Bella was in her room pulling the earrings out of her ears and placing them on the dresser. Edward was already in bed looking at a few papers for work that he would have to be ready for in the morning. Bella finally pulled a brush through her hair to end the nightly routine and climbed into bed pulling back the covers.
Edward quickly placed his papers on the night stand and turned back to his wife.
"So what do you think of the house now, love?"
Bella thought for a moment. "I think that we are all going to be happy here. I know that now that we officially live here, things are going to get chaotic again, but with the space and our family, it will be a good transition. I know the little ones were absolutely delighted with their bedrooms when I put them to bed tonight. Almost immediately they all fell asleep in their brand new beds."
Edward reached across the bed and grabbed Bella's hip, allowing him to pull her body closer to his. "You know I love you right? The way you easily take care of our children and keep your cool even when I feel insane. I love you more than anything else on this planet." Bella pressed her lips to his and smiled into their embrace. After 18 years of marriage they still made each other feel how they did when they were newlyweds. Nothing could compare to that kind of love. They finally broke apart and moved to lay side by side.
"Edward I have something that I need to talk to you about."
"Okay." He replied.
"Elli got asked on her first date."
There was dead silence before a long exasperated sigh left his mouth and he hit his head back against his pillow.
"She's just going to have to be grounded."
Bella laughed and sat up to look at her husband. "What?"
"She knows the rules. She isn't allowed to date. It's as simple as that. She's grounded." Now Bella understood that he was serious.
"You've got to be kidding me. Edward seriously?"
He sat up as well now and looked at her straight. "Bella, I'm not allowing our daughter to date."
"And why not?"
"She's much too young."
"Oh you're going to pull that. What about Mason and Aiden. They were 14 when they started dating. Elli is 16."
"It's not the same Ma…"
"Don't even go there Cullen." Bella cut him off. "If you say what I think you are going to say I swear to god you will get absolutely nothing for months. That is completely sexist and makes you sound like a pig. She's a girl! So what? We found that out when she came out of my body without a penis. And thank god for that because then I would be outnumbered in this house 8 to 3. Being a girl makes no difference at all whatsoever in my mind, but in yours obviously it does so why don't you enlighten me?"
Bella was now mad. "Girls that date when they are too young come across as easy."
Now she was outraged. "Excuse me? Easy? So that's it huh. I'm easy, Alice is easy, Rose is easy, even your mom is easy. Maybe you should go wake up Mason and enlighten him to the fact that the girl he's in love with is easy." She rolled over onto her side facing away from him still fuming.
"Bella that's not what I meant."
"Well then what did you mean by stating that girls that date too young appear easy?"
"Well, I didn't really mean to say that exactly the way it came out." Edward looked a little flushed because obviously he didn't want to upset Bella even more.
"Well then just a little bit of advice, don't say it"
"Bella you don't understand how I feel because you weren't once a teenage boy."
"No I wasn't but I was a teenage girl, I understand exactly how Elli is feeling."
"Yeah but I know everything that is going through that boys head. I know what he's picturing and I don't like it. Not with my little girl."
"I know you don't want to hear this but she's not so little anymore. Like I said before, 16, Edward, she's 16."
"And she's too innocent for her own good. I don't want her to be taken advantage of."
"Elli is more than capable of taking care of herself. Have you seen the house we live in? She has too many brothers for her not to be able to. Besides that should please you too Aiden and Mason especially would never let something happen to her."
"I know that but I still think she's too young to date. I made the rule when she was younger and she has to follow it."
"That's ridiculous! She was 3 and a half months old when you decided to state that she couldn't date until she was 30, I didn't actually think you meant it!"
"Well I did."
"And I'm breaking that. I already told her she could and if you know what's best for you, you aren't going to get in the way."
"What? You can't do that. You can't tell her its okay without even talking to me about it. That's wrong on so many levels Bella. We have to decide together what happens with our kids, you said that yourself just two days ago."
"It is not wrong, and don't you even dare try to drag that into this. You know that that was a time when I should have been consulted."
"What's the difference Bella. I feel like I should have been asked about this just as much as you felt like that with Mason and Aiden."
"You told them that they could go to a music festival in Chicago. CHICAGO! That requires a day of driving and a whole weekend in a hotel room unsupervised! They are 15 and 16 years old, we've already been through this and stop trying to change the subject!"
"I'm just trying to get you to understand that Elli dating matters to me. I would have liked to have been asked about this."
Bella had been pacing the room for a long time now. As she shouted she had been flailing her arms around. She finally stopped and faced him; she rubbed her hands over her face and took a calming breath.
"I know it was important to you but Edward we can't morally tell her no." Her voice was much calmer.
Edward took a deep breath as well. "I still don't think that she's old enough to date." It seemed they had come to an impasse.
Just then there was a timid knock on the door and both Edward and Bella turned to face it. Carter stuck his head in the door with a guilty smile.
"Sorry." He said shyly.
"Its fine what's up bud?" Edward stated moving to open the door fully.
"I just got a call from coach and he apologized for the time, but they just found out that the pool will be open tomorrow morning. I'm supposed to ask if I can get to practice in the morning at 6."
"Yeah honey I can get you there." Bella told him.
"Thanks mom. And sorry for... uhh...interrupting." He quickly closed the door behind him and made his way back downstairs.
Bella moved over to where Edward was sitting on the edge of the bed. She placed her hands on his shoulder and he put his on her waist.
"Please lets just not fight anymore; I don't want to go to bed mad at each other." They stared into each others eyes.
"Me either. But eventually we are going to have to figure this out."
