A/N: Some of you latched on to the HIPPA debate. I'm not oblivious to it, believe me. But this is a small town. There was no way they were going to get away from rumors and remember - just because Jessica said it, doesn't mean it's true. ;) Additionally, suing people actually takes lawyers and lawyers take money and time.

When Edward got to the beach, Bella jumped out of her truck, darting over to his car. They both had ancient cars; her truck was just a little more dated than his tired old Volvo, so he had better heating.

She looked like hell. Her eyes were bloodshot, though she wasn't crying now. When he opened his arms, she only hesitated for a moment before she leaned across the seat, letting him wrap her in his arms.

It felt better to be holding her. "I'm sorry," he murmured against her hair. "I didn't know what Lauren did until third period."

"What did I do to make her hate me?" The question sounded bitter, mumbled as it was against his neck.

"She's selfish." His words were harsh, and his body tensed, still on edge from such a betrayal of his friendship. He blew out a long breath and only held her tighter. "I really wish we'd never been friends in the first place."

For a minute, his head spun. How different things would have been then. He'd had time to wonder if his feelings for Bella, especially in the beginning, would have been so intense if she weren't the proverbial forbidden fruit to him. Would things have gotten so out of hand so quickly?

Or maybe they still would have ended up teenage parents, but they might have noticed when Bella was pregnant, when they could have at least a little time to prepare before being thrown into all this blind. And at least then, they would have been an established couple. That had to be better than what the other kids were cooking up.

Tenderly, he brushed her hair back away from her eyes, studying her pensively. "Would it help if... I could tell everyone about her."

She gave a humorless laugh. "There's no point." Hesitantly, she picked up his hand, beginning to play with his fingers. "We had a baby." She chuffed a little. "It already looks like I lied... or we lied. If they didn't have the story Lauren dreamed up, it would just be something else. There's no point in pushing her out of the closet before she's ready. That would be... evil."

"As evil as making you look like..." He grimaced, remembering everyone's cruel words. "that," he finished lamely.

She pursed her lips, and for a handful of seconds, the sarcastic expression she wore made her look like a ghost of the girl she'd been not so many weeks before. "We're parents now, Masen. We're supposed to set a good example." Her lips turned down. "We don't have the luxury of being teenage idiots."

Edward couldn't answer. A heaviness had come over them as that thought settled in. "Everything we do means something, doesn't it?" His words were a whisper of realization.

Slowly, watching him, Bella nodded. "That's what I was thinking while I was sitting out here." She took a deep breath. "We should see Principal Greene tomorrow." Her breath shuddered. "She needs to know what's going on, and I'm going back to school. Tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" His heart felt heavy, imagining her going back to all the rumors and speculation. "You could ask the doctor today... maybe take a couple of weeks."

Bella was already shaking her head. "There's no point. It won't get any easier to go back. We need to graduate."

"We'll graduate," he promised, squeezing her hands.

"I know." She nodded as she spoke. "It really isn't a loss," she said after a moment. "Nothing's changed."

They'd talked for almost a year now about getting away from Forks. Edward's throat felt dry, and he wondered again about the future they'd imagined for themselves before Emma.

"Angela will still be my friend, I think." The tone of Bella's voice was detached. She was talking more to herself than anything else. "Then again, she is a minister's daughter."

Closing her eyes, Bella breathed in and out, in and out, laying her head again on Edward's shoulder. "You know today has been the first time I've had a couple of hours to myself in..." Her lips quirked.

"Two weeks and five days," Edward finished for her. That was exactly how old Emma was. "I can leave, if you want."

"No." Her fingers were gentle as she played with the fringes of his jacket. "I like this."

Edward rested his head against hers, enjoying the silence as they both watched the tumultuous ocean.

~0~

They left First Beach with enough time to drop her truck back at home before they went in his car to pick Emma up.

"She was great. Exhausting, but great," Alice said, watching as Edward settled Emma in her carseat.

The doctor visit was more than a little awkward. Dr. Snow was the town's only pediatrician. He was both her and Edward's doctor, and now he was Emma's doctor.

But if he felt weird about it, he didn't say so. He went about his business, asking questions and weighing and measuring.

It felt odd to Bella. It was only in the last few years her mother hadn't come with her when she went in for doctor's visits, answering questions on her behalf, and here she was answering questions for Emma.

As ludicrous as the idea was, Bella spent a good deal of the appointment on the fringe of an anxiety attack. She was positive Dr. Snow was going to find something wrong with her baby - something she'd missed or something she'd been too dumb to think about. But the man's smile was gentle, and he cooed lightly at the baby before pronouncing her in perfect health.

He eyed Bella carefully when her fears burst forward and she asked if he was positive, sounding a little incredulous at the idea she'd gotten Emma through her first two and a half weeks unscathed.

Then Dr. Snow asked her soft questions about how she was feeling. When he asked if she cried a lot, Edward touched her arm, and she couldn't lie.

She cried all the fucking time, and it was driving her up the wall.

