The plot, I've thought

The players, Stephenie Meyers;

A poet, not it

All things Twilight belong to Stephanie Meyers. This is only fanfiction and no copyright infringement is intended by this fangirl.

This story has angst with hope. I am a believer in love and happy endings, especially for B & E. This is Rated MA for profanity, sexually explicit language and any other reason as deemed necessary.


Chapter 8 NICE MEETING YOU

Something Wonderful from the Tony Award musical The King and I

He will not always say
What you would have him say,
But now and then he'll do
Something Wonderful.

I went to Alice's room, sat down and asked, "Can you show me Bella?"

It's about time. She smiled, closed her eyes and I read her mind as she searched for Bella. It was hard for me to believe that Bella could be more beautiful but when Alice found her, Bella had perfected her beauty. The picture grew away from her blushed face and standing behind her was a tall blond haired man who was laughing. The picture continued to grow and a curly brown haired boy was standing in front of her. Bella and the boy both looked timidly as the picture continued to grow to reveal the crowd of people in front of them in her living room in Forks.

"We don't know anything. We don't know who they are." Alice's vision ended.

"No, we don't but we'll find out."

"Jasper will hire someone to find her, if you'd like." I'm so sorry, Edward. I didn't need Alice's sympathy, only her foresight. Without saying it, we both knew the vision we had shared was my worse fear. She had a full life, it was also my greatest hope.

"I'm not sure that I want to know, but I have to finish this." I pinched the bridge of my nose and shook my head. It would deserve me right if she were married and raising a family. Why didn't fate allow me to return? "Yes, please find her. Thank you."

"It won't take long, Edward. We should hear something within a few days." She started counting by sevens in Spanish.

"What aren't you telling me Alice?" I inched forward, chest first.

Are you challenging me? She raised her eyebrow and looked at me with clear conviction. "It's none of your business."

"Is it about Bella?"

"Yes." With that she started counting by nines in Arabic. I was angry. First the ugly beast robbed me of reuniting with her six years ago and now Alice was interfering.

"Everything about her is my business!" I roared.

Alice cocked her head to the side. Is this how you want my help? By intimidation?

Fuck. I could not alienate Alice.

"I'm sorry, Alice. I'll respect your discretion on her behalf." For now.

Two weeks later I received the report. It was a sterile, report that covered her life beginning with the day she graduated from high school. It gave bare facts, nothing that I could use to determine if she were happy. I destroyed it after I read her son's birth certificate and before I read about her relationship with his father. What was she thinking when she named the child?

I walked out of my room and departed for the city of Los Angeles, California. Jasper agreed to join me and, of course, Alice.

I love her, too. Alice reminded me.

We arrived in the city on a hot summer evening. Our hotel rooms at the Beverly Hills Hilton, was opulently unnecessary. I reserved the room in case Bella decided to meet me privately. I was not planning on staying otherwise. After we checked-in, we drove to the two multi-building apartment complex where Bella lived. I listened to the thoughts of the residents hoping to find someone who was with her. I found her in the thoughts of a little boy.

"I can see Bella through the eyes of a little boy. She's reading him a story. He's sleepy and he calls her mommy," I told the others. Her voice was light and soothing. Her tone modulated through the various characters in the story.

I grinned when she whispered "I love you" to her son. She gave him a soft kiss on his forehead and walked out of the room. I strained to hear her footsteps but was rewarded with her heartbeat, the most significant sound in the world for me. It held the same pace, even and steady.

"I'm sorry, Edward," Alice said. "It'll be hard for them to be apart."

"I won't separate her from her family." Unless ... My voice filled with rage and unadulterated regret. "If it wasn't for this I'd leave." I pulled my hand through the hair at the back of my head.

"I can walk around to her apartment and read her emotions," Jasper offered.

"No, Jasper. It's her son. She loves him. I want to wait and see if the blond man lives with them. If so, then I'll come back when the child's matured."

I listened to her heartbeat as we sat and waited. It was several hours later that I watched Bella sleeping. The blond man had walked by our parked car minutes before and I followed his thoughts. He was happy to be home.

"Hey sleeping beauty." The man's voice had a southern accent, probably from Tennessee.

"Jasper can you feel the emotions from Bella's apartment now?"

"No, they're too far away, do you want me to walk around there now?" Jasper offered.

"No, we won't be here much longer. His name is Garrett, he just woke her up."

