Hope you had a fab time in Philly Fran, and now, get back to work lol :P Thanks Lissa, Michele and Judyblue for reading my stuff before you do!
Yeah, yeah, it's Thursday, but I forgot that the hubs will be off tomorrow for the 4th, so here you go!
EPOV
I follow her in and my eyes immediately jump to Jake. He's sleeping soundly, just as he was earlier today. I stop and take him in, reveling in the fact that he's mine. Being told your child isn't yours is a blow no one can comprehend, but to actually lay eyes on the boy you did father makes it concrete.
It leaves zero doubt.
The only choice left for me is to make the best of it, and that's why I'm here. No one, aside from Bella can imagine the feelings of uncertainty I'm harboring right now. Unimaginable things have bound us together, and now we have to do what it takes to get through.
"He's beautiful, isn't he?" she whispers, causing me to jump out of my thoughts.
Not taking my eyes from him, I answer, "He's perfect."
"Well, go on, take the chair beside him," she suggests.
My eyes snap to hers. "You don't mind?"
She sighs. "Edward, I'm not going to try and keep him from you. Sure, I wanted to run and hide, at first, but I realized I couldn't do that. Jake needs more from me. He needs me to let him have you, too … no matter if you are an idiot." She rolls her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Bella. I really am," I state emphatically.
"I know you are and I'm willing to be understanding to a point, but you have to try and meet me half way. Think before you speak and act, please. I don't know how many more times I can forgive." Her eyes tell me she's serious, but they also tell me she's tired. This whole situation is taking its toll on her.
I nod and move to sit in the chair. After studying Jake a few more minutes, I turn to face her. "I can't promise I won't fuck up anymore. This is a lot to take in and my emotions are all over the place, but the one thing I do know, is that you and I"―I motion between us―"we're in this for life. There's no going back for us. We both have two sons now and we'll just have to learn to accept that and make it work for us."
She smiles and even though it's small, I can tell she liked what I just said. "Agreed. There's so much to figure out, I barely even know where to start."
I chuckle. "How about I tell you about Seth?"
She gasps. "You must think I'm the most horrible mother on earth. I haven't asked about him or anything, have I?"
I think back through our conversations and realize that she hasn't, but I also recall the tone of those conversations and can admit my part in her distraction. Never mind the fact that Jake being sick is what propelled this whole situation for her.
"You haven't, but we've yet to have a real conversation. Aside from the one where you told me about Jake, which is what brings us here at this moment." I rub the back of my neck. "And, um, the stairwell."
She snorts. "I wouldn't call that real conversation either. More like a disaster."
I allow a small smile to lift the corners of my mouth. "It was and I'd like to revisit that conversation, but first let me fill you in on your other son."
The smile she gives is brilliant, it lights up her entire face. "Please."
I pull my phone out and enter the unlock code, and the first thing I see is a picture of Seth and me. I hold it out for her to take. "That was last summer. We were at Lake Michigan, spending the day on the beach."
She tentatively reaches over; as if she's afraid I'll snatch it back. As soon as she lays eyes on it, she starts blinking rapidly, trying to hold back the tears. I scoot my chair closer and reach out to rub her arm. "Don't cry, Bella. He's amazing, just like Jake."
"Happy tears, Edward," she says, rubbing over his little face.
"He has your eyes. I knew it as soon as I saw you, even though I still didn't want to believe it was true," I tell her.
She hugs the phone close to her chest and looks to me again. "I can't wait to meet him."
I reach up and wipe a tear that's escaped down her cheek. "He'll be here tomorrow."
Her eyes go wide. "What are we going to tell them? How do we explain this to them?"
I shake my head. "I don't have a clue. I'm as new at this as you are."
"What did you tell Jake? Who did you say you were?" she asks.
"I told him my name was Edward and I was his mom's friend," I smirk.
"Oh," she says. "Well, we have to decide on something. I know they're young, but Jake's a smart kid, and he hasn't been introduced to many 'men friends' in the past."
I raise a brow. "So you're telling me he hasn't met any of your boyfriends?"
Even in the low lighting, the pink tinge is visible on her cheeks. "Not that it's any of your business, but I leave him with a sitter when I go on a date and none of those have made it far enough to meet my son. What about you? Has Seth met your lady friends?"
"No way. I don't trust women around my son."
She tilts her head, reading me like a book. "Ah, I see. Your wife walked out on you so you're afraid to try again."
I lean forward and prop my elbows on my knees. "If the woman that carried him doesn't want him, I damn sure don't have expectations for other women."
She touches my arm, gaining my attention. "You can't let that rule your life, Edward. There are good women out there."
I pull my hand through my hair and look over at her. "Well, it's not that simple anymore, is it, Bella?"
"No, it's not," she says simply, holding my phone out to me.