When Edward interjected his own concerns about how little she actually enjoyed the baby, Bella glared. He looked down at his shoes.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of," Dr. Snow soothed. "Postpartum depression isn't atypical in first time mothers," he said slowly, as if giving her time to get used the idea. "Your age actually makes it a lot more likely."

Bella shook her head vehemently. "But I don't want to hurt the baby."

"Like with all psychiatric issues, there are varying degrees of depression. Having thoughts of harming the child isn't abnormal either, but we definitely don't want to get to that point if we can help it."

Sitting in front of Bella, he leaned forward, his hands on his knees, so he could talk with her directly. "Pregnancy, childbirth, and new motherhood wreck havoc on a woman's body. The things going on with your hormone levels..." He smiled and patted her knee. "It's not easy, and it's not fun. And that's not taking into account the shock to your system that you very literally became a parent overnight, and the life changes you've no doubt had to make since then. These are real medical issues - nothing to be ashamed of," he repeated.

"Keep an open mind to talking to a professional. That might be a good idea either way, in your situation," he said sympathetically. "But in general... Lean on people where you can. Take help where you can. Talk to your mother. Talk to anyone who is willing to listen. Venting can help. If you need to let the baby wail while you step away to breathe for five minutes, it doesn't make you a bad parent." He smiled at Edward. "Obviously, Daddy is looking out for you, too. Let him. Building a strong support system for yourself and your baby can go a long way to setting your mind at ease.

"As for the baby, if you haven't already, try adding playing to your routine. Tickle her feet. Wave her hands. Indulge in a littlebaby talk." He chuckled when Bella grimaced. She hated baby talk. "A little goofiness is good for Mom and baby."

He scribbled something on his pad and tore it off, handing it to her. "This is a pretty typical antidepressant. Nothing major. It may help stabilize your moods. Let's try this, and if it gets worse, see me right away."

~0~

Edward's parents were all over him the second he and Bella walked in the door. Apparently, the school had called about his missing the last two classes of the day.

It explained the calls from Bella's mother she hadn't answered.

"One day and you're already living up to your potential?" Ed said, his teeth clenched. "Have you realized how useless you're going to be your whole life?"

Edward's hands were fists at his side. He couldn't look up at his parents at all.

"It was my fault. I-"

"Sweetheart." Ed held his hand out to stop her. "Enough, okay? This is a family discussion."

"Can you not talk to her like that?" Edward bit out. "And it's not your fault," he said to Bella. "I left because I wanted to."

"Edward," his mother started in. "I don't understand why you're acting out."

He shook his head, entirely frustrated already. "I'm not.." He huffed. "You don't know the things they were saying about Bella."

"What did you expect?" His father laughed. "Kids are cruel, and your story is ludicrous. You've been watching too much damn television, and I don't know what you think you were trying to get away with-"

"Stop! Bella isn't lying. I'm not lying."

Ed stood, raising himself to intimidating height as he stood over Edward. "Is that how it's going to be? Are you raising your voice to me?"

Edward swallowed hard, his heart pounding. Fury was easy, but it wouldn't help his case. "I'm sorry, sir. But you're not listening to me."

"We're not going to miss any more school," Bella interjected. She continued quickly before Ed could interrupt her again. "We're already going to go see Principal Greene in the morning."

The man scoffed. "How very mature of you." He shook his head and pointed a finger at his son. "I don't want to hear about anymore trouble at school. Am I understood, Junior?"

Edward's eyes were burning with tears he refused to let himself shed in front of his father. "Yes, sir," he finally managed. Putting one arm around Bella's shoulders, he gently pushed her toward the stairs. Before they ascended though, he turned back to his parents. "We're trying so hard..."

His father only huffed, his mother looked pain. "You shouldn't have to try so hard, honey," she said softly. "You don't needto struggle."

Before he could snap, Edward turned away, urging Bella up the stairs. He took the carseat from her to do something productive with his hands.

"I'm sorry," they said at the same time when they were in her room. This broke the tension just a bit, and they smiled at each other.

"I didn't mean to get you in more trouble with your parents," she said quietly.

Edward just rolled his eyes, feigning nonchalance. "I'll make you a deal. If you quit apologizing to me, I won't apologize to you." He held out his pinky.

Bemused, she hooked her pinky with his. "I think I can manage that."

Threading the remainder of their fingers together, he squeezed tightly. "You know what I think?"

"What?"

"I think we're doing just fine. Look at her." He rested his cheek against hers, nudging until they were both looking down on Emma. "She's beautiful. She's gained the right amount of weight. She poops right."

Bella snorted.

"Look. We're going to fuck up at some point, but we haven't yet. And I, for one, think we deserve some measure of credit for that."

"I guess you're right," she said after a quiet moment.

"Of course," he joked, earning a wry smile. Under the circumstances, he would take it, he decided. "Come on," he said, pressing a lingering kiss to her forehead. "You should sleep while the baby sleeps."

"Weshould sleep while the baby sleeps." She hesitated. "Will you stay? Just for a little while?"

