done this a thousand times before. Bella flinched slightly as Edward eased himself in bed next to her and wrapped his arm around her.

"You ok?"

"Now I am," Bella said. She leaned her head on his shoulder and watched as Ali slept peacefully in her arms. "When does she eat again? Did you notice when she ate last?"

"I think it was 11:30," he said. "Or maybe it was 12:30. I can't be sure."

Bella laughed quietly to herself. "We're going to be great at this. We can't even remember when to feed her."

Edward smiled. There was no way Bella could mess that up. She was already too perfect with her. "No, we'll get the hang of it. I'm sure she'll let us know when she is hungry. She did earlier."

Bella gently touched the soft brown hair on her baby daughter's head. She found it amazing at how much the tiny girl looked like her, yet still had features that were all Edward. "She is so perfect, Edward."

"She is," he replied. He took one of her tiny hands between his fingers. "I can't believe how tiny she is. My fingernail is bigger than her whole finger."

"She didn't feel tiny," Bella laughed softly. "I'd do it again in an instant, though. Nothing was so bad that I wouldn't do it again for her." She would do anything for Ali. Of that, she was certain. "Did I really yell at Esme?"

Edward tried his best to stifle a laugh he knew was coming. "I wouldn't say you yelled at her, per se."

"What would you say then?" If he confirmed that she did, indeed, yell at her sweet and loving mother-in-law she'd never be able to show her face at the Cullen's home again. Ever.

"Well the way I hear the story now.."

"Oh God, Edward," Bella said a little louder than she meant to. "There is an actual story about this? Like it was so bad that it has been passed around?"

Edward laughed. "Just hear me out. Your Mom wanted to come back, according to Alice. They were unaware of what was going on at the time. Once Dr. Kennedy came in, I didn't leave your side. I was the one updating them, but when I didn't go back to the waiting room, Renee got concerned. She insisted my Mom and Alice come with her. Poor Mom was the first one you saw when the nurse asked if you wanted them in there. So I guess it looked as if you screamed that no, you didn't want my Mom in there. But it was technically your Mother that orchestrated the whole thing."

"In my defense, I was trying to push a baby out when they barged in." She was not at all surprised to hear that her Mother was the mastermind behind the whole event.

Edward laughed. "Nobody thought anything of it. I think Mom was more concerned about you thinking she was coming into somewhere she didn't belong."

"I suppose it could have been worse. It could have been one of the guys." Bella laughed softly.

"Well Emmett wasn't even at the hospital. You know everything makes him nervous. Jasper was there for a bit, do you remember him trying to calm you down? Dad is making fun of him pretty bad about that," Edward laughed. "Tricks like that don't work on laboring women. But Dad said if they had, he would have hired Jasper out to the OB floor here at the hospital."

Bella smiled as she looked at Ali sleeping sweetly in her arms. "You were amazing today. I seriously could not have gotten through this without you."

Edward gave her a quick kiss. "Honestly? I'm just so thankful I didn't pass out."

"Really?" Bella laughed. "You were seriously so calm. Like you calmed me down."

"That was Jasper."

"No," she laughed. "That was not Jasper. I mean it though, there is no way I could have done that without you. I didn't expect to like bust out crying the second she was out, though."

"Well did you see me? The second she started crying…" Edward smiled. "God, that was embarrassing. When our family came in to see her after they got you two cleaned up, I was still a wreck. I know I'll hear it later. We'll never speak of it again, ok?"

"Ok.." Bella laughed, playfully nudging him in the side. "I love you."

"I love you too, so so much." It was scary how much more he loved her after watching her give birth to their child. He didn't think it possible. One thing was certain; their happiness was the most important thing to him. He would do anything to make sure of it.

Edward continued down the hall and to his own bedroom as thoughts from the past five years continued to flood his memory. He undressed down to his boxers quickly, and slid in bed beside Bella. Without ever waking, she turned toward his body, buried her face in his chest, and tangled her legs in his. It was as if they were made to fit one another.

His hands found their way to her growing tummy and he kept them there until he felt little baby kicks like he always did in the middle of the night. It was almost like she was doing her best to welcome him home too.

There was no way he could allow anything to happen to any of them. He had promised them. He had no guarantee of what would happen from one moment to the next, but he would not break a promise he made years ago. He simply couldn't.