"I know and we will have to agree to disagree for the night. I'm going to sleep, especially since I need to get Carter to practice by 6."
She let go of him and climbed around him back to her side of the bed and jumped under the covers.
Edward leaned forward over his knees and ran his hands through his hair. He took a deep breath and then turned off the light in the room before climbing in beside his wife. Bella had turned her body away from him. It seemed that even though they weren't mad at each other Edward wasn't going to be coddled.
Bella's breathing had evened out so Edward knew she was now asleep. Only then did he speak his true feelings. He looked over at Bella and began to explain the thoughts that were going through his mind, and he put to words what he actually wanted to say about the whole situation.
"God I'm such an idiot. I know you're going to be pissed at me as well as my daughter once she finds out how I reacted. I guess I knew that this day would come. I knew one day a boy would ask her out and she would say yes. I just don't want to lose my baby girl yet. I know that she is ready and she is growing up, but I'm not ready yet. I feel like I'm going to lose her and be replaced with some overly hormonal teenage boy, and I'm never going to have my baby girl again. I just don't want to give her up yet."
He closed his eyes and lay back against the pillows. Soon he felt Bella's form snuggle into his side and her head rest on his chest. He sighed in relief that she was still going to touch him.
"You're not losing her honey. She's going on a date not getting married. And beyond that even when she does get married, you won't lose her. She will always be your baby, I promise."
Edward wrapped his arms around her and she leaned up to gently peck his lips.
"I just wish it were that simple." He smiled at her as he spoke.
"What do you mean?" Bella's voice has become soft and hushed. Sleep was evident. She had closed her eyes and snuggled into his chest. Her left hand was resting on his chest allowing Edward to clearly see the diamonds on her finger stating broadly the promise they made to each other many years ago.
He played with the fingers on that hand before lifting it to his mouth and kissing it. "I didn't understand it at the time but I'm finally getting what my father said. On the day of our wedding my dad took me walking the morning of the ceremony. We talked about everything but one thing he said has always stuck with me. He said that he knew how much we loved each other. He could see my happiness all over my face, but then he reminded me that one day it would be me standing on the opposite side. I would have a daughter that would be getting ready one morning to stand up in front of everyone and say she wanted to spend the rest of her life with a man. He told me that when you walked toward me later that afternoon I would see our love reflecting in your expression, and he wanted me to memorize it.
"I was to specifically know what that kind of love looked like so that I could recognize it within my own kids. But the biggest thing he said is that I would never be prepared to see that expression, I would never quite be ready for it to happen. Because I loved that child before they fell in love with anyone else. But he also claimed that even though I wouldn't be ready, it would make me happy. More happy than I could imagine."
Silence fell about the room before Bella spoke again. "Honey that's a beautiful story but how does that relate to Elli dating?"
"I'm not ready for that expression to appear. I don't even like the thought that I could give her a chance to have that expression. I know eventually she will fall in love and get married. I know she will always be my baby girl and love me, but one day that love won't all be for me. It will change hands and she will give the responsibility of holding her heart and taking care of her no matter what, to somebody else, and I'm just not ready."
" I understand not wanting to let go baby. It's never easy, and putting it off isn't going to make it easier. But I want you to remember the second thing your dad said, and you claimed it was important, was that it would make you happy to see her happy. Right now that's what it's coming down to. You should have seen the way her eyes lit up when she talked about him. For the moment this would make her happy and that's what you would be striking down by saying no. I'm not saying you have to let her go, but at least give her a little more leash to make her own decisions."
Edward considered her words for a moment before replying. "I want to see her happy and if this boy will make her happy, then I guess I will allow her to date him." He whispered it to her and felt a burden lift as he said the words out loud. It then made him realize that allowing her to make her own decisions actually would make him feel better.
After they had both sat in silence realizing what exactly he had said, Edward spoke up again. "You don't think she's in love with him already do you?"
This caused Bella to laugh and she looked at him. "No baby. It's just a first date. Most likely it will end in heartbreak, and as hard as it will be to watch it will make her a stronger person and will make her love even more when the right person does come along." She leaned down and kissed him on the lips before rolling off of him and allowing herself to relax into the bed.
Edward watched her fall asleep next to him and he kissed her forehead. After about 5 minutes of watching Bella sleep, he heard the door to his room open and saw Kammi's little head peak around the door. It seemed that she was crying.
Edward sat up immediately and moved so he was sitting on the bed. Kammi ran to him quickly and he scooped her up into his arms. She definitely was crying.
"What's wrong baby?" He said as she clutched tightly around his neck with her little arms and cried into his shoulder. He rubbed his arm up and down her back in an attempt to calm her down.
"I had a bad dream, there was a scary guy and he took me away from you and mommy."
"Oh baby. I'm not going anywhere. I promise you. I will always watch out for you sweetie."
"I'm scared."
"I know sweetie, how about you sleep with me and momma tonight."
She nodded but didn't let go of her grip on him. It was obvious that she was truly scared. He just laid down and kept her on his chest, rubbing circles on her back. Eventually she fell asleep in his arms and he kissed the top of her head. He moved her so that she was lying in between Bella and himself, and he drifted off to sleep. Even though Elli may be growing up and turning into a woman, he had two other daughters that still needed him and he knew that at the end of the day, Elli always would too.
A/N
I'm sorry for his reaction, but remember that when he found out about Aiden he overreacted as well so just bear with me. He isn't a bad guy or a bad dad he's just afraid of being left behind. Don't worry it will only be between him and Bella and Elli will not really know how angry he was when he first found out. Please don't be mad at me but if you are just send it in a review. Hopefully along with a good message too