He noticed the way her hand strayed to her locket - the one he'd given her - as she spoke and felt a rush of strange giddiness come over him. "Yeah. I'll stay."

~0~

Bella felt nervous as she and Edward approached Principal Greene's office hand in hand. She'd never been in trouble before. The only time she'd interacted with any of her school principals was when she was getting some kind of award.

The principal got right to the point. She asked them to tell her if the rumors were true and they really did have an almost three week old baby. When they confirmed this, she told them to keep her in the loop.

"My main concern here is getting you kids to graduation. It's not going to help you or your baby if you don't graduate high school, right?"

They both nodded their fervent, if a little confused, agreement.

"Good." She drummed her fingers on the desk. "I would like to remind both of you that this school has an open door policy. If you need help or just need to talk, please don't be afraid to come to me or one of your other teachers. I encourage you to talk to your teachers. They'll be willing to work with you down the road if you run into trouble."

Bella glanced over to find Edward looking at her, his expression registering the same incredulity she felt. They blinked first at each other before turning back to their principal. "Are we... Are we in trouble for yesterday?" Bella blurted.

Principal Greene's smile was patient. "I don't want to reinforce ditching class as an acceptable behavior," she said sternly. "But I think punishment is a moot point. Look, I'm not oblivious to the fact high school comes with its own brand of challenges, not the least of which is the judgment of your peers. I have three kids of my own, and raising a baby is difficult under the best of circumstances. I'm giving you a pass this time with the expectation that you will come to me, or your counselors, or one of your teachers if you have problems in the future."

They left the office, both a little shell shocked.

"Well, that was interesting," Bella finally mumbled.

"Guess she does have a vested interest in keeping the dropout statistics down," Edward joked lightly, but there was a heaviness to his tone that made Bella feel like he was on the same page.

It was actually overwhelmingly great to have someone - an adult - instantly support them without judgment.

Bella had been dreading today, dreading facing her principal, her teachers, and the other students knowing with certainty she would be met with condemnation and scathing remarks. Starting her day out like this when she'd been expecting all doom and gloom gave her the slightest bit of hope.

Of course, before they could get to their lockers - which were close to each other - one of Lauren's friends passed them, elbowing Bella roughly as she passed and hissing, "Whore."

Edward turned, his expression fierce, before Bella grabbed him by the arm, keeping him walking forward. "Just ignore it," she said tightly.

He growled but fell into step beside her, taking her hand. "I'll walk you to class. And I'll meet you after class. We'll walk together, okay?"

Bella was about to protest, but she suddenly felt too tired. She just nodded. It was actually a relief, at least today.

~0~

By lunchtime, Bella was exhausted. It was a victory, she supposed, that she'd only had to run to the ladies room twice to hide her tears.

Being the pariah of Forks High definitely wasn't easy.

It helped a lot that Edward walked with her between classes. The other students all stared, but they were definitely less likely to say anything to her face when he was there. They did hear whispered slurs as they walked, but they were hisses in the crowd.

The worst had been in Government when Felix Amorosa leaned over in his seat and whispered, "Masen's just a little boy compared to me. You should meet me after school sometime and see what it's like to be with a real man."

He'd straightened up as Mr. Jefferson turned around again. Bella had felt her skin crawl when he leveled a leer at her before he left class when the bell rang.

For the most part, she ignored the taunts. She wanted to get to the point where she could just roll her eyes and scoff at their childishness, but she wasn't there yet. In the oppressive vibe around her, it was hard to believe this kind of horrible atmosphere wouldn't last forever.

That was what people kept telling her. The Masens would come around to the fact she and Edward were going to keep Emma. They would stop making life harder.

The students would move on eventually. They might consider her a slut forever, but they would get tired of talking about it.

Her first full day back at school, and Bella was struggling to believe the rest of her life wouldn't feel exactly like this.

But then Edward was waiting for her. He wordlessly took her hand and led her through the lunch line.

And when they sat down, Angela came to sit with them, asking for not one piece of gossip nor demanding any explanations. After a minute, Ben came to sit with them, too.

It was a little awkward, but Ben and Angela at least tried to have a normal conversation. Bella mostly stayed quiet, picking at her food, trying not to cry for entirely different reasons now.

When the lunch bell rang, Angela walked with Edward and Bella to Biology. Before they went in, she stopped them briefly.

"Do you think... I mean, if it's okay, could I meet your, um... daughter some day?"

Bella quite suddenly burst into tears, throwing her arms around Angela and hugging her tightly. "Yeah," she said in a shaky voice when she could speak again. "I'd really like that."

A/N: So the kids have some support out there, at least.

While I have your attention, I'm judging for the Ho Hey Contest. I love this song. Like, a lot. Somewhat ironically, I fell in love with it because of a Destiel video, but HEY. It's a beautiful song. Write me some Twilight to it, yeah?

Find out more here, if you're interested: / u / 4392156/ Ho-Hey-Contest

Happy Holidays to you, my dears. Much heart.