I'm sorry, Edward, Alice thought. I rubbed the back of my head. I didn't want her sympathy.

I heard Bella's voice through his mind, 'Where've you been?' Her voice was full of sleep and as angelic as ever. "She's still somewhat asleep and she's asked: where's he been."

Couldn't he tell she wasn't fully awake? I began to repeat the conversation between Bella and Garrett. I didn't want to live through my eavesdropping twice.

"'You know.'" I responded with Garrett's accent and then raised my voice an octave higher, mimicking Bella's voice.

"'You left me.

"'I never left, Swan.' She opened her eyes and seems surprised to see him." Her eyes were the same glassy brown, but sad. My silent heart faltered.

"'Oh, Garrett.'

"'Good thing it's man time tomorrow.' Garrett's turned away and is walking across the room. I can see numerous pictures of the little boy. The room has two couches and Bella is on the smaller one. She's getting up to follow him. He's in the kitchen fixing something to eat," I told Jasper and Alice.

"'Yeah, Tiger is looking forward to it. He's made me read the book every night this week.'"

I gasped at the image of her walking to him, she was breathtaking. Her face was smooth and heart shaped, there was a blush to her cheeks and her chestnut brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail.She walked closer to Garrett and his eyes never left hers as she stroked his arm.

"She is talking to Garrett, rubbing his arm 'I'm sorry, I'll be better when I come back.'

"'Yeah, I know Swan. It just caught me off guard.'

"'Me too.'"

I started the car. My eavesdropping was much too intrusive and my anger raged. I glanced at Jasper waiting for him to describe my feelings or at least help me to deal with them.

"That had to hurt," he said.

I blew air out of my mouth, he wasn't helping. "It's excruciating. She's afraid of being left. She obviously cares for them."

"Is she happy?" Jasper asked.

"You know her, Jasper. She's selfless. It wouldn't matter if she were happy." I avoided telling him the truth. Her expression in the kitchen was one of care. She hadn't wanted to hurt his feeling with her own insecurities. Yes, she loved Garrett and the little boy very much. I could see it in her face.

My recovery was no longer important, only her happiness. I would leave and never come back again. She had a child and husband. There was no doubt, she loved them.

I no longer had the option of running away, but I had to walk away.

"I think it's time for me to go back home," I announced. I would leave Bella to her child and husband. There was no sense in me interfering with her life. I'd find her again when the child reached adulthood, until then, I would correct my mistake without involving her. My unfinished business could wait a few years.

"Edward, are you sure? We don't know enough and it seems a waste not to at least talk to her." Alice interjected. You can't leave us.

"The boy thinks of her as his mother, and that's enough. I won't leave until he's older." We were at LAX again, less than six hours after we arrived in Los Angeles. Alice and Jasper decided to stay a little longer. I returned to Michigan. Outwardly, I decided to matriculate into college and wait fifteen years to see Bella. She'd be thirty-eight. Inwardly, I refused to make a decision.

Unfortunately, my subconscious made a decision a few weeks later. On Bella's birthday, as if in a trance, I called the Swan residence. It happened without my permission and I wasn't aware I was doing it until I hung up the phone.

"Hello, this is Edward Cullen can I speak to Bella, please? I'd like to wish her happy birthday."

"Edward?"

"Yes, Chief Swan."

"This isn't Chief Swan. This is Garrett Kent and Isabella isn't able to come to the phone, can I take a message."

"Please, I'd like to make a simple request. Can you tell her I'd like to see her?"

"You're Cullen? Edward Cullen?"

"Yes, I have no right to ask, but if she'd meet me …"

"What's the number she can reach you at?" Garrett interrupted with his southern drawl.

I gave him my number and hung up. Alice came into my room and handed me a rectangular sheet of paper. "You've got a plane to catch."

"I guess so." With that I headed out the door. Alice would tell the others.

I arrived at Port Angeles airport a little after midnight and my phone rang immediately.

"Cullen, this is Garrett Kent, where are you staying?"

"I'm at Johnson's Inn."

"I'll let her know."

Fifteen minutes later I heard a knock at my door. I heard the thoughts of a man on the other side of the door. His eyes were focused on the room number that hung above the peek hole. I had no idea whether it was Garrett and if Bella was with him. I went to the door, pushed down the handle and pulled. There standing in the doorway was a tall muscled man with blond hair and blue eyes. We each eyed up the competition. He was at a disadvantage, I could read his mind.