I reach out and take it back. "So, about that other thing," I say, hating to bring it up, but knowing it has to be done.
"Oh, God." She leans back in her chair and covers her face. "I think we need to forget that ever happened."
I reach over and grab her hands, pulling them away. "No, Bella, we can't. It's a valid option." Her wide eyes meet mine and now that I have her attention, I lean back and make my case. "I mean, yeah I fucked it all up earlier today, but you're right. It's the best chance we have at getting a perfect match for Jake, aside from hunting down Maria and creating one, and that will never happen." I get angry just thinking about it.
"Not even for Jake?" she asks quietly.
I think about her question carefully before I form an answer. "I'm sorry, Bella, but I could never do that. Not even for Jake." My eyes plead with her to understand. It's bad enough that Maria might hear about this and appear one day, but I could never seek her out.
Not for anything.
"What happens if she does show up one day? You know this won't be kept quiet. It will get out eventually." She's worried. Afraid of what it means for our boys if the woman I've described shows up and tries to insert herself in this situation.
"Don't worry, she signed her rights away. She's no longer his mother," I assure.
She stands and starts pacing. "No, Edward, no." She whips her eyes to mine, panic the overwhelming emotion. "She signed her rights to Seth away. Not Jake." Tears begin to well.
I get up and go to her. Placing my hands on her shoulders, I try to transfer all of my determination to her. "She signed her rights away to our child. There's no way the courts would reverse it because it wasn't the right one. I have money, Bella, I'll pay her off if I have to; it was easy enough the first time."
"You paid her off?" she asks, shock clear in her tone.
"No, not exactly, but I will this time if that's what it takes," I guarantee. "She wanted a divorce and she didn't want anything to do with Seth, so I made her sign her rights away, and in return her settlement was exceptional. She happily took it and left. I haven't seen or heard from her since."
She sniffles. "Wow, you sure know how to pick 'em." A small smile peeps through.
I chuckle. "See why I keep women away from him?" I reach up and rest my palms on each cheek, and wipe her tears away with my thumbs. "It's going to be okay, Bella. We just have to learn to trust each other."
She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. When she opens them again, she's still vulnerable, but her resolve is back. "I think we can do that. We both have so much to gain in the long run by getting along and trusting each other. We have amazing sons that are worth the effort."
I reach around and hug her. "So worth it."
She returns my hug and when I pull back, I leave a light kiss on her forehead before guiding her to her sleep chair and holding the cover up for her to climb in. She avoids my eyes, but still mutters, "Thanks."
I go back to my chair and take in my still sleeping boy. He's rolled to his side facing away from me now, but just having my eyes on him is enough to make me say what needs to come next. "So, um, how do you want to do this?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but right now, just meeting the boys is enough to handle―"
I turn and stop her. "No, Bella, that's not what I meant. I mean, us, making a baby. Did you want to go on a date? Set up a time? What if just once isn't eno―"
"Whoa, stop right there," she interrupts. "I didn't mean make a baby, make a baby. I meant we could conceive the way I did with Jake ... I mean Seth, the first time."
I think back to when she told me about Jake, and remember why he doesn't have a father in the picture. My brows rise into my hairline. "You want me to donate sperm?"
"That seems the most reasonable option. You go in, I go in and voila, we're pregnant." She waves her hands around as if she just initiated world peace.
I continue to stare at her thinking she's lost her damn mind. She expects me to go in some room, look at a dirty mag and jack my cock? "Are you out of your fucking mind?"
She at least has the decency to look chagrined. "It worked well before and come on; it's the most reasonable option."
"The most reasonable," I sputter.
I'm dumbfounded.
I may have gone about it in all the wrong ways earlier, but it felt right. We felt right, and she was feeling it, I know that. Why would she want to go about it in such a … clinical way?
'Yes, no strings and no emotions. Very reasonable," she nods as if she's assuring herself.
I have to stop this crazy train before it pulls out of the depot. "No strings? You don't consider sharing a kid a string? Look, there's no way to do something such as this and not have it be an emotional experience. Even if we do go about it the way you're suggesting, there's a whole nine months of pregnancy to follow. Do you think I'd just leave you to it, not want to be around while my child grows in your belly? And then there's Jake and Seth. We're still going to be working on clearing this mess up for them, sharing them, letting them get to know us better, as well as each other. We've become attached by a permanent string, and going about it in that way just seems to add another pressure we don't need." I'm trying to make her understand how unreasonable her method sounds, but listening to myself, I realize there are a lot more factors in play than even I've considered.
She huffs. "Pressure? You don't think doing it the old fashioned way will create pressure … expectations … complications?"
I ease down on my knees in front of her. "It doesn't have to be that way. Haven't you ever had a friend with benefits?" I reach up and push a curl behind her ear, allowing my fingers to linger. "We have the chemistry, Bella. Not only will we be trying for a solution to help Jake, but maybe we can offer each other something else."