Shithead. It was apparent he didn't have much respect for me. "Cullen?"

"Garrett?" I would play the role of a human. I hated him instantly, he was too large, built like a rock monster and slightly taller than me. His hair was cut above his ears and his bangs fell across his face. He looked like a washed out rendition of a Back Street boy. His thoughts rambled and yet I could tell he had a keen mind. "Please come in. I see Bella isn't with you."

"Observant." This wasn't going to be pleasant. His angry thoughts bloomed. He eyed my hotel room and the lack of personal items to be found. A low growl erupted from my throat, sending a shiver of fear through Garrett. He understood I was dangerous.

Like most humans, he instinctually knew I was a threat to his life. He also had the additional fear that I would steal away with Bella and the boy.

"Let's sit, it'll keep us civil." I sat in the smaller chair with coasters, leaving the larger executive recliner for Garrett. He decided to stand, hoping to have an advantage. He planned to make his visit short. He had one objective: to tell me to go away and leave his family alone.

"This won't take long," Garrett promised. He remained standing, trying to tower over me. I didn't feel threatened and I was amazed that the jealousy and anger were not my dominant emotions. I wondered if it were Mike Newton who I was facing would I be as docile? My calmness was a result of the accident. My more aggressive emotions were reserved for the beast that had separated me from Bella.

"I've come for her, if she'll have me." The words flew out of my mouth. Why the hell did I say that? It wasn't exactly what I believed would happen. Apparently, I wasn't in control of my mind when it came to Bella. Perhaps, I was testing the guy's feelings and commitment to Bella and their son. Whatever the reason, Garrett saw it as a definite challenge.

His heart began to race as the increased adrenaline flowed through his veins. I was glad my thirst was well controlled because his face turned a bright red, his muscles flexed and the veins in his neck and arms popped out.

"You little shit, what gives you have the audacity to come back here and say something so asinine? Do you have any idea about her life?"

I quickly processed his questions and debated which to address first. He'd peaked my interest with his questions, and as with all things Bella, I was immensely curious. I had to know, but I wanted to know from someone who was actually a part of her life, not from some stranger who was hired to submit a report. I was so interested that I felt my body move forward to the edge of my seat, anxious for more information about her life. I said three words, "No. Tell me."

"Why the fuck should I tell you anything. You've been a ghost for the last six years, you left and you should go back to whatever rock you were under and let her be."

"I'm here now and if she'll have me, I want her back." I wanted information on her. Was she happy? Did she enjoy college?

"You need to stop saying that shit, as if you're the only one who matters in her life. She's not some eighteen year old girl. She's a grown woman with responsibilities and you're not one of them. Let me make it clear, Cullen, get the fuck on with your life, she has."

He hadn't told me one damn thing about her life that I didn't already know. I knew she was an adult. I saw that when we were in Los Angeles several weeks ago. I needed more information.

"I can't leave until I talk to her. We have some unfinished business before I can move on. We were teenagers when I left, when I broke up with her – too young to understand how the decision would affect our lives. I want her back, if she'll have me."

"Look asshole, stop telling me you want her back, it doesn't matter. You're too late."

My frustration grew. I was usually the one with the upper hand in a debate, and I wasn't using my talents.

"She has to tell me. I messed up and I need to apologize, make sure she knows the truth. If she wants nothing to do with me, then I'll go." A picture of the little boy flashed through Garrett's thoughts.

"She doesn't want to see you."

"She'll have to tell me. I will talk to her. It might not be today or even this year, but eventually, we'll see each other. I love her and I want her back, if she'll have me."

"She won't see you. She won't talk to you." He recalled her sad face, dark circles under her eyes, as still and cold as a statue. 'Let me find him,' Garrett begged. 'No, I don't want him in my life, there's nothing for us to talk about or settle. We were children and I can't bring that part of my childhood into my life."

"I will see her. I will talk to her. When we're finished, I'll leave – if that's what she wants."

"You don't get it do you? You left her so fucked up, that when I met her, she was an emotional basket case. I helped her go through counseling, find some peace within herself, so she could love me and our child."

"Is she happy?"

"You know she cries every time we make love? At first I thought it was from our passion, because of her love for me, until she started hiding it. Can you imagine how she must feel? Hiding something like that from the man you love? She thinks she's unworthy of love. We haven't talked about you in a very long time because she's grown past your puppy love and has moved on to an adult relationship. Yes, she's happy."

"How old is the boy?"

"Our son is four." There was a tone of contempt in his voice. Keep my son out of your thoughts, you won't have him either. "He's so much like her. You know she got pregnant the first time we had sex? After all the shit you put her through – you hadn't even had sex. Yet -"

His mind drifted to a memory. 'I'm not having it!' And then another, "Love me, Garrett."

"We fought about the baby. She went to get an abortion – an abortion." Garrett shook his head in disgust. "I stopped her and she thanks me for it. The world is a better place because of our son. She can't leave her son and I won't be without him either." If you'd made her pregnant she'd have had the kid, but I had to fight for my son's life. My goodness what does she see in him?

"I'll be damned if I let some punk ass jerk come in and take his mother away from him. She won't be with you and neither will my son. She's been through enough because of you. You should leave and never come back."

"Look Garrett, I have no right to her. I forfeited that. You're the one she's with every night. You're the father of her child. You both are well within your rights to tell me to go to hell, and if she does that, then I will go and not return. I'll not take her away from her child but once he is an adult, I'll be back. You don't get it, our love is forever and beyond our ages."

"No. You don't get it. You've fucked up her life once and no one will allow you to do it again. You're not going to see her. You're going to pack your shit up and go crawl back under your rock."

"I can't agree to that."

"You better bloody hell. This is my life, my family and I will not give it up easily. You had your chance and you threw it away, for some unknown childish reason. Well that's too bad. She's not some toy you can play with and discard and pick it back up whenever you wish. She's been through enough and she has no more room in her heart for disappointment."

"Weeks after I left, I was on my way back to her when I was in a terrible accident that took my life away from me for over five years. Five years I've lost, lying around in what the doctors call a semi-vegetative state. Then one day something changed, and I slowly recovered. I'm not looking for your sympathy or for you to roll over, but you have to know – I was coming back. I know I'm too late. I know she's better with you than she could've been with me. I know I'll never be able to separate her from her child. I know all these things."

"Good then turn your ass around and get the fuck out of here."

"I will, if I can. You see, the one thing, the only thing that was consistent during that time was my desire to come back to her. She's the last part of my recovery."

"That's bullshit! Charlie told me how you've called on her birthday every year since you left. I don't give a fuck if you 'need' to see her. You're as recovered as you're going to get."

"The doctors say my calling her was a subconscious action, much like breathing. I didn't even know I'd called yesterday. You talked to me - bringing the conversation into reality. I'm told they tried unsuccessfully to stop me in the past. At any rate, I don't think I'll be able to leave without talking to her."

"I don't believe you, this is just some ruse. You're not going to see her."

"Garrett, you know her. You love her. You've had other loves before her. Was it possible for you to move on until you'd done everything you could to make sure it wasn't right? I'll make you a promise. I won't tell her of my injuries or that I want her back. I think I can recover without those things, but if she wants me – I won't leave."

"Fuck you."

"I think it's time for you to leave. You've got my number, you should give it to her, it will be better to do this while she has her family and friends around for support and to remind her what an asshole I've been, rather than to wait until you're back in California."

Garrett turned to the door, he paused and looked at me, "She never used your first name, always called you Cullen. I didn't even know it until you said it yesterday. You can't imagine how foolish I felt when I found out. I never use my first name, never have – my son doesn't either, just a family tradition to name the boys Edward. I'm not sure she even knew my first name until we filled out his birth certificate, not that she cared. She refused to name the baby – wasn't paying attention or too depressed to notice, I'm not sure which. But she never really knew it until a few weeks ago when we went to register Tiger for school. It didn't break her, but … I'm really sorry for your ordeals, but that has nothing to do with us now and I'd appreciate it if you stay away from my family."

And with that he walked out the door. I could hear him debate with himself and finally decide that he'd give Bella my contact information.

I replayed our conversation in my head. And there were a few things certain. One, both of us was very much in love with Bella. Two, my unconscious was becoming more insistent on contacting Bella. And three I would have to wait for her to call.


A/N -

I appreciate all the reviews and alerts/favorites.

So the two are in the same time….

Okay Amigas, this is the deal - I've got to get to the happily ever after. So as my New Year's resolution, I am going to finish this story as quickly as possible. I am apologizing ahead of time for grammar and punctuation errors. Also, the chapters will be shorter, but posted more frequently. Hold on bffs we're going on a journey. Next chapter within the week.

Comment, if you'd like.