She tilts her head away from my hand and crosses her arms. "And what might that be, Edward?"
"Comfort, relief … mind-blowing orgasms." I smirk.
"You sound so sure of yourself." She raises a brow.
"Come on, Bella. You felt it, I know you did." I reach over and pull her arms away from her body, rubbing the tension from her muscles. "Don't be so tense. It's no big deal. People have sex for a variety of different reasons all the time. At least, our end goal is one and the same." I glide my hands down and grab hers. "Just think about it, and if you want, get in touch with your clinic and see what we'll have to do there. Either way, I'm in, the decision of how is all on you."
She squeezes my hands. "Thank you, Edward."
I smile. "No problem … especially if you choose the old fashioned way." I wink and stand up heading back to my chair.
Once I'm settled in, she pulls her covers tighter around her and lies back. "Tell me about him."
So I do.
I tell her stories about Seth. Any cute story I can think of to keep that smile on her lips. She chuckles occasionally and asks a question here or there, but mostly just sits and absorbs my words with a beautiful smile. When I haven't heard from her in few minutes, I look over and she's sound asleep.
I turn back to my son and lean my head over on his bed, grabbing his little hand in mine. Being here with him like this makes me miss Seth even more. I can't wait to have him in my arms again. That's when this little get-together will finally be complete.
I'm terrified of what the future hold for us all, but I also know that as long as Bella and I can make it work, then the rest of the world doesn't matter. It's completely on us to make things right for these two, precious little boys.
The next thing I know, there's a man in a white lab coat entering the room with two coffees. He stops abruptly when he sees me.
"Who are you?" the doctor asks.
"I'm Jake's father. Who are you?" I raise my head and look around the room.
His eyes widen. "Excuse me?"
Just then, Bella sits up and moans. When she notices the doctor, she smiles. "Alec, what are you doing here so early?"
"Good morning, Bella, just thought you might want some coffee." The fucker beams as if she just raised the sun.
She glances at me and looks away embarrassed. "Thank you." She gets up and goes over to him, taking her coffee. "Alec, I'd like you to meet Edward, this is Jacob's biological father."
She turns to me. "Edward, this is Dr. Alec Volturi. He's one of the doctors overseeing Jake's case. He's a hematologist."
I rise and hold out my hand. "Nice to meet you, Alec," I enunciate his name and grip his hand firmly.
A little too firmly.
The pussy winces.
He turns back to Bella, effectively cutting me out of their conversation. "I didn't realize you and Carlisle moved forward with contacting the clinic. We can get him tested today if you'd like, get that out of the way so he can return to his life."
"What clinic?" I ask. "And what life would that be, doctor? The one where I only have one son? No, thank you. Jake is mine and I will be staying around."
He turns back to me. "Oh, you want to be in his life now? Doesn't that complicate the original agreement?"
"Alec," Bella breaks in.
Before she can go farther, I answer his question. "Of course I want to be in his life. What did you think I'd do? Run because he's sick?"
He stutters. "Ah, um, no that isn't what I meant."
"Yeah, I bet. And as for complicating things, could it get any more complicated? Oh, I can think of one more complication I'd like to add"―I smirk at Bella―"but that's yet to be decided."
"Okay, I think we've gotten way off base here." She touches the fucker's arm. "Alec, this isn't the sperm donor for Jake. This is Jake's biological father and he has my biological son."
The fucker's brow furrows. "What?"
"It seems there was a mistake"―I snort, but she rolls her eyes and continues―"when the boys were born. They were somehow exchanged before they received their ID bracelets. Jacob is Edward's biological son, not mine."
His jaw drops.
"Oh my, Bella. I had no idea. Why didn't you tell me? This must've been a horrible time for you." He puts his arm around her shoulders. "I'm so sorry."
She smiles and moves away. "Thank you, Alec, but we've been trying to keep it as quiet as possible. Thankfully, Edward's been great." She gives me a fake smile and I can't thank her enough for not calling me out for the ass I've been.
I walk over and prop my arm across the shoulders she moved away from him and smirk. "Yes, doctor, Bella and I have been working hard to come to terms with this situation." I give her another squeeze. "I think we're going to be just fine though."
He smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes. "Good, glad to hear things are going all right." He turns heading toward Jake's bed.
"I do have one question though," I say, making him stop and turn back to us. "Does a baby between Bella and me have a better chance as a match for Jake?"
I watch, with a smirk, as his eyes grow wide in understanding.
Cocky fucker.
Okay, I'm new to the WIP business, but I've started up a few. Here they are:
Born of Ash and Fire by MandyLeigh87
Knock Me Up, Please by gabby1017
Jilted by vampiregirl93
In Your Dreams by winterhorses
Come Back Tomorrow by Shadow Masen
Give them a try! See you Wednesday :)